Introduction: Dangers Ahead
A key, no, THE key indicator of dangers ahead is our national debt. There are other nations with unrecoverable national debt. The USA national debt is the proverbial ticking time bomb. Any individual, organization, or nation that can’t service debt is destined for financial disaster. Our Debt-to-GDP exceeds 123%. This is the cause of the inflation of the U.S. dollar. Inflation is the term the financial experts use. I believe our national situation is headed for an economic collapse. This will eventually lead to a global economic collapse. The rate of inflation is the chief indicator, as of June 15, 2025, at 2.7%.
What about President Trump’s efforts to curb inflation and have a balanced budget? I believe God has raised up President Donald J. Trump for such a time as this. He is restoring trade imbalances and cutting the fat from the Executive Branch. For the first time in years, there is a budget surplus.
Translation of my point of view: President Trump is rebuilding our nation on a rock. It was formerly built on shifting sand due to waste, fraud, and abuse of federal tax dollars.
All too common is the notion that Christians will be immune to end-times wars and natural disasters. Such a worldview is contrary to the Word of God, the Holy Bible.
God has supernaturally inserted a grace period into our timeline.
The above represent my opinion. A preacher I knew used to say, “Opinions are like noses. Everybody has one.”
Lessons From History
Israel, the Jews, are God’s chosen people. The Old Testament chronicles the many times Israel was attacked, enslaved, and the people exiled to other lands. Were all the Jewish people unrighteous? Were they all wicked sinners worthy of punishment? No.
Hear and understand the words of Jesus Christ. Focus: the last phrase, the last seven words.
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
The next key phrase: the last six words.
Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour. At the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and suddenly a man stood before me in bright clothing, and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered before God. Therefore send to Joppa for Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.’ So immediately I sent for you, and you have done well to come. Now therefore we are all here, present before God, to hear everything the Lord has commanded you.”
Then Peter began to speak, saying, “Truthfully, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.“
The devastating floods in North Carolina and in the Central Texas Hill Country caused many deaths. They indiscriminately killed young lives, including many children, in a Christian camp.
The Focus
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonderful works in Your name?’ But then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice evil.’
“Whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock. And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did not fall, for it was founded a rock. And every one who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them will be likened to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it fell. And its fall was great.”
Conclusion
The earlier texts from the Holy Bible teach us. The ravages of storms are experienced by the just and the unjust alike. Both the wise and the unwise face them: the rich and the poor. They affect both Christians and unbelievers.
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
They said, “Some say that You are John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.“
We Christians are by no means on a hazard-free ride. We Christians will experience the same hardships as unbelievers in Jesus Christ.
For the advantage of deep-dive Bible students, let us dissect the last words of Jesus in the quotation above: “…you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church…”
The name Peter is defined as petros, G4074, a piece of rock, a small stone. The word rock in the phrase “Upon this rock” is defined as petra, G4073, a large stone.
This sentence spoken by Jesus, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” means, “Peter, you are a small rock, and on this BIG rock of revelation I will build my church.”
Bad times are coming. Believers in Jesus Christ and non-believers will be affected alike. This warning is not to frighten you but to enlighten you. Call on the name of the Lord. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s grace will sustain you in every circumstance.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one should boast.” The word grace, charis, G5485, is a gift of the power and the desire to do God’s will. Our English word vocation derives from the Latin verb vocāre, to call, to be called. In place of the word vocation, our contemporaries will use the word calling.
Believers must not be surprised when we experience disasters, wars, and financial woes. Instead, see these things as opportunities to be a light house for the lost.
John White
Rockwall, Texas
John N. White 