ABOUT GOLD

1. What does the Bible say about GOLD?

a) Gold is mentioned very early in the Bible. The Garden of Eden had a river flowing out of it that fed four other major waterways. One of these rivers, named Pishon, flowed into a land named Havilah, where there was great quantities of the valuable mineral (Genesis 2:10 - 12).

b) In the Old Testament there are seven (seven is a number that symbolizes perfection) Hebrew words used to refer to gold. The first and most common word used is Zâhâb (Strong's Concordance #H2091). It is from a root word that literally means to shimmer or shine like gold.

c) The second word is pâz (Strong's #H6337), which refers to pure or refined gold and sometimes refers to spiritual purity and glory. The word betser (Strong's #H1220), found only in Job 22, refers to the metal when it is broken up. Chârûts (Strong's #H1220) is used to reference gold that is chopped or cut off in pieces or parts. Kethem (Strong's #H3800) refers to the precious metal that it is in a state as pure as originally mined. Sâgar (Strong's #H5462), found only in Job 28, references the metal as a solid. Lastly, Dehab (Strong's #H1722), which occurs only in the books of Daniel and Ezra, is another way the Bible makes a general reference to gold.

2 . Mining the metal

a) Scripture lists at least 6 places in ancient times where gold was known to be found. They are Havilah (Genesis 2:11 - 12), Ophir (1 Kings 9:28; 10:11; 1 Chronicles 29:4; 2 Chronicles 8:18; Job 22:24), Parvaim (2 Chronicles 3:6), Sheba (1 Kings 10:10; 2 Chronicles 9:9; Psalm 72:15), Tarshish (2 Chronicles 9:21, Isaiah 60:9) and Uphaz (Jeremiah 10:9).

3. What is a talent worth?

a) Generally speaking, gold in the Bible was many times valued by weight using a unit of measure known as a Talent. A talent weighed about 75 U.S. pounds or 34.3 kilograms, which is equivalent of 1,094 troy ounces. If we assume a modern price of $1,500 per troy ounce of the metal, a talent in today's money would be worth $1,639,500. At $1,750 per troy ounce, a talent would be worth $1,912,750 (close to two million dollars)!

4. Some golden facts

a) According to the World Gold Council, the best estimates available suggest the total amount of the precious metal mined in human history (to the year 2009) is approximately 165,600 metric tons (182,491 U.S. tons).

b) Although in antiquity it was relatively easy to obtain geologically, 75% of all gold ever mined has been extracted since 1910 A.D.

c) One-hundred million people around the globe depend on gold-related industries for their livelihood.

d) The largest stash of gold in the United States is not at Fort Knox, but at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who holds 7,000 metric tons (7,716 tons) of bullion in its underground vault in Manhattan..

5. Golden Prophecy

a) The prophetic book of Revelation refers to gold or something that is golden no less than 22 times! It will play a major role in the prophetic End Time events that will occur before the return of Jesus.

i) Seven golden lampstands are referred to three times in Revelation (1:12, 1:20 and 2:1).

ii) In a vision, Christ revealed the book's prophecies to John clothed in a golden girdle or band (1:13).

iii) Twenty-four elders around God's throne wear golden crowns and offer incense to the Eternal in golden bowls that represent the prayers of the saints (4:4, 5:8).

iv) An angel with a golden censer will be given incense to offer on an golden altar that is in front of God's throne (8:3)

v) In the end time, locusts wearing something (symbolically?) like a golden crown will be given the power to torment humans for five months (9:7)

vi) There will sadly be those, during the Great Tribulation, who even after a great deal of trials and suffering will REFUSE to repent of their sins and give up their 'idols of gold' (9:20)

vii) Jesus will appear in the end time in a cloud, wearing a golden crown and carrying a sickle (14:14)

viii) John is shown a woman, wearing fine clothes and gold jewelry, who has a golden cup in her hand. Her name is MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT and she rides a scarlet beast (17:3 - 5)

b) God will someday, very soon, create a NEW heavens and a NEW earth. He will personally make a new Jerusalem, complete with streets of pure gold, and lower it from heaven unto a new earth so that he can dwell with mankind forever (see Revelation 21).