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Chaos and Darkness ahead

When Jesus gave warning to His disciples about the chaos and destruction of Jerusalem that would soon come, He was not trying to instill fear in them. He was putting them on alert so that they could prepare themselves and to make it clear that the difficult times ahead were part of God’s plan and not out of His control.

He also said that the disciples were to see those events as signs of deliverance and redemption. Luke 21:28 says,

²⁸ But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

Again, verse 31 says,

³¹ So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.

The world at large would be “fainting from fear” (Luke 21:26), because they would not know God’s plan and purpose in all of this tribulation. But Jesus prophesied of these things ahead of time, so that the disciples would not be taken by surprise and would therefore be able to see these signs in a positive light.

Most of what Jesus warned about in Luke 21 and in Matthew 24 was about events that would take place 40 years later during the Roman siege of Jerusalem that resulted in its destruction. But the city was later rebuilt, so those prophecies have another fulfillment in our time. We know this because Jeremiah 19:10, 11 tells us that the city will ultimately be destroyed so completely that it will never again be repaired (or rebuilt).

So Jesus’ warning applies to us today as much as it did in the first century.

I have believed for decades that the time of darkness ahead would be matched and exceeded by a time of great light for us. This is suggested in Isaiah 9:2, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.” Again, Isaiah 60:1-3 says,

¹ Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. ² For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you. ³ Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

We see here the great contrast between darkness upon the earth and the light and glory of God that is upon His people. For this reason, we have no reason to fear the darkness, for God’s purpose for imposing darkness is to make the light brighter so that nations and kings will be drawn to that light.

The Nature of Darkness

Darkness has many shades and meanings. The overall description of it can be found in Jesus’ warnings in the context of the impending destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus did not tell His disciples to pray that Jerusalem would be spared, but told them in Luke 21:20-22,

²⁰ But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. ²¹ Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city, ²² because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.

The early church remembered these words when the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem. The church historian, Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in the early fourth century, wrote this:

“Further, the members of the Jerusalem church, by means of an oracle given by revelation to acceptable persons there, were ordered to leave the City before the war began and settle in a town in Peraea called Pella. To Pella those who believed in Christ migrated from Jerusalem; and as if holy men had utterly abandoned the royal metropolis of the Jews and the entire Jewish land, the judgment of God at last overtook them for their abominable crimes against Christ and His apostles, completely blotting out that wicked generation from among men.” (Ecclesiastical History, III, 5)

The pertinent fact here is that Jesus had told them to flee the city when they saw armies surrounding Jerusalem. Faith comes by hearing and obeying. They were not to remain in the city and have faith that God would save them. At other times, perhaps, it may have been okay to remain, as long as they were led by the Spirit. But in this case, they were to leave the city, much like Lot had to leave Sodom when the judgment of God was poured out on the city.

In my view, those believers living in Jerusalem will also have to leave at some point. For the rest of us, leaving or staying in one’s own city will be a matter of following the leading of the Spirit. Each believer needs to be obedient to the Spirit, and I have no doubt that each will be led in his/her own unique way.

The nature of America’s darkness will not be quite the same as for Jerusalem. Isaiah 29:5, 6 suggests a nuclear explosion upon Jerusalem (“Ariel”), but in other places around the world we may see widespread destruction on account of riots and arson.

The point is that we should prepare ourselves to take some practical steps as a result of Jesus’ warning. These warnings were given so that we would have some framework of action to prepare for such difficult times in whatever way we can.

The Nature of Light

Isaiah’s prophecies about the great light were fulfilled in Christ’s first coming in the territory of Naphtali, Zebulun, and “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Isaiah 9:1). A greater fulfillment, I believe, is coming within the context of the second work of Christ in our time. This time it will include the body of Christ and not just Jesus Himself. In the progression of the Kingdom, Jesus as an Individual has now become a body of people. For this reason, the prophecy to “arise and shine” is not just about Christ’s transfiguration but also includes us this time.

Not all will see actual light coming from us, but certainly, the light of His presence and His revelatory word should be clearly evident to those we meet. 1 Corinthians 4:6, 7 says,

⁶ For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. ⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels…

Your flesh is a veil that hides the light and glory of God from most people. But if God removes the veil, others will see your light and will then glorify God.

Practical Preparations

The word of the Lord is now indicating that America (in particular) is descending into a time of darkness and chaos. The most important way to prepare ourselves, of course, is in building our faith and our experiential relationship with Christ. That is the foundation of all preparation. I believe we are coming into a time where, for some, this will even be a matter of life and death.

Beyond this, however, it is clear by current events that the world’s financial system itself is near the breaking point. Six months ago the Federal Reserve told us that more than 700 banks were insolvent. More recently, the figure was raised to more than 2,300 banks. I do not recall ever hearing them present such a bleak outlook on the future.

Whatever they say, you can be sure that they have left out a lot of details, because no one wants to spark a panic or bank runs. The result is that so far we have seen mostly “bank walks,” that is, slow bank runs. Many are pulling some of their money out of banks so they don’t get caught with no cash if the bank closes its doors.

This is causing a liquidity shortage in the banking system as a whole. Even the big banks are seeing liquidity shortages. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures deposits up to $250,000, but accounts with more than that stand to lose their money. The FDIC ended up making good on all the millionaires’ money when Silicon Valley Bank imploded last March, but if this happens too often, the FDIC will quickly be overwhelmed. It is not wise to be overly dependent upon the government to save us when disasters hit. Remember Hurricane Katrina.

Most of us don’t have $250,000 in the bank, so this problem seems irrelevant to us. It is likely that the government will create enough new money to bail out the FDIC and to make sure that small depositors don’t lose their money. But this will simply cause another problem—too much money in circulation, which will be inflationary. In other words, you may get your money back, but its purchasing power could be degraded rather quickly.

It's a bit like adding water to the soup when unexpected visitors arrive. The amount of soup is increased to accommodate the number of people at the table, but the nutritional value of the soup is diluted.

Those who have more than $250,000 in the bank should strongly consider buying things that are likely to go up in value. In other words, reduce your cash supply and increase your holdings of things that have long-term value.

God’s Money

A century ago, J.P. Morgan said, “Gold is money; everything else is credit.” Most people do not understand money or its intrinsic nature. They confuse currency with money. God has now declared war on currency (often known as fiat money). Fiat is a decree that gives currency a set amount of value, based purely upon man’s decree that it is so, often having no basis in reality.

Suppose I make a decree that oak leaves are worth $100 each. Would you sell your house to me for 5,000 oak leaves? What if I print up some currency, make it look pretty, and then declare that it has a certain value?

Haggai 2:8 says,

⁸ “The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,” declares the Lord of hosts.

This is a declaration of Jehovah-Sabaoth, “the Lord of hosts.” He is speaking as the Head of the army. Further, this declaration comes immediately after the prophecy about shaking the heavens and the earth (Haggai 2:6, 7). The shaking is now increasing, in order to cast down all that is not of Him (Hebrews 12:26-28), so that “the latter glory of this house will be greater than the former” (Haggai 2:9).

Fiat currency is being shaken as never before in order to eliminate it and replace it with Kingdom money. Silver and gold are God’s money (along with other metals). We cannot make it ourselves. God made it and put it in the ground. Man has to labor to mine it and refine it and stamp it with a value. Hence, it represents a store of energy and is valued according to the labor it takes to mine it, multiplied by its scarcity. Scarcity has to do with supply and demand, according to its usefulness.

Mystery Babylon’s power base is fiat currency, which it creates in order to exchange it for things of real value. Fiat currency is based fully on “faith and confidence” that someone else will accept it in exchange for goods and services. If that confidence is lost, the currency is worthless, because it has no intrinsic value except as fuel for a fire or as expensive wallpaper.

Some have said that one should not put their trust in gold. That is certainly true, but neither should anyone put their trust in the US dollar. The real question is this: Which form of money is the safest?

Others have asked: How much gold or silver should I get? The answer is: whatever you don’t want to lose as the purchasing value of currency collapses.

There have been numerous prophecies about a collapse of currencies, particularly the US dollar. You may want to listen to a recent prophetic dream that Chris Reed had about the dollar. He is introduced about 2 minutes into this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40KhG3T_8H4&ab_channel=Gold2020Forecast%2CBoPolny

We should not think in terms of “buying gold or silver.” We should understand that we are exchanging paper currency (or digital entries in a bank) for real money while others are still willing to take Federal Reserve Notes in exchange for something of real value. We do not know how long this opportunity will last, but I am sure it will not last for much longer.

I am not a financial advisor, so this is not financial advice. Yet I am certain that the current monetary system is coming to an end. The era of unbacked paper currency is ending; gold and silver will back the money of the future. If you have not studied this issue, or if you have not kept up with current financial news, I recommend that you spend some time learning about this.

Gold is now just under $2,000/oz; silver is about $24/oz (plus a premium). For those who are more wealthy, gold is probably more practical to own, but silver could be more useful if paper currency becomes worthless. Silver is called the poor man’s money. $100,000 worth of gold takes up much less space and is not nearly as heavy as $100,000 worth of silver. But silver has an advantage in that it can be traded more easily than gold for groceries and supplies, if necessary.

Many people have never traded currency for gold or silver, so they do not know how to do so or where to start. The first rule is never to buy it on ebay. Get it from a reputable dealer. There are local coin shops and gold/silver dealers in most cities of any size. These are the best sources when exchanging your excess money (“savings”).

But if there are no local shops, you can find some online. I would recommend Miles Franklin, which is a company owned by Andy Schectman. I have done business with him and can recommend him.

https://milesfranklin.com

JM Bullion is also a good company.

https://www.jmbullion.com

You may want to listen to some videos to learn more about gold and silver. A good video interviewing Andy Schectman can be viewed on Arcadia Economics here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20lkNmR29JY&ab_channel=ArcadiaEconomics

Another video interviews Bill Holter, who is also a very reputable dealer and has a good understanding of money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw8eqgGFmjw&ab_channel=AsGoodAsGoldAustralia

The modern version of Mystery Babylon was formed in December of 1913 with the passage of the Federal Reserve Act. The Fed soon came to dominate the world and its currency became fully a fiat currency in 1971. After 50 years, in 2021, it began its final collapse as the trumpet of the Jubilee began to sound.

We are now at the end of its dominion. God is collapsing not only the Fed but also the entire world banking system in order to prepare for the Kingdom of God. The dominion is passing to the saints of the Most High (Daniel 7:22, 27). For us, the news is all good, but this also means that turmoil is coming around the world. We need to know the Scriptures well enough to see that this great shaking is not directed against us but against the rulers of this present world order.

This shaking will affect the financial system. Knowing this ahead of time could save some of your hard-earned assets by taking a few practical steps and by educating yourself on the nature of money. Many of you have already taken such steps, but I know that many have not. So the Lord has instructed me to write this weblog to alert you so that you can be better prepared.