It’s no secret we live in an upside-down world where evil is now called good and good is called evil. While many of us believe God raised up America as a shining city on a hill, let’s face it: The United States is more and more evil and deserves to be judged.
History is full of difficult times for believers—indeed, many millions of Christians are being persecuted in our generation. But Christians in America live in what often seems like a bubble. Because of our constitutional rights, we have freedoms not enjoyed in other countries, yet we now live in a post-Christian culture.
There have been terrible times before, but it seemed as though God always came through in answer to prayer. Fifty years ago in the hippie era, the Jesus Movement (which impacted me) brought millions of rebellious young people to faith in Christ. When America seemed at a low ebb during the Jimmy Carter administration, something seemed to shift when hundreds of thousands of Christians humbled themselves and prayed and repented for America’s sins at Washington for Jesus in 1980. We voted in Ronald Reagan, things took a turn politically and financially, and the Berlin Wall came down. But did anything really change?
In recent years, many Christians, including me, felt if we could only vote in leaders who shared our values, the situation would improve. Instead, we’ve had setback after setback. When things got so bad on many levels (inflation, crime, transgenderism taught in schools, and socialistic policies) that it seemed change was inevitable, many of us had high hopes for the midterm elections. A number of conservative politicians—many of them Christian leaders—seemed poised to win. Some political pundits and even Christian prophets said there would be a red wave, meaning large numbers of conservatives would be elected and implement policies more in line with a biblical worldview.
When the red wave didn’t happen, millions of Christians who believed God would come through and the tide would turn were suddenly saying, “God, where were You?”—as if He were somehow asleep.
Right after the election, Barry Meguiar—author of this issue’s cover story—wrote an outstanding editorial on charismanews.com suggesting that perhaps our will to have America become godly is not God’s will because it would be out of step with His judgment on America and end-times prophecies. The election of God-honoring candidates with a biblical viewpoint in the midterms would have interfered with His trajectory for America.
“America has earned God’s judgment a thousand times over, and we know America isn’t even mentioned in last-days prophecies,” Meguiar writes. “In two short years, America has lost the world’s respect and our nation’s confidence. The idea of turning our allegiance to a global leader (the Antichrist) is now a ‘fait accompli.’ It’s going to happen, and we deserve it to happen. God is no longer going to allow anything to slow down our race to judgment.”
Meguiar reminds us God gives us the rulers we deserve, not necessarily the ones we want. Sadly, in every obscene category, America is by far the major purveyor of wickedness worldwide.
He continues: “If you love God and still live for this world and the things of this world, these elections are your worst nightmare. But if you love God with eyes fixed on the world to come, the darker it gets, the closer you are to the rapture and actually seeing Him face to face.”
For those who believe we are nearing the end of time, Meguiar says there’s no question: “We’re getting really close. ‘When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near’” (Luke 21:28).
When Paul describes the rapture of the church, he says, “Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:18, ESV). So let’s be encouraged!
As Meguiar says, “Rather than allowing the events of these days to drag you down and discourage you, use them as your launching pad to move everyone, every day, closer to Jesus—before it’s too late and they’re left behind.”
The spiritual and the eternal, not the political or cultural, must take priority in the lives of all believers. We have a mission to spread the gospel, and Barry Meguiar is an example for us all.
Stephen Strang is founding editor of Charisma. Learn more about the book’s he’s written, including God and Cancel Culture, at stevestrangbooks.com.
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