Certainty Despite Chaos

Bible prophecy says that just before the end, there will be times of difficulty, human ignorance, false security, and rebellion against Christ. How far have we progressed toward that today? An assessment of our position.

Recent times have been turbulent: coronavirus, the war in Ukraine, fears of nuclear war, the possibility of energy shortages, inflation, the increase of environmentalism as a religion, the growth of the LGBTQIA+ movement… We could easily be unnerved by all of this. But if we understand what God’s Word has to say about the last days, we’ll be able to correctly categorize the present time. It’s clear to many believers that we’re living in the final epoch—just before the end of the last days. One clear sign of this (that is unfortunately heeded less and less in Christian circles, whether consciously or not) is the restoration of the people of Israel to the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In fact, the Bible tells us a great deal about what the last days will be like. And so, we’d like to examine four prophetic statements on this theme and compare them with the present day.

1. Times of Difficulty

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Tim 3:1-5).

The word used in the original Greek for “perilous times,” chalepos, also appears in Matthew 8:28: “And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce (chalepos) that no one could pass that way.”

It will be the same in the last days: Evil will become more and more dominant. The last days will be a very dangerous time. The devil and the forces of evil will awaken and deceive. People will act accordingly. That is why Paul so clearly tells us, “from such turn away.” We should not conform to the zeitgeist.

2. Ignorance

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-27).

The last days before the end are characterized by indifference—indifference to God above all, as in the days of Noah. “God is dead,” says man. “There is no God.” “We are god.” And this is the exact state that God’s Word is speaking of in the following passage: “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Heb 11:7).

In contrast to the society in which he was living, Noah responded to God’s message in the fear of the Lord, with great respect and reverence. He condemned the world, warning his contemporaries of God’s impending judgment. As a result, he is called “a herald of righteousness” (2 Pet 2:5). Noah acted in faith and hope: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1).Like Noah, we have a responsibility to warn an indifferent world, and to hold fast to faith and hope.

3. False Security

“While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thess 5:3).

False security and false peace characterize the last days. Think of slogans like, “We can do it!” and, “Together, we can!” …but without God. There can also be false security concerning redemption, salvation, eternity, and our standing before God. Think of the unjustified claim that God accepts us all, just as we are, without any need for repentance. And in this false certainty, people are forgetting that the very reason they’re alive is because of God’s patience and provision. But the day is coming when many people will recognize the stark reality of God’s wrath, and wish they could escape into death:

“Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’” (Rev 6:15-17).

In the end, true security and lasting peace only come through Jesus! He alone grants peace with God.

4. Rebellion and the Man of Lawlessness

“Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (2 Thess 2:3).

What sort of rebellion must come before the end?

Some see the Rapture in this rebellion. But Paul is using the word apostasía. Apostasy means a falling away, while the Rapture is our being gathered to the Lord. So, Paul couldn’t have been thinking of the Rapture when he used the word. In Greek, the term also refers to a military, political, or religious rebellion. Acts 21:21 is one example of this usage: “and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake [apostasía] Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.”

This end-time rebellion is an apostasy, a conscious turning away from Christ. The Lord Himself says in Matthew 24:9-13: “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Before the end, “many will fall away” (v. 10). This means that many will fall away from Christianity—the faith, the values, the worldview. We’re already seeing this today, as biblical truths are being turned on their head (for example, in the gender debate). Man in the last days will fall away from God Himself. This apostasy within Christianity will pave the way for the man of lawlessness to reveal himself.

The Bible also calls him the prince who is to come (Dan 9:26), the little horn (Dan 7:8), the beast out of the sea (Rev 13:1-10), or the Antichrist.

What do we know about him? Paul writes that he “opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God … And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish…” (2 Thess 2:4, 8-10a).

This lawless one is a person, but also represents an anti-Christian regime. For example, Revelation 13 describes him as a single person (the beast out of the sea, vv. 1-10) affiliated with another person (the beast out of the earth, vv. 11-18). But at the same time, the term refers to the regime he represents: “Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name” (vv. 16-17; cf. Rev 17:12-13).

We shouldn’t look into the Antichrist just from curiosity because he appears in the Bible, but also because he gives us insight into “the mystery of lawlessness [that] is already at work” (2 Thess 2:7). If we’re paying attention to the pattern of evil that will become evident in the person of the Antichrist, then we’ll also be able to successfully classify evil as such and resist it in the present.

John Phillips describes the man of lawlessness as follows: “The Antichrist will be an attractive and charismatic figure, a genius, a demon-controlled, devil-taught charmer of men. He will have answers to the horrendous problems of mankind. He will be all things to all men: a political statesman, a social lion, a financial wizard, an intellectual giant, a religious deceiver, a masterful orator, a gifted organizer. He will be Satan’s masterpiece of deception, the world’s false messiah. With boundless enthusiasm the masses will follow him and readily enthrone him in their hearts as the world’s savior and god.”

The Present Day

Using these four prophetic Bible texts as our backdrop, we want to classify and evaluate the events of our time.

It seems that the elites of this world are pushing for a one-world government, and crises are used to further advance globalization. Klaus Schwab’s “Great Reset” is very important to this mindset: It is the new beginning for global society and economy being championed by the World Economic Forum (WEF). A lot of very anti-Christian ideas are coming from this corner. 

One much talked about issue in recent times has been widespread inflation. Additionally, many in Europe have feared the possibility of energy shortages since the war in Ukraine. Economic and social difficulties are increasing. And when people are in despair or they fear for their very existence, they’ll be all the more willing to accept an anti-Christian regime that promises relief. Once it reaches the point of the oft-mentioned cashless society or digital passports, total control is inevitable!

There also seems to be a resurrection of the Cold War, along with the categorization of the world’s nations into good and bad, East and West. Russia’s attack on Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza have the potential to ignite into a global conflagration, and saber-rattling in the media is reinforcing the impression that many in our society have forgotten the brutality of war. We are ignorant in many ways.

Freedom of expression is increasingly becoming a dictatorship of opinion. We’re living in a post-truth age, in which factual discussions are scarcely possible anymore, and everyone is required to think in line with the mainstream. Anyone asking critical questions is labeled a contrarian, and promptly beaten down in the court of public opinion. Anybody who expresses views that don’t correspond to the prevailing opinions of the general public is defamed as a fascist. Such deliberate comparisons with Nazi dictatorship are intended to shock, silence, and discredit anyone who thinks differently. Unfortunately, we Christians have our own labels, such as “false teacher.” If we don’t like someone or their doctrine, we’re quick to classify them as a false teacher.

Going back to dissenters being accused of fascism, climate religion isn’t far off. Here too, critical voices are dismissed as climate change deniers or worse. The fight to save the planet has become a substitute religion on which everything depends. It’s appropriate here to share what the Lord has already said in the Old Testament: “But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest’” (Jer 5:23-24).

Another substitute religion is the billion-dollar health and beauty industry. Man no longer has to grow old and die. But the Word of God sounds very different from society! “O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! (Selah) Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you” (Ps 39:4-7).

Apostasy pervades every area of society: Creation and the Creator are discarded in favor of evolution. The Creation account is being erased, and God’s account negated. People may think they’re smarter than they’ve ever been, but aren’t they growing more foolish? We’re excluding God from society. We no longer need Him. God is dead? “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Ps 14:1).

The LGBTQIA+ and marriage equality movements disregard God’s command and the order of Creation. But God hasn’t changed. He remains the same. And increasing immorality even proves to be a clear sign of divine judgment, especially in Western society today: “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done” (Rom 1:26-28).

Sports teams donning “pride” jerseys may be doing so to stand for diversity and inclusion, but in reality, it is a sign of rebellion against God. It’s proof that God has given them over. In fact, our society is so far gone that confused children who are uncomfortable in their own skin, are encouraged to take hormone therapies and change their sex without their parents knowing. Transgenderism is our generation’s new fad. The following story was shared in an online forum:

A teenage girl tells her parents she’s “trans.” Her father then tells her that he is also “trans” and begins to dress accordingly, over his daughter’s protests and objections. He demands that she use the “correct” pronouns and takes her to school, with him dressed as a woman. The next morning, the daughter lets go of her claim and begs him to just stop. At the end, he poses the question, “Is being trans now just the 90s version of goth? Definitely not cool when your parents do it.”

This example shows that (with rare exceptions) transgender delusion is not a biological phenomenon, but the result of indoctrination. Yes, God has truly given over a society when it is no longer able to define what a man, a woman, or marriage is. And the greatest genocide in world history is taking place in our society on a daily basis: the abortion of the unborn.In fact, our present day is becoming more and more like the last days that the Bible’s prophetic Word speaks of.

The Church Today

Open Doors reports: “Christian businessman Lai Jinqiang has appeared before court in Shenzhen for allegedly selling illegal audio Bibles. The audio Bibles are popular across China for their easy use and accessibility online. However, according to 2018 legislation, audio Bibles may only be distributed through state-approved churches. ‘Audio Bible players first appeared in China around 2006, and they became popular especially in the rural house churches,’ a secret source told Open Doors. ‘(Lai Jinqiang) focused on making audio Bible players for the older Chinese Christians who were not familiar with finding sermons and worship songs on the internet. The scale of production was ramped up and it reached tens of thousands of devices and even more over the years. His trial is most likely part of the bigger crackdown movement on the Christian churches, which started seven to eight years ago and has, particularly in the last [few] years, developed into nationwide repression of Christian activities.’ Analysts say the crackdown on Christian activities by Chinese authorities is driven by the fear of the ‘Christian threat’ with close to an estimated 100 million Christians living in China today.”

China not only wants to control what is bought and sold and by whom, but also who believes what. It’s a matter of Bible interpretation and how it should be understood. This serves as a cautionary tale for believers in the West. In the face of end-time developments, we basically have only two options. We can adapt the Bible, the basis of our faith, to the 21st century’s interpretation (e.g., gender). This has been the approach in many churches and Christian circles for a long time. Or, we can take the Word as it is written and bear the consequences. The Bible says of itself: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12; cf. 2 Cor 10:4).

Even in Jesus’ day, His message was unattractive to people: “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:66-69).

What are our priorities?

First, God placed us in this world to be salt and light. We’re not meant to be a passive part of society. But as part of society, God gives us a clear mandate: Go into all the world.

“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water’” (Rev 14:6-7).

Second, as Christians, we are all part of the Church. And the Church is called the body of Christ. The Church must be the highest priority for every Christian. Then he is truly a part of the body, with which he should be inseparably connected. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph 2:19-22).

Remember, if we set the right priorities, being faithful to our Lord and His Word, we can draw on numerous promises:

“Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. ‘Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other’” (Isa 45:21-22).

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20b). “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt 10:30-31).

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:35-39).

Midnight Call - 06/2025