Surviving the Apocalypse

[Zakat]

Doesn't sound like it.

But in those days, after that tribulation,​

the sun will be darkened, and the moon​

will not give its light, and the stars will ​

be falling from heaven, and the powers​

in the heavens will be shaken.​

​

And then they will see the Son of Man​

coming in clouds with great power and​

glory.​

​

And then he will send out the angels and​

gather his elect from the four winds,​

from the ends of the earth to the ends​

of heaven.​

But if you're still alive at that point, hopefully you will be fully convinced of the time (if you aren't, already).

Apocalypse = the revealing of Something Important which has been hidden. It doesn't sound like anything good is going to happen, down here, so perhaps "survival" in this world isn't really the primary concern.
In my bigfat opinion. Apocalypse

Miaouw (Meowing i agree)!

 

[Flarepath]

...Apocalypse = the revealing of Something Important which has been hidden. It doesn't sound like anything good is going to happen, down here, so perhaps "survival" in this world isn't really the primary concern.
In my bigfat opinion. Apocalypse
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in clouds with great power and
glory.

Right, all we need to do is try to ride out the disasters as comfortably as we can while waiting for Jesus to come and get us out of it..

 

[Flarepath]

..the stars will be falling from heaven..

 

[Zakat]

Right, all we need to do is try to ride out the disasters as comfortably as we can while waiting for Jesus to come and get us out of it..

I beg to disagree.

Why not obey Jesus rather?

Matthew 19:21-24
American Standard Version (ASV)

Jesus said unto him, If thou wouldest be perfect, go, sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

 

[Flarepath]

Why not obey Jesus rather?
Matthew 19:21-24
American Standard Version (ASV)
Jesus said unto him, If thou wouldest be perfect, go, sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

If people are dumb enough to disobey Jesus by not not laying in a modest food/water survival cache to await his return, that's their problem..
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." (1 Cor 9:24)

Reminds me of when local cycling clubs did a 100-mile ride in the dead of winter, I was showing off my big rucksack of food and drink at the start and guess what?- Yup, the boneheads who'd only brought small rucksacks or none at all came up to me to try to scrounge stuff off me but I refused pointblank because I only had enough for myself, and they were dropping out like flies all round the course, and only yours truly and a few other big-rucksack riders finished the course..

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

I beg to disagree.

Why not obey Jesus rather?

Matthew 19:21-24
American Standard Version (ASV)

Jesus said unto him, If thou wouldest be perfect, go, sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

by Mike Ratliff

17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Mark 10:17 (NKJV)

The natural man cannot conceive of eternal life coming to anyone who does not “earn” or somehow “deserve” it. Jesus’ teaching set the record straight, but many today still do not regard what He said. Even preachers and religious leaders have bent the truth and twisted it in such a way so as to provide a way for professing believers to have a “work” they could point back to that marks them as having done that one thing that enables them to inherit eternal life. The Kingdom of God is not earned by people who somehow elevate themselves higher than others through their good works or their religiosity. No, our Lord used children as examples whom He referred to this way, “For to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

13 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” 16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them. Mark 10:13-16 (NKJV)

Children do not belong automatically to the Kingdom but must come to Jesus and receive Him the same as adults, but what our Lord was saying is that no one can enter His Kingdom except by this same child-like faith, which is with humble trusting dependence, and the recognition of having achieved nothing of value or virtue in the sense of having “earned” or “deserved” salvation. This event in the Gospel of Mark is immediately followed by our Lord’s encounter with a rich young man who asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Mark 10:17 (NKJV)

This question is steeped in legalism. His mindset was such that he could only conceive of some religious deed that would guarantee him eternal life. What was our Lord’s response?

18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” Mark 10:18-19 (NKJV)

When I was a fairly new Christian, this question by our Lord puzzled me. However, now I understand that what He was doing was challenging the implications of ascribing to Him the title “good.” This is a title that fits only God completely so was he prepared to recognize the deity of our Lord? Then our Lord challenged him to compare his life with the standard of God’s Law. What was the young man’s response?

20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” Mark 10:20 (NKJV)

No one can make this claim in complete sincerity. This young man’s answer was superficial and untrue. Since he obviously believed this about himself, we should wonder why he came to Jesus to ask his question.

21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” Mark 10:21 (NKJV)

Our Lord was not making philanthropy or poverty a requirement for salvation. This command was for the intent of exposing the young man’s heart. He reveals that he is not blameless in his response to this command. If this young man had obeyed this command he would have given away or sold everything and come and followed our Lord. This would reveal a heart that loved God more than money and possessions.

22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:22-25 (NKJV)

Through this encounter our Lord also revealed the legalistic bent in some of His disciples. Riches tend to breed self-sufficiency and a false sense of security, leading those who have them to imagine they do not need divine resources. This astonished the disciples. Our Lord reiterated the impossibility of the proud being saved by comparing the possibility of their salvation to a camel passing through the eye of a needle. Without the divine gift of a child-like, humble faith there is no possibility of salvation. The disciples were still nonplussed.

26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”
27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”
28 Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.”
29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Mark 10:26-31 (NKJV)

The key to this passage is found in v31. Instead of looking for “what must I do to inherit eternal life,” it is the inconspicuous, humble, obedient disciple (the last) who will receive the greatest honor (first). Those who are truly saved are in the Kingdom of God according to the will of God.

1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:1-10 (NKJV)

Christians are saved not by having earned or deserved it, but according to the grace of God. The faith that believes is part of the gift of God for we are His workmanship unto good works. We will do those good works after God saves us, not as a prerequisite for earning it.

source

Unpacking the story further, the meaning is even more clear when you look into the Greek in which it was originally penned. What follows is the best and clearest teaching on the story of the rich young ruler I ever listened to…

 

[Stucky]

the boneheads who'd only brought small rucksacks or none at all came up to me to try to scrounge stuff off me but I refused pointblank because I only had enough for myself

That wasn't very Christian of you...was it.

 

[Flarepath]

..the boneheads who'd only brought small rucksacks or none at all came up to me to try to scrounge stuff off me but I refused pointblank because I only had enough for myself, and they were dropping out like flies all round the course, and only yours truly and a few other big-rucksack riders finished the course..

That wasn't very Christian of you...was it.

It wasn't very christian of them to beg and scrounge was it?..
As a great prophet once said-

 

[Flarepath]

This poor starved slob's first instinct when getting out of the city was to grab his bag full of cash instead of a bag full of food, bad call..

 

[JFO2]

When the Apoc hits it could get rough in the cities when the food begins running out and the starving mobs go on looting sprees, so would it be best to hole up in our homes or head out to the countryside?-

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Unless you can grow your own food, it’s people that don’t live in Cities that are in more danger. Most cities have communities with grreengrocers / Deli’s where it would be very hard to implement some kind of MOB access. Certainly in the UK anyone that doesn’t live in a city largely depends on supermarkets to survive. Personally started boycotting them years ago. Issue them occasionally but certainly don’t need to or depend on them.

 

[Flarepath]

Unless you can grow your own food, it’s people that don’t live in Cities that are in more danger. Most cities have communities with grreengrocers.

Ah, but I'm talking about an apocalypse where a plague or meteor bombardment has wiped out 99.9% of the world's population, so there'll be no grocers, and there'll be dead stinking bodies, and as things won't grow in concrete people will HAVE to move to the countryside to grow stuff..

 

[Flarepath]

Early on in 'Survivors' (1975), Jenny asked this hospital doctor why she couldn't stay in London and he spelt it out for her-

 

[Flarepath]

To stay in the cities or to move into the countryside?
Moi, I'd be heading out to the green stuff as soon as the Apocalypse hits..

City-


Not city-

 

[Flarepath]

Okay this place looks okay, plenty of fields to plant stuff in, nice woods to gather stuff, a river for drinking water and the sea for fishing, and the seashore for finding oysters and things etc..

 

[Zakat]

Thank you for those beautiful sceneries, @Flarepath

 

[Flarepath]

A close up of the Hall that our dozen-strong group has moved into-



The living room, note the log fire and candles (no electricity in the Apocalypse)-


One of the bedrooms-

 

[Zakat]

Only God Could Have Truly Merged all of these!

 

[Flarepath]

After moving into the hall our first priority will be to circle it with barbed wire and an anti-vehicle ditch like this as protection against the starving mobs who'll be coming out of the ravaged cities to pinch our brussel sprouts-

 

[Flarepath]

Now we can safely sit down to dinner in the Hall's dining room..-

 

[polymoog]

barbed wire is worth nothing if its not contiguous around the land. this farm is not defendable.
the river can be crossed easily and people can slip through the woods.

plus, the building is visible from far away, attracting attention. you wouldnt have nearly enough barbed wire, either. a big piece of plywood could flatten a section and make it easy for someone to walk right through.