“Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go! 2 And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘Those destined for death, to death;
those for the sword, to the sword;
those for starvation, to starvation;
those for captivity, to captivity.’”
Jeremiah 15:1-2 NIV
“All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
10 “If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword they will be killed.”
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.“
Revelation 13:8-10 NIV
We can see the undeniable parallel during a time when a country is set on a course that is inevitable. The passages above contrast the Book of Jonah where God sent the prophet who reluctantly preached the message of salvation to a ruthless people. Since they collectively repented, judgment was set for another time.
We could all wish this were possible in our time, but as Scripture already reveals it, the time right before the reign of the coming Antichrist would be a lawless one (2 Thessalonians 2:6-11).
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.“
1 Timothy 4:1-2 NIV
It has to happen this way since the adversary cannot possibly thrive where truth prevails. His very existence is the antithesis of everything that is true since Jesus says that lying is the devil’s native tongue,
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
John 8:44 NIV
In this passage alone, we can see the type of environment that is ripe for the devil– one that is rife with hatred and deception. The time we are living in reflects just that.
“Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 NIV
“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
Acts 2:21 NIV