1 Maccabees 9:23-27. After the death of Judas Maccabeus, lawless men emerged in all parts of Israel. There was also a great famine at that time, and the people of the country deserted with the lawless men to the enemy, Bacchides, who put ungodly men in charge of Israel. Those men sought out the friends of Judas and brought them to Bacchides who took vengeance on them and made sport of them. So there was great distress in Israel "such as had not been seen since the time that prophets ceased to appear among them."

I think the Holy Spirit is telling me that great distress is coming our way, as well. We are in a similar position to the Israelites here. The world has a famine coming; good, thoughtful world leaders have either died off or been forced off the world stage by the evil forces that are manipulating everything; and the ungodly are in charge. They (the ungodly) are seeking out the "friends of Judas," that is, good people who are trying to fight against the machinations or sound the alarm to the public, and taking vengeance on them or making sport of them. The whistleblowers and fighters are being silenced, imprisoned, and persecuted.

There is great distress in the world now, and it is getting worse and will get worse, of this I am sure. We are living in truly Biblical times. The Holy Spirit has been telling me for years now to prepare, the message is becoming clearer as whatever is happening comes closer, I believe He prompted me to start this blog in order to tell other people to prepare. So, prepare yourselves, there is great distress coming, such as we have never seen in our lifetimes.

Preparation, however, does not mean that we should be afraid. We should fear not, as the Holy Spirit has told me many times last week and previously. Even though the world requires a cleansing right now, God will always protect his faithful. He will always provide, and keep us safe under his wings. Much of the preparation we have to do is really just to get as close as we can to Him for the coming tribulations. And one of the ways that He takes care of us is by warning us ahead of time, so consider this fair warning.