by Leonard V Johnson
There are reports that the very wealthy are spending copious amounts of money in an attempt to survive an apocalypse.
Now, while we have quoted Michael Snyder before, and he is often an interesting writer, he, too, is considered a “prepper” for an apocalypse. After all, it certainly helps him sell his books ──
February 13, 2024The World Is Bracing For An Apocalyptic FutureWhen you imagine our collective future, what do you see? Today, most people do not envision a positive future for humanity. Our movies, our television shows, our video games and our talk shows are filled with apocalyptic themes, and there is constant speculation about what is ahead of us on social media. Global events have really started to go haywire in recent months, and faith in our leaders has never been lower. A lot of people are realizing that when things really start hitting the fan nobody is going to come riding along to rescue them. So sales of emergency food and supplies have soared to record levels, and millions of us are planning for life in a world that has gone completely and utterly mad. …At this point, even the wealthiest members of our society are preparing for worst-case scenarios. …If everything is going to be just fine, why are so many billionaires building massive survivalist compounds?Can anyone out there answer that question? …Billions of dollars is [sic] being spent on emergency food and supplies, and I fully expect that 2024 will shatter all previous records. …We really are on the verge of an extremely apocalyptic future, and we will soon see things happen that many people never even imagined would be possible.Millions upon millions of people have a gut feeling that really bad stuff is on the horizon, and it won’t be too long before it becomes clear why so many of us have been preparing for the worst.
Doomsday messages can often sell more books ── and there is a clear psychological reason behind it.
- Fear is a strong motivator: People are hard-wired to pay attention to threats, so apocalyptic predictions can grab attention quickly.
- The promise of some “secret” knowledge “only I know”: There are many people, like Michael Snyder, who claim to be revealing hidden truths of God, or insider warnings, making people feel they’re a messenger from God.
- An emotional urgency: Often, there’s the idea that “time is running out” that is used to try and push people to act ── often claiming that “what you need to do is in my book, you should buy a copy today!”
- A storytelling appeal: Many people giving these doomsday messages are great storytellers, with end-of-the-world scenarios that tap into great drama and suspense. 1
Having said all that, notice also the following from Survival . News ──
10/11/2022Swiss company unveils fortified luxury bunkers designed for the apocalypseUltrawealthy individuals can still enjoy the luxury they have grown accustomed to while trying to survive the apocalypse.Swiss firm Oppidum, which supplies fortified underground residences, has unveiled its new L’Heritage bunkers for ultra-high-net worth individuals.Oppidum hired French architect Marc Prigent to design the stretched underground homes for “unprecedented times” with each one providing a minimum of 10,000 square feet of space.According to Robb Report, the residences can be custom-made to fit the owner’s tastes and they can include extra facilities such as an extra-large garage, a private art gallery, meeting lounges, an indoor garden and even a spa with a private pool. …The homes have two independent air filtration systems with a primary unit for peacetime operation which offers fresh air indefinitely and a state-of-the-art secondary air filtration system that can protect against airborne contaminants “be it of radioactive, chemical, biological or nuclear origin,” the website added.Oppidum’s unique high-pressure air reserve and internal circulation gives an adequate level of oxygen in the building and simultaneously keeps an overpressure to guarantee absolute airtightness and gas-tightness of the indoor environment.
Who says you can’t live in the lap of “luxury” while the world is falling down around you?
Also, as far as the uber wealthy and the preppers, the UK’s The Guardian posted ──
Sun 4 Sep 2022The super-rich ‘preppers’ planning to save themselves from the apocalypseTech billionaires are buying up luxurious bunkers and hiring military security to survive a societal collapse they helped create, but like everything they do, it has unintended consequences.As a humanist who writes about the impact of digital technology on our lives, I am often mistaken for a futurist. …I found myself accepting an invitation to address a group mysteriously described as “ultra-wealthy stakeholders”, out in the middle of the desert.A limo was waiting for me at the airport. … They sat around the table and introduced themselves: five super-wealthy guys – yes, all men – from the upper echelon of the tech investing and hedge-fund world. At least two of them were billionaires. After a bit of small talk, I realized they had no interest in the speech I had prepared about the future of technology. They had come to ask questions. …Eventually, they edged into their real topic of concern: New Zealand or Alaska? Which region would be less affected by the coming climate crisis? It only got worse from there. Which was the greater threat: global warming or biological warfare? How long should one plan to be able to survive with no outside help? Should a shelter have its own air supply? What was the likelihood of groundwater contamination? Finally, the CEO of a brokerage house explained that he had nearly completed building his own underground bunker system, and asked: “How do I maintain authority over my security force after the event?” The event. That was their euphemism for the environmental collapse, social unrest, nuclear explosion, solar storm, unstoppable virus, or malicious computer hack that takes everything down. …Many of those seriously seeking a safe haven simply hire one of several prepper construction companies to bury a prefab steel-lined bunker somewhere on one of their existing properties. Rising S Company in Texas builds and installs bunkers and tornado shelters for as little as $40,000 for an 8ft by 12ft emergency hideout all the way up to the $8.3m luxury series “Aristocrat”, complete with pool and bowling lane. The enterprise originally catered to families seeking temporary storm shelters, before it went into the long-term apocalypse business. …Ultra-elite shelters such as the Oppidum in the Czech Republic claim to cater to the billionaire class, and pay more attention to the long-term psychological health of residents. They provide imitation of natural light, such as a pool with a simulated sunlit garden area, a wine vault, and other amenities to make the wealthy feel at home. …
Well … as the article went on to say ── yes, the probability that such bunkers will actually protect those uber wealthy occupants for very long is indeed “slim to none.”
Sadly, most ── like a new Florida bill allowing churches, synagogues, and mosques to use armed security ── instead of putting their faith, trust, and confidence in Almighty God for their protection and safety, are placing their trust in “apocalypse bunkers.”
The Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Photo: Airman Magazine
O’ and it’s not just the uber-wealthy! Notice this report from 2019 ──
Study Finds Rise In ‘Doomsday Prepping’ Due To Mainstream American ‘Culture Of Fear’CANTERBURY, England — “Doomsday prepping” or stockpiling food, medicine, weapons and other supplies in case of an apocalyptic scenario has long been considered peculiar behavior only exhibited by conspiracy theorists and other extremists in the United States. However, such prepping has actually been steadily on the rise in the U.S. over the past decade. So, what’s causing this surge in stockpiled rice packets and underground bunkers? One group of researchers says it is an ever-growing sense of impending doom in American culture.Many have speculated that this surge in doomsday preppers over the last 10 years was linked to an extreme political reaction among many conservatives to Barack Obama’s initial election in 2008, but a new study out of the United Kingdom finds that neither the Obama presidency nor extreme right-wing conspiracy theories in general are the main cause of this growing phenomenon.Researchers interviewed preppers from 18 U.S. states and asked about their motivations for stockpiling food and supplies. The results indicated that, although most did seem to be conservative and fear liberal policies, the main reason behind their motivations was the overall sense of fear currently dominating U.S. culture across a variety of media channels. Most Americans can’t seem to log online or turn on the television without being hit by a grim view of the future being reported or speculated on.Potential occurrences commonly worried about by preppers include possible economic depressions, terrorist attacks, cyber-attacks, pandemics, or environmental disasters.
Indeed, it is true ── there is a lot of bad news around the world. And there is a sense of “chicken-little” ── a tale about a chicken who mistakenly believes the sky is falling, symbolizing panic and fearmongering.
But be assured, brethren, our Lord and Savior made it a point to say, “’ See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.’” – Matthew 24:6.
Since our Lord Jesus Christ ascended to the upper heavenly realms, mankind has continued to have sorrows ──
“ … ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. 5) For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6) And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. SEE THAT YOU ARE NOT TROUBLED; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7) For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8) ALL THESE ARE THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS.’” – Matthew 24:4, 5-8.
And certainly, since our Lord and Savior was taken up into the heavenly realms, this present evil age has been in ‘the beginning of sorrows’!
Now, it should be pointed out ── that this present world will get far worse than anything these “preppers” can imagine – cf. Matthew 24:21-22.
What about the hoarding of gold and other precious metals ── will any of that save someone?
No. our Lord Jesus has told us ──
“’ Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20) but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’” – Matthew 6:19-21.
Of course, we are not meaning that one shouldn’t have extra food, water, and money set aside in a safe location for emergencies such as devastating natural catastrophes, like tornadoes and hurricanes.
One of the wisest men of his day, King Solomon, had this to say ──
“Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, 7) Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, 8) Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.” – Proverbs 6:6-8.
“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealthy of the sinner is stored up FOR the righteous [surely speaking of those self-righteous “Christians” that have their hand out!].” – Proverbs 13:22.
“The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.” – Proverbs 21:20, NLT.
So what God’s living word is teaching us is that we can have the wrong focus and that our priorities can be too physical and material. The LORD God knows what we need – Matthew 6:8.
Also, God’s word, in this two-fold prophecy, shows us that a few will escape destruction and captivity that will come to impact our peoples ──
And this is sort of odd. This scene we’re about to read is a little perplexing, but it has a meaning. And we’re going to get to that meaning in just a few verses. In verse 12, it will become clearer what he’s trying to say. God said to Ezekiel, His prophet, “’ son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber’s razor, and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair.’” He says in Verse 2, this is a reference to the DAY OF THE LORD, and you’re going to see that more clearly as this chapter 5 of Ezekiel continues. “’ You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of the city [talking about the hair], when the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after them.’” – At this point, it’s sort of mysterious or opaque what the Bible’s trying to tell us. It becomes clear in just a few verses. Verse 3 – “’ You shall also take a small number of them and bind them in the edge of your garment.’” – a few of these hairs. ‘A few of these hairs sort of roll up in your robe.’ Verse 4 – “’ Then take some of them again and throw them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will go out into all the house of Israel.’” – Remember, Israel, once named Jacob, had 12 sons. Basically, in our world today, many of the nations of Western Europe, the British Isles, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa have descended from those 12 sons. And the ‘house of Israel’ God is saying, ‘You were supposed to be Mine,’ and some of the verses actually say, ‘I married Israel,’ but then at some point God said, ‘I divorced Israel, too.’ Because they simply would not do what they were supposed to do, they did not live up to the marriage vows. But a FIRE, punishment, great problems, great issues, is going to come upon the house of Israel. It’s not here yet, but it just doesn’t seem to be that far down the road.
This is something which the prophet Ezekiel wrote against the siege of Jerusalem and his nation, inspired by God’s Holy Spirit. This contains a tremendous amount of information – the prophesied Day of the LORD is equivalent to (prophetically speaking) the Day of Atonement.
And Jerusalem is the rightful capital of one of those tribes – the tribe of JUDAH. When the prophet Ezekiel wrote this, they had already been taken into captivity. Recall: He had written this by the River Chebar in captivity. He is actually writing about a future destruction of Jerusalem.
Verse 6 – “’ She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have REFUSED My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.’”
Certainly, one of the greatest judgments that they literally threw away was the Divinity of Jesus Christ as being the true Messiah and the glorious Son of God!
“’ Those who survive will escape and be on the mountains Like doves of the valleys, All of them mourning, Each for his iniquity. 17) Every hand will be feeble, And every knee will be as weak as water.’” – Ezekiel 7:16-17.
Also notice what the Prophet Amos warned in this two-fold prophecy ──
“’ Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say: ‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; See great tumults in her midst, And the oppressed within her. 10) For they do not know to do right,’ Says the LORD, ‘Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.’
11) Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘An adversary shall be all around the land; He shall sap your strength from you, And your palaces shall be plundered.’
12) Thus says the LORD: ‘As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion Two legs or a piece of an ear, So shall the children of Israel be taken out Who dwell in Samaria── In the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch! 13) Hear and testify against the HOUSE OF JACOB,’ Says the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, 14) ‘That IN THE DAY I PUNISH ISRAEL FOR THEIR TRANSGRESSIONS, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; And the horns of the altar shall be cut off And fall to the ground.’” – Amos 3:9-14.
In this two-fold prophecy, some will be hiding in the mountains and other areas throughout the tiny nation in the Middle East today, Israel ── as well as within the nations that have descended from Jacob’s 12 sons. Those that are not outright killed will be subjugated. The kings of the earth, the uber-wealthy, the famous, the commanders, the mighty, and even some commoners, will hide themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains for a time.
Indeed, our Lord Jesus taught that those in Judea should flee to the mountains during this Day of the LORD! ──
“’ Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place’ (whoever reads, let him understand), …’”
And this indeed did occur ── Antiochus IV outlawed Jewish religious rites and traditions, and the Temple in Jerusalem was forcibly changed to a syncretic Greek-Jewish cult that included worship of Zeus. Antiochus sacrificed a great swine at the image of Moses, and at the altar of God that stood in the outward court, and sprinkled them with the blood of the sacrifice. 2 But this will happen again with another Antiochus IV, like a civic and military leader of a “United States of Europe”!
16) ‘ then let those WHO ARE IN JUDEA flee to the mountains.’” – Matthew 24:15-16.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the true Messiah, has warned us, brethren ──
“’ Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.’” – Luke 21:36.
So, brethren, let us always watch and pray, and OVERCOME that we may be counted worthy in the glorious eyes of God to be worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand (I say, kneel – cf. Philippians 2:10-11) before the awesome and powerful Son of Man!
Let us always put our faith, trust, and confidence in the LORD God, not in doomsday bunkers. □
1. Asked “AI” 25 Feb. 2026.
2. Wikipedia contributors. "Antiochus IV Epiphanes." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 Feb. 2026. Web. 25 Feb. 2026.
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