There are several uses for animal fat, so before you decide to pitch it consider to re-purpose it. Each animal has a different type of fat that have different smoke points. I personally am not a beef farmer or a homesteader, however, I am a deer hunter and render the tallow from my harvests. As little as it may seem, I do reuse it for cooking by adding it to deer burger. It helps keep the lean burger together while cooking, and also for candles and a backup fuel for fire starters.

Sources For Fat Rendering

Beef fat is called tallow and pig fat is called lard. Poultry fat is too soft to be used by itself, but it may be used in a ratio of about 10% with tallow or lard. Bear fat may also be used but it must be melted (rendered) quickly after the bear has been killed because bear fat will quickly become rancid. You may also use the fat from farm animals such as sheep or goats, and a variety of wild animals, such as beaver, opossum, raccoon, and groundhog. If there is any lean meat still attached to the fat, cut it off and make sure you only use the fat to make grease.

Types of Fat from a Pig

Belly:  This is what’s used to make bacon. As its name suggests, it comes from the belly of the pig and has layers of fat and meat. Pork belly has become popular in recent years in a variety of cuisine. You typically wouldn’t render the belly into lard because there is too much meat attached.

Fatback: This comes from the back of the pig, includes the shoulder and rump areas, and is the thick layer of fat directly underneath the skin.  Once rendered it produces a lard that’s slightly yellow in color and it has a stronger pork odor and flavor than leaf fat. It’s great for frying or sauteing. Fatback is also what’s used in sausage-making.

Steps For Rendering Fat

Melting animal fat is called rendering. Rendering should be done outdoors or in a well ventilated area. The smell of melting animal fat will make most people nauseous. Cut the animal fat into small pieces about one-inch cubed and put them into a pot with about 1/8 inch of rainwater and cook over low to medium heat.
Gradually add the fat to the pot and stir to keep the hot grease and solid pieces of fat circulating. As you stir be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent any fat from sticking to the bottom and burning. Do not burn the fat or allow it to smoke. If it starts to smoke then you are applying too much heat and you are burning the fat or grease.

Measure the amount of used cooking grease (or used cooking oil) and put it into a cook pot. Add an equal amount of water to the cook pot. Measure another one-half the original amount of water and set it aside for later. Add one tablespoon of salt to the cook pot. Bring the mixture to a boil inside the pot. Turn off the heat. Then gradually pour the cold water you previously set aside into the hot mixture.
The mixture will begin to separate into three layers as follows:

1. pure fat on top,
2. fat mixed with impurities in the middle
3. water on the bottom.
   
   Carefully ladle the top layer of pure fat into a clean container and save it for future use. Discard the bottom two layers. Label the container with the type of grease that it contains (pork lard, beef tallow, cooking oil, etc.)

You can render lard in a heavy pot (Dutch oven is perfect) in the oven between 225-250 degrees F, on the stove top over low heat (start at “2” and once it begins melting turn it down to “1”) or in a crock pot on LOW. Whichever method you choose, just remember that if you’re wanting a neutral flavor for using in pastries and pie crusts, cook it over very low heat, otherwise your lard will have a much stronger, “piggy” flavor (which is still fine for things like frying and sauteing where you want to add a little flavor boost).

Fat Rendering Yields

One pound of fat will yield about 2¼ cups of grease. Most of the fat will melt into a liquid but some small solid particles will not melt and these are called cracklings. After melting the fat, allow it to cool slightly, and then strain it through a clean thin cloth and store it in a sealed container until it is needed. The cracklings will be on the top surface of the straining cloth. Save the delicious cracklings for use in other cooking recipes.

Note: Raw animal fat can quickly become rancid. Therefore raw animal fat should not be saved and then converted into grease at some future date. The best procedure is to render animal fat into grease while the fat is still fresh. Rendered animal fat has a much longer storage life than raw animal fat.

Storing Rendered Fat & Lard

Lard was used and stored for centuries before refrigeration was invented. It will keep at room temperature for a long time (traditionally many kept it for up to a year).  Nevertheless, today most recommend storing it in the fridge.  It’s your call.  In the fridge it will keep for at least 6 months and up to a year also and many say it’s less likely to get rancid in the fridge.  I’ve heard of many people keeping it for even longer than a year in the fridge. Lard can be kept almost indefinitely and what determines if it’s still good is its smell:  If it starts smelling rancid, throw it out and make another batch.

For longer storage lard can also be frozen.  Freeze it in bars, in cubes, in tablespoon amounts, in tubs (slicing off what you need, no need to thaw), whatever you prefer.  Lard can also be frozen in glass jars once the fat has solidified at room temperature.

It is best to only freeze it once though, not thaw and re-freeze

Revelation 8:7 7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

“Living in the open in this way, and making friends of the trees, the streams, the mountains, and the stars, gives a scout a great deal of confidence and makes him love the natural life around him. To be able to tell the difference between the trees by their bark and leaves is a source of pleasure; to be able to make a bed out of rough timber or weave a mattress or mat out of grass to sleep on is a joy. And all of these things a good scout should know.” –Boy Scouts Handbook,
First Edition, 1911

Being able to identify trees can not only be a source of pleasure, as the first Boy Scouts Handbookopined, but a matter of survival. If you become lost in the woods, trees are an abundant and easy-to-utilize resource, and can be used in a variety of ways, including as food, shelter, cordage, and materials for fire-starting and tool-making.

Below we discuss how to identify six trees that are particularly useful in survival scenarios, and the different ways they can be employed to keep you alive. Keep in mind that because many trees drop their leaves in the fall, it’s important to be able to identify them by both their leaves and buds, and their bark.

White Birch (Paper Birch)

White birch is easy to identify with its distinctive, white, papery bark. The sycamore tree also has white bark, but it does not sluff off in thin, paper-like furls like the white birch. The sycamore also has large hand-shaped leaves versus the white birch’s smaller, oval-shaped leaves with a pointed tip. The birch leaf is also irregularly toothed. These grow almost exclusively in northern climates.

White birch Survival Uses:

• Sweet drinkable sap that does not need purification.
• Containers can be fashioned from the bark (and even canoes – hence the nickname “canoe birch”).
• Its papery bark makes some of the finest fire-starting tinder on the planet, which will light even when damp because of its resinous quality.
• A fine tea can be made from the small twigs at the end of a branch or by shaving the bark from new growth. Toss a palm full of these elements into boiling water for a fresh, wintergreen-flavored tea.
• The tinder fungus (chaga — a variety of mushroom that grows on the tree bark) grows almost
• exclusively on the white birch tree. The fungus is one of the only natural materials I know of that will take the spark from flint and steel. A piece of tinder fungus along with flint and pyrite to
• create sparks were even found on Otzi, the “iceman” who was uncovered in the Austrian Alps several years ago.
• Pine tar can be extracted from the bark of the white birch by heating it over a fire. Pine tar makes an excellent natural adhesive, which indigenous peoples used for all kinds of purposes including securing stone points on arrows

American Basswood

The American basswood (also called American linden) is a very common tree – especially in the eastern U.S. It prefers moist soil and is often found by creeks, streams, and ponds. It likes to grow several shoots from the base so it’s not uncommon to see the basswood growing in what appears to be clumps. Basswood trees have large, heart-shaped, coarsely-toothed leaves and dark red young leaf buds. One of the most distinctive features of the basswood is what I call the “tongue.”
A tongue-shaped leaf (the small, light green leaf in the picture above) grows at the base of the regular heart-shaped leaves on mature trees. Hard, little, nut-like fruits dangle from the center of this “tongue” leaf throughout the summer.

Basswood Survival Uses:

• Delicious edible leaves – especially in spring.
• “Bass” comes from the word “bast,” which is an old word for rope. The inner fibers from the basswood make some of the best natural cordage on the planet. In one of my wilderness courses, two adult men could not break a 1/2″ thick strip of basswood bark.
• Basswood is my favorite wood to use in fire by friction setups. It is soft and makes a perfect friction firewood for bow drill spindles and hearthboards and for hand drill hearthboards.
• Basswood is preferred by most wood carvers and chainsaw carvers because of how easy it is to work and carve.
• Inner bark layer is edible and can be scraped off with the edge of your knife. It has a very sweet flavor.

White Pine

The leaves of the white pine grow in batches of five needles. Every fall the white pine loses all of its needles, except those that grew that year. Pine is an evergreen; evergreen trees keep some green leaves year-round, unlike deciduous trees, and have needle-like leaves. They also produce cones (pine cones) instead of flowers.

White Pine Survival Uses:

• Resin can be used as a fire extender when mixed with tinder material. Resin can be heated and mixed with crushed charcoal to make a natural epoxy.
• Resin-rich joints and stump pieces make incredible fire kindling.
• Make pine needle tea from the green pine needles – very rich in Vitamin C.
• Inner bark layers are edible.
• Harvest pine nuts from the pine cones.
• Pine needles make excellent fire tinder.
• Pine needles make excellent natural insulation material for debris huts and survival shelters.
• Green pine boughs are perfect for lean-to shelter roofs.
• Green pine boughs are great for making a bed to protect from the cold ground or snow.
• The lower, dry, dead branches of the pine tree (squaw wood) is often some of the driest fire
• kindling available. It is exposed to the wind and also protected from the elements by the year-round needle canopy above. I’ve also used these branches for making bow drill fire friction sets.
• Very effective candles and lamps can be made from pine resin.
• Pine resin can be used to waterproof seams in clothing or crude containers.
• The very pliable surface layer roots make excellent (and strong) natural cordage. Use as a whole or split into smaller pieces.

White Oak

White oaks have rounded leaf lobes instead of pointed ones like red oaks. Contrary to popular belief, acorns are edible. I like white oak acorns better because it seems they are less bitter and it takes less effort to leach out the tannic acid (which causes this bitterness) to become more palatable. An abundance of acorns in mid-summer makes the oak family almost impossible to misidentify. Oaks are some of the largest trees in the forest; I have many white oaks at Willow Haven that are over 100 feet tall and easily 3-4 feet in diameter.

White Oak Survival Uses:

• Acorns (after leaching out the tannic acid) can be ground and used as flour to make acorn bread.
• Tannic acid (which can be extracted by boiling or leaching acorns and/or inner oak bark and twigs) is anti-bacterial. I’ve used it as an antiseptic wash before and have heard of it being used to quell diarrhea.
• Acorns can be used as trap bait for squirrel and other small game animals.
• Can tan leather using the tannic acid found in bark, acorns, and wood.
• Oak is a very hard wood that is good for ax handles, digging sticks, and shelter frameworks.
• When dried, the white oak flowers make suitable tinder bundles and can be found in great abundance certain times of the year.

Sugar Maple

The sugar maple is one of my favorite trees and probably one of the most abundant in the Eastern woodlands. Its beauty is on full display when the leaves change each fall into bursts of red, orange, and yellow. The leaves usually have five lobes, and the tips are pointed. Young maples have smooth silvery bark. The unmistakable “winged helicopter” seeds are a tell-tale maple tree indicator. The sugar maple is the source for maple syrup; this tree is preferred because its sap has high sugar content. It takes 40 gallons of sugar maple sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup.

Sugar Maple Survival Uses:

• In late winter/early spring when the sap is running, the sugar maple is an excellent source of drinkable water (sap) that needs no purification. Maple sap is nature’s version of an energy drink – rich in sugar and nutrients. I’ve filled a 1-liter canteen in as few as 15 minutes before. Maples don’t have fully developed (or any) leaves during this time of year – hence the importance of being able to identify in all four seasons.
• The seeds inside the little helicopters are edible, just like edamame. I just boil them and lightly salt. They can also be fried or added to stews. Remove the outer helicopter.
• I almost always use maple branches for wilderness cooking. Whether it’s a spit roast, a hot dog stick, or utensils, I can always find a maple branch suitable for the task. Maple branches naturally have a lot of forks, which is great for pot holders and other wilderness kitchen uses. I also use the leaves to wrap fish or other small game animals when cooling in an earth oven. Young maple leaves are also edible. Toss them into a salad or boil them down with other spring greens. They get bitter and rough as they mature.

Willow Tree

There are tons of different willow varieties, but every willow I’ve seen has a similar leaf shape.
The leaves are narrow, lance-shaped, and grow in great numbers along the branches.
Willows must be in moist areas to survive. If you’ve found a willow, then there is a water source nearby.

Willow survival uses:

• Willow bark contains a chemical called salicin, which is similar to aspirin. I can personally attest to its effectiveness in relieving headaches and inflammation. Just chew on a few small green twigs and swallow the juices.
• In spring and summer, willow bark will peel away from the wood and makes excellent cordage that can be used for a huge variety of tasks.
• Young willow branches and saplings are very flexible and can be used to weave a variety of different baskets and funnel traps.
• I’ve used dried willow wood on many occasions for friction fire sets – both hand drill and bow drill.
• Willow saplings make excellent frog and fish gigs.

If you are not saved and the rapture takes place, you will be hard pressed to get the supplies you need during the times to come. The time to start preparing is now. There will be a major shortage of supplies when a catastrophe hits and the trucks aren’t refilling the stores.

There are many survival items that you can store now, and “forget” about, which you may need later during varying degrees of an emergency. The following are 55 suggested items that you can store and have ready.

1. Toilet paper, and other sanitation items such as feminine hygiene products, diapers for infants, etc. These are items that should be mass stored if possible.
2. Paper Towels. Too many uses to mention, store as many as you can.
3. Coffee filters. For those drinkers of coffee of course, but these are excellent filters for many other purposes.
4. Trash bags. All sizes. You can also store many free plastic grocery bags from the store every time you get them after shopping. Important for bagging up refuse and preventing disease.
5. Zip type plastic freezer bags.
6. Ice coolers, various sizes. If you have room, can be used to keep things cool or cold, but also used to keep items from freezing in very cold weather.
7. Shovels. All sizes from small garden type to those used for digging. Very important to have after a disaster.
8. Kitchen items. Sponges and other scratchy pads. You are likely not going to have a dishwasher after a disaster and you have to have some means of cleaning pots, pans, dishes.
9. Cotton balls. First aid uses, putting cotton in ears of people that need their ears protected from the cold, etc.
10. Paper to write on. This includes note pads, index cards.
11. Pens and pencils, especially the click pencil type that don’t need a sharpener.
12. Rubber bands. This also includes hair bands. Used to keep items organized and from flying apart.
13. Tape. All kinds from duct, masking, electric, to scotch. Many uses.
14. Hand sewing materials. Threads, needles, buttons, zippers, you are going to need them.
15. Matches. Keep them dry and store lots of them.
16. Salt. You won’t believe in certain areas how hard it is to get this necessary mineral for survival. Store as much as you can.
17. Aluminum foil. Good for cooking and many other uses.
18. Candles. All sizes. Not only for light at night but can be used to heat small items up in small cookware.
19. Hand operated can openers. Without many of these you will have a bad time trying to get your canned food out.
20. Basic Tools. This includes hammers, screwdrivers, saws, axes, utility knives, scissors. Anything extra that you can store from your toolbox.
21. Small hardware. Nails, screws, hooks, wires, etc. Store in clear jars with lids or in original packages.
22. 5- or 6-gallon plastic gas containers. Can be used for gas or other fuels as well as for water that are durable.
23. Magnifying glasses. Use to see small items, main use to start fire if matches are wet or out of them.
24. Envelopes. All sizes for storage. Smaller for seeds you can get from the wild as one example. Tough postal envelopes are also good for storage after a disaster.
25. Empty boxes. You are really going to need this if you have to suddenly move somewhere quick for clothes and other items. Many grocery stores will give you free fruit boxes that are sturdy and have lids. Also, large plastic boxes with lids. Try to store empty boxes within the empty spaces of each other.
26. Shoelaces. Many people have shoes that are still wearable and need shoelaces. Shoelaces are also good for tying off material with other purposes.
27. Paper plates, plastic eating utensils, disposable drinking glasses and cups. IF you can store enough, excellent way to save your soap supplies by not having to wash the dishes.
28. Bedding. Blankets, sheets, pillows, pillowcases. Just because you are in emergency does not mean you have to live like a refuge.
29. Bathroom towels. All sizes from hand to bath. You will be very grateful to be able to dry yourself off with something you are used to.
30. Fishing line and string. Lots of uses.
31. Nylon rope, cord, clothes lines. Do not be without.
32. Dental needs. Toothbrushes, dental floss. Even without toothpaste you can still keep your teeth healthy.
33. Q-tips. Not only personal use but uses for fine detailed work.
34. Honey. Lasts practically forever and a good sweetener for many foods.
35. Spray bottles. Use to disperse insect repellent as one of many uses.
36. First aid kit. Most items such as bandages, gauze, tweezers, nail clippers, scissors, wrapping tape, etc. can be stored without rotating.
37. Newspaper. Yes, newspaper for starting fires, wrapping delicate items, insulation. Keep dry and preferably in sealed boxes.
38. Safety pins. Fastening of almost anything that has broken. Bobby pins also good.
39. Cheap plastic sunglasses. You will really need to protect your eyes after an emergency, glare is something that people forget about if they have to be outdoors for extended periods of time.
40. Hats. One size fits all baseball type caps, scarfs, ski caps. A lot of heat is lost through an uncovered head, also sunburn.
41. Gloves. So important from keeping hands warm to protection of your hands from hazards such as broken glass.
42. Extra clothes that you will not wear other than after a disaster. Don’t forget the extra comfortable shoes, socks, underwear, warm jackets.
43. Small handheld mirrors. For signaling but also for personal grooming and seeing what your eyes can’t without a mirror.
44. Cloth grocery bags with handles. A very good way of collecting usable things such as food from the wild.
45. Stapler with plenty of staples. Also, paper clips to seal off small items and fastening paper. Your package of survival seeds as for example.
46. Electric extension cords. You may actually still have electricity from some source such as a generator. Can be used as a substitute for light duty style rope also.
47. Brushes. From nail, paint, to hairbrushes. One good use for a hairbrush is removal of ticks, fleas, burrs, from clothing.
48. Measurement devices. Tape measures, rulers, very important to know distances, how big, how small something is rather than guessing.
49. Games. Boredom is awful, and a simple deck of cards, board games, something to take up time if confined after an emergency.
50. Books. Anything that will give you information and instructions on survival, cooking, plant identification, map books. Your bookcase may not be around after a disaster, store information you will need someday.
51. Wind up clocks and watches. Your battery operates clocks and watches or other time telling instruments are someday not going to work. Wind up clock better than using a sundial.
52. Snap top plastic containers. Ziploc, Tupperware, anything that can air seal something. All sizes.
53. Stick on notes. Use to label what you have after the disaster. Secure it better with scotch tape if you want.
54. Money. If you can store it somewhere and forget about it and not spend it other than in emergency. Cash money may be the only way to buy anything after a disaster that has not taken out the monetary system.
55. Plastic tarps. Many sizes and inexpensive. Cannot emphasize how many uses these have and can be folded up and stored in smaller spaces.

There are several reasons to get started prepping if only for a natural disaster. After all, severe weather can hit anywhere in the United States. So, the age-old question can only be answered one way. Yes, you should be prepping. When I was only seven years old, my mother was canning from the garden and putting food in the cabinets for any unknown situation that may occur. I mean, everyone is secure in their jobs until they lose it. I started prepping in 2012 and am going pretty good at it. When I lost my job is 2016, the food I had and some necessities I needed came in handy at that time. Although I hated digging into my preps, I’m glad they were there. The question is, what are you preparing for? Everyone should be preparing for an emergency such as a natural disaster at minimum.

What are we preparing for? What Should I Prepare For?

Revelation 13:15-18 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 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:
17 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.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Everyone should be prepared for a natural disaster, but the focus on this site is for the unbelievers that are left behind from the Rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ. If you are left behind, you need to realize that mid-tribulation the Antichrist will require you to take a mark to be able to buy and sell. If you refuse, you will be beheaded if you are caught and a fugitive on the run if you are not.

When it comes to prepping, the best thing you can do is keep it simple. There is one thing about prepping everyone should know before they even get started and that is that prepping can become a rabbit hole really quick if you let it.

To break this down in simple steps to get started preparing, we will start with a seventy-two-hour prep that will help us get prepared for a natural disaster. The most likely thing to happen for in the short term is the power goes out for a few days. Trust me, this has happened locally a couple of winters ago and thing got a little on edge only a couple days in. One town was without water for several days and that starts to cause a panic really quick.

Getting Started

There are important factors to remember when prepping. It is better to look at prepping as a hobby and things you would like to have in case something catastrophic happens rather than preparing for the end of the world. Once you start down this path as mentioned above, it can get overwhelming and become a rabbit hole if you let it.

Start A Prepping Plan

The first step is to create a prepping plan and know what you are prepping for. There are all sorts of scenarios you could need to prep for, so don’t get overwhelmed by which one you are going to get ready for. A lot of the prepping you will do will cover many other scenarios.

My suggestion is getting a backpack or duffel bag. You are going to need something to hold the preps you will need for an emergency. Also think about anyone else in your family, they are all going to need a bag as well.

Prepare A 72 Hour Evacuation Bag

In case of an emergency that would require you to stay put for a few days or evacuate your home and not be able to return for a few days, you may have only enough time to grab the family and your evacuation bag.

Here is a list to help you get started and get you through the outage or until you reach your next location.

Remember, if you do not transfer this bag from your house to car every day, you will need to keep a bag in your car as well.

Water

Water is the most essential element for survival. Without water, you will not survive for more than 3-4 days.

There are several ways to store water. For an emergency that requires you to stay put for a while, I recommend the water brick. each brick is enough water for one person for three days. The bricks stack nice and net for storage and are convenient for any emergency situation.

In case of an emergency that requires you to get out of the area quickly, it is more practical to pouch water in an emergency bag and even some purification tablets in case more water is needed on the go.

Food

The next essential item on our list is of course food. Although you could go a very long time without food and still survive, it would be hard to maintain the energy you would need being on the go. The normal recommended calorie intake for a normal day with normal activity is 2000 calories. It is recommended to go much higher in a situation that requires much more activity such as walking long distances.

For the emergency scenario that requires you to stay put for a bit, the food buckets are the best way to go. I recommend one of these for each person to sustain them up to 30 days.

Once gain for the emergency that may require a road trip or the hiking option, the pouches are definitely the way to get you there. These are three servings, but I consider then to be two meals.

For a food ratio on the go for a long-distance hike, this bar is high calories and is recommended to get you through between meals or just a snack for when you are stuck in the basement for days and ran out of snickers. They will count for the calories, and they are as bland and dry as they look. What you think they taste like is accurate.

So far we have covered the basics, food and water. The following items are recommended for the emergency travel bag. The bag that you would grab if you had to evacuate your home or just a bag to keep in your car if you got stuck out and needed to walk home for a long distance to make your way home.

First Aid Kit

Don’t cheap out on the first aid kit, the last thing you want if you are out for any period of time is to get a cut that has the possibility to become infected. Your health must be sustained to make it to your destination.

The Recommended List Of Items To Complete Your Bug Out/Get Home Bag

• Space Blankets
• Tube Tent
• Sleeping Bag
• Folding Pocket Stove
• Fire Starter Kit
• Rechargeable Flashlight

Other Items Bug Out/Get Home Bag

• Toilet Paper
• Toothpaste/Brush
• Personal Hygiene Items
• Pocket Hand Warmers
• Wool Blanket
• Matches/Candles
• Gloves
• Radio
• Rain Poncho

It is important to get a sturdy backpack to hold these items. I recommend a military surplus bag. They are usually still in good shape and are tested for quality and durability.

Stay tuned to this site as we write more articles that will help you get to the more advanced stages of prepping.

This site is now being used to spread the Gospel as well as the information need for the ones left behind; in hopes they will see their option to be saved during Great Tribulation. They will be the ones that become the tribulation Saints and will be martyred for Christ, but sill end up in heaven with us. For those that don’t accept Christ during the tribulation, I hope they find this site useful for the hard time they will have during the tribulation and possibly survive long enough to accept Jesus before their ultimate demise.

The is only one true way to survive the wrath of God and that is to accept His Son Jesus Christ as your personal savior. This must be a heart belief.

The early years of the explorers to come to the American continent were difficult ones indeed. Those explorers, we now call The Pilgrims, faced harsh weather, unpredictable relations with the natives, disease and other challenges as they carved out homes from the wilderness they found here. Because their earliest homestead were in the northeast, the winters were harsh and their ability to build houses that could keep them warm and to find sufficient food was a constant worry to the men and women trying to raises families in America.

So anytime they received help from the native population, it was viewed as a gift from God and accepted with the greatest of joy and celebration. A Native American chief by the name of Squanto saw the plight of these new neighbors and saw to it his tribe helped these young families to survive. Besides providing food and wisdom about how to build structures that could keep them safe in the winter, Squanto taught them to fish, how to prepare eel and other strange sea creatures they harvested and how to farm.

This act of friendship was the origin of our revered holiday of Thanksgiving. The Virginia Colony established the tradition of holding a day of collective prayers of thanksgiving, and that tradition continues today. Except it is not just a day of thanksgiving for the kindness and generosity of Squanto to our forefathers. We take advantage of this day of reverence and thanksgiving to be grateful for all the good things that God has blessed this nation with.

The foods we use to celebrate Thanksgiving were ones that the pilgrim travelers found native to this country and the foods that, with the help of Native American teachers, they learned to capture, harvest and prepare to feed their families and prosper in their new home. Turkey was a game foul that was in ample supply to the pilgrims once Squanto showed them how to hurt the bird with reliable success.

The vegetables we love to have on our traditional menus also had their origins in the early lives of the pilgrims. Potatoes, cranberries, sweet potatoes, green beans and all the rest were vegetables that the pilgrims had to learn to harvest, farm and prepare from natives of the land. So in many ways, our modern holiday, despite the dominance of football games and the upcoming Christmas holiday, retains the atmosphere of those early celebrations.

And the meaning of the holiday, despite commercialization, has been retained. Americans have much to be thankful for. The abundance of the land, the health of the most prosperous economy on earth and a society that is free and able to encourage freedom in other cultures are just a few of the things we celebrate at this holiday time. But for most of us, it is a time to gather family and friends near and be thankful to God for our health, for the blessings of jobs and for the privilege all Americans share to be able to live in the greatest nation on earth where opportunity is ample that any of us can make it and do well if we work hard at our chosen area of expertise. And these are things truly worthy of giving thanks for.

While not the first words of the Declaration of Independence, these stirring words have that kind of prophetic power that anyone who hears them in immediately inspired by the beauty, the poetry and the deep truths that were so beautifully expressed in that historic document.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

This one statement from that famous declaration so beautifully demonstrates some core principles that show why this document has such a deep impact on the American mind and heart. The statement that the truths in this document were indeed truths is a profound statement in its own right. The Declaration of Independence does that suggest that what is being declared in those pages are theories, possibilities, even political ideology. These are truths which puts them on the same value as statements of values as often taught in a religious setting. Truths are eternal values and values that are not changed by circumstances, by whomever or whatever is handling the government of the land or by the whim of lawmakers. These truths exist above those temporal earthly ideas and live on that plain of the eternal.

“Self evident” is a powerful phrase and it reflects on the founder’s belief in what was called natural law. Natural law is the belief system that there are laws that are part of our natural state of existence and that they cannot be taken away (inalienable). These laws are our rights as creations of the almighty and any government system must recognize these laws because they are above government. It is a basic belief system of the American system that ALL people are entitled to these rights and that they cannot be taken away.

The mention of a creator in the declaration of independence is very important because there are those who would maintain that the separation of church and state tells us that the government is at heart a secular institution. Clearly the founders did not lay the foundation of our country on that groundwork. They saw the inheritance we as Americans have in our rights and freedoms to be part of our legacy from God and as such, above the government and something the government must back off and leave alone as well as prettiest and defend.

The Declaration of Independence is truly an amazing document especially when you consider the “primitive” state of the nation when it was written by Thomas Jefferson and signed on July 2, 1776 to become the backbone of our American system of government. It became an often referenced and quoted document, even becoming a part of President Lincoln’s famous inaugural speech when he said with such deep conviction…

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Because these words are such a deep part of our American heritage, American history and the American spirit, they are often a crucial center part of any study of history in the schools in this country. That is why school children in every state are so familiar with these words.

But it would do us all well to take some time once a year or so and take our copy of the Declaration of Independence and read it either as a private moment of reflection nor with our families. What a wonderful fourth of July tradition that would make. Then as you watch the fireworks celebrating the birth of the country and its independence, you will have those words fresh in your heart to remind you that it was our creator that gave us our freedoms and independence and nobody has the right to ever take them away.

It was not long after the Constitution was ratified that the first ten amendments were indeed organized and became law. That those ten amendments have become as central to the American system of government as the Constitution itself. They have come to be known as the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights are so deeply engrained in the American consciousness that they are often referenced in conversations about issues, how Americans work and live together and our relationship with the government. The true genius of the Bill of Rights was the work it did to severely limit the ability of the government of the United States to ever interfere with the fundamental rights of its citizens. This is a stunning achievement at a governmental level when you think in terms of legal systems of governments throughout history and around the world.

These ten amendments assure that the rights of citizens in this country are forever protected from any move by any administration to take those rights and give them to the government itself. As such, the government is forever banned from getting too strong and it relegates the government to a servant role in society which so often is not the case in governmental politics elsewhere in the world.

The ten amendments to the Constitution cover the core rights of Americans including…

1. Freedom of Religion, free speech, freedom of the press and the fundamental right of assembly without fear of harassment from the government. Also, the right to petition the government to seek relief for grievances caused by the government.
2. The right to bear arms.
3. Protection from the forced habitation of troops in civilian homes in a time of conflict.
4. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure as part of a criminal investigation.
5. The right to due process when being accused of a crime.
6. The right to a jury trial, to be allowed to cross examine your accusers and other rights of accused to assure Americans cannot be “railroaded” by the legal system.
7. The right to civil trail by jury
8. Protection against cruel and unusual punishment and the right to bail.
9. Protection of rights not specifically spelled out in these ten amendments
10. Protection of states rights.

Of these rights, the ones listed in the first amendment are most often quoted and most cherished by Americans. The original authorship of the Bill of Rights is credited to James Madison. These basic rules of order for how the government will respect its own citizenry set in place and entitlement of rights by American citizens that has fundamentally shaped this country and how Americans come to expect its government to behave.

It endowed the citizenry of the land with an expectation that the rights of the citizens of the country at a very basic level are more important than the rights of the government and that the government “works for us” which is a phenomenal change to the way societies have been organized throughout history. As such, The Bill of Rights is one of the many reasons that America can be regarded as the most unique country in the world and the country that many citizens of other nations wish their own counties would emulate.

America is proud that it has never had a battle on its native soil. Other than Pearl Harbor and 911, we have never even been attacked on our own soil. So it took a war of brother against brother, American against American to make even the possibility of war within the borders of America even possible.

The war’s statistics are staggering for a relatively short conflict. The war started on April 12. 1861. It was the confederacy that drew first blood attacking Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The battles of the Civil War and legendary. We have come to honor the dead of both sides of this bloody conflict by preserving many of those historic battlefields even to this day.

Throughout the war, the North was at an advantage in preparation, equipment and supplies. But General Lee, who commanded the confederate army, was a brilliant strategist and the battles often resulted in massive casualties on both sides. When the final tally was drawn up, over 970,000 American citizens died from the Civil War. While that may not compare numerically to the huge losses in the two world wars later to come, this figure represented 3% of the American population at the time. And since the huge majority of the war dead were from America’s youth, the hope for her future, the set back this war had on the development of America’s economy was truly remarkable.

In modern times we look back on the Civil War as a titanic battle to bring an end to the horrors of slavery in this country. And to be sure, the Civil War is and will forever remain a central part of black history and the beginning point of the civil rights movement in America. But the causes of the Civil War were complex and diverse which only made negotiation and resolution of the war more difficult in advance of conflict.

Part of the issue that was being fought out was the rights of states for self-determination as balanced with the rights of the federal government to determine affairs in the individual states. On the surface, this may seem trivial compared to ending slavery but put in context, it was a critical relationship to iron out in light of our not very distant memory of our revolution against England for trying to impose unreasonable controls on the colonies.

American’s are fiercely independent people and that independent spirit was born in the battles of the revolutionary war where America stated firmly that they would no longer bow to a king or let the centralized government have such sweeping control over individual lives. The outrage over how England tried to put the colonies under servitude was the foal that caused the explosion known as the Revolutionary War. And much effort was made to assure there was language in the constitution and other critical documents to assure that the federal government would be severely limited from interfering in the lives of its citizens.

Beyond that the preservation of the union as one country was also in contest in the Civil War. But it was the moral issue of slavery that made the Civil War such an emotional issue and one that caused people to fight with such ferociousness to defend their side. In the end, even Abraham Lincoln made slavery the central rational for the war and determined that the end of this barbaric practice would be the legacy of this horrible conflict.

But one thing that also was a legacy of the Civil War was the determination that we, as Americans, would never turn our war machine on our own citizens again. The war tore families apart and literally caused brother to war against brother. Since reconstruction and the union of America, the country has had a bruise in its national psyche over this war and that bruise reminds us that we are one people and we would always be one people devoted to the causes of truth, justice and the American way of life.

First off, I think it is significant that John is the only Apostle that was at the cross when Jesus died and is the one that is given the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

John is suddenly called to Heaven. Some may disagree, but this is a representation of the Church being raptured to Heaven.
In chapter four, the Church goes up and is not mentioned of again until chapter 19 in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

There will be a sound so loud, you will think a truck load of dynamite went off in your front yard.

The saints are around the throne room of God.

2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

The twenty four elders are present. Twelve elders from the twelve tribe of Israel and the twelve Apostles that followed Jesus Christ.

4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

The image above is for illustration purposes only. The Cherubim are standing around the throne with their wings extended out to one another. Unfortunately, there aren’t many picture that accurately represent this scene.

3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Focusing on the four beasts, these beasts are found in Ezekiel and are Cherubim.

Revelation 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

They have four wings and there were only five of these in existence. There are four here around the throne and one is the fifth Cherub that covereth. The fifth one has fallen and is Satan.

7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

The four beasts described in Ezekiel all have the four faces that are seen here. the position that John is in, he can see one face of each Cherub and is explaining what he saw.

It is probably no coincidence that the Cherubim are the one that say come and see as the four horses are released.

8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

I know, you think you just read that the beasts have six wings and most of your modern Bibles do omit one word. The word they omit and that changes the beast is “about”
If I put my arm around my wife, she will have three arms about her but she will only still have two arms of her own.
These Cherubim are surrounding the throne and have their wings extended around each other. Giving the each six wings about them.

Seraphim have six wings and the number of them is unknown.

Once we are raptured, from that point on, we will never get hot or cold, we will never get tired. We will be in our new body and given a white robe.

Revelation 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

The first seal reveals a white horse which represents peace and has a bow but no arrows. He is the phony that comes in peace and claims to be the messiah, and many will follow him.

6:3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

6:4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

The second horse that is revealed is red which represents blood. The first horse has been ridden and now peace is removed. At this point, murder will be legal and many will kill each other.

How far would we have to go to legalize murder? How many trials let people off for murder now and how many babies are murdered everyday from abortion.

6:5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

The third horse is black and represents death and darkness across the land.

6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

A loaf of bread will cost a days pay and you will pay it because you will have to feed your family. Notice there is no meat in this verse, everyone will be vegetarians. The animals will have more rights than people. You can’t kill that cow or that piggy or that deer.

This is what they use in jail to keep people tame (bread and water) and is what they will use to keep everyone calm.

6:7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

The fourth horse representing famine in the land. this is the only horse where the rider is named and he is death. Many will die by the sword, by hunger and the fear of men will be removed from the beasts of the earth and they will kill many.

Notice this is the only rider that is named? That is why I believe there is only one rider that will ride each horse until it serves its purpose and the rider will jump to the next horse and the next.