Why aren’t pastors telling us what is really happening? What do you and your family need to do to get ready for the end times? How do you become what the military calls “Battle Ready!” Watch the video and discover more in retired U.S. Army Chaplain and Colonel David Giammona and Pulitzer Prize-nominated investigative journalist Troy Anderson’s new book, The Military Guide to Armageddon: Battle-Tested Strategies to Prepare Your Life and Soul for the End Times (Chosen Books/Baker Publishing Group, January 5, 2021). It’s the #1 “Best Seller” in “Christian Eschatology” and “Christian Spiritual Warfare.” It hit #129 out of 33 million books on Amazon shortly after its release. It’s also available via Barnes & Noble, Christianbook.com, Walmart, Target, Baker Book House, Books-A-Million, Hudson Booksellers, Parable and most anywhere books are sold. Discover more at troyanderson.us, davidjgiammona.com and battle-ready.org.
Episode 1: Why the Church Is Asleep?
By Col. David Giammona
Hi, this is Colonel David Giammona, and welcome to episode one of the Battle Ready Ministries video series, where you and I are going to explore vital issues of life in the end times and we’re going to answer questions that will affect your life now and forever more.
You’re wondering what this preacher is talking about, or maybe you’re not even a believer and you’ve just tuned in and you want to know what is going on in these end times and how do you prepare for it? Well, stay tuned because that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today.
In fact, the first vital question of this episode one is why is the church asleep?
I really want to look at this. It’s really important for us to get off the stick and find out what is really going on. We are in these end times, especially in the church in America. God gives us the answer to this question of why the church is asleep.
In fact, he addressed it over 2,000 years ago in Matthew 25. Let me set the stage for you in Matthew 24. Jesus was asked, what are the signs of your coming? And he spells it out. You know, there’ll be the destruction of Jerusalem and then the rebuilding of Israel and pestilences and plagues and wars and famines. But he said the end is not yet. This is just the birth pains.
So, we’re experiencing the birth pains of the end times and I’m believing and predicting that these birth pains are going to get sharper and closer together just like in childbirth. But let me read you a Scripture. I think that’s going to be very interesting for us in looking at why the church is asleep. It’s the parable of the 10 virgins.
Jesus just spelled out the end of times and what’s going on just before his return in Matthew 24. He says at that time the Kingdom of Heaven is going to be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. Now let’s cut to the chase. The reason the virgins were foolish is because they had lamps but had no oil in them. They had no power and they had no enthusiasm. Also, they had no strength and they had nothing going on and they fell asleep.
The other five had oil. Now they fell asleep too, but they all woke up when it was announced the bridegroom was coming and those five went on to be with the Lord and the other five that did not have oil went wandering around the country looking for oil and couldn’t find any.
They were late to the wedding and they were not let in. The Lord said, “I don’t know you. You’re coming to the wedding. I’m not going to allow into heaven.” And there’s a lot of debate about what this really means, but Jesus was predicting that at the end of time the church would be asleep. The virgin, that’s us, the Church of Jesus Christ.
And I’m asking at least half the church to wake up. Now I know there are a lot of pastors out there and a lot of believers that don’t want to talk about the end times. They think it’s, you know, for nutcases and it’s not real, it’s not reality, but it is the most prophesied thing in the entire Bible. A large part of the Bible looks at the end times and there are hundreds of Scriptures throughout the Old and New Testaments.
So that tells me that the Bible doesn’t talk about it as foolishness. In fact, one third of the Bible is predictive and so there are a lot of pastors out there that aren’t speaking the truth in love. They’re coddling their congregations. They are not building an army; they’re building an audience or a congregation and here’s one of the problems of the modern church.
I’m just going to be honest the buildings of the church sometimes they have captured those who are in the church. And what I mean by that is we’re focus on the buildings. We’re focused on paying for the building and maintaining the building and all the tithes that need to come in. So, pastors want to bring in more and more people to support more and more building projects and other things like programs.
There’s nothing wrong with programs and building projects, and other things like that, but the fact of the matter is it shouldn’t be our priority, especially in the end times, especially during COVID-19 and you know, the release of biological and bio-chemical weapons around the world.
We could be on the verge of war with China. We need to be speaking to our people about the important issues of getting ready for the end times, getting supernaturally prepared, walking in the Spirit.
What are our churches talking about today? I walked into a megachurch the other day, and I’m not criticizing the pastor, but he was talking about finances. Every year we talk about finances. Well, that may be well and good for the years past, but it’s not going to fly in the face of the fact that people need to get empowered with the power of the Holy spirit and learn how to walk in the supernatural. Yes, money’s important, don’t get me wrong, but what are our priorities right now?
Jesus, you know, alluded to that in Matthew 24. And so, you know, the Church is asleep for a lot of reasons – building programs, cares of the world, the lust of the flesh, you know, the pleasures of life. We have nothing to offer the world right now. A lot of Millennials aren’t even going to church because they don’t find any real value in going to church and I understand that and sometimes I have to agree with that.
We must build leaders and pastors that understand the times we’re living in. I think we have a spirit of Jezebel right now in the church. That was alluded to in the book of Revelation where Jesus talks about the Jezebel spirit. That’s being tolerated. One of the churches in Asia minor, which is modern-day Turkey, He said, you tolerate the spirit of Jezebel.
What is that spirit of Jezebel? Elijah took on the prophets of Baal back in the Old Testament and, you know, he challenged them, who is the real God? Jezebel had been flourishing in Israel and propagating false religion, a counterculture. I mean all the things that we’re seeing today had infiltrated the synagogues of that day and the Temple.
Jezebel and Ahab were wicked rulers of Israel. And when Elijah had the prophets of Baal killed, he went running for his life afterward because Jezebel threatened to kill him. He had a spirit of fear, so Elijah fled and wanted to take his own life. And that’s what’s going on in the church right now – a spirit of fear, Oh, some pastors will tell me, you know, Colonel, we don’t talk about the end times because I don’t want to get our people afraid or upset.
Well, you better because you’re doing them a disservice. It’s like me handing a rifle to somebody and saying, “Let’s go to war,” but they’re not properly train. They’re not indoctrinated in the Army. They don’t know what they’re doing. They’re going to get themselves killed and they’re going to get me killed in battle too.
I’ve been to war. I understand what it’s about. I understand the destruction. And I know there were soldiers that went to war that weren’t mentally, emotionally, and spiritually prepared for what they were about to face. It’s the same with the Church. Now it’s time to wake up and it’s time to get battle ready. It’s time to reprioritize our lives and get our priorities straight.
I’m not even saying Jesus is a priority. He should be your all in all and my all in all, not just a priority. When I get up in the morning and throughout the day, I want to be communion with God. All I want to hear what God is saying in my heart.
I rebuke the spirit of Jezebel in the name of Jesus Christ and by the blood of the lamb right now, from the church in the United States of America and in your life and in your church’s life and I rebuke it right now in the name of the Lord. Let’s get battle ready people. Let’s get the spirit of Jezebel out of our lives. That fear that holds us back, that fear that you know about the cares of the world oh what are the neighbors going to think? Who cares when you and I stand before the judgment seat of Christ? Your neighbor isn’t going to be there to see what I believe or what you believe. They’re going to face their own judgment. Let’s not care what the government thinks. There’s going to come a time folks.
And we’ll talk about that on another episode. We’re going to have to make the decision whether we’re going to live or die. We’re going to face the Antichrist. And we’ll talk about that in the future. Will we face the Antichrist? That’s an interesting subject and a question for later on, but we’re going to face problems.
Whether you’re pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib, we have to be ready now for the coming of the Lord. And that’s my mission. That’s Troy Anderson’s mission. Hence, you can see more of us on www.battle-ready.org, or on our websites, www.davidjgiammona.com and www.troyanderson.us.
You can see us on Facebook. We have The Military Guide to Armageddon page where you can look at our book and some excerpts that you can go on Amazon and download along with the Kindle and the audio book. The book is for sale everywhere (via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook.com, Target, Walmart, Hudson Booksellers, Books-A-Million, Baker Book House, etc.) around the world.
Grab the book. If you can. It’s going to help you get battle ready.
So, I want to pray with you before I get out of here and close with a word of prayer. Shall we. Father, thank you for all who are listening right now. I just pray that if they don’t know Christ, they will know Christ in a real way.
And if they’re really afraid, may your Spirit comfort them and may the Spirit of Living God just flow from the grace and the Throne of God into their lives right now.
They need healing. I speak healing in the name of Jesus. If they need salvation, I speak salvation. If they need to be strengthened, I pray for strength for them right now. Grant them your peace and grace, Father, and grant them to be battle ready in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God bless you. See you next time.
