A Premillennial View

Every theological view has at its base its eschatology, and we have three in our midst, the premillennial, the postmillennial and the amillennial views. These views have a radically different worldviews, and we need to understand these worldviews so that we can understand each other better and communicate better. 

My articles at http://arkhaven.org/apostolic_reformation_deception.htm describe these schools of eschatology, so I won't talk about them here . But these views have a different understanding of what we need to prepare for, and how to prepare.

I would like to present my version of a premillennial view.

In the Bible we have precedents describing physical preparation. Was Joseph and Noah and Moses (and others) operating out of fear?  No, so that settles that. 

Are some who are preparing being fear driven?  Yes, I am afraid so. 

Are some being presumptuous who are just sure they are spiritually prepared today? Yes I am afraid so. By presumptuous, I am assuming that they are spiritually equipped to live by miracles alone … today.

Many scriptures support the view that we need to be both physically and spiritually prepared for whatever comes in our lives.  But to say "We need to be prepared," is to miss the point of these Biblical presidents.  The key word is "obedience," being obedient to do TODAY what Yahweh is leading us to do TODAY.  Oswald Chambers makes this point in his classic book, "My utmost for His highest." 

Here is the key phrase from his quote that makes my point:

 God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not (only) for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.

 Here is the whole quote:

 He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side . . . —Mark 6:45

"We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.

What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.

 God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself. 

God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious." (End of quote)

The purpose of life is to prepare for eternity. Are you prepared to enter eternity today?

 It's not an easy thing to believe the Lord when He says He is going to do something. There's a family a few miles from a friend of mine in Oregon who heard the Lord tell them He was going to do something on the land where they were living. They were renting the property so they became frustrated because they wanted to start building it up for people to be able to come and stay.  Then one day they were messing around in an old shed on the property and discovered a false floor in the shed. Underneath is a water well. 

They researched and learned that well was the water source for the community 150 year ago.  So perhaps the Lord will have them handing out water in the day of calamity, but no need to build anything on the property.  Yet, they so much want to think that there needs to be something else on that property.

 With things the way they are in the world; ie: economy, politics, etc....one does not need to be spiritually discerning to notice that economies are about to crumble.  It's not prophetic at this point, it's observation. :)

That makes for quite a wrestle these days for we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit.  When things are visible in the physical, the temptation is to respond to what we see, but the Lord says we are to respond in faith to what the Spirit is saying.

 I know people think that having food stored up is going to be a helpful thing, but the truth is that unless the Lord says to do it and where to do it, it will not be helpful.  Stored food that ends up buried in rubble or under four feet of water isn't going to do much good.

 At the right time, the Lord will give you exactly what is needed and then in just as perfect of timing, He will lay out the means for whatever needs to be built, and He will call the people He intends to live there.  I don't believe the Lord is going to allow much advance time. It will seem sudden in many ways.

AN ANCIENT LIFESTYLE OF PREPARATION

 ⁶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise:

  ⁷ Which having no chief, Overseer, or ruler,

  ⁸ Provideth her bread in the summer, And gathereth her food in the harvest. --Proverbs 6

Some of you remember root sellers. That seasons crop of potatoes, carrots, squash, apples, and row after row of canned food and jellies in quart and pint jars lined the shelves. We even canned meat … lots of it. The idea was to have enough food on hand to run you until the next seasons garden was producing food for the table. That is practical preparation for everyday living. It is a self sufficient life style that was practiced for thousands of years, and still is in much of the world.

Keeping some bulk food on hand that you use on a daily basis is both economical and practical. That is IF you rotate it, using it up, but replacing it in order to have a minimum of a 10 day supply of food on hand in case of a storm that has you house bound for a few days. I remember the ice storm we had in 2009. Our stock of food took care of us for the 5.5 days we were house bound and didn't have electricity. That was wise, practical, economical preparation. That is how the Lord took care of us.

The Lord knows exactly when the dollar is going to become useless. Nothing is going to take Him by surprise. He is sovereign over all.

 I noticed this past weekend how the cities kept saying how prepared they were for the storm, but the Lord had the flooding happen in Vermont, where they had not prepared much.  He wants people to look to Him, not their own efforts.

The closer we get to the calamity in our respective regions, the more we will feel the urgency to get in motion.  (I am wrestling with this myself every day!)

We must remember to ask the Lord what He has for us to do today.  It's tempting to try to get something in place without the Lord's direction, but we must not.

Things are going to be very chaotic when calamity hits, but the Lord will guide our steps on the straight path and give us His peace.  He will purify the water for us to drink, provide food, even if it is bread from ravens. But we will need to hold fast to our confidence which is Jesus.  It is not enough to say we are confident in Jesus for our salvation.  He must be our confidence in all things....land of refuge, water, food, finances, building materials....all things.

An excerpt from Matthew Henry's commentary on Matthew 6:25-30

The Cure for Anxiety

 It is the repeated command of the Lord Jesus to his disciples, that they should not divide and pull in pieces their own minds with care about the world. There is a thought concerning the things of this life, which is not only lawful, but duty, such as is commended in the virtuous woman. See Prov. 27:23 . The word is used concerning Paul’s care of the churches, and Timothy’s care for the state of souls, 2 Co. 11:28 ; Phil. 2:20. But the thought here forbidden is, 1. A disquieting, tormenting thought, which hurries the mind hither and thither, and hangs it in suspense; which disturbs our joy in God, and is a damp upon our hope in him; which breaks the sleep, and hinders our enjoyment of ourselves, of our friends, and of what God has given us. 2. A distrustful, unbelieving thought. God has promised to provide for those that are his all things needful for life as well as godliness, the life that now is, food and a covering: not dainties, but necessaries. He never said, "They shall be feasted,’’ but, "Verily, they shall be fed.’’

In short ... the point being made in Matt. 6:25-34 is ... don't worry or fret, or be in fear about your daily needs. 

Matt. 6:25-34 doesn't say "don't prepare," it says "don't be anxious."

Genesis 41
46 Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven years of plenty the land brought forth abundantly. 48 So he gathered all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities; he placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields. 49 Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.

Hebrews 11
7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

In 1974 I, like Noah, was warned and am by faith endeavoring to prepare an ark ... ArkHaven ... for the those who will enter its provision for the hard times we are entering into. 

We will not know how we will respond to a dire emergency until we are in it. But the more we are dead to self, the better we will function when our lives are in jeopardy. This is the hardest lesson I have learned in my life. As I have told many of you, I thought I knew what death was, and what death to self was. But when my first wife died in 2005, I found out that I didn't have a clue. Of all the people in my life who died, this death impacted me a 100 times over. We had been married for 43 years and I was 69 at the time.

Now my understanding is much more realistic and workable. I now think I can lay down my life for my Lord and/or my loved ones. Not until you are able to die for the Lord can you live for the Lord as the Apostles did. That is spiritual preparation...

ARE YOU PREPARING FOR THE COMING DISASTERS?

 God’s Purpose or Mine?

Waiting for the Lord's timing is quite a discipline and calls for steadfastness of faith.  What a wonderful gift from the Lord that He would give us such times to mature us in Him all the more. No matter what minute, hour or day or circumstance ... our desire is to be exactly where the Lord tells me to be. We pray that He will keep us obedient, and we pray that for the body of Christ.

 Even if the Lord has given you visions and has spoken to you of disaster coming upon cities (and rural) areas. And even if the Lord has given you visions and has spoken to you of a day when He will command you to flee from the cities.  Each step must be in obedience to Him.

In our flesh, we could easily try to protect ourselves and leave the city for a "safe" place before the Lord tells us to leave, but what a ridiculous scenario that would be!  The only protected place is to be in the center of the will of the Lord. We do believe the Lord is having some people leave certain areas and go to other areas, but for some, He will give that command at a later date. 

The reason we are not in community yet is because the timing for us is not right ... yet!

The Lord sends us to preach the Gospel, and we pray that none of you abandon that in anticipation of needing to go to a safe place.

Each person has to do what the Lord tells them to do, obedience is everything.  He may tell someone to remain and preach the Gospel, even at the cost of their life.  Paul could attest to that. We are not to fear. We are to trust in the Lord.

 Some of those who have gone to remote areas and are preparing to get off the grid before the grid goes off, are not where God was going to send them, and they didn't leave when God wanted them to.  Spiritual preparation preempts physical preparation.  So such fear/anxiety driven preparation will actually prove to be a disaster for some. 

This does mean that we must believe Abba still speaks to His children today, and we must know His voice, and we must be obedient to do what He directs us to do.  In a phone conversation with a friend in Texas, he said he had a very lucrative job working in one of those towers in NY.  The Lord told him to quite his lucrative job and go home.  The office staff berated him, told him he was a fool.  But two days later (on 911) they were all dead, and he was home safe and sound.

But if you are not sure Aba has shown you where to be or what to do, then stay where you are ... without fear or anxiety.  This is the message of David Wilkerson's books on the coming financial Holocaust.

Being in the center of God's will is the safest place on earth, brethren.

 The Acts Model Life Style

My approach to preparation is a life style found in the book of Acts. And I add to it a simple, self sufficient life style that is reminiscent of the 500 year old Mennonite community life style and of farm life all over the world for thousands of years. But I call the Mennonite approach the “intentional neighbor” approach.  Living close to like-minded brethren who will function as intentional neighbors gives you a support group, one where you all can specialize and have someone to fall back on.  You don't have to live on the same property, you just need to be within walking distance of each other.

In my opinion the book of Acts (of the Holy Spirit) is God's model for His church in every generation and culture (because neither God nor His Bible ever changes).  The Apostles simply practiced the life style and doctrine that Jesus taught them. This model goes beyond the community concept found in chapters 2 and 3, the model includes the entire book of Acts.  The book of Acts is more than a history lesson or doctrinal teaching, it is a Holy Spirit inspired life style that is best suited for good times and bad. 

Restoring that which the Apostles established will require a restoration process of repentance and reformation.  For all that Martin Luther restored and reformed, he did not bring this reformation ... this Apostolic life style called "The Way" throughout the book of Acts.  This Christian life style MUST work in every culture and century to be valid.  Since these are of the Holy Spirit and since the Holy Spirit is with (in) each of us today, we can accept this Christian model (lifestyle) as being applicable in our (any) culture today. 

The reason we do not get First Century results today is because we do not practice First Century Christianity.  The Reformation and Restoration process will not be complete until we see Him face to face.

So, dear brethren, what is the Lord saying to you to do today? Let's see what He does.

 Most of us are so busy making a living that we can not get behind any self sufficiency programs anyhow. It may take a terrible shaking to wake up most of us enough to go with what YHWH has been showing us to do all along.

Finding Solutions Starts With Understanding the Problem

The subject and question here is; how should we prepare physically and spiritually for the times we are in. But how we discern the times is based upon our worldview and, for Christians, that is always based on our eschatological views.  So, our understanding and decisions on how to prepare for our future is solely dependent upon our eschatological world view.  Therefore, the value of our supposed solutions is dependant upon the accuracy of our eschatological views ... our worldview.  I advise all of us to study them all and be able to answer those who are critical of your views.  The Lord has brought me into a lot of repentance over the decades because I want to know the Truth (Jesus) more than my need to be "right" in my own eyes.

See my articles where I define and describe all the schools of eschatology at http://arkhaven.org/apostolic_reformation_deception.htm

Premillennialists (whether pre, mid, or post tribulation) believe that Jesus will return at the end of the 7 years of Tribulation, just before the millennium (1,000 years of peace) begins.  So from the Premillennial perspective it is clear to me that the Beast System must have a One World currency, or medium of exchange, in place before the One World Government and and the Anitchrist can come into view/power. To do this they will have to bankrupt most nations and make their currencies worthless … so that they can replace it with some interim currencies, and eventually an international, One Word currency that will probably be digital ... similar to using a debit card ... no paper or coin money.

Many world leaders (like Bush Sr.) are advocating a One World government, religion and monitory system … under a One World president … a miracle working, charismatic and spiritual leader. He will seem like, and be received as, the Messiah of every religion on earth. He will bring (force) unity under all these categories.

That means --to me-- that this system will allow a nation to go without an interim currency for a short time in order to create panic and anarchy just long enough to make everyone willing to accept anything to get back to some semblance of normal life again.  We have seen that trend start when 911 happened and rights were taken from us to hopefully prevent another 911.  We are willing to give up rights for the good of the nation.

How long will this chaotic period last? 

Who knows? 

Perhaps for a minimum of 10 days and a maximum of maybe 3 or 6 months. I would like your input on that. 

But how long can you last without WalMart and the utilities? How many will volunteer to go to FEMA camps for food and shelter ... to survive? What will life in the big cities be like (riots? anarchy?) Are you prepared for such an eventuality? 

But this chaotic period will end after a relatively short time, and the economy will recover miraculously.

How can this possibly happen? I wrote an article a few years ago that has been read by thousands that gives a history and scenario. You can see it at http://arkhaven.org/conspiracy.htm

 

There are all kinds of survivalists out there.  To some it is a wilderness lifestyle.  To some it is to hide from an oppressive government.  But to me survivalism is all about being able to stay alive to serve and minister Jesus Christ when everyone will be required to take the sign of the Beast to be able to buy or sell.  You will need the sign/mark to get paid for working your job, and to buy gas to get to work, and to pay your rent and buy groceries. So, how are we going to be able to do that without the sign/mark of the Beast?  Finding real solutions starts with understanding the actual problems.

Life is not worth living unless we are willing to die for something.  If we are willing to die for a cause, then it behooves us to survive so that we can propagate that which we would live/die for.  For me that is Yeshua!  This is the kind of survivalist I am.  Please consider my research on how I feel led to survive the prophetic time we are now entering.

Most pre tribulation rapture saints are just sure they will be out of here before the dollar crashes and the Antichrist comes on the scene.  But what if they are wrong and have to face going without money, utilities, and food for an extended period of time?  A depression and the death of the dollar can happen before the 7 year tribulation starts.  After all, we had our first in the 30, and all kinds of disasters before and after.  Why can't more come before the Rapture?  How many could potentially die because of lack of wisdom? Is it not the better part of wisdom to not assume they have all end-time Bible prophecy figured out and take the risk of letting time prove them wrong. Is it not better to prepare and not need what they prepared for than to not prepare and DESPERATELY need it? Many doctrines (eschatologies) are going to be tested in this prophetic time, and that is a large part of why the church may well have to go through this time of testing and purification.

A Biblical Life Style May Be The Answer

I advocate a time tested lifestyle that the Amish and Mennonites have lived for 500 years, a self sufficient community of like-minded brethren living the agrarian life style … living off the grid. This lifestyle will make it possible for you to support your community of believers and those saints who refuse to take the sign of the beast but did not prepare physically for spiritually for such a time.   I anticipate that most non-Christians, and many of those who think they are Christians, will go with the very convenient, lucrative, popular ... sign of the beast ... currency system and never show up at your community ... or heaven.

Please read my articles on Acts Model Christian Community that you can see at http://arkhaven.org/arkhaven_christian_community.htm

Scripture Reading

 "Because you have kept my word in quiet strength,
I will keep you from the hour of testing which is coming on all the world,
to put to the test those who are on earth."  — Rev 3:10 

  “But realize this, that in the last days
difficult times will come.” — 2 Timothy 3:1  

  "The prudent see danger and take refuge,
but the simple keep going and suffer for it" —Proverbs 22:12

  As fish are caught in a cruel net, as birds are taken in a snare,
so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly on them." —Ecclesiastes 9:12

  "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do" —Psalms 11:3

  ⁶ For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found:
surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

 ⁷ Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble;
thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

⁸ I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:
I will guide thee with mine eye.   Psalms 32

 And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
nor shall the flame scorch you.”  —Isaiah 43:2

¹ He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

 ² I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

³ Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

⁴ He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

⁵ Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

⁶ Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.   Psalms 91

Shalom
Ken Uptegrove