Alarmingly, a new and potentially devastating fiscal abyss unexpectedly cracked open, sending fresh shock waves surging across borders. The stability of formerly rock-solid U.S. equities – particularly U.S. Treasury notes – suddenly came into question.
As discussed earlier in this series, the first 100 days of the Trump administration rocked critical international relationships in a way previously unseen. From a biblical perspective, America has been over many decades a true safe haven for promoting world stability and also for ensuring extraordinary levels of religious freedom. But as chronicled further below, that trusted reputation was seriously damaged during a 10-day period in early April.
Why does this matter?
Serious reviewers of Bible prophecy know that a world-ruling entity will arise on the scene in the last days, the last global entity to exist prior to the return of the Messiah, who will take command as King of Kings and usher in a new glorious era of the Kingdom of God on earth. The Bible prophesies that this global entity will rise and expand economically and politically into a vacuum left by a largely diminished (or even destroyed) United States.
Given power and authority
As generally understood, particularly from a form of dispensationalism in the Church of God community, this entity will be quite different from prior empires that seized power through military force. This entity, centered on one man, will be given autocratic ruling power by 10 nation states, as opposed to grasping authority by force (Revelation 17:12-13).
In Greek the entity is known as the Thērion, most commonly translated into English as the Beast (or violent wild animal). This savage entity reflects Old Testament prophecies in Daniel (chapters 2 and 7) that are linked to the book of Revelation (chapters 13 and 17). (for an excellent summary of the Daniel and Revelation prophecies, click here)
For the purpose of discussion, some groups portray this “beast” in a family-friendly cartoon-like image that combines an ancient Triceratops with other descriptive beasts. But in the Bible, this image spawned outright gripping terror. This Thērion appeared so savage and evil that Daniel writes at the end of chapter 7: “That was the end of the vision. I, Daniel, was terrified by my thoughts and my face was pale with fear” (Daniel 7:28, New Living Translation).
It also has also long been interpreted and taught by the Church of God community that the last days of this “present evil age” (Galatians 1:4) will see a final resurrection of the ancient Holy Roman Empire, centered in Europe. These combined nation states, who give their authority to the Thērion, are believed to be the fulfillment of Daniel 2:41-43: “as you saw the feet and [10] toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle” (English Standard Version).
The point? To date, the exceptional power of the United States – often historically coupled with the United Kingdom (especially in the 19th and 20th centuries)– has made such a formation of a separate 10 nations unnecessary, even unlikely. But things are rapidly changing.
Just a few years ago, French President Emmanuel Macron publicly stated that the once vaunted European NATO countries were “brain dead.” With the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, that all changed in a heartbeat.
“Things can fall apart very quickly”
Barely a year ago, in a lengthy interview in the Economist, this same French President warned that Europe today faces mortal danger. He declared that “things can fall apart very quickly….a civilsation can die…there will be no security in Europe.”
Back then in 2024, the United States – even with an eye-watering level of troublesome national debt – was serving up funds and intelligence to Ukraine. With the advent of the second Trump administration, that all changed. A long-overdue discussion about Europe shouldering a fairer share of defense expenses ramped up. Then, as President Trump has metaphorically stated of other policy outcomes, all hell broke loose.
Dollar threatened
As mayhem grew in global markets in early April, the U.S. Bond Market – the fiscal bedrock that plays a critical role in the U.S. serving as the global currency of trade – unexpectedly took a devastating hit. No longer were government leaders and business executives concerned solely with an impending recession.
As the Economist reported, “the dollar, which is supposed to be a safe haven, fell,” bringing with it a fearsome potential for widespread fiscal holocaust.
By mid-April, the bond market staged a bit of recovery, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly declared that he didn’t see sovereign nations abandoning U.S. Treasury bonds, and if there was a “dislocation,” the U.S. Treasury hold “a big toolkit” by which they could shore up any fissures in the bond market.
As of the time of writing, many economists, national leaders, and business executives were breathing a little easier.
But the damage was done. As noted earlier in this series, an already worried Europe saw an entire world order summarily overturned in a matter of days. A key takeaway? Many European and other traditional American allies began to doubt whether America was a truly trustworthy partner. Could America continued to be relied upon?
Here’s a brief summary:
The early April economic upheaval left an “element of trauma or shock or fear,” said Bridgewater Associates’ billionaire founder Ray Dalio on Bloomberg TV. A crucial outcome? “It dramatically affected psychology and attitude about the United States’ reliability.”
“Sullen, angry and scared”
While recognizing the fact that inequities in American global financial support needs to be addressed, Wall Street Journal Editor-at-Large Gerard Baker warned in early April 2025 that “Trump is trashing America’s reputation,” an act that has unintended serious consequences: “Allies—staunchly pro-American friends from Canada to Denmark to Poland—are sullen, angry and scared. Adversaries who have long envied our power and tried unsuccessfully to undermine it, are hugging themselves with joy…we look not only mean but stupid.”
“Ultimate faith asset” to “ultimate weak spot”
“It wasn’t good to let the world know, or to remind it so vividly, that the way to get America to back off is to tank its bond market,” wrote long-time Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan on April 11. “Those bonds, as Zanny Minton Beddoes of the Economist put it, are “the ultimate faith asset.” The world has been reminded they could become the ultimate weak spot,”
A senior advisor reported in Bloomburg, “Confidence outside the US on the quality and leadership of US assets across equity, fixed income and currency has been damaged.” Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers weighed in on President Trump’s tariff swings as “enormously costly for the United States and for the world economy.”
A European response?
A critical point? Trust plays a vital role in determining value and confidence in equity assets, an attribute that suffered a serious blow in mid-April. Future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned: “President Trump’s policies are increasing the risk that the next financial crisis will hit sooner than expected.” The way forward? “We Europeans need to come up with a persuasive response.”
How Presidential policies could “dethrone the dollar”
As noted by many leaders and commentators, the supporters of President Trump voted for him to address serious immigration policies, and also national cultural issues arising in the Biden administration that had previously alarmed many people. Current polls give the President high marks for advancing on those campaign promises.
But in economic policies related to tariffs, not so much.
In fairness to the President, the widening cracks in the U.S. Bond market may be revealing systemic issues. The Economist noted: “part of the disorderly selling may be due to a deeper source of fragility in the way the Treasury market operates.” But regardless of its potential origins, the Administration’s actions are leading some to begin to consider the previously unthinkable: the dethroning of the dollar as the international currency standard.
If such a global move against the dollar occurred, the effects would catastrophic, likely hurtling the world in historic levels of turmoil and angst.
Is this an unfounded fear, or something to be concerned about?
The author of Chokepoints – American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare (quoted earlier in Part IV), Edward Fishman joined two other economic experts to solemnly warn: “the world’s reserve currency may not survive the weaponization of U.S. economic power.”
The U.S. dollar was cemented as the world’s reserve currency, the standard of trade, following the 1947 General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) and has since stood firmly through many crises and challenges.
Until now.
Fishman’s and his colleagues’ criticism is withering: “Combined with Trump’s attacks on the rule of law, his clumsy, erratic attempts to weaponize Washington’s economic advantages pose the greatest threat so far to the dollar’s status as a reserve currency.” On April 13, the Economist magazine echoed this dire warning in a summary declaring: “A flight from the dollar could wreck America’s finances,” solemnly noting that “The currency’s dominance enables very high debts and deficits, meaning a plunge might spell disaster.”
The Day the Dollar dies
So, with everything relative peaceful economically at the moment (even accepting the rising likelihood of an imminent recession), what would things look like if the bond market truly tanked, taking down U.S. Treasuries and even the dollar as the world’s reserve currency?
Mitch Daniels, a former two-term Indiana Governor who also served as Director of the Federal Office of Management and Budget and is also a President Emeritus of Purdue University, published a controversial OP-ED in the early fall of 2024.
Titled “The Day the Dollar Died is coming – what’s the plan?” Daniels suggested (tongue-in-cheek, but just barely) that a conference be organized for the summer of 2025 that would be devoted to “preparing a plan for the collapse of the U.S. public debt market and the dollar’s world reserve status – and the economic and social consequences of such an event.”
Daniels, who is also an attorney and former President/CEO of the Hudson Institute think tank, traced extraordinary dire consequences of a collapse of the U.S. bond market and the dollar. Under such a situation, it’s possible that once-thriving industries will grind to a halt. Hyperinflation will grip the U.S. and other economies, sending prices skyrocketing. Protests will jam public streets as people gather to demand answers and plead for help, especially in areas of winter without heat. Frantic attempts to forge new trade agreements on different traditional or digital currencies will lash once-stable geopolitical relationships.
He wrote: “An accompanying economic collapse could unleash violent reactions in a country that has become grimly familiar or even inured to such conduct.” He asked whether martial law would have to be enacted in such a case, including the President being forced to activate the emergency powers of the military under the Insurrection Act.
Chaos will reign.
High stakes game
The ensuing fiscal holocaust, as noted by Dishman and others, would literally flip the world upside down. The sweeping spectrum of angst and economic pain is hard to imagine.
Is there any hope? Or will a fiscal and societal collapse of the United States trigger events that will accelerate the formation of a Euro-based new world reserve currency assembled together by a 10-nation European consortium?
Further, to stabilize the world following such a possible fiscal holocaust, is the time swiftly coming when that 10-nation consortium will be “of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast [the Thērion]”? (Revelation 17:13)
What is the fate of the United States? Will the Trump Administration play a role in accelerating prophetic events? Or will it prove to provide insightful dynamic leadership?
In his legendary work Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville — who recognized America’s “exceptional” capacity — wrote nearly two centuries ago that “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.”
Could America turn again and truly become “One nation under God”? God provides a pathway for that in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
Regardless, God is the One who calls the shots – and is also the only Entity who knows the global timetable of all prophetic events, especially concerning the return of His Son as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Matthew 24:36). We could be on the verge of the fulfillment of major prophetic events – or they could be years, even decades, in the future. The Bible is empathic that only God the Father personally knows the schedule: “not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (verse 36).
But unless a major change in national and personal attitude and commitment takes place, these destructive events – including the establishment of a world-ruling savage Thērion – emphatically will proceed, sooner or later.
What then should we consider as individuals? Here is some advice from the Apostle Peter from the 1st century: “With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation’” (Acts 2:40, New International Version).
God sets a choice before us and all humanity: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19, ESV).
What’s your choice?