ARE YOU PREPARED FOR WHAT'S AHEAD?
We
live in a time of economic and political turmoil. World peace is
threatened by events in the Mideast. Still, there is a way to be
protected!
As NEVER before, our earth is in a crisis! Yet
it need not be so! Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock, warns:
"1 am under no Pollyanaish illusions. It is scarcely
necessary today to elaborate on the real dangers facing
us from nuclear annihilation and ecological disaster to racial
fanaticism or regional violence.
I have written about these dangers
myself in the past, and will no doubt do so again War, economic
debacle, large-scale technological disaster any of these could alter
future history in catastrophic ways (The Third Wave, page
3).
Experts have been warning that having enough to eat will
become a major human struggle. The Presidential Commission on World
Hunger predicts: "A major crisis of global food supply of even more
serious dimensions than the present energy crisis appears likely within
the next 20 years."
World population is steadily rising It is
outstripping world food production. This doesn't even take into
consideration the always present possibility of drought in key
agricultural areas. Or political turmoil in Third World countries that
regularly reduces badly needed food supplies.
Technology, for
all its benefits, is bringing us serious side effects. Every known
chemical produced has been dumped into our biosphere. changing
ecological bal-ances in ways we may only be guessing at now.
Utter Destruction a Real Possibility
Most
alarming of all is the massive stockpile and buildup of sophisticated
military nuclear weapons now in the hands of man! Six nations clearly
have nuclear capability. According to estimates, nine other countries
have the immediate ability to make them. By 1985 there will be as many
as 35 countries with the technological capabilities to produce nuclear
weapons!
The ability to bring chaos and utter destruction to
this earth is now an alarming reality! Andrei Sakharev, Soviet
scientist and social activist, warns us: "The equivalent of 13 billion
tons of TNT concentrated into 40,000-50,000 thermonuclear and nuclear
charges threatens the very existence of mankind or at least of
civilization" (Parade. Aug. 16. 1981, "An Appeal" by Andrei
Sakharev, page 4)
Arms and Precious Metals
Surviving
what's ahead is on people's minds. Survival packets and books are on
the market. Survival acres located in remote regions are big sellers.
Emergency exiting procedures of large metropolitan areas and even how
to build underground nuclear bomb shelters are back in the news.
In
the United States pocket groups of paramilitary forces are forming
around the country, preparing for the inevitable. There are even
Christian military organizations, training in hidden, remote areas,
stocking arms and supplies. readying for what's to come.
A
number of financial experts advise clients to buy into precious metals,
especially gold and silver. When push comes to shove, they reason, gold
and silver may be one of the only reliable currencies available for
acquiring needed necessities when times gel bad.
Superficially,
some of these ideas have merit. But can such preparations really
provide you protection in a nuclear holocaust? Small paramilitary
organizations are no real protection against today's sophisticated
army, using nuclear weapons and biological warfare in an all-out war.
Hiding in remote mountains. banking on a comparatively small cache of
arms and supplies is an illusive hope. Nuclear fallout. contaminating
water supplies and causing radiation sicknesses, coupled with rapidly
spreading disease epidemics and dwindling, difficult-to-replenish
foodstuffs, will eventually take its toll after a major nuclear attack
Escaping
cities by autos in an impending nuclear strike is a veritable
impossibility. Two or three small "fender benders" during normal
workhour traffic bring roads to snarling, jam-up halts Can you picture
what freeway and road systems would be like when panic-stricken.
confused, scared masses of people all try escaping out of a large city
and its surrounding communities at the same time?
Authorities in
one major city estimate that it would lake seven days to evacuate its
populace. How many would escape with only minutes, possibly
just seconds, of advance warning? And if a group of people
500,000 to a million in size did manage somehow to escape a nuclear
blast, how would they be fed and taken care of later after such short
notice and little time to prepare?
And hoarded moneys and gold
and silver? Stockpiling money or gold and silver will not provide
protection from what's to come. All the wealth in the world can't buy
safety. Concerning what is to come, the Bible says: "They shall cast
their silver in the streets . . . their silver and their gold shall not
be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord ..." (Ezek.
7:19).
Warnings Are Serious
The
warnings by experts are deadly serious. Those fearing the immediate
future have good reason for their fear. We should be warned! This earth
is in trouble! What's lo come will affect the entire world. Will
directly affect you!
Our sophisticated, computerized nuclear age
has brought us to this point of trouble. Out of control economies,
competitive political systems and on-going military buildup, coupled
with man's inability to mediate with one another to solve differences,
will sooner or later trigger a holocaust from which God and God alone
will deliver mankind.
We are facing the mosi momentous
happenings ever recorded or that will ever be recorded! And whether you
believe it or not. you will be affected!
We are living in the
biblically prophesied time of the end, the end of man's age. It has
been predicted by nearly every generation since Jesus Christ walked
this earth. Only now, because of our technology and nuclear capacity
has that end of this world's civilization been possible, .lesus warns
about this time ahead: "for then shall be great tribulation, such as
was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever
shall be. And except those days should be shortened. there should no
flesh be saved [alive]" (Matt. 24:21-22).
It's true, today's
economy can level out and temporarily turn up. This has happened
throughout the centuries. Hot spots around the world can
momentarily cool down. World conditions can from time to time begin to
appear calm, hopeful, on the mend, peaceful. But you can be lulled to
sleep, loo. Don't allow it. Don't sit back in your easychair thinking
all is right.
This is by authority of the Word of Almighty God!
This warning is in your Bible. "For when they shall say. Peace and
safety; then sudden destruction comcth upon them, as travail upon a
woman with child; and they shall not escape" (I Thess. 5:3).
Jesus
said; "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be
overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life,
and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on
all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth" (Luke 21:34-35).
Do
you understand? When things seem all right -as they will—when it seems
as if there is "peace and safety," then comes "sudden destruction"!
It's going to be a "snare" to most! But you can have prepared yourself
in advance for the only genuine protection there is!
Now Is the Time to Act
It's
time now for you to act. It's time now for you to prepare. But how?
What should you do? What preparation can you make? Not the preparations
discussed earlier. Most of man's preparations will be futile.
Man
can't protect you. Man is responsible for the very problems besetting
this world. It is man's continual departure from God and his spiritual
law that has led us to impending world destruction.
The prophet
Isaiah illustrates this point: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not
shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot
hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and
your sins have hid his face from you. that he will not hear. For your
hands arc defiled with blood, and your lingers with iniquity; your lips
have spoken lies. your tongue hath muttered per-verseness. None calleth
for justice. nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and
speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity" (Isa.
59:14).
And again: "The way of peace they know not: and there is
no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths:
whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace" (verse 8).
Man doesn't know how to have peace with himself or with God.
Only
Almighty God is able to protect you. God has provided a way of escape
for those willing to obey him. Do not rely on the hand of man.
The
first step is to seek God now! No matter who you are, where you are, or
what your position in life is, it's time to seek God. before it's too
late! "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while
he is near" (Isa. 55:6).
God means it. We had better seek him
now, because there is a time coming when it will be too late for many
to escape the calamities that will end civilization as we know it.
Time,
safety, peace, present conditions, this life these don't last forever
in this world. There are deadlines. There are finalities. The
earthshaking events to come will be delayed only so long.
It Can't Be Done for You
It's
you who must seek God—not your spouse, not your relatives, not your
friends, not someone else in your stead. The Bible is very clear on
this point. All are ultimately accountable to God individually: "For it
is written. As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and
every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give
account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:11-12).
Each of us will reap
what we sow! "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man
sow-eth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall
of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of
the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Gal. 6:7-8).
All of us,
individually, will ultimately be judged: "For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done
in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad"
(II Cor. 5:10).
And concerning physical protection
in the here and now. Scripture is plain. "Though these three men. Noah,
Daniel, and Job, were in it [today's crisis], they should deliver but
their own souls [lives] by their righteousness . . ." (Ezek. 14:14).
The
most important thing in your life is to seek God. Nothing else is as
vital! Not even the physical necessities of food, water, clothes and
shelter are as important as seeking the living God! Notice especially
Matthew 6:33: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things [and that includes protection in
the day of trouble] shall be added unto you."
Begin seeking God now and his involvement in your life. He can see to your needs and your future protection.
Ask God for His Mercy
Not
only must you seek God, you must seek God's forgiveness You have
sinned! All have sinned. "For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God" (Rom. 3:23), says the Bible. And what is the biblical
definition of sin? "Sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4.
last part). It can't be any plainer than that!
You are guilty of
breaking God's law. If you've broken even one point of God's law—and
you have—you are guilty! "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and
yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said. Do not
commit adultery, said also. Do not kill. Now if thou commit no
adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law"
(Jas. 2:10-11).
You must obey all of God's law, all Ten
Commandments! The penalty of disobeying them, of sinning, is death!
"For the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23)—not life in hell fire. God
means it! You must ask him for forgiveness for what you've done!
God's
mercy leads one to repentance. "Repent [change] ye therefore, and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of
refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19).
It's
time for all to repent—to change— to stop breaking God's law. The
apostle Peter wrote: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as
some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing
that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (II
Pet. 3:9).
But how many reading this message are willing to
change their way of life, and begin living life as God wants us to, for
our own happiness and well-being?
You can. You can admit to God your
sins. Be willing to acknowledge that you have been wrong, that you have
been guilty of breaking God's righteous commandments, his guidelines on
how we should have been living. The first four commandments show us how
to respect God, and the last six commandments show us how to express
love to our neighbors.
God is merciful and desirous that we come to a willing, repentant attitude of mind. He wants to forgive. Notice Psalm 103:8-14:
"The
Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He
hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our
iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his
mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west.
so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father
pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him."
You
must claim God's mercy by being willing to take the steps Peter
admonished all to take: "Repent. and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy [Spirit]" (Acts 2:38).
Establishing Right Living Habits
Not only must you repent— change—stop breaking God's law—you have to establish the habit of obedience to God's way of life.
Jesus
was once asked what to do to gain eternal life. "Good Master, what
shall I do that I may inherit eternal lire'.'"" (Mark 10:17, last
part). Jesus answered: "Thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit
adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Defraud
not. Honour thy father and mother" (Mark 10:19). In other words, the
basic Christian platform is based on God's Ten Commandments.
Any
future protection depends on genuine righteousness—which is keeping
God's righteous law (see Psalm 119:172). If we again slip up and sin,
we can ask forgiveness, and God will forgive: "My little children,
these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is
the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world" (I John 2:1-2). And, "If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
Our intent and desire must be centered on God's way of life. We must not turn away from that basic attitude.
Heed
the words of the prophet Ezekiel: "Therefore, thou son of man, say unto
the children of thy people. The righteousness of the righteous shall
not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness
of the wicked, he
shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth
from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for
his righteousness in the day that he sinneth" (Ezek. 33:12).
Christians
are to be doers, not just hearers: "But be ye doers of the word, and
not hearers only. deceiving vour own selves" (Jas. 1:22).
Jesus
unequivocally tells us: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceedcth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). And
God's Word is recorded in the pages of the Bible. We're to live by it!
There Is No Other Way
There
is no other sure way to prepare for world events. Your future—physical
protection and eternal salvation—depends on seeking God and asking his
forgiveness. We must come before our Creator with deep, sincere,
heartfelt repentance whenever we sin. And we must strive with all
diligence to maintain a right attitude and godly life, obeying what
we're commanded in the Bible.
These steps arc simple, but you
need God's help. Ask for it. Maybe you have never prayed before. Never
mind, now is the time to begin.
Seek God. Open the pages of your
Bible and get acquainted with the scriptures. Take these steps and God
will begin taking special notice of you. Says the Creator of all: "For
all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been,
sailh the Lord: but to this man [or woman] will I look, even to him [or
her] that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word"
(Isa. 66:2).
Heed this message and the other warnings in the
pages of this magazine. You may be counted among those mentioned in the
book of Revelation who arc promised protection during the momentous
times ahead.
"Because thou hast kept the-word of my patience, 1
also will keep thee from the hour of temptation [trial], which shall
come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Rev.
3:10). That is an absolute promise.
by Patrick A. Parnell Plain Truth Magazine Janurary 1983
