A world of evil

"So when you see standing in the holy place `the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand--then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house.  Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.  How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!  Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again.  If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.  At that time if anyone says to you, `Look, here is the Christ!' or, `There he is!' do not believe it.  For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible.  See, I have told you ahead of time.

"So if anyone tells you, `There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, `Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.  For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.  Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather" (Matthew 24:15-28).

We spend huge amounts of money on national defense.  We have police cruisers on our city streets and state patrol cars traveling our highways.  Every county has a courthouse, lawyers, and judges.   If you watch TV for entertainment, a large number of shows are about law and order, and commercials urge you to buy electronic protection for your house.  Children play with toy guns, or shoot bad guys in video games. 

Why do we need guns and lawyers and judges?  Because the world is very evil.  Islamic extremists teach young Muslims to become suicide bombers.  Criminals peddle drugs and murder anyone who tries to stop them.  South of the border, people are frequently kidnapped and held for ransom; in our country, kidnap victims are usually abused and killed.  Big time financiers get rich at the expense of the little guy.  Shoplifting and insurance scams drive up everyone’s cost of doing business.  Life is a rat race, and it’s clear that the rats are winning.

Jesus warned that the last days would be terrible.  He said that the world would experience a level of distress unequaled in history.  What causes such distress?  Unbridled sin. 

God gave us rules to live by.  These rules included commands like respect your parents, don’t hurt people, keep your promises, don’t steal, tell the truth, and be content with what you have.  But with each passing year, God’s laws are increasingly ignored.  We live in a world where ‘freedom of speech’ is used to defend pornography.  Tiny humans, newly created by God, are aborted because women have a ‘right to choose.’  Prejudice and discrimination often go unpunished.  Energy and natural resources are consumed and wasted like there’s no tomorrow.  Marriage is no longer one man and one woman, together forever—now divorce is common, same-sex marriage is becoming legal, and living together is the norm.  People are willing to consider mercy killing for the chronically ill.  The Internet is full of gossip, bullying, and hate.  Our political parties would rather point fingers at each other than work together.  Outward appearance and personal wealth have become the way to measure self-worth.

The entire world is very evil.  Some countries embrace capitalism, even though it rewards the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and weak.  Others prefer socialism or even communism, even though such governments end up mismanaging their national assets.  There are countries where children are exploited for cheap labor or sex.  There are nations that harbor terrorists, allowing a small minority to rule the masses with threats of violence.  Some countries have legalized prostitution and decriminalized the use of recreational drugs. 

All of this creates distress.  People suffer from addiction, loss of privacy, betrayal, worry, abuse, and anger at injustice.  Yet so much of it is accepted as normal or is tolerated instead of punished. 

Sadly, the same “rights” that allow sin to flourish are used to restrict the work of Gospel outreach.  In many places, you can be convicted of a hate crime if you speak out against homosexuality.  The constitutional separation of Church and State is wrongly used to keep prayer out of schools, the 10 Commandments out of courthouses, and manger scenes out of city parks.  Freedom of Speech protects those who make fun of Jesus in comedy routines, movies, and poorly researched books.  Educators are required to teach the theory of evolution but may not mention creationism or Intelligent Design.  “The Land of the Free” has been perverted into the “Land where you are Free to Sin.”

It’s a worldwide problem.  Only 1/3 of the earth’s population identify themselves as Christian, and many of them are Christian in name only.  How many Christians do you know who worship in church regularly, talk about their faith in Jesus, or try to live according to God’s laws?  Many people say they are Christians, but their hearts are far from Jesus.

All things considered, it sure looks like the End Times are now.  We have more and more people turning to drugs or suicide because of failed relationships, chronic health problems, unmet goals, or a general lack of self-worth.  Jesus said that there would be false prophets.  We have false prophets.  There faith healers who take responsibility for miraculous cures.  There are psychics who claim to speak with the dead.  There are astrologers who say that their horoscopes can predict the future.  Scientists can do things that seem to make religion unimportant—test tube babies, cloning, stem cell therapy, hand held phones that can let you talk with people on the other side of the world.  For many, science has become their god, promising us an easy and pleasant future if we would just relax those foolish moral regulations that get in the way of research.

According to Jesus, our world is nearly dead, and the vultures are growing bold.  Why does He describe our world as lifeless?  It’s because, without Jesus, we have no life.  In Ephesians Paul wrote, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world.  Jesus said, I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).  As sin increases and the followers of Christ become harder to find, the earth crumbles into a spiritual wasteland filled with the dead and the dying.

Satan feasts on the carcass of our world.  We weaken laws to make it easier for criminals to escape justice, and Satan feeds.  We pass laws that limit how and where the Gospel can be shared, and Satan grows fat.  Like vultures, demons circle unbelievers waiting for them to drop, weakened by spiritual hunger and thirst.  Their wings rustle in the wind, sending whispers of despair: “everything is pointless.  Find whatever enjoyment you can before your time runs out.”  Those who listen stop trying to love anyone but themselves.  They start to think of other people as tools to be used or obstacles to be overcome.  As the demonic vultures draw closer, people become desperate to squeeze every ounce of pleasure from life that they can, heedless of the consequences.

Why did Jesus tell us about such a depressing future?  He’s urging us to place our trust in Him.  He knows what’s coming.  He can protect and guide us so that we’re not overcome.  He offers us weapons and body armor; Paul writes, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil…Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.  In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.  Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians chapter six).  Hebrews chapter 13 reminds us that God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."  So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid."  In Revelation chapter two, Jesus gives us this promise: Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.  Our Lord reassures us that the terrible stress of the Last Days will be cut short for our sake.  He promises that there will be an end to evil and suffering, so we can face these days with hope. 

Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Jesus did this by living differently than us—He endured everything that Satan and a sinful world threw at Him, yet He never stopped trusting God, never gave in to temptation.  He used the same tools that He gives to us.  When He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus only needed the word of God to withstand the devil’s attacks.  When Jesus went to Gethsemane to prepare for His crucifixion, all He needed was prayer to set His heart at ease.  Of course, we often use these tools incorrectly or not at all, so Jesus had to step in front of us and take the battle damage on Himself.  The wounds inflicted by our sins took Jesus down into death, but His dying preserved our lives.  Then He rose from the dead, rose to give us the same eternal life that pulses in His veins.  With Jesus as our strength and our shield, evil cannot destroy us.

If we welcome Jesus into our hearts, His presence will guide and support us in doing God’s will. Philippians chapter two says, it is God who works in you, to will and to act according to his good purpose.  God never breaks a promise—He promises to punish sin, and He promises to give eternal life to His children adopted through Christ.  This gives us hope that things will get better.  So when the evils of the world get you down, turn to God.  Let Him speak to you through the Bible.  Speak to Him through your prayers.  These are the tools that Jesus used to withstand temptation and fear.  If you use them, you will find sanctuary, you will experience relief, and you will get recharged to face the world with confidence, no matter how ugly or dark things get.