My name is Bob Schoenle and this is how I became a Christian. Having very little money I opened a real estate agency with a national firm in a small town in central Michigan in January, 1972. I went from leaving the house with a dime in my pocket to having thousands of dollars in our checking account and a number of land holdings within two short years. I attained everything I ever wanted from January, 1972, to December, 1973, and became a big fish in a small pond. I had it all with a beautiful family, house, pets, property and money. I ate, drank and slept real estate. Afterward, I realized that real estate had become like a god to me which is why I left the business after my conversion. I never gave God any credit for being so successful and seldom thought of Him. I was the reason for my success because I was great at what I did. It was a book, given to me by a client in December, 1973, that changed my outlook about the future and caused my eighteen month journey with fear to begin.

This book answered lingering questions about runaway inflation from when I was a kid. I learned that runaway inflation can cause the devaluation of a currency and bankruptcy for a nation. I became convinced that a financial collapse was inevitable for America because of her excessive debt and currency backed by nothing. The result being that I would lose all that I had attained through no fault of my own. I became frightened and determined to become one of the few to profit from it all.               

          I began an extensive study of economics, politics, history and current events all of which caused me to conclude that not only was a financial collapse inevitable but so was a nuclear war and a world dictatorship. Most people are optimistic by nature and are unaware of how bad conditions in the world are at this time. They are unwilling, possibly, to acknowledge that life cannot continue as we have known it in the past. For them to do so would be depressing and offer little hope or reason to carry on. As a result, most people simply ignore what is going on throughout the world. For if one seriously considered subjects such as the spreading of infectious diseases, failing national economies, unstable political regimes, ecological disasters, nuclear and weapon proliferation, energy shortcomings, population growth, changing weather patterns, inadequate food and water supplies, one would have to conclude that there is little hope for the future. Whenever I shared some of what I was learning with others I was ridiculed. It was like I was the only one who could see an invisible tornado coming. I learned that most people will always reject messages of warning!

          I also learned of the coming cashless and checkless medium of exchange for all goods and services. History confirms the fact that whoever controls the money supply of a nation - actually controls that nation! Free elections do not make this fact any less true. After all paper money has been devalued and discredited the new medium of exchange will be a microchip placed in either the forehead or the meat area below the thumb of the right hand. All financial accounts will be electronically updated daily by computers using the personal information initially programmed in each users microchip. A device called “Digital Angel” could be a precursor of what will be used.

          The advantages of such a system of exchange are many. It will prevent the loss of money and assets due to accident, theft, bad checks or stolen credit cards. It will stop illegal aliens from entering a country and criminals from leaving. False identification will be a thing of the past along with identity theft. Fraudulent use of government programs such as medicare, welfare and food stamps will end along with income tax evasion, the illegal sale of drugs and secret bank accounts. The “underground economy” will also cease with the use of these microchips and computers!

          I learned afterward that the Scriptures have prophesied of such a system for more than 1900 years (Rev. 13:16-17). They also tell of the penalty for those taking this computer chip in their body which will be necessary for anyone to buy or sell anything (Rev. 14:9-11). The Holy Bible calls this microchip the “...mark of the beast...” (Rev. 16:2). The beast, is the President of the European Union who will be from Italy! He will rule over all the nations of the world through the use of this new medium of exchange during the seven years preceding the “2nd Advent” of the Lord Jesus Christ.

          By the spring of 1975, I had become a fatalist. There was nothing that I or anyone else could do to prevent what I knew was eventually going to take place. I did those things necessary to survive a runaway inflation and economic collapse by divesting of illiquid investments and stock piling gold, silver, guns, ammunition and dehydrated food as other “survivalists” were doing. But I was not hopeful of my family and I being able to live long after a financial collapse, followed by a war and being under a dictatorship. Also, living without freedom and being in fear of somebody taking what I had held little appeal for me and added to my hopeless state of mind.

          Then in May, 1975, I bought and read There’s a New World Coming, by Hal Lindsey. It was an exposition of the Book of Revelation. I was raised as a Roman Catholic. Therefore, I knew nothing about the Holy Bible or of Bible Prophecy. As I read of the many prophecies of the Holy Bible that had been fulfilled and those which, as of yet, had not been, I learned that what I had determined about the future had been prophesied in the Bible along with much more. Knowing he was right in my areas of interest and study, which were economics and politics, I had to conclude that Mr. Lindsey must also be right in his which was the Bible and Bible Prophecy. I became convinced that our generation will see the “2nd Advent” of the Lord Jesus Christ! After eighteen months of fear, I had hope for the future.

          I then read Hal Lindsey’s The Liberation of Planet Earth. In this book he clearly and sim-ply explained the “Person and Work” of the Lord Jesus Christ which I had never understood as a Roman Catholic. It was while reading this book that I came to understand and appreciate how much God loves me. It was His love for me that caused the Lord Jesus Christ to come to earth and pay the penalty that I deserved for all my transgressions against God. I found it amazing to learn that if everyone in the world was perfect and sinless, He still would have done everything the same, just for me. It was the love of God, for me, that broke my heart and caused me to kneel by my coffee table, while my family was sleeping, and ask the Lord Jesus to be my personal Savior. It was then that I accepted His free gift of salvation for the forgiveness of ALL my sins, by simply believing and trusting that what He had done was for me personally and was sufficient to save me. I was spiritually reborn that night and became a new creation in Christ and my life has not been the same since!

           As a result of my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the fear of the future that I had lived with during the previous eighteen months left me. That fear was replaced by a peace of mind, hope and excitement for the future. It is the hope of the “Rapture” and my being reunited with loved ones in Heaven and the Lord Jesus that has helped carry me through the many bad years and heartbreaking experiences since that blessed night when I became a Christian. Words cannot express how thankful I am for the love, mercy and grace of God for a sinner like me. Only the grace of God could save someone like me! Amazing grace indeed. Amen.