There are many aspects to end times theories and probabilities, but one area that is most often neglected is how should we, as christians, behave and what do we do when we find ourselves actually living in the midst of the latter days? Should we hoard food or stockpile guns and ammunition? Should we find a cave to hole up in and just wait for Christ’s return or should we be defying the powers that be via armed resistance or sabotage? These are all very good questions and it would be wise to dwell briefly on these things so that we may not be caught off guard.
This is one area of christian living that the bible doesn’t really seem to address. There are no physical offensive or defensive strategies mentioned except for the one verse in Matt. 24:16, which instructs the residents of Judea to flee to the mountains. Those who believe in dispensationalism use this verse as proof that only the jews are being spoken to in the Olivet Discourse, but of course we know this isn’t the case. Events just begin there and He is informing the believing remnant to go into hiding to fulfill Rev. 12:13-14. Some might argue that the lack of instruction concerning these days is further proof of a pre 70[sup]th[/sup] week rapture but as you’ll see that argument is very weak.
Believers must come to realize is that there are two aspects to end times living. One is survival in the first 3 ½ yrs. plus and the other is enduring the persecution of believers that begins at the great tribulation of Satan’s wrath upon the church as pictured in Rev. 12:17 & 13:7-10. Each one will require a different response on the part of the latter day christian. Every local body of believers may very well have to go underground. It is my opinion that one of the reasons why the word "church" isn’t used in the main body of Revelations is because the focus has changed from the Body of Christ having a corporate responsibility to the world; to more of an individual responsibility in regards to relationships, witnessing, etc.
While the bible doesn’t have much to say on how to survive until the persecution begins, it does have some information on how we as believers should handle persecution. Luke 21:34-36 says, "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation ( literally, a hangover), drunkenness and the anxieties (cares/worries) of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." (NIV) (words in parenthesis mine)
The anxieties spoken of here are those things which can choke out the spiritual fruit in a believer’s life. Matt. 13:22. There are several things the Lord warns us to not worry about. They are: How long a person’s life is, Matt. 6:27, the necessities of life (food, water, clothing, shelter, etc.) Matt. 6:19-34, and what you should say if brought before authorities during times of persecution, Matt. 10:19. If you’re not concerned with these areas in your life, it frees you to remain focused on witnessing and proclaiming the righteousness of God to this last generation. It is not inconceivable that one way God will provide these necessities of life would be to prepare you beforehand; to "ready" yourself for times when these things may not be easily available.
Now that we know what not to concern ourselves with. What shall we do concerning persecution? We are told to live holy lives, to be watchful at all times, pray without ceasing, and to resist temptation. The major thing that we need to pray for, is strength. The strength to resist the temptation to compromise if we are being persecuted. The strength to be able to escape (come through unscathed) the events of the last days and most importantly the strength to stand (with moral correctness and holiness) before God at the Bema Seat judgment.(2 Cor. 5:10) Jude tells us how to receive a positive judgment in vss. 21 and 24 - "Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life...To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy." (NIV)
We are given the specifics on how to perform our christian duty in Eph. 6:10-18 - “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (NIV)
God has provided us with everything we need for faithful living in the latter days. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Word of God are all the equipment necessary to successfully see us through the persecution of the end times.
BUT
Jesus affirms for us in Luke 22:35-36, that there is a time for walking in faith and a time to realize the practicalities of life. “Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything? "Nothing," they answered. 36He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” (NIV)
The book of Proverbs also offers a couple pieces of advice on preparation. Prov. 30:25 - “Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer” (NIV) and Prov. 27:12 - “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” (NIV)
We know that for the most part, persecution won’t really get intense until the latter half of Daniel’s 70[sup]th[/sup] week. So, how do we survive until that time? Of course, we must always rely upon God and His leading, but since He has graciously given us ample warning to prepare for the hard times to come, how should we prepare?
Emergency Preparedness
Trying circumstances can affect everyone in our country at any time. They come in many guises and forms such as: Floods, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Earthquakes, Terrorist Attacks and many other smaller scale social upsets like: Work strikes, Bank closings, Riots, etc.
It is the wise person who prepares for and plans action to avert serious events from affecting their friends and family in a negative manner. The number one action you can do to help your family is to store up food and water and items to trade so that you and your loved ones can survive a short term emergency without panicking.
If you believe like I do, that our nation is in for some hard times, I would like to offer some suggestions to help you and your loved ones survive the events that the future may bring about.
FINANCES:
1.) Liquidate all your stocks, bonds, mutual funds and treasury notes into cash or easily portable items such as gold and silver coins. A stock market crash is definitely going to happen, but no one knows when. It could happen any day. The market is supported by air and empty promises. Get out while the getting is good.
2.) Try to keep at least three months cash expenses on hand so you won’t get caught " a day late and a dollar short".
3.) Buy emergency items now while you still can. Camping equipment, extra food & water, guns, knives and ammo for hunting and protection. One needs to realize that society as a whole has changed from the people that lived through the Great Depression. People are more ruthless and uncaring then they were back then. In hard times today, as witnessed by the L.A. riots, people will kill and steal at the slightest provocation.
FAITH:
1.) Come to realization that no matter how well you plan, if you don’t take God into consideration, you will fail. The events that will eventually happen were prophesied long ago by Biblical authors. God warned His people of these things to come so they would trust in Him for guidance and protection and most of all for salvation. When it comes right down to it, what’s the point of surviving if you’re going to spend eternity apart from God. Let’s face it, many people will die in the coming events, so the most important thing that should be on your mind is: Where will you and your loved ones spend eternity?
2.) Have a Bible on hand and memorize scriptures for those times your Bible may not be on hand. In the near future, Christians will be very unpopular and will most likely be blamed for the hardships that will fall upon our beloved country. Martyrdom is a definite possibility that you should take into consideration. The Book of Revelations tells us that many people will die for their belief in Christ in the last days.
GEOGRAPHY:
1.) If you are financially able to do so, you should consider selling your city or suburban dwelling and find a place in the countryside with land for farming. If you farm already, try to plant hybrid seeds that regenerate themselves year after year.
2.) If like most of us, you can’t buy a house in the country, try to find a place in the country that you are familiar with and feel comfortable in. Places like a favorite camping spot or a relatives home or somewhere you go hiking frequently. You will need a spot like this because inner city neighborhoods will not be a safe place to stay during hard times and the problems will quickly escalate outside to suburbia.
3.) The optimum places to be are at least 200 miles away in every direction from major cities, military bases and coastal areas.
COMMUNITY:
1.) Family members, friends, neighbors and fellow believers can be a source of inspiration and unity in hard times. These people make up your personal community.
2.) Try to plan and coordinate with those in your inner circle, where to meet, what to bring, and who’s responsible for what in an emergency situation.
3.) An important thing to remember is that the more people that are in your personal community, the more items that will need to be set aside, but as in the best circumstances, "many hands make the work light," so it can be in difficult times. Everyone in your personal community should plan and store for their individual families and some extra items to share within their personal community. Co-ordinate these items so that for example, three families are saving candles, two families are saving flashlights, but no one is saving batteries or matches, doesn’t happen!
Remember that God is in control and you can depend on Him to assist you when you need it most. The sooner you start building a base of supplies, the easier it will be to survive the hard times and the longer they will last. Just begin by adding a couple of extra items to your shopping list every week and watch for good sales that you could utilize to stock up your pantry and shelves.
No one is able to afford everything or has space to store it all. Just pick out a few items that everyone could use at one time or another and stock up on it. Every house-hold should have an emergency plan when things start to go wrong in our society. The people that lived through the L.A. riots can give strong testimony to the fact that stores that weren’t looted sold out of most items in a matter of hours and were unable to be re-supplied by their distributors. Don’t let this happen to you!
As events start to escalate in their frequency and seriousness, Don’t panic! Watch them closely because timing will be important. If you evacuate too early, your supplies won’t last as long and you’ll miss out on opportunities to get more needed items, but if you wait too late then traffic jams will make it harder and more dangerous to get to where you’re going safely. May God bless you and keep you in these times that are about to come!
This is one area of christian living that the bible doesn’t really seem to address. There are no physical offensive or defensive strategies mentioned except for the one verse in Matt. 24:16, which instructs the residents of Judea to flee to the mountains. Those who believe in dispensationalism use this verse as proof that only the jews are being spoken to in the Olivet Discourse, but of course we know this isn’t the case. Events just begin there and He is informing the believing remnant to go into hiding to fulfill Rev. 12:13-14. Some might argue that the lack of instruction concerning these days is further proof of a pre 70[sup]th[/sup] week rapture but as you’ll see that argument is very weak.
Believers must come to realize is that there are two aspects to end times living. One is survival in the first 3 ½ yrs. plus and the other is enduring the persecution of believers that begins at the great tribulation of Satan’s wrath upon the church as pictured in Rev. 12:17 & 13:7-10. Each one will require a different response on the part of the latter day christian. Every local body of believers may very well have to go underground. It is my opinion that one of the reasons why the word "church" isn’t used in the main body of Revelations is because the focus has changed from the Body of Christ having a corporate responsibility to the world; to more of an individual responsibility in regards to relationships, witnessing, etc.
While the bible doesn’t have much to say on how to survive until the persecution begins, it does have some information on how we as believers should handle persecution. Luke 21:34-36 says, "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation ( literally, a hangover), drunkenness and the anxieties (cares/worries) of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." (NIV) (words in parenthesis mine)
The anxieties spoken of here are those things which can choke out the spiritual fruit in a believer’s life. Matt. 13:22. There are several things the Lord warns us to not worry about. They are: How long a person’s life is, Matt. 6:27, the necessities of life (food, water, clothing, shelter, etc.) Matt. 6:19-34, and what you should say if brought before authorities during times of persecution, Matt. 10:19. If you’re not concerned with these areas in your life, it frees you to remain focused on witnessing and proclaiming the righteousness of God to this last generation. It is not inconceivable that one way God will provide these necessities of life would be to prepare you beforehand; to "ready" yourself for times when these things may not be easily available.
Now that we know what not to concern ourselves with. What shall we do concerning persecution? We are told to live holy lives, to be watchful at all times, pray without ceasing, and to resist temptation. The major thing that we need to pray for, is strength. The strength to resist the temptation to compromise if we are being persecuted. The strength to be able to escape (come through unscathed) the events of the last days and most importantly the strength to stand (with moral correctness and holiness) before God at the Bema Seat judgment.(2 Cor. 5:10) Jude tells us how to receive a positive judgment in vss. 21 and 24 - "Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life...To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy." (NIV)
We are given the specifics on how to perform our christian duty in Eph. 6:10-18 - “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (NIV)
God has provided us with everything we need for faithful living in the latter days. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Word of God are all the equipment necessary to successfully see us through the persecution of the end times.
BUT
Jesus affirms for us in Luke 22:35-36, that there is a time for walking in faith and a time to realize the practicalities of life. “Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything? "Nothing," they answered. 36He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” (NIV)
The book of Proverbs also offers a couple pieces of advice on preparation. Prov. 30:25 - “Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer” (NIV) and Prov. 27:12 - “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” (NIV)
We know that for the most part, persecution won’t really get intense until the latter half of Daniel’s 70[sup]th[/sup] week. So, how do we survive until that time? Of course, we must always rely upon God and His leading, but since He has graciously given us ample warning to prepare for the hard times to come, how should we prepare?
Emergency Preparedness
Trying circumstances can affect everyone in our country at any time. They come in many guises and forms such as: Floods, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Earthquakes, Terrorist Attacks and many other smaller scale social upsets like: Work strikes, Bank closings, Riots, etc.
It is the wise person who prepares for and plans action to avert serious events from affecting their friends and family in a negative manner. The number one action you can do to help your family is to store up food and water and items to trade so that you and your loved ones can survive a short term emergency without panicking.
If you believe like I do, that our nation is in for some hard times, I would like to offer some suggestions to help you and your loved ones survive the events that the future may bring about.
FINANCES:
1.) Liquidate all your stocks, bonds, mutual funds and treasury notes into cash or easily portable items such as gold and silver coins. A stock market crash is definitely going to happen, but no one knows when. It could happen any day. The market is supported by air and empty promises. Get out while the getting is good.
2.) Try to keep at least three months cash expenses on hand so you won’t get caught " a day late and a dollar short".
3.) Buy emergency items now while you still can. Camping equipment, extra food & water, guns, knives and ammo for hunting and protection. One needs to realize that society as a whole has changed from the people that lived through the Great Depression. People are more ruthless and uncaring then they were back then. In hard times today, as witnessed by the L.A. riots, people will kill and steal at the slightest provocation.
FAITH:
1.) Come to realization that no matter how well you plan, if you don’t take God into consideration, you will fail. The events that will eventually happen were prophesied long ago by Biblical authors. God warned His people of these things to come so they would trust in Him for guidance and protection and most of all for salvation. When it comes right down to it, what’s the point of surviving if you’re going to spend eternity apart from God. Let’s face it, many people will die in the coming events, so the most important thing that should be on your mind is: Where will you and your loved ones spend eternity?
2.) Have a Bible on hand and memorize scriptures for those times your Bible may not be on hand. In the near future, Christians will be very unpopular and will most likely be blamed for the hardships that will fall upon our beloved country. Martyrdom is a definite possibility that you should take into consideration. The Book of Revelations tells us that many people will die for their belief in Christ in the last days.
GEOGRAPHY:
1.) If you are financially able to do so, you should consider selling your city or suburban dwelling and find a place in the countryside with land for farming. If you farm already, try to plant hybrid seeds that regenerate themselves year after year.
2.) If like most of us, you can’t buy a house in the country, try to find a place in the country that you are familiar with and feel comfortable in. Places like a favorite camping spot or a relatives home or somewhere you go hiking frequently. You will need a spot like this because inner city neighborhoods will not be a safe place to stay during hard times and the problems will quickly escalate outside to suburbia.
3.) The optimum places to be are at least 200 miles away in every direction from major cities, military bases and coastal areas.
COMMUNITY:
1.) Family members, friends, neighbors and fellow believers can be a source of inspiration and unity in hard times. These people make up your personal community.
2.) Try to plan and coordinate with those in your inner circle, where to meet, what to bring, and who’s responsible for what in an emergency situation.
3.) An important thing to remember is that the more people that are in your personal community, the more items that will need to be set aside, but as in the best circumstances, "many hands make the work light," so it can be in difficult times. Everyone in your personal community should plan and store for their individual families and some extra items to share within their personal community. Co-ordinate these items so that for example, three families are saving candles, two families are saving flashlights, but no one is saving batteries or matches, doesn’t happen!
Remember that God is in control and you can depend on Him to assist you when you need it most. The sooner you start building a base of supplies, the easier it will be to survive the hard times and the longer they will last. Just begin by adding a couple of extra items to your shopping list every week and watch for good sales that you could utilize to stock up your pantry and shelves.
No one is able to afford everything or has space to store it all. Just pick out a few items that everyone could use at one time or another and stock up on it. Every house-hold should have an emergency plan when things start to go wrong in our society. The people that lived through the L.A. riots can give strong testimony to the fact that stores that weren’t looted sold out of most items in a matter of hours and were unable to be re-supplied by their distributors. Don’t let this happen to you!
As events start to escalate in their frequency and seriousness, Don’t panic! Watch them closely because timing will be important. If you evacuate too early, your supplies won’t last as long and you’ll miss out on opportunities to get more needed items, but if you wait too late then traffic jams will make it harder and more dangerous to get to where you’re going safely. May God bless you and keep you in these times that are about to come!
