The world glorifies murder and violence. Look no further than the recent movie Joker.
T. J. Lewis writes:
Parents: JOKER IS NOT A KID MOVIE and I’m not comfortable saying it’s okay for teens either. I saw both (including a baby) in the theatre last night, despite AMC having signs warning “this is not a superhero movie.” It is getting RAVE reviews for the acting and storyline, but it is NOT entertaining. It’s graphic, twisted, and it works very hard to make you sympathetic toward a psychopath and to make his actions 1) justifiable & 2) amusing. There is no Batman “here I come to save the day” moment…there’s nothing but chaos and people cheering it on. Case in point, after one murder, the crowd I was with laughed hysterically because another very vulnerable character was forced to watch. It does paint vividly the severe need to care for those with mental illness well, but we shouldn’t need a movie to tell us that. We only need to watch the news (h.t. Steve Hays).
This got me thinking more how there will not be any recourse for the Church during the Antichrist’s great tribulation. No just courts, no fair jurors. Rather, as Jesus teaches, it will be characterized by,
“Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Mark 13:12–13)
and Matthew’s version,
“Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name. Then many will be led into sin, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will appear and deceive many, and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. But the person who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matt 24:9–13)
Think on that sober reality for a moment.
Murdering Christians for the cause of Antichrist will be the rule, not the exception. The world—including much of the professing Church—will think they are murdering Christians to rid evil and for the higher good. We know this because Jesus teaches that if his return does not cut short the Antichrist’s great tribulation all believing flesh will be exterminated (Matt 24:22).
There will be a rude awakening for those churches who have imbibed the lie that we will be raptured out of here before the Antichrist’s arrival.
Other churches as well will have this rude awakening, those that believed that the Antichrist is a figurative “symbol” and not a real future person.
And especially those churches who ignore Bible prophecy and the real warnings of Christ—it will not “pan out” for them in the end, since they will fall into the trap that Jesus warned about. Five foolish virgins thought it was going to “pan out”!
The Joker portrays someone who supposedly has a “mental illness.”
The Antichrist, on the other hand, will not have a mental illness. That would be giving him too much credit. He will embody the most evil being in the universe,
“The arrival of the lawless one will be by Satan’s working with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders, and with every kind of evil deception directed against those who are perishing, because they found no place in their hearts for the truth so as to be saved.” (2 Thess 2:9–10)
Bible prophecy is not a game. “Remember, I have told you ahead of time.” (Matt 24:25)
