2nd Timothy 3 and Rapid Moral Decline
One of the end-time signs is found in 2 Timothy 3. In verses 1-5, Paul gives us a list that reads like the daily news. There, we read, “But mark this: There will be terrible 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. Have nothing to do with such people.”
We now live in a world where the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation is the fastest-growing criminal enterprise globally, with at least 20.9 million enslaved. Pedophilia is rampant, bestiality has been legalized in Canada, open incest is becoming accepted in certain circles in the US—being relabeled as “same-family attraction,” and people are lining up to be married to multiple partners, trees, the ocean, animals, themselves, and just about anything else you can think of. New York City now lists 31 gender identities that are protected by the full force of their municipal law. Cross the line, and you can be fined $250,000. Society is spiraling downward. If these aren’t signs of an increasingly depraved mind, I don’t know what is.
Want to see where we are morally? Look at our media and entertainment. The number of graphically violent and sexualized movies, TV shows, and video games, as well as the level of violence contained in them, has increased. Horror films have become increasingly dark, demonic, and gratuitous. Much of the content in pop music today is so vulgar I can’t even include here relevant examples of the lyrics to make my point.
POP OCCULT-URE?
In fact, pop-culture has coarsened beyond the list above and is often infused with the Occult. For example, pop-star Beyonce talks openly in videotaped interviews about how another entity named Sasha Fierce takes over her body as she performs. The singer has stated that many times she can’t even remember what happens during her performances. In 2016, Madonna performed on stage while hanging from a large cross with a crown of thorns on her head. In 2015, Kanye West produced a twisted version of the Bible called the Book of Yeezus in which every use of the word God or LORD (Yahweh) has been replaced with Kanye and Yeezus.
Many other recent examples abound such as: the ceremony celebrating the 2016 opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland which featured clear satanic symbolism throughout; the 2015 unveiling of a satanic statue in Detroit, open satanists running for political office, and the after-school satan clubs popping up throughout America beginning in 2017.
I’m not trying to pick on any pop-culture icon in particular. Scores more could be cited here from every genre. Immorality and violence are two sides of the same lawless coin that lead to darker things. As more and more people live to gratify themselves and treat others like objects, the narcissistic spirit of selfishness grows and culture coarsens.
I know this is a heavy post. I promise I’m not trying to focus on negative things, but this is another sign we are nearing the Lord’s return. More than ever we need to be salt and light as we preserve some semblance of morality and decency in our culture. We should strive to hold back the tide of lawlessness, and as we shine the light of Christ brightly through our lives, words, actions, and choices.
To be sure, we are ALL sinners and undeserving of God’s grace (Romans 3:23) but we still need to speak the truth in love. We need to love those who are far from God. A duck is going to quack, and a lost person is going to embrace worldly philosophies. We truly need to love them right where they are—but we also need to boldly speak truth so they don’t have to stay stuck.
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