A common religious view is that Jesus will return and take out his people before "all of the bad stuff" will happen in a future time of tribulation.
Therefore, many sincere Christians think that the U.S. dollar (FRN) will continue to exist until the return of Jesus, or again, stated another way, they think that the present fraud of the dollar can only end with the supernatural power and might of the return of Jesus.
But let me point out a few quick facts from history.
1. Paper money failed in America when it was issued to soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary war, and was devalued to about zero. And Jesus did not come back.
2. Paper money failed in the USA on both sides, north and south, during the American civil war, as it was issued to excess. (Inflation of 100% on the union side, & currency destruction on the Confederate side). And Jesus did not come back.
3. Paper money failed in the USA in the 1930's when, during the depression, banks collapsed by the thousands, there was a bank holiday, and paper money was devalued against gold, which rose from the official price of $20.67/oz. to $35/oz. And Jesus did not come back.
4. Paper money failed in the USA in 1964, the last year silver was issued as 90% coinage. After that, there were a few years of 40% silver half dollars issued, but that was a debasement, because paper money was failing next to silver, which rose above the cost of the coinage, or $1.40 per oz. And Jesus did not come back.
5. Paper money failed in the USA in 1968, the last year that silver certificates were redeemed for silver. And Jesus did not come back.
6. Paper money failed in the USA in 1971 when Nixon stopped the redemption of gold to foreigners who were, formerly, still able to redeem gold certificates for gold. And Jesus did not come back.
7. The current paper money in the USA known as the dollar has already lost 99% of its purchasing power since the time that a dollar was a silver dollar and a day's wage, as a day's wage is now more like $100. And Jesus did not come back!
Do you note a running theme here? If history is any guide, American USA paper money will fail once again, and it might just fail long before Jesus comes back.
In fact, I think paper money will have to fail, world wide, before Jesus comes back, and this study explains why.
So if you are wondering where all the Christians are, and why they are not taking more action to fight against fraudulent money, and support Biblical honest weights and measures, I think it's likely that they are simply deceived.
Worse yet, many Christians try to use government force of fraud and theft to cram their unscriptural views down other people's throats, not only wasting their time, but bringing down a bad name on God and other Christians.
I agree with the "pre tribulation rapture" view, and I have spent years as an advocate and defender of the view at my other site, www.bibleprophesy.org, where I clarify many common misconceptions.
But it is grossly inaccurate to think that there will be no tribulation at all prior to the "great tribulation" to come. Just look around, there is plenty of tribulation in the world today.
In order for me to appropriately address and refute a common religious viewpoint, I must go to the Bible, and present a more scripturally complete prophetic view. If you are uninterested in the discussions that Christians have over such things, you are free to stop reading.
I think Jesus will let the fraud of paper money fail, world wide, and let the world enjoy the fruits of honest money one last time, before the mark of the beast.
There are several prophetic reasons, besides the guide of history, to suggest that paper money will fail, and not be a feature of a world economy, but rather, gold and silver will be used as money, and will be very important at the time of the end.
I will list three key scriptures that show the importance of silver and gold as it relates to prophecy.
First, the wealth of the world will be gold and silver and it is said to be collected to Jerusalem by the time of the end.
Zech 14:14 Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected great quantities of gold and silver and clothing.
Second, gold and silver appear to be used in the economy of Israel. Their wealth in gold and silver is the cause of the invasion, in Ezekiel 38-39, which many people place at the time of the return of Jesus, whether they believe in a pre, or post tribulation return of Jesus.
Ezekiel 39:13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, "Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?"
Third, the antichrist is said to control "the treasures of gold and silver".
Daniel 11:43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
While Daniel says "Egypt," it is important to note that the term "Egypt" is sometimes used to describe Jerusalem in scripture.
Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Clearly, Jesus was killed in Jerusalem, hence the gold and silver is to be gathered to Jerusalem by the time of the end, as indicated by those three verses.
Today, however, it appears that the gold of the world is being dispersed to and among the people of the nations, not gathered to one central location.
For example, in recent years, India has been importing about 800 tonnes of gold per year, while world mining produces 2500 tonnes per year, and central banks may be selling about 500 to 1000 tonnes per year on top of that. In dollar terms, world gold mine production is $80 billion, and India imports $25 billion in gold.
To help put India's gold imports into perspective, India's average per capita income is $1016 per year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_India
India's economy is $1209 billion, making gold still an insignificant portion, 2%, of the economy of one of the world's poorest nations, and world's largest gold importer.
Yet, India, one of the world's poorest nations by capita, consumes nearly one fifth, or twenty percent, of the world's gold.
This is a dispersion of gold, or gifting of gold, towards the poorest people in the world.
If the poorest people of the world are buying 1/5th of the world's gold, it implies that gold is cheap. It is also being dispersed surprisingly equitably, or evenly. India has over 1 billion people, about 1/6th of the world population!
This more even distribution of gold would seem to be a necessary first step prior to setting up a world monetary system that used silver and gold! Isn't that interesting?
God advises his people to buy gold at the time of the end, and he even says why, "that thou mayest be rich".
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Most people in the Church today say this is a "spiritual" message, and not literal. But obeying the literal message is a spiritual action. Buying gold is an act of obedience to hundreds of instructions and passages in the Bible, to avoid fraud, avoid false weights and measures, avoid idols, avoid usury, that men will reap what they sow, etc.
Another scripture shows that most of the world's gold will end up in Jerusalem, and that silver and gold become extremely valuable.
In Revelation 18, we see that at the time of the end, Jerusalem will be buying the world's gold and silver to a large enough degree that when she is destroyed, and can no longer buy gold and other luxuries, the merchants of the world cry over it.
Revelation 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: 12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
In any market, if the major buyer stops buying, prices go down. That implies that if there is a major buyer, like Jerusalem, that buyer was making the price go up.
When the flow of gold turns and reverses, from being dispersed to poor people as it is today, to being gathered to Jerusalem, the price must go up.
Again, for the gold to get dragged out of these hands who are buying it "religiously" today in India and gather it back into one central location in Jerusalem, the cost will be enormous, and the price of gold will have to skyrocket.
How will Jerusalem get the gold?
Bible prophecy suggests to me that the way that the gold will be re-gathered will be as gold is monetized, and used as money again, and if the world powers begin making loans in paper gold, and collecting interest payments in real gold. Usury is the power of compounding at interest and has been called the most powerful force in the world, and so, usury is likely to be the force used to gather the world's gold to Jerusalem, in my opinion.
It could take about a generation, or maybe two.
There are several other reasons I see this as a necessary event, prior to the return of the Lord.
Money is a major theme of prophecy. Specifically, the failure to observe God's laws on usury (lending at interest), lead to becoming enslaved by conquest.
God's wrath and punishments were said to be tied to the monetary crimes of failing to observe the sabbath rests of debt forgiveness, which are a way to stop the continual compounding of usury. (Note, there is little need to obey these "debt forgiveness" laws on the 7th year if you never borrow or never lend, because you would be observing debt forgiveness all the time. Likewise, there is little need to "rest on the 7th day" if you rest from your own works to do the Lord's work.)
Daniel understood this. In Daniel chapter 9, when he heard from an Angel, who spoke to Daniel about the punishment of God increasing 7 times, Daniel saw that the punishment of 70 years of Captivity in Babylon became 70 weeks of years. The final 70th week is to be the future 7 year tribulation of prophecy.
Where in the Bible does it speak of God's punishment increasing 7 times? Leviticus 26.
Leviticus 26:21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
This decree by God, a 7 times worse punishment for rebelling against God and not listening to God, is interesting. It forms the basis of prophecy today, the basis for the upcoming 7 year tribulation.
This decree of a 7 fold punishment is confirmed by Jesus in Matthew 12:43-45, where Jesus describes how if a man is cleansed from an unclean spirit, he may find 7 more spirits return and end up worse off than before.
Getting back to the punishment of God back in Daniel's day, predicted in Leviticus. The reason for the punishment is because the people never obeyed the sabbath times of debt forgiveness. They may have "rested on the 7th day" as most Jews today do, but they probably never set free all debtors and slaves on the 7th years, and 50th years, as required by God's laws. The sabbaths were times of MONETARY DEBT FORGIVENESS, or USURY RELEASE. (Leviticus 25, and Deuteronomy 15)
The Babylonian captivity (going into slavery) allows the land to rest, and is a fair and just punishment for enslaving others through usury, it's literally, "an eye for an eye".
Leviticus 26:34 Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 35 All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.
It makes historic and economic sense. A free people will fiercely fight to be free. An enslaved people would tend to welcome "foreign liberators". Slaves tend to not fight very well in battle, because they have nothing to fight for. Also, a people who falsely think, "God will save me" without having to lift a finger, will find themselves overwhelmingly surprised.
God may work miracles of salvation, but it's usually, if not always, when men act in faith. Not even Jesus could heal when men lacked faith.
In summary, prophecy is about the punishment upon God's people (and ultimately forgiveness) for failing to observe the restrictions on usury, as all debts need to be forgiven, forgotten, and wiped out, for everyone in society, every 7 years. Debt forgiveness is also prophetic for our forgiveness of sins by Jesus.
Revelation 17-18 brings further clarification. There will be three major players, all different. There will be two beasts, a 7th beast, and an 8th, and a woman who rides the 7th beast. This speaks of two world kingdoms that come one after another, the 8th beast is the world kingdom of the antichrist. Nebuchadnezzar of Daniel's day acted like a beast for 7 years, the length of the tribulation, the length of time that appears to be allotted for the 8th beast. The economic system of the 8th beast is "the mark of the beast".
This implies that there will be a 7th beast world kingdom, set up, and lasting for perhaps a generation, prior to the return of Jesus at the start of the tribulation.
World kingdoms have similar features, and Nebuchadnezzar was said to be the "head of gold" on the statue in his dreams. All world kingdoms in human history have used gold as money, and they create a temporary "world peace", as there are no nations left to fight.
Both features of world government appear to be the signs given in Ezekiel 38, just prior to the invasion, and start of the 7 year tribulation. Those two features of world government are world peace, and a high value for silver and gold.
Today, the nations of the world are in debt to their eyeballs, and so are the people. They are increasingly less capable of fighting off a world government.
Remember, the punishment for not forgiving debts is enslavement; so it appears the world will become enslaved to a 7th beast, due to the sin of paper debt money.
The 7th beast appears to be dramatically different than the 8th beast.
The 7th beast is ridden, and controlled by the Harlot, Babylon the Great. The kings of the 7th beast turn on the Harlot to destroy her, and then power is given to the 8th beast.
Revelation 17:16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."
Who is this harlot, and how does she rule the kings of the earth? I believe she rules through lending to the nations, at interest, or usury.
Deuteronomy 15:6 For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.
Proverbs 22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
I believe this woman is Jerusalem, or Israel.
http://www.bibleprophesy.org/rev1718.htm
She lends to the kings of the earth for "security", rather than trusting in the king of kings (God) for her security. That's why her actions are called "harlotry" -- she is an unfaithful wife.
To pay the interest on the national debt, the IRS resorts to extortion. A house built on violence against its own people will not stand.
So, I see that the current world system of "paper usury" will fail, and out of that failure, the world will set up the 7th beast kingdom, which will likely have a monetary system of gold and silver being lent at usury, which will ultimately gather the bulk of the world's silver and gold to Jerusalem.
Then, after most of the gold is gathered there, it creates the lure, the occasion for a "pre Armageddon-like" conflict from Ezekiel 38, that starts the 7 year tribulation. Then, the antichrist arises "after the false armageddon", promising peace, like Christ is expected to do, and likely blaming gold and silver for the world's troubles (when really it was usury), and he brings in his solution, an economic system of the mark of the beast, (probably called "the seal of God") which could be an electronic credit based system, entirely without gold or silver.
And yet, so many tell me that the Bible is "all spiritual" and has "nothing to do with money". What book are they reading?
Did it all really change in the New Testament? No. Nearly all the parables of the kingdom that Jesus told were about money, and result in inconsistent interpretations if you take them as anything other than about money.
A main feature of the millennial kingdom is to restore monetary fairness in the world, and prevent property and monetary theft by thieves, governments, and usurers.
Isaiah 65:21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.
There are, of course, many other blessings of God's kingdom, such as long life, no sickness, (God's free health care plan), no war.
America spends 14% of its economy on health care. Imagine if it had no health care costs, and imagine of all the people who needed health care, and who provided health care, could be productive members of society, instead.
America spends about 7% of its economy on national defense. Again, imagine if all that money were spent on productive things, instead, and if all the people involved in that entire industry could be productive members of society, instead.
As with all things having to do with Bible Prophecy, I've only just scratched the surface. There are many more dimensions, points of view, themes, etc.
Here are a few of my best Bible Studies on the topic of money, I often point people to such articles in direct response to common questions:
1. 666 Mark of the Beast 1998
2. Gold and Silver in Bible Prophecy December, 2001
3. The Great Harlot of Rev 17-18 is Jerusalem, & what that means. October, 2002
4. Bible Verses on how to Manage Money November, 2005
Many say that a central theme of Prophecy is Jesus. I agree. Sin is like debt. When we sin, we owe an unpayable debt to God who decreed that sin leads to death, and thus, demands a blood sacrifice. Jesus came to settle our debts, to end debts, to buy back us slaves, and to tear down all authorities and powers.
Jesus bought us by paying his blood for us.
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
There is one final reason to suspect there will be a time of peace and prosperity that a world government using silver and gold as money would bring.
Many people today are in dire poverty, too poor to even have time to read or have anyone teach them the gospel.
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
What greater witness than to have the world experience the provision of God, an economy based on gold and silver, which will allow great wealth the world over, to be able to hear what God says about his kingdom, and money.
But just as all times of freedom and prosperity do not last, and just as God's people fell back into bondage time and time again as described repeatedly all through the book of Judges, it will cycle again just the same.
Then, the great squeeze on gold and silver will begin. The people of the world will, once again, grow poor by usury, as they always do after they experience great wealth and freedom, and Jerusalem will grow rich by usury.
The people of the world will blame gold for their misery instead of correctly blaming usury. Gold is described as their "stumbling block".
Ezekiel 7:19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
Even in this verse, gold is described as something of extremely high value, as not even gold shall save them. The phrase has no meaning if gold is worth little, but only has meaning if gold is worth quite a lot.
The world will then turn on Jerusalem and God, and be deceived by the mark of the beast.
Finally, Jesus will return to restore an honest free market economy based on silver and gold, with no usury, or at least with proper Biblical limits on usury, for the rest of the millennial kingdom.
While owning gold cannot save an unrighteous person from the wrath of Jesus, it is important to note what gold is. Gold is God's provision, his gift, his tool for us to conduct peaceful and honest trade with others, and could very well be his holy mechanism to fulfill prophecy in many ways, particularly further the gospel in the last time.
Yes, I own paper money cash, too, and I don't know how to avoid it. I can't force supermarkets and other stores to take silver or gold, so I must have some cash. And for people who want to sell silver or gold to me, such sellers only take cash, which I must have. So, yes, I do have, and use, some paper money, but I try to limit it as much as I can.
By using paper money, I admit that I violate all of the ten commandments.
Thank God Jesus died for my sins, because I need the forgiveness badly.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
1John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Mat 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
I suppose I could avoid the use of unrighteous money altogether if I became a wanderer with a group of 12 disciples like Jesus did, but I simply don't have the courage.
Knowing what sin is, by the study of the Old Testament, I find I cannot avoid it, but I can try to minimize it in my life.
This paper was written Jason Hommel and I'm not affiliated with any relgious organization. This is a non-denominational study. So, is it reliable?
How does the Bible say to determine the truth of such things? Here's one way.
1 Corinthians 14:29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
And please share this document with your pastor of your Church, and ask him what he thinks. Don't accept any sort of glib dismissal such as "there are no signs before the imminent rapture", which is contradicted by Rev 3:3, AND 1 Thess 5:4. Why would we be told to watch, if there is nothing to watch for? Ask him to put the verses above into a better context than I did. Ask him how could there be a rapture before a 7 year tribulation, and what is the tribulation based on, if not Ezekiel's mention of 7 years in Ezekiel 39, and Daniel's 70th week in Daniel 9. Ask him if Paul's reference to "peace and safety" in 1 Thess 5:3 is not a direct reference to Ezekiel 38, and if it's not a reference to that, then what other passage?
Sincerely,
Jason Hommel
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