Blessed With Neither Poverty Nor Riches: Part 2 By :: Wilfred Hahn

In the first part of this series, we briefly highlighted the concepts of assets and wealth on the
earth today. We concluded that mankind has come a long way in magnifying worldly riches.
The most unimaginable things in the earth’s sphere are now owned by humans. The “lust
of the eyes” in this late era of world history, has been built up into a highly sophisticated, debt-
based system of ownership and capital valuation, giving rise to massive wealth, riches, and
splendor. Seen in the aggregate, this great, big, measurable pile of wealth—though much of it
indeed is false wealth—serves as a perfect anchor for the materialist and humanist agendas
mounted against God in the latter days.
In this second of our 3-part series, we take a brief excursion into the rarified world of big
money and wealth. Just who is experiencing its splendor? And just what does the Bible have to
say about wealth in general and its prophetic role? As it turns out, quite a bit.

No Shortage of Hoards
Many commentators and economists today point to the widening chasm between the
wealthy—namely, the “super wealthy”—and the general populace. Wealth distribution today is
perhaps more uneven than ever before (whether in North America or the entire world). Lately,
economist authors such as Thomas Piketty (celebrated author of Capital in the 21 st Century) and
Emmanuel Saez have gained a following due to their attempt to explain the reasons for this
wealth stratification. An accepted conclusion by most commentators is that this condition
generally causes slower economic growth. Nevertheless, Piketty has already been branded a
Marxist by the factions who believe that wealth accretion is a divine right. And so, the debate
continues.
Interestingly, the Bible provided a view on these matters long before anyone invented the
terms “capitalism,” “Marxism,” or anything else. Jesus said: “From everyone who has been
given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much
more will be asked” (Luke 12:48b). Whether legislated or not, those with much have greater
responsibility.

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The Levitical financial system that the Hebrews were commanded to practice, kept a
check and balance on wealth distortions. To recall, God said through Moses, “At the end of
every seven years you must cancel debts” (Deuteronomy 15:1). As such, we see that a seven-
year debt cycle was instituted. We can conclude that there should be no such thing as perpetual
debt: Every Sabbath Year, debts had to be laid flat. Anyone who could not pay back their debts
by that time was forgiven this amount.
We can imagine just how different our economies would be today, were this same
convention applied. There would be no massive accumulations of debt as we see in our time.
But, back to the present-day reality. Without a doubt, wealth has been stratifying in
recent decades to sharp extremes. That said, comparisons to ancient history are difficult to make.
It could well be that the world’s wealth skew today is even more extreme than the late ancient
Roman era.
What we do know for sure is that wealth based on its modern definition—this including
everything from hard assets (i.e., real estate, gold … etc.) to highly-derived financial
instruments—is at its highest in the entirety of mankind’s history. Despite the interruption of the
Global Financial Crisis (beginning some time ago), total modern asset wealth has continued to
soar in value (including the Covid environment). We have hazarded the estimate that this value
has been rising an average of 10% plus a year since the early 1970s. Of course, this is much,
much faster than total world population growth (which is only inching along at an annual pace of
0.8% in the recent decade).
As we will see, all of this provides the facility for some gargantuan wealth hoards to be
accumulated, by both individuals and various entities such as corporations or sovereign wealth
funds.
Is this mere happenstance? No, we think not. It is largely a function of rampant
materialism and greed converging through globalization and financialization (driven by the “lust
of the eyes,” 1 John 2:16). All of these are coincident developments that are outlined in Bible
prophecy, according to this writer’s beliefs. Moreover, James expressly mentions that this
condition of hoarding will exist in the last days:
“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.
[…] You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers
who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the

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ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have
fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent
one, who was not opposing you” (James 5:1-6).
What is observed here is that hoarding and love of wealth have taken on primacy.
Economic fairness for the poor is neglected. Somewhat imaginatively interpreted, it is an era
where the elite rich try to enclave themselves and find safety, in their brutal strategies to preserve
and build more wealth.

Beyond Riches?
The most recent update of the Wealth Report 2023 1 1 by Knight Frank, states that the world had
2,629 billionaires at the end of 2022, up 58% from 1,682 in 2014.
A billion dollars is a lot of money. It is hardly possible to imagine. And, the world may
have its first trillionaire before long (amounting to one million times one million) according to
some forecasts. Currently, Elon Musk (world-renowned founder of Tesla, among other activities)
has a net worth greater than $200 billion. Other contenders to be the first trillionaire could be Jeff
Bezos (founder of Amazon) and Bernard Arnaut (owner of famous luxury brands). Both are
estimated to have a net worth of greater than $150 billion.
In America and many other countries, more and more wealth and income are held or
received by a smaller group of people. For example, according to Forbes, the planet’s
billionaires are now worth $12.2 trillion.

In the Service of the Monied Rich
The service of managing money has been a growth business. Why? The value of real and
financial assets has been climbing over time; and secondly, as mentioned, it has been piling up in
fewer hands. There are quite a number of asset management firms with over one trillion in
capital, according to the consultancy Willis Tower Watson (one firm with over $10 trillion).
Some firms (we will not mention names) have been shown in the past to have been only too
willing to deal with anyone with money … no matter the source of the wealth.
Despots, dictators, and others who may have pillaged their countries—perhaps stolen the
proceeds of resource exports, or misdirected foreign aid for tens of billions—have found willing
complicitors. In the past, they have had little difficulty hiding their assets abroad, with the

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