When Jesus’ disciples asked Him what the signs of His return would be, the Savior of the World gave a detailed list. Recorded in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, Jesus stated that there would be wars and rumors of wars, distress of nations, and lawlessness. These days, Jesus described, would also be like “the days of Noah.” In Genesis 6:5, 11, we read that in the time before the flood: “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually… The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”
Is the earth once again being “filled with violence,” just as Jesus forewarned? A brief look at the recent events leads to a sad and unmistakable answer.
In the arena of antisemitism, it was Hamas’ barbaric massacre of over 1,200 Israelis that served as the catalyst for the normalization and acceptance of violence against Jews. Equipped with GoPro cameras, the terrorists gleefully committed unimaginably brutal executions; October 7th has rightly been called “the most well-documented massacre in history.” What followed shortly after was perhaps even more startling. Despite the ease with which people could witness the scale of Hamas’ crimes, individuals across the globe began to justify and celebrate the terrorists.
In the United States, riotous protests turned into targeted killings. Within the past month, we saw the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, the flamethrower attack on a Jewish hostage event in Boulder, Colorado, and many other violent assaults on Jews in America. Quickly after the attack in Washington, Marxist and pro-Palestinian groups rallied behind the killer, calling for his actions to serve as “an example” for future acts of “legitimate resistance against the zionist state.”
DOJ Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Harmeet Dhillon, highlighted the increasing violent rhetoric directed at Jews and Israelis in America: “Quiet, polite conversation and disagreement with Israeli policy is not really what’s happening here. It’s literally people saying Israel shouldn’t exist — and bringing the revolution to the United States… That type of violent rhetoric has led to violent acts in our country.”
Other groups are also in the crosshairs of our increasingly violent world. ICE Director Todd Lyons warned last week that Democratic leaders are fueling violence and endangering ICE agents with inflammatory rhetoric. It didn’t take long for his warning to be proven accurate. The DHS, in a statement on Saturday, described the “dangerous” riots that had broken out in Los Angeles the previous evening when a violent mob of over 1000 individuals “surrounded a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, and defaced buildings.” The Trump administration responded to the violent riots by mobilizing 2,000 National guardsmen over the weekend, deploying an additional 500 Marines on Monday, “tasked with protecting federal property and federal personnel.”
The DHS statement added that “ICE enforcement officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults against them,” with their family members also being “doxxed and targeted as well.”
Recent polls have also painted a dark picture, showing a growing “assassination culture” in the United States. In April, a survey revealed that the majority of those classified as “left of center” would consider targeted murders of politicians, such as President Donald Trump, to be at least somewhat “justifiable.”
The slaying of powerful businessmen was also viewed as defensible. When UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was brazenly shot last December, many were startled to discover that much of the public regarded the killer’s actions as “heroic.” Ken Ham, Founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis, speaking of this disturbing mentality, wrote: “We see Isaiah 5:20 happening in all sorts of ways, and now we see it happening in regard to murder—people are calling murder good, and those who want to condemn murder evil.”
“It’s a heart problem,” Ham further emphasized. “That’s what we need to understand. The gun that was used to murder the CEO wasn’t the problem. Knives used to kill people are not the problem. What is the problem? The problem lies within people’s hearts.”
When many people think about violence in our world, their minds immediately think of war; considering the high level of casualties that accompany battle zones, this makes sense. However, an “earth filled with violence” is even more apparent when we find darkened hearts of individuals everywhere, willing to justify murder and applaud those who commit it.
The shining light in the midst of this darkness is found in God’s Word. The times leading up to Jesus’ return are described as “perilous,” but they also mean that our redemption as believers draws near (Luke 21:28). Equipped with this hope and the truth of the Bible—including its many prophecies of the future—followers of Christ have an opportunity to open eyes and help transform darkened hearts through the Gospel.
In this late hour, the truth of God’s Word has never been more neglected and never has been more desperately needed.
