Dollar General Spreads Across America - A Prophetic Warning From Above?

The fluorescent lights hit me first when I walked into the Dollar General. That harsh, institutional brightness that makes everything look slightly poisonous. Then the smell - plastic, cardboard, something vaguely chemical. I could feel my PTSD kicking in from the last time I investigated a human trafficking ring out West.

This isn't the America we once knew. Small towns are being fed into the corporate machine, their souls consumed one by one. Main Street is dying as the golden arches and big box stores rise up in its place. And towering above them all is the ever-expanding footprint of the almighty Dollar General.

Is this the beginning of the end? The prophets of old certainly warned us about this day.

The Rise of the "Everything Store" Dollar General now has over 18,000 locations across 47 states, making it one of the largest and fastest-growing retailers in America. They're opening around 1,000 new stores per year, often moving into areas abandoned by Walmart, Kmart, and other big box chains.

This relentless expansion has earned Dollar General the title of the "everything store" - a one-stop shop for households struggling to make ends meet. From groceries to household goods to cheap clothing, it's all available under the familiar neon green sign.

But at what cost to the local community? As the Dollar General model rolls into town, family-owned businesses on Main Street can't compete with the rock-bottom prices. One by one, they're forced to shut their doors. The heart and soul of America - the small business, the town square, the sense of community - it's all dying.

The Biblical Warning This shouldn't come as a surprise to students of biblical prophecy. The book of Revelation paints a chilling vision of the "end times" - a period of great tribulation marked by the rise of a totalitarian global economy.

"No one could buy or sell unless he had the mark of the beast," the Scripture warns in Revelation 13:17. Some interpret this as a future system of digital currency and surveillance, where every transaction is tracked and controlled.

Others point to the homogenization of culture, the crushing of local economies, the destruction of small businesses. Sounds a lot like what's happening with Dollar General, doesn't it?

As these big box behemoths spread like a plague across the land, we would do well to heed the warnings of the prophets. The death of Main Street may be a sign that the end is near - or perhaps the beginning of something even more sinister.