Having faith in troubled end times
As the world is increasingly growing into a crisis and conflict ridden world, it is important that we increase our levels of faith.
In Luke 18:1-8 , at the end of the parable of the unjust judge, Jesus asked: “ when the Son of Man comes on Earth, will He find faith on the Earth?”
Jesus did not ask the question haphazardly. He asked the question because He knew that He would arrive into a world that would have experienced serious crises causing many to abandon faith.
Here are three key passages related to the end times regarding faith:
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1)
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.”
(Matthew 24:6-11)
“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)
Notice that in all the above mentioned verses, the Bible clearly warns that people will abandon the faith.
It makes sense, especially when considering the direction that the world has taken. Prices of commodities keep increasing, wars and rumors of wars are increasing, threats of new pandemics are looming on the horizon. In some countries, unemployment rates have reached high levels while certain countries are experiencing serious energy crises. All those crises have rendered life more and more difficult, thus contributing towards the abandonment of faith among many Christians.
The recent global pandemic serves as a real example of what ‘faith abandonment’ means.Many churches have never recovered the same level of attendance they used to have before 2020.
What does that mean for us?
It means that since things will get worse and not better (as false prophets in developed countries love to promise), we will need to re-enforce our faith.
In Ephesians 6:16, Paul describes faith as a shield that has the ability to quench the flaming arrows of Satan.
It is with ‘faith’ that you will stop the flaming arrows of the enemy during social, economic, health and political crises. You will not extinguish the flames of Satan with a degree, nor your knowledge, nor your head-reasoning. Only faith can extinguish the flaming arrows of the devil.
“The Bible states that ‘faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God.”(Romans 10:17)
In a world filled with despair, we cannot get hope from worldly tools but from the Word of God. When food prices are high, when jobs are being lost to AI or through crises, when wars erupt, when people are trying to foment health crises, Christians should ask the question: “What is God saying about the current times and about what we should do.”
Based on God’s words, there is always something to do. In James 2:26, the Bible states that ‘faith without works is dead’. In order to keep your faith alive, you will need to do it through works of faith. Works of faith result from our obedience to what God says.
Don’t be fooled: “the more you ignore God’s words for this season, the more likely your faith will die under the flaming arrows of Satan.”
Do not believe lies from so-called prophets who claim that things will get better in this world. Things in this world will get worse but the sons and daughters of faith will make it through by following God’s word.
I know some of you have been listening to ‘so-called prophets’ who are actually ‘fortune tellers’ . They claim that everything will be good and restored. Those church goers acting as ‘fortune-tellers’ are too invested in this world and in their personal security, this is why they can’t hear from God.
Be aware that:
- The West African region will experience more turbulence.
- Artificial Intelligence will rise. In the beginning, it will be good, then after a while, it will be seen as a threat but some humans will fiercely defend it.
- The hegemony of the dollar will fall, thus causing many to deepen into financial crises.
- Out of fear for losing their hegemony, the USA will go to war against China within the next two years, thus causing more instability in the world.
In spite of those threats, the Word of God says:
‘No weapon of the enemy shall prosper against the servants of the Lord.” (ref. Isaiah 54:17)
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalms 23:4)
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.”
(Psalms 1:1-3)
We know that, even if troubles come, we, as sons and daughters of God, will walk through them and we will stand on our feet. And even if death comes, we have our eternal hope in the eternal life reserved for us.
We will not live in fear. We live by faith.