Money, Money, Money: Inflation, History, and Hope in the Last Days

Published by Village Church | Religious Liberty Weekend

Welcome! It’s a fresh day here in Michigan, and we want to extend a warm welcome to our church family, as well as to those joining us online from home or around the world. Today, we are diving into a topic that touches every single one of us: money.

My sermon is titled “Money, Money, Money.” It’s a subject that often makes us think about budgets, bills, and desires for a little more financial breathing room. But money plays a much deeper and more significant role in the grand narrative of Earth’s history, specifically as we approach the end times.

This message ties in perfectly with our Religious Liberty weekend. This afternoon, Eva Tompkins, a lawyer from New York, will be explaining the intricacies of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and how they will impact our religious liberties. But for now, we are going to focus on the history of money, its future, and most importantly, how we, as believers, are called to live without fear in a world of uncertainty.

Let’s look at three key areas:

The Disappearing Dollar and the Lessons of History
The Heavenly Currency and How to Live Today
Lighting a Candle in the Gathering Darkness

I want you to leave today not with a sense of fear, but with a renewed determination to light a candle in the midst of the storm. Jesus promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” and He is with us always, even to the end of the age.

Part 1: The Meaningless Mark – Lessons from a Collapsing Currency

We are all painfully aware of inflation. Over the last three years, the cost of living has risen for everyone, reducing the real value of our incomes. While we complain about rising prices—the cost of gas, rent, and groceries—it is vital to understand that rising prices are the symptom, not the cause.

The cause of inflation is the devaluing of your currency.

When a currency is devalued, so are you. If you needed $1,000 a month to live in 2019, but need $1,200 for the same lifestyle in 2024, you must work 20% harder or accept a 20% reduction in your living standard. Your labor, your skills, and your contribution to society are being eroded.

As one author put it: “If you wish to destroy a nation, you must first corrupt its currency.”

The Weimar Republic: A Warning from History

To understand where we might be heading, we need to look at a prime example of economic collapse: the Weimar Republic in Germany (1918–1923). The parallels to today are striking.

The Cause: To finance World War I, Germany abandoned the gold standard and printed money. After losing the war, they were burdened with massive reparation payments, further crippling the economy.
The Effect on Society:
- People stopped saving because their money lost value by the hour.
- Savings were wiped out. The middle class was destroyed.
- Trust in public institutions collapsed.
- People resorted to barter. Stacks of cash became worthless; a wheelbarrow full of money was worth less than the wheelbarrow itself.
- Farmers stopped selling food in the cities, leading to malnutrition.
- Corruption became rampant.
- Extreme social division and political polarization took hold. The political center collapsed, paving the way for extremist parties.
The Outcome: By 1923, the German Mark was worthless (over 1 trillion marks to the pre-war pound). This trauma prepared the nation to accept political totalitarianism, economic fascism, and a false worship—the idolatry of the Führer—as the glue to hold society together. In 1933, Adolf Hitler came to power.

Inflation is not just about higher prices at the pump. Unchecked, it destroys society from within and prepares a nation to accept authoritarianism and a denial of liberty of conscience.

Where Are We Today?

The United States is facing a similar trajectory. Our debt is spiraling out of control. We have abandoned sound money principles. The dollar’s purchasing power has plummeted, especially since we left the gold standard in 1971. We are now in an age of decadence and decline.

For the final events of Revelation 13 to unfold, the US dollar as we know it must die. It will likely be replaced by a digital dollar (CBDC) . This new currency will allow authorities to control who can buy or sell at the touch of a button—a perfect tool for enforcing the economic mandates of the last days.

Part 2: The Heavenly Currency – How Are We to Live?

So, what do we do? How do we survive, feed our families, and keep our faith when it feels like the world is collapsing?

1. We Are Not to Live in Fear.
Jesus described these times in Luke 21: “People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world.” But our response is different. “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” We know the end of the story. We are not called to cower but to be prisoners of hope.

2. We Must Heed the Prophetic Warnings.
Just as Jesus warned His disciples about the destruction of Jerusalem, He warns us. In AD 66, Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem, then unexpectedly withdrew. The Christians saw this as the sign Jesus gave them (the “abomination of desolation”) and fled to the mountains. When the Romans returned in AD 70, not a single Christian perished in the siege because they listened to the Savior’s voice.

Sister White draws a direct parallel for us: “As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the assumption of power on the part of our nation in the decree enforcing the papal sabbath will be a warning to us.”

The 1893 Sunday law, which funded the Chicago World’s Fair by requiring it to close on Sunday, was America’s first federal Sunday law. It was an advanced notice, a warning sign, that this is what is to come. We have been warned.

3. We Are Called to Country Living—Not for Escape, but for Mission.
Moving to the country isn’t just about “prepping” or hiding. It serves several purposes:

To Be Closer to the Creator: Living with the land makes us reliant on God for the early and latter rain.
To Avoid Satanically Inspired Violence: Our cities are becoming lawless places.
To Prepare for “No Buy, No Sell”: We must learn to raise our own provisions.
To Spread the Gospel: We are to leave the cities to establish centers of influence in rural areas, from which we can shine the light of the gospel back into the cities.

The papacy has a historical precedent for this. In the 12th century, church councils issued decrees forbidding anyone from buying or selling with heretics. The goal? “…that the comfort of humanity having been lost, they may be compelled to return from the error of their ways.” This is the blueprint for the final mark of the beast crisis.

Conclusion: Light a Candle

In pre-WWII Germany, the collapse of the mark led to a new currency, totalitarianism, and false worship.

In the pre-Second Coming United States, the collapse of the dollar will lead to a new digital currency, political totalitarianism, economic fascism, and the coercion of conscience through the mark of the beast—Sunday sacredness.

But this is not a message of despair. It is a call to action.

Covenant with God to be a light in the darkness.
Remind yourself daily that Jesus is with you always.
Use your spiritual gifts to bless a dying world.
Get involved. Learn to grow a kitchen garden. Support or establish a center of influence. Consider mission work.

Your life, your ministry in these final days will be studied throughout eternity. Unfallen beings will look at your story and see what God can do through a sanctified life on a fallen planet.

Do not sink into despair. Stand tall and lift up your heads. Get in the fight. Be active for God. Ask Him tonight, “Heavenly Father, how would you have me serve You with the gifts and abilities You’ve given me in these dying days of Earth’s history?”

May God bless you and shine through you as we await His glorious return.

Resources & Next Steps

Feeling moved to act? Here are some practical ways to get involved and learn more:

Learn to Grow Your Own Food:
- Great Lakes Adventist Academy (Michigan): Contact Heidi Sanvig at [Email Address] for classes on kitchen gardening.
- Sower’s Purse Farm (Berrien Springs): Contact Brother Christo for classes on identifying rural properties and home-scale growing.
Establish Centers of Influence:
- Outpost Centers International (OCI): Provides training and coaching for setting up evangelistic centers.
Serve as a Missionary:
- Adventist Frontier Missions (AFM): If you have mature skills and a desire to serve among the unreached, check out AFM.

This sermon and the links provided can be found on the Village Church website. Don’t just listen—choose to live and walk in the light God has given us.