Preparing for America's Destruction

 

In Oregon we have to anticipate forest fires each and every summer. On Labor Day of 2020 a fire started up in the Cascade foothills and became a raging inferno, blown by 40 mph east winds. It started 50 miles from our home, but within 36 hours it was within 3 miles. We were warned in plenty of time and told to evacuate, immediately. My wife was scared, frightfully so, and could not get me to hurry fast enough. She was in such a hurry that she forgot to take any clean clothes, just family heirlooms. It took us two hours to drive ten miles as everybody headed west out of the fire zone. The car in front of us had goats and sheep staring at us out of the back window. Nobody knew what would become of their homes, their farms, their livelihoods.

I suppose I could have ignored the warnings. After all, evacuation orders usually prove to be unnecessary – a false alarm. I could have continued on with my farm projects, had an evening BBQ, then watch a movie or go hot tubbing that evening. No need to get all worked up, even though the sun was red, and the sky was black with smoke.

Now consider the Biblical warnings of the end times. Cataclysmic destruction and extreme tribulation are heading our way. And if the timing of the seven trumpets and bowls are heeded, that forest fire inferno could erupt within the next ten years. America will be destroyed, first, most likely by the eighth beast (Rev 17:15, Dan 7:12). Israel will be next in the crosshairs of destruction as the Man of Lawlessness brings his massive army into the holy land with the intent of annihilating the Jews. The Day of the Lord will be in full swing as Armageddon is unleashed. Then, and only then, will the remnant of Jews and Christians be rescued and raptured by the return of Christ.

But Christians do not expect any of this destruction to come anywhere near them. They do not believe that judgment will precede the rapture. We continue on, along with the rest of mankind, just as in the days of Noah -- ­eating and drinking, going about our business, our ventures, our investments, our pursuits, booking our next cruise. While the end of the age is almost upon us.

It’s going to happen. It is clearly prophesied. America will be destroyed. God has a pattern of saying what He plans to do before He does it (Amos 3:7). Daniel’s vision of the beasts makes it clear that the fifth beast, the little horn, will be destroyed (Daniel 7:11). Revelation prophesies that the 10-horn beast (an Arab alliance) will hate the Prostitute (another description of America) and bring her to ruin – “they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire” (Rev 17:16). That sounds to me like a pre-modern description of nuclear attack. How America gets to the point of being vulnerable to nuclear attack and unable to defend itself is anyone’s guess. But with the chaotic political scene that we are in, and with no end to that chaos in sight, that is a very real possibility.

No matter how extensive the destruction, it will probably put an end to government, the electric grid, distribution of fuel and groceries. Those who survive will resort to anarchy and vigilantism. Your IRA and bank account will become worthless. Americans will need to live off the land and ration their stored goods. Sorry, no telephones or internet, and not enough gas for cars or generators. Realize that your neighbors will be as desperate as you. Will you shoot them, or will you share with them?

^“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it…. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless… Encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!  Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner” (I Peter 4 7-13)

There will come a day, soon, when the handwriting will appear on the wall. Destruction will be at the doorstep. Suffering will then be our lot, and we will be crying out, “Jesus, come quickly!