Smash and grab robberies, carjackings, random attacks, shootings, and mass murder… All are ramping up, intensifying. There is more than meets the eye, but people won’t admit what it really is… But the Bible already told us.
“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 Thessalonians 2:3
If you’re tuning into any kind of media at all, it’s impossible not to take note of the increase in crime occurring at present.
As of this writing, a horrific mass shooting of schoolchildren comes less than two weeks after another massacre at a supermarket. What causes someone to perpetrate such evil? While a mental disturbance is primary, could there be a deeper factor at play?
A type of lawlessness is happening across the board. Not only is crime on the rise, but bad behavior and a general lack of civility in society is on the uptick, as increasing incidents on air flights attest.
In the above verse from 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the context of the comments were made regarding the second coming of Christ. The point the apostle Paul is making about the End Times was that a rebellion would come first. In other words, widespread lawlessness is a sign things are about to change.
“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.”
– 2 Thessalonians 2:7
In the above verse, the King James Version translates this as “mystery of iniquity.” The meaning is the same – lawlessness is a more literal rendering. Mystery here doesn’t mean our modern sense of the word, according to the scholar Ellicott, but rather a “secret” that is now being revealed – that lawlessness is already at work in the world.
“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”
– Matthew 24:12
In trying to explain the lawlessness and violence, a lot of finger-pointing is happening, by blaming guns, politicians, inequity, education, entertainment and media, and more.
But many places in the Bible, including Jesus’ words above, explain what’s going to happen in the world as the time of Christ’s return nears – changes in the human heart. This is the driving factor behind the lawlessness we are seeing. Jesus predicted:
“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,”
– Matthew 24:10
Things are changing because society at large is changing. People have lost their moral compass because they no longer are guided by God’s word. As a result, lawlessness is on the increase. This is what’s happening and it’s what people don’t want to admit.
