Genesis 41: 53 When the seven years of plenty which had been in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do.” 56 When the famine was spread over all the face of the earth, then Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 The people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.
Luke 12: 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 44 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
Revelation 13: 16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.
The time is coming soon when Christians will not be able to buy or sell anything, including food. God has graciously given us adequate information regarding the events that are beginning to unfold in preparation for Jesus’ return. Those events include terrible persecution against Jews and Christians. I expect we will not be able to buy or sell for a minimum of 2 ½ years, and we must be prepared for those hard times.
Putting these passages together, God has shown us what to do. Just as Joseph was given advanced warning of a famine, so we are given advanced warning of Satan’s attempt to starve us. The parable of the steward who gave the servants their rations at the proper time was not just speaking spiritually. This was a physical example of a real-world crisis God’s children will face. We need to be ready. I envision a world-wide organized effort for local congregations to store up for themselves food and supplies to survive the tribulation they will face. Compared to those times, we are now in the years of plenty. We need organized plans now that will enable us to give the servants their rations at the proper time.
Hurricane Harvey has shown us an unprecedented amount of relief effort for the victims of this terrible natural disaster. Yet the amount of food, clothing, and basic necessities pouring into Texas and Louisiana are but a fraction of what will be needed for Christians to survive the tribulation. An effort of this magnitude will not be successful until the Church recognizes that Jesus is right at the door, and that the Church will face the wrath of the antichrist. Just as Jesus said in the parable of the ten virgins, the entire church is asleep to the signs of His coming.