30 million dead would perhaps be a "shaking"

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on Nov 26 2011] These days, there is a lot of talk in charismatic circles about whether there will be great shortages of food and water in the future. My e-mail inbox attests to that. It lists 19 diiferent e-mails regarding “shortages” send to me from various sources. One of them is from evangelist Patricia King this week, who addresses the question in a new short video. Her answer, yes and no, is intended to give comfort to Christians. But it’s of less comfort to non-Christians, especially the 30 million unsaved North Americans that she appears to think may die in upcoming “shakings”. Oh did she neglect to mention that? Let me explain… Her video. Is a Food Shortage Coming? seeks to reassure Christians, that if they are living I “covenant” with God, He will take care of them. (And given how bad the United States economy is, that is definitely something that he mostly American audience is concerned about.) “….If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, a food shortage is not coming to you…because He is going to meet all your needs,” Patricia King says. “…there are shakings taking place in the earth and the ‘world system’….and yes, there might be shortages here and there…” but King argues that although the Lord may not provide for you in the usual way, he will take care of you. But, she is careful to qualify a little bit. “If the Lord’s nudging you to do it [buy emergency food and supplies], you go right ahead and do it,” she says. [In another video that King sent out, Julie Meyer, well known as a ‘prophet”, shows the prudence and wisdom of this advice. She was led by a dream to buy four months worth of “survival food”, and notes in passing that some of her friends are missionaries in Japan. These friends of here, who had been led to set food and water, were able to help people in Japan after the natural disasters there and were able to be a helpful blessing to them.] And how can you make sure this will happen? Says King “I want you to go online and purchase two books…” which happen to be by her. But aside from making a bit of money from people’s fears, what worries me, is a lack of concern for the unsaved who don’t have this advantage. (Although, she does briefly mention that those who buy emergency supplies would be well placed to give away to those who need help.) The Bible certainly gives evidence that God will often care for his flock. No disagreement from me, and King is right to point that out. But what of those suffering, who are not saved and don’t have access to the “disaster insurance” that she teaches that Christians have? I don’t think she has addressed the question in a video. But, when she was speaking at a conference in Surrey B.C. this past summer—and perhaps didn’t suspect that she was being audiotaped by someone who might write about what she said, she spoke “with the bark off”. I wrote on her July 23 remarks a few weeks later in the post: “If God needs 30 million people to die, Patricia King ‘craves the judgements’ In her remarks, which I quoted extensively, Patricia King, quoted friends of hers who speculated that 30 million North Americans will die in upcoming judgments. Her response? “[E]verything in me craves the judgments” of God when they are needed, she said. Judgements are God’s verdict on “what is right and what it wrong….clearing the air.” “We are, I believe to love the judgements to God in that sense…if he creates a judgement, it is always for us.” {She later added…] “…And in this hour, God is going to judge the system that hurts, the system that oppresses, the systems of greed, and it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing, and we need to embrace those judgements and desire them….} [In that post, I went on to make two arguments. First, that this would be a very callous attitude to take towards those unsaved people would die. Secondly, that expecting that any Christian would experience “roses roses all the way” while 30 million people died, is, to put it mildly, a bit of a stretch.] Does Patricia King still “crave the judgements”? It would be an interesting question to ask. I would like to see a video from her on “How do we help people through ‘shakings” that we’ll miss, even if they don’t become saved. I hope that Patricia King has rethought what she said back then, but if she does retain the attitude which she showed in her remarks a few months ago, I would suggest that she has more pressing concerns than selling books or making sure that she has survival supplies on hand.