When Giants Fall

Joseph Herrin (01-25-2012)

Fallen Giant Sequoia

The preceding post on this blog titled The Mighty are Falling spoke of the judgment of God upon those considered giants in the earth. We live in an hour when many who are lofty will be abased. In this post, I want to focus specifically on nations of this earth that are vaunted above all others in this hour. I want to share what I am discerning the Spirit of Christ to be proclaiming.

Let me begin by providing an amazing connection to the economic collapse of America and Europe and the account of the two giant sequoias that fell last year in California. In the previous post I included a video of the collapsing trees. Incredibly, their fall was caught on video by a German tourist who was standing nearby at the precise time of the collapse.

As I was researching the former post, I was drawn to the name of the German citizen who filmed the trees falling. I at first misread his name, thinking it was “Panzer.” I began pondering whether there may be a link to the German Panzer divisions of World War II. Upon further investigation, I found that the gentleman’s last name was not “Panzer,” but “Panzner.” Gerrit Panzner was the man God chose to be standing at that precise location with camera in hand to record the event. This detail stuck in my mind, and it came back with great force when the Spirit led me to another connection to this surname.

Michael Panzner wrote the book Financial Armageddon in 2007. This book predicted a global financial collapse in the following two years. This collapse was borne out as Wall Street was rocked by the implosion of the real estate bubble. The ripple effect has been devastating as banks, insurers, mortgage underwriters and a host of other industries have teetered on the verge of collapse. The complete collapse of the American and European financial systems were postponed through the immediate injection of trillions of dollars by the Federal Reserve and other central banks. This intervention, however, has only made matters worse, for America and Europe are now being pulled inexorably downward by a crushing burden of debt.

In 2009, Michael Panzner wrote another book. This latter book was titled When Giants Fall: An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era. When I read the title of this book, and perceived that the man who caught the sequoias falling bore the same last name as the author, I sensed that the Father was linking these two events together.

Although some reports speak of only one giant sequoia falling on the Trail of 100 Giants, there were actually two trees that fell at the same time. These trees were intertwined at the roots. Sequoias have vast, but very shallow root systems, which is quite remarkable for such massive living things. Does this not speak of the nations who also have shallow roots?

Mark 4:16-17
"In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.”

Sequoias are found in a very limited area. They typically grow in groves. They stand by intertwining their roots with one another, thereby lending support to the trees nearby. This interrelationship has another effect, however. When one tree falls, it can easily cause other trees to fall who have become entangled with it. This is what occurred when the two giant sequoias fell on the Trail of 100 Giants a few months back.

As was mentioned in the recent blogs on the Costa Concordia disaster, the parent company Carnival Cruise Lines is an American and British corporation. Even so, America and Europe are greatly tied together politically, militarily, culturally, and financially. When one falls, the other cannot avoid being dragged down with it.

On his blog, Michael Panzner describes "an economy teetering on the edge of disaster."In a January 11 email, he said: "The fundamental outlook is even worse now than it was a few weeks ago, given (the lack of positive) developments in Europe and growing evidence that the economies of major countries around the world are deteriorating fast."
[Source: http://www.financialarmageddon.com]

As mentioned in the previous post, the Los Angeles Times spread the news of the fallen sequoias to the world when they posted an article on October 29th, 2011. See link below:

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/29/local/la-me-fallen-sequoia-20111029

It was in October of 1929 that the American Stock Market collapsed, leading into a period of tremendous poverty and hardship known as “The Great Depression.” October 29th, 1929 became known as “Black Tuesday” as there was a tremendous sell-off on Wall Street. The volume of shares passing hands on that date was not to be equaled for another forty years.

It is my belief that the Spirit of God is giving signs in the earth of those things which are near at hand. He would have those with understanding to prepare their hearts to endure the great hardships that are coming swiftly. Satan, on the other hand, has his own ambassadors who are seeking to lull the people into a state of lethargy and complacency. The message presented by American President Barack Hussein Obama in his annual State of the Union address last night could be summed up as the following:

No cause for alarm folks. We are going to right this sinking ship. We are working hard to get everything back on an even keel. There is no reason to abandon ship. Go back to your cabins and rest assured that we will have your best interests at heart. We will keep you all safe.

The following image of the Costa Concordia, listing after it struck underwater rocks, is a fitting metaphor for America and Europe at this hour.

Costa Concordia Listing

Although the ship was mortally wounded at this point, taking on water from a deep rent in her hull, she was still mostly above water. She was leaning, but had not yet rolled over on her side. You can see that all of the lifeboats are still hanging from the ship. No one had been urged to abandon ship yet. No cry of alarm had gone out.

This is a fitting parable for where we are at this moment. The captain of the good ship America is on the phone with his masters, that wealthy and powerful cabal of international bankers and industrialists who are working to bring forth a new world order. The citizens of the nations, like the passengers on this doomed cruise ship, are being urged to “stay on board,” to trust those who are driving things to their ultimate goal. The ship, however, is dead in the water. It is not going anywhere.

One might wonder why the vast majority of people in America and Europe are so calm. Why do they not see the peril before them? Too many have placed their faith in the crew manning the ship. Some still believe that merely changing captains will stave off disaster and keep the ship afloat. Their hope is in the next election. They are unwilling, or unable, to grasp the fact that the damage has already been done. In the past 4 years America’s declared government debt has increased by 50% from 10 trillion dollars, to more than 15 trillion dollars. She is steadily being pulled under by the enormous and irresistible drag of this great burden. Quicker and quicker now, America and Europe are succumbing to the forces that will surely swamp them.

This is not what was proclaimed in the State of the Union address last night. The goal of America’s masters is to keep everyone calm and inactive, placated by lies and deception, as long as possible. The captain of the Concordia spoke to the passengers several times after striking a reef, seeking to assure them that they had experienced only a “technical problem” and all would be okay.

Alarmed by the growing tilt of the ship, and the inaction of the captain, passengers onboard began calling land based authorities to report a serious problem. The coast guard in turn contacted the captain of the ship four different times in the hour after the ship struck the rocks to ask if there was a problem. Each time he assured them there was only a minor technical problem, telling them the ship was fine and they needed no assistance. It was passengers and some minor crew members who finally began launching life boats. The captain issued the command to abandon ship only after the passengers and crew had already begun to do so.

Soon America and Europe will have fallen over like the ship in the image above. They are headed in this direction at this very moment.

It was the Greek philosopher Plato who coined the term “ship of state.” In book VI of Plato’s Republic he likened the governance of a city-state to the command of a naval vessel. Plato argued that the only men fit to captain the governments of men were benevolent and wise men who had absolute power to steer the nations. Sadly, such benevolent, selfless, and wise men are not to be found among the rulers of the nations at this hour. Such a ruler will not be known until the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and Christ.

Leonard Cohen's song Democracy contains the line "Sail on. Sail on, o mighty ship of state. To the shores of need, past the reefs of greed, through the squalls of hate." The Costa Concordia is a symbol of the nations. It was not sailing to “the shores of need.” It was a floating pleasure palace, created to satiate the selfish and excessive appetites of carnal men and women. It struck a reef as surely as America and Europe have wounded themselves on the reefs of greed.

Following is an excerpt from an Internet website.

Warning Signs That We Should Prepare For The Worst
Thursday, January 19, 2012

The warning signs are all around us.  All we have to do is open up our eyes and look at them.  Almost every single day there are more prominent voices in the financial world telling us that a massive economic crisis is coming and that we need to prepare for the worst.  On Wednesday, it was the World Bank itself that issued a very chilling warning.  In an absolutely startling report, the World Bank revised GDP growth estimates for 2012 downward very sharply, warned that Europe could be on the verge of a devastating financial crisis, and declared that the rest of the world better “prepare for the worst...”


When this crisis is over, all sorts of people are going to be running around claiming that they predicted it.  But it does not take a genius to see what is coming. All you have to do is open up your eyes and look at the flashing red warning signs...


Pessimism regarding Greece is at an all-time high. Michael Fuchs, the deputy leader of Angela Merkel’s political party, recently made the following statement….


    “I don’t think that Greece, in its current condition, can be saved.”


But of course Greece is not the only declining economy in Europe by a long shot.


Italy has a much larger economy, and if Italy totally collapses it will be an absolute nightmare for the entire globe.


Right now, the Bank of Italy is forecasting a significant recession for the Italian economy in 2012.  The following is from a statement that Bank of Italy has just released….


    “The uncertainty that surrounds the medium-term perspectives of the Italian economy… are extraordinarily high and are directly linked to the evolution of the eurozone debt crisis...”


Originally it was hoped that the economic problems in Europe could be contained to just a few countries. But now it has become clear that is just not going to happen...


So will all of this economic trouble eventually spread to the United States?


Of course it will.


The global economy is more interconnected today than ever. Back in 2008 the financial crisis that started on Wall Street ended up devastating economies all over the planet.  The same thing will happen during this next great financial crisis.


Only this time the U.S. is in a much weaker position.  The U.S. debt problem has gotten much worse since the last crisis.
[Source: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/warning-signs-that-we-should-prepare-for-the-worst]

Interestingly, the banner for the website that the article above was taken from contains the following image:

The Economic Collapse Blog

I have no personal agenda in sharing these things. I am not an advocate of political resistance. I am no “tea party” revolutionist. I am a son of God, a citizen of a kingdom that is not of this world. As a teacher and watchman I share that which I see through spiritual eyes.

God is not giving forth these signs of what is at hand in order to drive His sons and daughters to some carnal response. He would not have His children hide themselves away with a great store of goods in some remote and unpopulated region. The will of God, as always, is that His sons and daughters be led of His Spirit in all that they do.

Romans 8:14
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

For years now I have been proclaiming a message of being led by the Spirit, of taking up the cross and sharing in the sufferings of Christ. There will be suffering ahead for all mankind. God will not spare His own from suffering, for it is through many afflictions that we must enter the kingdom of God. A few years back when Yahweh first began sending me across the nation to share with His people, He gave me the following verse as a theme:

Acts 14:22
Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying,"Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."

My life the past twelve years has been one of many adversities. Yahweh has greatly molded me as a son in the past decade and more. There is less of me and more of Christ, but the job is far from complete. Now the Father is indicating that a time is at hand for many more of His sons and daughters to walk through wilderness places, and to traverse an afflicted path. Endurance, patience, and faith will be required of all who would survive spiritually the days ahead.

I have shared previously that vehicles often symbolize ministry. (Barack Obama rides in a black limousine that the Secret Service has nicknamed “The Beast.”) Yahweh provided a bus for me a couple years ago. It is stamped with the manufacturer’s name and location. It says “Body by Carpenter.” There is a parable in this detail. The bus had been last used for an entertainment platform as some men were taking it to NASCAR races for week-ends of drinking and coarse speech and entertainment. My heavenly Father instructed me to re-fashion the bus into a fit habitation. It is now a place where I conduct ministry and where I live.

The bus is forty years old, having been manufactured in 1972. Forty is a number related to trials and testing, and it is associated with wilderness journeys. I believe the time is at hand for many of Yahweh’s sons and daughters to embark upon wilderness experiences. The abundance of Egypt will no longer be found. Yahweh will try His people with hunger and thirst (Deuteronomy 8:3). They will be led to face enemies, and perils, yet the greatest danger will always be from within. Unbelief, fear, and fleshly passions that wage war with the Spirit will have to be conquered.

Dark days are near at hand, yet there will also be great grace given to those whose hearts trust in God. Yahweh has not given me any time-line of events. I cannot say with assurance when America and Europe will fall, but I do not look for it to be far off. The ships of state are already listing precariously. It is a time for all God’s children to put away the baubles and entertainments and vanity of the world and to seek Him diligently. As the prophet Zechariah counseled the nations, so too do I counsel you:

Zephaniah 2:3
Seek Yahweh, all you humble of the earth who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of Yahweh’s anger.



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Joseph Herrin
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