This article was originally published by The Stream

By Bunni Pounds

Christians have a foundational truth in their arsenal that puts everything in our lives into perspective. It doesn’t make sense to unbelievers, but it is what gives us joy, peace and hope: Jesus is coming back.

Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. (2 Thessalonians 2:15)

When it feels like darkness is prevailing and we see bad news  everywhere we turn, there is still HOPE! 

Bombarded With Evil

Whenever I look at my phone, I feel like I am being bombarded with evil. Just look at the movies and shows that have been released recently, which are targeting Gen Z to literally destroy them! The most degenerate acts — including explicit scenes and every abominable sin the Lord condemns in Leviticus 18 — are marketed to an impressionable audience via screens both big and small as good and pleasurable, but they are poison. Meanwhile, children are being indoctrinated with LGBTQ ideology from grade school through college, and it’s taking root in their self-identification and behavior. 

When our country feels endlessly filled with evil, we begin to ask ourselves when Jesus will come and rectify all this unrighteousness.

Signs of the Times

But we were told these things would happen. God’s Word promises there will be a great “falling away” — an apostasy, people turning away from the truth to embrace lies. Nearly 60 years ago, a generation that wanted to take God out of our public discourse succeeded in removing prayer and the Bible from public schools. We have now seen the resulting vacuum filled with gender ideology, critical race theory, the sexualization of our children and more. We see statues of Satan installed in state capitol buildings; we see celebrities and influencers mocking Jesus and the Christian faith.

It may not feel like it at times, but this is all part of God’s perfect plan. He is turning the people who knowingly cause these things over to their own wickedness (Romans 1:24—32). The current signs of prevailing evil are all signs that Jesus is returning soon.

Getting to Work

Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. (2 Thessalonians 2:6)

Yes, the Bible promises that lawlessness will abound — but does that mean we should just roll over and watch it happen? No! God commissions us in His Word to keep doing what is right, because Jesus is coming soon! We cannot stand idly by as lawlessness grows. We cannot be passive. We must do all that we can to share the Gospel with others, to share the Good News with people who don’t yet know the Lord as we expect and look for His return.

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)

Where Our Hope Lies

Jesus Christ has chosen us and called us to walk with Him. Isn’t that great news? We do not have to fear that we will be apostate, because God has chosen us from the beginning to be part of His kingdom, and we responded to His call. We do not need to fear the lawlessness of the world — the evil, the sin — because God has grafted us into His family. We do not have to strive. We do not have to stress. It is not by our own works that we accomplish anything, but by what Christ has done in us. We can find peace and rest knowing that before the beginning of the world, God already knew us and knew we would live in this generation of turmoil.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. (2 Thessalonians 2:16)

Stand Fast

We have been commissioned to stand fast and hold to what Christ taught (2 Thessalonians 2:15), to love God and our neighbors as well, even in a turbulent time. Establish yourself in good work. Be kind to one another, admonish one another, love one another. In the words of Allie Beth Stuckey, a Millennial who is speaking boldly in her generation, “Do the next right thing in faith, with excellence, and for the glory of God.”

Whether you are getting more involved in your local church, volunteering on a service team in your community, leading a Bible study group, or getting involved in politics, take courage. We are holding fast to the promise of the Word of God, and we are looking and waiting for Christ’s soon return. He is coming quickly. And we can put our hope in this.

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20)

Bunni Pounds recently joined James and Betty Robison on Life Today to discuss “Engaging in Government.” Watch the video here.

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