Sometimes life looks like it is out of control and the more under the surface of things you look the more out of control it appears to be. Now some people can look at that and not realize the obvious, which is things are never what they seem on the surface.
When you look at the new testament the Bible opens our understanding to the war going on, not the war we can see, which is obvious to even the most jaded, but the one that hides below the surface of things where the source of the visible battle resides. The war we see is like an iceberg, most of it is below the surface. In a way, that is God’s protection, since most of us would wilt under the knowledge of how intense the battle is and how utterly evil and destructive is the enemy.
When looking at this, I am reminded of two scriptures: Ephesians 6:12 “12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” and 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 ” 6And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way.”
It is only the Holy Spirit (the one who now restrains it) that restricts the full expression of evil in our world today. This evil is first and foremost spiritual and cosmic (not of this world and its God-created physical order). This is a realm that we are ill-equipped (and are not called) to fight in. That is why God has placed so many biblical restrictions on delving directly into the spiritual realm. It is difficult enough dealing with the incursions these principalities and powers make into our physical space as well as the actions of their minions (those whom Jesus said are of their father, the devil), who we should not confuse with general fallen humanity.
Many over the centuries since the ascension of Jesus have looked at the world around them and argued that theirs was the time of the end of things and the return of Christ. It didn’t happen. Most of the time what people saw was a localized occurrence of evil, mistaken as a universal onslaught. As the ability to communicate improved in the 20th century, the ability of evil and its minions to coordinate and cooperate on global scale rapidly increased. The result is that now, with social media and the internet, the once hidden war has come out into the open and it’s approaching global universality. This may be the time when the predictions of the end could be real.
Why do I say this? Jesus said in Matthew 24:37 “37For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” What we know about that period is that in Genesis 5:5 God said, “5The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” When you look below the surface of the world as it now is, today, the length and breadth of evil truly shocks you. It is so very close to the statement of judgement in Genesis 5:5, and thanks to modern technology it is advancing on every front.
One very important place where evil has significantly advanced is within the church itself. Yes, God has kept his remnant, but the corruption in within public Christianity is surprising to anyone who honestly looks. We are approaching a watershed moment in human history where evil believes its time has come and it is stepping openly into the light of day everywhere you look.
We have only two choices: the restrainer is removed and evil ascends believing it has won or revival breaks out and the church is cleansed in repentance dragging society with it, as has been done in all previous true revivals. If the first option is God’s will, then the eschaton is imminent. Prepare your hearts to meet your Lord. If His will is the second, then a spiritual event is imminent that dwarfs any of the localized revivals of the past.
From my perspective, those appear to be the primary options. Either way, something universal, global, and world changing is imminent. Either way, prepare your hearts to meet your Lord.