While this book has wilderness survival as one main theme, there will be no discussion, or support, of militia groups. And while the Elect fully expect to be persecuted by world governments, there will be no anti-government propaganda. I am aware of groups which openly target the American government with preoccupation, but these do a disservice to God's people by fueling persecutionary feelings against us. Remember that God is the installer of all governments, even the evil ones, for His eternal--sometimes strange--purposes.While I have come to support community living for tribulation purposes, I would like you to distinguish me from false prophets or cult material which seek to form end-time Christian communities. I am no prophet, self-proclaimed or otherwise; I make no official prophetic utterances in the Name of the Majesty. I seek not to become a leader over a group of people forming a tribulation community, although, when the time comes, if it should come in my lifetime, I will do what I can to serve and protect the people of God; Lord grant us all the courage and dedication to do whatever it will take.
Dates for the Lord's return are not given dogmatically in this book, although I do have a convincing theory (70th Week begins 2009) that I am keeping an eye on. There is no dogmatic claim concerning the identity of the anti-Christ, although I do repeat the name of Vladimir Zhirinovsky sufficient to make him my number one candidate. Daily world events dressed up as fulfilled prophecy is not a tactic to be used here as a carrot-on-a-stick to keep your on-going interest and in-coming money. Conspiracy theories involving international bankers who plan the complete financial collapse of the world's economy, the bombing of America by Russia during the tribulation period, and all such Biblically-unverifiable stories will not be carted here. Not that I am naive regarding the forces driving the the New World Order (NWO), but that there are all sorts of fearful theories in regards to how they will choose to strike, whereas the Bible claims only two things for us to avoid: the image and mark of the beast. No financial collapse is prophesied. While anything is possible that isn't in Prophecy, it may prove disastrous to claim future events as fact when they may not be.
While we don't exactly know at this time when the need will come for the Church to retreat into the wilderness, rather than putting off a decisive plan, we ought to begin praying for future protection, and laying out some strategies in our minds. God knows best where the locations in the world are situated for the purpose. He will require that some of us suffer intensely, but not until the appointed times; until then, He will protect and sustain, nourish and prune. The best reason that I can give you for preparing yourself physically beforehand is for your increased focus on your spiritual condition when the time comes. It may prove disastrous to your spirituality if you are scurrying about looking for food and warmth for your body, and you may end up giving in to the sort of despair that curses God for your troubles.
But this book is not about hiding in order to save your own skin. Yes, Proverbs does tell us that the wise man sees trouble coming and hides accordingly, but the wisest of all seeks to help others in their common calamity. Anyone who sets his mind to forsaking any part of this life for turning his energies onto tribulation preparation for God's people will be honored accordingly. The wise servant will be found feeding the household of Jesus when He returns, said Jesus in Matthew 24, and that one will be Fed in return by God. But I do not think it is wise to leave the situation in God's lap...to neglect physical preparation altogether...and to call that "trusting in God." Rather, keep attentive to what the Holy Spirit is directing you. Ask Him often where you are to spend the final days, and how you should serve.
It appears to me that the skincode (mark of the beast) could be mandatory by 2015. Therefore, I would say that the time to seek God for a tribulation retreat has all but arrived. The poor who can't afford so much as their own land must look to the wealthy, and the wealthy must consider them. I believe that God will raise believers with great wealth to assist those who have an insufficiency of supplies.
The gospel that I read in the Bible is this:
Apart from the Holy Spirit living within me, I remain susceptible to falsehood and behavior denying me the prize of eternal life with My Creator. Without the Spirit's guidance, I cannot know God in order to be pleasant in His company. Instead, I can only fashion in my mind an image of God which is not truly Him (e.g. Allah the anti-Jewish God, the anti-Jesus Jewish God, the Our-Lady Catholic God, the evolved Mormon God, the Masonic God who turns out to be Lucifer and a one-world religion under him, the charismatic worldly-prosperity God, the witchcraft God who lives in tree trunks, the yoga God who turns out to be a self-diluted self, the extra-terrestrial God of science, the New-Age ether-force God...).Through a solemn faith in the Cross (the crucifixion, not the wood), I receive the new birth in the Holy Spirit, who intimately introduces the true God within me. This introduction has subtle power, urging me to remain faithful to God's desires. The Holy Spirit then verifies that Scripture is a message to us all from God, that we might know Him in Truth all the more--that we might not be deceived again by the religion(s) or non-religion(s) once holding us.After the regeneration of my soul, there ought to be a life-long course in obedience to Him, motivated by love for Him. Faith in the Son of God without obedience is dead and unworthy faith, a very false hope. The Holy Spirit seeks to build a new person(ality) within me by being alongside me in my various trials, which God is sure to bring upon me--which I am to overcome through my love for God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit continues to generate within me a love for God which will sustain my faith under testing. I receive eternal rewards for all obedience during the struggles. For the disobedience in my life-long, Spirit-filled walk, there is provision for forgiveness through the Cross, thus sparing me all eternal penalties. This Grace gives me the impetus to go on in obedience even while I am burdened and disheartened by my sins.My spirit is finally sprung free from the pressures of being a Christian in a world ruled by Satanic forces. This freedom will come when the re-appearance of Jesus destroys the forces responsible, or when I die, whichever comes first.All good and charitable works will reap good rewards in this life, but will not in themselves reap eternal life. Anyone who performs good works while rejecting the Son of God will not be invited, nor permitted, into the House of God, nor into the Celebrations now being prepared for the Son. This is only fair and expected, for no matter how good one's actions and thoughts are, his/her rejection of the Son will reap rejection from the Son, whom God has placed in charge of His Kingdom. No one who rejects the Son can claim to be without sin, for that one has committed one gross sin already.The Father has placed the Holy Spirit in charge of those who love/obey the Son, that they might safely arrive to the gates of eternal life, where a troubled life can bloom into unimaginable joy. If the Spirit of God is not present at all in a life, then there is no true faith in Jesus present. The one who obeys the Son is the one who loves the Son; this one has true faith and is thereby sealed by the Spirit for the Day of salvation. The Son has commanded us to look after one another in our calamities, and the calamity of calamities is almost here.