Shadows foretell what is to come. In Colossians 2:17, Paul used ordinary things such as food and festivals to illustrate that religious observances are simply shadows of things to come, but Christ is the substance. Bible prophecy foreshadows the coming of Christ. Every Bible prophecy that is fulfilled reveals more of our Lord Jesus Christ! Prophecy is the shadow, Jesus is the substance!

With our world in turmoil, yesterday we considered the likeness between Russian Vladimir Putin and Gog of Magog, described in Ezekiel 38-39. Putin seems to be fitting the profile and fulfilling the role of Gog, Prince of Rosh. We’re living in the shadow cast by wars and rumors of wars, and by the megalomaniacal power grab by Vladimir Putin.

But there is another shadow being prophetically cast in our world. That is the stage being set for the coming of one who will promise peace. Yet, he espouses and perpetuates lawlessness.

 ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, ¹⁰ and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

~2 Thessalonians 2:7-10

Entire sermons are preached regarding that passage, but let’s keep it brief by looking at a few of the signs of the coming lawless one…the Antichrist. Deception is definitely a visible sign in our world today, and so are the foundations of One World Order. Let’s take a very abbreviated look at those signs:

• Deception is everywhere! Governments around the world have lied to us, we have been brainwashed to believe America is a horrible country, school kids are taught evolution as fact, Critical Race Theory is being shoved down the throats of students, and fewer and fewer people believe in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Satan is the author and father of lies. (John 8:44) This world is a deceptive place, and will grow more so as we live out the last days. Beware…and set your truth anchor upon God’s Word!
• The Great Reset is now common news. No longer is the One World Government/Religion/Currency a big secret. No longer are powerfully wealthy people such as George Soros, Bill Gates, the Clinton’s, the Rockefeller’s and others holding secret meetings to advance their agenda. The ultra-globalist World Economic Forum exists specifically to destroy nationalism and implement globalism. The Great Reset encompasses ideas such as:
  • One World Government – erasing borders to create “one big family” (remember Babel!?!), blurring the lines of gender in order to make everyone equally dependent upon government, and ramping up fear to the highest degrees so that all are “compliant.” (Fearful people are most easily controlled!)
  • One World Religion – leaders of major religious sects (such as the Pope and others) have advanced the idea that “we all worship the same god,” so let’s just hold hands and sing Kumbaya (ie – we’re all the same and we all go to heaven), satanists boldly declaring their place in religion, pastors “falling off the rails” of Scriptural accuracy to entertain worldly ideas (Evolution, Replacement Theology, Jesus was a Palestinian and other shifts from Scripture)
  • One World Currency – real money being phased out in favor of credit/debit cards and things such as cryptocurrency, the US dollar (nor any other currency) as the standard of worth, the globalist agenda of “owning nothing and being happy about it.”

One World Order (encompassing all of the above) is all about the control of a few over many. After all, they know better how to care for us than we do! We have seen it up close and personal during the COVID pandemic. Not only did every once-revered health agency lie to us, and not only did virtually every world leader take advantage of the situation to instill draconian restrictions, but they generated unimaginable fear (thanks in large part to media who serve as the communications arm of the globalists). The impact will not be fully known for a while, but what we will begin to see will align nicely with the globalist agenda to control the masses and make them dependent upon government.

We’re seeing it all in living color, right now, in our lifetime! Yet, there are so many who are blinded to it. Here is a sobering question to believers and followers of Jesus: How many fellow believers do you know who are caught up in the agendas of the world or are living in fear? It is sobering.

It is time to for Christians to wake up. Time is short and the need to follow Jesus is more urgent than any time in history to this point. Conditions in our world will get worse and we must know how to live at peace. How do we do that? We run with endurance, and we fix our eyes only on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith! (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Then, we must offer the same solutions to everyone we know. How many of your family and friends have yet to surrender their lives to Jesus? When is the last time you shared the truth of God’s Word with them?

May I invite you to join us tomorrow as we study an intriguing passage from 2 Corinthians? My prayer is we will all be encouraged to spend our days fulfilling our mission on earth, so that when we meet Jesus face-to-face, He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21)