Lawlessness: A Last Days Sign

We are coming up on the tragic one-year anniversary of the George Floyd killing. Since that dark day we have seen a wicked mob mentality sweep through the streets of America. In 2020 several U.S. cities erupted with lawless rioters taking to the streets burning businesses, tearing down monuments and attacking police. Minneapolis, the epicenter of riots, has seen over $500 million in property damage. Portland had over 100 consecutive days of rioting. For a month, six city blocks of Seattle were completely given over to rioters who occupied the Seattle PD and named their dystopia, CHAZ! In Chicago, IL 70 people were shot, 10 fatally, over the course of one weekend last July. Cries to “Defund the Police” have increased the hatred for authority in this country. Even my hometown of Asheville, NC got in on the action when anarchists delivered a casket full of manure to the front steps of the city’s PD. Much of this madness culminated on January 6, 2021 when extremists stormed the US Capitol and took over right as the electoral college votes to confirm President Joe Biden’s questionable victory were being tallied. Oh and just in case you thought BLM was about peaceful protests for racial justice, A BLM spokesperson, Shaun King tweeted out last year, “All murals and stained-glass windows of white Jesus and his European mother and their white friends should come down.”^[1]

Behind much of this rage is a Marxist agenda that seeks to dismantle the ideals of America. In his most recent book, We Will Not Be Silenced, Dr. Erwin Lutzer points out, “The destruction we’ve seen in our streets is part of a larger attempt to destroy what it means to be an American. It’s an attempt to remove not just racism, the family and gender distinctions, but to discredit all that was done by those who created our nation’s founding documents. In the minds of many people, America is so terrible that it cannot be fixed; it must be destroyed and rebuilt according to a radical socialist agenda that will be free of racism and capitalism.”[2]

What we are seeing is one of the unmistakable signs that the Bible predicted would coincide with the last days. In Jesus’ Olivet Discourse He gave several end-times harbingers, one of which describes our days perfectly, “lawlessness will be increased, and the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12). Jesus also said that the society on the earth during the last days would revert back to the violent and barbaric days of Noah (Matt. 24:37). The savage pre-Flood people were desensitized by murder, slavery, sexual immorality and child sacrifice. “5 The 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. 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them” (Gen. 6:5, 11, 13). In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul spoke not only of the coming world dictator – the Antichrist – as “the man of lawlessness,” but he also referred to “the mystery of lawlessness” already being at work in the world (2 Thess. 2:3, 7). I believe that mysterious force of evil is at work both visibly and behind the scenes right now setting the stage for the final act of God’s divine drama. As evil metastasizes, expect increased persecution against the church and hostility towards the Gospel and “traditional” morality.    

Friends, our world is not moving towards utopia. Instead, as we draw closer to the return of Christ we will witness the opposite – chaos, cruelty, calamity and cold-blooded killing. I don’t like it anymore than you do, but at the same time I am filled with hope. God’s prophetic Word is true, and the signs of the times point towards the soon and sure return of Christ. Stay faithful and walk in holiness. Cling to the precious promise Jesus gave the church at Sardis, “4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels” (Rev. 3:4-5).  -DM    

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[1] Erwin Lutzer, We Will Not Be Silenced (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2020), 44.

[2] Ibid., 43.  

The Wonder of the Word

It is said that when the famous pioneer missionary, Dr. David Livingstone, started his trek across Africa in 1852 his expedition carted with them 73 books, weighing 180 pounds. These books ranged from medical texts to volumes on biology, zoology and even poetry. After the party had gone 300 miles, Livingstone was obliged to throw away some of the books because of the fatigue of those carrying his baggage. As he continued on his journey his library grew less and less, until he had but one book left—his Bible.[1]

Livingstone discovered, like so many believers have, that the Bible is the only book that man cannot live without. What is it about this book that makes it so unique? One distinguishing mark is what is called the doctrine of inspiration. In 2 Timothy 3:16 we read, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

The Greek word in the text that is translated “breathed out by God,” is theopnuestos.  It’s the combination of two Greek words, theos meaning “God,” nuestos meaning “wind, or breath.” 

Dr. Charles Ryrie gave simple and complete explanation when he wrote: “Inspiration is God’s superintending of human authors so that using their own individual personalities, they composed and recorded without error in the words of the original autographs His revelation to man. The Holy Spirit of God moved upon men of God to pen the Word of God.”^[2]  

You could think of inspiration in terms of a sailboat. A fisherman can control the movement of the boat by steering the rudder, but what gives the boat its propulsion through the water is the wind which pushes the sail. In a similar way, the Holy Spirit guided and directed the Bible writers in the writing of Scripture. The Spirit gave the content and power while human writer provided the personality.

Another interesting way to think of the inspiration of the Bible is by noticing the parallels to Christ. In fact, there’s a remarkable correspondence between John 3:16 and 2 Tim. 3:16. John 3:16 speaks of the Savior, while 2 Tim. 3:16 speaks of the Scriptures. These two entities comprise the two greatest gifts bestowed upon humanity. Christ is the living “Word” (John 1:1-3) and the other is the written Word.

Both are utterly unique. Jesus impacted the world like no one else and the Bible has impacted the world more than any other book. Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. He came down from heaven in the form of a man and was fully imbued by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:16). The Scriptures are both fully human and fully divine. The words came from God, were given to men who wrote them down as they were borne along by the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:21). Moreover, just as the Savior was without sin (1 Peter 1:19), the Scriptures are without error (Ps. 19:7)!  -DM

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[1] Today in the Word, April 1989, p. 28.

[2] Charles Ryrie, “A Synopsis of Bible Doctrine,” The Ryrie Study Bible NASB (Chicago: Moody Press, 1978), 1933.

What Happened to the Disciples?

As you read through the Gospels, Acts and New Testament epistles you become familiar with Jesus’ disciples – their callings, personalities, failures and faith. But one area that the Bible doesn’t elaborate on very much is their excruciating deaths as martyrs. Indeed, Jesus predicted they would be hated (John 15:18-21), persecuted (Matt. 5:11-12) and killed for His name (John 21:18-19). The classic volume, Foxe’s Book of Christian Martyrs, tells us that after Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples traveled all over the world preaching the Gospel and all but one of the original twelve died at the hands of hostile enemies.

The only apostle whose death the Bible records is James, son of Zebedee and brother of John (Acts 12:2). King Herod Agrippa had James “put to death with the sword,” likely a reference to beheading. 

Peter was crucified upside-down in Rome, because he did not consider himself to be worthy to die in the same way as His Lord. 

Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound. 

Nathanael was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed in present-day Turkey and was flayed to death by a whip. Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Greece. After soldiers whipped Andrew severely, they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: “I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.” He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he died. 

The apostle Thomas was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church there. 

James, the brother of Jesus (who initially denied Jesus’ deity, John 7:5), was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. He was thrown from the southeast pinnacle of the temple (over a hundred feet down) when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a club. This is thought to be the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the temptation (Luke 4:9-12). 

The apostle Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero in Rome in AD 67. 

John, son of Zebedee, was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos where he wrote his prophetic book of Revelation. The apostle John was later freed and returned to what is now modern-day Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.  

The deaths of the apostles is an important piece of evidence related to the veracity of their claims about the resurrection. There are lots of religious fanatics who are willing to die for what they believe to be true but few who are willing to die for what they know to be a lie. As the saying goes, “men will die for conviction, but not a concoction.” The fact that the apostles were willing to die horrible deaths, refusing to renounce their faith, is tremendous evidence that they had truly witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Chuck Colson, former aide to President Nixon and founder of Prison Fellowship, went to prison over the Watergate scandal. Comparing his experience to that of the apostles, he wrote:

“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”[1]

The disciples testified to the resurrection of Christ with their own blood. What more could eyewitnesses do to prove they were telling the truth! -DM

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[1] Norman Geisler & Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004), 292-293.