Prepared for the Coming Chaos

Today, I spoke with someone about the direction the entire world is taking. I shared with this person that we are to expect these things to happen and not be fearful.

There is a heaviness in the air these days.

You can sense it in conversations at the grocery store. You can hear it in the tone of the news. You can feel it in the uncertainty of families trying to plan for the future. There is a growing awareness that something is not right — morally, spiritually, economically, and socially.

Scripture tells us not to be surprised.

Jesus said plainly:

“Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

— Matthew 24:44 (KJV)

Notice He did not say, “Be afraid.”

He said, “Be ready.”

There is a vast difference.

Chaos Is Not Accidental

The Word of God warns of a time when moral confusion would reign.

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil…”

— Isaiah 5:20 (KJV)

We are living in days when righteousness is questioned and sin is celebrated. Truth is redefined according to cultural convenience. What once brought shame now brings applause.

Jesus also warned of “distress of nations, with perplexity” (Luke 21:25). The word perplexity means no clear way forward — leaders unsure, systems unstable, people anxious.

Paul wrote:

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith…”

— 1 Timothy 4:1 (KJV)

Departure from sound doctrine, compromise in the Church, spiritual confusion — these are not accidents of history. They are signs of a drifting world.

But chaos in the world does not mean chaos in the believer.

God’s People Are Not Appointed to Panic

Paul reminds Timothy:

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

— 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

A sound mind means steadiness. Discipline. Stability.

When the world trembles, the Church should not.

The early Friends often spoke of the inward Light bringing clarity when the world seemed dark. The believer anchored in Christ does not move with every cultural wind. We are rooted in something eternal.

Spiritual Preparation Comes First

Before we talk about food storage, finances, or practical concerns, we must ask a deeper question:

Are we right with God?

“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

— 2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV)

Preparedness begins at the Cross.

If your heart is not settled, no amount of preparation will bring peace. But when your soul is anchored in Christ, you can face uncertainty without collapse.

Paul tells us to:

“Put on the whole armour of God…”

— Ephesians 6:11 (KJV)

We are told to stand. Not to retreat. Not to surrender. Not to rage.

Simply — stand.

Practical Preparation Is Biblical

Some believers react strongly against any talk of preparation, as though prudence is a lack of faith. Scripture says otherwise.

“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself…”

— Proverbs 22:3 (KJV)

Joseph stored grain before the famine. That was not fear. It was wisdom.

Paul writes:

“But if any provide not for his own… he hath denied the faith…”

— 1 Timothy 5:8 (KJV)

Providing for one’s family is not paranoia. It is responsibility.

Practical preparation may include:

• Reducing unnecessary debt
• Strengthening family unity
• Deepening community ties
• Learning self-reliance skills
• Being prepared for temporary disruptions

Preparation is stewardship, not hysteria.

Emotional and Spiritual Stability

Psalm 46 has always steadied my heart:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed…”

— Psalm 46:1–2 (KJV)

Though the earth be removed.

That is strong language. The psalmist envisions total upheaval — yet declares, “We will not fear.”

Why?

Because our refuge is not the economy.

Not government.

Not institutions.

Our refuge is the Lord.

If Persecution Comes

We must also be honest. If moral decline accelerates, faithful Christianity may not be applauded.

Jesus said:

“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

— John 16:33 (KJV)

The Church has thrived in harder soil than ours.

Prepared believers are not bitter believers. They are courageous and steady.

Why Preparation Matters

Preparation is not about hiding.

It is about helping.

When chaos deepens, people look for stability. If believers are panicked and disordered, what testimony do we offer?

But if we are calm, prayerful, prepared, and generous — we become light in darkness.

“Let your light so shine before men…”

— Matthew 5:16 (KJV)

The darker the night, the brighter the candle.

The Ultimate Readiness

There is one preparation above all others:

“…the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night… Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:2,6 (KJV)

The greatest event on the horizon is not economic collapse or political instability.

It is the return of Christ.

If we are ready for Him, we can face anything.

A Country Preacher’s Final Thought

Now is not the time for comfortable illusions.

Now is not the time to drift.

Now is not the time to assume tomorrow will look like yesterday.

It is time to examine our hearts.

Strengthen our homes.

Deepen our faith.

Prepare wisely.

Stand firmly.

Not in fear.

But in faith.

“Be ye therefore ready also…”

— Luke 12:40 (KJV)

And may we be found faithful — steady when others shake, hopeful when others despair, prepared when others are surprised.

That is not panic.

That is obedience.

The Early Quakers and the Sword: Rethinking the Peace Testimony

 When most people think of Quakers, they think of pacifism. The image is simple: Friends have always rejected war, violence, and the use of force under any circumstance. Yet the historical record reveals something more complex — and perhaps more profound.

The early Friends did not begin with a political philosophy of pacifism. They began with a spiritual experience that transformed their understanding of power, justice, and the sword.

Prophetic Language in a Violent Age

In 1659, George Fox spoke of carrying the “war” into Spain and Italy to remove the Inquisition and of setting the Quaker standard atop Rome. Those words sound militant to modern ears. But they were spoken in a time when Europe was gripped by religious conflict, apocalyptic expectation, and political upheaval.

Fox’s language was prophetic, not militaristic. He was confronting what he believed to be spiritual tyranny. Like many reformers before him, he used the language of battle to describe the overthrow of corruption. Early Friends saw themselves engaged in a spiritual conflict against injustice, not organizing an army to conquer nations.

Understanding this context prevents us from forcing modern categories onto seventeenth-century expressions.

Romans 13 and the “Minister of God”

Early Friends frequently cited Romans 13:4, which describes governing authorities as “the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”

They did not deny the legitimacy of civil government. Edward Burrough wrote that those who wield the sword in justice are “Ministers of God.” Isaac Penington acknowledged the necessity of self-defense in cases of invasion or criminal violence. Robert Barclay even allowed that war could be lsawful under certain just conditions.

This surprises many Quakers.

Friends recognized that in a fallen world, governments may use force to restrain evil. They did not preach anarchy. They did not call for the immediate abolition of all coercive authority.

But here is the critical distinction:

They believed that while the sword may be necessary in the present age, it does not belong to the redeemed life in Christ.

Redeemed From Violence

The early Quaker peace testimony was not primarily a political position. It was the fruit of spiritual transformation.

Friends believed that through the inward work of Christ, the root of violence could be removed from the human heart. They saw themselves as living evidence of what happens when the Prince of Peace reigns within.

Thus, while magistrates might bear the sword, Friends themselves would not.

This distinction became publicly clear in the 1661 Declaration to King Charles II, where Friends declared:

“We do certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the Spirit of Christ… will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons.”

They were not condemning rulers as inherently evil. They were declaring that Christ had called them beyond violence.

The Difference Between Pacifism and Testimony

The confusion often arises from the word “pacifism.”

Pacifism sounds like a theory — something debated in political philosophy classrooms. It suggests an argument about policy, defense strategy, or international relations.

The Quaker peace testimony was something different.

It was experiential.

Early Friends did not reason their way to peace; they were awakened into it. William Penn emphasized that Friends were changed inwardly before they sought to change society outwardly. Their peace was not merely ethical; it was regenerative.

They believed that this state of spiritual maturity — this victory over the impulse toward violence — was available to all who submitted to the inward Light of Christ.

A Contrast with Modern Just War Thinking

In the twentieth century, theologian Reinhold Niebuhr argued that violence is sometimes necessary for justice. Human sin, he maintained, is so persistent that coercion will always be required to restrain evil.

Early Friends agreed that evil exists. They lived through persecution, imprisonment, and social instability. They were not naïve.

But they believed something radical:

That Christ’s transforming power could produce communities where violence was no longer necessary.

For Niebuhr, coercion remains a permanent feature of political life.

For early Friends, coercion was provisional — necessary in a fallen order, but not ultimate.

Living Between Two Realities

Early Quaker thought holds a tension that remains relevant today:

1. Governments may legitimately wield the sword in this age.
2. Followers of Christ are called to lay it down.
3. The future of God’s kingdom is a world without war.

Friends envisioned a time when nations would no longer learn war — not because laws changed first, but because hearts did.

They believed they were called to live now as citizens of that coming kingdom.

Why This Matters Today

Modern discussions about Christian nationalism, state power, military force, and civic responsibility often flatten the conversation into extremes.

The early Friends offer a more demanding path.

They refused to condemn magistrates simplistically.

They refused to baptize violence as a Christian duty.

They refused to trust political power as the means of redemption.

Instead, they bore witness to a different kingdom.

The peace testimony was not escapism. It was not passivity. It was a declaration that Christ had begun a new order of life — and that those who truly followed Him would embody it.

Until the nations learn war no more, governments may continue to bear the sword. But the Church must never confuse the sword of the magistrate with the Spirit of Christ.

The early Friends believed they were living signs of a coming age — an age in which justice flows not from coercion but from transformed hearts.