The normal state of Christianity is to be persecuted, and true Christianity and true Christians tend to make the greatest advances during times of persecution. However, what has been happening in the U.S. and Europe represents a dramatic loss of influence on the part of Christianity and the belittling and shaming of the gospel. This also computes to the growing lawlessness that is dragging an increasing number of souls into damnation.   

     If you are a student of history, you see how civilization fluctuates between extremes just like people do. The story of our U.S. government is fairly consistent, moving politically from the left and then back to the right. This is not necessarily a bad thing—an eagle needs both a left wing and a right wing to fly. Even so, if you are trending in one direction, moving to the left a little more each time than you do to the right, you will end up turning left overall. The same is true if you trend to the right.

As we have been taking a more in-depth look at the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:18-21, covering immorality, impurity, and sensuality, we will continue this week with the next in the list—idolatry.

We have been studying how racism will play a major part in the last days, as the Lord indicated in Matthew 24:7: "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” As we studied, the Greek word translated “nation” in this verse is ethnos from which we derive our English word “ethnic.” This is speaking of ethnic conflicts being one of the major signs of the end times.

If we are going to understand the biblical prophecies concerning the end of the age, we need to understand certain principles. We have been studying some of these in relation to righteousness and justice, and how they have current applications. Before continuing, there is another fundamental principle that we must keep in mind and in our vision, to act as a compass to navigate us through all we are going to study.

“There are many soldiers, but not many warriors,” a Special Forces officer once told me. There are many professional soldiers who may take their jobs very seriously and who may be very good at what they do, but when you meet a warrior, you know the difference. Likewise, the church leadership is about to be transferred from the hands of professionals to the true warriors which soldiers of the cross will all soon become.

Our text for this week is Ephesians 4:26-27:

This raises a good question. Can we be angry and not sin? The answer is “yes.” We are called to be like the Lord, and to abide in Him, and He very definitely gets angry at some things. This is righteous anger.

As we have discussed, after the Fall, the first one about whom it was said that walked with God was Enoch. We are told in Jude 14 that Enoch prophesied, and a good case can be made that everyone who truly walks with God prophesies. This does not necessarily mean predicting the future, but simply speaking for God. However, many do not even recognize when they are being used in this way—not that this is essential, but we might be used more if we could recognize it.

We have been addressing how there seems to be a major thrust toward unity in the church now. This will ultimately result in what I want to address next—a kingdom economy. That may sound big and complicated, but it isn’t. In fact, the kingdom economy is much simpler and easier to build on than the world’s economy, and it is going to begin to become a reality this year. What does this mean?

What exciting times we live in! The kingdom of God is closer today than it was yesterday. The kingdom of God is coming regardless of who is elected, in any election. The kingdom of God is going to come and the Lord’s will is going to be done, right here on earth as it is in heaven, period.