World Affairs

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As horrific as the news has been lately of beheadings and other evil acts by radical and militant groups, it is only leading up to worse things to come. This is not good news. Bible prophecy does not bring "good tidings of great joy" to those who reject God. Look what this reading from II Thessalonians 2:3-12 has to say in reference to the "day of the Lord" in verse 2. For sake of context and not leaving out any important details I will quote it at length from the New American Standard Version of the Bible.

"Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; this is the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness."

This passage mentions words or phrases having to do with evil, several times: lawlessness, destruction, activity of Satan, deception of wickedness, and taking pleasure in wickedness. Even though we see much of this already it is going to be worse in the Great Tribulation, the judgment to come upon individuals and the world. Some Bible scholars believe verses 3-4 refer to the anti-Christ. This won't happen, however, until the restraining influence is removed, as we read in 6-8.

What is the restraining influence? Some people call it the Holy Spirit of God residing in the heart of Christians, which is helping to counteract evil, with the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-26. Possibly this restraining influence could be the grace of God. Whatever it is, there is coming a time when it will be "taken out of the way", in verse 7. If it is the Holy Spirit residing in the hearts of Christians, the restraining influence against evil will leave the earth when true believers are raptured out of the world and caught up to be with the Lord.

When this happens, not only will the power and grace of God's Holy Spirit be gone, but it will allow evil to be in full force. Notice what it says in verses 8-12. The "...lawless one will be revealed...whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish..." So folks, we see the removal of a restraining influence against evil combined with the full wrath of evil at work. We are already seeing people taking "pleasure in wickedness." We are seeing an increase in lawlessness, satanic activity, and deception. II Timothy 3:13 reinforces this by saying that "evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse..." Romans 1:28-32 says the total depravity of people who have not seen "fit to acknowledge God any longer" will be given over to a "depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper." Then there is a list which includes wickedness, murder, haters of God, inventors of evil, unmerciful people, and the giving of "hearty approval to those who practice these things."

Yes, it is a bleak picture for "those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved." It is going to get so bad that Revelation 6:15-17 describes it this way: "And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?'" The "Lamb" spoken of here is Jesus.

Accept Jesus today so that you won't have to hide yourself from His wrath. Bow before his throne and kneel at the cross on which he died for you. Do it without any further delay. The way things are shaping up in the world events, time is short!

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