Storing Up Wealth For the Last Days?

Ok, here it is.  Some of you were probably wondering if I were going to tackle this topic.  How should we store up wealth in the end-times?    Many bloggers and Christian shows have dealt with the topic, advising people to buy gold and silver to prepare for the coming economic collapse.  For most people, gold is out of teh question, as the economic price is just too high, even per ounce!  For us, even silver is quite high.  Just a little bit is all we could afford.

So, when you are part of that 98% of the world's population who makes less then the upper one percent, is that really a wise investment of your resources, to put it all into one little piece of metal?

The other day I was reading in James (or Jacob, really, in the Greek/Hebrew), the half-brother of Yeshua, and came to a section where he speaks about the topic, storing up wealth in the last days:

5 Come now, you rich people, weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your wealth has rotted, and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have become corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you, and it will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages that were held back by you from the workers who reap your fields cry out, and the cries of the reapers have come to the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived self-indulgently on the eartha and have lived luxuriously. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous person; he does not resist you. 

(www.biblia.com)

James seems to think that those who store up wealth for the last day aren't going to receive a whole lot of good from it. In fact, he says it will be a witness AGAINST you and consume your flesh like fire! I thought that is what we were trying to avoid, being consumed by fire! In context, we see from verse four, that James is speaking to those who have people in their employment, who are withholding wages, and living luxuriously on earth, at the expense of those who do their labor.

Verse Six tells us, "You have condemned the righteous person, he does not resist you." Nowhere in holy scripture does it teach taking vengeance on one's enemies, contrary to the belief of Islam. In fact, Yeshua tells us to "love our enemies," and "pray for those who persecute us" (Mt. 5:43).

Now there may be some wisdom in securing your financial assets in precaution to a financial collapse, but I don't know that selling all to buy gold and silver is the answer. The believer's life is one that is marked by faith in Yeshua Messiah. All Yahweh's prophecies concerning the end have been being fulfilled for thousands of years. It's silly to think that they will stop now. We have the full assurance that we are able to walk in the faith and confidence in the YHWH's power, for He is a shield about us (Ps. 3:3), an ever present help in trouble (Ps. 46). YHWH is our Good Shepherd, even in the last days, when the adversaries forces are running about upon the earth, Yhwh still leads us to green pastures, to lie beside still waters, and to restore our soul. He is over all, and He can prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies (Ps. 23).

Hab. 2:4b "but the righteous shall live by his faith."

Hab. 3:

16 I hear and my stomach shakes;

my lips quiver at the sound;

infection enters my bones;

that which is beneath me trembles;

I wait quietly for the day of trouble

to come upon the people attacking us.

17 Though the fig tree does not blossom,

nor there be fruit on the vines;

the yield of the olive tree fails,

and the cultivated fields do not yield food;

the flock is cut off from the animal pen,

and there is no cattle in the stalls,

18 Yet I will rejoice in Yahweh;

I will exult in the God of my salvation.

19 Yahweh, my Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like the deer;

he causes me to walk on my high places.

To the choirmaster with stringed instruments.