The One Question Everyone Should Ask

A friend recently asked me what we could do to physically prepare for the hard times ahead. How do you answer a deep question like that? I began to ponder how I could introduce someone to the concept of physical preparedness–something that would serve as a mental springboard to get a novice started on their journey. Here is the one question that everyone should ask:

How would life for my family change without electricity?

I’m not talking about a power outage of a day or two or even a week. I’m talking about months and possibly YEARS of being forced off the grid. I’m talking about the religious boycott of Revelation 13:16-17:

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17 KJV, emphasis mine).

The beasts (powers/nations) in Revelation 13 will unite in trying to force faithful Christians to take the mark of the beast or else be completely cut off from buying or selling! Finally, Christians who refuse to comply with this and many other oppressive enactments will be killed if they don’t accept the mark of the beast.

What Would You Be Forced to Give Up?

Sit down with your family and ask the above questions and write the answers down. Below you will find a short list of necessities that your family would likely have to give up during the time of no-buy-no-sell if you were unprepared:

• Electricity

  • No lights
  • No Heat, Air Conditioning, or Hot Water
  • No running water also means no showers or drinking water
  • No Internet, No TV, No Computers
  • No sewage system if ejector pump required
  • No cell phones
  • No Electric Ovens or Dishwashers means no place to prepare food (if you still have any).

• No Medical Care

  • Hospitals won’t be allowed to provide healthcare for “domestic extremists.” Besides, you can’t pay the bill anyway.

• No Transportation

  • You won’t be able to buy gas to put in your car due to the boycott.

• No Food

  • The unprepared family buys pretty much everything from the grocery store, often making several trips per week! That won’t fly during this time.

The above list is just a tiny sliver of what living without electricity would look like.

 The Prepared Family

Below you will find what that same list could look like for the prepared family:

• Electricity

  • Lights? Sure, if you want them. You can run off of solar, wind, kerosene, battery lights, or other light source. If you aren’t sure if you will be able to install solar, wind, or other means of powering your lights, consider adding south facing windows and/or skylights into your home.
  • Heat? Yes! You have a wood and/or coal cook stove! If the house is too big there are plenty of dirt cheap ways to trap the heat in a smaller area. 
  • Air Conditioning? Mmmm, depends on your solar setup, but I would skip it. Look for alternate ways to keep your home cool such as leaving your windows open at night and closing them mid-morning the next day to trap the cool air inside. Consider putting reflective wrap on the inside of your windows to deflect the suns rays away from your rooms or black sheeting and/or blinds to increase the heat quality in a room (more on this in a future post). 
  • Running Water? Yes, if you want pressurized water, you can rig up your hand water pump to also pump using a DC submersible pump. Or you could go outside every time you want water. It is really a question of cost, convenience, and preference. 
  • Hot Water? Sure, if that’s important to you, you can buy a range boiler and connect it to your wood stove. You can also buy a 11.5 gallon water jacket that mounts to your stove. This will give you some nice hot water for doing the dishes or for bathing and/or medical treatment.
    • Alternatively, you can have a propane water heater for at least as long as the propane lasts (or until your setup gets vandalized or someone swipes the propane). Hot water is not absolutely essential so we can be a bit more flexible on that point. There are PLENTY of off grid hot water options though. 
  • Internet? Naw, but by that point you won’t necessarily want or need it. You will have to ditch your smartphone at some point as well since it will be an expensive brick. If it does still have juice it will serve as a tracking device. 
  • Sewer System? Yes, IF you put in a gravity-flow only system like we did with our new construction home. Doing this ensures that you never have to have anything running if you don’t want to. 
  • Ovens and Dishwashers? You will have your wood/coal stove for your oven, but you’ll have to do dishes the old fashioned way unless you install a pretty big solar system to power your dishwasher–they are power hogs. Make sure you select an oven that serves your baking and cooking needs well. Never skimp on your stove, it is THE HUB of your country living operations.

• Medical Care? 

  • YES. You planned ahead and bought a war chest of different herbs and you took the time to learn how to use them. You also have materials stored away for doing enemas, poultices, and cleanses if needed.
    • Many people also choose to have a good supply of activated charcoal on hand along with gauze, bandages, and other medical supplies. (DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this blog post or any other post we write is intended as medical advice. Consult your doctor or medical professional for health advice).

Let me put this as plainly as possible. Knowing how to treat basic medical needs is a necessity, not only for your family, but for the medical ministry work we are told to do. We should use the time we now have to become intelligent regarding the lifestyle the Lord wants us to live and the various natural remedies we can employ to help ourselves and those who come to our outpost centers.

• Transportation? 

  On the one hand, you could maintain horses, donkeys, etc for who knows how many months or years until you will actually need them for that purpose. In the mean time, you’ll have to clean up after them, ride them, feed and water them, take care of expensive vet bills, and build a barn to house them. Personally, this isn’t very high on my priority list and it seems like it could cause more headaches than it cures.

  If you love horses and they are your hobby, go for it. Also, remember that the Lord “teleported” Phillip the Evangelist over 20 miles away! See Acts 8:39. Here’s my take: If God wants to get you somewhere He will get you there. I’ll leave this one for you and the Lord to work out.

• Food? 

  YES, INDEEDY! You maintained a balance between a medium/large garden and you stored away food as your budget allowed. (Need a food storage plan on the cheap? Check out our post, Food Storage on a Shoestring Budget, for a cheap way to get some substantial food storage.

I hope you found this article to be informative and that you will share it with your friends!

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