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money the government can print.
The deficit between collccted
taxes and government spending
can be made up through printing
extra money. But the effect of
these shortsighted policies soon
becomes a pparent. Mo re and
more paper money c hascs the
avai lable goods and services- the
result is inAation.
Witness the situation in the
United States today. Since 1971
lhe dollar has had no relationship
lO gold. Multibillion dollar defi–
cits in government spending have
been covered by printing extra
dollars. Because the dollar is not
convertible to gold, there is no
check on government spending
and the citizens suffer from con–
sequent inAation.
1nAation becomes a vicious cir–
cle with everyone eventually los–
ing. As Voltaire concludcd, "AII
paper eventually returns to its
intrinsic value-zero." In 1871
the Briti sh economist David
Ricardo noted, "Experience has
shown that neither a state nor a
bank ever had the unrestricted
powcr of issuing paper money
without abusing that power."
The United States, blessed with
staggering wealth, vast natural
resources, and phenomenal indus–
trial and agricultura! output, is in a
serious financia! situation. l t
makes no sense- except for the
fact that national leaders were
quite prepared to dilute the value
of the nation's money supply. The
decision defrauded the citizens by
s tealing the purchasing power of
wages and savings. This sinister
aspcct of inAation was explained
by the British economist John
Maynard Keyes in 1919: " By a
contin uing process of innation,
governments can secretly and
unobserved, confiscate an impor–
tant part of the wealth of their citi–
zens." Mr. Keynes himself advo–
cated this form of government pol–
icy.
But as people begin to experi–
ence inflation and see thcir
wealth quickly disappearing. they
try to protect themselves through
investing and speculating in more
stable commodities, including
gold. Speculation in gold is a
symptom, anda warning, of a dis-
10
torted government-ravished econ–
omy.
It
is a sign of loss of trust
and faüh by men in their own
system and political leaders.
IdeaJiy, the best world moneta–
ry system would involve one
world government, with one
national treasury, one currency
and one monetary system. The
questions of gold currency ex–
change and balances (overvalued,
undervalued or "floating") would
be largely irrelevant. But such a
world government today is out of
the question. Who wou ld decide
the power structure in such a
man-devised world govcrnment?
Leaders and nations each jealous–
ly guard their power and sover–
eignty.
But a supreme world govern–
ment is prophesicd in the pages of
you r Bible, and in the very near
future. Yet this world govern–
ment will not come about through
the efforts of man, but in spite of
him.
lt
will have to be established
by the Creator God. And be
based upon his law of love, the
Ten Commandrncnts. More than
2,500 years ago, the prophet Dan–
iel, in captjvity in Babylon, inter–
preted a vision of King Nebu–
chadnezzar, which out lined the
rule of men up until t he "last
days." "And in the days of these
kings shall thc God of heaven set
up a kingdom which shall never
be destroyed, and the kingdom
shall not be left to other people,
but it shall break in pieces and
consume all these kingdoms, and
it shall s tand for ever" (Daniel
2:44). This supreme event in
world history is as sure as the
rising of the sun!
At that time there will be one ·
supreme world government:
"And the Lord shall be king over
all the earth: in that day shall
there be one Lord, and his name
one" (Zechariah 14:9). No longer
will people be ruled over by
power-hungry mortal and very
human political leaders. Nor will
the citizens of this divine King–
dom live in grinding poverty as
the rnajority of people do today.
" For brass
1
will bring gold, and
for iron 1 will bring silver, and for
stones iron: 1 will also rnake thy
officers peace, and thine exactors
righteousness' ' ( Jsaiah 60: 17).
What a change from today's
world! True freedom, prosperity
for all people, with justice pervad–
ing everywhere.
Then-Gold's True Value
In spite of its luster and its impor–
tant stabilizi ng role in the world's
financia! system, gold is justa yel–
low metal. Its only monetary sig–
nificance is what man attributes to
it. When the Spaniards arrived in
the New World, they found the
native 1ndians placed little value in
the metal because of its relative
abu ndance.
1
n some of the islands
of the South Seas, sharks teeth
served just as adequately as the
medium of exchange. Gold has no
intrinsic value, only what men
think it's worth.
Al the closc of this age, when
men will be face to face with the
threat of annihilation, gold will
become worthless in men's eyes.
1
t
will be enough just to be able to
survive. The prophet Ezekiel
wrote, "They shaJI cast their silvcr
in the streets, and their gold shall
be removed: their silver and their
gold shall not be able to deliver
thern in the day of the wrath of the
Lord ..." (Ezekiel 7: 19)-the
time when an angry God must step
in to save mankind from itsclf.
God's judgment against the sins
of this modero day and age will
begin by giving man
unrestrained
opportunity
to use the evil inven–
tions of his mind. Man has always
used the weapons he has inventcd.
So we read in Zephaniah 1:13, 17-
18: "Therefore their goods shall
become a booty, and their houses a
desolation: they shall also build
houses, but not inhabit them, and
they shall plant vineyards, but not
drink thc wine thereof. And
1
will
bring distress upon men, that they
shall walk like blind men, because
they have sinned against the Lord:
and their blood shall be poured out
as dust, and their ftesh as dung.
Neither their s ilver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them in the
day of the Lord's wrath: but the
whole land shall be devoured by
the fire of his jealousy: for he shall
make even a speedy riddance of all
them that dwell in the land."
On ly when gold becomes
The PLAIN TAUTH