A few years ago, I read a mystery novel about people building elaborate and expensive underground bunkers in former missile silos to protect themselves from nuclear war and other forms of devastation. His story caused me to wonder if he had observed this before creating a fictional account about it.
In 2024, fiction has become reality. For months, social media has been abuzz with reports of Mark Zuckerberg, billionaire founder of Facebook, building a massive underground shelter in Hawaii. A Time online story recently picked up the story:
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, co-founder and co-CEO of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, plan to build a 5,000-square-foot underground shelter on their Hawaii ranch with its own energy and food supplies, according to a Wired investigation published earlier this month.
The plan is that the shelter’s door will be made of metal and filled in with concrete—common in bunkers and bomb shelters, the news outlet reported in its extensive article citing planning documents and interviews.
Other accounts suggest that he is just one of many billionaires building underground bunkers for protection against doomsday scenarios. We know that governments have protective bunkers for their elite, but now such things have become commonplace among the rich and famous.
The Building of Bunkers Fulfills Biblical Prophecy
Did you know that the Bible long ago prophesied that this would happen in the last days? Who would have thought that Mr. Zuckerberg’s behavior fulfills biblical prophecy? But it does.
The Lord told the prophet Isaiah that during the last days, people would hide in holes in the ground to escape the terrors of the Day of the Lord:
Isaiah 2:17-19 KJV – “And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” (emphasis added)
Skipping forward to Revelation 6:15-17, we read that John witnessed and recorded the future fulfillment of these words from Isaiah 2:
Revelation 6:15-17 KJV – “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (emphasis added)
In the future, it won’t be just the rich and powerful seeking refuge amid the terrors of the Day of the Lord wrath, but a wide variety of people during the Tribulation period will seek to hide from His judgments.
What Does This Tell Us About the Time in Which We Live?
The vast majority, if not all, of those seeking underground protection from doomsday scenarios don’t believe the Bible. Most regard our warnings of God’s future judgment on the earth as foolishness.
Does it not seem strangely ironic that their behavior points to the soon fulfillment of Revelation chapter 6, which they consider to be foolishness?
They recognize that devastating wars, economic turmoil, and deadly natural disasters lie on the horizon, but they remain blind to how these things point to the Lord’s soon intervention in the world. However, by the time the sixth seal comes upon them, they will recognize the terrors overspreading the planet as resulting “from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:17).
If the elite recognize the nearness of the Day of the Lord perils such as we see in Revelation 6 (despite not identifying them as such), does this not tell us that such things are near? These billionaires look at what lies ahead with unbelieving eyes and ignorance of Bible prophecy; yet, by their behavior tell us that we live in the last days when these things are about to take place.
Should this not be a wake-up call to pastors who claim to know and believe what God’s Word says but persist in pushing the Lord’s intervention in our world to a far distant end of the age event?
I also find it curious that Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow billionaires are acting in ways that seem likely to frighten others as they seek to escape rather than use their money to divert the catastrophes they see coming. When we tell people about what the Bible says is coming to our world, they say we are trying to scare people. Even fellow believers accuse us of being escapists who don’t care about people or life today.
Don’t believe the mockers of our day. It’s Bible prophecy that provides the most genuine comfort amid the perils of our day. Furthermore, I have observed that the ones looking for Jesus’ imminent appearing are among those most likely to give sacrificially to alleviate the suffering of our world.
I’m not saying we should not take precautions in a world fraught with danger and perhaps maintain a backup supply of food and water. However, our hope for the future rests in Jesus alone.
We don’t know when He will appear to take us to Heaven or the timing of the destruction that’s coming upon the world, but based upon what the Bible tells us, we know these things:
- We surely live in the season of the Rapture.
- Jesus will soon appear; He will surely intervene in our world.
- The destruction anticipated by the elite will happen after we are safely in glory with Jesus.
- The underground bunkers will not save them from the wrath that’s coming upon planet Earth.
