The Scourge of Usury

Scripture is quite clear on the issue of Usury, but, as Al Thompson explains, key texts have been watered down in translation. Worse, there is every reason to believe that Peter’s Apocalypse, by Christ’s leading disciple, was left out of the Holy Bible because of its stern warning about the punishment for oppressing our brethren with it.

By Al Thompson
(Abridged by Real Currencies)

I was reading the Apocalypse of Peter which appears to have been written by the Apostle Peter mentioned in the Gospels, and found this startling verse:
“And into another place near by, saturated with filth, they throw men and women up to their knees.  These are they who lent money and took usury.” (Ethiopian Text)

“And in another great lake, full of discharge and blood and boiling mire, stood men and women up to their knees.  These were those who lent money and demanded compound interest.(Akhim Text)

I have studied the Bible for over twenty years, and I never regarded the making of loans with interest as a sin.  But when I read this Apoclypse I was stunned.

In many reference books about Biblical literature, this Apocalypse was referred to as “Holy Scripture” in the early Christian church.  Given the power bankers have because of interest, it is very possible that the financiers of that time could not tolerate the Apocalypse of Peter to be read, otherwise, they would lose their stranglehold on the economy.

I decided to do a study on usury to see if I had overlooked something, and this is what I found:
“If thou lend money to my people, that is, to the poor with thee, thou shalt not be as an usurer unto him: ye shall not oppress him with usury.”  (Exodus 22:25 GB)

I just noticed how the King James Version watered down this verse:
“If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as a usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.” (Exodus 22:25 KJV)  There is a big difference in the use of the words oppress and lay upon because the word oppress is more specific in its description of the effects of usury.

“Moreover, if thy brother be impoverished, and fallen in decay with thee, thou shalt relieve him, and as a stranger and sojourner, so shall he live with thee.  Thou shalt take no usury of him, nor vantage, but thou shalt fear thy God, that thy brother my live with thee.  Thou shalt not give him thy money to usury, nor lend him thy vittles for increase.” (Leviticus 25:35-37 GB)

“Thou shalt not give to usury to thy brother: as usury of money, usury of meat, usury of anything that is put to usury.” (Deut. 23:19 GB)

There appears to be a conflict in teaching between the following verse in Deut 23:20 and Leviticus 25:35-37. And the wisdom of deciding which is true scripture and which is not lies within the contradiction. There isn’t any sense in attempting to harmonize the contradictions, but to simply point them out and use the weight of the evidence to arrive at a truthful conclusion.

“Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury, but thou shalt not lend upon usury unto thy brother: as usury of money, usury of meat, usury of anything that is put to usury.”(Deut. 20:20 GB)

It is my opinion that this one verse is a false periscope because it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the scriptures.  In light of this contradiction, one must state the obvious, that the charging of usury was forbidden by God.

“And now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, and our sons as their sons: and lo, we bring into subjection our sons and our daughters, as servants, and there be of our daughters now in subjection, and there is no power in our hands: for other men have our lands and our vineyards.”  (Nehemiah 5:5 GB)

Are we all not subject to the bankers of today?  We are like the cattle grazing in the pasture getting fattened up for the slaughter.  The source of our slavery is the sins we all have committed and we refuse to correct ourselves.

Usury is sin.  Let’s continue in Nehemiah 5:6-7 :
“Then I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.  And I thought in my mind, and I rebuked the princes, and the rulers, and said unto them.  You lay burdens every one upon his brethren and I set a great assembly against them.”

Moving over to Psalms 15:4-5 we see this:
“In whose eyes a vile person is contemned, but he honoreth them that fear the Lord: he that sweareth to his own hindrance and changeth not.  He that giveth not his money unto usury, no taketh reward against the innocent: he that doeth these things shall never be moved.”

Now we will come upon Proverbs 28:8 and find out why usury is a sin.
“He that increaseth his riches by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance.”

So there it is, if usury is considered unjust gain; then it would come under the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.”

Thus, the whole financial system of the world is built upon usury, it is Satanic, and does not serve God in anyway.  The financial system as it exists today defies the natural law of economics and there is nothing good that can come from it except its eventual and complete failure.

Jeremiah the prophet stated:
“…I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent unto me on usury: yet everyone doth curse me.”  Jeremiah 15:10

And the conclusion of the matter appears in Ezekiel Chapter 18:4-5:
“Behold, all souls are mine, both the soul of the father, and also the soul of the son are mine: the soul that sinneth shall die.  But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbor’s wife, neither hat lain with a menstruous woman, Neither hath oppressed any, but hat restored the pledge to his debtor: he that hath spoiled none by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment.  And hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, but hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, and hath executed true judgment between man and man,….”

Moving on, we see in Ezekiel 18:13:
“Or hath given forth upon usury, or hath taken increase, shall he live?  he shall not live: seeing he hath done all these abominations, he shall die the death, and his blood shall be upon him.”

Simply stated, usury is in the same class of sin as idolatry, fornication, violence, and many other sins. A just man feeds and helps the poor.  But our whole economic existence depends upon usury which will eventually collapse itself into an extreme imbroglio.

Here’s the solution.
“But if the wicked will return from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep ally my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, and shall not die.  All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him, but in his righteousness that he hath done, he shall live.”  (Ezekiel 18:21-22 GB)

Continuing in verses 27 and 28 of the same chapter:
“Again, when the wicked turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.  Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, and shall not die.”

And now in verse 30 we are told what to do.
“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, everyone according to his ways, saith the Lord God: return therefore, and cause others to turn away from all your transgressions: so iniquity shall not be your destruction.”

Now let’s go to verses 31 and 32:
“Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?  For I desire not the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: cause therefore one another to return, and live ye.”

I tremble when I think about all of the loans I took out in my lifetime; and now just finding out just how perverse the financial systems of the nations of the world are under the current system of banking.

Concluding:
It is a real “jaw-dropper” to realize that something which we do in our everyday lives (feeling completely normal) is in fact a transgression against the commandments, against the God who created us.

And it is a stunner to realize that the commandment against usury has been in the scriptures for over 3000 years.  It is no wonder the Apocalypse of Peter was removed from the Church as it was probably in complete apostasy at the time of its removal.

If any man had read the Apocalypse of Peter, how willing would he be to participate in usury?

Banking as we know it could not exist without usury.  And it certainly could not exercise such extraordinary power over the nations if there was not usury.  Few wars would be started, because any sensible government would not want to spend their hard earned resources on the military.  And it is the banking interests that facilitate the starting of wars; then funding the rebuilding and reconstruction of the conquered.

To adjust the economy to stay in line with God’s law is the only way to make it work properly.

Getting rid of the oath and usury would be a powerful correction and nothing but good things would come from it

NOTE: This article is originally published at this website:
http://realcurrencies.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/the-scourge-of-usury

A truly inspiring article on the usuryfree lifestyle enjoyed in the middle ages:
http://usuryfree.blogspot.com/2011/02/life-without-usury.html 

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