Dear friends and readers,
Peace and grace to you all in Jesus Name!
Worldwide people are asking, are these really the end times? Matthew chapter 24 tells about the Olivet discourse and Jesus is discussing the end times through the eyes of Daniel the prophet, all the way through the great tribulation of the book of Revelation. Lot's of subject matter there.
Verse 12 of Matthew 24 is the subject of this article; "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. Some Bibles use the word WAX interchangeably for COLD.
Over the recent months, I have noticed---and it is becoming ever increasingly clear that things are spiraling downward at an increasing rate worldwide and time tested attitudes plus moral values are changing. Traditional family values are shrinking at an alarming rate, modesty for many folks on the streets is becoming a thing of the past and far fewer people consider Christianity as any more than an antiquated dusty old religion that has little relevance in today's society.
For those of you who know me or have followed my articles, you will remember that I certainly do not agree with these attitudes. I have been on this earth a lot longer than our younger generations and so I remember well, the social upheaval of the 1960's. Woodstock, sexual revolution, open very popular drug usage, wanton filthy public language and an entire plethora of disgusting public display that would "shock the socks off Grandma"!
I remember huge public rallies of everyday women caught up the the feminist movement, ripping off their bras and burning them in the fires of "equality"! What a shock it was for me one day when I approached the door to a supermarket and made the huge mistake of reaching out to open the door for a young woman with her arms filled with groceries. I was in Law Enforcement at the time and Frankly, I had never heard that kind of language coming from the lips of any woman except for prostitutes on the street. She was incensed that I could possible think she was incapable of opening that door for herself.
I am an old fashioned kind of guy who believed then (and still do) that being polite to anybody including a lady is not some kind of slap in the face to sexuality. It is merely polite and I would have opened that door for a man with his arms full just as quickly. In fact I could not imagine what my mother would have said had I failed to open that door for anybody.
Now to clarify---before I get myself into huge trouble with you women reading this article, there were and still are areas like equal pay for equal work that need an overhaul and women in the work force are not always treated with respect---something that I myself feel is wrong. But does that mean men and women can no longer interact as ladies and gentlemen?
During those years, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was a man named Earl Warren. Politics was becoming a laughing matter and more and more graft was being discovered at the highest levels of governments in many nations, not the least of which was the United States. GARGANTUAN shifts in public policy were under way, the National Debt was burgeoning out of control, welfare was becoming a way of life for multitudes from several nations and for the first time since the end of WW 2, folks were seemingly loosing their moral compass. These problems were at the same time exacerbated by a very wrong interpretation of the concept of something termed the "separation of church and state"!
The 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". Clearly the Founding Fathers did not want the Government to create a State religion. There is absolutely nothing in the Constitution to prohibit religion from being a part of Government or believers from expressing Biblical views.
Many of you reading from countries around the world will recognize this trend within your own societies.
Unfortunately during these years the courts began to exercise an unhealthy UNCONSTITUTIONAL disregard for the other two branches of Government, the Administrative and the Congressional. The result was soon to materialize in which courts began rendering verdicts and opinions that effectively created law.
Soon the 10 Commandments of the Bible were under attack, prayer removed legally from school programs, crosses ordered removed from mountain tops by the courts of the land and ---can you believe this? The beginnings of a movement to vilify Christians as hate mongers for teaching the Bible exactly as it is written.
At the same time in the wake of the 60's revolution, Woodstock became the mantra of the free sex movement. Birth control pills were invented followed closely by the abortion movement and then the unthinkable. Major portions of the church flatly abrogated its responsibility to stand up publicly and be counted. Soon abortion was considered by many in the church as merely a "social issue" and traditional family values came heavily under attack. The Biblical notion of one man, one woman MARRIED and raising their children in the ways of the Lord no longer seemed quite as important as it had for literally thousands of years.
And with the loss of family integrity, societies began to falter and in some cases melt down altogether.
So, now here we are not that many years later!
As stated earlier, I am an old fashioned kind of guy, probably a genuine dinosaur by today's standards.
I don't consider myself or my wife to be prudish in any way. Still what we see and hear on the streets these days is kind of shocking to us and makes us realize that the world that we once knew somehow passed us by!
First is the language! So many people in family groups, let alone groups of teenage girls openly using the kind of sexually explicit four letter words that not too many years ago were reserved for military locker rooms or the "red light district". I'm sorry, but is it no longer possible for human beings to communicate politely without speaking gutter trash?
The next area that shocks us is the way so many people are dressed (or should I say undressed) publicly. Even on the evening news programs. Have you noticed how many of the commentators express shock and dismay at how little is worn by people on the beach during Spring break? But at the same time they can't wait to show camera shots of girls wearing thongs or flashing guys with their breasts. Is that an example of "surely they protesteth too much"? Or is it entirely for the sake of ratings?
Crude is crude. Sexy does not mean nearly naked. Pretty and attractive does not require flaunting.
Perhaps the saddest thing of all; the seemingly complete lack of personal communication between people walking around in the same family. Fun day at the mall or amusement park for THOUSANDS of people is having a cell phone glued to their ear from morning till night. From fathers and mothers all the way down to 6 and 7 year olds spending the entire day on their personal communications devices or iPads.
Do we wonder why our societies are experiencing record high divorce rates? Why in Western Nations, a huge percentage of children are now raised in single parent homes? Why, according to the latest statistics, nearly 50 percent of adults no longer think that legal marriage is necessary?
Is the love of many growing cold? I can't think of anything colder than killing children. In the U.S. alone we are now at about 60 million abortions. Millions and millions more than that world wide. Drug cartels murdering not only each other but innocents, including women and children for the sake of bucks.
The murder rate in the U.S is around 160,000 people each year. Asia, 122,000, Africa, 135,000, Worldwide over 435,000.
These things are so frequent now that many murder stories are buried on the inside pages of the news papers. Are we as societies becoming the frog in the pot of ever increasing boiling water?
Statistically there have been 265 wars on the planet since the year 1900 and when I looked up the number of war related deaths, frankly I could not count that high. Millions upon millions upon millions.
Saran gas has recently been used against civilians in Syria, Russia is once again on the rise for world domination, Iran is doing the same for the entire Middle East, India and Pakistan are constantly on the brink of mutual destruction with nuclear capabilities. Isis is trying to build a Caliphate on the broken bodies of headless corpses. Several countries are trying to destroy Israel, North Korea is threatening the entire world with a potential nuclear holocaust. Turkey, a once vibrant democracy and part of the NATO alliance is rapidly headed toward becoming a dictatorship. And the list goes and and on.
Worst of all, at least for a guy who actually believes in the Bible, there are so many false doctrines floating around "the church" that I am sickened.
The World Christian Encyclopedia estimates there are at least as many as 21,000 Christian denominations worldwide. Others claim that number rose to as high as 43,000 in 2012. It would be interesting to know what they classify as a denomination opposed to a sect or even a cult.
In may parts of the world not even we as believers seem to be able to work together, let alone get along or help each other reach out to an unsaved world.
And yet if you go into the average Christian book store you will find few if any tracts available for purchase. There are an estimated 2 1/2 BILLION Christians worldwide, and if that is the case why are there still ANY wars? Talk about a voting block with potential power. But no, sadly we don't get involved in politics do were? After all we have consumed the P.C. trash bucket of separation of church and state.
Could that change? Can we still exert some influence on our societies, no matter where in the world that may be? And simply say------ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! The answer is yes but first, Christians everywhere need to have a far better understanding of what CHURCH really means.
Right now to a great extent we are living on small to large islands of denominational Christianity. Something tells me that Jesus views His church as one people worldwide. If we are going to have a positive affect on a world racing toward the "end times", then it is time to set aside our denominational teachings and pick up the Bible.
Ask yourself, Are we at or rapidly approaching the Biblical prophecy given by Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew chapter 10 verse 22, "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved"?
Are we ready to pay the price for that? Even if it is unpopular?
Because that will surely be the price for speaking up and speaking boldly. Lawlessness is abounding. We are most certainly in the stages of "THE LOVE OF MANY SHALL GROW COLD.
It's not too late and It could be turned around folks. But many many more voices are needed from within the church before that can happen.
One mans opinion.
God bless you all,
Pastor Rance.
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