John Shorey thought he was doing a commendable job of preparing for the trials of the last days.
The author had been storing food for several years, and knew he had enough tucked safely away to feed 30 people for four years. In a pinch, he said he probably could have been able to feed 50.
A few months ago, however, Shorey asked God exactly how many hungry people would come to him for help in the days ahead. Shorey thought he’d get some words of encouragement, with God saying his estimates were right on par. Instead, Shorey received a much different response.
“A number came into my mind so loud, it was not the audible voice of God, but it was as close as you could get,” Shorey recalled on Monday morning. “And the number was 100.”
Shorey made the comments as he delivered a food security seminar on Grace Street, the first of three preparation talks he is scheduled to give this week at Morningside. The story underlined one of the main messages of his address, that one can never have enough food stored away.
“It’s almost going to be impossible to have too much, because the measure of your preparedness will be the measure of how many people you can help,” Shorey said. “If you can help more people with more resources, how can you be too prepared? How can you have too much food?”
Shorey talks about storing food in his books, which include “The Window of the Lord’s Return” and “Unlocking the Mystery of the Book of Revelation,” though he used Monday’s seminar to offer tips that preppers can use to ensure they have enough food for the coming days.
He noted Christians might be asked to feed people who are outside their immediate families.
“What are you going to do when your neighbors and their kids show up at your door hungry and starving?” Shorey told the crowd. “Are you going to turn them away? When Jesus fed the 5,000 and they were hungry (Matthew 14:13-21), did he turn them away? No, he didn’t turn them away. … How we act and how we reach out to help people in the last days is going to determine whether or not God looks at you and says ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant.’”
Shorey said simply having food wasn’t enough.
Preppers needed a good hiding spot to prevent their food from being stolen or confiscated, and they should also explore gardening and canning to help generate and preserve new harvests.
“I don’t care how much food you think you have stored,” Shorey said. “If you don’t have a means of replenishing that food, you can easily run out.”
He suggested that people should not keep any more than 25 percent of their food exposed to the naked eye. That way, if people should come to take their food, the majority of it will be hidden.
Shorey also suggested purchasing seeds, fertilizer and gardening tools to help them grow new food. He said canning those fruits and vegetables would help add to their shelf life, but warned of the potential health risks of improper canning, such as botulism. He encouraged people to research canning and practice it — and gardening — before they have to rely on them for food.
“If you wait until you need it until you practice, you could be in trouble,” Shorey cautioned.
Shorey also encouraged people to make sure they had enough rice, beans, wheat and oatmeal in their stockpiles, calling them the “staples of food storage” because of their lengthy shelf lives.
Successful gardens will help preppers slow down the consumption of those stockpiles, he said.
According to Shorey, there’s more to food security than stockpiling, gardening and canning.
Shorey said faith is also a key component, sharing Biblical messages of God’s ability to multiply food — such as the feeding of the 5,000. He believes God will do the same for those who share their food in the days ahead, and noted that feeding 100 is “impossible” for him, but not for God.
“We have to believe and trust God that as we do our part, God will do his part,” Shorey said.
Shorey is scheduled to give preparation seminars titled “The Preppers Top 10 Keys to Survival” and “Last-Minute Prepping” this Wednesday and Thursday. The seminars are set to begin at 11 a.m. and will be live-streamed on jimbakkershow.com and the PTL Television Network on Roku.
