The apostle Paul gives us insight into the direction the world is trending: “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).
The word “delusion” means “fraudulence.” It can also refer to straying mentally, a wrong opinion relative to morals or religion, an error that shows itself in action, or a wrong mode of acting. The “lie” believed by the people mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 is the antichrist’s claim that he is God, the world’s Savior and Lord. Are we seeing the world move in the direction of the ultimate lie being believed by the masses? Do people have the wrong opinions today with regard to morals or religion? Are these errors manifesting themselves in the actions of the deluded? Have many in our world mentally strayed from the truth and facts? Are people today looking to the government or powerful leaders to lead and save them from life debts, burdens, and perils?
I think we all know the answers to those questions. We live in a time when the level of mental straying from long-held and obvious truths tells us we are near the end of the church age and approaching the tribulation. We have become familiar with new terms being invented to accommodate the beliefs of a deluded world. Gender dysphoria is one of those terms. This refers to the condition of feeling one’s emotional and psychological identity as male or female is the opposite of one’s biological sex. The key word here is feelings; the individual’s gender is determined by their feelings and not the facts of genetics and biology. This indicates a mental straying from what is actually true.
In other words, you can use orange spray paint on an apple and try calling it an orange, but it won’t change it from being an apple. You can give hormone treatments to a man and put him in a dress and high heels, but if you look at his chromosomes, they are still XY, and therefore he is still male, no matter how he may feel. But, if you don’t accept such a person or call them by their preferred pronouns, you could lose your job and, in some places, go to jail. Think about how far that strays from genetic and biological truth— the possibility of being fired or imprisoned for not calling a boy a girl or a woman a man.
Jesus made a parallel between “the days before the flood” and the times preceding the rapture. One of the dominant characteristics of Noah’s days was corruption: “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (Genesis 6:11-12).
Remember, the word “corrupt,” as we’ve seen it used in Scripture, means “moral perversion” and refers to meat or fruit that has become rotten or spoiled. The word pervert means “to become its opposite.” To pervert is to do what Isaiah 5:20 says about calling evil good, and good evil. As we examine the time of the signs, we should be looking for people to use words and ideas in ways that are the opposite of what they used to mean and be. That will be part of the corruption that fills the earth in the last days.
The apostle Paul describes such corruption in the first chapter of Romans: “Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:28-32).
Our world has become the opposite of what it used to be. The moral and character flaws that are listed in Romans 1:28-32 have always been part of life in a fallen world, but there has long been a clearly defined line between good and evil. Even during the periods of history when evil seemed to be dominant and tyrants were brutal in their rule, people knew the difference between right and wrong, and good and evil. Good was still good, and evil was still evil. Yet Paul says in Romans 1 that when a nation (or the world) rejects God’s existence and authority, a moral perversion will spread and lead to a time when the moral and character flaws in Romans 1:28-32 will become dominant. Paul closes this passage with what we could call the end of the digression and the point of no return. Society will have hit rock bottom, so to speak. He says in verse 32 that not only will moral perversion be practiced, it will be approved of.
I believe that one of the most significant signs of the last days is recorded here in Romans 1:32 even though the context of Paul’s statement is general and not specific to eschatology. The word “approve” is the reason for this belief. “Approve” means “to feel good about, to be pleased with, to consent, agree to or applaud.” That’s how people will feel about the practices listed in Romans 1:28-31.
We could summarize Paul’s conclusion by saying that in the last days, moral depravity will become a human right.
