A Divided World
Social Issues and the Coming Time to Hate
619 words long.
Published on 2024-03-22
A significant result from my research into Biblical prophecy is that Solomon gave us a roadmap to history. He provided the mainspring for God's prophetic clocks by listing twenty-eight times in Ecclesiastes 3. Those times, in the order he listed them, correspond to twenty-eight eras of history of equal length. His clock begins with the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem in 960 BC. The length of each era is one hundred twenty years. By this reckoning, we are in the waning days of a time to love. The world is now transitioning to the next era, a time to hate, which begins in 2040 AD. The divisions within society and between nations will deepen and conflict, persecution and great hardship will afflict Christians, Jews and everyone else.
The articles in this section will deal with a few of the social issues that cause division. Among them are:
- Sexism
- Racism
- Divisive Political Hatred
God does nothing without a plan. In his gospel, Matthew told us that at the end of the age, the angels would cast their nets and separate the good fish from the bad:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net
that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.
When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted
the good into containers but threw away the bad.
So it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will come out and separate the evil
from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace.
In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:47-50
The weeds will be cut, bundled and tossed into the fire (as explained in Matthew 13:24-30,36-43). This separation is not an instantaneous thing. It will accelerate during the next two generations. The church must be ready. To share the gospel in such an environment will not be easy. Much patience and prayer will be needed. However, these hardships and this separation are essential. The world will become so wicked that distance between the culture and communities of believers and unbelievers must increase. Otherwise the corruption would destroy the church.
The great waves of persectution that are on the horizon will be the visible aspect of the spiritual forces propeling the separation. The recent worldwide demonstrations in support of the terrorists of Hamas and the rapid escalation in anti-semitism are just the beginning. In the three months following the savage October 7 attack by Hamas against Israeli civilians, there was a 360% jump in antisemitic incidents in the US, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The 3,283 antisemitic incidents included 628 acts against synagogues and 505 incidents on college campuses. For more details, read:
Antisemitic incidents in U.S. surged 360% after Hamas attack: ADL
Attacks against Christian churches are also on the rise. According to the Family Research Council, acts of hostility against churches have increased eightfold bertween 2018 and 2023. From 2022 to 2023 the number doubled, to a total of 436 acts in 2023. You can see a breakdown of the incidents by category in this press release:
FRC Publishes New Edition of Hostility Against Churches Report Indicating a Doubling of Attacks
Ours is a God of peace. That is the destination of this journey we are on: a time for peace. To get there, we must pass through this difficult time. Be of good cheer! It is no surprise to God. He foresaw it and provides us the help we need to endure it, if we trust His word, His wisdom, and His will to love his church and convey us safely to heaven. The Holy Spirit will guide the church toward unity.
We must follow.
