As I look at what’s happened just since the start of 2026, I realize the world has continued to rapidly move toward the start of the Tribulation, and yet we still wait for Jesus’ appearing. I still wonder, “Can we get any closer to the time God’s wrath descends upon the unsuspecting world than we already are?”
I believe we find the answer in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming” (emphasis added)
The answer is yes, it’s because the Lord is even now restraining the terrors revealed in Revelation chapters 6-18, the very ones I thought would’ve begun years ago.
Things Pointing to the End
Although the “mystery of lawlessness,” mentioned in the above passage, was already at work during the first century AD, it has grown exponentially in recent years. In the past several months, we have heard reports of how corrupt politicians have facilitated the theft of mindboggling amounts of taxpayer funds. The total exceeds several hundred billions of dollars. The numbers are impossible to fully grasp.
Almost every week, I’m shocked by reports of violence. I remember the 1960s and the violence of that era, but it’s far more widespread and common today. Just last week, I heard of shootings in Iowa City and watched videos of the huge brawl that ensued afterward, with scores of people fighting in an area where I walked even at night, years ago, without even the slightest thought of danger.
The Apostle John wrote that the “spirit of the antichrist” was already at work in his day (1 John 4:3). The dramatic rise of antisemitism during the past twenty-five years demonstrates the increased activity of this evil spirit in our day. The hatred of Israel that’s becoming epidemic in the U.S. and elsewhere is satanic and is leading to the demonic hatred of the Jewish people.
When we look at what the Bible tells us about the covenant Israel will someday make with the antichrist, what we see is exactly what we would expect leading up to that time. A nation at peace with no threat from its neighbors wouldn’t seek “refuge” in what Isaiah refers to as the “covenant of death” (see Isaiah 28:15). But a nation with a long history of wars threatening its existence would do so.
Why Are We Still Waiting?
All these things, and many more, tell us that we most definitely live in the season of Jesus’ appearing. What seems like a delay to us is that of the Lord accomplishing at least a couple of purposes before His judgment arrives on the planet.
In the Old Testament, God sent multiple prophets to warn Judah of impending disaster unless the people repented of their sins. For many decades, He alerted His people to the judgment that would surely come. At the moment, I believe He’s warning the world of what lies ahead. He has sent many messengers to alert people to what the Bible says about the last days and the wrath that is coming. YouTube and the Internet contain a multitude of such messages. The widespread scoffing of our belief in the Rapture also tells me that many have heard what the Bible says about what lies ahead for the world and refuse to believe.
Given the horrific magnitude of the disasters that lie ahead for this world, might we not expect the Lord to extend His time of warning and allow many people to come to salvation in Him?
I also believe Jesus is trying to wake up His Church. Yet just like the world, the normality bias dominates the thinking of most pastors and believers. They see Bible prophecy coming to life just as we do, but they don’t believe He will intervene in human history until a distant end-of-the-age Second Coming. Until then, they assume things will somehow get better just as they have in the past.
I don’t know how much closer we can get to the Rapture. I never thought I would see so much lawlessness, violence, and demonic hatred of Israel before Jesus appears to take us home. The time of Jesus’ appearing must be ever so near.
When the Lord intervenes in our world, the Bible says that judgment will come quickly and without warning. In 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, Paul wrote that the Day of the Lord’s wrath will come upon people with “sudden destruction.” For us, the news is a whole lot better; 1 Corinthians 15:52 says that the Rapture will happen in the “twinkling of an eye.” Life for us and everyone on the planet will change in an instant.
In the meantime, we watch with great expectancy, knowing that one day our wait will end quicker than we can even imagine. We cling to the good news Paul wrote in Colossians 3:4, “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
