Silver & Gold Today and in the End Times

 
Gold Today
Today, there is probably about 5 billion ounces of above-ground gold in the world, enough to fill about three Olympic size swimming pools (200m x 50m x 2m).  Experts estimate that about 20-25% is in central bank vaults, about 50-60% is in jewelry and about15-20% is held privately as coins and bullion, so only a total of about 2 to 2.5 billion ounces are in tradable form, enough to fill about one and a half Olympic size swimming pools.

Silver Today
Although men have probably mined about 50-100 billion ounces of silver, most has been used up in industry or discarded, so experts estimate that the total quantity of above-ground silver today is actually about 5 billion ounces - about the same as gold.  Of this, about 80% is estimated to be in jewelry, silverware, mirrors, photographic film, batteries, solar cells, electronics, etc., and about 20% (1 billion ounces) is estimated to be in bullion form (i.e., coins and bars which can be easily traded) - about half of the amount of gold bullion.  However, it could be two or three times this quantity, as some people or governments may be secretly hiding some.

Holding Gold and Silver Today
The US Coinage Act of 1792 defined a US dollar as 0.84869 ounces of silver, but the US later went off the gold standard in 1933 and off the silver standard in 1965.  Most countries today have followed this practice, so most people today don't think much about holding gold and silver, especially since state-controlled schools do not teach students about the history of coinage and how debasing any currency has ultimately led to the end of the currency. 

However, since the time the Federal Reserve System was established in 1913, people estimate that cumulative inflation due to the printing of paper money has been somewhere between 1000% to 5000%.  That means that the dollar today is worth somewhere between 2 to 10 cents compared to its original value in 1913.  This is illustrated in today's silver price.  The US dollar is now worth about 0.0579 ounces of silver, down 93%, even though silver is still greatly undervalued due to its industrial consumption in excess of new production.  Unless the Fed stops inflation and massive new discoveries of silver are brought above ground, we might see the US dollar become worthless and gold and silver prices continue to climb.

Since gold and silver prices have quadrupled since 2000, more people are buying gold and silver, and several countries are currently minting gold and silver coins.  For example, Mexico has silver coins called the “Libertad,” which are currently valued (in terms of their paper currency) at several times their value when they circulated, and demand for such coins appears to be increasing.  At the same time, a growing number of investors are buying up gold and/or silver, because they see it as a hedge against inflation.  This has especially been true since the introduction of two electronically traded funds (ETFs), GLD (which is backed by real gold and is intended to follow the London spot price of gold) and SLV (which is backed by real silver and is intended to follow the London spot price of silver.)  These two funds have made it easy for people to hold gold and silver in their stock portfolios without taking physical possession.

Holding Gold and Silver in the Future
Since most countries no longer back their currencies with gold and silver and since 99% of retail transactions in industrialized countries are now done electronically, most people in the world expect that gold and silver will never again be useful as a standard means of coinage or for retail transactions.  However, some people disagree.  They believe popular demand will bring back gold and silver into everyday use.  In either case, simple math tells us that the historic value will one day return.

Calculating the Theoretical Values of Gold and Silver
Just divide the total estimated amount of money in the world by the total amount of gold and silver.  Assuming that we have US$50 trillion in the world today (using the approximate world GDP) and also assuming gold is historically worth 15 times what silver is worth, then here's what we get:

Theoretical price of silver = US$50 trillion / (15 x 5 billion ounces of gold + 5 billion ounces of silver)
                                         = US$50 trillion / (75+5 billion ounces of precious metal)
                                         = US$50,000 billion / 80 billion ounces of of precious metal
                                         = US$625 / ounce

Theoretical price of gold = 15 x price of silver
                                        = 15 x US$625 / ounce
                                        = US$9,375 / ounce

Check the math: US$625/ounces x 5 billion ounces of silver + US$9,375/ounce x 5 billion ounces of gold
                            = US$3,125 billion + US$46,875 billion
                            = US$50,000 billion
                            = US$50 trillion

Of course, by the time this happens probably nobody would accept US dollars for either of these metals.  When will it happen?  Maybe this year.  Maybe 50 years later.  Only God knows.  However, the Bible clearly indicates that the value will come back before or during the end times.

Who wants prices to remain so low?
There are two main groups of people who don't want silver's price to go up: industry owners and bankers.  The industry owners use silver to manufacture their products, so a rise in silver prices would raise their cost of goods sold.  Bankers make their money based on usury (charging exorbitant interest) and on promises they make to pay back their debts.  They also control all or most of the world's governments, which usually rely on the psychological value of their fiat currencies.  Thus, they certainly don't want their system to be disturbed or appear to have any flaws.  For now, God is allowing them to dupe the public and keep the price of silver low, but it won't go on forever like this.

Prophecies Regarding Gold and Silver

At the time of the end ... the king of the North (the man of lawlessness) ... shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt. (Daniel 11:40,43)

From this (and other OT prophetic verses) we can see that gold and silver will have value during the time of the end.  Otherwise, why would anyone want to have power over their treasuries?

In the latter years you (Gog of Magog, Russia, who will be leading a great army with troops also from Iran, Ethiopia and Libya) will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely.  You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you ... and you will make an evil plan: You will say, ‘I will go up ... to take plunder and to take booty ... silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods. (Ezekiel 38:8-13)

From this we can see that several nations will attack Israel with the intent of stealing their silver and gold. Thus, silver and gold will have value in the end times. Also, Israel will be loaded with it. How they accumulate it is a question to ponder.  Israel is already strong in biotech industries.  Some people say that there may also be great mineral deposits under the Dead Sea.

Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst.  For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem ... And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths ... Judah also will fight at Jerusalem.  And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be gathered together: gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.  (Zech. 14: 1,2, 12, 14)

From this we see that in the end the gold and silver of the world will be gathered together in Jerusalem.  Thus, it will have value to Jesus as He rules His millennial kingdom from there.

Retail Transactions in the End Times

He (the beast out of the earth) 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)

From this we can see that there will be a society with strict centralized control of the currency or currencies and all or most business transactions.  Some people call this a "cashless society", but cash can take many forms, so to be precise, it may be a "society free of retail transactions using coins".  How the government will do this is unclear, but it's most likely to happen in stages.  First, there are technology concerns, then security concerns, then convenience concerns and finally economic concerns.

The technology for an implanted RFID chip is already available and is already being used for animals and some children, elderly and mental patients.  These chips can store data and be used like smart cards.  They can also be used with the Global Positioning System (GPS) to track movement.  The media's coverage of terrorism is instilling fear in people's minds, and there is now talk that blonde-haired, blue-eyed young people will become terrorists, so the day may come when people will be asking the government to chip them to prove they are are not terrorists.  Adding personal financial data to ID data would not be difficult, so convenience plus safety plus economic incentives could make it happen quickly.  Young people today like credit cards, debit cards, smart cards, internet banking, etc. Nobody likes waiting in line at the bank.  The coming, new super-fast internet called "The Grid," might also open the door for quick, cheap internet access and e-commerce for rich and poor alike.  Finally, a collapse of the world's economic system might be the final stage for the mark of the beast to gain universal acceptance.  Will Christians be gone by then?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  For further study, see the links below.

Questions for Discussion

  1. How will conventional wisdom on currencies become ineffective in the current strange situation in which the entire world is flooded with dollars (and perhaps approaching the end time)?

  2. When will silver and gold will regain their historic values (or perhaps when will God move the banking cartel to allow this)?

  3. When will the US dollar die, and what will replace it (or what will be used in addition to it)?

  4. How will we sell gold and silver when it's time to sell?

  5. Will non-physical forms of silver and gold become worthless at any time before the tribulation?

  6. How does the USA fit into all this? Will it slowly fade away or die suddenly?

  7. Whom should we listen to in order to hear God's plans for the coming disasters (Amos 3:7)?

References and Further Study

  1. Silver, by Jay O'Keefe: http://somehelpful.info/Money/Letters/Letter008.htm

  2. 4 Fundamentals of Silver, by Jason Hommel: http://www.silverstockreport.com/2008/fundamentals.html

  3. Gold: Prices, Facts, Figures and Research: http://www.galmarley.com/framesets/fs_commodity_essentials_faqs.htm

  4. SLV Silver ETF, by Adam Hamilton, June 20, 2008, about the history and purpose of the SLV Silver ETF: http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_digest_08/hamilton062008.html

  5. Uses of Silver: http://www.silverinstitute.org/uses.php

  6. A Brief Explanation of the Project to Monetize the One Ounce Silver "Libertad" Coin:
    http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/salinas102806.html

  7. The Silver Bridge, by Hugo Salinas Price:
    http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/salinasprice/2007/0517.html

  8. RFID Microchip Implants and Bible Prophecy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v6xUGSrApk&feature=related

  9. North American Union and the V-chip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuBo4E77ZXo

  10. Coming Soon: Superfast Internet:
    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3689881.ece

  11. The New Al-Qaeda- Blonde Haired, Blue Eyed Westerners:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBO7xBpJtoc

  12. For your own Bible study on gold and silver, you might want to try the Blue Letter Bible online concordance which utilizes Strong's Concordance - one of the best tools available for word searches: http://blueletterbible.org/

  13. Jason Hommel has also written an article / Bible study about money, investing and silver: http://www.silverstockreport.com/2008/stumblingblock.html

 

 

This article is the responsibility of Theodore Spaeth, and it is public domain.
Scripture verses are taken from the NKJV. 
This page was last updated on 20 October 2008 .