The Prophetic Telegraph - No.34
Money Lovers (PHILARGURISTS)
"The
love of money is the root of all evil."
This is a well-known
saying. it is found in Paul's first letter to Timothy, (
THE ROOT OF ALL
EVIL is a very
profound and all embracing phrase. It tells us that there are many evils at
large in the world, but at the root of them all lies the LOVE OF MONEY.
Now the root of a tree is always hidden from view, and therefore we might
expect man to focus his energies on the VISIBLE evils of the
trunk and branches, the leaves and the fruit of this tree. But Paul tells us to
think deeply about the ROOTSTOCK of this tree. And it is the LOVE
OF MONEY. In the Greek, it is all one word, PHILARGURIA, literally the LOVE OF
SILVER. The reason for this is simple to find. In those days all the
main transactions were carried out with silver coins.
So important is this
subject that before going any further we must read the context of Paul's
statement in 1st Timothy, and the following is the way in which it is presented
in the Greek interlinear Bible.
Piety
with self-sufficiency is great gain; for we brought nothing into this world,
neither can we carry anything out, but having food and clothing, with these
things we shall be satisfied. But those who resolve to be rich fall into
temptation and a snare, and many foolish and injurious lusts which cause men to
sink into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils,
of which some hankering after have wandered away from the faith and pierced
themselves through with many pains. But you, 0 man of God, flee these things,
and pursue righteousness, piety, faith, love, endurance, and meekness.
Seldom does a week pass
without the postman delivering unsolicited mail, in which we are urged to enter
great competitions or computerised prize draws or football pools, with the
chance of winning "big money", or going on lavish holidays, or owning
expensive cars etc. The newspapers carry numerous advertisements from banks and
building societies telling what to do with our money, or how to obtain massive
loans if we are short, and frequently the broadsheet papers have many pages
devoted to the "money markets". Such is the magnetic drag of the
advertising agencies these days. More than ever before, we live in a society
where the ultimate goal of living is to be rich and healthy and enjoy living. I
suppose the world that knows not God cannot think otherwise, but Christians are
also being caught up in this graveyard spiral, and Paul's words are shown to be
timeless in their advice. How urgent Paul was in his warning. How urgent we
should be today for the same reason.
Now let's look at another
side of this question. Many books and Christian magazines have devoted space to
the "grand delusion" of these last days, and quite the majority zoom
in on the Harlot of Revelation 13, and relate it to the Roman Catholic church.
But we should like to emphasise Paul's words again in this paper, that the R.C.
church cannot be the ROOT of evil. The root is the love of money. It is in this
direction that we must look if we wish to unravel all the twists and turns of
evil in society today. The founding-father of the great dynasty of bankers,
Meyer Amschel Rothschild, said in 1791, "Let me control the issue
of a country's credit, and I care not who makes its laws." Behind
all the well-known political faces of government there are unseen powers, the
great banking barons, who are the real "Mr. Bigs" of this world.
In our fellowship we have
recently done another study of the 13th and 17th chapters of Revelation, which
deal with the Beast and the Harlot. And it became crystal clear to us that the
focus of all the evil was MONEY. The context was that of deception, yes, but
the basis was always "buying and selling". The
Harlot declares, "I sit a Queen, I am no widow, and I shall see
no sorrow." It is "all the merchants of the
earth who became rich through the abundance of her luxury." And
when
In another of our papers we
sought to show that there is but little difference between such a practice and
that which now obtains in the credit card, cheque-book arrangements of banking
houses. The Lord will not judge people as fit for the lake of fire if they are
forcibly tattooed in this manner. What matters most to the Lord is contained in
the passage we quoted from Paul to Timothy. God is looking to the HEART, not to
a mere tattoo on the forehead. In our own family, a few years ago, we made the
decision that the whole banking empire was evil, and that we would withdraw
from it altogether, not having any connection with banks or building societies
at all. For a while it worked, but as time went on so we found ourselves in
greater and greater difficulties. In the end we saw that it was utter hypocrisy
to use SOMEONE ELSE'S banking account to cash any cheques that we received. It
has become virtually impossible to live without using the banks today. And
therefore we restored our connection with a high-street bank. Does this make us
condemned to the lake of fire? How many of our readers are able to live without
the use of a banking account? We imagine that there are few, if any. Therefore
all of us are forcibly made to be part of the world-wide banking empire,
whether we like it or not. There is no point in getting all worked up about the
future possibility of this invisible tattoo - we are ALREADY totally immersed
in the system. But I will not accept that because we are all forced to use
cheques that we are all bound for the lake of fire. It does not add up with the
righteous requirements of God.
What is God looking for?
What is it about this financial beast-system that causes Him to be angry? Is it
not the LOVE OF MONEY? Is not this the ROOT OF ALL EVIL? All of us are forced,
daily, to use money. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this. It is the
world-wide method of trade transacting, and therefore we are bound to use it.
But what is our underlying attitude to the money we have in our purses or bank
accounts? Do we love it? Do we pamper it, and care for it, and watch it like a
hawk, saying "A fool and his money are soon parted"?
Do we play the stock market, and dabble in shares? Do we partake of insurance
schemes, that promise us great dividends coupled with other doubtful benefits?
Do we invest our money in "gilt edged securities" and rub our hands
together when our half-yearly interest arrives? Yes, it is our attitude that
matters. Some of God's children are "blessed" with much money. But
their blessing may soon become a curse to them if they do not know how to
handle their riches satisfactorily in the sight of God. The Bible does not
favour grinding poverty, as some would have us believe. But it does teach us,
from cover to cover, the great difficulties that accompany wealth in this
world. Jesus spoke about the camel trying to get through the eye of a needle,
when depicting the difficulty some would experience in trying to enter the
Quite recently [N.B. This
paper was written in January 1991]
Then there was the graph of
bank base rates, causing people to groan, as interest fell to about 8% in 1988,
and triggered off the great property boom, only to jump up to 15% a year later
and cripple vast numbers of people buying their first home. A government which
had any COMPASSION for its people would have avoided this at all costs. They
might argue that it was precipitated by circumstances beyond their control, but
we do not believe that. It was their whole POLICY that was contrary to the will
of God. Interest on borrowed money is allowed by God, but the impression gained
from the Bible is that it should never exceed 5%, and probably half this
amount.
But even though the
government makes conciliatory noises about the evils of high interest rates, it
cannot be hidden that all those who HAVE are reaping handsome rewards for their
investments, whilst those who HAVE NOT are finding it almost impossible to
repay their mortgages. In this way the government has favoured the moneyed
class, at the expense of the poor, and the anger of God is expressed in the
Bible for such practises.
The Inflation graph showed
enormous variations, but sadly for Mrs. Thatcher's image, it ended at almost
the exact point that it was in 1979 when she first became Prime Minister. She
was always emphasising the necessity to keep inflation down, and it was a major
factor in wooing the electorate, but it proved to be no more than mere window
dressing, an outward and visible factor that hid other less-than-noble motives.
Many of us who are old enough can remember days when wages and prices remained
tolerably static for years. There is no reason why this cannot apply today. But
the greedy banking barons are out to sap the very life blood from the world's
population until they possess total control. That is the ultimate goal of the
Beast. But God will not let it come to pass. No sooner than it seems within
their grasp,
Yesterday we learned that
last year just over 24,000 small businesses folded up. The wretchedness and
gloom that surrounds the inevitable situation of bankruptcy has been felt
within our own fellowship by a married couple who now face eviction from their
home, and nothing left in life save a few allowable goods. Furthermore, in the
same period last year there were numerous small firms struggling under enormous
loads, loads that should never be borne by people who want to make an honest
living out of their craft, and who do not seek millions but enough to live on.
Poll taxes and property taxes on these small businesses accounted for many of
the firms that went bankrupt or had to close down before getting to that point.
And yet the Prime Minister created schemes for people who wanted to start up
their own business. The average person in the land is dulled into a stupor by
the controls and conditions made by the government. And all this has come about
by those whose idol, whose god, is the LOVE OF MONEY.
In 1979 the average price
of a house was £5,000. But in 1990 it had risen to £78,000. This increase was
the result of a manipulative market of sheer greed. How many people who were
earning £5,000 per annum in 1979 could boast of earning £78,000 last year?
Virtually nobody, and yet the cost of a house had risen by that amount. The
result? The average young couple getting married are way below the threshold of
home-ownership. It is out of the question. I cannot see any way open for young
couples. It is a depressing situation, and creates stresses that young people
should not have to bear. All because of the greed of hungry financiers who line
their own pockets and ''grind the faces of the poor."
And then again, during the
Thatcher years, the top rate of income tax was reduced from 83% to 60%, and for
the last 3 years has stood at 40%. Some people might think of this as a
generous hand out by the government, but a moment's thought will dispel all
such illusion. Who gets the benefit from these large cuts? Only those who
receive the very largest salaries. At the lowest end of the scale, the basic
rate was cut from 33% in 1979 to 25% today, and the interface between the rates
raised from £8,000 to £20,700. Regardless of the obvious improvement here, when
tax and inflation are considered together (relating to price rises) the benefit
may still be seen to be far greater for those in the higher income brackets.
Finally on this subject of
the markets and their trends during the Thatcher years, I would like to quote
from an article by Sonia Purnell of the Daily Telegraph financial staff, in an
article that appeared at the time Mrs. Thatcher left
Let us now return to the
Book of Revelation and make a few final observations on this theme. Earlier in
the article we had occasion to refer to the bar coding practice, and its use of
666 in the pattern and layout of the bar code. It is common knowledge that the
number 666 occurs in the last verses of Rev.13. But perhaps fewer realise the
deeper implications of this number from a Scriptural viewpoint.
All simple digital numbers
have a spiritual meaning, and several books have been published which
investigate the meanings and usage of numbers. Although there are some
divergences of opinion, there seems to be almost unanimous agreement that the
number 6 is the number of man, who was created on the sixth day. And
furthermore, it is the number of man as separated from God by the fall. In one
book I find the interesting suggestion that 666 is a numerical way of
expressing the very heights that man can ascend to in his godless pursuits. No
doubt that would fit the bill for a description of the antichrist very
handsomely.
But how does the number 666
appear in the Bible? We have already seen that it is inseparably connected with
commerce and finance. Buying and selling are forbidden without this number
operating. Are there any other occurrences of the number? The answer is yes,
there are. And only one of them is overt, the rest are hidden and need to be
dug out. The obvious one is found in the O.T. and refers to the reign of King
Solomon, who was, in his day, the most exalted king, the richest monarch of
history. It is recorded of him that during his reign the annual revenue
amounted to 666 talents of gold! (1 Kings
In Greek there are three
words which have a numerical value of 666. (Perhaps there are others which have
not yet been found). They are as follows:-
EUPORIA wealth!
PARADOSIS = tradition!
TERASIN wonders, as found in 2
Thess.2:9, the work of the antichrist.
And so these hidden values
speak with a clarity that cannot be mistaken.
But we can take this study
one step further. We can evaluate the gematria of whole sentences, or clauses,
which refer to the work of the antichrist, and find even greater support for
this understanding, that 666 is the FINANCIAL NUMBER, the PHILARGURIST'S
NUMBER. The following results are taken from a book entitled THEOMATICS by
Jerry Lucas and Del Washburn, 1977 published by
|
Rev. 18:3 |
The Merchants of
the Earth |
666 |
|
|
Luke 4:5 |
Kingdoms of the
World |
1332 |
666 X 2 |
|
Rev. 14:11 |
Those who worship
the Beast and its Image. |
3996 |
666 X 6 |
|
Rev. 11:18 |
And to destroy
those who destroy the Earth. |
3330 |
666 X 5 |
|
Rev. 18:5 |
For her sins are
piled up as high as heaven. |
3996 |
666 X 6 |
|
2 Thess. 2:8 |
The lawless one
will be revealed whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth. |
8658 |
666 X 13 |
|
2 Thess. 2:3-4 |
The man of
lawlessness, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all
that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he takes his seat in the |
14652 |
666 X 22 |
|
Rev. 13:17 |
And it provides
that no one should be able to buy or sell, save the one who has the mark or
the name of the Beast, or the number of his name. |
10656 |
666 X 16 |
What further evidence is
needed to bolster up the conclusion already reached? In what sense then is the
Catholic Church connected with 666? It must be for the following reasons.
(a) By the word TRADITION, which we have already seen to be
666, and which adequately depicts this religious empire.
(b) The
In this country the
equivalent is the Church of England. And here again the colossal wealth of the
movement is quite the deciding factor in the working of the Church. When people
look at the Church they see all those things which pertain to its outward
performance, but the ROOT of their operation is MONEY, and the love of it. And
so it is with many other religious systems in the world, both Christian and
otherwise. But the important thing to us, as individuals, is to heed Paul's
warning.
In Revelation 13 we are
introduced to two beasts. The first beast is clearly a world-wide secular beast that
demands worship. But the second beast seems to be religious, and parodies the Lamb
of God. But we are told that the second beast requires its followers to worship
the "god" of the first beast. Hence within the Churches of
Christendom there operates this deceptive energetic device for troubling God's
people, working on their Adam-nature propensities, and encouraging them to
think in terms of MONEY and the love of it. It produces a class of Christianity
spoken of by our Lord in Rev.3, the "Church at
The same teaching was found
in the Gospels, in our Lord's parable of the rich farmer, who had increased his
goods considerably, and thought of building larger barns to house his
harvesting. He said to himself, "You have much goods laid up
for many years. Take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry. But the Lord
cautioned him, saying, "You fool! This night your soul is required of you.
So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not RICH TOWARDS GOD."
(Luke 12:16-21)
Paul said that having
enough food and clothing we should be satisfied. He never even mentioned a home
in which to live, but it should be added to the list for quite the majority of
us, inasmuch as we cannot exist without a roof over our heads. But we need to
distinguish very clearly between our NEEDS and our WANTS.
Our needs the Lord promises to provide. Our wants are often quite unnecessary,
and if we spend our money on them, we go beyond the best will of the Lord for
us. In fact it can be said that to have very little money, and to learn to
spend it wisely, is a far greater blessing to our souls than to be reasonably
"flush", and not have to think too carefully about what we purchase.
In Paul's day, he said that
he had learned both to be abased and to abound. And he taught that we should
learn to be content in whatsoever circumstances we find ourselves. This
contentment should be an inner contentment, and unrelated to the circumstances.
Sometimes Paul's meaning is misunderstood because of the wording in the A.V.
which suggests we should be content WITH our circumstances, rather than to be
content WITHIN the circumstances, which is more the force of the original
Greek. This inner contentment can only come from a life that focuses upon
heavenly things, and learns to live in daily communion with the Lord. "Seek
ye first the
My wife and I have
experienced over the last 22 years very much the same as Paul. Sometimes the
Lord has given to us in plenty. But at other times we have been reduced to the
"bread line". At one time we owned a very expensive house near
Returning to the study of
Revelation, we have noticed that the ten horns of the beast eventually turn on
the woman, and hate her. We are told that they "make her
desolate and naked, and eat her flesh and burn her with fire."
(Rev.17:16) It is not an outside force that brings about the
downfall of
But be warned. Mrs.
Thatcher's political demise was engineered from within her own party, and even
if it has caused relief in certain circles, it has been performed as necessary
surgery for further advance in ungodliness, further increase in devilish
prosperity, further provocation of the Divine Spirit, flying in the face of all
God's laws. We are living in fiendishly wicked days. The number of smart,
attractive, alluring devices is legion, devices of the Devil to draw men to
perdition. Let us heed Paul's words regularly, lest being caught unawares, we
find ourselves unwittingly serving the interests of the beast, and hankering
after wealth, ease, and comfort. For these three devices are used by Satan to
lull people into a sleepy state, where they cannot see the very truths of the
Bible that flit past their eyes as they read. God has not appointed us to
wrath, and therefore we must not sleep as others do, but be alert, for the
coming of the Lord draws ever nearer, and we believe it is almost at the doors.
Brethren beloved of the Lord, we say these things to encourage, to warn, and to
be helpful in very difficult days. Our prayers accompany this paper.