“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 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. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:9-14 NASB1995)
There are multiple passages of Scripture, both in the Old Testament, and the New Testament, which speak of the signs of the end of the age. The entire chapter of Matthew 24 is dedicated to that subject. And I personally believe that these verses 9-14 describe well where we are presently in the world.
Although Christian persecution has been ongoing ever since Jesus Christ was put to death on that cross, and rose from the dead, and ascended back to the Father, and sent his Holy Spirit to indwell his followers, I believe it is spreading more rapidly in our present age, and that we even have people purposely giving a bad name to Christianity in order to increase Christian persecution throughout the world (my observation).
And although many Christians throughout the world are suffering tremendously for their walks of faith in Jesus Christ, more in physical ways, often resulting in death, Christian persecution exists even in nations that tout themselves as “Christian nations.” But this persecution is less on a physical level, for now, and is primarily on the level of hate, rejection, mockery, false accusations, and the casting aside of the unwanted.
For, a more diluted and altered and “user friendly” gospel is now what is so popularized and widely accepted. So if you are a Christian who still holds to the tenets of the faith, as Jesus taught them, and as his New Testament apostles taught them, in the correct biblical context, you are likely to be in the minority and among the persecuted who are largely being ignored, cast aside, rejected, falsely accused, and treated as “not worth the time.”
And this includes the fact that many who profess faith in Jesus Christ, or who used to profess faith in the Lord, are not living for the Lord, many who never did, but they are still walking according to the flesh, in sin, and many of them have yielded control of their lives to the flesh, and to the devil, and they are deliberately hating and betraying those of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, often while pretending love, concern and care, which is a lie.
And false prophets, teachers, preachers, and evangelists are numerous in our day and age, some of them teaching very weird and outlandish stuff, while others have just altered and diluted the gospel of Christ to make it more appealing and acceptable to human flesh and less offensive to the ungodly of this world. For so many are not teaching God’s requirements for death to sin and obedience to God as necessary for faith which saves.
Therefore lawlessness has definitely increased, because so many are not being taught that Jesus Christ put our sins to death with him so we will now die to sin and live for God in walks of surrender to him in obedience to his commands. And so many are being coddled in their sins, and sinful rebellion abounds, even within the gatherings of “the church,” and even in the lives of some pastors, because the sinners are being pampered, not confronted.
And so the love of many has grown cold because they are not in tune with the Holy Spirit, and their lives are not committed to Christ, but they are still living to please the flesh. And then we live in a culture that is entrenched in the media – television, the internet, social media, movies, videos, the news, gaming, and the like. And those who indulge in these sources of information and entertainment often will take on the character of what they consume.
And I am not saying that all these things are all bad. I look at news stories and some videos, and I get on social media and read people’s posts, and I play Scrabble and cards with family members sometimes. But I am not consumed by them, and my life and my values are not directed by them. And I am not claiming that has always been the case, either. But by the grace of God my life is being directed by God. But I am not perfect. Yet, to the best of my understanding, I am walking in obedience to my Lord.
But the love of many has grown cold because their lives are not dedicated to the Lord but they are still living worldly lives to please their flesh. And this is why it is so critical that we be sharing the truth of the gospel of Christ with the people of the world so that many will turn from their sins, and they will now walk in obedience to the Lord, by the grace of God, in the power of God, as being led by God and no longer by their human flesh.
And when this says that those who endure to the end will be saved, this is speaking about us continuing in Christ, in death to sin, and in walks of surrender to God in obedience to his commands, in holy living, as what we practice. For if sin is still what we practice, and not obedience to God and to his commandments, then we don’t know God, we are not in fellowship with Christ, and we will not have eternal life with God regardless of what we say.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
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They Will Betray One Another
An Original Work / July 6, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love