The challenges faced by Christian Americans right now are similar to the ones faced by Jews in Nazi Germany during the 1930s, Pastor Carl Gallups said during a recent guest appearance at CTN's "It's Time with Herman & Sharron."
He warned Christians to be prepared for the worst forms of persecution since the attack on America's faith-based groups is only getting started, according to a WND report.
"This is what Americans are beginning to see," Gallups said. "We see these similarities [with the conditions faced by the Jews in Nazi Germany]. We know that we don't live under government decree to persecute us like other Christians do, but we see the progression, or digression."
He mentioned the following initial signs of Christian persecution in the US: the removal of prayer from schools; the banning of Christmas and Easter events in schools; the pending gun registration and eventual confiscation; the apparent fading away of free speech where the media only tell the government's side; and pastors becoming fearful of addressing serious moral and political issues because of government intimidation.
Gallups said dangers confront Americans all over. As an example, he cited FBI confirmation that there are Islamic State cells in all 50 states.
Gallups brought up one troubling scenario: the use of a weapon of mass destruction called an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP.
He said this is a nuclear weapon that harnesses the power of a high-energy EMP that could be detonated in the sky by terrorists or an enemy state that could shut down all electronic equipment on the ground below. That includes cars, computers, phones, radios and television—the whole power grid.
Such an emergency, Gallups said, would create a massive panic and cause ordinary Americans to do things they might not otherwise do.
"Your sweet little next-door neighbor can turn into a killer if, all of a sudden, they don't have food and water, all of a sudden if they think, 'I'm going to die,'" he said.
Gallups shared his ideas on how Christians can prepare for persecution in his new book called "Be Thou Prepared."
"The reason I tell people to be prepared, guys, is not so that we can horde up something and go hide," he said. "If we're taken care of, if our families are taken care of... when disaster strikes, guess what? You're then free to minister to the world around you in the name of Jesus Christ."
When host Herman Bailey said many Christian Americans do not see themselves in any real danger, Gallups countered that it is actually selfish thinking. According to him, Christians in North Korea, China, and the Middle East are already living in a period of tribulation.
"I'm not saying that the Great Tribulation that will last seven years has necessarily begun, but I am saying we are in tribulation," he said. "This world is in desperate tribulation."
Just because everything seems right with the world does not mean that trouble is not brewing just around the corner, he said. "I tell people just because Starbucks is open and an NFL game was on television last night doesn't mean all is right with the world, and America needs to wake up," Gallups said.
He added that the Bible tells believers to always be prepared, and Christians who choose to turn a blind eye on everything that is happening around them is making a huge mistake.
"That's a cancer; that's a blight upon the churches," Gallups said. "Pastors say it, Christians say it, and I say to them, you must be. You've got to stay engaged," he said.
"God called us, Jesus said, 'You're the salt, you're the light.' Well, guess what? To sprinkle salt, you're getting involved. To shine the light, you're getting involved. I tell my congregation all the time: The darker it gets, turn your light up. Stay engaged. Never grow weary of doing good. We have been raised up for such a time as this," Gallups said.
