#258

Preparing For A Doomsday Scenario

Do They Know Something We Don’t

In a New York Post article we discovered that the founder of social media giant Facebook is building a large complex with a huge underground shelter:

He’s building a Zuckerbunker. Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly building a sprawling $100 million Hawaii compound — complete with an underground bunker and its own food and energy sources — in a secret project suggesting the social media mogul is trying to conceal his doomsday preparations.

The Facebook founder’s complex called Koolau Ranch is already partially constructed and is shaping up to be one of the most expensive personal construction projects in modern history, according to a Wired investigation of property records and interviews with contractors.

Further details from the article tell us just how big and protected it will be once completed:

The compound on Kauai island will consist of more than a dozen buildings with two central mansions that will be connected by a tunnel that leads to a 5,000-square-foot underground shelter with an escape hatch accessible via a ladder, Wired reported, citing building plans.

The property will house at least 30 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms and will also feature dottings of guest houses and a group of 11 “disk-shaped” treehouses joined together by rope bridges, according to the plans reviewed by the outlet.

The subterranean bunker will hold a living space and mechanical room and feature an apparent “blast-resistant” concrete and steel door, Wired reported.

And Zuckerberg isn’t the only billionaire doing this. There’s even a company that will build them for you.

Not Your Father’s Bunker

In a 2019 article on CNN.com we read about the new wave of bunkers and who builds them:

Say “doomsday bunker” and most people would imagine a concrete room filled with cots and canned goods.

The threat of global annihilation may feel as present as it did during the Cold War, but today’s high-security shelters could not be more different from their 20th-century counterparts.

A number of companies around the world are meeting a growing demand for structures that protect from any risk, whether it’s a global pandemic, an asteroid, or World War III – while also delivering luxurious amenities.

“Your father or grandfather’s bunker was not very comfortable,” says Robert Vicino, a real estate entrepreneur and CEO of Vivos, a company he founded that builds and manages high-end shelters around the world.

“They were gray. They were metal, like a ship or something military. And the truth is mankind cannot survive long-term in such a Spartan, bleak environment.”

The article goes on to note that the founder of Microsoft is planning as well:

Many of the world’s elite, including hedge fund managers, sports stars and tech executives (Bill Gates is rumored to have bunkers at all his properties) have chosen to design their own secret shelters to house their families and staff.

Is all this just normal preparedness or is it more than that?

Survival Of The Richest

Using a play on the phrase “survival of the fittest” this may just be an extension of the bomb shelter mentality that hit the world at the end of WWII only on steroids for those with a lot of disposable income. The world could end in a myriad of ways, some that would make these elaborate shelters moot. And it could be so far into the future that you may as well spend your vacations at some of these places that billionaires are building because the end might happen in 3797 or 4011, if you believe Nostradamus, or 4006 if you believe Leonardo Davinci, or between 5478 and 5480 if think Baba Vanga, a Bulgarian mystic is correct. But if you adhere to the belief of Sir Isaac Newton, well he said it would happen in 2060 and you may just get to use that expensive bunker. And your dystopian getaway better be free of technology by 2038 because that’s when some say that the programing of a lot devices will stop working and can’t be restarted. If you were around for Y2K, you may not fall for that one again, though. But those of us who believe in the Bible we not only know about when the world really will end but also exactly how.

Panic And Fear Are Not A Christian’s Options

When I first saw posts talking about the Zuckerbunker, my interest was piqued and I did read up on it. But I realized that some would think that they were preparing for a man-made end of the world for the 99% of us who can’t build even a low rent bunker. Whether it’s a pandemic, a food shortage, power shortage or some other plan to lower the population to 500 million, believers shouldn’t assume panic positions or live in constant fear of death. It’s not like previous generations didn’t think the world would end. And in some parts of the world, they live as if they are dead due to the horrible conditions around them. Death to some people would be a welcome fate. But my point is that Christians have a hope and a peace that passes understanding and we are not citizens of this world and are just passing through. We can’t live like those who think life consists of just our time on planet earth. There are so many verses in the Bible that caution on doing that and encourage us to trust in God to protect us even in a day and time when judgment is getting closer and closer. We’re not appointed to go through the wrath on the horizon regardless of how some people interpret those scriptures.

There’s Nothing Wrong With Being Prepared

I’m certainly not telling you that buying a generator or stocking up on food supplies is a bad thing. One person I heard bought a generator to survive the Y2K scenario and for the last 23 years he says he’s gotten a lot of good use out it. And having a month’s worth of food on hand isn’t bad either. We only need to look at how Joseph got Egypt through 7 years of famine to see that the Bible doesn’t let us prepare for hard times. Quite the opposite. But we also see that we’re told not to panic when provisions are looking like they might be slim. Matthew 6:33 clearly tells us to seek His kingdom and His righteousness and all the previous cares of life will be given to us by our Heavenly Father. And that my friends is exactly how you need to approach all this talk of doomsday bunkers and end of the world chatter.