Be Prepared

 

We read in Revelation 6 these harrowing words,

"3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

5 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. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth" (Rev. 6:3-8).

Peace ripped from the earth. Famine, sword, destruction, death, pestilence and inflation. That is what John talks about in Revelation 6. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking these verses only apply to the end of days. But this also happened in the first century, when Jerusalem was destroyed in the wars of Jews with Rome. Peace was taken from the land, war and destruction spread, famine spread, and inflation spread because of the war and famine.

Every major war brings death, disease, famine, and hunger. The difference is just the scale. Sometimes the effects of wars are localized. Other times they are globalized. If this war of the US and Israel against Iran continues, we will see this increasingly happen across the world. This is not end of times fear mongering. We may be in those days, we may not be. But if this war increases famine and death will wreck the region of the Middle East, who are not able to get supplies from abroad. And the rest of the world will feel scarcity to one degree or another as well.

World War 2 in Europe meant rationing for Australian families. Even though there was very limited fighting in Australia, and the fighting that occurred went on far away from where most Australian’s lived. This current war is devastating the region most of the world gets their energy resources from. You will feel it. So prepare.

Prepare cheap transport. Something that can run on limited fuel or energy.

Prepare spare food. At least a couple of weeks of buffer. At least.

Prepare to help people in need. Getting through hard times is as much about community as it is about preparation.

Prepare for crime waves as people suffer. Famine may or may not happen in somewhere like Australia. But have you seen the increasing homelessness. There are many underlying reasons for the current youth crime waves, one is the growing pressures of inflation.

Prepare for governments to try and solve scarcity with lockdowns, heavy legislation, and harsh rules.

Prepare.

If the war ends quickly, you might just be exposed to a bit more inflation. If it drags on, we'll be exposed to worse than that.

Pray God judges the evil forces on both sides who keep pushing this war and brings them to repentance. That may end the war quicker. Human pride will prolong it, increasing suffering. May God humble the proud.