In a previous Q&A, titled, “Must Christians be poor?”, we showed that God can and sometimes does bless His people with wealth and riches. We explained that it is therefore not required that God’s people must be poor. But as we will show in this Q&A, this does not mean that everyone who is rich has been blessed by God—that God made that person rich.
We wrote in the Q&A, mentioned above:
“God does not bless someone who is unrighteous. It is true, of course, that unrighteous people may be rich, but this would not be because of God’s blessings… Psalm 37:7, 16 says: ‘Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass… A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked…”
The Bible shows that quite often, people have become or are rich—not because of God who blessed them, but because of Satan. When Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness, he offered Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, stating that he would give all of them to Christ if He were to worship him (Matthew 4:8-9). He made clear that for the time being, all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory, had been delivered to him and that he can give them to whomever he wants (Luke 4:4-6). In other words, Satan owns them and all their riches and wealth. He can bestow riches and wealth on the people of this world.
A most obvious example for this fact can be found in chapters 17 and 18 of the Book of Revelation. There, a fallen religious woman is described (in chapter 17) and a world-ruling religious and military system (chapter 18). Both are referred to as Babylon. They are described as very rich, but not because God blessed them. They received their “blessings” from the god of this world, Satan the Devil.
We read in Revelation 17:4 about the fallen religious woman—the Catholic Church with its capital Rome, which is built on seven hills (verses 9, 18):
“The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.”
Revelation 18:3, 11-16, 19 describes the destruction of Rome (modern Babylon) and the entire Babylonian system:
“For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury… And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!’… They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’”
As we will see, the principle that God will destroy the wealth of wicked people who have become wealthy through improper means, under the inspiration of Satan, is being taught throughout the Bible. Here, modern Babylon—a wealthy collaboration of Church and State, constituting the final revival of the ancient Roman Empire—will be destroyed by God in His due time.
The Catholic Church and her daughter churches (the Protestant denominations) have become extremely rich, but not due to God’s blessing. They are part of this world, under the rule of Satan. Especially the Catholic Church and its end-time leader, the false prophet, are described as very wealthy, and the beast [a military leader] will honor its religious leader “with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things” (Daniel 11:38).
We are told that the Catholic Church is the richest religious organization on earth. Its wealth and riches are mind-boggling. The following is quoted from an article which was published by marketplace.com on February 10, 2023:
“If you’re looking at the Catholic Church alone, [it] has at least… $73 billion in assets… The church has vast assets, including billions in real estate and some priceless art, not to mention the Vatican Bank. But its finances are largely secret… There are also national churches in countries like the United States and Germany, which have decentralized economic systems…”
The article continued that “it’s likely we’ll never truly know the extent of its assets.”
This does not even include the enormous wealth of all the Protestant churches which will be under the Roman Catholic Church’s umbrella—being the mother churches with many daughters (Revelation 17:5). It is almost impossible to obtain reliable numbers, but the assets of the Protestant churches are in excess of many billions.
To repeat, these churches did not become rich because God blessed them. Rather, they obtained those riches by committing “fornication” with the kings of this earth (Revelation 17:2; 18:7, 9). Babylon, especially the religious power, “has become a dwelling place of demons” (Revelation 18:2). It is “drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6). In it are “found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth” (Revelation 18:24).
God will destroy this entire end-time Babylonian system within “an hour” (Revelation 18:10).
The fate of this wealthy religious, political and military system should serve as a warning for all those who have become rich without God’s blessing. Christ said it is very difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 19:23), as they are many times unwilling to depart from their wealth, if need be. Quite often, the rich only want to become richer, and it is all in vain.
In Ecclesiastes 4:8, we read:
“There is one alone, without companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, Nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, ‘For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?’ This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.”
This thought is repeated in Psalm 49:16-20:
“Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, When the glory of his house is increased; For when he dies he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lives he blesses himself (For men will praise you when you do well for yourself), He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see light. A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, Is like the beasts that perish.”
Riches are only for a while, at best, but when we die, we leave it all behind. But it is certainly true that while the rich are alive, they may be “honored” and envied. And so, God gives us this admonition and warning in Psalm 73:3-7, 12:
“For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, But their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance; They have more than heart could wish… Behold, these are the ungodly, Who are always at ease; They increase in riches.”
But this may only be true when viewing it superficially; in any event, note God’s assessment of their future, in verses 18-20:
“Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awakes, So, LORD, when You awake, You shall despise their image.”
The Psalmist describes the people of this world, whose riches are their god. They will only enjoy them for a while. Ultimately, God will send them away “empty” (Luke 1:53).
Ecclesiastes 5:10 adds: “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.”
A vivid example of such a selfish attitude, which never leads to satisfaction or gratification, is given by Christ in the following parable, in Luke 12:15-21:
“And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’ Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, “What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?” So he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’” But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?” So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’”
If having or obtaining riches is our main priority in life, God will take them away. And even while having them, that person is empty inside. Proverbs 13:7 states:
“There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing…”
This is especially true for those who have acquired wealth and riches through ungodly means.
Jeremiah 17:11 tells us:
“As a partridge that broods but does not hatch, So is he who gets riches, but not by right; It will leave him in the midst of his days, And at his end he will be a fool.”
The Bible includes many warnings for the rich, and the fate that awaits them if they do not turn to God and change their evil ways.
In Luke 6:24-25, Christ gives this admonition:
“But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now [being happy about your riches], For you shall mourn and weep [when it is taken away from you].”
James 5:1-6 adds the following warning for those who have become rich through ungodly behavior:
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.”
The rich can easily fool themselves, thinking perhaps they are rich because God [a god] has blessed them, and that they are guiltless, as, so they believe, their riches prove their innocence. But this is self-deception, and God will talk to them in His due time in a language which they can understand.
Modern Ephraim (the United Kingdom and other English-speaking nations) is suffering from such delusion. We read in Hosea 12:8:
“And Ephraim said, ‘Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors They shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.’” But God sees it quite differently, and He will punish unrepentant Ephraim, as we read in verse 14: “Ephraim provoked Him to anger most bitterly; Therefore his LORD will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him, And return his reproach upon him.”
As He will take away Babylon’s riches in due time, so He will deal with Ephraim. The lesson is clear: Riches won’t last which are acquired or maintained with an ungodly attitude and by improper means. In Jeremiah 5:26-29, God speaks to the modern houses of Israel (including the USA, the UK, Canada and Australia) and Judah (the modern Jews):
“’For among My people are found wicked men; They lie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men. As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich. They have grown fat, they are sleek; Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the fatherless; Yet they prosper, And the right of the needy they do not defend. Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the LORD. ‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’”
Describing specifically the modern house of Jacob or Israel, God tells us in Isaiah 2:5-11 that He will intervene in the affairs of this Satanic world to bring punishment upon the people—especially those who have become rich through ungodly means, who have used their riches for improper purposes, and who have become proud in the process, showing that their riches will not help them when the day of reckoning comes:
“O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the LORD. For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with eastern ways; They are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they are pleased with the children of foreigners. Their land is also full of silver and gold, And there is no end to their treasures; Their land is also full of horses, And there is no end to their chariots. Their land is also full of idols; They worship the work of their own hands, That which their own fingers have made. People bow down, And each man humbles himself; Therefore do not forgive them. Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.”
The punishment is not limited to the house of Israel. Rather, God will punish the entire world, and especially those who have become rich and haughty. We read in verses 20 to 22:
“In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats, To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. Sever yourselves from such a man, Whose breath is in his nostrils; For of what account is he?” [Compare Ezekiel 7:19 and Zephaniah 1:18].
That this punishment is not only carried out for the modern houses of Israel and Judah is also made clear in Isaiah 31:7:
“For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold–sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.”
The term “in that day” refers to the Day of Wrath of the LORD, when God will mightily intervene to punish the inhabitants of the earth. Proverbs 11:4 contains this observation:
“Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death.”
As we have explained in our previous Q&A, when God blesses His people with prosperity, wealth and riches, and His people handle these blessings in a godly way, then He “adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22). But physical riches are only temporary. The key is to be rich before God (compare again Luke 12:21).
Those who became or are rich, but not because of God’s blessing, will have many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10) and won’t ever be satisfied. Their riches won’t last, and in any event, they will leave it all behind when they die.
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
