END TIMES: HOW SHOULD WE PREPARE? PART 7

This part of the preparation is for the believer. It will not answer every question, and although I have some strong opinions about some areas of end times preparation I will leave the final conclusion to the reader.

Let me make some statements about the preparation of items for the “End Times” before getting into a list. First I want to say that we cannot store enough stuff to overcome what is about to happen.

We are saved BY FAITH and KEPT BY FAITH. So even though we should be prepared and store up some items, our trust is not in what we store. The storage of items are meant to be for ministering in the “End Times” and not meant for us to solely move into a survivalist mentality. At the time of this writing we in the United States and most of the world are on lockdown because of the pandemic Coronavirus. Over the last 20 years I have been a quasi-prepper. I have a lot of things stored up, but certainly not enough. As an example, when the virus hit and people cleaned the shelves of necessary items, such as alcohol, I already had a supply stored back.

Question: Would we feed ourselves and our family and watch our neighbors starve to death? If we are survivalists we really need to rethink our motivation for stockpiling. We believe that the Old Testament is a shadow of New Testament substance. Much of the “End Times” theology is taken from Old Testament Scriptures.

But why is it that we pick and choose which Scriptures and which shadows we should borrow from? How about the story of the Israelites coming out of Egypt and God cared for them for 40 years? They were fed each morning with Manna from heaven, and they were not to stockpile from day to day but trust the Lord each day for provision. I see this happening again for believing believers. Therefore, the stockpiling of food is mainly for use to feed those who have no faith and are coming to know the Lord in the crisis of the events.

I will pose some statements and questions and then offer some Scriptures. Although I have extensive teachings on each question I have intentionally left it out so that you can formulate your own opinion based on Scriptures.

1.  SHOULD I INVEST IN THE STOCKMARKET, STOCKPILE MONEY, GOLD, SILVER, LAND, OR HOUSES?

SILVER AND GOLD:

The topic of gold evokes interest today just as it always has throughout the millennia. Much of mankind’s history has surely been motivated by the possession of this fascinating metal. One would think that there must be lots of gold in the world today. Not so. If all the gold presently existing above ground in the world were put into one place, it would amount to one solid cube the size of a doubles tennis court and 45 feet high. That block would represent most of the gold ever mined in history. It is estimated that only about 15% of all gold ever produced has been either consumed or lost. The rest of it all remains accounted for and owned by some person or entity today. There is only about 160,000 tons of gold in the world today. This seems like a lot but it equates to less than one ounce per person on the earth.

Everyone wants to have a piece of gold, or they are trying to sell you gold for your financial security. Now that we have established some facts about gold. Let's look at some Scriptures.

(Zephaniah 1:15 ESV) A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

(Zephaniah 1:16 ESV) a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.

(Zephaniah 1:17 ESV) I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.

(Zephaniah 1:18 ESV) Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

(Daniel 11:38 ESV) He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.

(Daniel 11:39 ESV) He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price.

(Revelation 13:16 ESV) Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,

(Revelation 13:17 ESV) so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

(Ezekiel 7:19 ESV) They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity.