Iran, Europe, and Gold

The 220 kg Gold brick displayed in Chinkuashi Gold Museum, Taiwan

The following news item was of interest:

Iran’s switch good news for gold bulls?

Telegraph, UK – June 10, 2008

Good news for long-suffering gold bugs. Iran is switching a chunk of its $80bn reserves into bullion.

Mohsen Talaie, the deputy foreign minister in charge of economic affairs, said Tehran was pulling its money out of euro instruments (presumably Bunds, BTps, EIB bonds, etc) to avoid sanctions over its nuclear weapons programme.

“Upon the decision of the government’s task force a segment of Iran’s foreign exchange assets will be converted into real assets such as gold and stocks,” he told Iran’s Etemad-e Melli newspaper.

Europe is planning to freeze the assets of Iran’s biggest bank Melli. A draft communique for the EU-US summit on Thursday confirms that Europe is ready to join the crack down on Ahmadinejad.

It all goes to prove the gold bug axiom that nations – like people – will invariably turn to bullion as the ultimate store of value when all is threatened.

Iran’s demarche did not seem to help gold prices today. It slid $9.5 to $883 an ounce, off almost $150 since the giddy heights of February, despite the surge in oil prices. But then the gold angle to this news has not been given any prominence. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/business/ambrosevanspritchard/june2008/goldbulls.htm

The price of gold dropped after that announcement even further (www.goldsilverlive.com), but will likely rise again.

The truth is that while the US dollar will eventually be worthless and the Euro will have problems, the European currency will ultimately be fairly strong. But Iran has other interests.

Some Americans who have sensed that the US dollar will really tank have been buying gold. And while some of that may be a good thing, the Bible warns:

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 5:3).

Additionally, perhaps I should remind everyone that Americans who bought gold and kept it in the USA were forced to sell it back to the USA government in the 1930s. And no matter what the gold dealers say, I believe that in a major crisis the USA government will attempt to seize all the movable assets that it will be able to get its hands on, and this includes gold and gold coins.

On the other hand, I believe that one of the reasons that the King of the North will take over the King of the South is to acquire the “gold of Egypt” (Egypt had a major gold find a year or so ago that is expected to greatly strengthen its economy). I believe that part of the reasons that the King of the North will want the gold is precisely because the US dollar will have tanked and that this acquisition of gold will help show the world that the currency of the final European Beast power is not in the same boat as the US dollar was–as it may then have some type of gold connection/backing.

Notice the following from the Book of Daniel:

40 At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt (Daniel 11:40-43).

And while that scripture does support the idea that gold will be valuable towards the beginning of the great tribulation (while Revelation 18:12 shows that it will be valuable throughout most of the great tribulation), the following verse shows that sometime towards the end of that (during the Day of the Lord), gold (and silver) will be less than worthless:

They will throw their silver into the streets,
And their gold will be like refuse;
Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them
In the day of the wrath of the LORD;
They will not satisfy their souls,
Nor fill their stomachs,
Because it became their stumbling block of iniquity (Ezekiel 7:19).

I suspect this may be because I once heard (and I no longer have the source) that gold and silver may store nuclear radiation better than many other substances, hence after nuclear attacks they may be so unsafe to hold that people will get rid of them. Plus even if that is or is not the case, food will be a such a premium that so-called precious metals will not be precious enough to exchange for something to eat.

There are problems, but it is not gold or silver that will ultimately deliver humans. :

16 How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps his way preserves his soul (Proverbs 16:16-17).

We need to understand that we should be striving for the kingdom of God:

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26…

32 “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matthew 6:19-26,32-34).

It is not gold or riches, but Jesus who can save us from the wrath to come:

…wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

Several articles of related interest may include:

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about? True religion should be based upon the true gospel.
Are You Saved? Do You Love Jesus? What is a True Christian? What is the Gospel? Evangelist Richard Ames answers those important questions.
There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Petra This article discusses a biblical ‘place of safety’ and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on this subject–thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture theory.
Two Horned Beast of Revelation and 666 This article explains how the LCG views this, and compares this to Ellen White.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin?
Is There A Future King of the South? Some no longer believe there needs to be. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? What does the Bible say?
The Arab World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam?