Is the lawlessness in the U.S. in 2020 a short-lived phenomenon, or part of a larger mystery intended to weaken our country and prepare the way for the antichrist?
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The Mystery of Lawlessness
The killing of George Floyd released lawlessness across the country in ways not seen in most of our lifetimes. After publishing a post exploring this lawlessness, I soon realized the recent upheaval was just a slice of a broader mystery – the mystery of lawlessness.
So what is the mystery of lawlessness?
When the apostle Paul speaks of mysteries, he speaks of heavenly truths hidden from man until an appointed time. Specifically, he explained that the mystery of lawlessness is that if we reject the truth, God will allow delusion to come upon us, making us vulnerable to deception.
We see this in Romans 1:18-32 where Paul states God “gave them up” to unclean or dishonorable things because they denied truth. Although this phrase conveys a passive act of God, Paul tells us He will actively send delusion in the time of the antichrist. Paul states, “Therefore God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie: that they all might be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness,” (2 Thess. 2:11). See also (Rev. 6:1-2).
The antichrist spirit knows this mystery, and uses it, turning us from the truth so we will fall to delusion. (2 Thess. 2:9-10, Matt. 24:24, Rev. 13:13-14)
Even though this mystery and the antichrist spirit have been with us since at least the time of the apostles (2 Thess. 2:7, 1 John 4:3). Jesus told us that the increase in their presence will be a sign of the end-times (Matthew 24:12).
So is the lawlessness manifesting in the U.S. a sign of the end-times work of the antichrist? I believe so. But is it possible that the lawlessness we are experiencing sprouted from seeds planted decades ago?
The Antichrist Spirit Seeded Lawlessness in our Societal Structure
The antichrist spirit attacks the foundations of truth to cause lawlessness. Similar to Jesus’ analogy of a house built on a rock, if you can break the foundation, the house can not withstand storms.
The antichrist spirit’s work started by attacking the foundations of our societal structure.
The seeds began with one strategic move about 60 years ago. It started when parents of schoolchildren of New York schools sued to disallow a non-denomination prayer in school. A simple prayer that acknowledged our dependence on God caused such offense to these parents that they took their case all the way the the Supreme Court.
Through two decisions, the Supreme Court effectively removed Bible teaching from public education. Consequently, our country’s youth were deprived of God’s foundational truths and became vulnerable. In the absence of the knowledge of truth, the antichrist spirit spread deceit and delusions resulted.
Walls crumbled. Social norms deteriorated. Drug use surged. Premarital sex soared. Teen pregnancies grew. Soon abortion was legalized and babies were sacrificed at the altar of our lifestyles. The absurd lie that abortion is essential healthcare is now solidified in much of our society.
With the foundation of families and the marriage of man and woman failing, marriage lost its meaning. Divorces became normal, then same-sex marriages ensued. Now even the foundations of God-created genders have been discarded with gender transition beliefs. Family roles, especially the roles of fathers have crumbled causing a loss of respect for authority.
For over five decades much of our country fell under delusion as prescribed under the mystery of lawlessness.
Our foundations had been cracked, and the walls our societal structure had deteriorated.
The year was 2016. A new President was to be elected.
Now a whole new level of attacks on our country’s truths were being staged. So why would the antichrist spirit be furiously ramping up his attacks on the United States now?
The Antichrist Spirit Now Seeds Lawlessness in our Government
The election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States presented a threat. Much of the progress of the antichrist spirit were threatened; abortion, Christian persecution, same-sex marriage, and transgender rights.
In addition, the U.S. is Israel’s greatest supporter, and President Trump has been the most supportive President of Israel since Harry Truman. A strong U.S. that supports Israel would stand in opposition to the coming antichrist and his invasion of Israel (Zech. 14, Ez. 38).
As a result, the antichrist spirit manipulated the delusional society it helped create to attack our government.
So is there a real threat to our democracy as we know it from these attacks? Let’s analyze the current threats.
Demonizing our Country’s Founding Fathers
Truth: Imperfect men founded our country in imperfect times. Some founders participated in slavery, but many others were staunch opponents of slavery (see article from Smithsonian Magazine).
The establishment of our country took compromise, but the founders had a greater vision for the future. They envisioned a country where men are equal, justice is established, the country is secure, liberties are guaranteed, and where free markets provide prosperity. They created a framework for which slavery could eventually be abolished.
Delusion: The founding fathers were racist white supremacists who built the nation on the slaughtering of minorities and their legacy should be removed.
Example: Newsbusters reported several summary comments voiced in the media related to President Trump’s Independence Day speech at Mt. Rushmore. Here is just a sampling of these accusations against the founders and the country:
- We Must ‘Eliminate’ Founders, Statues of ‘White Supremacy’ from the ‘American Story’ – MSNBC’s PoliticsNation host Al Sharpton
- America Is a ‘Lie’ and ‘Myth’ That Was Never ‘Great’; GOP ‘History’ Is ‘White Resentment’ – MSNBC political analyst and PBS correspondent Yamiche Alcindor
- Mt. Rushmore Presidents Embodied ‘Ideals of White Supremacy,’ ‘Slaughter’ of Minorities – MSNBC correspondent Trymaine Lee
- Maybe We Should ‘Demolish’ All Statues of Founding Fathers – MSNBC host Joshua Johnson
The Destruction of Historical Monuments
Truth: Our monuments are reminders of our history; both glorious and shameful. You could argue that some statues that represent racism should be removed, and I would agree with you. However, this must be done in a lawful process that considers the original intent of the monument and the historical context of its dedication – not by mob rule.
Delusion: All monuments represent an evil past and must be viewed through the present politically correct lens. Anything found offensive may be torn down by those offended and replaced with the current ideals of those offended.
Example: Monuments have been indiscriminately damaged. Under the delusion of the mystery, protesters vandalized several monuments that actually represented the fight against slavery and racism.
Democracy
Truth: The leaders of our republic are to be elected to a term and remain in place for the full term. If a President proves unpopular, they can be replaced by vote at the end of their term. A President should only be removed from office if found guilty of an impeachable offense; treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
Delusion: A President that threatens the ideals of a subset of the population should be removed by any means. Every hint of scandal should be pursued to its fullest extent. In the meantime the media should smear the President with accusations until the public believes the story-line.
Example: Russian scandal against President Trump was pursued aggressively despite questionable and conflicted sources and no hard evidence.
Law Enforcement
Truth: Evil exists in this world and forces are needed that have both authority and power to carry out that authority else evil will prevail. This stretches from our country’s borders to our homes’ borders. The current delusional culture has little respect for police authority, which frequently results in an over-use of power. There is a minority of racist individuals in the police force, and monitoring is required to deal with these cases.
Delusion: Border security and enforcement is xenophobic and anti-immigrant. Cities must rebel from these unjust laws, becoming sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants and refusing to cooperate with immigration law enforcement. Immigration law enforcement (ICE) must be abolished.
Police are overwhelmingly racist and a danger to our communities. Anyone may resist their authority. Police forces must be minimized, defunded or even abolished. More funding for social programs will prevent criminal activity.
Example: The highly praised experimental police-free CHAZ/CHOP area in Seattle soon became a haven for criminal activity. According to Reuters, the Seattle Chief of Police was quoted as saying, “the CHOP has become lawless and brutal. Four shootings — two fatal — robberies, assaults, violence and countless property crimes have occurred in this several-block area.”
Capitalism
Truth: U.S. citizens have prospered under capitalism and business-friendly governments, which has led to lower unemployment and decreased poverty.
Delusion: Corporations are greedy and cannot be trusted. Socialism is an altruistic system and provides for its people.
Example: Venezuela, an oil rich country turned to an impoverished society in upheaval against a socialist dictator in just a matter of years. This delusion is so strong in the U.S. that socialist Bernie Sanders almost became the democrats’ Presidential candidate.
Freedom of Speech
Truth: The expression of views and opinions are vital for a free society even those views that may offend listeners. In a free society people can evaluate facts and decide their own opinions and views. It is the media’s role to to report on these facts and be held to standards of integrity.
Delusion: Views and opinions that do not conform to what activists believe are to be squashed. The sources of those views are to be punished by any means necessary; boycotting their business, trashing their name, or even violently attacking them. It is the media’s responsibility to tell the population what to believe based on greater good as understood by the intellectually elite journalists.
Example: Protestors and groups like Antifa fight deny speech that they find offensive to their ideals, even using violence to limit conservative speech. The “cancel culture” seeks to punish those with views opposing activist views.
The situation in the media was most eloquently stated by former New York Times opinion columnist and editor Bari Weiss. In a published letter announcing her resignation she called out the state of the liberal media, writing, “Instead, a new consensus has emerged in the press, but perhaps especially at this paper: that truth isn’t a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else.“
So I’ll answer the question I posed at the beginning of this section, “is there a real threat to our democracy as we know it from these attacks?” Yes. There is.
The target of these attacks are our very foundations. If we lose these foundations our government will be substantially different and our democracy substantially weakened.
So how do us believers overcome these times?
How Believers Overcome
How do believer’s overcome the antichrist spirit? By the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony (Rev. 12:11). By the blood, we are clean and our hearts are transformed. By this, we can recognize truth.
But, we do not overcome by the blood alone, but by the word of our testimony. We must be vocal. We must speak truth to overcome. But take Paul’s advice, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you should answer everyone.” (Col. 4:6)
Remember, the antichrist spirit will attempt deceive even the elect (Matt. 24:24). By holding to the truth and speaking it, we will not fall into the trap of the mystery of lawlessness and be subject to the delusion.
Post Script – Did George Washington Actually Warn Us of the Mystery of Lawlessness?
As if speaking to us from the past, George Washington actually spoke of the mystery of lawlessness in his Inauguration Address!
Washington said “We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and the right which heaven itself has ordained.”
Did you catch that? Washington directly connected the disregard of God’s law to God removing His blessings from a country. This is the essence of the mystery of lawlessness.