No Natural Affection

Recent headlines in USA Today read: 4 MASS KILLINGS IN 4 DAYS SHOWS HOW RANDOM MURDER CAN BE

 Random murders? Well, they may seem random, but they are Bible prophecy being fulfilled. Knowing that Jesus is coming soon should not be a “doom and gloom” thought. This event is our blessed hope.

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. –Titus 2:13

We are living in the time that Paul advised Timothy would be perilous. The word perilous means “dangerous or stressful,” and there is no doubt that we are in that day. When dealing with Bible prophecy, I have to discuss the alarming and sinister facts about the evil at work in the End Times.

In Second Timothy 3:3, God says that in the Last Days, men will be without natural affection. They will not care for family, friends or other humans; they will be unsociable, inhuman, and unloving. Jesus makes this statement about the Last Days:

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. –Matt. 24:12

The phrase “wax cold” represents the lack of compassion in the world today. Our hearts have hardened to murder and other evil running throughout the media of all types–especially movies, television, and the Internet. This not only affects the world, but also members of the Body of Christ.

Halloween has just passed, and churches everywhere gave their congregations an option for the wicked celebration. This statement may not make me many friends, but it is nonetheless true. The only option for evil is good, and the two look nothing alike–it is as simple as black and white. I saw a pastor’s kid dressed up as an evil villain. The actor who portrayed this particular villain in the Hollywood movie died from a drug induced overdose (whom, I understand, was warned by the previous actor who played that role about the evil surrounding it).

Evil spirits are connected to and influence every wicked character and movie that Hollywood puts out. Are the people themselves wicked? Maybe not, but it’s guaranteed that wickedness has an influence when it enters the eye gate of the viewer.

Hardened hearts and lack of compassion can lead to fantasy becoming a reality. Even if we are not the ones who commit these heinous acts when we see them on the news, do we sorrow as Jesus would sorrow? Or do we just say “that’s terrible” and change the channel to the next program?

In the past seven years, there have been more than 200 mass killings in the United States alone, which averages out to about one mass killing every two weeks. A murder is classified as a mass killing when more than four people are killed at one time. Please note that all these killings were not committed with firearms: some were committed with kitchen knives. When I discovered these statistics, I was taken aback. Many of these killings never make national news, or, if they do, it’s a very quick mention because of our hardened hearts.

Just yesterday, on November 1, the Los Angeles airport was shut down because of a man opening fire on a mass of humanity with an assault rifle. He had no natural affection for his fellow man. This man was a lover of himself, giving no thought to other people or their families. He acted completely on what his flesh wanted to do. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, tells us that murder is an act of the flesh. Murder is caused by people being inspired by a selfish desire influenced by demons (Gal. 5:17-21).

Murder will increase from this day forward into the Tribulation. It is another category of Jesus’ warning to us: “when you see these things begin to happen, know that the end is near.”

Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.–Rev. 9:21

 At the time of this Scripture, two of the great woes of Revelation have passed in the Tribulation. There have been massive amounts of death because of Satan and the supernatural wrath of God. However, as we see, they do not repent because of their hardened hearts; they pay it no attention.

Let not your hearts be troubled! As Christians, we need to pay attention to the prophecies and the promises of God. We are part of Jesus’s Body; therefore, we are the preservative that is in the earth today. Paul says, by the Holy Ghost, we are the “He” that now restrains the wicked one (II Thess. 2:7). We are the light that disperses the darkness. We have the Word of God and His great Holy Spirit to help us be these things. Now, recall this Scripture from the Old Testament:

And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do. –I Chron. 12:32

 Salvation and knowing the prophecies and promises we have in Christ Jesus provides the protection, healing, and preservation that are needed in these perilous times. Your protection lies in abiding in the secret place of the most High and being covered by the accepted blood of Jesus. Without being a blood-washed child of God dwelling in His presence, you are more vulnerable to these perilous events. Remember these words of our great God:

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.–Psalms 91:15-16

These are the End Times, and the most important things to you should be Father God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. God bless you in His Word and lead others to this saving grace.