Why is this happening?

“What is going on here?”

I’ve heard and read that question a lot after this past week because the news has been bleak. Israel and Iran are fighting, and people are wondering about World War 3. In Minnesota, we had four people shot in their own homes by a guy pretending to be a police officer, and three of them were state legislators. Two of them are dead, with the other two expected to recover.

Israel and Iran are fighting, which is stoking fears of WW3

We’ve got the “No Kings” protests happening nationwide. Well, they are more like riots, but that’s a discussion for another time. We see so much lawlessness and anger from so many people, and it’s not just in the United States, is it?

So, the question is, why? Are people changing? This is not the United States that most of us grew up in. We used to be able to disagree with each other and still be friends. Exactly when did that change? At a basic level, is it safe to say many of us know that human beings are inherently sinful? It’s been that way since the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But something deeper might be at work here, stoking that sinfulness. I think I’ve found the answer.

Second Thessalonians has a verse that lays it out. In Chapter 2, verses 7 and 8, Paul says, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work: only He (the Holy Spirit) who now restrains it will do so until He’s taken out of the way, and then the lawless one (antichrist) will be revealed, who Jesus will destroy with the breath of His mouth.”

In simpler terms, the Holy Spirit is the one holding back the full power of the antichrist, but He will be taken out of the way when the church gets removed from the Earth in the Rapture. While the Spirit will still be on the Earth and there will be Tribulation saints, His influence wanes for a bit until the end of the Tribulation.

Don’t miss the forest for the trees. It sure looks like the Bible is right in saying society will continue getting more and more lawless. The Greek word for lawlessness is “anomia,” which translates to wickedness, lawlessness, and lawless deeds.

Let me ask you: are you noticing an increase in wickedness in the world? Lawlessness and wicked deeds seem to be on a rapid increase.

I remember being in South Minneapolis on my way to take pictures of Minnehaha Falls, and I was stopped at a traffic light. This was soon after rioters tried to burn down Minneapolis in 2020. As I was waiting for the green light, I looked to my right and saw a young teenager riding a bike with a cardboard sign taped to the front that said, “Defund the Police.”

Defund the police? Seriously? Many of the people holding signs had no idea what would happen.

I was so perplexed that I momentarily stayed motionless and got beeped at by the cars behind me. “Defund the Police?” What good would that do? But so many people didn’t want any kind of police force in Minneapolis.

What do you think would have happened? It would have been a free-for-all in the metro with no one to help the public. But they just didn’t care.

Second Timothy, Chapter 3 has an interesting description of the very times we seem to be living in.

Verse 1 starts off with, “Be sure of this. In the last days, hard times will come. People will love themselves. They will love money. They will talk about themselves and be proud. They will say awful things about people. They will not obey their parents. They will not be thankful for what they do have, and they will not keep anything holy.

“They will have no love. They will not agree with anybody. They will tell lies about people and have no self-control. They will beat people. They will also not love anything good.”

It goes on with more description, but doesn’t it seem like Paul hit the nail on the head here? How could he have made that prediction so many years ago and so accurately if God weren’t involved?

I’m sorry that this is a lot of gloom and doom. But there is good news: Since the Bible did such a good job laying this all out 2,000-plus years before it happened, that can only mean one thing. This is all part of God’s plan for the final days of the world.

In the words of a local ministry in the Twin Cities, “Things aren’t falling apart. They are falling together.” (Understanding the Times).

You can be a part of the Hope that we have, even in the darkest of days. Turn to Jesus, admit to Him that you are a sinner, turn from your sin, and ask Him to be your Savior. It is that simple. But don’t wait. Once you leave this world for good, it’s too late if you haven’t done so. Time is running out, and no one can say with any certainty how much is left.

I know it’s hard to admit that you are a sinner. I didn’t want to for a long time, but it is true. We are all sinners who fall short of the glory that God intended for us. But that’s precisely why God sent Jesus to take our places.

He loved you enough to save you from the penalty for your sins.

Who better to show you how to turn to Jesus than a guy named Billy Graham?