You mentioned not seeing repentance, pleading and praying, etc...
wouldn’t that be a result of the deception that has swept over the world?
It seems (to me) that there is much of it and as such many are distracted while others still are gripped by fear... and all of this exposes the disunity within the church regarding how to view the times we find ourselves in.
At least once a day, tho often more frequently, I get asked if I believe this is the "end” or if the "rapture” is soon to come, etc... Each time the question is predicated on a belief that it is one way or another, with most people believing it is drawing near. Yet this doesn’t compel them to preach repentance 🤷🽔♂ï¸.
Considering the sheer scale of it all, it’d be hard not to draw from the biblical narrative in effort to explain and provide context. Tho to be honest, none of us really knows what it will look like (future scriptural fulfillment) and as such we tend to attempt to fit it within our preselected framework and while that’s understandable, it’s nonetheless where we appear to diverge from one another.
I can say this with confidence... if this isn’t a fulfillment of scripture (with the stage being set),it would be hard to imagine the church withstanding much more without a great falling away. Wether the virus, lockdowns, restricted movement and access to goods and services, the political collapse of several national governments, the natural disasters, the social unrest, the influx of marxism and communism, the sexual exploitation of children, the lack of consistent information from news sources, the breaking apart of churches over secular issues, the growing distrust of the medical establishment, the attempts by school districts to indoctrinate children in godlessness, the revocation of long held rights and opportunities, the wars and rumors of wars, the dramatic increase in technologies and knowledge, the disconnect within families, the uncertainty of supply chains, the ability of big tech to either promote or deny government officials a voice to their constituents, the failure of legal establishments to provide equal representation, the coming divisions over "medical restrictions”, the implementation of digital control mechanisms, the rise of social credit systems enforcing compliance with godless ideologies, the perversion and corruption of government agencies, the weaponization of culture against christians, etc, etc, etc... there seems to be a great increase in godlessness and one would imagine our enemy was behind it in one way or another. Yet as bad as things are, the Lord is faithful to use even that which was intended for evil to the good. For several people I know, these things have forged a resolve in their belief in Christ and have in fact grown in their faith thru these times ðŸ™ðŸ»
Personally I do believe persecution is growing more likely tho not openly against "Christians”, rather it seems to be disguised as the persecution of bigots, racist, intolerant, homophobic, unloving, lacking inclusion, selfishness, etc... but all of these labels have been carefully crafted to sweep up believers in the net all while concealing their true intent which is to oppose God’s rule over His creation.
While it’s easy to get caught up in it all, it’s also important for us to remain grounded in Christ and have a loving heart that is willing to share the gospel ðŸ™ðŸ»
