Note: This
represents 2
different
commentaries by Don
McGee. The first is
about "Black
Friday," the second
is about the
December 2012 event
They call it "Black
Friday", and it has
a varied history.
Some say the origin
of the name comes
from the
Philadelphia Police
Department's
uncomplimentary
appraisal of the
first day of the
Christmas shopping
season back in 1966.
In recent years it
refers to that busy
Friday after
Thanksgiving that
puts retailers "in
the black".
Each year it seems
the day is
punctuated with
incidents of
trampling, fights,
robberies, shootings
and all sorts of
anti-social
behavior. Seems that
"peace on earth"
thing we like to
sing about just
can't seem to make
it to the retail
level.
It is both sad and
shocking that the
official American
day of Thanksgiving
to God has become
the eve of what is
arguably the year's
most illustrative
day of thanklessness
and greed. More
important than its
origin, and even
more important than
its economic impact
is its crystal clear
portrayal of the
greed and violence
that can be so
quickly and easily
launched from the
depths of the human
heart. Not a pretty
sight to behold.
But, there is
something more here.
Something ominous
that is lurking in
the dark shadow of
this often violent
day of materialistic
greed. In short, it
sets a precedent,
though very limited
in comparison, for
what is going to
happen in America, and all
over the world, very
soon. It is the
coming time of
tribulation spoken
of by the ancient
Hebrew prophets, and
a time described by
Jesus in Matthew 24
as one of
unprecedented
trouble. A time when
the human race will
show just how
debauched it can be
when God is
dismissed and man is
left to himself.
Amos said it will be
a time of darkness,
"As when a man flees
from a lion, and a
bear meets him, or
goes home, leans his
hand against the
wall, and a snake
bites him." (Amos
5:19). Just when a
man thinks he is
safe and stops to
catch his breath, he
is instantly
face-to-face with
another form of
horrible death. The
deep and continuous
anxiety and fear of
the tribulation
period will break
many of those left
behind emotionally,
mentally and
physically. Soon,
most civility will
be gone, and the
ultimate result will
be a world with many
of its inhabitants
living on the verge
of barbarism.
After the
anti-Christ imposes
"order", the
compulsion for
survival will even
undermine martial
law when necessary.
Further, his demand
for control and
worship will push
the criminal justice
system and its
former stabilizing
influence to the
back burner. You
see, he will have no
concern for
escalating
lawlessness, because
he will have no
concern for the
sanctity of life.
In those spiritually
dark days the
damning mark of the
beast will be
necessary for anyone
to buy or sell goods
and services.
Refusing his mark
will be a terrifying
thing, for it will
cost a person his
head under the blade
of the guillotine
(Revelation 20:4).
It is absolutely
impossible to
imagine, or in any
way visualize the
horrors that will
fall upon this
Christ-rejecting
world. Sobering is
the fact that this
coming day is not in
the distant future.
It will begin very
soon after the
rapture which, by
the way, could
happen today.
So, what does all
this have to do with
Black Friday?
Simple. The
materialism and
violence of that day
is but a microcosm
of what will happen
in the tribulation.
We are seeing
movement in that
direction now, but
it will get much
worse.
First, a worldwide
economic crash will
be part of God's
judgment (Revelation
18) which means fiat
money (paper money)
will be
hyper-inflated, or
will become
worthless. This has
happened before.
Further, the
so-called
"safeguards"
designed to prevent
a market crash and
which are overseen
by the U.S.
Securities and
Exchange Commission
are futile. Oh,
yeah? Yeah. Note the
recently admitted
inability of the SEC
to prevent the
massive Bernard
Madoff fraud of
upwards of $20
billion. Scripture
says that trust in
any government's
ability to protect
its citizens from
certain threats is
foolish. In those
days there will be
little government
protection, whether
you call the SEC
about your money, or
911 about your life
and property. More
importantly though,
is the fact that
people will need
protection from the
government itself, a
nightmare many
believe is already
here. Note Jeremiah
17:5,6.
Second, events will
quickly escalate to
a level of severe
desperation. By the
breaking of the 4th
seal in Revelation 6
a full 25% of the
earth's post-rapture
population will die
from violence,
famine, disease and
wild animals. The
world's population
is currently 7
billion. To
illustrate, say 2
billion are taken at
the rapture with 5
billion left on
earth. That means
1,250,000,000 people
will die in the
early part of the 7
year tribulation.
Those are not good
odds when the ante
is not just death,
but a hideous kind
of death at that.
Third, terrible disasters will happen in the form of
terrestrial and
cosmic disturbances.
Devastating
earthquakes will
disrupt local and
worldwide
communication, air
and ground
transportation,
pipelines,
utilities,
production and
distribution of
goods and services
like food and fuel,
etc. (Revelation
6:12ff). The cosmic
instability listed
seems to be
meteorite and
asteroid impacts
upon the earth. But,
whatever they will
be, they will be
sufficient to drive
kings, presidents
and other renown,
God-hating world
leaders into caves
and holes in the
ground like so many
fearful, scurrying
vermin.
Presently,
America
and other developed
countries have
disaster sensors in
place.
Meteorologists
examine atmospheric
conditions, predict
the weather systems
they will produce
and issue warnings.
People can have
severe weather alert
systems in their
homes, and programed
into their phones.
Volcanologists and
seismologists
closely monitor
movements in the
earth's crust to
predict eruptions
and earthquakes. In
those days ahead
such monitoring will
be of no value. In
fact, even in the
21st Century
scientists are
sometimes mistaken
about such things as
they were about
Fourpeaked Volcano
in
Alaska,
thought to be
extinct for 10,000
years. That is,
until it came to
life in 2006. The
experts were wrong.
Imagine that.
Fourth, the Holy
Spirit will be
removed from the
earth when the
church is removed (2
Thessalonians 2:6).
That is not to say
He will not be
involved in the
salvation of
multitudes during
the tribulation, but
it is to say His
overruling hand will
be gone. The
God-hating world
will get what it
wants — a world
without God! The
result, however,
will be anything but
peace. As with oil
and water, man's
independent
governance and real
peace cannot occupy
the same space at
the same time.
The real issue with
the absence of the
Holy Spirit during
the tribulation will
be the hellish
corruption of every
aspect of human life
as the result of the
uninhibited
influence of Satan
upon men's hearts.
Contrary to what
kids are led to
believe in college
humanities
curricula, the human
heart is indeed evil
(Jeremiah 17:9).
Presently, the
outpouring of such
evil is held in
check by the
presence of God's
Spirit in believers.
That is true despite
the horrors some men
perpetuate upon
other men. This
emphasizes the broad
contrast between the
present evil actions
of men and the
hyper-evil they will
become capable of in
that day. When Jesus
said this future
time of suffering is
unprecedented those
words left His
tongue with their
full meaning and
impact intended.
A few days ago on
Black Friday some
people struck,
trampled,
pepper-sprayed,
robbed and even
murdered other
people for toys,
play-things and
other trinkets.
Imagine every day
for seven years
being like Black
Friday, but on
steroids. What do
you think those left
behind will do when
they experience real
needs like food,
water, shelter,
medicine and other
necessities for
survival, and their
backs are against
the wall?
Imagine a time when
disasters happen
everywhere. Imagine
living in urban and
suburban areas where
there is no fresh
water, no sewage and
garbage disposal, no
food, no
electricity, no
anything. What do
you suppose will be
the limitations on
human conduct when
people believe their
only hope of
survival is in what
they can take by
force? An evil heart
combined with an
empty stomach will
produce unbelievable
violence.
Add to this mix
those who will take
advantage of the
chaos and diminished
police presence to
not only take what
they want to
survive, but to take
whatever else they
want from those who
are vulnerable. And
one more thing.
Remember the "great
sword" in Revelation
6:4? The blade
described there is
actually a
short-sword, an
assassin's weapon.
Those terrible days
will also be a time
of vengeance. An
opportunity to "get
even" with whoever
for whatever reason.
To a great degree
those days of
tribulation will
produce a degree of
change in the way
people conduct
business. It is true
that there will be a
powerful engine of
commerce operating a
global economy as
seen in Revelation
18. But, on some
levels certain
disturbances will
force a bartering
system upon people.
Will a man with
several dependents
who are hungry and
have not had clean
drinking water for
weeks really want
gold as a medium of
exchange? If the man
down the road has a
fresh-water well and
a milk cow, will he
accept gold in
exchange for his
commodities? Gold
cannot be eaten,
drank, worn or lived
in. Gold cannot run
an engine, nor can
it set a broken bone
or kill a pathogen.
Inflation, a growing
black market and
other influences
will make money and
precious metals
values impossible to
set. Those who
possess necessities
will barter for
those goods and
services they need.
This will morph into
a sub-economy far
more suitable for
survival than
regular commerce. It
has happened often
before.
What this means is
that those without
commodities and
services with which
to barter will be in
great desperation,
and this will push
the limits of their
conduct past
civilized lines.
When people realize
that the money they
saved, their
retirements, their
collectibles, and
their materialistic
possessions are
almost worthless
they will drop all
pretense of
civilization and
revert to any means
of survival deemed
necessary.
Comparatively
speaking, the worst
Black Friday will be
like a benign Sunday
School class for
centenarians.
Every analysis and
depiction of the
tribulation period
is unpleasant, but
it must be studied
seriously. Thus, the
main reason for
considering these
matters is to inform
people of what is
coming. It is hoped
that current events
seen through the
lens of scripture
would serve to open
our eyes to the
imminent reality of
the rapture of the
church followed by
the most violent
time of suffering in
the history of
humanity. But, that
is not happening,
unfortunately.
The eyes of
unbelievers are
blinded, and even
the majority of
Christians offer
only a condescending
smile and a
dismissive wave of
the hand at the
mention of these
things. It is true
that the church will
not go into the
tribulation, and we
thank God for that!
But, it is also true
that we are living
in the shadow of
these things and the
precursors of
unparalleled terror
are staring us in
the eye right now.
Because there is
more focus on the
Baby in the cradle
than the Man on the
cross and His empty
tomb, and because
there is very little
focus at all on His
imminent coming for
His church, people
are simply not
ready. From the
portals of heaven
Jesus is essentially
screaming His
warning, but hardly
anyone is listening.
Indeed, the rapture
will surprise the
secular world.
Sadly, because of
ignorance and
apathy, even most
Christians will be
surprised.
What About December
21, 2012?
This is an important
year for many
people. While most
of the hoop-la has
died down, some are
still mulling over
that Mayan calendar
thing about how the
world might end on
December 21st.
Memories of Y2K come
to mind as we hear
of people making
plans to escape doom
by buying extra food
staples, building
bunkers and
stockpiling water
cans. And, no doubt
we can expect an
increase in interest
as the day becomes
nearer.
The idea that
something unusual is
going to happen is
based upon that date
being the end of a
5,125 year long
calendar the Mayans
developed. Since
what follows that
date is obscure some
people believe it
must obviously mean
the end of the human
race, or something
similar. However, in
order to believe
this a person must
first disbelieve in
God, and thus
necessarily reject
the Bible's
blueprint for the
future.
Predictions about
what will happen
vary, depending upon
the worldview of the
one doing the
predicting. New
Agers believe this
is the date the
earth and its
inhabitants will
undergo some sort of
physical and
spiritual renewal.
Others say the world
will end in a
cataclysmic event,
the cause of which
is still unknown.
Still others say the
earth will collide
with a black hole,
or be hit by an
enormous asteroid,
etc. The theories
are limited only by
an imagination that
is both vivid in
nature and void of
any knowledge of
God.
Unfortunately, most
people get their
information
regarding the end of
the world from
places like "The
Discovery Channel".
It seems this
popular program has
become the
supermarket tabloid
of TV science
channels. The
general conclusion
from TDC seems to be
the possibility of a
magnetic pole
reversal, the
explosion of super
calderas, violent
solar storms and a
host of other
calamitous events.
It is true that this
world is going to be
shaken to its core
with disastrous
events, and it is
true that some of
those could happen
at any time. But, to
relegate any of that
to a date on a pagan
calendar is absurd.
It is amazing how
otherwise
intelligent people
will reject
out-of-hand the
confirmed predictive
reliability of the
Bible, and at the
same time accept,
without critical
analysis, the
hullabaloo of
pseudo-science. Yet,
many do.
While Mexico is
taking advantage of
the excitement in
order to cash in on
some much-needed
tourism, Christians
can also exploit the
situation, but for
more important
reasons. When a
conversation turns
to this subject, it
could be an
excellent
opportunity to offer
the truth to any who
might accept it.
Without becoming
adversarial with
unbelievers, it
might be profitable
to mention what God
has said about the
end of the world,
and the events that
precede it. Simple
statements made
without
sensationalism often
leave the hearer
with a desire for
more information.
Then sit back and
let the Holy Spirit
do His work.
Of course, as
believers we look
forward to Jesus
taking His church
out of this world,
perhaps before that
date. When that
happens the world
will go into a
tizzy, alright, but
it will not be due
to some date on a
Mayan calendar.
Buckle up, for 2012
could be the ride of
our lives!
Send email to Don
Mcgee at:
csm01@att.neta