The Last Days of America: Preparing for Our Place in the Book of Revelation

dedicated.

INTRODUCTION

STATE OF THE US ECONOMY

This book is intended to place biblical prophecy in perspective to allow the reader to identify current events in the chronology of the book of Revelation. Additionally, information is provided to help the reader begin preparations to survive the coming disastrous times. The economy, the dollar, the financial system, and the Federal Reserve all have their role in the events of the book of Revelation, as we will see.

Part I of this book is a dutiful look at eschatology and the chronology of end-time events that explains where our nation and our civilization may be in the biblical time frame of God as the world moves closer to its final destination.¹ It is the purpose of this section to provide the biblical reader with the correct perspective on God’s plan for the end, using God’s Word (the Bible) as the primary reference.

Part II deals with the survival aspect of the end-times. These chapters focus on the economy, financial systems, the state of the dollar, where to buy food and water for long-term storage, gold and silver coins, and how to prepare for a secure environment.

Part II is also designed to help the reader move in the right direction with both research and preparations for events that will reshape this world in the months and years to come. It is not a comprehensive guide or manual for preparing, as there are countless resources available to help with making the necessary preparations for the events of the near future. However, a few suggestions are provided to help readers move in the direction of self-sufficiency.

Any discussion or study about the end-times must naturally have at its core the precepts laid out in the Bible on this topic. And the Bible is quite clear: the events that are to occur in these last days are so horrific that Jesus said if he didn’t come back there would be nothing left to come back to.²

The exact day and hour when the events will begin are not known. But be assured we are knocking at the door of a great precipice. And the anguish and suffering that will follow has not been known before anywhere in the world nor ever will be.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. . . . For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:8-9, 21-22 NKJV)

You will have the naysayers who state that horrible events, to a degree, have happened throughout history, and they are right. They are right with the exception of the last part of the scripture above. Where we separate ourselves from the world’s opinions is that by being Christians we have the mind of Christ.³ And, as such, we are ultimately required to live a life that is led by the Spirit of God.⁴ These concepts are foreign to the unbeliever. We already know the times and seasons that we are in and to even the casual observer something should appear to be definitely wrong. The wars, the famines, the intense focus on the financial state of the US economy, the economy of the world, the rhetoric by our government on the debt crisis, and the looming financial cliff should indicate to anyone, Christian or not, that the handwriting is on the wall for the approaching bad times and it is time for us to prepare. At no other time in history has it appeared so likely that we are entering a time period specifically mentioned in the book of Revelation.

If you are one of those who have been told that you will be rescued from all soon coming troubles, think again. You have probably been told that just prior to the worst events that the planet has ever experienced, the rapture will occur and take you to heaven.⁵ If that is your belief, you absolutely must read on because you have been seriously misled, by well-meaning people, of course. There have been millions of Christians who have been martyred since the beginning of the Church more than two thousand years ago and God did not rescue them. He was certainly with them in their time of distress, but he didn’t rescue them with the rapture.

Add to what is happening in our economy, the sequestration cuts, the LIBOR scandal, the international currency war, the international trade war, the continued deficit spending, and the near certainty of additional quantitative easing (QEs) and more, well, I am quite convinced that we are entering a time period that might fit into the chronology found in chapter 6 of the book of Revelation.

Chapter 6 of Revelation talks about the first six seals (there are seven in total), and it seems the third seal may become a reality based on present-day events. In this chapter of Revelation we have a rider on a black horse holding a set of balance scales indicating some type of trade or financial system. With the further comment in this part of Revelation, a quart of wheat for a day’s wages, three quarts of barley for a day’s wages,⁶ possibly referring to a period of extreme worldwide scarcity, one should begin to be concerned. But the worst part of this section is the next rider on the pale green horse, the fourth seal. This is Death, with Hades following right behind him. They have authority over one-quarter of the population to kill with the sword, famine, disease, and wild beasts. That is what should get your attention.

This fourth seal of Revelation 6, with the death of possibly a quarter of the population, follows a time of economic uncertainty that could quite conceivably be the coming worldwide economic crash. In chapter 20 of this book, entitled The 7,000-Year Plan of God, I put forward a possible time line of where we are based on the theory that God’s plan for man is 7,000 years long. This is based on 1,000 years for each of the days of creation in the book of Genesis. In this chapter I point to one of the more prevalent theories as to what may happen and how. There are a couple of very interesting scenarios, one of which ties directly into the line of thinking that we are very close to the events of Revelation chapter 6.

Now that the possibility exists that we may have an identifiable scenario in our society that matches up with events in the book of Revelation, it is time to take a hard look at those events to determine where we are exactly, or as close as we can be, in time, or where we are in God’s plan. As the alarm sounds and daily life begins to get difficult, God will not abandon his people. He will warn them to the degree necessary to keep them in his will.

Surely the Lord Jehovah will do nothing, except he reveals his secret unto his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7 NKJV)

However, it is up to us to heed the warnings. If we don’t heed the warnings then the calamities that will befall the world will be brought to our door as well. It’s like the old story about the man who owned a farm near a major river and the weather reports warned of a great storm that would severely flood the land of everyone who lived on the river. Many casualties were expected. The news reports abounded saying that if you lived on the river you should evacuate before it was too late. The man who lived on the river said to himself that he wasn’t worried because the Lord was going to protect him. A boat came down the river near to where the man lived and the man was advised to leave with the crew on the boat to avoid the flood and save his life. The man responded that he wasn’t leaving because the Lord was going to protect him. Finally, a helicopter happened by because the pilot noticed the man sitting on his roof as the floodwaters began to rise. The man was asked to leave with the helicopter as the waters were rising and he would most certainly die. The man, once again, responded by saying the Lord would protect him from the rising waters.

Well, the man drowned and went to heaven. When the Lord approached him, the man asked why the Lord didn’t save him from the flood. The Lord replied, I sent you news reports about the flooding. I sent you a man in a boat to take you away from the flooding. And then I sent a man in a helicopter to help you leave and you didn’t listen to them. Regrettably, I must tell you that you have been warned.

The study of the end-times should start with the study of the book of Revelation for the New Testament reader. There are many other books of the Bible, both Old Testament and New, that offer insight into the end-time plan of God, but the book of Revelation was directed by the Lord himself to the churches in Asia,⁷ all of which were New Testament churches. John the Apostle was told to write what he saw and send it to the seven churches. It was meant for the New Testament reader. And we are living in the time of the New Testament.

A thorough study of the end-times fully recognizes that there are multiple contributions found in the Bible in books like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, and many of the Minor Prophets, ending with the books of Zechariah and Malachi.

The study of the book of Revelation is in itself a unique opportunity. It offers up insight into both the heavenly realm and God’s final plan for mankind. The particularly relevant reason to study Revelation in our present time is due to the parallels it may evidence in relation to events currently unfolding in our world today. Common sense would dictate that if we were able to identify a possible event in Revelation that corresponds to an event in today’s society, well, we would probably, as a whole, take the entire book a little more seriously.

If we are looking for signals in today’s society that correspond to the book of Revelation, and if we are looking at Revelation as a chronologically revealed book, we inevitably come to Revelation chapter 6. I say inevitable because, well, the events of chapters 7, 8, 9, and so on, haven’t happened yet. By process of elimination then, we have to continue going backwards and come to chapter 6.

Chapters 1 through 5 have no specific, objective prophetic revelation for us as they pertain to the unfolding of an event in which we would notice or be a part of. The first and second seals, while prophetic, offer no objective finding that we could identify that has either happened, is currently happening, or may happen in the future. The third seal, then, becomes our beginning point of reference.⁸

When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "a quart of wheat for a denarius (days wages), and three quarts of barley for a denarius (days wages); and do not harm the oil and the wine." (Revelation 6:5-6