Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33.)
Enemy attacks
Jesus Christ will return. Almighty God is in charge, working out His purposes. When Jesus soon returns to Zion the locals will shout, “Baruch ha ba b’shem Adonai’” (“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”). But there will be suffering.
Those who want to destroy Israel oppose Almighty God. They belong to the prince of this world, who is God’s chief enemy. Although that enemy will be subdued when Jesus returns (Rev 20), it seems from the Bible that there will still be suffering during the thousand years when Jesus and His saints rule with a rod of iron, and that suffering will only cease after the first heaven and the first earth have passed away and the new heaven and the new earth are revealed (Rev 21:1-5).
Enemy attacks on genuine followers of Jesus Christ and the nation of Israel are driven by powerful spiritual beings who use human beings as their agents (as described in Ephesians 6). And this will only stop when the powers of deception and death are forced into the eternal second death (Rev 20:10-15). Both life and death are with us in this world (Deut. 30:19, 2 Cor. 4:11).
And if we are wise, we also use our pains to seek the Lord
And believe it or not, named spiritual beings, wielding the power of death with great subtlety, are worshipped by a remarkable number of humans. For them love is only a fiction and our five physical senses, most notably pain, are their only realities. Their logic is materialistic, worldly and mechanistic. Their lives are hedonistic, and I shall leave you to name the being who presides over the various cults which lead to eternal death.
Progressive philosophy
Although we may want perfect health, most of us in fact live with some degree of infirmity. And we use various drugs and things of this world to alleviate our suffering as seems best to us. And if we are wise, we also use our pains to seek the Lord (2 Cor. 7:10). If we accept redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ, God reckons us righteous (Rom 5:9). The only begotten Son of the God of Israel offers us eternal life. He said,”…I have come that they [namely you] may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10.) After God’s final judgements, “He will wipe every tear from their [namely our] eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain…” (Rev 21:4).
Much present suffering is caused by people who believe the deception that relief of all suffering, and ultimate utopia, can be achieved by human progress. Such progressive philosophy conflicts with the word of God. Yet wealthy and influential progressives have now banded together to impose their own worldly technocratic solutions on the whole world. The science they rely on to remedy the world’s diseases and economic problems is so seductive that most suffering people will want it and accept it.
The plan is to build great data centres to collect data which will identify every individual by their genome and monitor their behaviour. By using scientific methodology such as CRISPR to insert artificial genes into our DNA via mRNA injections, it is claimed that cancer and other hitherto incurable disease conditions can be stopped. The insertion of other things into the human body will assist control of populations (Rev. 13:16-17).
Secular healthcare is compromised. When we use it we must use it with care.
But reports of bad effects of mRNA injections have been suppressed in the past few years and prominent figures who have reported them to the world have paid a heavy price. The dangers of this science should be obvious to Christians who have Holy Spirit discernment. Secular healthcare is compromised. When we use it we must use it with care. It seems apparent to me (and a great many others) that there is a hidden agenda to reduce the world’s population.
Fallen nature vs Spirit-life
Almighty God is our healer (Ex 15:26, Isa 53:4, 1 Pet 2:24, Rev 21:4-5). He breathed His Spirit of life into us when we were created, and sent His Son Jesus to pay the price of crucifixion to redeem us from our fallen nature and sin. He also sends His Spirit to those who personally, truthfully and thankfully accept Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection. He gives us a sense of truth and of love, even when such awareness is painful for those who are out in the cold. He enables us to make godly sense of our experiences as we include Holy Spirit in the reactions of our feelings and thoughts. He gives us His shalom.
In contrast, those without recourse to Jesus Christ are unknowingly bound to the god of this age, so whatever they do does not lead to true healing and abundant life. Secular humanistic healthcare is at the ‘nice’ end of this, affording some worldly relief for suffering. At the other end are those who are determined to prove that the only reality is pain, who indulge their belief by inflicting pain, violence and death in an attempt to become immune to pain and to overcome by insensitivity, believing that some sort of paradise will arise out of infernal chaos. Tyrannical imposition of godless law and logic using artificial intelligence will enable the spirit of anti-Christ to rule through technocracy.
The depravity into which fallen human nature can sink is utterly appalling. And every one of us is capable of it.
The depravity into which fallen human nature can sink is utterly appalling. And every one of us is capable of it. Yet it can be so dreadful that most people cannot face the enormity of it or even believe it. Its effect can be devastatingly shattering. Some people cannot believe the holocaust occurred under Hitler; and the reason so many people take the anti-Semitic side in the present Middle East conflict is that they do not have the spiritual capacity to face the horror inflicted on the individual Jewish victims.
Places of refuge
Only with Jesus can we endure and actually begin to make sense of such things. After sinners crucified Him, Jesus descended into hell (1 Pet 3:13-22, Reve 1:18) so He knows all about it and He can take it. “The vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.”
Ongoing counsel may be necessary and personal turbulence may require generous hospitality. And the true Church must help those who turn from their evil to the living God who can save them.
Communities of genuine Christians must be places of refuge in these last days.
