Do we need to prepare for the difficulties to come in a physical way, in addition to spiritual preparation mentioned in post 5.5? Is it wise to make some material provision, at least to avoid the internal panic following the initial prophesied calamitous events? As leaders of the family, do we have some responsibility to our spouse and children to plan ahead? By preparing, without going overboard, one may be able to, with God’s help, keep panicky family members calm, so they too may seek the Lord during the time of trouble.

Joseph did more than that. He responded promptly to the prophetic nature of Pharaoh’s dream. He made extensive physical preparations for the seven bad years to come. His response was sensible, he took God at his word, did not spiritualise or allegorise it in any way, he proceeded to prepare, for the benefit of all,  in a deliberate, structured way.

However, we have to be wary that fear may cause an unhealthy obsession with end time survival. We know already that we, as Christians, will be facing the tribulation and will have to endure it. For we know already that the pre-tribulation rapture teaching is false.  The trap that Satan will now tempt us with is to focus on physical survival only.

Jesus calls us to be prepared. But does He mean internal preparedness, or external survival planning, or both? By survival planning we mean acquisition of food and resources to help one stay alive when our income, funds or home have been taken away.

Common questions about preparation:.

Are we actually being asked to be prepared to survive the end times? Do we need to set in place a plan of action for when it happens?  If your answer is yes, the next question is how to deal with the following problems?

• How much preparation is enough?
• Will we need to share our resources with those who have not prepared? Will we not be obliged to help family and others around us who have not prepared? Will we not get tricked into acting with ungodly motives? When protecting our resources will we be acting selfishly? Does Jesus not say: ”For whoever will save his life shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, he shall save it? Mark 8:35
• Is our goal to survive the end times? Is our priority not to proclaim the gospel in those final years? Jesus wants us to be prepared for the bridegroom, anticipating Him with joy, this becomes difficult if our focus is distracted if our goal is surviving the darkness.
• Do we keep from meeting together to minimize risk?
• We cannot know what the circumstances are going to be. If we do store up supplies and perhaps even convert our homes into fortresses, how long will that be allowed to continue?

Balancing spiritual and physical preparation

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come.39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul firstly talks about the physical persecution that he faced. Then he continues with the emotional, and spiritual persecution. But in both cases the love of Christ sustains us. The guidance and help from the lord will come when we need it, not a moment to early or too late.

Continuing with some questions:

Q1: Facing the reality is that Satan hates us and wishes to kill believers (v36), what is our primary ‘hiding place’ as per the verse above?

Q2: Reading verses below, how does one see “making war against the saints”, fit in relation to Revelation 6’s four horsemen, where the whole world seems to be suffering? (i.e. first four seals does not specifically seem to be aimed at Christians). Why do you think does it seem that everybody is suffering in Rev 6?

Dan 7:21 “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, 22 “until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favour of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom … 25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. (3.5 years)

Rev 13:7} And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

Q3: is there (at this time) any benefit in trying to ‘turn the tide’, demonstrate, write to politicians, if in the Dan 7 passage above, it is repeated three times that the saints will be persecuted and in the last verse it even seems as if the saints will be purposely given over into the hands of the antichrist,

Q4: What verses elsewhere in the bible can Christians use, stand on and pray for protection at this time? (Luke 21:36, Ps 91)

Q5: Will ‘seeing the big picture’ at this time help, as In the following verses in Dan 7, although it may be hard to imagine?

 27 Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. (after antichrist is destroyed)

i.e.

• The kingdom and dominion shall be given to the people, the saints.
• The greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given the saints.
• The objective of this high position in which the saints are placed is that all dominions shall serve and obey the Most High.

This is confirmation that we will be ruling with Christ over a future, everlasting Kingdom. We will all have jobs of some description. Our purpose will be agents to expand and maintain the glorious kingdom of Jesus during the millennium.

Physical Preparation.

Q5: Considering Joseph’s story, being forewarned of disaster, would we also need to prepare for the difficulties to come in a physical way, in addition to the spiritual preparation mentioned?

Read Gen 41:34-38. We read that Joseph responded promptly to the prophetic nature of Pharaoh’s dream. He made extensive physical preparations for the seven bad years to come. His response was sensible, he took God at his word, did not spiritualize or allegorize it in any way, he proceeded to prepare, for the benefit of all,  in a deliberate, structured way.

Q6: Read Matt 25: ‘the 10 virgins’. Jesus calls us to be prepared. But does He mean internal preparedness, or external survival planning, or both?

As parents, do we have some responsibility towards our spouse and children to plan ahead? By preparing, without going overboard, with God’s help, one may be able to keep panicky family members calm, so they too may seek the Lord during the time of trouble.

Q7: Can fear cause an unhealthy obsession with end time survival? We know already that we, as Christians, will be facing the tribulation and will have to endure it.

For we know already that the pre-tribulation rapture teaching promotes a false hope, i.e. that no endurance will be required. Could that make it hard to convince other Christians that some prepping is a good thing?

Q8: Could it be a trap for us, who accept the coming trials, that Satan will now tempt us to focus on physical survival only? By survival planning we mean acquisition of food and resources to help one stay alive when our income, funds or home have been taken away.

Q9: How much preparation is enough?

• Will we need to share our resources with those who have not prepared?
• Will we not be obliged to help family and others around us who have not prepared?
• Will we not get tricked into acting with ungodly motives? When protecting our resources will we be acting selfishly?
• Does Jesus not say:”For whoever will save his life shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, he shall save it? Mark 8:35

Q10: Is our goal to survive the end times? Is our priority not to proclaim the gospel in those final years? Jesus wants us to be prepared for the bridegroom, anticipating Him with joy, this becomes difficult if our focus is distracted if our goal is surviving the darkness.

• Do we keep from meeting together to minimise risk?
• We cannot know what the circumstances are going to be. If we do store up supplies and perhaps even convert our homes into fortresses, how long will that be allowed to continue?
• Are we actually being asked to be prepared to survive the end times? Do we need to set in place a plan of action for when it happens?

Q11 How do we guard against excessive stockpiling from diverting our attention, energy and resources from the effort required to maximize personal spiritual readiness, and which it is likely to

1) predispose us against the very real possibility, for those who stay faithful and refuse to apostatize, that the Lord has marked us out for martyrdom; and

2) it could contribute to the opposite of a Christian mind-set: such preparations by their very nature incline toward self-focus, selfishness and self-preservation.

 

Further questions:

What did Jesus do? Jesus himself did not come to earth to plot His survival. As He was prepared to let God be in control, we should also be prepared to let go of our lives, to die. Let’s remind ourselves that we may be better off in the millennium if we in fact die for our faith. (specific promise for martyrs in Rev 20:4)

What did Jesus do? He taught us to rely on God for guidance. The heart is deceitful, and we can’t trust it. It is normal sinful human nature to want to do things in our own strength, like rushing out to secure a ‘safe’ place, but the results will be so much better if we rely on God to show us.

How we will have to cope during those distressing times ahead is hard to predict.  Perhaps the most serious problems with a survivalist approach are that:

• 1) it predisposes those so involved against the very real possibility, for those who stay faithful and refuse to apostatize, that the Lord has marked us out for martyrdom; and
• 2) it contributes to entirely the wrong mind-set: such preparations by their very nature incline toward selfishness and self-preservation.

As we can deduce from the above, the most serious problem with the ‘survivalist approach’ to end-times is that it contributes to entirely the wrong mind-set, one of self-focus. We need to consider too, that God may have already destined us for martyrdom.

The following seems a wise approach to me:

Continue with life as normal, go on family events, holidays, but cut out distractions such as TV and entertainment and replace that with spiritual preparation as outlined in post 5.5. Keep watch for the “Elijah” prophet as explained in 7.1 and 7.3. Deal with the fears in our life as suggested in 4.2.

Make time to seek God to ask for wisdom, in how to lead your family through the end times.

God has carefully planned for us to live in these times. Let’s ask for His will first.

Fear is the opposite of faith, watch those anxious thoughts. It is normal sinful human nature to want to do things in our own strength, like rushing out to stock up on supplies, but the results will be so much better if we rely on God to show us.

What did Jesus do? He taught us to rely on God for guidance. The heart is deceitful and we can’t trust it.

Jesus himself did not come to earth to plot His survival. As He was prepared to let God be in control, we should also be prepared to let go of our lives, to die. Let’s remind ourselves that we will better off in the millennium if we in fact die for our faith. (refer 2.4)

Checking our priorities:

Below is a challenging priorities checklist, which I’m sure we, in all probability, will fall short of. However, we may recall that John the Baptist, singled out by Jesus as the greatest of all men, did doubt in Jesus’ plan when he was thrown in prison. Hence it seems as if we will not be exempt from weaknesses in our faith.

But Jesus and the Holy Spirit help us in our unbelief. Remember how gracious Jesus was with the man saying: ”I believe, help my unbelief!”.  If you feel unsure in your faith, or whether your motivation to make physical preparation has taken precedence over spiritual preparation, the following statements about the well prepared Christian soldier may help to redirect your priorities:

1) A well prepared Christian is one who delights in the Word of God:

Psalm 1:1-2 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night

i.e. NOT one who is complacent about learning the Word of God:

Hebrews 5:12 … ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat

2) A  well prepared Christian is a dedicated lover of God:

“Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law”. And [Jesus] answered him, “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul (i.e., inner person) and your whole mind”. Matthew 22:36-37

i.e. NOT a lover of this world:’  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world..1st John 2:15-16

3) A well prepared Christian: a friend of Jesus Christ:

You are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. John 15:14-15, i.e.

NOT a friend of this world: Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? James 4:4b

4) A well prepared Christian: an “undivided heart”:

Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. Psalm 86:11

i.e. NOT wavering between following God and the world:

And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 1st Kings 18:21

5) A well prepared Christian : Remember what the Lord has done for us:

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”1st Corinthians 11:23-25 i.e.

NOT one who forgets the Lord in good times:

When you eat and are satisfied and bless the Lord your God on account of the good land which He has given you, take care for yourselves lest you forget the Lord your God so as not to keep His commandments, judgments, and statutes which I am commanding you to keep this day. Lest, when you eat and are satisfied and build fine homes and dwell in them and your cattle and sheep multiply and your gold and silver increase and everything you have increases, your heart become proud and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, He who led you through the great and awesome wilderness with its deadly snakes and scorpions, a thirsty place without water, He who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock, He who in this desert gave you manna to eat (of which your fathers had no knowledge), in order to afflict you so as to test you that it might go well with you in the future. Lest you say in your heart, “My strength and my own hand has produced this wealth for me”. Rather that you may remember the Lord your God, that it is He who gives you the strength to produce wealth, and that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:10-18 (cf. Hos.13:6)

6) A well prepared Christian:  looks to where Christ is above:

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:1-2

7) A well prepared Christian: is enthusiastic about spiritual things:

Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord. Romans 12:11 i.e.

NOT quenching the Spirit:

Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19 Quench not the Spirit. 1st Thessalonians 5:17-19

8)  A well prepared Christian: making the most of every opportunity for Christ:

Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time Colossians 4:5

i.e. NOT making full use of this world:

And those who use this world [should] not [be] as those who make full use of it. For the [present] form of this world is passing away.1st Corinthians 7:31

Throughout this sampling of passages, whether explicitly or implicitly, passion for God is strongly commended while complacency toward our Lord along with the inevitable love of the world is strongly condemned. Complacency is thus a serious problem for the Church at large and for individual Christians in particular precisely because of this “zero sum” opposition between the two alternatives. For either we truly love Jesus Christ more than anything else, or the truth is that we love the world more than Him.

And if we do love the world more than the Lord, then at the very least we risk rendering our faith so fragile and vulnerable that it may well not survive serious testing or tribulation, not to mention the Great Tribulation (Matt.13:20-21; Mk.4:16-17; Lk.8:13). We should thus proceed carefully with any material preparations, and be prepared to confess and promptly deal with any ‘love for the world’ which may be exposed in this process.

Guidance from scriptures: An instruction to hide.

The courageous thing to do, once it becomes clear that the great persecution has started, is to keep on proclaiming the gospel, winning more people to Christ. There is little time left, Jesus is coming soon, hence there is little reason to try and preserve our lives.

Nevertheless, depending on the circumstances, we may need to hide temporarily. As in Isaiah’s prophecy:

“Get out, My people. Go into your rooms and close your doors behind you. Hide yourselves for a little while until My indignation has run its course For behold, the Lord is about to come forth from His place in order to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. And the earth will reveal the blood shed upon it, and conceal its slain no longer. Isaiah 26:20-21

God’s indignation is poured out after the six seals, and the rapture, is complete. Hence this verse may not apply to believers, however it is wise to take note of it. This is when the Lord is about to come forth, hence it may be that some months of hiding might be appropriate for believers prior to the rapture. The main focus of the two verses, however,  probably applies to the Jews who convert after we have been raptured.

Survival: A faith-based approach:

Blog posts 3.8 to 3.10 sketch some scenarios of what is to come. It seems wise to me to do what the Hebrews did. They were obedient and hid in their homes as instructed. But that was for one night. We are clearly being asked to be spiritually prepared, and perhaps physically to a degree, for three and a half years of severe hardship.

So what does faith based provision as opposed to fear based provision look like? Some ideas, based on our daily physical needs, to start thinking about are as follows. They are:

• Water: If you have a home, get a big rainwater tank. This also saves on your water bill for now and is good environmental management in any event. Get water purification tablets and filters. A few drops of bleach in a jug will also kill most bacteria.
• Food: Stock up a supply of non-perishables (1-3 years worth depending where you live). Recommended  are beans, nuts and lentils (good proteins), rice, milk powder, some canned meat, dehydrated foods.
• Energy: There are many solar cookers on the internet. (e.g. ‘All Season Solar cookers’, etc.) Get yourself a one or two, and one for your neighbor as well. Solar panels, batteries and 12V or 24V inverter may also be useful.
• Medical: Painkillers, disinfectants, bandaging, ice packs, burn meds, etc.)
• Gear: Have what a hiking camper has: cash, lighters, extra medicine, gas cooker, light, backpack, shelter. Think of a few suitable places to hide-out. Consider that God may have prepared a place for his people to congregate, where He will protect you. Be prepared to leave all behind, and respond to the call immediately, because the window of opportunity probably will be small.
• Resources: Have whatever a typical farmer has, one who lives say 50km from the nearest town: generator, solar, 12v batteries, spare fuel, fishing gear, seed, etc. You can make your own list. If possible in your budget, some small gold & silver coins for barter, should there be initial sympathetic assistance, could come in handy. (but probably useless in the long run.)
• Transport: e-bike, push-bikes, whatever comes to mind.

But do so prayerfully, refraining from all extremes, stop well short of  fortifying your house or buying gas-masks. Think twice about your firearms if you happen to have some. Self-preservation by such means, during the Tribulation, is hard to defend.

Perhaps use “the reasonable farmer” as a guideline. After storing away these items, forget about them. They are not our lifeline; they are only there to allow us to focus on the most important issue: maintaining faith, hope and inner peace, so we can hear from God.

Take note of what Jesus says in the entire passage in Mark 8. Your own family members may betray you. You may have to flee your neighborhood. Stocking up on 6 months of food for the family is of no use if you can’t take it with you when you have run for it.

The aim for the Christian man is to provide spiritual leadership for his family. By preparing without going overboard, one may be able, with God’s help, to keep panicky family members calm, so they too may seek the Lord during the time of trouble. This time, the ‘time of trouble’ will be worse than the world has ever seen and we are going to need God’s Spirit every day to keep on track.

The motivation for the majority of ‘survival books’ one can purchase off the internet is completely nonspiritual. Most of it is extreme and totally fear-driven. Many of the more ‘spiritual’ ones are naive and marginal. However, their content, with a prayerful approach, may assist to have some measure of physical preparedness to face what is to come.  There is some good knowledge of non-perishables, but consider that this may also be obtained from other (hiking) websites. Ask God what your approach is to be. For some it will be to avoid the subject altogether. Others may be naturally knowledgeable of nutrition and foods. Beware ever-aware of extremes though.