Study Lesson 6
End Time Abounding Lawlessness
Scripture To Consider:
“And because lawlessness [iniquity] will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24.12
A Few Words Of Warning:
Is End Time Abounding Lawlessness Already Upon Us
As stated before, Matthew 24 and 25 contain end time warnings predicted by Jesus Himself, which reveal future dangers to believers, future afflicting of believers, and future malicious death sentences levied against believers. These predicted by Jesus perils are orchestrated by the guilt-ridden hands belonging to haters of Christ, haters of His Word, and haters of His faithful followers who are to be still living upon planet earth during the tumultuous end times. And according to Jesus, leading up to immediately after the tribulation of those end time days.
These haters of Christ and those determined to stand up for their faith, and determined to stand firm in their faith, and who are determined to remain contending for their faith in Jesus Christ and His words, will be at extreme opposite ends. And because of the determined reluctance to depart from the faith, many true truth-seeking believing saints will suffer betrayal of unbelieving family members and onetime brothers and sisters of the faith, according to Jesus. We have been warned!
These end times spoken of by Jesus will be marked by a rising earthly tide of many false prophets proclaiming as truth damnable heresies, according to the New Testament writers. These damnable end time heresies that have spread throughout Christianity like out-of-control wildfires, will only strengthen in intensity and in their being received by the masses as we approach the end of this age. And according to Jesus, these false prophet pretenders will be extremely successful at deceiving and misleading many away from the living fountain of the pure water of the Word of God.
Therefore, as billions of planet earth’s end time occupants are led astray and away from the cleansing effects of the water of God’s Word, the religious but not spiritually discerning masses of humanity following these false prophets, will foolishly and unknowingly be forced to drink to their fleshly satisfaction from the filthy, false, poison containing contaminated cisterns of Satan’s end time deception. As the poisonous counterfeit messages continue to increase, more are deceived and further misled, and become among the fallen force of ever-increasing haters of Christ. Therefore, Jesus proclaimed of the end times, “And because lawlessness [worldly and religious iniquity] will abound, the love of many [one-time believers in Jesus] will grow cold.”
Something To Consider:
Does Christ Command Christians To Repent
In Revelation, Jesus dictates seven letters or epistles to be sent to seven Christian churches during the latter part of the 1st century, and yet every letter is eternally relevant to every Christian church in every generation. John the beloved and aged disciple of Jesus was exiled to the Island of Patmos because of his steadfast faith in Jesus. Historians report that John was boiled in oil by oppositional haters of Christ, but John did not die, therefore he was banished to a prison Island. There John received from Jesus what would become the infamous book of Revelation.
In the first letter written to the Ephesian Christian church, Jesus commended the believers for their works, labor, patience, and for their disdain for those who were evil, namely self-appointed apostles who they found to be liars. Then Jesus, speaking to 1st century church attending Christians, declared, “Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” These words are hard to hear coming from Jesus. And so was the case for the Christians in Ephesus, whose love, according to Jesus, had over time grown cold.
But Jesus continued His dictated discourse to the working, laboring, patient, false apostle and false prophet discerning 1st century congregation of Christians at Ephesus, by His further proclaiming, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen [sinned]; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand [God ordained church status] from its place, unless you repent.” Is repentance a true command even of Christians? According to Jesus, repentance is required whenever needed. And the consequences for not repenting are severe with eternal ramifications, according to Jesus.
Jesus declared that He would come quickly and remove their candlestick, which He defined as the church. In other words, Jesus is stating that without repentance from their sin, He would remove their God ordained church status. I realize this rendering of the text is not popular within Christendom, and in no way agrees with the false theory of “Once Saved Always Saved,” but no amount of stretching or shaving the Scripture can change or alter Christ’s words on this most important subject. But Jesus said what He meant, and He meant what He said!
Something More To Consider:
Spiritual Compromise Has Eternal Consequences
Whether we want to agree with biblical truth or not, the end time abounding of lawlessness will greatly increase in the sphere of politics, economics, education, the justice systems or lack thereof around the world, as well as within the religious ranks of the so-called Christian church. The ramifications of church leaders teaching the compromising and sin producing traditions that lead to many remaining in a state of Christ required repentance, is a spiritual by product of the rising of many false prophets peddling their religious poisonous wares.
The relaxing or outright neglect of many of the conditional commands of Christ, for nearly a century, has created an atmosphere conducive to the further acceptance of the many false prophets’ false messages. And only God Himself knows how many Christian churches, having been required by the Word of God to repent, but because of their love for God growing cold, God has as predicted, removed their God ordained church status. And if so, this single truth would clearly explain the rampant receptiveness of so many false messages being delivered by so many false prophets within the so-called Christian church.
Therefore, the situation facing this possible end time generation is spiritually deteriorating as false prophets are openly allowed to continue to propagate their false messages seemingly unchecked by the ruling religious leadership, especially in America. And yet, as in Revelation chapter 3, Jesus announced to the Christian church in Sardis, “You have a few names in Sardis which have not defiled their garments [have not compromised], and they shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy.”
As then, there will always be a faithful few willing to spiritually come out from among the lawlessness. Will we be among the few? Or will we be among the fallen religious but not spiritual many?
A Few Final Words:
Is Persecution A Part Of The End Time Picture
It has indeed happened as Jesus prophetically predicted, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” We are already experiencing the effects of the love for God decreasing in the earth. Even in America laws are being enacted giving widespread earthly approval of certain sinful behavior, though it grossly goes against the grain of the biblically God given commands prohibiting these grievous against God actions.
And with this continued and growing man endorsed approval of what God clearly calls sin, the whole of America reaps the insidious outcome of this end time and almost overwhelming lawlessness, as well as true Christian believers being forced to reap the coming onslaught of end time persecution. We have indeed been warned!
Yes, according to 2 Timothy 3.12, this coming onslaught of lawlessness and or an increase of Christian persecution should not surprise us. For Paul announced, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Of course, we wish the Spirit of God had influenced Paul to declare, “Some who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus might suffer persecution.” But that is not what the Spirit of God directed Paul to declare. “Yes, and all [non-compromising present tense end time believers] who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus [who attempt to live according to His Word] will suffer persecution.”
And yet, you may have to search long and hard to find that biblical promise in any main stream Christian bookstore. The messages contained in these lessons simply do not sell books. And yet, the message according to Jesus is that iniquity and or lawlessness will abound. According to Jesus, the love of many will grow cold, but the message must be proclaimed. The message of Jesus’ warnings must be heard and heeded.
Also according to Jesus, spiritual compromise does have eternal consequences and people need to be made aware of that truth in every generation. Therefore, we must all answer the simple question, is the end time abounding iniquity that Jesus warned of, is it coming, or is it already here? If it is already here, are we and our loved ones properly prepared? If not, let us begin listening to and heeding the biblical warnings of Jesus, now, before it is too late!
Prayer: Our Father in heaven, deliver us from the onslaught of end time lawlessness and the insidious infection of losing one’s first love for You Father and for Your Word. Teach us to be ready, willing, and able to repent of any sin at a moment’s notice; and if persecution is a part of the end time picture grant us Your grace to endure to the end according to Jesus’ instruction and warning. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 