True Wealth
In the
beginning, there was true wealth. Natural resources and food were in
abundance. The first human family had no lack. And there was no
paper money, no credit cards, no loans and no financial debts.
Barter trade was
employed as no monetary system was in existence. Goods and services
were exchanged for other goods and services. It was based on mutual
agreement and needs. As simple as it was, there were however some
transactional problems.
Barter was only
possible when coincidence of wants occurred. Before any transaction
could take place, each party must be able to find another party who
had something that he needed, and to supply something the other
party desired. Next was the problem of the exchange rate. How many
apples for how many oranges, and how many cows for how many lambs.
Third was the trouble and risk of storing the perishable food and
commodities while waiting for the right party to come, and also to
agree on an acceptable barter exchange rate.
God is good. In
the Garden of Eden, there was gold. And the gold was good. And as
time passed, man discovered gold.
Now a river
went out of Eden to water the garden,
and from there it parted and became four riverheads.
The name of the first is Pishon;
it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah,
where there is gold.
And the gold of that land is good.
Bdellium and the onyx stone are there.
(Genesis 2:10-12)
God created pure
gold to be the unshakeable medium for transactions of goods and
services for the human race. His economic system of commerce and
trade would withstand inflation, deflation, currency and monetary
crisis. It was solid, stable and supreme, not subjected to the
manipulation of men and market ups and downs.
The Gold
Standard was the Biblical basis for transactions of goods and
services. God is the author of this excellent standard, not man. He
also established the weights, and their measurements so as to
protect men and women from their greed of money.
Honest
weights and scales are the LORD's;
All the weights in the bag are His work.
(Proverbs 16:11)
Gold was very
rare and precious! It needed to be mined and refined before becoming
valuable.
I counsel
you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire,
that you may be rich; and white garments,
that you may be clothed,
that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed;
and anoint your eyes with eye salve,
that you may see.
(Revelation 3:18)
The Gold
Standard was good until the political rulers and money changers
corrupted it. They added cheap base metals to their gold.
Come now,
you rich,
weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
Your riches are corrupted,
and your garments are moth-eaten.
Your gold and silver are corroded,
and their corrosion will be a witness against you
and will eat your flesh like fire.
You have heaped up treasure in the last days.
James 5:1-3
As gold was no
longer pure and rare, inflation took place. More gold pieces were
artificially created to purchase the same amount of good and
services, resulting in rising prices! Land and properties became
more expensive. The prices of daily commodities also rose
remarkably! It was not because the good and services were better and
of greater value, but because the money had lost its intrinsic
value.
The other
problem was the dishonest weights and scales of the money changers
and bankers. They cheated on their customers by weighing heavier
when selling, and lighter when buying. On either way, the customers
lost out.
You shall
not have in your bag differing weights,
a heavy and a light.
You shall not have in your house differing measures,
a large and a small.
You shall have a perfect and just weight,
a perfect and just measure,
that your days may be lengthened
in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
For all who do such things,
and all who behave unrighteously,
are an abomination to the LORD your God.
(Deuteronomy 25:13-16)
Dishonest
scales are an abomination to the LORD,
But a just weight is His delight.
(Proverbs 11:1)
The money
changers were even doing their unrighteous and deceptive business in
the Temple of God! Jesus called them a den of thieves, and drove
them out.
Then Jesus
went into the temple of God and
drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple,
and overturned the tables of the money changers and
the seats of those who sold doves.
And He said to them,
"It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,'
but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"
(Matthew 21:12-13)
Originally, the
value of money was determined by the intrinsic value of the precious
metals such as gold and silver that the money was made of. But to
carry large amounts of heavy gold and silver coins was both
cumbersome and dangerous. As such, financial banks and institutions
began their financial services and functions to ease the
transactions of goods and services.
Banks began to
receive gold and silver coins from their customers, and issued bank
notes. A banknote is a promise to pay the bearer a stated amount of
precious metals stored somewhere. This stored value was usually in
terms of gold or silver coins. These banknotes were transferable
from owner to owner as goods and services exchanged hands. And these
banknotes had the ability to be easily exchanged and converted into
gold and silver coins, its stored value.
Everything went
well as long as these financial institutions were trustworthy and
honest. But in bad times such as wars or revolutions, and even in
good times of progress and development, these banks began to produce
banknotes, not backed up by precious metals. This led to
hyperinflation, and a loss of faith in the value of the paper money.
When people went to redeem their banknotes for gold and silver, the
banks had not enough for every depositor. Many bankers became
bankrupted. As a result, many of them were beheaded for their evil
deeds.
Realizing this
danger of creating money out of nothing, the founding fathers of
America made this provision in the U.S. Constitution:
" No state
shall ...coin money; emit bills of credit; or make anything but
gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts." (From
Article I.10.1)
Very clearly,
the United States of America in the early days could not create
their coins or banknotes without the equivalent backing of stored
gold and silver bars. These early coins and banknotes issued by
Congress were legal tender for the payments of debt, based on the
Biblical Gold Standard.
The initial
coins and banknotes were known as debt money as they could be
redeemed for silver or gold on demand. A good example was the
one-dollar "Silver Certificate" (1935 series). In it was clearly
stated: "THIS CERTIFIES THAT THERE IS ON DEPOSIT IN THE TREASURY
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ONE DOLLAR IN SILVER PAYABLE TO THE
BEARER ON DEMAND." The 1935 dollar bill was an honest and
righteous weight of tangible and redeemable silver.
However, as the
years went by, fiat money came into being. They have no gold or
silver backing. This paper money is issued as legal tender but
cannot be redeemed for anything.
Today, most of
the currencies of the world are fiat money. These bills are nothing
more than pieces of paper with no value. One good example is Federal
Reserve Notes (FRN). A bank note in banking terms is considered as a
debt. It is an IOU that promises to repay the bearer according to
the value stated within. But in any current FRNs, there is no
promise to pay anything except a statement that says: "THIS NOTE
IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE." In other
words, a FRN is an "IOU nothing."
These worthless
paper bills, made of wood and cotton, were in great abundance as
they are easily created and printed. Too much of these paper
currencies chasing after limited goods and services have resulted in
inflation and rising prices. Fewer goods can be purchased for the
same amount of dollars and cents.
Money has
suffered great depreciations and devaluations. Governments begin to
exercise controls through pricing, interest rates, wages, taxes and
such, restricting freedom of trades and businesses. This leads to
poverty and chaos in their own country and other countries, giving
rise to government tyranny and upheaval. By debauching their
currencies, the very foundations of the economy are shaken. The
people lose their trust and freedom! The richer become richer, and
the poor become poorer.
In the past, we
have millionaires. Now, we have billionaires. But has our world
become richer as a result? No, even billionaires borrow money from
banks and financial institutions. They have their own mountains of
debts. The rich and the poor are in debts! The rich and the poor
have become slaves to the banks and financial institutions!
There are a lot
of talks about the transfer of wealth today, and about endtime
Josephs. Many Christians are interested in quick programs of how to
get rich and richer. Many pastors think that Josephs are the rich
businessmen in their congregations. However, I don't believe that
this is necessarily so. Most of today's rich people are rich in
debts: debt based investments, leverage stocks, mortgaged real
estate, and empty paper promises. They have the image of prosperity,
but they are actually slaves to their lenders, having mountains of
debts to be cleared. I have personally known some very rich who are
now bankrupt, owing banks lots of millions.
The rich
rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender.
(Proverbs 22:7)
And it shall
be:
As with the people, so with the priest;
As with the servant, so with his master;
As with the maid, so with her mistress;
As with the buyer, so with the seller;
As with the lender, so with the borrower;
As with the creditor, so with the debtor.
The land shall be entirely emptied
and utterly plundered,
For the LORD has spoken this word.
(Isaiah 24:2-3)
Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy,
and have need of nothing'--
and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor,
blind, and naked--
I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire,
that you may be rich; and white garments,
that you may be clothed,
that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed;
and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
(Revelation 3:17-19)
There is no
subtler or more severe means of overturning the existing basis of
society than to debauch the currency. All the hidden forces behind
these laws of economics and banking are not easy to understand and
diagnose. Most banks are using the dishonest scales of Fractional
Reserve Banking to create money out of nothing. We therefore need
godly wisdom to investigate and take precautionary measures. Our
present civilization is in the midst of a global financial crunch
and collapse unless its defects are honestly understood and remedied
very soon. The worst is yet to come, and the best is yet to be.
And I am not advising you to buy and store gold. But I am asking you
to hear what the Spirit is saying to your heart. Let Him be your
Teacher and Counsellor. Watch and pray. The true wealth is still
human beings! Their salvation is still the heartbeat of Christ!
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