Then we will begin to ride toward the forces of Satan, Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the armies of the earth who have drawn up their battle lines on the plain of Megiddo.

We shall gallop to the attack, having been prepared to confront the wicked by seven years of ease in our mansion, being able to eat all the ice cream we want without getting fat.

After all the wicked fall over in a faint, we then will canter to Jerusalem where our Lord, Jesus Christ, will be crowned King on the Temple Mount. At this point we, who never have lived the victorious Christian life, will cheer and cheer because God refuses to see the sins of Gentiles and welcomes the prodigals as they return home with their whiskey and their girlfriends.

Now the Lord will tell us what city we will govern, and we will rush off with our rod of iron. If any of our citizens resist our will we shall hit them over the head with our rod of iron, because we have never learned to control our temper.

Because they have never been converted from their adamic nature, there shall be numerous fights among the "saints" concerning who is to govern the larger cities.

This is the garbage that is being preached. The believers remain dwarfed spiritually because the preachers stand in line to tell them how wonderful they are, how God loves them so much He would never, never permit them to suffer one teensy-weensy bit, and they can forget about their sinful behavior because Jesus has "done it all" for them.

This is how it goes today in the Charismatic movement.

The truth is, we are facing devastation in the days ahead, and it appears few Christian believers are prepared to stand spiritually. They may have dried beans stored up so they won't go hungry physically, but their spiritual nature already is starving.

The only way out of this confusion is to look to Jesus—not to the formulas for health, wealth, and happiness, but to the Lord Jesus. He Himself is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. When we fix our gaze on Him, He will lead us to a place of spiritual growth. We may suffer for a while when He requires us to deny ourselves. But how much better to suffer for a season now if it means we will be secure in Him when the bombs fall.

If we will look to Jesus we can save ourselves and our family.

But if we continue in the American religious foolishness, always seeking new ways in which we can improve our condition without it really costing us anything, we will be totally unprepared for the future.

We prepare ourselves today by setting aside a place and time for prayer.

We prepare ourselves today by meditating in the Scriptures continually.

We prepare ourselves today by placing everything on the altar of God.

We prepare ourselves today by living in and by Christ.

We prepare ourselves today by putting on the whole armor of God.

We prepare ourselves today by learning to live in the heavenlies.

We prepare ourselves today by confessing and renouncing our sins promptly.

We prepare ourselves today by refusing to fret about the prevailing evil.

To be continued.