The Issues in the World: The Seen and the Unseen.
First, I want to commiserate again with those who lost their loved ones on September 11 n , 2001. I also salute the memory of all those who paid the supreme price for the United States of America to protect people from violence of mankind against humanity. May the Lord give you lasting comfort for the irreparable damages you suffered.
“Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not he n r King in her? Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images—with foreign idols? The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved! For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt. I am mourning; astonishment has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? n Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people?” (Jer. 8:19-22). Where is the world heading? The most common and expected answer from those who read the Bible even if just theoretically or mentally is that the world is coming to an end, i.e. n , these horrible events are occurring because it was predicted they would happen at the end of times. This assumption, though true, is not helpful to the cause of human beings because it has given mankind, including the true believers, a wrong sense of judgment of what we should be doing and how we n ought to approach the situation. Our frame of mind and inclination not to be bothered while evils are going on around us – even against our neighbors – because we believe it is the last days does not appear to be the appropriate thing to do. It shows that most of us, including Bible scholars, have m n isread or are misunderstanding the words of Christ concerning the last days.
For the records, this is what Jesus told His disciples concerning the end of times: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you n will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. n All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive n many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Mat 24:4-14)
Though th n ese were the words of Jesus some thousands of years ago, they do not suggest that Jesus would come back in my lifetime and it does not also suggest that He will not come tomorrow. Living our lives therefore as if we do not care if everything in our world falls apart now because the n end of the world is about to come is preposterous; and will continue to create problems for not only us but the generations to come. It will appear stupid if the end doesn’t come as soon as we thought and we live here on earth longer to witness the rottenness of a society we seem careless about an n d which is yet to release us to go to our dream home. Even when we eventually die before the coming of Christ, it will be hard for our memory when our next generations find themselves in a more difficult world than we lived. It will be a disservice to our great grandchildren who will be on this plan n et for many years after us, when we watch to see our world destroyed without any intervention because we thought Jesus would come quicker than God has planned.
Our Lord told His disciples that there would be many signs of the end but the end would not be now. He also added that the gospel w n ill be preached in all nations of the world before the world comes to an end. Furthermore, He told His disciples that: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” It is therefore crazy to be less concerned while the world around us is melting away in destruction because “the end is about to come”. The main reason He told us was to warn us ahead so that when such events come and we are impacted, we will hold on tightly to our faith. He did not tell us so that we can relax and watch the world being destroyed by Satan. He told us all these t n o strengthen our resolve and to motivate us to evangelize and make known to people the way of salvation. It is a call to be committed to speaking the truth in love even when the majority is married to lies, sins and wickedness – “Occupy until I come”. The reason Jesus told His d n isciples they would be the target of the wicked people is because they are the pillar of truth and truth bites people and the people will seek to kill the truth.
Multiple issues are happening around the world and most of them point to the collapse of lives and human values on earth. Some of n the issues are mind-boggling but some people say they didn’t just start yesterday. I have been here long enough to know a few things about the world I am in. The world today is not getting better; rather it is getting worse. The tragedy is that we have not learned from errors of the past and seem n to be repeating the same things all over. Also, Satan often gives us false hope that certain things will not happen to us. It is stupid to believe such suggestions of the devil because he’s only setting us up for failure as he plans to destroy us. That was the reason Jesus told His disciples,
T n he modern-day press in the world only reports stories that further their interest. There are possibilities that some sections of the press suppress stories that do not suit their objectives or fit into their interest. The issue of Afghanistan has been known widely across the world, not because of Af n ghanistan, but because America, a dominant world power, is involved. It would probably not have been big news if not for the United States of America. For over ten years, Nigeria has been devastated by religious genocides. The last six years in Nigeria of its current civil government has turned the n nation into a theater of absurdity. Church leaders and faithful Christians have been killed and property destroyed. Farmers in Nigeria can no longer farm because several farmers have been gunned down by the “Fulani Herdsmen.” Kidnapping has grown astronomically without checks by any authority. I n t is not just difficult to travel by road in some areas of that country, it is actually unsafe to stay home peacefully. Bandits have visited people in their homes and either killed them or kidnapped them for ransom. There are more than four high schools in which hundreds of children n have been kidnapped by bandits with many of them not yet returned to their parents. This does not generate buzz on the news either because the victims are Christians or because those lives do not appear to be newsworthy.
However, America will continue to stand out among the n committee of nations for many years to come despite the struggle to bring the nation down by the rivaling nations in the world. The reason is because the foundation of America was built on Judeo-Christian principles. Judeo-Christian values are based on the truth, and the truth is the key to succes n s of any society. You may not like it; Christianity is the body of truth because the founder is the only truth that the world has known. Anything outside Jesus Christ is a deception that results in calamity. Never mind some of the issues in the Church (done by the enemy of the cross n within the Church); the Church remains the most viable alternative to what Satan is selling to the world. Prophets Isaiah and Micah both foretold that: “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, an n d all nations will stream to it.” (Isa. 2:2 & Micah 4:1). People will be delivered through the Sanctuary of the Lord.
No one can deny that America is a super power by the grace of God. I wrote a book in 2012, published by Redemption Press, titled: Saving America: The War We Can’t Ig n nore to show the importance of guarding the Judeo-Christian values in America. The United States of America is the only nation not yet conquered by Islam. Islam has been hijacked by extremists who are set to conquer or destroy the ‘infidels’ who do not share their religious views. M n atters of faith are personal and no one should be coerced as to what they believe or should believe. It is only Islamic extremists that believe others who don’t share their opinion must die. In Christianity, you are responsible for your repentance and salvation. Christians are only respon n sible for sharing their faith and experiences with people but not to force anyone to believe them. When Jesus Christ sent His disciples out to evangelize, He charged them: “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. And whoever will not receive you nor hear yo n u, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.” (Mark 6: 10-11). They were to preach and not to kill. Unfortunately, anywhere the Islamic extremists have their way, every other opinion is subjugated.
Closely followi n ng Islamic jihadists is the modern-day politicking. Political violence and atrocities used to be known in the developing world. Not anymore. Extreme political views have taken over the world space, including in Europe and America. I slowed down writing because every opinion in the world today and pa n rticularly in America is seen as politics. Even a preacher who speaks the words of prophecies on the church pulpit is sometimes presumed to be politicking. But not all of us are obsessed with politics and its antics. It is true that politics affects our economic and social lives. Activities of polit n icians and government policies largely impact our wellbeing and that of the people. But we will not cave into the political systems of the world which are destroying nations. In the past, a government change and transition in America and in some nations of Europe did not negatively n impact the citizens because the leaders in political parties were generally committed to the interest of the nation’s citizens. The responsibilities of government are to defend the citizens, protect them and their properties. The leaders agreed on these fundamentals irrespective of their political n views. That was how the nation of America has survived for over three hundred years.
In the early days of politics in Israel when the Jews demanded for a king, it was not about the king but about the kingdom of God. The king listened to the voice of God and listened to the prophets that wer n e truly sent by God. Confusion often arose when the king didn’t listen to God or the prophets of God but chose to do what seemed good to him. The will of God is the comfort and peace of the people which result in the happiness of the people. The Bible says: “When the righteous are in aut n hority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” (Pro. 29:2). The righteous is the leader that listens to God and does the will of God in the governance of the people. That appears to have changed. The political parties and government now operate on political id n eologies in governance. Political ideology is the worst form of language-confusion since the Tower of Babel. It’s not straightforward. It’s intriguing and the greatest dichotomy Satan sold to mankind in governing one another. In ideology, politicians make promises they know may n not happen. It’s no longer what God wanted for the nation but what the aspiring leader thought he or she could do. Many times, such an agenda would appear to be the program that would improve the lives of people or make the people happy, but most of the time, this is not true.
Ideology als n o comes with differences of approach and programs of governance introduced, not because God wanted it, but to create divisions among the people on governance. Ideology creates division with the opposition party, and governance often becomes crazy in the implementation of the ideology. In the midst o n f this, some group who loves God and wants to do the will of God put some program together somewhat to do what God wants them to do based on the Bible but also in another identical ideology. Often, Christians are persuaded because of their Christian faith and background to buy into it. But not all o n f that may be God-led. But I agree that we should contribute in whatever way we can to the governance of our society. Satan is raising multiple associations of evils proliferating ideologies to oppose the will of God. Nations and groups have been enlisted by Satan to organize groups with different i n deological activities to counter the Christian teachings. These groups are often united against anything that represents God. This opposition against righteousness is united, not because their ideologies are identical or similar, but to gang up against righteousness. For example, in America, gays, M n uslims, and atheists cooperate as a political force to wrestle power from the government that seems to favor righteousness or Judeo-Christian values.
But it is a joke that Islam and homosexuals can safely dine together. The truth is that gays and lesbians are not safe under n an Islamic jihadist’s government. In the communist world, the communist’s ideology often suggests promotion of welfare of the people. But as soon as a communist government takes power, they try to play God and make everyone bow to their will. The events unfolding everywhere in the world and par n ticularly in Europe and America in the social and political life of the nation is scary. Unfortunately, not many people know that these events are spiritual. Behaviors, characters and policy decisions of political leaders are largely influenced by Satan. Sometimes, some of these lea n ders are under siege by the evil one. We may not be able to see this to appreciate the issues. Our understanding and arguments are based on what we can see. The truth is that what we cannot see is far bigger than what we see. The Bible says, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against n principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12). The wiles of the devil are at work among mankind. It is an issue of unrighteousness vs. righteousness, and darkness vs. light. There is a strug n gle for the soul of this world, not really with God who created everything but by the spiritual rebels against the throne of God. Every activity on earth is loaded spiritually. Nothing happens in the physical with no spiritual drive. But can those evil spirits topple God? Not possible. Evil n can only show up for a time, but it will eventually surrender to the superpower of God.
The lack of the understanding of this fact of the spiritual side of life is the major cause of the failures in various areas of life in the world. We often ignorantly direct our attention to each other and we miss the target of attack when the world is sinking daily. Mankind is at war against itself when Satan, the main cause of the issues, keeps deceiving humanity that he does not exist. While evils pervade the earth, the people continue to doubt if there’s anyone called Satan. They see evils everyday but they deny the man behind the evils. And the key people who continue to sell the idea of Satan’s fiction are inhabited by Satan’s spirit. Satan sells the dummy that he does not exist so that people will not care to be girded against him. So then, where are the prophets of God? Why are these issues of violence and destruction going on in various nations and communities on earth without any check? “Are there no prophets in the land?” asked Jeremiah concerning Zion. Jeremiah, who lived in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah was among the prophets of old who were a control on evils perpetrated by political leaders and privileged individuals and groups against the people of their days. When Israel was under the siege of the Moab, King Jehoshaphat desperately asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” (2 Kings 3:11).
The modern-day political leaders who are supposed to brainstorm on how to defend the nation and protect the people are occupied with how to get the population divided for political advantage. They employ every satanic method at their disposal to divide the people. The resources which should have been deployed to bring about reconciliations among races, languages and religious differences are used to magnify these differences in order to exploit and have hold on the people. The issues of this world will continue to be worse unless the church rises to its responsibilities. It is time to watch and pray. Watching is finding out the mind of God in faith and doing something as the Lord directs. Praying is talking to God to help to do and to accomplish His will. Unfortunately, while Satan is creating division among the people, Church leaders are complicit in helping to legitimize the activities of the devil. For personal gains and for reasons that not beneficial to the body of Christ, they support the enemies of the Church, who are working against the Church
What’s the point? Since the event of the Tower of Babel, and the confusion of the language of humanity, mankind has not been helpful to each other, rather, they have acted as adversaries to one another. Mankind has been self-centered and acted for Satan to buffet, punish and make life miserable for one another. That is not God but a sin-afflicted human soul. But mankind often appears to be one and united in one thing – against anything to do with God or God’s name. Check out our politicians, and their alignments; check out the mainstream press all over the world; check out the powerful interest groups in the world; check out emerging religious outfits in the world including some sections of the church (the enemies within). Their association is based only on one understanding: opposing God’s words. I am writing in detail about this in my upcoming book “The Mysteries of God”. The anti-Christ may emerge from one or more of these interest groups. If you do not believe Satan exists, you might have to check again because time is running out, either on you or on your world.
Michael Jolayemi is church leader, teacher, and author of the books – Saving America: The war we can’t ignore; and Sheltered through the storm: The Travails and ultimate triumph of the Church.
