A few weeks back a young reader asked a question about preparedness and the coming tribulation. I was surprised that you left out a third option in your response. I tried to write a quick note but soon realized a comprehensive response or article was warranted. So here it is.
Since the Second Great Awakening (a time of spiritual revival and activity) in the 1830s the Christian Church has embraced the theology of Pessimism. This time of revival saw a clear shift in end times belief or eschatology. The traditional and historical view of the Church was of Dominion Theology which is quickly making a strong return today through the Reformed Christian Movement. Let’s explore both thoroughly so we can understand how one’s position of eschatology will ultimately define their world view and preparedness mindset.
In the 1830s, the spiritual culture in America was in upheaval and change. Concurrently we saw the rejection of Dominion Theology and the movement to Theology of Pessimism. Likewise, we saw the emergence of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints (LDS), Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW) and Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA). Coincidentally, all four now rely heavily upon Biblical speculation, new or post-Biblical prophecy and focus heavily on end times topics for weekly liturgy or rely heavily on apocalyptic content for their church identity. We also saw the introduction of humanism at the pulpit and in worship explaining today’s flowery and repetitiously-hypnotic songs of worship which lead people to see Jesus as a “Therapist in the Sky” (self-focused worship like Two Footprints in the Sand” rather than the Conquering King of everything.) Dominion Theology uses Psalms for it’s majority of worship music. The idea being that the Psalms are songs written by a warrior about God’s strong nature and Dominion of creation. Plus, singing God’s own words back to Him in worship seems to make a lot of sense.
The commonality between the modern mainstream church, LDS, JW and SDA is the prophetic interpretation. Its highly speculative without using standard rules of hermeneutics, historical imperative or Biblical interpretation (using the Bible to interpret the Bible). They all include some form of Theology of Pessimism. Why do I call it the Theology of Pessimism? Because that is exactly what happens when you embrace that eschatology. Let me explain. If I were a youth football coach and I walked into the locker room and yelled at the kids every day telling them…”your nothing, you stink, you will never be a winner, your going to go out and get your butt kicked every day, we may win the game at the very end but your going to lose the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters.” What kind of team do you think I would field? Exactly. A team with the understanding that no matter what it does it will lose, be irrelevant, be persecuted and tried and eventually need a “life raft” called the rapture to whisk them away to safety before the real bad stuff happens. Wow! What a message. Come on people-come join the losing team. Christ died for us but let’s be a bunch of loser’s and be Satan’s doormat together!
The Pessimism plays out in our world view and culture. This is the exact reason the Christian Church of today is vastly impotent and useless in affecting our culture for Christ and has no cause for impacting future generations. Why would someone be interested in a two to three generational plan of action when they continually are looking to the sky for an exit. The modern church has a lack of generational purpose and is waiting for the “Mother ship” to come take her away so why bother with high standards or pursuits in great education, pursuit of cultural victory by making good wholesome movies and music, art, government, a clear lack of generational mindset of positive change in our communities and culture for the long-term—all missing because of pessimism.
Furthermore, this subsequently manifests itself in our prepping. We now focus inwardly on individual and family prepping at the expense of the world around us. We have recently experienced this mindset first hand where the local Christian community is so inwardly focused in can soon be described as incestuous or inbred in its nature with a refusal to anchor or be a pillar of Christian action in the daily culture of our community.
Do you want to just survive or thrive? Do you want to see hard or troubled times as the end of times or the opportunity to move the gospel forward and advance our Christian culture back to where it was in the days of old? Are you prepping to be a self-sufficient island, hoping to outlast the looter carnage or are you planning with other preppers to be ready for commerce and trade? To profit from the coming hard times by creating wealth and providing an avenue for a large hungry labor pool to create stability and peace or the opposite?
I pointedly say to Mr. Rawles that he has been a great leader in waking people up to the need to prepare but there seems to be a general focus upon isolation rather than a direct plan within a small town infrastructure. My belief is to be in the small town setting, just outside or close enough for walking. This way one can be active with the town marshal, help organize the churches, organize and improve farmer’s market, create relationships and networks that will be ready to weather the storm. Fact—we will need other people, that stinks. Guess what? We sin and they sin and all the other mess that goes with it is exactly where God wants us. All the folks who are removed by distance and geography will soon regret it when fuel is too expensive or valuable to burn just so they can get to a market to get something they need. Their well-planned retreat becomes an island of exile from community, commerce and fellowship.
Therefore, my position is that Dominion Theology is the organic world view of Christianity and the most appropriate world view for prepping. Dominion Theology states that Christ is King, has dominion over all of creation, He is sitting on the throne and will not get up until His enemies are made His footstool (complete cultural and political dominion). It also believes that the Book of Revelation means what it says when it was written for the early church (tribulation warning for churches of Asia minor in regards to Nero) and that prophecy was fulfilled and closed in A.D. 70 with the great harlot being destroyed and the Jewish temple de-constructed in Jerusalem (just as Jesus said). We are now in the Church Age or millennium and that the “1,000 years” was not literal but symbolic of many generations.
Instead of trying to convince you with a lengthy dissertation, I will just recommend three books and throw out a clear challenge to do some study. The first book is to gain clear understanding of Biblical language and themes starting with Creation and ending with Revelation. David Chilton’s “Paradise Restored: A Biblical Theology of Dominion” does just that. Next is to gain a clear understanding of Revelation and how Biblical themes, Jewish symbolism, worship themes and New Testament references lead us into a clear understanding of Revelation and not a disjointed and far-fetched speculation or fiction of end times. I believe that David Chilton scored a scholarly victory with “The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation.”
The final and most difficult to find book is Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry’s “He Shall Have Dominion: A Postmillennial Eschatology (Third Edition: Revised & Expanded)
In closing, why is this important to prepping? It determines your world view and your prepping focus. I say it is a mistake to “hunker down” in your remote retreat for several reasons. Being close (walking distance) to a small town allows one to be influential in town politics, community activity and supportive of local commerce. Also, it allows Christian fellowship in mature and formal settings. Specifically, when things go to Schumer and fuel is over $10/gallon you’ve just removed yourself from influence and positive activity if you live a long way out.
Do you have a plan to help organize local churches to feed, clothe, commune and minister to locals who will be looking for leadership? Have you segregated yourself from them hoping they feed upon each other, thus limiting your charity to the the scarecrows that crawl by so you only have to give “until it hurts”? In the Book of Acts the commitment was clear and complete. Do we consider charity limited to materials goods or does it include your time and energy? As Christians, do we deny the employment of fellowship as charity just because we risk bodily harm being away from the retreat? “Feed the poor” Jesus says. but modern survivalism says each to their own with a little for charity if they can make it past the killing time. I say that is the wrong approach.
Yes, beans, bullets and Band-Aids for your family. But a plan to be ready in the small town you influence will keep the hordes away from your property, maximize efficiency of charity, allow for pooling of resources and labor and set the stage for commerce, profit and thriving. Rothschild said, “When there is blood in the streets—buy!” The clear message is to be ready for opportunity and use it for generational victory and not a temporary patch until the mother ship arrives. Christianity isn’t “Calgon take me away”- (an old soap commercial) but is “Freedom!”– (Mel Gibson from Braveheart)
Gloria Deo, – B.H. in North Central Idaho