A Global Food Crisis is Unavoidable :: By Britt Gillette

Published on: by RR7 Category:Britt Gillette, General Articles

 

In January, I wrote about a coming global famine. The political push to move from fossil fuels to renewable energy, coupled with COVID shutdown supply and demand distortions, resulted in much higher energy prices. This was particularly true in Europe where the accelerated push for green energy led to a surging energy crisis. Asking, “What does this have to do with rising food prices?,” I pointed to this Zero Hedge article which stated:

“You can’t make fertilizer without urea and natural gas. As the price of either of these goes higher (both are), it significantly impacts the price of fertilizer. The price of fertilizer impacts in turn the price of food. This is because fertilizer is the second largest cost component of most agricultural production. The first being… you guessed it, diesel.”

Entering 2022, rising energy costs had driven up prices for both diesel and fertilizer. This led to increased food production costs. Those, in turn, impact the feed cost for cattle, hogs, chickens, and other animals. This means higher costs for meat producers.

Global supply chain issues are another reason we saw rising food prices. While increased demand due to COVID lockdowns and hoarding both played a factor, the majority of food shortages were due to problems rippling through the global supply chain.

In summary, as we entered 2022, we were already facing a major food crisis, both in terms of supply and price. However, in that same article, I warned it could get much worse. “Rumors of war” were everywhere – Russia/Ukraine, China/Taiwan, and Iran/Israel. Back then, I wrote:

“If any of these areas erupt into war, the result will be a disaster for the global economy. Oil prices will go much higher. Global trade will contract. Supply chains will break down even further, and food prices will skyrocket. Worse than that, a major conflict could lead to food shortages throughout the world. Is this what China is preparing for?”

That last sentence referenced China’s hoarding of grain. Coming into the year, China held 69% of global maize reserves, 60% of global rice reserves, and 51% of global wheat reserves. Why did China stockpile so much food? In hindsight, it’s clear. They knew the Russian invasion of Ukraine was coming, and they knew the impact such a conflict would have on the global food supply.

The Post-Invasion Global Food Market

Even now, most people fail to recognize the dire consequences of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The impact goes far beyond the battlefields of Eastern Europe, effecting every nation on the planet. The war in Ukraine has transformed a situation where global food supplies were tight into an unavoidable global food crisis. Why? Below is a list of six reasons 2022/2023 will be an absolute disaster for the global food supply.

1) Sanctions – The sanctions the U.S. and its allies put in place to punish Russia will have serious consequences for the global food market. Russia produces far more than oil. It’s also the earth’s largest wheat exporter, accounting for 18% of global sales. And fossil fuels also play a major role in food production. Diesel fuel powers farm equipment as well as the trucks that bring food to market, and natural gas is a critical component in the production of fertilizer. In short, the sanctions placed on Russia will strain global supply chains and increase the price of agricultural commodities wherever they are grown.

2) Poor Harvests – The sanctions kick in at a time when global food supplies are already tight. Now, extreme drought threatens to destroy the winter wheat crop in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Half of U.S. wheat production is hard red winter wheat. A reduced crop will put further pressure on food prices.

Unfortunately, the U.S. isn’t alone. China’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tang Renjian, cited heavy rainfall last year for delaying the planting of around one-third of China’s normal wheat acreage. According to Tang, “a survey of the winter wheat crop taken before the start of winter found the amount of first- and second-grade crop was down more than 20 percentage points.”

In addition to droughts and poor harvests, a bird flu outbreak is threatening poultry production on a global scale. Because of an outbreak in Israel, “authorities estimate about 600,000 hens may need to be destroyed to contain the virus.” In the United States, the bird flu outbreak “has already resulted in the deaths of almost 2.8 million birds” (most of them chickens or turkeys). This has a direct impact on the supply of eggs, chicken, and turkey – driving up food prices and creating product shortages.

3) The Ukrainian Harvest – With Ukraine under siege, how many farmers do you think are planting their fields? Not many. Even if they do manage to plant and harvest, how will their produce get to market? The invasion devastated roads and infrastructure throughout the country. This will have a dramatic impact on global food supply. Ukraine is the world’s 5th largest wheat exporter, accounting for 7% of global sales in 2019. 71% of Ukraine’s land is agricultural. For centuries, they’ve been known as “the breadbasket of Europe,” and some countries are wholly dependent on Ukraine for food supplies.

4) Black Sea Shipping – Because of the war, Black Sea shipping is almost non-existent. Insurance rates for ships entering the Black Sea are sky high. Even if they wanted to get into the area, it’s simply not economical for ships to do business in the Black Sea. These empty shipping lanes translate into dire consequences for the world. Together, Russia and Ukraine account for 25% of global wheat sales. Moreover, around “one-fifth of the corn trade and 12% of all calories traded globally come from Ukraine and Russia.” All that food can’t make it to the rest of world. War and sanctions have brought regional food exports to a screeching halt.

5) Food Protectionism – Even if the Black Sea re-opens tomorrow, the food exports aren’t coming. Why? Because the war has caused a cascade of nations to ban food exports in the name of domestic food security. For this very reason, Ukraine banned all agricultural exports. Russia also banned exports. According to Interfax, “Russia’s Agriculture Ministry said the country could ban wheat, rye, barley and corn exports from March 15 to June 30.”

Meanwhile, Argentina (the world’s top exporter of processed soy products) suspended soybean meal and oil exports. Along with Ukraine and Russia, Argentina is part of a growing list of countries banning exports of agricultural goods. Others include Moldova, Hungary, Serbia, Algeria, Indonesia, Turkey, and others.

6) The Fertilizer Shortage – As mentioned previously, you can’t make fertilizer without urea and natural gas. Russia is the world’s top exporter of both. Not surprisingly, Russia is also the world’s #1 exporter of fertilizer. On March 10, Russia announced the suspension of fertilizer exports. Think about the implications of that. At a time when global food prices are already at all-time highs, when Ukraine’s massive grain production might be lost for the year, and when global supply chains are in a state of chaos, the world’s top fertilizer exporter won’t be supplying fertilizer. I don’t think the world fully understands the implications yet.

According to The Epoch Times:

“Russia produces 50 million tons of fertilizer every year, accounting for 13 percent of the world’s total. The country is a major producer of potash, phosphate, and nitrogen-containing fertilizers which serve as major crop and soil nutrients. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the cost of fertilizer has already risen significantly across the globe and is expected to further impact the cost of goods and push food prices higher. However, even before the invasion, fertilizer prices had risen drastically in part due to the rising gas costs which are needed to ship fertilizers across countries and continents.”

Of course, Russia notes the ban on exports will come with exceptions. “Friendly countries” will continue to receive fertilizer from Russia.

According to Bloomberg, Brazil is the world’s top exporter of soybeans, coffee, sugar, and a host of other agricultural commodities. They rely on imports for 85% of their fertilizer needs, and 28% of that comes from Russia and Belarus. If Brazil doesn’t get fertilizer, the world doesn’t get Brazil’s soybeans, coffee, and sugar.

Making matters worse, on Monday the AP News reported that a Canadian Pacific rail worker strike has brought all of Canadian Pacific’s trains to a standstill. The Canadian Pacific railway carries 70% of the potash produced in North America.

Needless to say, fertilizer will be in short supply this planting season, and the impact on global food production cannot be overstated.

Famine is Now Unavoidable

The only question is how high food prices will go and how severe the food shortages will be. The following quotes should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who takes food availability for granted. The year ahead will be difficult to say the least.

In this article, Fox Business interviewed Peter Zeihan, a geopolitical analyst and author. The following passage is from that article:

“‘All three source materials that go into fertilizer (phosphate, nitrogen, potash) are subject to abject shortage. And even if the war were to stop tomorrow, it’s already too late. It’s too late for the planting season for the Northern Hemisphere this year.’ Zeihan forecasted that the crisis will hit Brazil, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia the hardest as they will likely see significantly lower yields “than what is necessary to support the global population.”

“And as food prices rise, as they’ve been for the last two weeks – and pretty sharply – farmers will do what farmers do. They will plant what they think that they can grow for the greatest bang for their buck,” Zeihan said. “So, I can see (the United States) increasing our production and our exports by a small amount. But the scale of what we’re talking about here is insufficient food for hundreds of millions of people.”

Think about that. “Lower yields than what is necessary to support the global population” and “Insufficient food for hundreds of millions of people.” You can’t disrupt 12% of the global calories Russia and Ukraine produce and not have an epic disaster. Pray for God to provide everyone with what they need, and pray we can avert famine on a mass scale.

What Happens Now?

Henry Kissinger once said, “Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people.” While the western media endlessly cites Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a “miscalculation,” I ask you to consider another possibility. Perhaps this was Putin’s calculation from day one. Russia is the leading producer of vast natural resources and raw materials the world needs. This gives Putin immense leverage.

  • He has leverage over Europe, which depends on him for 30% of its oil and 40% of its natural gas needs.
  • He has leverage over the U.S. which, facing skyrocketing fuel prices, is begging Iran and Venezuela to make up the difference.
  • He has leverage over China which, devoid of its own oil resources, has an unquenchable thirst for foreign oil to fuel the needs of its 1.4 billion people.
  • He has leverage over Egypt, Turkey, Iran, and numerous countries that were almost entirely dependent on imported Ukrainian grains to feed their people.

Remember, Putin said “friendly countries” will be exempt from Russia’s fertilizer ban. In other words, stick with Putin, and you’ll eat. Turn against him, and you might starve. Putin understands the power he wields. He can use it to evade sanctions, possibly break up NATO, and realign the entire world power structure. As an example, read this article which outlines Turkey’s willingness to circumvent sanctions.

Turkish President Erdogan is in regular contact with Putin. He’s offered to settle trade in rubles, Chinese yuan, or gold – anything to get the grain vital for feeding his people. As the article states, “Erdogan also raised the problem of the 30 ships that are supposed to bring sunflower oil and wheat to Turkey but are currently stuck in the Sea of ​​Azov. Russia is by far Turkey’s most important grain supplier. In 2020, it exported 7.7 million tons of wheat to Turkey, accounting for 75 percent of its imports.”

Turkey is a key member of NATO, yet they are completely dependent on Russia for their food supply. With the U.S. and its allies demanding nations pick a side in the conflict and abide by sanctions, whose side do you think Erdogan will ultimately choose? Will he chose the U.S., starve his country, and risk a revolution that throws him out of power? Or will he choose Russia, obtain food security for his country, and cement his place of power? I think the answer is obvious.

A new geopolitical order is forming. In all likelihood, Russia and China have formed a secret alliance. I believe China stockpiled grain because it knew of Russia’s plan to invade Ukraine. Perhaps China’s invasion of Taiwan is next. Russia is a natural resource and raw materials superpower. China is a manufacturing powerhouse. Together, they make a formidable alliance capable of challenging the United States and its allies for economic and military supremacy.

The Stage is Set for the End Times

Unfortunately, a worldwide famine appears to be on the horizon. The Bible warned of this long ago. It says a global famine will strike the world during the Tribulation. This famine will follow a global war (Revelation 6:4). In the aftermath, people will be desperate to survive. The Bible says in that time an entire day’s wages will only buy enough food to survive (Revelation 6:5-6). Is the coming famine the same famine from Revelation 6? I don’t know. But it could be.

In January, I wrote: “When this happens, it’s possible the Genesis story of Joseph and Pharaoh will play out a second time. Desperate for food, most of the world will willingly give their wealth and power to anyone who can feed them. Just as in ancient Egypt, when the dust finally settles, one man will control everything.”

Right now, Vladimir Putin wants to be that man. The Bible says the Antichrist will succeed where Putin fails. The signs of the times are all around us. The world is set up to experience a global war (Revelation 6:4), global famine (Revelation 6:5-6), and mass death (Revelation 6:8) on a scale we’ve never seen. All the signs Jesus and the prophets said to look for are present today. We’re in the midst of a global pandemic (Luke 21:11). Israel is back in the land (Jeremiah 23:7-8). The Jewish people are back in Jerusalem (Luke 21:24-28). And the Gospel is being preached throughout the world (Matthew 24:14). Time is short. Spread the Gospel while you still can.

Jesus is coming.

Britt Gillette is author of the free ebook Coming to Jesus as well as the books Signs of the Second Coming, Racing Toward Armageddon, and The End Times. Receive his book 7 Signs of the End Times for free when you sign up for his monthly newsletter.

 

Man of Sin Arising :: By Charles Gray Adams Jr

Published on: by RR7 Category:General Articles

 

1 John 2:18

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” [1]

John, though he lived over nineteen hundred years ago, considered himself in the last time because of the rise of many antichrists. Therefore, it would be safe to assume this same sign is the perfect gauge of ‘when’ the world is now. Couple John’s statement with the warning of perilous times from Paul in 2nd Timothy chapter three, and a true prophetic picture begins to take shape. One need look no further than the headlines of any news source to realize the man of sin is on the rise.

Many will take the last statement as an affront to the pre-tribulational viewpoint, as the man of sin cannot be revealed until the restrainer is taken out of the way (2 Thess 2:7). While it is true that the lawless one, the antichrist, will remain in the shadows until the bride of Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, is raptured—before the coming Tribulation—it is also true that those living in the last days can know they are because of the rise of many antichrists, just as John indicates. So, one must wonder, why the sudden rise of so many who oppose Christ?

The short answer is the church is beginning to lose its salt and light. You see, God chose a marvelous method of restraint. He did not place a strong man in charge of things here on earth who would keep lawlessness in check. No, He chose to indwell the meek and humble of every nation, tribe, and tongue with His Spirit. Therefore, His restraining influence was shed abroad in the hearts of believers (Rom 5:5), just like salt that is shaken over a meal to season it. Though the salt does not represent the bulk of the meal, it savors it thoroughly.

Light works by the same principle. In fact, Jesus called believers the light of the world, a city on the hill which cannot be hidden (Matt 5:14). The chief problem is fewer are coming to Christ in these last days, which means fewer lights on fewer hills. Unfortunately, reduced light allows greater darkness which, in turn, affords the rise of more antichrists. The true cause of this spiritual lethargy is multifaceted.

The primary reason for the waning influence of the church is the fact that much of what calls itself the church is but a shell of what was once a magnificent restraining organism. Indeed, not long ago, the church was so influential that mankind had a great sense of right and wrong. This is no longer the case. In fact, one could argue that men are on the cusp of becoming just like those of the antediluvian period who, through continually evil thoughts, brought about the judgment of the flood (Gen 6:5). You could say that group had become very anti-God, just as those who live today are becoming the many antichrists spoken of by John. How did this happen?

The answer to this question is really quite simple. Many of today’s churches are busy as can be building the physical church. This church-centric focus often leads to doing whatever it takes to find attendees, regardless of their spiritual state. They can be just as worldly as they want for as long as they want as long as they come to church. While coming to church is not a bad thing on its own, the fact that those who do darken the doors are entertained into staying instead of being called to repentance means many only attend church while never being saved. Worse yet, in order to keep the lost in the pews, the leadership must avoid preaching, which calls for repentance and righteous living. Thus, the very establishment that is supposed to be set apart for the faithful has turned into the greatest enabler of fleshly living.

Perhaps the only good news that can come from it is this may be the group that will become part of the Tribulation saints, martyred for their faith. [2]

A biblical example is available, which will shed a great deal of light on this situation. Noah, after hearing the Word of God of impending judgment, also began to build. However, he did not focus on what would make him comfortable on this earth. Instead, he poured his energies into fulfilling the will of God by constructing a colossal boat that, due to the sheer dimensions alone, would have taken many years to complete. The ark is a perfect representation of Christ, who will call the faithful into the safe place just before great calamity strikes. In Noah’s day, this cataclysm was the flood. In these last days, the coming apocalypse is known as the Tribulation.

Noah is noted to have been a preacher of righteousness (2 Pet 2:5). His preaching was, therefore, far different than the preaching of many so-called church leaders today. In fact, some of the largest churches are so far from preaching righteousness that they could be considered nothing more than social clubs. The truest danger of this type of religious organization is the attendees get just enough of God’s Word to cause them to feel safe, just like the recipient of a flu shot or any other vaccine. Invariably, when asked about their faith, these will always point to their church or ministry leaders as the reason for their hope. This is an unfortunate side effect of not having a true relationship with the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Jesus spoke about these types of churches when addressing the church in Laodicea, the lukewarm church. This church is easily identifiable by the fact that, while they say they are rich and in need of nothing, they are actually, as Jesus put it, “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (Rev 3:18).” The best news about this type of church attendee is Jesus is always ready to come in and sup with those who repent (Rev 3:19-20). Therefore, quickly turning from an errant path is crucial as it is very clear the Lord is coming soon. Besides, repentance has some truly exciting benefits.

True repentance will cause two things. First, the light of Jesus will once again shine brightly in the overcomer, which may provide much-needed illumination to those in close proximity. Second, Jesus promises those who come to Him in true repentance a seat in His throne with Him (Rev 3:21). With this in mind, examine your church and make sure it is God-fearing, Jesus-loving, and rapture ready.

Some may be saying right about now, hold on a minute; you are bringing the fire. Well, imagine for a moment, you are Noah and you are commissioned to build the ark. Since you are a preacher of righteousness, and you now know the Lord is about to bring massive judgment, what would you do? Undoubtedly, you said, preach with as much fervor as possible, warning everyone you come into contact with that the end is near. Now, consider how Noah felt as he neared completion of the ark. Surely, he knew a built ark meant that God’s judgment was truly imminent. Oh, but what about when the animals began to arrive? How do you think this affected Noah’s preaching? If you are honest, you would have to say you would be screaming from the rooftops that the judgment of the Lord is coming. This is exactly what the rapture-ready church is doing right now.

Those who have listened to God’s imploration to study and rightly apply His Word in order to not be ashamed (2 Tim 2:15) know the signs of the times, and they are busy warning everyone who will listen of the coming calamity called the “Day of the Lord.” For the saved, this brings encouragement that the rapture is ever closer. To the lost, this warning may be enough to cause them to at least listen to someone share the Word of God. The great thing about this is the very faith needed to be saved is garnered by just such hearing (Rom 10:14-15). [3]

One additional point should be made here. Though many churches are off task, this is not the only reason for the ‘apostasia‘ being experienced today. Invoking Noah’s story again may help. Noah, a preacher of righteousness, worked for years on an ark that he knew was the only salvation available. One would be hard-pressed to believe he left off from preaching during this time. Instead, as previously mentioned, his preaching would have become even more fervent. Yet, only his immediate family went into the ark. This indicates that, even though the faithful remnant church is feverously heralding the coming judgment, the hearts of men have grown cold toward God, and they no longer want to hear about the only name whereby they may be saved – Jesus (Acts 4:12).

Before leaving the narrative of the first worldwide judgment, one would be remiss to avoid one very important question. How did all but eight individuals come to be so anti-God that they missed the boat, literally? The simple answer is found in another highly debated passage:

Genesis 6:1-3

“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.”

Two groups vie for preeminence in regard to whether or not ‘the sons of God’ are angels or men. Those who come down on the side of these being angels point to the coupling of angels and the daughters of men explaining the appearance of ‘Nephilim,’ which are commonly called giants. They also invariably attribute Noah’s being ‘perfect’ in his generation to the fact that the DNA of all others had been corrupted, which caused God to start over with the only pure DNA available, that of Noah.

The second group believes the statement ‘the sons of God’ refers to the line of Seth, who had begun to call upon the name of the Lord (Gen 4:26). They argue that those who were set apart by reverencing God once again, meaning these picked up the worship of God dropped by their forefathers, began to marry the daughters of the ungodly, which brought about the nearly universal moral pollution of mankind by the time of Noah. These two theories are far too expansive to cover in detail in the space permitted here. Therefore, a future article will deal with this fascinating clash of opinions.

Ultimately, either of the views just mentioned brings the world to the same point of judgment seen at the flood. Think of it this way: either way, mankind was so corrupt that they left the proper position of looking up to God and allowed their gaze to settle on something inferior to God, which unfortunately brought about their own demise. The main point of delving into the controversy is to show that no matter what the reason, man is responsible for how they interact with God. You see, God’s desire to commune with man has never changed. Therefore, it has always been man that has fallen away.

The severity of the current falling away is clearly on display. All one has to do is visit a church that preaches and teaches righteousness. Two distinct things will immediately come to your attention. First, the youth will be all but absent, and those who are in attendance (usually on their cell phones) are only there because their parents drug them there. The second sad fact that hits you are the many spaces in the pews or seats which were once filled with the faithful who are now gone on to be with Jesus. This brings up another point: those who are going on are not being replaced, which hearkens back to the point about fewer lights on fewer hills and less seasoning of society. Thus, the great falling away.

This brings us back to the main point of this study, the man of sin arising. Paul spoke of the much-debated ‘great falling away’ in his letter to the church in Thessalonica. This term has been considered by some of the greatest eschatologists, and two distinct opinions have seemingly formed. One group says this is to be seen as the rapture, and the other group sees this as a great rebellion against God. Let’s take a brief look at both of these conclusions.

The first group bases their belief of the great falling away being the rapture on the fact that the Greek word for this phrase is transliterated as ‘apostasia,‘ which can be translated into the word ‘departure,’ which leads to the obvious conclusion that this statement is placing the rapture in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

The second group, ironically, uses the same word ‘apostasia‘ as their key word. However, they translate this as ‘rebellion or defection,’ which is far different than the opposing group’s translation. This, in turn, causes this group to see the great falling away as the greatest rejection of God since just before the flood of Noah’s day (Gen 6). The age-old question is, which group is correct?

Perhaps the simplest way to determine this is to examine the text at hand:

2 Thessalonians 2:3

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”

Notice, two specific events are described in this passage: A falling away will happen first, and the man of sin will be revealed after. Nothing in the passage says these two events will happen one right after the other. Indeed, the context of the entire passage from verse one to twelve suggests that the restrainer will be taken out of the way in between the two events. Here are verses 7 & 8:

2 Thessalonians 2:7-8

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”

By considering the words of John the apostle, that many antichrists were already on the scene in his day, it is quite possible that the ‘apostasia‘ seen in verse 3 is, indeed, the great falling away of men from God, just like before the flood, which brings about the removal of the restrainer at the rapture, just before the judgment of the Tribulation.

God provided the perfect example of this in the narrative surrounding the first global judgment: Noah, the only remaining preacher of righteousness, could easily be considered a type of the church in function in the sense of being the restrainer before the flood since God did not bring the flood until he was safely in the ark. The best news about this is the rapture-ready church will be in heaven above the judgment, just like Noah rode above the floodwaters in the ark.

The obvious argument group one will present to counter this conclusion is that the church is not to be here when the antichrist is revealed. Again, the simplest answer is, the church is not. The long answer is, the reason the church is gone is an event that happens in between the falling away of verse three and the revealing of the wicked one of verse eight; the restrainer (the Spirit indwelt church) is removed from the earth in the rapture. You see, verses four through six describe the man of sin, not the falling away. Verse seven clearly depicts the removal of the church before the revelation of the antichrist in verse eight.

Therefore, the great falling away can be seen as the man of sin arising but not yet revealed, which is evident by the number of antichrists coalescing into a massive group that wants to have nothing whatsoever to do with God. These will readily receive the son of perdition, who will lead them into swift destruction. Sadly, many of today’s youth are being led astray by the antichrists already on the scene in every facet of society. Indeed, they are leading our young ones away from the church and toward an empty promise of utopia here on earth. [4]

By the way, parents—wake up, remove your children from the indoctrination camps known as institutes of higher learning where they are partaking from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, just like Adam and Eve in Genesis chapters two and three. Most of these schools are teaching more about ‘what’ to think than ‘how’ to think critically. This explains why they are leaving the church in droves. They have been misled by the minions of Satan into believing they can be as God.

This is proven out by the other vein of today’s study. Two types of churches are present on earth at the moment. The true, rapture-ready church, which teaches that Jesus is the only way, is seeing its numbers diminish, while the counterfeit church and there anything goes stance is growing exponentially. Sadly, many in the latter church will be left behind simply because their faith is not in Christ. Instead, they are trusting in church attendance or any other number of works for their salvation, all of which are pointless without first having experienced salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Remember, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17).

Conclusion

Men stopped calling on the name of the Lord before the flood. Likewise, the world in which we live is filled with those who reject God. Many antichrists have risen to power in every facet of society, and their influence is turning the masses away from God and toward man. Throughout history, this has always been the pattern: God blesses a people, and they, in their need-nothing state, turn from relying on God to depending on their own strength and wisdom.

This can be seen as the man of sin arising because sin is simply doing things ‘not’ God’s way. Incredibly, many songs and slogans have depicted this very stance. One needs only to remember the old song, I did it my way; or the lyrics, it’s your thing—do what you wanna do; or the fast-food slogan, have it your way—have it your way. Each of these expressions depicts the rise of the man of sin as they are rooted in the idea that man can be as God, which is the root of all lies. But that is for another article.

Remain Faithful…

Maranatha…

Website: In His Commission

March 29th, 2022

[1] “Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the King James Version.”
[2] For greater understanding, see the article, “Open Letter to Those Who Miss the Rapture.”
[3] For greater understanding, see the article, “The End Has Come: What Now?”
[4] For greater understanding, see the article, “Heaven of Earth Bound?“