Preparing for what's to come

Deutsch

Procrastinating rarely has any advantage. Reality will come, whether you want to admit it or not. So, not tomorrow or sometime in the future, but HERE and NOW, the (true) Christian must prepare for what is to come. Here are a few basic rules of thumb.

Inhalt / Content

1 A good dose of stubbornness
2 Losses are already foreseeable today
3 The basic equipment of faith
- 3.1 A few key points
4 Don’t put anything off!

A good dose of stubbornness

“Being optimistic” in the face of developments in a world that has long since gone awry, and facing the times ahead, is a prerequisite for being able to weather the adversities that are sure to come without suffering “psychological damage.” Crucially important is being able to withstand this pressure with a certain degree of stubbornness. The anticipated pressure becomes particularly apparent when one realizes the consequences of resisting it and steadfastly clinging to the written word of God, the Gospel.

Everything is truly at stake. The final act of perseverance will involve owning only what one wears on one’s body. Even before the pursuers are on one’s heels, participation in the economy (buying and selling) will have long since been blocked. Once digital money and digital IDs are implemented, a simple push of a button will be enough to deprive a “non-conformist” of their livelihood.

Losses are already foreseeable today

Vorbereitung — Spiritual and material reduction to the essentials

Possessions, house and farm, car, savings, pensions – everything will be taken. Added to this is the social pressure from a conditioned society that has never hesitated to denounce unpopular members of society. Some examples of reprisals that are already foreseeable are listed here. Furthermore, a technical blueprint already exists for “remote warning” via a warning app, indicating whether and who in the immediate vicinity has gone astray and poses a threat.

The more one simultaneously separates oneself from the many, mostly superfluous, things as part of spiritual preparation, the better. Anyone who has ever moved house will see what all has to be packed into boxes, only to condemn these superfluous items to eternal neglect in the new home.

The basic equipment of faith

A pastor in Queen City, Texas, Gabriel Taylor, has compiled an excellent summary outlining how we must be equipped to face the challenges ahead. Otherwise, the ultimate salvation of humankind looks very bleak.

A few key points

Firmly grounded in the written Word of God. Traditions and human rules are completely out of place here. They not only have the potential to ignore the actual will of God, but even to completely contradict God’s laws. Herein lies the particular danger against which Jesus Christ clearly and explicitly warned, Matthew 24:4:
“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.“

German translations are not ideal at this point, because the Greek word for “deception” is “planaó.” This means “deception,” the hottest issue in our time (Info).
Don’t wait until the pressure begins to do God’s will. The motto is to start today, ideally “since yesterday,” to understand God’s true will and to act on it immediately. For if you only come to your senses when the knife, gleaming and already sharpened, is held to your throat, it is too late. It is too easy and too quick to submit to the dictates, and despite reluctance and better knowledge, you receive the mark of the beast on your right hand (Info).

Compromises? Absolutely not, not even in the slightest! Jesus Christ expressed this as follows, Luke 16:10:
“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.“
Enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not enough to know Jesus simply because you have read and heard a lot about Him; a personal relationship is absolutely necessary, like a close friendship with a neighbor to whom you can reveal your innermost self based on well-founded, complete trust. For trust is one of the most important characteristics a person can have in relation to God.

Abraham demonstrated this trust, for example, by following God’s call to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. Abraham indicated his trust by expressing his confidence that God would provide an animal when his son asked where the sacrificial animal was. Furthermore, Isaac’s death would have contradicted God’s promise that an innumerable nation would descend from Abraham, through his son Isaac. Abraham believed God and trusted Him. This was ultimately credited to him as righteousness (Hebrews 11:17-22; Galatians 3:6).

This is also a reminder to those who describe the God of the Old Testament as vengeful and cruel, simply because they stop thinking about the tip of their nose at their own perceived outrage.
To separate oneself from the customs of the world and to isolate oneself. Those who do not cooperate at all with the socially established rules are considered eccentric and more than just peculiar. Tomorrow, they will be declared dangerous. Even ancient Israel urgently called on God to separate themselves from the Gentile nations, under no circumstances to adopt their traditions and idolatry, but nevertheless to be the light of the world for them as a faithful example of God. “Separate yourselves,” is the call in Ezra 10:11 and 2 Corinthians 6:17.

For the following fact is unambiguous, James 4:4:
“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” Is it really desirable to be an enemy of God? The current ruler of this world (John 12:31; John 16:11) is the great adversary, and this world follows his rules.
Fill your heart with the Holy Spirit today. The Spirit of God works tirelessly within us, convicting us of sin and instilling guilt for our actions. If we do so, we have resisted the Holy Spirit, and that cannot last forever. “The heart hardens,” as the Bible puts it. Once the Holy Spirit has departed, He never returns.

In this case, there is no hope left for the person, because then they follow their own heart, listen to their inner voice, and thus follow the customs of this world. Anyone who firmly adheres to God’s word will even be considered an enemy by Him, someone who actually dares to endanger their own good life and that of their fellow human beings (“the common good”).

This sometimes leads to “Christians” who maintain that God has written the laws on people’s hearts (Hebrews 8:10) and therefore they are no longer valid. This is a completely illogical and irrational argument, an oxymoron. For where could God’s laws be more readily found than in one’s own heart? To then declare them “no longer valid” casts doubt on any semblance of sound reason.