In A Flash

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”  1st Corinthains 15:51-52

 

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.  Let us walk decently, as in the day, not in carousings and drunkenness, not in cohabitation and licentiousness, not in strife and envy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”  Romans 13:11-14

 

The other day I was in the kitchen preparing food for my family, my wife was upstairs getting ready for work.  My neighbors were going about their business in their home when in a flash the power went out.  Before one could echo a voice of concern to those who could hear, the power was back on.

 

My comment to my wife and later to my neighbor who had asked if our power also went out was simply imagine if that was an EMP attack.  I pondered this while at work later on during the day, wondering about such things.  What if at that moment, in a flash, all that was normal was suddenly ceased?  What would life have been like from that moment forward?

 

The hamburger that was cooking on the stove would have stopped, short of the duty required to make the food edible.  While presumably some preparation of food stuffs would have continued, with the assumption that the power would soon be back on, nonetheless it would have been known to not leave the refrigerator open for more than a moment, lest the temperature increase to an unsafe level and remain there.  Yet, what if the power simply didn’t come back on?

 

After a couple of hours of the power not being on,  I would have ventured out.  Presumably, even if it had been an EMP, perhaps it didn’t actually fry all of the electronics out in Montana, maybe it just knocked out the grid and other areas where heavily hit in different parts of the country.  My venture would have been to go and gather some lunch so that we could eat before going to work. 

 

But what if when I went out I realized that the power was out in all of Kalispell.  As I drove around from portion to portion of town, looking for where there was still power, I found none and returned home.  At that point I would begin looking for answers.

 

Going on the computer would be fruitless, so as I pick up the phone to call the electric company to see when the power might come back on (using my trusty phone book to get the number), I find that the phone is also silent.  (Some corded phones work even when there is no power, there is a little bit of power that comes through the phone line.)  Being winter in Montana and having made a meal of potato chips, peanut butter and jelly and some fruit, now I am ready to head off to work.  What work can be done at the moment though?

 

Evening approaches and being winter, it comes early, darkness in the sky quickly overtakes the rays of the sunset and all of Kalispell is plunged into darkness.  I would imagine that I would watch as neighbors and others come out of their homes, with their phones still lit up from their batteries, but begin conversing with others, trying to figure out what has happened and seeing if anyone knows when the power might come back on.

 

A fruitless day and a fruitless night, not having earned any income during the day, my family, as well as everyone else is forced to retire for the night, assuming that when day breaks all is well.  At this point I realize that I should have invested into a crank powered world band radio, as the radio stations are eerily silent.  After an uneasy nights rest, I wake up early and getting out of bed, immediately flip the light switch to hopefully alleviate my fears, but it is still dark.  Panic now ensues and the thoughts of a major problem having happened in the United States becomes more real.

 

Still hoping for the best, that there is some sort of explanation for all of  this and eventually it will be known, I ponder driving to get some groceries or supplies from anywhere I can.  The problem is, I only have a quarter tank of gas and $22.00 in cash.  The rest of the money is tied up in the bank. 

 

Now I am furious that even though I knew the possibility was there for an EMP, presumed with a presumption that if that were to happen my vehicle wouldn’t work, now seeing it does, I wished that I had 20 gallons of gasoline on hand.  At least then, I could have packed up some things and headed north into Canada, should they have let me across the border.  Without the internet, television or radio, I decide to go to where the people are, to see if there are some answers. I walk, despite the cold, snowy and slippery conditions, to City Hall, assuming there must be some sort of gathering there, as I am not the only one seeking answers.

 

At City Hall my suspicions are correct.  While there are no concrete answers, there are rumors that the entire East Coast of the United States has been without power, there are rumors of an EMP having struck over there.  Still there are rumors of California without power from another potential EMP strike on that portion of the United States.  Some people begin shouting and wondering when the power is going to come back.  Lines are now forming outside of grocery stores with people waiting to enter the dark building the second the lights are back on.

 

In a flash, a normal day of life has been turned upside down.  Now uncertainty and fear is escalating, people are starting to sit outside of their homes with shotguns on their laps.  Still the news is not certain, there maintains a certain amount of hope among people, that despite what is being heard of having happened, that the lights will come back on and some sort of normal life will resume.  With nothing to be able to done, bedtime comes early and the next morning unfortunately the lights don’t turn on.

 

Imagine such a scenario, one could go into the breakdown of society, one could describe the violence, murder and mayhem that would take place in only a few days, but for the purpose of such a scenario, from a small town perspective, the fact that life changed in a flash is sufficient enough.  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, what once was is no more.  Essentially being totally unprepared, my family and I would have to pay the consequences, as well as countless other Americans.  Without aid and what government agency is going to immediately remember a small town in Montana, what more can be said.

 

The breakdown of society would lead to a life that would echo the truths of a society that has become dependent on technology and easily purchasing needed items.  The banking industry would have their doors locked, blocking withdrawing any funds that should have been available.  Essentially in a flash we would have found ourselves with a very limited supply of non-spoilable food, little gas, no running water, hardly any batteries for our flashlights and amongst violent people who are trying to take action by force to get the necessities that are necessary for survival.  Yet in a flash the Rapture will happen and those who are Left Behind will realize that the world has changed.

 

“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.  For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.  For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shouted command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together at the same time with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”  1st Thessalonians 4:14-17

 

While I don’t suspect that all will go completely chaotic from the get-go after the Rapture, eventually society will break down to the point that it would be completely unrecognizable to any point in history.  A bleak landscape, where fear for one’s life and the unavailability of necessities for those who refuse the mark of the beast would become reality. 

 

“And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, so that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”  Revelation 13:16-17

 

“And a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone does homage to the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His anger. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone before the holy angels and before the Lamb.  And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who do homage to the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”  Revelation 14:9-11

 

So just as Americans are woefully unprepared should our country ever be attacked with EMP’s, so too is the hearts of America woefully unprepared when the Trumpet sounds and they realize that they have been Left Behind!

 

Amen!