Post by Cindy on May 12, 2016 7:38:30 GMT -5
As I've been studying the end times again lately, it seems to me that one of the things that's happening is that it's getting harder for people to be saved. God hasn't changed and the requirements for salvation haven't changed of course, but it seems that sin has become so rampant that it's hardening hearts making it harder for people to be saved.
We know that sin does harden a person's heart and we also know that each time a person is given the opportunity to accept God's gift of salvation and doesn't act on it, that too hardens their heart a little more. We also know that hearts can be hardened to the point that even if they changed their mind and decided they did want to be saved, that they couldn't be. This is one area that I felt that the Left Behind books dealt with beautifully, as it can be very hard to explain. They showed it for what it is: spiritual warfare. Satan, our flesh and the world, don't want us to be saved, and they fight against it. When a person hears the gospel it's like they're in the midst of an internal war, with part of them wanting to respond and part of them wanting to run away or say "no". Each time the gospel is presented to them, or they're reminded of it and have a chance to act on it again, this internal battle becomes more fierce. In the books, by the end of the tribulation, the authors showed it as though the battle actually becomes physical in some ways in that the people looked like they were fighting a war within themselves and for the few that were saved afterward, they'd say that's exactly what it felt like...like they were in a wrestling match for their very lives. This has always been true, but I think that as sin becomes worse and more acceptable in the world, and as the church becomes more corrupted, that this battle has increased and shows up by fewer people being saved, and by it taking longer, in general for those people to get saved.
It's all really because of the sin going on. Of course there's always been sin, but the bible shows us that sin accumulates and gets worse as time goes on. Remember how it got so bad that God destroyed the earth with a flood? Well before that happened, sin had infected everything: plant life, animal life, sea life, and even the ground and air itself, as well as mankind. That's why the Lord destroyed everything.
We're seeing that happen again. To me, I see it as a cumulative effect. Sin has built up over the centuries in everything around us, hence we even have more diseases, in spite of the fact that science and medicine have come so far. Not only do we have more diseases, but the old ones are even worse then they were before. Everything seems to be "worse" in some way. We see it in the animal life, the animals attacking more humans, or attacking other animals they didn't normally attack. (and we know that will be one of the judgments during the trib too) We see it in nature as sin has affected the earth and atmosphere itself, so we see it in more storms, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, volcanoes, etc. (and again we know these too will be part of the judgments during the trib) Recently we've even been suddenly seeing more asteroids coming close to the earth, which I admit immediately made me think of the trib judgments too!
The point is that all these are indications of the massive amount of sin in this world and we know that's only going to continue to get worse. I think it stands to reason therefore that sin is also making it more difficult for folks to be saved. People's hearts are harder "in general" to start with, at least so it seems. In our country especially, most people think they know all about God and Jesus, just because their parents made them go to Sunday School, and they’ve overheard it being spoken about all through their lives. Sadly, most of these people don’t have a clue who Jesus is or what God requires for a person to be saved. So even though there are more opportunities for people to hear the gospel, what with the internet, the many other devices besides computers, like smart phones, etc, and the media of course, fewer people are being saved.
One other quick point that I think is interesting.... this seems more true in "civilized countries" then in third world countries. In the really poor countries where the people have nothing, God continues to work miracles through missionaries like He did in Bible times, people are saved quickly and love Him with a passion that would seem fanatical to most Christians in a civilized country like the US. It seems like the more civilized a country gets, the more prosperous it becomes and the more technology they possess, the less you find God working miracles or people being saved, or being passionate about Him when they are saved; and the more you see doubters, and the double minded.
We know that sin does harden a person's heart and we also know that each time a person is given the opportunity to accept God's gift of salvation and doesn't act on it, that too hardens their heart a little more. We also know that hearts can be hardened to the point that even if they changed their mind and decided they did want to be saved, that they couldn't be. This is one area that I felt that the Left Behind books dealt with beautifully, as it can be very hard to explain. They showed it for what it is: spiritual warfare. Satan, our flesh and the world, don't want us to be saved, and they fight against it. When a person hears the gospel it's like they're in the midst of an internal war, with part of them wanting to respond and part of them wanting to run away or say "no". Each time the gospel is presented to them, or they're reminded of it and have a chance to act on it again, this internal battle becomes more fierce. In the books, by the end of the tribulation, the authors showed it as though the battle actually becomes physical in some ways in that the people looked like they were fighting a war within themselves and for the few that were saved afterward, they'd say that's exactly what it felt like...like they were in a wrestling match for their very lives. This has always been true, but I think that as sin becomes worse and more acceptable in the world, and as the church becomes more corrupted, that this battle has increased and shows up by fewer people being saved, and by it taking longer, in general for those people to get saved.
It's all really because of the sin going on. Of course there's always been sin, but the bible shows us that sin accumulates and gets worse as time goes on. Remember how it got so bad that God destroyed the earth with a flood? Well before that happened, sin had infected everything: plant life, animal life, sea life, and even the ground and air itself, as well as mankind. That's why the Lord destroyed everything.
We're seeing that happen again. To me, I see it as a cumulative effect. Sin has built up over the centuries in everything around us, hence we even have more diseases, in spite of the fact that science and medicine have come so far. Not only do we have more diseases, but the old ones are even worse then they were before. Everything seems to be "worse" in some way. We see it in the animal life, the animals attacking more humans, or attacking other animals they didn't normally attack. (and we know that will be one of the judgments during the trib too) We see it in nature as sin has affected the earth and atmosphere itself, so we see it in more storms, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, volcanoes, etc. (and again we know these too will be part of the judgments during the trib) Recently we've even been suddenly seeing more asteroids coming close to the earth, which I admit immediately made me think of the trib judgments too!
The point is that all these are indications of the massive amount of sin in this world and we know that's only going to continue to get worse. I think it stands to reason therefore that sin is also making it more difficult for folks to be saved. People's hearts are harder "in general" to start with, at least so it seems. In our country especially, most people think they know all about God and Jesus, just because their parents made them go to Sunday School, and they’ve overheard it being spoken about all through their lives. Sadly, most of these people don’t have a clue who Jesus is or what God requires for a person to be saved. So even though there are more opportunities for people to hear the gospel, what with the internet, the many other devices besides computers, like smart phones, etc, and the media of course, fewer people are being saved.
One other quick point that I think is interesting.... this seems more true in "civilized countries" then in third world countries. In the really poor countries where the people have nothing, God continues to work miracles through missionaries like He did in Bible times, people are saved quickly and love Him with a passion that would seem fanatical to most Christians in a civilized country like the US. It seems like the more civilized a country gets, the more prosperous it becomes and the more technology they possess, the less you find God working miracles or people being saved, or being passionate about Him when they are saved; and the more you see doubters, and the double minded.