How shall we define the world we are living in? It is a far cry from Louis Armstrong’s “wonderful world”. Crime and corruption, war and poverty, divorce and gender confusion confronts us around every corner. The moral decay of our global society should come as no surprise. If we put our Bibles under the microscope we will clearly see that these things are signs of the end times, of Christ’s soon approaching return. In this article we will explore how the symptoms of the end times align with the depravity of our world; and find our hope in instructions for Christian living in these perilous times.
Our society in the end times:
Prophet Jeremiah predicted that the Israeli nation would be exiled in Babylon for 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10). While the Israelites were exiled in Babylon, Daniel studied the scrolls of Jeremiah, believing Jeremiah to be a true prophet of God. To his amazement he discovered that they were in their 69th year of exile. Daniel prayed for the fulfillment of this prophecy and the very next year it was done (Daniel 9: 2 - 19).The Israelites were released from captivity
Let us adopt the same attitude as Daniel as we study the prophecy in 2 Timothy 3. Of course we were not given a calendar date for Christ’s return, but just as we recognise that summer is near by looking at the tender branches and new leaves of a fig tree, so we will recognise the timing of Christ’s return by looking at the world around us (Matthew 24: 32 -33).
2 Timothy 3: 1 - 5:
“But mark this: there will be perilous times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power”.
Let ‘s unpack the details of these verses.
Indeed, times are perilous. War rages in Europe and in the Middle East. People are brutal and abusive, the crime rates in South Africa are not unique. Crime and political corruption reigns globally and leads to poverty. According to Habitat for Humanity around 1.6 billion people around the world live without adequate shelter.
People are lovers of self like never before. T-shirt slogans such as “self love first” or “the self love club” are inspired by the recent trend in psychology that encourages individuals to love themselves before they can love others. After all, no one can pour from an empty cup. According to these psychologists, people are tired, anxious and depressed because they give too much of themselves to others instead of taking care of themselves. From this secular view point, God is not our source of strength and regeneration. The world does not believe its “cup runs over” (Psalm 23:5) with God’s protection and help. Instead it encourages us to be selfish and so fill our own cups.
As we live in a post Christian society, blasphemy is no longer a taboo. Anyone who listens to the radio or has seen home makeover TV shows will agree. Vulgar and crass language has become the norm. Only a generation ago, our media was very different. The world wanted to do away with media censorship for political transparency, and with it all protection against vulgarity was also lost.
Divorce is commonplace all around the world. When the natural family structure breaks, family hierarchy is undermined and parents lose their authority. Children do not obey parents and parents are no longer in touch with their children’s needs.
God released mankind to its own depravity:
The foundation of our global society’s beliefs is science. Science rejects God and any form of morality. Instead science views humans predominantly as mammals, not as spiritual beings. When the world embraced science as their new religion, God responded in the same way he did with the Ancient Romans. They “... did not see it fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind” (Romans 1:28) . God gave the world over to their senseless depraved minds.
Now we are left with the results; a world where men and women do not know their own gender, where people put all their energy into fighting for animal conservation and protection, but have no love or time for their neighbours.
Europe is facing a serious threat to their population, crafted by their own foolish and depraved minds. Their population is at a serious decline as a result of their self - centered culture. For generations people have been concerned only with their own promotion in life, resisting marriage and aborting unwanted babies.
These global problems are the fruit of man-made self - destructive decisions.
How to live in the end times as followers of Jesus
There is no country, no community left that lives according to Biblical principles. Wherever you go on this big round planet you, as a follower of Jesus, will be the minority. South Africans all consider immigration at one point or the other, but the grass is never greener on the other side, at least not for Christians. The question is then, what do we do as followers of Jesus? How do we live? The answer can be found in Romans 1: 16:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
This verse contains two plans for us as Christians. Firstly, we are to live for the gospel and secondly, we must live by faith.
Nothing we can build can withstand the world. Everything we invest in will crumble. The only truth that will survive every blow the world gives it, is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the only worthy investment of our time and strength, is proclaiming the Gospel of grace of Jesus Christ to the world. This is probably why we are still on this earth. Prior to the rapture, we are to spread the Word and stand firmly on it. We cannot fix this broken world and its broken institutions, but we can carry the gospel to people by proclaiming Jesus and discipling them in the hope that they will receive their salvation.
God is our only anchor. In the Psalms we read that He is a stronghold and a rock. He is dependable, impenetrable and sturdy. That is why we do not trust our politicians, our society or even ourselves. We trust Him and live by faith in Him. We hold on to His promises, knowing that “in all things He works for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28) He is faithful and although we “will have trouble in this world … we know (He) has overcome the world” (John 16:33). While surrounded by turmoil and depravity, we will keep our eyes fixed on Him until the day of His return.
The insanity and suffering of our world is not an accident, it is the fulfillment of prophecy. As the six o’clock news becomes more and more depressing and bizarre, we should not become anxious. War, poverty, divorce and gender-confusion should not shock us. Instead, we should turn to our Bibles to make sense of it. When mankind rejected God, the world entered the end times. In these dark days, the followers of Christ must remain faithful in proclaiming the gospel grace so that more people will be ready for His soon approaching return. We can take heart, knowing that He is our personal salvation, our rock and fortress.
This article is written by Christine Van Reenen on 5 March 2024
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