Recently I received and email from my brother in which he shared with me his belief that "tough times" are getting ready to come to America. Believing that I have a pretty good understanding of last day chronology, I thought that I would respond with a lengthy explanation in regard to these matters. I also thought that I would then post my explanation to this blog spot (this is the writing that I mentioned in my last post). However, as I began the process of writing, it became quite overwhelming. So I decided to put it off for the time being.
Even though I didn't send my brother the lengthy response I had planned, I did send him a shorter one. Despite it brevity, I believe that it is worth sharing. You will find it below. If by chance you find the white on black print hard on the eyes, you can download a PDF copy by clicking HERE.
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Dale,
Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you.
I originally planned a lengthy response. Reading your email made me want to explain my understanding regarding the last days, and my understanding regarding the “tough times” that you believe are coming. However, to do so has turned out to be a very large task. So I think for now that I will put this off and just send you this short reply.
In the near future, if time and resources allow, I am going to try and make a video series regarding my understanding of Biblical history. However, not only will it explain history, it will also explain my understanding of the present as well as the future. If I by chance complete this (a pretty big IF), and if you by chance watch it, you will then be aware of what I believe and why I believe it in regards to what is getting ready to come upon this world. If I do by chance complete such a project, I will certainly let you know.
I hope you don’t mind, but I will probably post this response to my blog spot. I wouldn’t do this if I felt that it contained stuff of a private nature. As it is, I feel that most of what I am about to write should be made available to others that know me. With that in mind, please feel free to forward this to anyone you desire.
Though I won’t go into a lot of detail, I will eventually respond to your belief that tough times are coming. However, before I do that, I first want to defend myself regarding something you implied about me in the email you sent. Base upon some of the things you said in that email, it seems as if you believe that we (my family) have been running away for these past few years. However, let me say that nothing could be further from the truth. We have not been running away from anything, but instead, we have only been FOLLOWING the one we love. The steps we have taken have all been made in obedience to directions that our God and Father has given us. If we were simply “running away” as you implied, certainly by now we would have ran into trouble. After all, we have made some very drastic moves over the course of the past 3 – 4 years. If we were taking these steps only in response to our own whims and desires, certainly one of these steps would have led to misery and possible disaster for my family. But as it is, each step we have taken has proved to be the right one.
When I resigned my position at First Assembly of God, I was not running away. Yes, toward the end of my time there I was miserable, but ultimately, I came to a place in which I could honestly say to God that I would stay there and serve with full submission if that was His desire for me. Thankfully, that was not his desire for me and right after I came to the place that my heart was willing to stay and serve, God quickly let me know that I needed to move on. If I had only been “running away” my decision to resign could have led to difficulty.
At the time of my resignation, I had nothing lined out job wise. With nothing more than a high school diploma, there was no promise that I could find a job that would cover our cost of living. But I had no doubts that it was the voice of my God that I was hearing, and so, I simply followed. And as I followed, he led me to the greatest job a guy like me could have hoped for. For three years, I enjoyed driving a bus for Jefferson City, Missouri. As I look back to that time in my life, I can’t imagine any job that could have fit me better. And even though the pay was substantially less that my pay at First Assembly, we never once noticed the difference.
After driving a bus for nearly two years, I felt very strongly that I was to take a part time position that was available in the bus department. By doing this, I certainly wasn’t running away from full time hours. I was actually quite happy with my job and the hours I worked. But out of nowhere a strong desire to take an available part time position overwhelmed me. When this happened, I was quite certain that it was God’s desire for me to do this. If I had moved to part time just to “run away” from long hours, I probably would have run into trouble. For once again, I would be decreasing our already decreased income. But as it turned out, no trouble came from this move. No trouble came because instead of “running away,” I was FOLLOWING. I was following the plan that my Father was laying out for me. As it turned out, the shorter work hours would prove to be essential in completing some tasks that my Father would later give to me (mainly, writing “The Letter”).
After writing and sending out “The Letter,” we quickly received orders to break off fellowship from our immediate family. And as you know, we obeyed these orders. By doing this, we certainly were not “running away” from our responsibilities. Instead, we were once again FOLLOWING the path that our Father wanted us to follow. If we were simply “running away” for our own selfish reasons, then rest assured, we would have run back a long time ago.
Our road can be very lonely. It is getting close to four years since my family has shared any kind of real dinner with others. It has also been that long since I have had to opportunity to just sit around with a group of guys and have a good time laughing and talking. In fact, the last real memory I have of just “hanging out” and enjoying such a situation was Christmas Eve of 2005 at Scott’s. Despite the gulf that already existed between us (whether you felt it or not I do not know), I really enjoyed throwing darts, shooting pool, and eating food together. The only reason I left such events behind is because my Father let me know without any doubt that that is what I had to do.
Yes, toward the end, I was very frustrated with what I considered to be your coldness and rebellion toward God, but that was the only frustration I had with my family. With the exception of that frustration, I had no dislike for any of you in my heart. And despite the hardships that existed in our family growing up, I actually have pretty good memories from my life. I have no anger, resentment, or bitterness of any kind toward any of my family. In fact, toward you specifically, I have a lot to be grateful for.
I now realize that I must have been a great pain in the neck as a brother, and yet you were always pretty patient with me. You were good to often let me hang out with you and your peers despite the fact that I am sure you would have rather not had me along. And, you were especially patient to let me stay with you for those two months in Mount Vernon. How you managed to put up with someone in your home for two full months is beyond me. While I may have been able to do that for a week, there is no way I could have endured that for two months as you did. And so, whether you believe me or not, I had nothing to run away from. Instead, I broke off fellowship with my family because I was FOLLOWING my King’s orders.
After we made the break from our family, the next step for our lives was to sell our house. By doing this, I wasn’t trying to run away from the responsibilities that come with owning a home. In all truthfulness, I enjoyed our home. I enjoyed improving it and making it nicer and more convenient to live in. But despite this, I was more than willing to sell it once I knew that that was what we were supposed to do.
After the house was on the market for a couple of weeks, I became a little uncertain as to whether or not we were really supposed to sell. Because of this uncertainty, I made a “deal” (for lack of a better word) with God to prevent me from making a mistake. My deal was simply that I would not sell the house for even a penny less than $94,900. This price was neither super high, nor super low, instead it was just a good fair price for our house considering the market at that time. While I could take a higher offer for the house, I could under no circumstances take a lower offer.
About a week after making this “deal,” our realtor called with an offer. And the offer was exactly $94,900. Normally I wouldn’t try to ask God for such a direct sign, but due to the importance of the situation and my tendency to jump the gun, I needed such a sign. Fortunately, He was kind enough to give me a direct sign. So once again, we FOLLOWED His will.
Six months after selling our home, I quit my job and moved to Joplin. By doing this, I certainly was not “running away” from my job or Jefferson City. My job was great and the schedule I had as a part time driver was even better. On top of this, I really liked Jefferson City. To this very day, I think it is the greatest place I have ever lived. If my Father was to move us back there, then we would go with great joy. The only reason I left that job and city was because I was FOLLOWING my leader.
Now, I must admit that as we pulled into Joplin late Thanksgiving night 2006, some serious doubts about that decision arose. Arriving in a strange town late and in the dark was very scary and lonely. For a moment, I thought that I must have missed the voice of God. However, the moment was brief, and very quickly the Lord was good to show me that “Yes indeed!” we were on the path that he wanted us to be on.
Finally, when we decided to sell nearly everything and just GO without knowing where we were going, we certainly were not “running away” from Joplin or our possessions. On June 30, 2007, we were happy and content with our life in Joplin. We had every intention of renewing our lease on September 1st (When we moved to Joplin we only signed a 9 month lease, so it would be due for renewal on September 1st.). However, out of nowhere, in early July it became clear that we were not to renew our lease, but that in fact, we were to sell everything and just GO. So in response, we began selling off nearly everything we owned. On August 30th 2007, we packed the back of our truck with our clothes, camping gear, and two dogs and just went.
If this drastic step was just an act of “running away,” then it is almost certain that this would have been disastrous for my family. However, no disaster came. No disaster came because we were not running, but instead, we were FOLLOWING. We were following the Good Shepherd who loves his sheep. And our Good Shepherd went before us the entire time leading and guiding us to the right places at the right time. Because he was going before us, we enjoyed the greatest two months of our lives (Please Note: this is not just my opinion, but it is the opinion of Karen, Savannah and JJ as well).
Finally, when all was said and done, he surprised us greatly by leading us to our present house here in the country. While I strongly long to go HOME (Hebrews 11:16) , I am glad that we get to live here as we wait. It has been a long-time desire of my heart to live in the country, and now that desire is fulfilled.
And so, with all of that said, I ask: can someone who is “running away” really encounter so much good luck? While such a person might have a month or two of good luck, wouldn’t they sooner or later run into trouble?
Maybe in the end I will find out that my family was just “lucky.” But if that is the case, then we are certainly the luckiest people in the world. However, as for me, I don’t consider my family or myself lucky at all. Instead, I just consider myself a blessed child who is FOLLOWING the good and perfect will of his Father.
With that said, I now want to briefly respond to your comments about tough times coming.
Dale, you are absolutely right when you say that tough times are coming. However, I am afraid that you fail to understand why they are coming. Just the same, I am pretty certain that you fail to understand who it is they are going to effect and just how tough they are going to be.
In just a matter of months or quite possibly even weeks, a time of trouble and turmoil is going to hit this planet as this planet has never witnessed. This time of suffering will be very wide spread, and it will not be a respecter of persons. The rich and the poor will suffer alike. Neither wealth, nor power, nor race, nor geographical location will do any good in escaping the effects of the time that is coming.
You mistakenly believe that these tough times are coming for the purpose of God separating the wheat from the chaff in His kingdom. However, this is just not correct. I am certain of this because I know that God has already done that work. While I can’t say exactly when it started, I do know for certain that it was in progress by mid 2003. And even though I can’t say it with 100% certainty, I am at least 99% certain that this work is over. God’s people have been tried in the fire, and we have come out of the fire proved faithful and true. Unlike you, we are not waiting for tough times, but instead, we are patiently waiting for the sound of a glorious trumpet– a sound that will immediately be followed by God sending his angels to gather us from the four corners of the earth.
Even though God is taking us off this earth, He is eventually going to send us back to it for a season to possess it and rule it with his Son. So, in a sense it almost seems pointless to take us off the earth when he is later going to send us back to it. However, He must do this so that we are out of the way. For once we are safely out of the way, He can then unleash his complete wrath against a wicked and rebellious institution (the institution that falsely calls itself the church) and people. This wrath of God that I am speaking of is the “tough times” you are expecting . These tough times are not coming to prepare people, but instead, they are coming to punish them.
While nearly everyone in the world is going to feel the effects of this time of punishment, it is important to note that it is not coming for the purpose of punishing the secular world (Yes, they will certainly suffer as a result of this time of punishment, but it is not being sent toward them). Instead, this time of punishment is coming for the purpose of completely punishing and destroying the false church institution (referred to as Babylon the Great in scripture) and those who are a part of it.
Yes, tough times are coming. But I am pretty sure that they are not going to affect me or my family. When these tough times come, we will be safely tucked away from all this harm. As the world is being punished, we will be feasting and fellowshipping with our Lord and King as well as with all our brothers and sisters who have walked the same road we have walked and have also been proven faithful and true.
If you are truly one who loves the Lord God with all his heart, mind, soul and strength, then you have nothing to fear. But if not, then rest assured you will see your words fulfilled.
May God’s will we done in your life.
Sincerely,
Jason
