Martial Law And Hope For The Rapture!

The first thing we have to do is define "martial law." Typically, the imposition of martial law accompanies curfews, the suspension of civil law, civil rights, habeas corpus, and the application or extension of military law or military justice to civilians.  In other words, say goodbye to the United States as you’ve known it and embrace an extremely altered future. 

How would our lives as citizens and as Christians be affected should marshal law be declared here in the US?  Let’s take a look at a few simple examples:

Example #1 (Hint: Start A Daytime Bible Study)

Time for bible study!  You get your bible, you pad of paper and a pen or two.  You might even bring along a dry highlighter and maybe a snack for everyone.  You head outside and look at the twilight sky as you head for your car.  Suddenly, a light shines in your eyes and you hear a loud command to, “Freeze!”  You stop, hoping not to be shot while you try to explain who you are and where you’re going.  You can barely get a word out before you hear, “Back in the house.  No one is allowed on the streets past sunset.”

Surely they’ll make an exception for people who actually have some place to go, especially a bible study, right?  You try to explain that you’re just going to a bible study and weren’t planning on a bank heist when unexpectedly everything is knocked out of your hands, you’re thrown to the ground and you’re cuffed.

Curfew was enacted 24 hours ago, but you assumed it was directed at those who would most likely riot in the streets while destroying property and looting from stores. It couldn’t possibly be for law abiding Christians heading off to bible study. 

You find that you are sorely mistaken as you are taken to jail and thrown in with others who made a similar assumption.  As you all discuss what brought you there, several of your cellmates tell stories of people being shot dead in the streets without as much as a warning.  It’s then that you realize how blessed you were to be taken into custody alive instead of being taken down by a sniper.

The next morning you’re transportation has arrived.  You’re shocked to learn that you are being sent to a FEMA camp for “re-education.”  What about a lawyer?  What about my right to justice under the legal system?  Sorry, habeas corpus no longer applies.  You're off to "Camp FEMA."

Example #2 (Sign: “Highway To Hell Traffic Only”)

It’s morning and you’re excited about participating in a regional conference on end-time eschatology.  You have confirmation of your registration and your list of workshops.  You stop off at the local coffee shop to get a large coffee before heading out.  You pull away from the coffee shop, take a few sips of your coffee and look forward to a three day weekend of fellowship and education.  

As you prepare to take the on-ramp to the highway, you realize that it’s been barricaded with military and police vehicles and both the police and military are waving people past the on-ramp.  You’re curious about what’s going on, but you assume it’s just another DHS exercise and you drive on while your GPS device calculates another route.  You pass several more on-ramps with the same scene, military and police.  Your concern rises when you realize that the highway has been blocked off.  You definitely won’t be able to make it to the conference if you can’t even get on the highway.  

Out of curiosity you decide to pull over to ask them what’s happening.  Immediately they pull their weapons and order you to get back in the car and drive on or they’ll fire.  As you raise you hands in submission and try to explain that you only want to know if there are any on-ramps that aren’t blocked, several shots ring out.  You hit the ground, lifeless.

Certainly there will be justice!  They can't just kill anyone they want to in cold blood!  During martial law, military justice applies, and that includes killing American citizens if they deem it necessary.

Example #3 (Sorry, Church Is Cancelled)

It’s Sunday morning and you head out to church.  Martial law had been enacted a few days ago.  New “laws” seem to be made every day as more and more individual freedoms are taken away.  You’ve heard some horror stories, but you can’t verify whether they are true or not.  You can hardly wait to get to church and hear what the Pastor has to say about all of this and to hear what stories the congregation has to share.  As you approach the church, you observe a disturbance in the parking lot.  Cars are leaving filled with passengers.  Where is everyone going?  You pull into the parking lot and the police stop you.  You roll down your window as an officer approaches.

“Sorry sir, there’s no church today.  Please circle around and leave the parking lot.”

You ask for more information, but the officer just says, “Move along, sir.”

As you circle the parking lot, you see the church secretary.  You stop and roll down your window to ask her what’s happening.

Graphic: brentwoodbaptist.com/

“Church has been cancelled until further notice.”

“What?  Why?” 

“Martial law.  It seems that Christians who go to full-gospel churches and who believe in a literal return of Jesus are considered possible terrorists and we’re not allowed to meet in groups of more than 3 unless it’s sanctioned by the ‘state’, so there’s no way we can have church.”

You can’t believe your ears.  “Terrorists!  That’s ridiculous!  How can they do this?”

“I don’t know,” she says, “Some churches are able to remain open, but we’re not one of them.  I think they’re afraid we’ll get together and form a plan to overthrow the government or something.”

You see an officer approaching your car.  You say goodbye to the church secretary who also notices the officer and scoots by the front of your car as she heads to hers.  You feel the vibration and hear the sound of the officer banging on the top of your trunk with his flashlight. “I said move along, sir!”  You smile and wave and drive around the parking lot.  As you approach the exit, you see others being redirected as well.  Unfortunately, one individual seems to have given the police a hard time and he’s being handcuffed and dragged off.  You recognize him as the deacon of the church.  His car door is still open and his engine was running.  You see his wife emerging from the car screaming and crying.  You exit the parking lot, and as you drive home, you come to the reality that something has gone terribly wrong.

Can they really stop Christians from having church?  Yes, they can.  As you read in this account, born again believers in Christ who believe that the bible is the inspired word of God, who believe in a literal rapture of the church and who believe in the second coming of Christ are already considered by the government to be possible terrorists.

Example #4 (Filling Up On Food and Fuel)

An economic collapse has occurred.  Most people lost every penny they had in the bank, including businesses and state agencies. Your community has been under marshal law for the past couple of weeks.  Transportation has been curtailed, all privately owned grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations have been closed.  Due to the restriction of highway travel, no food or fuel was able to be delivered to local area supermarkets, convenience stores or gas stations.  This caused a riot-like run on food left nothing on the shelves.  Even the church food bank is empty.  Gas station tanks ran dry after just 24 hours.  Because of the declining economy in previous years, a lot of people were forced to seek help.  This help included financial assistance and food stamp assistance.  Since these forms of assistance utilized EBT cards, the transition to a new digital monetary system was almost seamless.  They just had to substitute one card for another.  The same was true for those who used debit cards.  They were useless now, and the switch to a card that accessed a new form of digital money seemed like a solution they could live with.  As long as everyone had food on the table and fuel in their cars, they were satisfied… for now.

The military along with local law enforcement agencies opened government operated gas stations and food distribution sites in a few areas of the city.  They’ve become the community “saviors” in this time of need.  Unfortunately, if you are a gun owner, you are required to surrender all your firearms, ammo and clips before you can purchase any food or fuel.  You also have to submit to a home search.  If they find out you’ve deceived them and that you still possess firearms, the penalty is internment in a regional FEMA camp.

Graphic: patdollard.com

Taking all firearms away from citizens is the goal of the majority of those serving in the federal and state government at this point in time.  During a time of martial law, expect that to be their main focus and their main reason for the terrible crimes against humanity that will result in their attempt to disarm American citizens.

Example #5 (What’s On TV?)

Once martial law was enacted, television began changing.  Entertainment television was being axed in favor of a more news oriented form of entertainment.  Sponsors were no longer making money, so they couldn’t afford to pay for advertisements.  That hit the entertainment industry hard and almost all television entertainment ended within a few short weeks.  Hit even harder were religious broadcasts.  They were taken off the air immediately after martial law began. 

Since there wasn’t much to keep their attention, many people listened to the state-run news outlets and read local newsprint that continued to push forth the idea that everything would be okay and that the government was there for them.  They were told of this country’s past hardships and were encouraged to endure until we came through these hard times.    

Some people began complaining about propaganda television, but most people just laughed at those comments.  After all, every single news outlet couldn’t possibly be lying, and the president was there for them as well, making sure that no one went hungry or went without medical care.  Every new mandatory directive was for everyone’s safety.  Citizens were ready to make sacrifices for their president and for the country in order to make it through this difficult time and emerge a stronger and more cohesive nation.

Every time a personal liberty was taken from them, they were told it was for their own safety, and they believed it.  Of course, there were stories of people being shot in the streets or sent to detention centers, but they were the troublemakers; they were the ones the government was trying to protect everyone from; they were the bad guys.  What they didn’t know is that a lot of them were born again believers in Christ who refused to be forced to do anything that went against the word of God, even if it meant their death. 

It's not just television, radio and newspapers that will be under the control of government.  Other forms of information will be under their control as well, including magazines, the internet, post office, etc...  Any information you receive will be under the tight control of the government. 

Epilogue

These are just a few examples of what awaits us when our economy implodes in the near future.  It could only be a few weeks or a few months away.  How much of what I described will we have to endure before the Lord returns?  We just don’t know.  Martial law doesn’t even compare to what’s ahead for those who will go through the seven-year tribulation.  It’s just the beginning of a world system that will encompass everyone, whether they are slaves to Satan or slaves to Christ.  

During the Tribulation, the Christian believer has one hope, and that hope is in Jesus Christ.  The believer has the hope of salvation through the blood of Jesus, a hope sealed by the Holy Spirit, a hope to be realized by our physical death or by the glorious appearance of Jesus Christ at the end of the tribulation period.  As this end-time scenario plays out, prepare for the worst but hope for the best.  Prepare for martial law, but hope for the Rapture! 

God bless and may the peace that passes all understanding fill your heart as we wait for the return of the Bridegroom!

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I Am A Witness To History

“I am a witness to history.

“I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history.

If you remember the plot of the Sound of ...Music, the Von Trapp family escaped over the Alps rather than submit to the Nazis. Kitty wasn't so lucky. Her family chose to stay in her native Austria. She was 10 years old, but bright and aware. And she was watching.

“We elected him by a landslide – 98 percent of the vote,” she recalls.

She wasn't old enough to vote in 1938 – approaching her 11th birthday. But she remembers.

“Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force.”

No so.  Hitler is welcomed to Austria

“In 1938, Austria was in deep Depression. Nearly one-third of our workforce was unemployed. We had 25 percent inflation and 25 percent bank loan interest rates."

Farmers and business people were declaring bankruptcy daily. Young people were going from house to house begging for food. Not that they didn't want to work; there simply weren't any jobs.

“My mother was a Christian woman and believed in helping people in need. Every day we cooked a big kettle of soup and baked bread to feed those poor, hungry people – about 30 daily.’

“We looked to our neighbor on the north, Germany, where Hitler had been in power since 1933.” she recalls. “We had been told that they didn't have unemployment or crime, and they had a high standard of living.

“Nothing was ever said about persecution of any group – Jewish or otherwise. We were led to believe that everyone in Germany was happy. We wanted the same way of life in Austria. We were promised that a vote for Hitler would mean the end of unemployment and help for the family. Hitler also said that businesses would be assisted, and farmers would get their farms back.

“Ninety-eight percent of the population voted to annex Austria to Germany and have Hitler for our ruler.

“We were overjoyed,” remembers Kitty, “and for three days we danced in the streets and had candlelight parades. The new government opened up big field kitchens and everyone was fed.

“After the election, German officials were appointed, and, like a miracle, we suddenly had law and order. Three or four weeks later, everyone was employed. The government made sure that a lot of work was created through the Public Work Service.

“Hitler decided we should have equal rights for women. Before this, it was a custom that married Austrian women did not work outside the home. An able-bodied husband would be looked down on if he couldn't support his family. Many women in the teaching profession were elated that they could retain the jobs they previously had been required to give up for marriage.

“Then we lost religious education for kids.

“Our education was nationalized. I attended a very good public school. The population was predominantly Catholic, so we had religion in our schools. The day we elected Hitler (March 13, 1938), I walked into my schoolroom to find the crucifix replaced by Hitler’s picture hanging next to a Nazi flag. Our teacher, a very devout woman, stood up and told the class we wouldn't pray or have religion anymore. Instead, we sang ‘Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles,’ and had physical education.

“Sunday became National Youth Day with compulsory attendance. Parents were not pleased about the sudden change in curriculum. They were told that if they did not send us, they would receive a stiff letter of warning the first time. The second time they would be fined the equivalent of $300, and the third time they would be subject to jail.”

And then things got worse.

“The first two hours consisted of political indoctrination. The rest of the day we had sports. As time went along, we loved it. Oh, we had so much fun and got our sports equipment free.

“We would go home and gleefully tell our parents about the wonderful time we had.

“My mother was very unhappy,” remembers Kitty. “When the next term started, she took me out of public school and put me in a convent. I told her she couldn't do that and she told me that someday when I grew up, I would be grateful. There was a very good curriculum, but hardly any fun – no sports, and no political indoctrination.

“I hated it at first but felt I could tolerate it. Every once in a while, on holidays, I went home. I would go back to my old friends and ask what was going on and what they were doing.

“Their loose lifestyle was very alarming to me. They lived without religion. By that time, unwed mothers were glorified for having a baby for Hitler.

“It seemed strange to me that our society changed so suddenly. As time went along, I realized what a great deed my mother did so that I wasn't exposed to that kind of humanistic philosophy.

“In 1939, the war started, and a food bank was established. All food was rationed and could only be purchased using food stamps. At the same time, a full-employment law was passed which meant if you didn't work, you didn't get a ration card, and, if you didn't have a card, you starved to death.

“Women who stayed home to raise their families didn't have any marketable skills and often had to take jobs more suited for men.

“Soon after this, the draft was implemented.

“It was compulsory for young people, male and female, to give one year to the labor corps,” remembers Kitty. “During the day, the girls worked on the farms, and at night they returned to their barracks for military training just like the boys.

“They were trained to be anti-aircraft gunners and participated in the signal corps. After the labor corps, they were not discharged but were used in the front lines.

“When I go back to Austria to visit my family and friends, most of these women are emotional cripples because they just were not equipped to handle the horrors of combat.

“Three months before I turned 18, I was severely injured in an air raid attack. I nearly had a leg amputated, so I was spared having to go into the labor corps and into military service.

“When the mothers had to go out into the work force, the government immediately established child care centers.

“You could take your children ages four weeks old to school age and leave them there around-the-clock, seven days a week, under the total care of the government.

“The state raised a whole generation of children. There were no motherly women to take care of the children, just people highly trained in child psychology. By this time, no one talked about equal rights. We knew we had been had.

“Before Hitler, we had very good medical care. Many American doctors trained at the University of Vienna..

“After Hitler, health care was socialized, free for everyone. Doctors were salaried by the government. The problem was, since it was free, the people were going to the doctors for everything.

“When the good doctor arrived at his office at 8 a.m., 40 people were already waiting and, at the same time, the hospitals were full.

“If you needed elective surgery, you had to wait a year or two for your turn. There was no money for research as it was poured into socialized medicine. Research at the medical schools literally stopped, so the best doctors left Austria and emigrated to other countries.

“As for healthcare, our tax rates went up to 80 percent of our income. Newlyweds immediately received a $1,000 loan from the government to establish a household. We had big programs for families.

“All day care and education were free. High schools were taken over by the government and college tuition was subsidized. Everyone was entitled to free handouts, such as food stamps, clothing, and housing.

“We had another agency designed to monitor business. My brother-in-law owned a restaurant that had square tables.

“Government officials told him he had to replace them with round tables because people might bump themselves on the corners. Then they said he had to have additional bathroom facilities. It was just a small dairy business with a snack bar. He couldn't meet all the demands.

“Soon, he went out of business. If the government owned the large businesses and not many small ones existed, it could be in control.

“We had consumer protection, too

“We were told how to shop and what to buy. Free enterprise was essentially abolished. We had a planning agency specially designed for farmers. The agents would go to the farms, count the livestock, and then tell the farmers what to produce, and how to produce it.

“In 1944, I was a student teacher in a small village in the Alps. The villagers were surrounded by mountain passes which, in the winter, were closed off with snow, causing people to be isolated.

“So people intermarried and offspring were sometimes retarded. When I arrived, I was told there were 15 mentally retarded adults, but they were all useful and did good manual work.

“I knew one, named Vincent, very well. He was a janitor of the school. One day I looked out the window and saw Vincent and others getting into a van.

“I asked my superior where they were going. She said to an institution where the State Health Department would teach them a trade, and to read and write. The families were required to sign papers with a little clause that they could not visit for 6 months.

“They were told visits would interfere with the program and might cause homesickness.

“As time passed, letters started to dribble back saying these people died a natural, merciful death. The villagers were not fooled. We suspected what was happening. Those people left in excellent physical health and all died within 6 months. We called this euthanasia.

“Next came gun registration. People were getting injured by guns. Hitler said that the real way to catch criminals (we still had a few) was by matching serial numbers on guns. Most citizens were law-abiding and dutifully marched to the police station to register their firearms. Not long afterwards, the police said that it was best for everyone to turn in their guns. The authorities already knew who had them, so it was futile not to comply voluntarily.

“No more freedom of speech. Anyone who said something against the government was taken away. We knew many people who were arrested, not only Jews, but also priests and ministers who spoke up.

“Totalitarianism didn't come quickly, it took 5 years from 1938 until 1943, to realize full dictatorship in Austria. Had it happened overnight, my countrymen would have fought to the last breath. Instead, we had creeping gradualism. Now, our only weapons were broom handles. The whole idea sounds almost unbelievable that the state, little by little eroded our freedom.”

“This is my eyewitness account.

“It’s true. Those of us who sailed past the Statue of Liberty came to a country of unbelievable freedom and opportunity.

“America is truly is the greatest country in the world. “Don’t let freedom slip away.

“After America, there is no place to go.”

Kitty Werthmann

It’s time to open your eyes to what is happening in America today!

That ends the article that I copied and pasted into this blog.  Now for a few additional comments from me.

Slowly, our individual rights are slipping away.  Presidents past and present have signed one executive order after another, slowly diluting our constitutional rights to the point where those rights are now open for reinterpretation by those who would destroy the very words that this country was founded upon.

We need to learn from the past before it's too late.

The past:  Hitler promised to fix everything.  “We elected him by a landslide – 98 percent of the vote,” she recalls.

The present: Obama promises to fix everything.  November 2008 - Headline: "Obama wins election in landslide to become first black president."

The past: “No more freedom of speech. Anyone who said something against the government was taken away. We knew many people who were arrested, not only Jews, but also priests and ministers who spoke up.

The present: August 23, 2012 - Headline: "Judge orders Raub released – former Marine wrongfully detained."

Excerpt: “Brandon Raub was arrested with no warning, targeted for doing nothing more than speaking out against the government, detained against his will, and isolated from his family, friends and attorneys. These are the kinds of things that take place in totalitarian societies.”

The past: “We had another agency designed to monitor business. My brother-in-law owned a restaurant that had square tables.  Government officials told him he had to replace them with round tables because people might bump themselves on the corners. Then they said he had to have additional bathroom facilities. It was just a small dairy business with a snack bar. He couldn't meet all the demands.  Soon, he went out of business. If the government owned the large businesses and not many small ones existed, it could be in control."

The present: October 31, 2011 - Headline: "Business Roundtable: Regulations Are Killing Business"

The past: "Everyone was entitled to free handouts, such as food stamps, clothing, and housing."

The present:  August 8, 2012 - Headline: "Over 100 Million Now Receiving Federal Welfare" (That's one-third of the population; does not include Social Security or Medicare).

The past:  “During the day, the girls worked on the farms, and at night they returned to their barracks for military training just like the boys.  They were trained to be anti-aircraft gunners and participated in the signal corps."

The present:  May 14, 2009 - Headline: "Boy Scouts Train to Become Homeland Gestapo"

Excerpt:  "Gestapo Scouts will be required to combat 'rightwing extremists' who will refuse to turn in their firearms after the next false flag terror attack or engineered pandemic. SWAT Scouts will be called to deal with those who refuse to participate in mandatory vaccinations. Police state Scouts will be the vanguard for Obama’s million-man Civilian National Security Corps. 'just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded' as the military."

The past: “Next came gun registration. People were getting injured by guns. Hitler said that the real way to catch criminals (we still had a few) was by matching serial numbers on guns. Most citizens were law-abiding and dutifully marched to the police station to register their firearms. Not long afterwards, the police said that it was best for everyone to turn in their guns. The authorities already knew who had them, so it was futile not to comply voluntarily.

The present: January 26, 2013 - Headline: “The Resistance Begins: New York Gun Owners Refuse to Register”

Excerpt: “With emotions running high in the aftermath of the Newtown Sandy Hook shooting, politicians on the State and Federal level have begun introducing legislative actions to curtail access to firearms protected by the Second Amendment. In Missouri, parents may soon be forced to register firearms with their child’s school under threat of criminal penalties. In Massachusetts, another proposal would require storage of semi-automatic rifles at government approved storage depots. And, in the State of New York, congressional representatives have already passed legislation that requires registration of every semi-automatic rifle and reduces maximum magazine capacity to 7 rounds of ammunition, and Governor Cuomo has floated the idea of gun confiscation.”

Goal: Get the population dependent on the government while stripping them of their individual rights.  The dependent populace will voluntarily give up some of their rights for safety, "human rights," political correctness, and for their basic needs (food, shelter, clothing, medical attention, medication, etc...).  By the time the populace realizes how much of their individual rights they have lost, it will be too late.  The state will gain control through marshal law and anyone who defies the state will be neutralized.

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