“And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many, and because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.” (Matt. 24:11,12 NAS)
It is well known that one of the greatest challenges facing believers in the end times is deception, but are you aware of the second one? While deception increases, so will lawlessness. These two work hand in hand. Paul tells us about “the mystery of lawlessness that is already at work” (2Thess. 1:7). This mystery will culminate in the revealing of the anti-Christ, the man of lawlessness (2Thess. 1:3).
In his book, Touching The Heart of God, the author Ernest J. Gruen described a vision the Lord showed him concerning the spirit of lawlessness. The vision he saw was a hand formed into a fist. The Lord explained to him that it represented the spirit forces against America. The Lord was teaching the author how to pray effectively. The fingers were different spirit forces, but the thumb represented the spirit of lawlessness. Without the thumb, the grip had no strength. The thumb was the key to the stronghold of the enemy. To be effective in prayer for the country, he had to bind the spirit of lawlessness. That was the case in 1986 when the book was published; is it any less the case today? Not only for America, but for the entire world?
Understanding the mystery of lawlessness will help us to pray effectively, and to keep us from being deceived by the events around us. The world is slowly moving towards the revealing of the man of lawlessness. A conditioning to lawlessness is occurring because the nations are being manipulated towards accepting this leader when he appears. Multiple times in history, we have seen leaders rise who possessed the character of the anti-Christ. They were not the one, but they operated in the same spirit. When the conditions are ripe, the devil himself will give him “his power and his throne and great authority” (Rev. 13:3). We do not know when all this will occur, but it is important for us to understand that the mystery of lawlessness is already at work in our world.
When our eyes are open to this mystery, we can discern the activities of lawlessness in the politics and economies of the world. It may be obvious in countries where the officials are unethical, but the workings of the forces of evil can still be discerned in every nation. The important thing to keep in mind is that we wrestle against principalities and powers of darkness (Eph. 6:12). Human officials are continually influenced by these forces because the devil opposes God through humans. Even the disciples of Jesus were sometimes misled by human thinking. “But He (Jesus) turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interest, but man’s.’” (Matt. 16:23 NAS). We must continually lift our leaders up in prayer for God’s will to be done. Too often, believers neglect prayer and instead try to wage war in the flesh. We must rise above the natural, and by discerning correctly, believe for the good and resist the evil. When our prayers are sincere, our faith will also be reflected in our words and action, but it must begin in prayer.
What is of great concern to me is how so many believers in Canada and the United States are not discerning the spirit of lawlessness. The message I bring is not popular, but regardless, I am under obligation to declare it. I can easily understand when unbelievers disregard the deceptions of political leaders, but when leaders in the church repeat the same lies, the salt is near losing its saltiness. How is it that something like the insurrection of January 6 can be ignored by the church? We have our political agendas, and we reason that if leaders help us achieve our goals, then we can ignore their lawless deeds. But what are the long-term consequences? As Shakespeare would say, “Does the end justify the means?”.
You may be thinking that I have no right to speak of the events in the United States because I am a Canadian. I speak because the church has no national boundaries. Even so, the problem is not just limited to the United States. When the Freedom Convoy occurred in Ottawa, I was at first cheering it on. It seemed like a brilliant peaceful way to protest the overreaches of our government. But what was supposed to be a weekend event, turned into an occupation of the downtown core of our Capital. Although I was in favour of the message, I was not in favour of the means taken to deliver it. What concerned me more at the time was how church leaders were justifying it, as it went on.
Why does all this matter so much? If democratic countries yield to lawlessness, it makes way for the man of lawlessness to rise and form a one-world government. What this will do is bring judgment upon all those who reject Christ, but the Lord delays His return because He is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2Pe. 3:9). If the church loses its saltiness, “It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” (Matt. 5:13 NAS). The Lord is sending messengers to warn His people because He does not want this to happen. The Church has a priestly function on this earth. We must stand in the gap to intercede for the nations. How can we do that if we fail to discern correctly?
In the Book of Malachi we read that the Lord will come “to” His people before He comes “for” His people (Mal. 3:1). This is the promise of a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit which will bring about the great end-time harvest; but it will also bring judgment. “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fuller’s soap.” (Mal. 3:2). My desire is that you will be ready for the appearing of our Lord, so if you find that you are ignorant of this mystery of lawlessness, I say with the Apostle Paul, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Eph. 5:14 NAS).
Highway in the Wilderness 