The national debt has soared out of control to the tune of almost $16 trillion. While it may seem like an insurmountable number, best-selling author Joel C. Rosenberg believes there is a way out—if only the American people will “come to their senses.”
And, it has nothing to do with bi-partisan politics.
Charisma News caught up with Rosenberg, who has written six New York Times best-seller novels—The Last Jihad, The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option, The Copper Scroll, Dead Heat and the Twelfth Imam—to discuss the national debt and Israel’s relationship with the United States.
Charisma News: In Chapter nine, you are quoted as saying, “There is still a way out of this mess, and that is good news. But, the window to get started on such reforms is rapidly closing.” Will the government, in your opinion, have enough fortitude to adopt plans such as that of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan or the Heritage Foundation that you talk about in Implosion, and just how much time do you think they have to do so?
Rosenberg: I hope so. But, we haven’t seen it yet. Just on the debt side—and think about this—we have blown past $15 trillion of debt. And, now we’re facing $65 trillion worth of promises the government has made us regarding Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare that we can’t afford to make good on.
It’s as though we are on the Titanic, and we’re heading toward this debt iceberg. Rather than slow the ship down or turn away from these icebergs, we’ve accelerated toward them. We’ve gone from $300 billion to $400 billion annual deficits under President Bush—which, as a conservative, I was horrified by—to $1.2 trillion annual deficits under President Obama.
We have increased the speed of Titanic by a factor of four. Anyone who saw the movie knows that’s not going to work. We saw the movie in 3-D in the spring, and we’re about to experience the Titantic in 4-D if we don’t turn this ship of state around. That’s just one area that we’re in trouble.
The reason I put the Ryan plan and the Heritage Foundation plan in the book was not to make a partisan point. What I’m trying to show is that here are at least two plans where it is technically possible to get ourselves out of this financial mess. It’s going to be hard, but people have done the math and shown a way out.
But, the question you’re asking is one that I can’t answer; nobody can. My question is: Does the American people have the moral resolve not to let ourselves hit that debt iceberg or not?
On the moral side, let me pick one example, but there are a lot of them. I want to note the issue of abortion; it’s such a painful issue. It ought to be painful. Since 1973, we have seen more than 53 million abortions in the U.S. If nothing changes, in the next few years we will hit 60 million abortions. That would put us at 10 times the number of human beings murdered than the Nazis murdered during the Holocaust.
When you realize that fact, regardless of your political background, you have to ask yourself, “At what point does God remove His favor and His hand of blessing from the United States and/or outright begin the judgment of the United States?” That’s how much danger we are in.
The pro-life movement has done a wonderful job in many ways to reduce the number of abortions. We’re making a case. But it’s not enough. Yes, it has saved hundreds of thousands of lives because the abortion rate is down from its peak. But we’re still killing more than a million children every year.
Look at what happened to Nazi Germany and how God allowed that country to be destroyed from without. I’m not saying that we don’t have hope; it’s just that we’re running out of time.
Charisma News: Can you talk in detail about what you mean in chapter six, when you described the rebirth of Israel as a “super sign?” And, are you saying that our future depends upon how we handle our relationship with Israel?
Rosenberg: In Genesis, chapter 12, the Lord is clear. Those who bless Israel, He will bless. Those who curse Israel, He will curse. One of the reasons that God has been particularly merciful to us beyond what our sins really merit as a nation is because we have been such a blessing to Israel and the Jewish people since 1948.
On top of all the other terrible mistakes we’re making as a country, if we were to turn against Israel, this would be, in my view, the straw that breaks the camel’s back. This would be the point at which I think the Lord will actively turn against the United States. He may turn against us anyway. We are living right now on His grace and mercy. To betray Israel would be suicidal for us as a nation.
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