Introduction
In the Bible, gold and silver are mentioned frequently, often symbolizing wealth, power, and status. As we approach the end times, many Christians wonder what role these precious metals may play prophetically. Will they retain value? Should we invest in them? What do they represent spiritually?
In this comprehensive blog post, we will explore what the Bible reveals about gold, silver, money, and finances in the last days. We’ll look at key passages and analyze what they could mean for believers today.
Key Takeaways:
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- Gold and silver will likely have value early in the tribulation period
- The Antichrist will gain financial control midway through the 7 years
- Money will eventually be worthless compared to food
- Storing up earthly treasures now shows misplaced priorities
- God will provide for His faithful people supernaturally
- The mark of the beast will be tied to finances and commerce
- Material wealth will not last, but heavenly rewards will
Now, let’s dive into Scripture and see what we can uncover about precious metals and money in the end times prophecy.
- Introduction
- Gold and Silver Will Have Value Early in the Tribulation
- The Antichrist Will Gain Financial Control
- Money Will Be Worthless Compared to Food
- Storing Up Earthly Treasures Shows Misplaced Priorities
- God Will Provide for His Faithful People Supernaturally
- The Mark of the Beast Will Be Tied to Finances and Commerce
- Material Wealth Will Not Last, But Heavenly Rewards Will
- Conclusion
Gold and Silver Will Have Value Early in the Tribulation
During the first 3.5 years of the tribulation period, also known as the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:8), gold and silver will likely still hold value, acting as currency and a store of wealth. Life on earth will proceed largely as normal, except for an increasing frequency of natural disasters, wars, famines, and plagues (Revelation 6:1-8).
People will still buy and sell using money, including precious metals like gold and silver. As the book of James says,
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. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. (James 5:1-5 NKJV)
This passage rebukes the unrighteous rich who hoard their wealth and exploit workers. James warns them that their gold and silver will one day “corrode” or tarnish. This implies the metals will be intact early on, even if they eventually decay and lose value.
Similarly, the first four seals of Revelation 6 involve a rider on a white horse (the Antichrist), a rider on a red horse (war), a rider on a black horse (famine), and a rider on a pale horse (death). Each seal portrays the main events and conditions on earth in the first half of the tribulation.
When the black horse rider appears in Revelation 6:5-6, he is holding a pair of scales, representing economic instability and rationing of food. But money itself still has value:
When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:5-6 NKJV)
A denarius was a silver coin, a common medium of exchange in the Roman empire. This passage implies that gold and silver coins will still be used for trading goods in the first half of the tribulation, even amid economic turmoil.
Based on these verses, we can surmise that money, including precious metals, will likely continue to have value early in the end times scenario described in the Bible. However, this changes halfway through the prophesied 7-year period…
The Antichrist Will Gain Financial Control
At the midpoint of the tribulation, the Antichrist (also called the beast) will gain total authority over the world’s financial systems.
Revelation 13 describes how the beast will control commerce:
He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. (Revelation 13:16-18 NKJV)
This “mark of the beast” will be required to participate in the economy. No one will be able to buy or sell without it. The Antichrist will gain complete monopoly over money, wealth, and trade.
How does he pull this off? Earlier in Revelation 13, we get the first clues:
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. (Revelation 13:11-15 NKJV)
This passage describes a second beast who prepares the way for the Antichrist. He will deceive people through signs, miracles, and fire from heaven. These supernatural displays will convince many to make an “image to the beast” – likely meaning a financial system that enables the Antichrist’s total economic control.
This global financial infrastructure will allow the mark of the beast to function as a requirement for buying and selling. The Antichrist does not just control money – he controls the entire system of commerce. He will manipulate economic conditions to force people to worship him as savior and god.
As the book of Daniel says about the beast:
By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great…He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god; those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price. (Daniel 11:23-24, 39 ESV)
The beast will be a master of deception, using financial leverage to gain power and force allegiance. His economic monopoly will make money and wealth meaningless compared to basic necessities.
Money Will Be Worthless Compared to Food
Midway through the tribulation, money will rapidly lose value compared to tangible goods like food and water. We already saw a glimpse of this in Revelation 6:6, where an entire day’s wages (a denarius) only buys a quart of wheat.
Hyperinflation and scarcity will accelerate as the Antichrist solidifies control. He will create financial conditions that benefit his regime, while everyday commerce becomes nearly impossible for ordinary people. What good is gold if you can’t buy daily bread?
Jesus predicted this financial crisis, warning people not to get caught up in greed, materialism, and earthly wealth before that day arrives:
Then He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses…Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:15, 33-34 NKJV)
Rather than accumulating gold and silver, Jesus commands his followers to build up heavenly treasures through generosity – values that will not fade away or be destroyed like earthly riches.
The book of Proverbs gives similar warnings about trusting in money instead of God’s provision:
Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven. (Proverbs 23:4-5 NKJV)
Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage. (Proverbs 11:28 ESV)
As the end approaches, believers must evaluate where their trust lies – in earthly money and possessions, or in God alone? All the gold and silver in the world will mean nothing if it distracts our hearts from what truly matters.
Storing Up Earthly Treasures Shows Misplaced Priorities
Jesus’ blunt words about money carry profound significance for the last days:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV)
Hoarding gold and silver to financially prepare for the tribulation shows misplaced priorities. It reveals a heart trusting more in earthly security than heavenly provision.
God may use savings strategically to bless and provide for others. But stockpiling wealth for self-preservation during the tribulationElevation Worship New Song 2015) shows lack of faith. It attempts to secure earthly life without considering eternal rewards.
As 1 Timothy 6:7 reminds us, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” Our earthly possessions and wealth cannot follow us beyond the grave. Only treasured laid up in heaven will last.
The book of Revelation even laments those who still cling to material riches, even amidst judgment, saying:
The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. (Revelation 9:20 ESV)
In the face of immense disaster, many stubbornly cling to worthless idols – trusting in earthly treasures like gold instead of turning toward God. Don’t let obsession with money eclipse your eternal perspective.
God Will Provide for His Faithful People Supernaturally
Despite the trials coming in the last days, believers can rest assured God will provide for those who faithfully follow Him. His provision will be supernatural, beyond dependence on earthly wealth.
In Exodus 16, when the Israelites had no food in the wilderness, God rained down bread from heaven, saying:
“Behold, I am going to rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.” (Exodus 16:4 NASB)
God miraculously met their needs, requiring only that they gather the manna day by day. He will provide again for His people during the tribulation, including through supernatural multiplication of food. As Jesus said:
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33 NASB)
Rather than worrying or relying on material goods, Jesus calls us to focus on pursuing Him and His ways. God knows exactly what we need and will take care of His children.
In the psalms, David echoes this promise of provision for those who trust the Lord:
“I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.” (Psalm 37:25 ESV)
Just as God provided manna and quail for the Israelites in the desert, He will supply for the needs of the righteous in the end times. We can trust Him, even amidst scarcity and hardship.
The Mark of the Beast Will Be Tied to Finances and Commerce
This mark of the beast, mentioned earlier in Revelation 13, will be a pledge of allegiance and loyalty to the Antichrist and his regime. It will also enable participation in the economic system. No one will be able to conduct commerce without it:
He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17 NKJV)
This inextricable tie between worship of the Antichrist and financial transaction will put enormous pressure on believers. Those refusing the mark will face poverty, starvation, or worse. Each person will have to decide: is eternal salvation worth holding fast, even at the cost of one’s life? Millions of martyrs will lay down their lives in refusal of the mark and confession of Jesus as Lord.
There will be no middle ground. The mark will be a blood oath of surrender to Satan’s system or die. As Revelation 14:9-10 warns:
Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.” (NKJV)
The stakes could not be higher. Let this glimpse of the future strengthen our resolve to resist idolatry and materialism today.
Material Wealth Will Not Last, But Heavenly Rewards Will
Jesus’urgency around forsaking earthly treasure makes perfect sense in light of eternity. The judgment coming upon the whole earth in the tribulation will obliterate material goods and human accomplishments in a moment:
Since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:11-13 NKJV)
Just like His first coming ushered in a new covenant that superseded the old, Jesus’ return will establish a new heaven and earth that nullifies the present corrupt age of sin and death.
The treasures we store up now either in heaven or on earth determine how we will weather this transition. Our spiritual inheritance remains versus any earthly wealth.
Storing up heavenly rewards through faithfulness positions us for indescribable blessing in the world to come. As Jesus said:
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:19-20 NKJV)
The treasures we store in heaven will far outlast and outweigh any earthly possessions. Make it your priority to pursue heavenly rewards through a life of godliness, generosity, and eternity-focused vision.
Conclusion
Evaluating what Scripture says about gold, silver, and money in the end times gives us a sobering eternal perspective. We cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24).
The worship of idols, whether literal statues or the idolatry of greed and materialism, will leave people tragically unprepared for Christ’s return. The mark of the beast will force a decision between allegiance to Christ or Antichrist.
May this prophetic glimpse instruct us to steward our resources wisely and generously today. Trust God to provide daily needs, forsake greed and covetousness, and invest in heavenly rewards that will never fade. Set your heart and treasures on Christ and His eternal kingdom.
