It seems to be a cruel pejorative, but “Tribulation fodder” describes pretty well the destiny of those people who will march like lemmings into the Tribulation without a second thought. While many will find themselves in the Tribulation because they discounted their need for salvation and the Gospel’s provision for them, Tribulation fodder are in conscious, open rebellion against God. Given their insanity, a surprising number of them are actually looking forward to the Tribulation, whether they know it or not.

The Apostle Paul described these people well: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (1 Timothy 3:1-5a, KJV).

Any attempt to improve Paul’s words of wisdom to Timothy would be a fool’s errand. However, it is useful to frame the characteristics he expressed in a more modern context. So without further ado (as they say), here is a list of various characteristics – traits, behaviors, and worldviews – exhibited by those directly steering into the teeth of God’s wrath and their own destruction:

• Substitute morality – They are “Woke.” Woke is a worldview, a sanctimonious stew of Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, LGBTQ celebration, militant feminism, socialism, Marxism, Leninism, Maoism, radical environmentalism, globalism, scientism, political correctness, “equality” (not of opportunity, but of outcome), and “diversity/inclusion” (except, of course, with respect to a Biblical worldview). They have perverted the definitions of “truth,” “opinion,” “kindness,” “tolerance,” “love,” “hate,” the cross, the rainbow, and so many other words and symbols that would otherwise frustrate them, to the degree that their original meaning is lost. In so many ways, their woke worldview stands in polar opposition to God’s law.
• Spirituality – They espouse an amorphous hodgepodge of various Eastern, pagan, and New Age works-based religions without any meaningful standards, form, accountability, duty, or theology. They flatter themselves as being good and becoming increasingly perfect and, despite all evidence to the contrary, exude the “light and love” their religion asks of them.
• Conformity – They have a pack mentality. When they do voice an original or nonconformal thought, it necessarily involves a trivial topic, such as a favorite sports team, wine, or vacation spot. They derive their existential worth by being part of movements (no matter how specious), appropriating the virtue of the movement as their own. Their need for conformity leads them to rationalize authoritarianism, even entertain totalitarianism.
• Cancel culture – As they take conformity to its logical extreme, they embrace cancel culture. History that offends them, even if they could allow it to educate them, must be eradicated. No matter how positive someone’s life has been, that person is fair game to doxxed, bullied, protested, deprived of a career, and physically harmed if he has ever in his life said or done anything, even privately or in jest, that now offends these self-appointed thought police. The message from these people is clear: they will destroy you with their light and love if you dare invade their safe space. Their end justifies their means.
• Lack of critical thinking – Their first instinct is to obey without question, particularly when their peers are complying. They seem incapable of rigorous analysis and are inept at identifying false premises, baseless arguments, logical inconsistencies, and unsupported conclusions. They parrot without reflection the instructions government, news, academic, and health authorities give them, so often because their “teachers” rewarded them more for obedience than sound thought.
• Virtue signaling – They not only pride themselves as being virtuous (as they conveniently define virtues to be), they constantly display the virtues they so admire in themselves so others can join in the adoration. They tend to spew their opinions indiscriminately, even when nobody asked for them. In an ever-growing phenomenon, they overtly wear their values and identities on their sleeves in the form of tattoos and clothing and jewelry designed to convey messages about themselves.
• Psychological projection – They lack perception and the disciplines of self-restraint and introspection. Without any sense of irony, they baselessly attribute their own moral failings to others. Lacking any truth for the accusations they make, they are relegated to ad hominem attacks, and they defend themselves by expressing hurt feelings and tantrums.
• Narcissism – They are relentlessly self-absorbed and crave the attention of others. They lack empathy, and often even sympathy. Social media and other kinds of superficial, inconsequential social interaction are critical to their self-esteem and desire to be heard, accepted, and celebrated as the singular person they believe themselves to be. They seek to be “influencers” to their “followers” and “friends.” Lacking any internal reward mechanism, they need constant external affirmation of their worth. They crave “likes,” “views,” and “subscribes.” They presume, without evidence, that all reasonable people would agree with them and that anyone questioning their opinion is hateful or in need of reeducation. Often, they dehumanize those holding contrary views.
• Epicurean consumerism – They obsess over the perceived quality and authenticity of the food, drink, exercise, leisure activity, books, sports, TV shows, movies, clothes, cars, and homes they consume. The experiences they’ve had or things they own define who they are. Rather than seeking a life, they seek a lifestyle. They value recreation and pleasure over work and service to others. For this reason, they have trouble committing to one another. For them, “love” is the result of personal fulfillment, not sacrifice, and marriages are mechanisms of temporary convenience.
• Exhibitionism – Their narcissism and perceived conformity to accepted social norms and virtues, aggravated by their lack of critical thinking skills, cause them to place little value on privacy. They gladly put their lives on display without contemplating the evil ends to which their personal data may be put. They fail to understand a key lesson of history: authoritarianism arises when citizens willingly surrender liberty to gain comfort.
• Technology – They adopt new technologies because they ease life and increase happiness, even when those technologies generate profound control and privacy issues. They are fixated on novelty and fashion and so often want the latest technology just to make themselves look good to others. As with so many other things, they are blind to the ramifications of surrounding themselves with devices capable of tracking them, listening to them, and watching them.

Every one of these characteristics plays into the hands of the coming New World Order government, religion and economy. Enabled by the Internet and 5G networks and Smartphone, camera, biometric, digital currency, robotic, artificial intelligence, pharmaceutical, and genetic engineering technology, the New World Order will be empowered by the very people they control. If these poor souls ever manage to understand their dire circumstance, it will be a miracle. In fact, nothing less than the miracle of salvation will deliver these people from certain destruction.