Revelation

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Prerequisite/Law

Lesson: 1-30

Genre: Talk

Track: 169

Dictation Name: RR129A1

Location/Venue:

Year: 1960’s-1970’s

Revelation 1.

“1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”

The book of Revelation is unusual in the Bible. It declares itself to be the revelation of Jesus Christ, so that it is primarily, not only the word of Christ through the apostle John, but it is also a revelation of Him. We cannot see the book primarily as a forecast of things to come. This is the usual interpretation, and certainly the book of Revelation has much to say about history. But it is first and last the revelation of Jesus Christ, and its purpose is that the readers might know their lord better, might know Him fully.

It is moreover, unusual in this respect: It pronounces a blessing on all who read it: “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein:”

So that, we have no right to neglect this book. There is a tendency, unfortunately, on the part of many to neglect it. This morning, I heard on the radio two different ministers speaking, one who clearly believed nothing in the Bible, the other claimed to believe everything in the Bible, but what he preached, purportedly from this book, was basically his own thinking. And he was setting times and dates, which are forbidden.

Because of these extremes, many people fight shy of this book, they neglect it. But we are forbidden to do so. And a blessing is pronounced upon all who read it. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ, a blessing is pronounced upon all who read it, and it is the closing book of the Bible, and is the summation of the Biblical message. There are marked parallels between Revelation and every other part of the bible.

Indeed, it would be possible to go through the various sections of the Bible, and find the marked parallels to the books of law, to the books of history and prophecy, to the gospels, to the epistles; all these things are caught up as it were, and brought to their conclusion in Revelation. There are, for example, marked parallels between Genesis and Revelation. The first gives us paradise lost, the second paradise regained. The first the creation of heaven and earth, the second a new heaven and earth. In the first the curse enters, sin, sorrow, suffering, and death. And in this last we are told: “There shall be no more curse, sin, suffering, sorrow, or death.” In the first the tree of life is barred from man, and in the second at last the tree of life is restored. The first gives us a picture of four rivers watering the garden, and the last a picture of the pure river of the water of life, for all saints. In the first, communion between God and man is destroyed; in the last, that communion is restored in its perfection. In the one work is cursed, and the other blessed. In the one, man is out of harmony with nature because of his fall, in the second man is again at peace with God and nature.

We could also summarize too the parallels between Exodus and Revelation which are even greater than those with Genesis, and we shall see these parallels subsequently in greater detail. In Exodus, God defines Himself as the one who cannot be defined: “I am that I am.” And we have similar declaration based on the Greek language this time by Jesus Christ: “I am Alpha and Omega.” Israel is told in Exodus 19:6 that they are called to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. In Revelation 1:6, the apostle declares that Jesus Christ, through His atoning blood, hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father. In Exodus we are given the directions for the building of the tabernacle, and it is to be at the center of the camp, signifying the tabernacling presence of God the Almighty. In Revelation we are given, beginning in the very first chapter, a picture of Jesus Christ as the Tabernacling presence in the center of the lampstands or candlesticks in the center of the church, so that the parallel is made with Exodus, that even as there the tabernacling presence was in the center of the camp, so now the tabernacling presence is in the heart and the center of the church, the true church of Jesus Christ.

There are many, many more parallels, the golden candlesticks of Exodus 25:37, now set forth, the church in Revelation 1:20. But even more fundamental to the whole of Revelation, we have in Exodus the plagues on Egypt. And there is a marked division between the first three and the latter seven, of which more, in subsequent weeks. And we have these latter seven plagues repeatedly cited, amplified in Revelation; in chapter after chapter of Revelation in various forms.

Again, there is a marked parallel between Moses whom we meet in Exodus, and Jesus Christ, as the greater and true Moses, who leads His people in an Exodus from captivity, unto deliverance. The true Exodus of the people of God from slavery to freedom. The law was given in Exodus, and our Lord interpreted that law in the Sermon on the Mount. And the Sermon on the Mount was prefaced with beatitudes who found salvation in Christ and obeyed His law, every jot and tittle of which were to stand. And there are seven beatitudes pronounced in Revelation beginning with 1:3, the pronouncement of a blessing upon those who read. The fullness of promises for obedience, for faith and obedience.

Jesus Christ is presented as the true law giver, and as the leader from slavery to the promised land. His appearance is again that of the tabernacling presence, and even as in the center of the camp there was the tabernacling presence which was consuming fire to the enemies, and a pillar of fire to the people of God, in the midst of the church, in the midst of the candlesticks, in the midst of the camp of the New Testament, Jesus Christ appears, like burning fire. His mouth, speaking like a two edged sword, come to lead His people out of Egypt, to repossess the promised land.

But because the church even as the old Israel is a mixed multitude, he begins with letters to the seven churches. The seven churches, typifying as the number seven does, the fullness of the church, the totality of the church in every age. So that He speaks the word to the persecuted church, to the lukewarm church, the apostate church, to the poor church. To every church a word, a word of warning, of judgement, a word of encouragement, and a word of hope.

The word comes from Jesus Christ, the first begotten of the dead, who declares that “I was dead, and am alive evermore.” This word is important. Because the book of Revelation was written first and foremost by the apostle John to the saints of his day, and written, secondarily, to us. What was their predicament? It was 60-70 years since Christ had ascended into heaven. 30-40 years since the fall of Jerusalem. Only a handful of the saints remained who had known Christ. And this handful, aged men all, as they came to church rejoiced in the memory of that which they had known, and their greeting became a kind of liturgy which survives in the records of the church. And as these tottering old men were brought to church and saw one another, they greeted one another with a joyful cry: “Have you seen?” “We have seen.” “Have you heard?” “We have heard.” Have you touched?” “We have touched.” And these words are echoed by the apostle John at the beginning of his first epistle.

There were many more who could remember the now martyred Saint Paul and Saint Peter, and the other saints. But for all of them there was the grim, the present reality of persecution. The great age of miracles from Pentecost to the fall of Jerusalem, sent by God as a testimony to Israel before the end, that He whom they had persecuted was alive and at work in their midst. That day was now gone, and all they knew was the growing cloud of persecution, so that they could echo the words of the Old Testament and of Saint Paul: “For Thy sake we are slaughtered like sheep, all the day long.”

And so the cry of the church then was: “What, and how long oh Lord, how long?” And the Lord tells them subsequently that this cry of the saints ascended from the altar unto heaven, and the book of Revelation is the answer.

“Behold He cometh, with clouds.” The coming with clouds is cited over and over again in the scriptures as a sign of coming with judgement, and it refers to every coming by God in judgement upon this world, and it culminates of course in the final judgement. And Jesus Christ then speaks: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” These words are repeated, over and over again, and they came with a jolt and a shock to everyone that heard them.

Because the words were, in a sense, extremely familiar. They were a repetition of that which they saw in more than one pagan temple; but with a difference. Plutarch tells us that the great temple of Isis at Sais had an inscription that read: “I am all that has come into being, and that which is, and that which shall be; and no man hath lifted my veil.” If we go to the documents of the Zoroastrians such as the (Boondagesh?) we find a similar statement, and wherever we turn in antiquity, we find this same statement repeated over, and over, and over again. And although the wording varies from place to place, from tempt to temple, it remains basically the same in meaning. What does it say? It purports to be the voice of the Gods or of a God, a blind impersonal, evolving power within the cosmos, which declares that: “All has come into being, everything in the past, I am. And everything which is, I am. And everything that shall be, I am, and no man hath lifted my veil. I am unknowable, because I am a blind voice working, and I myself do not know my tomorrows.”

The God of antiquity, the God of all religions outside of the Bible is this blind force, and its future might be a glorious one, tomorrow men might evolve into supermen; but tomorrow also the world might go out with a bang. There is no certainty, therefore there was no hope. “No man hath lifted my veil.” When Saint Paul on Mars Hill called attention to an altar, to the Unknown God, and said that that altar epitomized their faith, he spoke truly. That altar could have been translated, more accurately, as to the “Unknowable God.” To the unknowable God. Because how could he be known, when God could not know himself, being blind force, blind energy.

And so, when they heard Saint Paul speak concerning the revelation, they asked him to speak to them formally. Could this be the next step in the blind evolution of the god or gods in the universe? But when he spoke about a personal God who was their judge, who should come to judge the quick and the dead, they turned away from him. Rather than face a God who was over them, they preferred the hopelessness and the pessimism of an unknowable god, who could not be their judge. And this was the faith of antiquity. The Isis inscription assumed the continuous potentiality in God, an unknowable, untrustworthy, unpredictable force in the universe. And this is what is preached in the pulpits today.

This is what Karl Barth’s speaks about when he speaks of the freedom of God. By which he means that God can contradict himself tomorrow, so that what is moral today can be immoral tomorrow, because who can say what God is, today, tomorrow, and the next day? He is simply the power, emerging and evolving blindly, in the universe.

Jesus Christ declared: ‘I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the ending, the Lord which is and which was, and which is to come, the almighty. I am the sovereign Lord, and I ordain all things, and I come in judgement. Because I am the creator of heaven and earth, the prince of the kings of the earth, and all things are in my hands.” There is no book that speaks more about predestination in the Bible than the book of Revelation. The whole of it is premised on the absolute sovereignty of God. Revelation cannot be true, and we are back to the temple of Isis with Plutarch, if God is not the sovereign God who ordains the beginning and the end. Who declares indeed that the princes of the earth are under him. If his word is not true, that known unto God are all His works from the foundation of the earth.

“I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

John says: ‘I John, your brother and associate in the persecution, and also in the kingship and constancy of Jesus, to me Jesus Christ spoke, and this is His revelation. He spoke to me in my persecution, and His greeting is one that comes to you.’ “Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits” (Or the totality of the Holy Spirit) “which are before his throne.”

Grace and peace, to a church in tribulation. Grace a peace. The words can be translated: ‘May peace and prosperity be yours.’ Because grace has not only the limited meaning we sometimes give it, a spiritual one, but it also conveys the meaning of prosperity. Because the grace of God is that which prospered Abraham; prospered Joseph, prospered the saints in every age. Because God is Lord of heaven and earth, when his grace comes upon us, it affects the totality of our life. And one of its subordinate meanings is prosperity, it is the prospering, it is the making alive, it is the flourishing of us, body and soul. Materially and spiritually. And the word of Christ to His suffering church through John: “Grace and peace be unto you.”

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day,” (The day of resurrection, the first day of the week, on the isle of Patmos, a prisoner.) ‘And the word of God came unto me saying: “Write what thou seest in a book. Send unto the seven churches that are in Asia.’ “And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;” (Or lampstands).

In the concluding verse the candlesticks or lampstands are identified as the seven churches, and the angels, or the seven stars as the angels, or angels can be translated messengers, of the seven churches. Some scholars state that this is a term here used for the pastors who are to be the messengers of the word.

The word then is to the seven churches, the totality of the churches of Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ as the great king and priest, who holds the whole of creation, the keys of Hades and of Death in His hand, and He that liveth and was dead: ‘I have experienced all that man can experience, so that no one can say unto me: “You are putting us through tribulation which you yourself know nothing of.’

“and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” ‘As sovereign therefore, I declare:’ “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be,” ‘Forever.’

Christ speaks therefore as the creator, the Lord, the Predestinator of all history. If He were anything less, he would be a weak God and savior, and irrelevant to history. But because He controls all things, He therefore is our God and savior. And therefore He can speak with certainty about the things which come to pass, since they come from His hands, and move in terms of His purpose.

He declares therefore, that: ‘Because all things are fully determined by me, they are determined unto this end: that my kingdom prosper.’ This then is His word to the saints of old, and to the saints of every age, a word of comfort. A word of strength, and the assurance of victory.

The book of Revelation is a book to live with and travel with, because it carries in it the marching orders for the church, and the assurance of triumph.

Let us pray. Our Lord and our God, we give thanks unto Thee for Thy sovereign world. And we thank Thee that Thou art the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the ending; the Lord which is, and which was, and which is to come; the almighty. We thank Thee that history is in our hands, but our times are in Thy hands who doest all things well. And so, our God in this confidence we come to Thee, to await Thy word, to march in terms of Thy word, to stand and do battle in terms of Thy word, and to conquer by Thy word and Thy Spirit. Our God we thank Thee, in Jesus name, amen.

Are there any questions now? Yes.

[Audience Member] ...?...

[Rushdoony] No, this does not deny free will unless you misinterpret free will. First of all, free will is quite a term. There are two senses in which we can speak of free will. Absolute free will, which is possible only with God, because only God in the primary sense has free will. We do not have the freedom to be where we want to, or do what we want, or be born when we choose; we cannot say: “Go to now, I would like to remain 39, and remain 39 for the rest of our lives.” Nor can we say: “I am tired of living here, I am going to become tomorrow a Scotchman and live in Scotland.” Just like that, “I am going to go back to a period of history I like and live then.’ We don’t have freedom. We are born with certain inherences, aptitudes, into a particular time and place in history.

Primary, freedom of will, belongs to God only. In that sense no man has free will.

Secondary free will, we do have. What is secondary free will? Secondary free will is the freedom to be what we are. In other words, I have the freedom to be what I am in terms of my aptitude’s, my nature, my predisposition, my background, my training, and so on. I cannot say, tomorrow: “I want to be another Paganini.” And lo and behold I am a Paganini. I cannot say tomorrow that: “I choose to be 10 years younger.” I don’t have that freedom. But I am free to be what I am, and it becomes a dictatorship when someone tries to prevent me from becoming what I am, what my nature calls me to be.

Now, in this secondary sense everyone has free will. With some people their will is totally corrupt, so their freedom is only to do evil. This is true of all sinners. With us as Christians, because we are regenerate, our free will, secondary free will, gives us freedom to do both good and evil. But because Jesus Christ is the new man in us, our basic bent is to do that which is good.

Now, in the state of glory in heaven, when we are perfectly sanctified, our free will, will be to be what we are, but wholly good. Without sin. So that, free will as it applies to the creature is in the secondary sense. But most of the argumentation that you hear about free will versus predestination is my humanist’s, or people who are fighting against the basic doctrines of scripture, so they say: “Man must have a godlike free will, or else I will not believe the Bible.” In other words, they are saying: “I refuse to believe the Bible, because I insist on becoming God.” And most people when they talk about free will and say that the Bible denies free will, are talking about free will in the primary sense, which is possible only for God.

Another question?

[Audience Member] ...?...

[Rushdoony] Yes, tribulation can come in various forms; some Christians, weak ones, are sometimes their own worst tribulation. It can come in various hardships, sufferings we endure, in the circumstances, and the conditions and burdens of our lives; and it can also, and the basic tribulation, is the persecution from the world. And of this Revelations speaks primarily. It was writing to Christians who were facing three centuries, almost, of persecution. At least two, two and a quarter centuries. During which time the Roman Empire had one purpose; to wipe out the church. And after that of course it faced tribulation in that Arian or Unitarian Emperors wanted to wipe out Orthodoxy.

We are facing tribulation today in that it is the purpose today to eliminate the faith from the church. And those who stand in terms of it are treated with the utmost savagery. Sometimes I think in cases I know about, that if it weren’t for at least a background of Christianity and civilization that is rapidly disappearing, in some church councils, those who have stood for the faith, men would have liked to have torn them apart physically. The hatred is so intense. So we are facing again that kind of tribulation.

Yes?

[Audience Member] ...?...

[Rushdoony] Yes, these were seven literal churches. The conditions in each case were very, very real ones. So that our Lord singled out seven churches as typical of different kinds of churches, to typify problems within the church at every age. Now of course in some ages there will be more churches of one kind than another, but these are the problems that the church faces. These are the sins that beset the church. And our Lord speaks the word of warning to each, or the word of encouragement.

We shall take each of the letters separately, probably, because they are extremely important and have a great deal to say I think to our time again. More so than almost any time in the past few centuries.

[Audience Member] ...?...

[Rushdoony] Yes, the book of Acts says that we through much tribulation must enter into the kingdom of heaven. Now, when you realize this world is fallen, a sinful world, and we represent an alien power as far as the world is concerned, we are ambassadors as it were from that power, to a world that doesn’t want any ambassadors, and says: “We don’t recognize your kingdom, therefore we are going to kill you, eliminate you.” And is waging war against the king whom we serve. Therefore we are hostages as it were. Its purpose is to eliminate us, everything that we represent. So that the tribulation is a very real factor.

But, the victory is a very real factor to. Because Christ is not going to surrender the world to the devil.

Are there any other questions? Yes.

[Audience Member] ...?...

[Rushdoony] What was that?

[Audience Member] ...?...

[Rushdoony] Not at all. But… Yes. The question was: “Is it wrong to discuss or argue with people who have different religious opinions.” Not at all. But be sure they don’t put you on the defensive. In other words, don’t allow them to say: “Well, I don’t like this or that, or I don’t like that.” And make you apologize or try to defend the Bible. The answer to them is: “And who do you think you are, God almighty? Does the world have to be as you want it? Does the Bible only have to have in it that which is pleasing to you?” Carry the fight into the enemies camp always. So don’t allow them to put you on the defensive. Just treat their questions the way they should be, as arrogancy. Because they are sinners, and you have to recognize that they are, and they have to be challenged, confronted with the fact that they are sinners. Yes?

[Audience Member] ...?...

[Rushdoony] Yes. Well, you tell them: “If that is where you belong, that is where you will be.” And don’t allow them to throw you. Just be sure that it doesn’t bother you, because they say this for a purpose, to upset you. They talk about being unconcerned about death, in an endless nothingness as they speak of it, or hell, if there is a hell. But I have been beside enough death beds, and I have seen enough of them when they thought they were dying, and they are frightened men. Yes?

[Audience Member] ...?...

[Rushdoony] Yes. Right.

[Audience Member] ...?...

[Rushdoony] Yes, they are brave only in talk.

This past week I read something of considerable interest from the April number of Nations Interest 1967, which I think is very telling. It is on Uruguay, where the welfare state runs wild. Montevideo Uruguay, “Two hundred imported buses are rusting away on the open dock here, while Uruguay and government bureaucrats bicker with each other over payment of port charges. The buses have not moved in nearly four years; scores of men listed under false, female names, receive regular government handouts through Uruguays socialized hospitals, they are listed as wet nurses. At many government offices there are twice as many public servants as there are desks and chairs; the trick is to get to work early so that you won’t have to stand during the 4-6 hour work day that Uruguay bureaucrats enjoy. It is rather common for government workers to retire on full pay at 45. It is equally common to collect on one retirement while holding a second job, or to hold a job while collecting unemployment compensation. These are a few of the facts of life in Uruguay, a nation gone wild over the welfare state. Instead of being the pride of Latin America as it was just a few years ago, Uruguay has become a major concern for its neighbors, Brazil and Argentina, as well as the United States. A hyperactive communist party in Uruguay now controls 80% of the trades union movement. Communists hold positions, or have great influence throughout the government, from the bottom to very near the top. The national workers conference is a communist controlled labor overlord. It replaced the respected labor organization which apathy, inefficiency, and corrupt union officials tore apart with communist help in 1966.”

And it continues to say that between 40-45% of the two and six tenths million people in this once affluent land are now dependent upon the government for their total income. That is nearly half. These include youthful pensioners who have no great problem getting themselves fired or declared redundant, thereby qualifying for large retirement benefits. The scope is vast for unemployment pay, family allowances, workers compensation, pregnancy leave, paid vacations. With it has come inflation. In one recent year inflation soared 90%. In a year of more restraint, there is still 40% inflation. At any given moment, 8-10 strikes are going on in that nation, which until 15 years ago called itself the Switzerland of Latin America, because its people were so industrious, busy and meek. Montevideo is now one of the world’s filthiest cities outside the Orient. People have so little pride left, they litter their streets with paper and dump their nastiest garbage on the curb.

It is difficult to find a person in Uruguay who does not freely say that the country is going to pot, that welfare statism has been taken much too far, that government rosters are loaded with the lazy and the cousins of politicians. It is also difficult to find a person who is willing to trim back on government if his own favored position is threatened. Uruguayans ear more meat than any other people in the world, but in their capitol city of Montevideo, with over 1 million people, only a government owned meat distribution system is allowed. There are 8 and half million cattle in Uruguay, scores of meat packing plants and slaughterhouses. It is one of the two or three best lands in terms of the soil and grass for cattle in the entire world. There is nothing in the United States that compares for its carrying capacity.

There are eight and a half million cattle in Uruguay, scores of meat packing plants and slaughterhouses. Yet, this government system cannot supply Montevideo with a regular supply of meat. Beyond the outer fringes of the capitol, literally across the road from the city limits, dozens of private butchers have set up meat supermarkets. Shops are immaculate, price seldom varies, choice of cuts is wide, and the price is only a peso or so higher than the irregularly supplied government shops. Private shops are busy, money-making, customer-pleasing places. Meatless days are unheard of. Once flourishing markets for Uruguayan meat in Britain and France have almost all been lost by government operations. The grade of Uruguayan canned meat is so poor that is sells badly in advanced countries.

Fine Uruguayan wool is among the best world, in a class with Scottish and Australian wool. The world market has not been healthy for some time, but the Uruguayan market has been sick for years. In seventeen years the number of sheep in Uruguayan fields has dropped from 26 million to 22 million. During those years the wool wearing population of the world increased by 1/5th.

Inflation effects money like laziness effects people. Both destroy. In 1950, the Uruguayan peso, South America’s most solid coin was worth 50 cents. During a six day period last February, the value of the peso slumped from 72 to the dollar, to 77 for the dollar. The cost of living went up 88% in 1965. During 1966 the increase was something like 40 to 50%, and so on.

Now, this was done, first by going off the gold standard, and second which is the logical step from the first, going on to the welfare state. And Uruguay is to all practical intents finished, the communists could take it any day they chose. It is not likely that our course will be much different, because we are embarked on the same basic course, we are simply not as far along. Actually we have even more serious problems than confronts them, because being basically an agricultural country they could very quickly right the situation if there was a will and faith to do so. Yes?

[Audience Member] ...?...

[Rushdoony] Yes, it has been thought of by a number of American groups, I believe the Mennonites thought of it as a refuge from this country because it was so stable, but of course that has changed very radically now.

[Audience Member] ...?...

[Rushdoony] That I don’t know. Yes?

[Audience Member] ...?...

[Rushdoony] Yes, but in Brazil too, inflation is now underway, and there is no construction there a recent visitor told us, except on a cost/plus basis, because the cost of labor and materials goes up so rapidly that it is impossible to accept any contract. It is a very serious situation in Brazil. And this is becoming true of virtually all of Latin American and most of the world.

Well, our time is up and we stand adjourned.