This is a disheartening article to write, to be honest. We see darkness rising, yet we are called to be salt and light to a decaying world—even if the world pushes back. Let’s try to counter the enemy wherever we see his presence.

The world is imploding as we trend toward the Tribulation. The devil is trying to strengthen his grip on the world, the church, and on billions of people. Still, to see people literally worshipping the dark side takes one’s breath away.

The Grammys Lead the Way

Some of what I review in this article is not new news to you. This year the Grammys included a literal Satanic performance by Sam Smith and Kim Petras. The song was titled “Unholy” and included Sam Smith in a red devil costume and hat with horns surrounded by performers—some in cages—wearing red costumes and dancing seductively. Flames surrounded them. The performance was intended to be Satanic. Viewers would think they were peering into hell.

The Super Bowl Lives Up to Its Reputation

The 2023 Super Bowl halftime lived up to its outrageous reputation. It opened with the filth merchant, Rihanna, descending from the sky, surrounded by what could be described as dancing fallen angels! This generated more complaints than the debacle at the Grammys.

Commonwealth Games Infect the World

The Commonwealth Games last July in Birmingham, England, had 72 nations participating. Then Prince Charles was an honorary guest. It included ritualistic Baal worship in plain sight! But before that, dancers placed fingers on their heads to represent Satanic horns as they were announcing the coming of the horned beast!

The ceremony was blatant Luciferian worship. A woman eventually climbed a gigantic bull, and the crowd celebrated the woman riding the beast—right out of Revelation 17. I wish I were making this up, but I am not. This was seen by tens of millions of people around the world.

Gotthard Base Tunnel Celebrates Goat Man

We can’t leave out the Gotthard Base Tunnel ceremony of 2016. This was attended by Europe’s most powerful leaders. The opening ceremony was a dark, disturbing, and weirdly Satanic ritual.

The Gotthard Tunnel is the world’s longest tunnel project in history. It goes through the Swiss Alps and took 17 years to complete. It is considered the symbol of European unification, but does this require honoring Satan??

During the eight-hour ceremony, eventually, a goat man, or Baphomet, appears and is the star of the show! People bow down to him once again. At the end of the long ceremony, the goat man is declared “king of the world.” This, too, was televised to the world.

This Is What They Think of God

Europe threw God out of their continent decades ago, and they now seem to delight in honoring dark images! By creating overtly dark and occultic ceremonies, the elite tell the world, “This is what we believe in, this is what we think of you, and this is what we think of God.” On the day when they will be held accountable, we may hear their mourning and their regret!

SatanCon 2023

The largest Satanic gathering in history will take place April 28-30 in Boston, MA. Attendees are promised a “weekend of blasphemy and remembrance.” Years ago, maybe a few fringe weirdos would get together for something like that. But this year’s “SatanCon” was completely sold out six weeks in advance. This event reflects the tremendous evil that is rapidly growing all around us. Hundreds, if not thousands, will gather to celebrate darkness and Satan.

The Spirit of The Antichrist Is Fueling This

This unbelieving element is racing towards the kingdom of the Antichrist. It is the spirit of the Antichrist that inspires these glorifications of darkness. You would not like to be present when they are cast into eternal darkness and the eternal lake of fire. Finally, they will no longer be celebrating. They will no longer be mocking. They will be wailing and begging for a second chance.

I haven’t even described the Fox TV production in 2016 and 2017 titled Lucifer that painted him as a really good guy! Or, rapper Lil Nas X grossing out some of his closest fans by sliding down a pole to hell to give Satan a lap dance. I haven’t described another cable production titled Little Demon. I haven’t described the after-school Satan clubs designed to counter Child Evangelism Bible classes in the schools! And so much more.

Lift Up a Standard Against This!

But even as the shadow of darkness blankets our landscape, there are an ever-increasing number of embassies of the kingdom of light. We read in the Bible that there will be unspeakable darkness and a great falling away in the last days before Christ returns, but most of us probably never thought we would live to see a day quite like this.

The Bible says that “when darkness comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against it” (Isaiah 59:19). The Lord will cause our lives to impact the rampant evil surrounding us! This may be one of the very reasons God has allowed us to be born for such a time as this.

I’m trusting that you will push back against the darkness with me! Satan gets some glory now, but remember his ultimate destination: An eternal lake of fire for him and all his angels and cohorts, where their diabolical celebrations will come to an ignominious end.

www.olivetreeviews.org

I recently read a passionate article by Jonathan Brentner on the divorce of Rapture theology from the gospel and from pulpits. I so resonated with the main points he made. The absence of this topic—and related topics—from our churches today is a great tragedy!

When Rapture discussion ended some thirty years ago in the church and elsewhere, so did discussion of the Millennium, Israel’s key end-time role, the trend toward the Tribulation, the building of the third temple in Jerusalem, the prominence of end-time deception, the rush to a cashless society and Central Bank Digital Currency, and so much more!

It became almost impossible to understand the times from a biblical and prophetic perspective! And right at a time when people began asking earnest questions as they observe the turmoil of our times.

I am taking a few talking points from the Brentner article below. I will post a link to the full article at the end of the comments I am quoting.

Somewhere in the past, a tragic divorce occurred; theologians decided we must separate the return of Jesus for His church from the proclamation of the gospel. The results of this untimely divorce have led to a dearth of understanding among believers regarding Jesus’ appearing and the joyful anticipation that comes with such awareness.

Confused believers hear that they will surely die rather than meet Jesus in the air, which directly contradicts the New Testament in passages such as 1 Corinthians 15:51 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The Apostle Paul believed there would be many saints alive at the time of the Rapture, but many preachers today disagree with him on this matter.

The divorce of the Rapture from the gospel has resulted in a near blackout of teaching about our “blessed hope” in churches today. This negatively impacts new believers as well as seasoned saints, as it leaves them ill-prepared to live in a fear-ridden society because such teaching provides no prophetic context into which they can place the violence and lawlessness of our day or the push for a New World Order.

The new converts in Thessalonica were so fixated on their soon departure from the earth that when some in their midst died, they grieved unnecessarily, thinking they would miss out on the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:13-19). In response, Paul emphasized the primary place of the “dead in Christ” during the rapture, telling his converts that Jesus would resurrect them first at His appearing (4:16).

Another sorrowful result of this divorce is this: It takes the eyes of believers away from their ultimate hope at a time when they need such a focus. Instead, their eyes remain focused on earthly aspirations.

Very few pastors talk about what happens at the moment Jesus returns for His church (1 Cor. 15:51-55; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 4:16-17). Even those that believe these things never ever mention the believers’ hope of immortal bodies for fear that talking about the Rapture might hurt attendance.

Find Brentner’s entire article here.

As I wrote in a previous article, What Happened to My Church? someone made a conscious decision some 30-40 years ago that we should have a “new way of doing church,” although many members and attendees agreed there was nothing wrong with old ways of doing church. Terms began being used like “purpose-driven,” “seeker-sensitive,” “church-growth movement,” “postmodernism,” “Emergent,” and more.

Joel Osteen and his fellow travelers began telling us we could have our best life now as Christians. Who would want to long for His appearing with that in mind?

People started to hear about love, unity and tolerance. We must be known for what we agree on, not what we disagree on. Everything and everyone must be accepted. Aberrations must be accepted. People loved having their ears tickled. They would be encouraged to “feel good” and have their self-esteem built up. Sound doctrine was being set aside.

The saving of souls was being set aside for the entertainment factor and social justice causes. It seemed that many in the church no longer cared that so many were on their way to hell! What an offensive, intolerant thought. But clearly sound doctrine will separate and divide, so we must tread lightly in that area. Relevant issues have vanished from most pulpits.

Here in 2023, all of this would be called “wokism”! And a marvelous cure for wokism would be a focus on the fact that the King is coming—perhaps today. Pulpits that are focusing on this glorious good news are growing exponentially, and don’t have to worry about church growth!

We feature Brentner’s book, The Triumph of the Redeemed, highlighted below, and highly recommend it. It will be an uplifting, encouraging read in our rapidly-darkening world.

www.olivetreeviews.org