718 pages, 111 “no’s”, $100,000 a month: …Lawlessness… :: By John Sarkett

The Spirit of Lawlessness Marks End Times

The end times, Scripture tells us, will be marked by a rising spirit of lawlessness. Matthew 24:12 warns: “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” Paul echoes this in 2 Thessalonians 2, describing a coming “man of lawlessness,” and in 2 Timothy 3, where he outlines a society unmoored from restraint, humility, or truth.  In a word, lawless.

Today, we see that lawlessness — not only among convicted criminals but among public officials.  One can say corruption is as old as the hills, and it is, but a) America was supposed to be different, “exceptional,” some say, and b) never has corruption here been so blatant, and so bold.  A few examples from just the past few days:

Case study 1:  Selective Transparency: The Gavin Newsom Shell Game

California governor and presidential hopeful Gavin Newsom, after promising and failing to do so since 2019, recently released 718 pages of tax returns — but only to a hand‑picked group of reporters – not to the public. Reporters were permitted to take notes but forbidden from copying or photographing documents. Several outlets that had pressed for disclosure were excluded entirely.

The governor himself did not appear to answer questions. Even the sharpest analyst could not meaningfully review hundreds of pages under such constraints. Critics called the process a “sham release,” arguing that transparency cannot be selective. When leaders follow the form of accountability while evading its substance, trust erodes.

The returns showed income between $1.4 and $1.6 million in recent years, with a spike to $3.5 million from a home sale. Much of the income came from investments held in a blind trust. The release occurred amid a federal investigation involving wife Siebel Newsom’s nonprofits, adding a note of urgency to the episode.

This sort of tax scam is not an isolated case. Years ago, J.B. Pritzker removed toilets from a mansion to obtain a lower property tax assessment — a move the Cook County inspector general labeled a “scheme to defraud.” Public outrage was brief, and Pritzker went on to win the governorship and now harbors national ambitions.

Case study 2: Iran War

Recent U.S. military actions against Iran amount to an undeclared war.  Only Congress can declare war.  Trump used legerdemain to skirt his 90-day stricture for military initiatives:

Under Section 5(b) of the 1973 War Powers Resolution:

  • 60-Day Clock: The President is legally required to terminate or withdraw U.S. armed forces from military hostilities within 60 days of launching them unless Congress officially declares war, passes a specific Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), or grants an extension.
  • 30-Day Extension (Total 90 Days): The law allows the President to extend that window by up to 30 additional days (totaling 90 days) only if the President certifies in writing to Congress that unavoidable military necessity regarding troop safety requires the extra time to execute a prompt withdrawal.

Laws matter, except to criminals.  Meanwhile, Congress sits on its hands, and we learn we are out of ammo.  The War Powers Act was laid down to ensure one person doesn’t imperil 350 million.  War requires consensus.  Trump and Hegseth have acted on their own, and proven vastly incompetent at that.

Re lack of ammo: What if we are attacked?

Case study 3: Insider Trading for sale: $100,000 per month

Alongside these uber-serious foreign policy concerns, Trump himself managed to find the time to make more money despite being boosted $2 billion during this presidency (via crypto and other).  He found time to launch a brand-new product: “Truth API,” a high‑speed data service for hedge funds and high‑frequency trading firms.  Cost: a cool $100,000 per month. The API informs algorithmic traders of major news milliseconds before the public.

When this was announced, veteran market types literally laughed out loud.

Because Trump holds the dominant stake in Trump Media, critics point out the arrangement creates a situation where a president’s public declarations can generate private profit for him. Put in street language, this is Manufactured Insider Trading. Insider trading is a crime; you may recall Miss Martha Stewart did time for it. Rep. Jamie Raskin and other lawmakers opened inquiries at once.

Case study 4: Fauci says no 111 times

How the great ones have fallen:  Dr. Fauci was once America’s darling who could do no wrong.  Now, not so much.  He put a major dent in his reputation and credibility by taking the Fifth 111 times before Congress.  Rather ironic for one who “represented science” and furthermore had been pardoned (why did he need a pardon, one may ask) forever for any crimes committed during the COVID era by the president known as Joe Biden.

It was Rand Paul who would not relent on the Fauci issue.  Why?

Senator Rand Paul’s primary disputes with Dr. Anthony Fauci centered on four main issues:

  • Gain-of-Function Research & Wuhan Funding: According to FactCheck.org, Paul accused Fauci and the NIH of funding dangerous “gain-of-function” research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and claimed Fauci lied to Congress about the nature of those grants.
  • COVID-19 Origins & Lab-Leak Coverup: As reported by CBS News, Paul alleged that SARS-CoV-2 likely originated from a lab leak in Wuhan and accused Fauci of attempting to downplay or suppress evidence favoring the lab-leak hypothesis.
  • Federal Mandates & Public Health Restrictions: Paul argued against federal mask and vaccine mandates, school closures, and lockdown recommendations, contending that Fauci overstepped administrative authority and ignored natural immunity.
  • Records Transparency & Misleading Testimony: As detailed by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Paul accused Fauci of attempting to evade FOIA requests, instructing staff to delete official emails regarding pandemic origins, and giving misleading testimony under oath.

In sum, lawlessness, i.e., I, Fauci, as The Science, operate above all law, structure and supervision. He funded gain-of-function research, which many say created a worldwide contagion.  He is most definitely not “America’s Doctor” but more of a Dr. Evil, many contend.

In any case, his comedown is not quite complete: Sen. Rand Paul will now pursue contempt charges in response to the 111 “no’s.”

Fauci is now the poster boy for leaders of any stripe who place their own authority beyond scrutiny.  Will his all-purpose Joe Biden pardon hold up over time?  Maybe not; stay tuned.

Spiritual Ramifications

Scripture teaches that lawlessness is not merely the absence of rules; it is the elevation of human will above divine order. When leaders bend norms, block transparency, or treat accountability as optional, they contribute to a cultural climate where truth becomes negotiable, and power becomes self‑justifying.

Jesus predicted the climate of lawlessness would be the end-times landscape.  When you fake reveal your taxes, start wars without Congressional approval, sell insider trading software and obfuscate everything regarding a lethal virus that brought down the world and caused many deaths and injuries — that’s lawlessness.

And we only touched the surface.  This is not even 1/8th of an inch penetration down into the snow of the glacier of modern unrighteousness that represents our day.

Look Up

What to do in the face of such blatant, in-your-face public office evil? We can exercise our civic right to write to our elected representatives (call on them for action; or support those who are taking action). We can get mad (a righteous indignation, let’s say), we can get sad (a godly sorrow; Jesus wept), or we can do something else.  We can look up, because when you see all these things, look up, for your redemption draws nigh.

Use it to stoke your anticipation of the soon return of Jesus Christ.  Use it as fuel to pray a bit more, study a bit more, evangelize a bit more; in doing so, to provide an answer for at least yourself to the haunting question: When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

The Spirit of (unprecedented and blatant) Lawlessness is a powerful indication that we are “that close” to the Great Harpazo.  Don’t waste it.

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John A. Sarkett writes for these pages from time to time.  He wrote False Flags, State Secrets, Government Deceptions:  A Short History of the Modern Era, and THE COVID VACCINE: And the silencing of our doctors and scientists.

 

 

 

That Day Shall Not Come Except :: By Nathan Jones

[Note: Our guest contributor, Wayne Gaylord, served on the Lamb & Lion Ministries Board of Trustees for more than 25 years. Upon his retirement from that role, he was unanimously elected a Trustee Emeritus. Wayne earned a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College (Illinois) in Biblical Studies and later served on the faculty of SMU’s Southwest Graduate School of Banking. In the U.S Army, he commanded the 30th Finance Corps. Wayne has been married to Arlene, the love of his life, for more than 72 years. They have 2 daughters (one of whom is currently on Lamb & Lion’s Board of Trustees), 2 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren. The following is his testimony of Rapture anticipation.]

When I was growing up, I had a drug problem. My mother dragged me to church every time the doors opened. Seriously, I was very fortunate when I was growing up in that my mother was a wonderful Christian lady. She was saved at a neighborhood Bible study when a group of ladies met to study a course written by Rev. Harlan J. Roper, long-time pastor of Scofield Bible Church in Dallas.

As a teenager, I was encouraged by her to attend a Young Life summer camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where the speaker was Rev. Wally Howard. At age 16, I fully and completely gave my life to Christ and have tried to serve Him faithfully for over 75 years. I have failed Him many times, but He—never.

Learning to Love Prophecy

After graduating from Wheaton College, I entered the financial world in Dallas. During my drive back and forth to work, I was intrigued by a radio program called “Christ in Prophecy” hosted by Dr. David Reagan of Lamb & Lion Ministries. I called Dr. Reagan afterwards, and he invited me to have breakfast with him at IHOP. It was a life-changing experience for me, as eventually he invited me to join the Board of Trustees of Lamb & Lion Ministries, where I served for more than 25 years.

I wondered why so many pastors did not preach about prophecy since so much of the Bible is prophetic in nature. One pastor told me he doesn’t preach on prophecy because there are so many theories and viewpoints that it is best to just ignore it. Bad advice! Especially since it is the only book in the Bible that promises a blessing to those who read and absorb it.

With Dr. Reagan as my mentor, I immersed myself in the study of prophecy. In 2017, I wrote the commentary entitled Finally Home, covering every verse in the book of Revelation with the express purpose of making it clearly understandable for the average layperson. By using Dr. Reagan’s literal approach and oft-quoted guideline, “When the plain sense makes sense, don’t look for any other sense or you will wind up with nonsense,” it clears up most of the conflicts and confusion in the book of Revelation.

Why I Believe in the Pre-Trib Rapture

When I began my study of prophecy, one of the first controversies that I encountered was the question, “Does the Rapture precede the Tribulation, or do Christians have to go through this terrible seven-year period in which the Antichrist holds sway over the world?” This controversy seems to never go away and is hotly debated in all theological circles today.

There are many scholarly books which clearly prove that the Church (composed of true believers) will be raptured prior to the Tribulation period. One of the best of such books is The Rapture written by Dr. Tim LaHaye. The timing of the Rapture was on the minds of the early believers in Thessalonica. No doubt, they dwelt on this because of the terrorism, abuses, and executions they were enduring by the Romans.

Some of their believing brethren were proclaiming that the Tribulation was already upon them and they had been left behind at the Rapture.

Paul wanted to assure them that the awful Tribulation had not occurred since the Rapture had not yet happened. Consequently, he wrote the letter, 2 Thessalonians, to set their minds at ease.

In chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians, beginning with verse 1, Paul says, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus, and by our gathering together unto Him [a clear picture of the Rapture], that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ [a reference to the Tribulation period] is at hand.”

Scripture continues, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, EXCEPT [capitalization provided by author] there is a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition [i.e., the Antichrist] who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he [the Antichrist] as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

So, the Tribulation period cannot begin before two major events occur. Some might say this is a sign for these believers. The Bible indicates that some signs are good, such as was given to the shepherds in Luke 2:12 “And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” That is a good sign. But here is a sign that is not so good, Matthew 12:39: “He answered, ‘a wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign.’“

Here is the difference. When God tells us to look for a sign, we can trust what He says, but when someone doubts what He says and asks for a sign to verify His assertions, that is when we are on thin ice. Here in 2 Thessalonians, I prefer to call them two events that must take place rather than a sign. The second event is quite clear. We will know who the Antichrist is when he stands in the temple and declares that he, himself, is God.

So, I want to ask you about this first event. Can this be a definite event for which we should look? I think not. There has been a falling away or apostasy in every generation. But here, God is trying to give them a definite event that will come about so that they can clearly be assured that the Tribulation has not come and that they have not been left behind at the Rapture.

So, this first event requires more digging. It uses the Greek word “apostasia” in which the original scriptures were written, and most translators translate this term as “a falling away,” meaning a falling away from the Christian faith.

In English and in almost every other language, there is a first and a secondary meaning of a particular word. For instance, in English, the primary word for “hide” is that you might hide from someone. The secondary meaning for the word “hide” could be referring to the skin or hide of an animal.

Also, consider the word “pen.” It might be referring to a writing instrument, or it could be referring to an enclosure in which to keep an animal. It all depends on the context.

The secondary meaning of “apostasia” is “departure.” Now consider this. In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he explained fully to them about the Rapture of the believers. He even detailed the fact that the dead in Christ would be resurrected first and then the believers living at that time would be resurrected after that.

So, when Paul mentioned the departure, in their minds they knew exactly what he was talking about—the departure would mean leaving this earth to meet the Lord in the air. In other words, The Rapture that he had previously written to them about!

Clearly, Paul is telling them that they are not in the seven-year Tribulation period because two things must happen first: the departure of Christians at the Rapture and the Antichrist must be identified.

So, Paul makes it very clear that the Rapture must precede the Tribulation period. And as Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4:18: “Comfort one another with these words.”

https://christinprophecy.org