PERIL OF THE HOUR
Our fathers during their generations on earth always looked forward to the coming of rain. A little delay in annual rainfall was to them unacceptable. Periods of drought or lack of rainfall was considered a bad omen which indicated that something had gone wrong. Prolonged drought was always interpreted to be the result of much sin which can only be remedied by appeasing the gods. Rainfall was so important to our ancestors that they would go any length to offer ritual sacrifices no matter how costly, provided the return of rain was assured. Today, the mere sight of gathering clouds is enough to disrupt business proceedings and even empty our streets within the twinkle of an eye. Rainfall is no longer seen as a blessing, as a matter of fact, if men had the power they would have since shut the heavens over themselves. Let the sky show the slightest promise of rainfall and adults will be seen scampering off the streets, mothers can be sighted in great panic making hasty phone calls to the schools of their children, while farmers who ordinarily should rejoice at the prospect of rain are the first to begin to tremble and grumble.
We must realize however that in times as dark and distressing as we now live in, comfort and peace of heart can only come as we rightly interpret the word of God. No day passes without reports of unpleasant events overtaking people and places. One day it is alarming stories about earthquakes across the nations of Asia, another day it is fire and floods burning and washing away the cities of the west and recently our own land. We are either talking about wars and crimes against humanity in the Arab spring or we are discussing the scorching famines blighting the populations of Africa. Diseases and pestilences which before now were unknown and which presently defies medical treatment and human control has taken hostage our planet, while persecution and massacre continues to be the portion of true followers of Jesus.
Necessarily these happenings have provoked much thought on the part of bible-carrying persons. Amidst much suffering, very many people have been quick to conclude that we must be at the end of the age. Their biblical proof-text is based on their understanding of the words of Jesus in response to a question the disciples asked about the end of the age.
Let us read the passage together and then examine its message meditatively. Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold –Matt.24:4-12.
Please note that the first reply of Jesus in answer to His disciples was a warning against deception. Jesus did not begin to reply His disciples by announcing the approach of earthquakes and famines. That was not what He wanted us to focus our attention on. Rather, deception characterized by religion is something which our Lord would have us watch out for. Man and religion have always been in love with each other and there is no easier way to prey on a man’s fears than appeal to his religious nature. For this reason religion will play a major role in the coming deception.
Disasters whether natural or man-made were bound to come as the Savior correctly prophesied, You will hear of wars and rumors of wars… nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. But the Lord did not stop there, He very clearly said, The end is not yet. Earthquakes, terrorism, famines, and pestilences, unpleasant and undesirable as they are do not indicate that we are at the end. Please let no one misunderstand, we may be able to prove from other scriptures that this world is fast winding to a close, the point I am presently emphasizing is that the various convulsions of the earth as expressed by calamities and disasters of various kinds do not indicate that the end is here, Don’t let anyone mislead you… you will hear of wars and threats of wars but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth-pains with many more to come. Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are My followers. And many will turn away from Me and betray and hate each other. Many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved [NLT]
Our Lord even declared that rather than signify that we have reached the end of time as is popularly believed on account of recent experiences, those things actually point to the beginning of another series of events which are about to dawn on the earth.
In simple words, Jesus Christ announced, all these are the beginning of sorrows or as the new living translations interprets, all this is only the first of the birth-pains. I do not mean to talk insensitively about the ruin and wreckage or pain and poverty caused by terrorism, earthquakes and floods in different places, but when following media reports about these unpleasant events, we rush to conclusion that the end is here, we have already fallen into the deception which the Lord had earlier warned us about. The end is not yet. These things must take place but the end won’t follow immediately
The Lord Jesus, when uttering His prophecy knew very much that when calamities and disasters begin to grow intense, we are much likely as human beings to be taken in by them while neglecting the real danger to our souls. In other words, earthquakes and floods however terrible, bombing and persecution of God’s holy ones no matter how horrible; famines and massacres though to be frowned at, do not constitute the greatest danger to mankind or any nation for that matter.
I repeat, with all humility in the presence of God, and concern for all those who have been affected, that floods, famines, earthquakes and terrorism with all the pain they come with, do not represent the biggest threats to humanity, neither are they to be used in calculating the time of the end. Such calculations are always faulty leading to false and fatal conclusions. Famines, floods, earthquakes and pestilences are not our greatest enemies. It is why the Lord said that we are not to panic or be troubled in their presence.
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars, see that you are not troubled, for these things must come to pass but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows--Matt.24:6-8
The peril of the hour, which is presently at work and which is very much capable of eternally annihilating and alienating mankind from God is what Christ Jesus seeks to draw our attention to, it is recorded for us in simple but solemn words, And because iniquity shall abound the love of many will grow cold. To any sober Christian, these words are most alarming and ominous to say the least yet they represent very real facts.
Let us watch out. Not for the physical tragedies and calamities of which we are already told not to be troubled, but of an alarming possibility of which we must be very careful. Why would the Lord ask us not to be troubled in the presence of life-threatening disasters? It is because all such unpleasant occurrences as persecution and killing of God’s saints, famines, earthquakes and floods are all subject to the prayer of the saints.
In the presence of calamities whether natural or man-made, the word of God makes it clear that humble prayer will work for our good. If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land—2 Chr.7:14
Elijah prayed and rain ceased to fall in Israel until he prayed again for its return [James 5:17-18]. Famines can be reversed if God is approached and appealed to [Matt.6:11, Deut.28:9-13]. In early biblical history earthquake is clearly revealed to be under the power and control of God [ ]. In the case of persecution of believers, the option of fleeing is available and where death is inevitable, we are certainly told not to fear those who can terminate the body but cannot touch the soul [ ]. Brethren, see that you are not troubled.
The Lord Jesus could tell us not to be troubled even in the presence of physical death because He knew full well, that for every genuine Christian that dies in an earthquake, gets killed in a flood or is bombed during worship, the gates of heaven will be flung wide open and another soul ushered into glory with angels at hand to welcome the returning soul.
But our Lord warned;
Because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall grow cold—Matt.24:12 [NKJV]
The words suggest an invasion of sin into individual, family and societal life. The abundance or spread of iniquity and its quenching of the flames of godliness can work the kind of destruction which famines and earthquakes can never work. What does it mean, iniquity shall abound? To state the issue bluntly, it means sin will prevail, the material prosperity of godlessness is clearly suggested.
Sin will be rampant everywhere and the love of many will grow cold—Matt.24:12 [NLT]
We are approaching a time in world history where throughout this planet sin in alarming forms will become standard world culture. The things which previously shocked human conscience will become so common that they will be hardly noticed anymore. Love for God, if existent then, will be rare and as a result, love for man will be non-existent as all true love for fellow man can only come from our love for their creator. A godless and materialistic planet will be the inevitable outcome as selfishness will certainly be the rule of society. It will be each man for himself and each nation for itself.
Pause a little and reflect on the state of things in our nation. A poor man steals a tuber of yam and if he is not immediately lynched by an angry mob, a judge will promptly assign him to prison. Yet another individual, one that has to do with politics, steals hundreds of billions of naira and the entire judicial system sees nothing in him while the same mob who would lynch a fellow pauper would queue to hail their rich thief.
I was surprised to find a zoologist serving as an accountant in one of our reputable banks when first-class accountancy graduates cannot even secure the position of security men in those same banks! Should we be surprised if our zoologist turned accountant begins to shout at customers as though they were animals? Yet, he secured a job where qualified personnel could not, only because he has influential people behind him.
These are days in which we find young women against the instincts of nature throwing away their babies and when quizzed over such animal behavior, all they offer as explanation is "I do not know who the father is!" Things have gone as bad as that. I knew a woman whose corpse caused much trouble as to where to be buried. The reason for this was because, during her lifetime, she had different children for different families and each family had a right to the corpse!
Truly we are beginning to see traits of the coming prosperity of sin. How do we explain the voting into power of men who should be in jail? How influential has mammon become over our youths that ganging up to kidnap human beings for sale has become the most lucrative career around? It is bemoaned daily that we keep turning out incompetent graduates who cannot even construct simple sentences but is this not to be expected when most university admissions come by slot and influence rather than by merit?
The guilt of our sin is all the more aggravated as we observe that religion which should serve to always remind the people about God has become an accomplice to wickedness. If this comes as a surprise then we must attend to the words of our Lord again, Many will come in My name saying, ‘I am the Christ’ and will deceive many…. The message here is frightening and should put every true Christian on the alert. It unmistakably implies that perverse versions of Christianity will arise and multiply across the nations. Alarmingly multitudes which never had a heart for the true gospel will fill these false churches together with their family and friends.
Paul explains the reason for this, You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preached, or a different kind of spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed—2 Cor.11:4
A different Jesus, a different spirit and a different gospel explains why God-ordained sermons are no longer flowing from many pulpits. It is the reason why ministers will congregate to speak in tongues to bless a tithe paying corrupt public official who should be trembling with conviction in the presence of God. It reveals why lazy students patronize churches where pastors pray over pens, why those who seek to flee the country will come raising their passports for prayers to gain visas even though they are not guaranteed entry into God’s kingdom. It is why spiritual illiterates will populate the churches believing that ‘Dangerous prayers’ will cause their physical enemies to be smitten by "Holy Ghost fire".
Ah! How has the house of God become a den of thieves? What have we gotten ourselves into? How can we foolishly walk into these traps in spite of the Lord’s warning, Many will come in My name saying, ‘I am the Christ’ and will deceive many. The impication here is that whatever version of "Christianity" a man seeks, he will find it available and there will be people officiating as ministers of that version or perversion to be precise! Another Jesus, another Spirit, another gospel, is all that will be required to become general overseers of a ‘Christianity’ that is nothing short of an insult to the God of heaven. We are looking at a time not only in which iniquity will dominate the world in fearful proportions but which falsehood, godlessness and materialism will prevail with the support of religion and clerics. Let us watch out lest we too fall into deception.
It is not Christianity only that will suffer at the hands of impostors. Many who do not attach themselves to the name of God’s Son will rise in their own name too Many false prophets will rise and…The effect will be the same they …will deceive many. If we sincerely follow those words we cannot possibly miss their message. They correctly predict that strange and wicked religious ideologies will spread among men. The lie of Satan will be packaged in different religious forms and these will not be few, Many false prophets will arise. Today our nation suffers at the hands of terrorists whose minds have been wickedly indoctrinated that the killing of unbelievers, especially followers of Jesus, will meet with the favor of God. Almost alarmingly, many have pitched their tents with this ideology and have voluntarily given themselves to suicide bombing. Even those who are educated are not exempt as they joyfully rush to their deaths in an attempt to please their god. The involvement of the well- educated in this evil deeds reveal the powerlessness of this world’s wisdom against religious falsehood. Our Lord had directly prophesied this disaster centuries ago, the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God—Jn.16:2. Those undying words are now being fulfilled with undeniable accuracy.
The supreme sin that will grip this planet is the conscious neglect of God. Men will know that a thing is wrong yet they will persist in it. They will understand what the will of God is but they will hate it and count it absurd or old-fashioned. In spite of the so-called religious presence, iniquity will abound, consequently a materialistic society would emerge. Necessarily godlessness will promote a secular outlook and attitude to life. Men will hate God and will not hesitate to show it in speech or action at the slightest opportunity. Self will be the rule of society and everything that will feed the carnal nature of man will constitute the highest pursuits of men and their governments. Injustice in administration, deception in business and disregard for human life which are symptoms of neglecting God will be common place. Literally, sin will prevail and prosper so much that those who sell themselves to the devil by freely indulging in its practice will be held in high esteem by fellow men as being wise-hearted.
Then the true danger comes. The love of many will grow cold. We can only read such words with much fear and sadness. It is not the love of a few that will grow cold but the love of the majority and that majority will be those who at one point or the other had previously decided to belong to God. In other words, we are facing a period in which many who claim to be followers of Jesus will come to reconsider Christianity. A great but reprehensible murmur against God will not be wanting on the lips of His friends. The presence and prosperity of iniquity will ensure this.
They will grow cold. Spiritual declension will be gradual not instantaneous. Many who previously love the Lord, when they see the wicked enjoying wealth, health, popularity and influence will begin to doubt and double-check if their faith even made sense at all. Whether God answers prayer or not will be a subject of constant contemplation in seminars and conventions. On the one hand is a tangible, visible and materialistic world flamboyantly rewarding its own while on the other hand is the believer whose faith will attract nothing but persecution and being ostracized socially from society. It is at that point that many will adopt a heaven help those who help themselves attitude, compromise their belief and so alienate God from themselves.
May the Lord help us to stand firm. Brethren, the issue at hand is a grave one. The word of God declares to the one who is already cherishing this world, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world-- 1Jn.2:15-17.
My friend, no matter how enticing, you cannot afford to follow the world in its evil course. It is one of two options, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. The love of the world and the love of the Father are mutually exclusive. Iniquity will surely abound, it may prevail with others, yet the Christian believer must always remember and say to himself, If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me--Ps.66:18. He must also bear in mind that the converse is equally true. The Lord will not hear me but I also cannot hear Him no matter how loud He calls. It is as serious as that. Bombs and bullets, famine and floods may separate us from family and friends but sin can and will not hesitate to separate us from God. It is the floods of ungodliness that threatens us more than the natural water surging through our streets.
Remember also that heaven always takes the will for the deed. If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear Me. Even when I congregate with the children of God, if my heart still runs after the things of this world, if the wealth, fame, and offerings of this world continue to occupy my thoughts so much that I see and know less of what the hope of the calling of Jesus Christ for the saints is, then I cannot hear the Lord. I am already at a spiritual distance from Him. It will not take too long before the spiritual decay of such a heart is physically manifested.
Love not the word and cherish no iniquity in your heart. Sin will not forever prevail. Its being rampant and widely permitted is no indication of God being defeated. Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil—Eccl.8:11 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal; ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity—2Tim.2:19
Has the Lord not given us His promise? Please do not take it lightly. God will honor His word; Therefore do not cast away your confidence which has great reward. For you have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul--Heb.10:35-39.
The word of God has said it all. Let the standing brother take heed, let the fervent sister watch out. Let all our brethren wherever they are, be sober and vigilant in the face of the threats, terrors and trials of the roaming lion. We are on the winning side; therefore we must permit no lies of the devil to sway us from the path of truth. May the warning of the Holy Ghost forever abide with us. Amen
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