Advice for Living in a Crazy Time (part 1)

Get ready for what is ahead!

8.29.2021

Introduction

Do you have a Normalcy Bias?

Normalcy Bias

A cognitive bias which leads people to disbelieve or minimize threat warnings. Consequently, individuals underestimate the likelihood of a disaster, when it might affect them, and its potential adverse effects. The normalcy bias causes many people to not adequately prepare for natural disasters, pandemics, and calamities caused by human error. About 70% of people reportedly display normalcy bias during a disaster.

(https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Normalcy+bias)

It is mentioned in the Bible:

2 Peter 3:1-4 (NKJV)

Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.

My personal normalcy bias is very strong. I can keep doing what I do for an extended period of time. And that part of my personality can keep me from thinking that we are in the midst of a huge, unprecedented change.

We are in an era of tremendous change, the likes of which none of us have ever seen in our lifetime.

One world government, finance, and system of law is trying to be enforced.

COVID has been a test of what people will allow.

It is not about science and medicine. It is about control.

Mandatory vaccine – will not stop with a vaccine.

Masks do not stop the spread of viruses!

This all started with flattening the curve. What happened to that?

Australia is locked down. Martial law…

Epoch

A particular period of time marked by distinctive features, events, etc. The beginning of a distinctive period in the history of anything:

Epoch Synonyms:

age, date, era, time.

Many of us remember growing up in a very different world, where life was slower and kinder — and so safe that we didn’t even lock the doors to our houses. We didn’t fear our neighbors, and we never had a single thought about terrorist activity. Does that description resemble the childhood you remember decades ago?

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (p. 3). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

We live in a completely different world now.

The world has changed, and will ever be what it was again.

In some ways, life will go on as we have known it.

Luke 17:20-36 (NKJV)

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

22 Then He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. 24 For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. 25 But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”

Three Words that we need to pay attention to today from 2 Timothy 3:

2 Timothy 3:1 (NKJV)

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:

Know:

Know

1097. ginōskō; a prolonged form of a primary verb; to “know” (absolutely) in a great variety of applications and with many implications (as follow, with others not thus clearly expressed): — allow, be aware (of), feel, (have) know(-ledge), perceived, be resolved, can speak, be sure, understand.

That is, to be completely certain about something.

Rick Renner:

The word “know” is a translation of the Greek word ginosko, which in this verse means to know something definitely, emphatically, and with absolute certainty. But it is also important to know that the tense used here depicts something so urgent that it MUST be known, MUST be recognized, and MUST be acknowledged.

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (p. 5). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

The tenses of this word indicate that this must be known, that we must pay attention to what is being said.

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (p. 5). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

Rick Renner Comment

What was coming in the future — in the very time in which you and I are currently living — was so ominous that the Holy Spirit really wanted to warn us in advance that perilous times were coming. His purpose was not to scare us, but to prepare us so we would be informed and spiritually equipped to navigate a last-days tempestuous storm. If we’ll listen to what the Holy Spirit says in this verse and in the verses to follow, we’ll be able to prepare ourselves — as well as our loved ones and friends — to sail victoriously through these stormy waters. And we’ll not be overcome by the evil that Scripture says would inevitably emerge and become widespread in society as the age approaches its end.

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (pp. 5-6). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

If we know we can prepare and:

1. We will be able to walk in wisdom and be an example for others to follow.

2. We can teach our children and grandchildren God’s Word so that they will not become like the culture around them and the fears that dominate the day.

3. We will not yield to the morsel rot descending on our culture.

4. Become immunized from harm by meditation in God’s Word.

Last Days

We could very easily be living in the very last of the last days:

The last days began when Jesus rose from the dead and the church age began.

Acts 2:16-21 (NKJV)

But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. 21 And it shall come to pass

that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’

Last

Eschatos; farthest, final (of place or time): — ends of, last, latter end, lowest, uttermost.

AV (54) – last 46, lowest 2, uttermost 2, last state 2, ends 1, latter end 1;

extreme – last in time or in place last in a series of places; last in a temporal succession

The Greek word for “last” used in this verse is translated from the Greek word eschatos, a word that commonly depicts something that is final. It is the Greek word from which we derive the word “eschatology,” the theological study of end times or the study of last things. This Greek word eschatos points to the very last or the ultimate end of a thing. It was used by ancient Greeks to describe the point that was furthest away. In fact, the ancient world used the word eschatos as a seafaring word to describe the last port of call for a ship. Although a ship in transit stops.

This last stopping-off point signified that it was the end of the road and the journey was finished. Thus, the word eschatos indicated, “This is the end, and you can go no further.”

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (pp. 8-9). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

Eschatos was used for the last month of the year, or for the last day of the week.

Recent events signaling the last days:

Israel became a nation in 1948 after being dispersed for almost 2000 years.

Israel gained control of Jerusalem in 1967 for the first time since 70 A.D.

Worldwide caos has increased exponentially in the last few years, fulfilling Jesus’ statements

about his return in Matthew 24.

The spirit of antiChrist has exponentially increased worldwide since the beginning of the Covid-19 situation. It produces lawlessness, challenges personal freedoms, and seeks to control every aspect of life.

Persecution has increased worldwide.

Renner Interpretive Version:

Second Timothy 3:1 could therefore be correctly translated, “You emphatically and categorically need to know with unquestionable certainty that in the very end of days — when time has sailed to its last port and no more time remains for the journey.…”

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (p. 10). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

The words “shall come” are a translation of the Greek word enistemi, which is a compound of the words en and histemi. The word en means in, and the word histemi means to stand. But when these are compounded into a single word, the new word means to stand in, to stand in the middle of, to be surrounded by, to be encumbered by, or to stand in the midst of whatever is being discussed with the feeling that it cannot be avoided or that one cannot escape from it. It depicts someone who is so encompassed by whatever surrounds him or her that there is no way out of it.

By using this key word enistemi, the Holy Spirit prophetically declares that those who live in this last season will feel as if they are positioned in the very midst of — surrounded and encumbered on every side by — inescapable developments. To the people who are part of this end-time generation, it will feel like they are being assaulted by “perilous times” from every direction. In other words, there will be no escaping this period of time.

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (p. 11). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

Not even prayer can keep this from happening!

God is telling us what will happen so we can properly prepare.

God told the Isaraelite what would happen with the last plague against in the death of the firstborn, He told them to prepare them!

He is telling us to prepare us for what will certainly come. It’s going to happen. Get ready.

Contractions tell a pregnant woman that the baby is coming soon. They are twill her to prepare! Matthew 24!

Perilous

2 Timothy 3:1 (NKJV)

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:

Perilous:

chalepos; difficult, i.e. dangerous, or (by implication) furious: — fierce, perilous.

hard to do, to take, to approach, hard to bear, troublesome, dangerous, harsh, fierce, savage.

The word “perilous” in Second Timothy 3:1 is translated from the Greek word chalepos — a word that is used only one other time in the New Testament. This Greek word describes something filled with danger, risk, and hurt or something that is wounding. It is the very word used in the literature of New Testament times to depict wild, vicious animals that are unpredictable, uncontrollable, and dangerous. It portrays a deadly menace or anything that has the potential to be treacherous or hurtful.

This Greek word chalepos was also the word used to describe words or actions that are emotionally difficult to bear. It expresses the idea of any action, place, person, or thing that is harsh, harmful, cruel, ruthless, cutting, or wounding. Significantly, this word chalepos was also the word used to describe a geographical region filled with so much risk and danger that it needed to be avoided at all costs. To knowingly go into a territory that was chalepos was an action that would put one’s life at risk of suffering something harsh, harmful, cruel, ruthless, cutting, or wounding.

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (pp. 38-39). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

This word is used one other place in the New Testament:

Matthew 8:28 (NKJV)

When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.

This guy was fierce, uncontrollable, like a wild animal. He was menacing and threatening. He instills a fear in those attempting to pass by. He created emotional upheaval in those who came by.

So the Holy Spirit is warning us that perilous times are coming.

This unmistakably means that the Holy Spirit is forecasting that the close of the age will be “exceeding fierce” — vicious, ferocious, fierce, unruly, uncontrollable, unpredictable, harsh, harmful, cruel, ruthless, cutting, and wounding — and that it will be a time that people will find to be emotionally hard to bear.

(Renner, Rick. Last Days Survival Guide (p. 41). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition.)

Here is how to prepare:

1. Meditate in the Word.

Matthew 7:24-27 (NLT)

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Psalms 1 (NLT)

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.

Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. 4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. 5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.

Sinners will have no place among the godly. 6 For the LORD watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

2. Learn to listen to the Holy Spirit

John 16:13-16 (NLT)

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.

2. Learn to pray with faith.

John 15:7-8 (NLT)

But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV)

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

3. Be available to help others.

Romans 15:2-4 (NLT)

We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. 3 For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” 4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

Job 42:10 (KJV)

And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Acton Points:

1. Are you ready and willing to make huge life change if necessary?

2. Are you choosing to live as though every day were your last? Are you spending time engaging with the things that are most valuable to you, i.e., your spouse, your children, your grandchildren, your church?

3. Do you take time for daily meditation in the Word?

4. Are you sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit?