The whirlpool and the vortex
We are in a new season, aren’t we? I find myself reminiscing these days. Back to the “glory days” of Bible prophecy teaching and learning. I am privileged to have seen the 1970s and 1980s, when it was all so exciting. We—I—came to believe a certain set of circumstances would unfold. Today, all these years later, a few things have shifted. We haven’t been “raptured-out” yet, and things are getting pretty weird.
This is a column in which I am looking at Israel, yes, but I’m thinking also of just an overall darkening in the world. For example, I am seeing extreme left-wing nonsense from social media, even from people I have counted as friends. I am going to be blocking some people because it is an exercise in futility to try and reason with them. People that react emotionally and base their worldview on experiencing some type of feeling…they are lost in terms of dialogue. It is a waste of time. You can research and work on an answer, and they end up shouting you down.
There is something to be said for cutting those people loose. Leftist rhetoric has a common source, the enemy of our souls. The Bible tells us such people are of reprobate mind. There is no coming back from that unless there is divine intervention.
Several Hollywood celebrities have signed a letter calling for the release of Marwan Barghouti, the devilish Palestinian Arab with much blood on his hands, going back decades. He has been in Israeli prisons a long time. Incredibly, some of the diplomatic crowd has viewed Barghouti as a “moderate” who might be trusted with a leadership position in any Palestinian state! Talk about insanity. Makes you wonder how bad the “radicals” are if he is the poster boy for moderation.
Benedict Cumberpatch, the idiotic Mark Ruffalo, and other simple-minded actors think it’s okay to release a murderer of Jews, including children.
So when I bring this up to left-wing “friends,” I am astonished by the vitriol. These people are brainwashed. Two of my long-time friends, one of whom used to share my worldview on everything, are now anti-Israel. Another, who I knew was center-left, has crossed-over into rantings against Trump. Or fully supporting the millions of criminals invading our country. This person I mention despises ICE agents but loves Somalis.
What has happened to our country? What has happened to our support for Israel?
What’s happened is that prophecy is reaching warp-speed. Specifically, a demonic wave of Jew-hatred is flooding our world. Second, 2 Timothy 3 is being fulfilled now every day. The behavior of individuals is getting so extreme, it can feel disorienting. A newborn baby left in a trashcan in frigid temperatures. Heretofore sane and lucid family members going off the deep end emotionally. Right now, I’m watching a conference championship game between Troy and James Madison. Madison fans are pelting Troy players with snowballs! They just showed what appears to be a student firing rock-hard snowballs, repeatedly. This after the athletic director made a special appeal, practically begging fans not to throw snowballs. Here is why these things are happening:
Know this: In the last days perilous times will come. Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, slanderers, unrestrained, fierce, despisers of those who are good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Turn away from such people. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
God’s Word tells us to turn away from these people. Sever ties. Cut them loose. Anything short of that is unhealthy and a waste of time. You aren’t going to reach them.
People that turn from Israel and embrace terrorists? Get them out of your life. One former friend—on public social media—ignored my question about evidence that the Mossad had done something or other and began attacking me personally. I was astonished. But I recovered and am good with jettisoning such relationships.
These two things—explosion of Jew-hatred and Paul’s warnings about people’s moods and self-serving agendas in the last days—are dominating the Bible prophecy landscape.
As I said, frankly, I did not expect to ever see some of these things. But we are seeing them. And though it can be disconcerting, it is all a faith-building exercise. When times get tough, lean into it. Resolve through prayer and study of God’s Word to emerge stronger in your faith. We are all going through these times together. Many of us are personal friends, but even social media friends who have never met can and are sticking together. We share a love for the Word, and a love for prophecy fulfilled.
It feels that all of a sudden we are watching a whirlpool in the ocean transition to a full-blown vortex, trapping millions in their madness, because they have rejected the Creator and His Word. It can be scary to see, but our Great God cannot be defeated or even challenged. Lean on Him during the storms.
We anticipate future glory.
We will see it.