Billy Graham's 1957 warnings 'ring true today'

It was before ISIS, al-Qaida, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the Internet, videos of bloody executions and appeasement of Islam.

It was 1957, and Billy Graham was in the business of warning Christians in America about persecution.

"The immunity to persecution that Christians in our country have experienced in the past two or three centuries is unusual," he said.

Explaining that "the words ring true today," the Billy Graham Association's Decision magazine has republished Graham's article its November 2015 edition.

The article suggests many American Christians would break once the cultural tide goes against their faith.

Nearly 60 years ago, Graham wrote: "Since we have experienced little religious persecution in this country, it is likely that under pressure many would deny Christ. Those who shout the loudest about their faith may surrender soonest. Many who boast of being courageous would be cowardly. Many who say, 'Though all others deny Christ, yet I will never deny Him,' would be the first to warm their hands at the campfires of the enemy."

It's a message with which Pastor Carl Gallups agrees.

Wholeheartedly.

The former law enforcement officer and current pastor of Hickory Hammock Baptist Church in Florida told WND that Christians need to solidify their faith and make practical preparations for living in hard times.

"I am thrilled that Dr. Billy Graham has reiterated what his son and I, and many others, are factually stating – persecution of Christians, in some form or another, is not just a matter relegated to some far off land, it is happening right now and right here in America," Gallups told WND. "The targeting of Christians will only grow if the church and the American public doesn't wake up and begin to vehemently address the matter."

Gallups' new book, "Be Thou Prepared: Equipping the Church for Persecution and Times of Trouble," is designed to prepare Christians for surviving both natural disasters and persecution. Gallups says it's a message Christians urgently need to understand.

He told WND: "Recently I was interviewed by Alan Colmes on his Fox News Radio Network show. In that interview, Colmes insisted that American Christians are not under any manner of persecution whatsoever. He also stated that he felt people like Billy Graham's son Franklin and I were 'nuts' for even suggesting that Christian persecution in America was a possibility.

"But the facts of this important issue, regardless of Colmes' blatant ignoring of them, are irrefutable. The targeting of Christians, especially our beliefs in the supremacy of Jesus' claim upon our lives; as well as matters related to abortion, the radical homosexual agenda, and the recent SCOTUS gay marriage opinion, are before our eyes in practically every week's news cycle."

Gallups believes one of the most important things to understand about persecution is its incremental nature. The pastor argues progressives often create a straw man when they say there is no widespread imprisonment or criminalization of Christianity.

Gallups says the process is far more subtle.

"I, and many others, have made the comparison of the current marginalizing process of Christians, Christianity, and all-things-biblical to what happened in Nazi Germany regarding the persecution of the German Jewish population. We all know how that turned out. Will history ultimately repeat itself, even in the United States? It certainly is possible – especially if we live in a state of denial concerning the heavily documented and currently unfolding process."

Gallups told WND such rhetoric isn't alarmist, it's simply an accurate representation of what is already occurring.

"As I stated in the Colmes interview, 'I am not saying anything any different than what Fox News' Todd Starnes, Franklin Graham, or the four dissenting Supreme Court justices in the gay marriage opinion have said – America is headed in the direction of out-and-out persecution of Christians and the church,'" Gallups stated.

"Now, Billy Graham, one of the strongest evangelical voices in the world, has weighed in on the matter – and he agrees."

Recently, Gallups spoke to WND TV about how Christians can survive persecution, disaster and other times of troubles. He explained one of the most important and overlooked aspects of preparedness is the need to survive as a community.

"The concept of the community goes to the family level, the neighborhood level, and just as importantly, to the church level," Gallups said.

As a pastor who has worked with one church for almost 30 years, Gallups recounted how he has seen an entire generation grow up as he church has become a focal point for the larger community, especially by serving as a center for disaster relief and ministry after hurricanes.

Gallups argued such large-scale preparations allow churches to strengthen their societal position by serving as a center for ministry and relief.

He told WND TV: "I think churches need to think like this. You can't prepare for every detail that might happen but you can make general preparations. Do you have adequate water supplies, and food supplies, and emergency foods, do you have adequate lighting and power generation, just in case. Take an assessment. Can your facilities be used for emergency housing? Do you have adequate restroom facilities for an emergency situation?

"We need to be prepared so we can minister to the world around us."

Gallups also urged believers to take an assessment as individuals by reviewing what supplies and networks they have established in their own neighborhoods. He warned that believers must prepare immediately, before it is too late.

"We live in tumultuous times all around the world and even in America," he said. "I think it's important that we network all of this together to take care of one another. And this is a biblical command and I think it serves to advancing the Kingdom of Jesus Christ."

Though Gallups called Graham's warning "ominous," he was ultimately hopeful. And he told WND the most important things Christians can do is refuse to back down.

"My message to the Christian faith community of America is, 'Stay engaged! Be the salt and the light! Do not grow weary of doing good, and understand that we have been raised up for such a time as this.'"

See Gallups:

Graham's article explained five ways to "fortify yourself so that you will be able to stand in that day."

Make sure of "your relationship to God," he said.

Then walk with God and assimilate Scripture. Then pray always and, finally, meditate on Christ.

"The wheels of God's judgment can be heard by discerning souls across the length and breadth of nations. Things are happening fast! The need for a return to God has never been more urgent," he wrote.