Tumultuous Times Fuel End-Times Preparations

November 28, 2009
By Amy Green
Religion News Service

For years, Ken Uptegrove thought that another Great Depression was at hand.

Uptegrove, a computer professional in Springdale, Ark., started a garden and researched ways to live more simply. He studied the lives of early Christians, and he launched a ministry and a web site [1], which he and his wife use to share their beliefs with about 100 visitors a day.

Ideally, one day they'll move with other self-sufficient Christians -- the Uptegroves do not call themselves survivalists -- to a remote area where they can raise their own food and be ready should things get any worse.

Inherent in this way of life is the Christian ideal of neighborliness, Uptegrove said. Surviving is not about saving yourself alone, but about coming through disaster with enough strength to help your neighbors, too.

"We are not militia. We are not an armed camp. We simply describe ourselves as first-century Christians," said Uptegrove, 74. "It is always just simply living the Christian community lifestyle and being ready for [Jesus's] return as if it will happen tomorrow, but at the same time being ready to live our life and being ready for a full life."

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, war, Hurricane Katrina, the worst recession in a generation and countless other woes, some Christians see signs of the end times and Jesus's Second Coming.

Government leaders warn of rising unemployment and worldwide pandemics. Movies such as "2012" stoke fears of global disaster, and TV shows such as "Man vs. Wild" make survivalism almost hip.

Sustainability and self-sufficiency appear downright mainstream, exemplified by first lady Michelle Obama's White House vegetable garden. The Mormon practice of stockpiling food no longer seems quaint but like something that might be worth looking into.

"We as Americans have this sense of personal responsibility and efficiency," said Richard Mitchell Jr., a professor emeritus at Oregon State University and the author of "Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times."

He said people have decided that "we don't live in an easy world or one that is consistent, but one that requires focused reaction and cooperation and sort of individual grit."

Across the Web, message boards, blogs and businesses promoting survivalism are flourishing. Living Fresh, an online store that sells emergency supplies, has seen business jump as much as 700%, owner Joe Branin said. Among his best-selling items are pouches that can be used to store water for as long as five years and sturdy blankets that can be used as tents. He sells perhaps 1,000 blankets a month.

Today, survivalists are "your basic person, like a . . . person that just read about it or started hearing about it and thought, 'You know what? This is a good idea,' " Branin said.

In the popular imagination, survivalists are Rambo types, Mitchell said. But survivalists often are urbanites or suburbanites who distrust the government or think the government is flawed. For the less hard-core, survivalism might offer a measure of control that seemed lost to natural disasters or terrorism, Branin said.

"This is one way people feel like they're taking control of their own situations again," he said. "We've had so much drama. It's like getting your oil changed in your car. You've done something that feels good. It's the same way with somebody going down and getting a survival kit and having extra food or water. It gives them that level of a little bit of security."

Of course, doomsday predictions come and go. In the 1830s, New York farmer William Miller foresaw the return of Jesus in 1843, which led to the "Great Disappointment" but also to the birth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Similar end-times predictions led to the founding of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Some say the hype is fueled by the government and the media. Ask anyone who worried about Y2K a decade ago or the 2003 government directive to stock up on duct tape to seal homes from a chemical or biological attack.

Yet being prepared isn't all bad, Mitchell said. If survivalists are gardening because they think the United States should be less dependent on foreign countries for food or energy, maybe they're on to something. And if survivalists distrust government and economic systems they don't completely understand, perhaps the recession has proved that they have a point.

New technology is helping measure progress toward completing Jesus's Great Commission, the command to make disciples of all nations, said the Rev. Allan Beeber, who runs the online Global Media Outreach for Orlando-based Campus Crusade for Christ.

Many Christians believe that the Great Commission must be fulfilled before Jesus can return, and at the rate the ministry is growing, Beeber said, it is possible the job might be completed by 2020, maybe sooner.

Then again, he's not making any specific plans.

"It may happen in our lifetime. I just don't wake up everyday thinking today's going to be the day. I just don't do that. I've been through too much," he said. "I do believe the Scriptures will be fulfilled someday, but I think the timing will surprise every one of us."

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