The weapon against depravity and our darker nature is piety. Focusing on our Lord God Jesus Christ and drinking in His presence while reading Scripture and praying. The problem is culture in America, Europe, and parts of Asia (Malaysia) is increasingly impious. Between 10,000 churches closing a year in the USA, most European churches being converted into mosques, and the number of Nones (no religious affiliation) growing from 5% in 1993 to 25% in 2013-16 in the US, and those numbers even being larger in Europe, we are seeing the West plunge into unprecedented levels of unbelief. We must as Christians face the fact that our Lord God Jesus’ own prophecy is coming true, “I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man (Jesus see Luke 9:22, Mark 14:62, Hebrews 2:6-9, Mark 2:10) returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?" (Luke 18:8), and “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it,” (Matthew 7:14), and Christ is that gate, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” (John 10:9). Our Lord wasn’t cryptic, He made if clear that there would be a falling away from the faith in the end of days, “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away [from the faith and abandon me] and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.” (Matthew 24:9-13). The Apostle Paul under auspices of the Holy Spirit paints the same picture, “day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come (day of the Lord’s Return) unless the apostasy [falling away from the faith] comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:2-4). So what we are seeing with the rise of Nones is nothing other than a fulfillment of end time’s prophecies from Christ himself and the Apostles.
The question is what are we Christians fo do in an increasingly none believing world? The answer is found in Scripture, “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved,” (Matthew 24:13), “This means that God's holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus,” (Revelation 14:12), “And the dragon was enraged at the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore,” (Revelation 12:17), “If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed." Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints,” (Revelation 13:10), “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong,” (1 Corinthians 16:13), “For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord,” (1 Thessalonians 3:8), “Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter,” (2 Thessalonians 2:15), “Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,” (Philippians 1:27), “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm,” (1 Corinthians 15:1), and, “I pray that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,” (Ephesians 3:16). We see in these verses that we must hold io testimony of Jesus (John 6:40, John 3:16-18), hold to Gospel as preached in the New Testament, Be strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit, and cling to the traditions that are preached in the New Testament (2 Thessalonians 2:15). We must cling strongly to our ginosko/epignosko relationship with the Lord Trinity and hold to the Gospel of Christ Jesus, and keep the traditions like celebrating Christmas (Christ’s birth).
The Apostles, and our Lord God Jesus Christ lived in hostile climates. The Romans were severe and assaulted the Church, Herod Antipas killed James the Apostle (Acts 12:1-3), and the Jews who would not believe the Evangelion persecuted the Apostle Paul (Acts 17:10-13). We are now entering into a similar period, and the Nones are a sign that Constantine’s Church of Gold and Mammon is falling, and we devout Christians, the Elect must reform our community in this time of upheaval around the world. We must cling to Christ and banish the unbelief that is swallowing up the Nones, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” (2 Corinthians 10:5), and “Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus [1 John 4:15, John 17:20-23].” (Philippians 4:7).
We must stand firm in these dark times and remember our Lord warned us ahead of time, “See, I have warned you about this ahead of time. ” (Matthew 24:25). Our God Jesus Christ had not left us in the dark, He has warned us in the last days there will be surge in apostasy and lack of faith (Luke 18:8). This strengthens our resolve and above all you must foster a relationship with Christ, make sure to be baptized in the Spirit so as to sense Him better, “While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them.
“No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked.And they replied, “The baptism of John.” Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.” As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.” (Acts 19:1-7).
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