Last Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court redefined marriage. Previously, marriage had always been restricted to a male and a female human being. But the nine justices ruled in a split decision, 5 to 4, that from now on in all fifty states same-sex couples can legally marry and will have the same equal rights as do hetero-sexual marriages. For me, this is the worst decision the U.S. Supreme Court has made in my lifetime.
Granted, we Americans and much of the world have been changing in recent years on homosexuality. Thus, according to U.S. polls a bare majority of American adults now favor legalizing gay marriage.
But is it right? That raises the question of whether or not humans should observe any moral absolutes. And that raises the question of whether or not we and this universe were created by a God who has given us moral absolutes. The three monotheistic faiths in the world–Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, which encompass over half of the world’s population–answers firmly “yes” and “yes.” And their holy books clearly condemn homosexuality as a grievous sin.
Also, all three of these monotheistic religions generally subscribe to a world view that sometime in the future their God will intervene in the affairs of humankind to establish his worldwide kingdom of peace and righteousness right before a great apostasy occurs which enables a most evil, world ruler to arise to bring unprecedented persecution to God’s people. Christians call him The Antichrist; Muslims call him Dajjal; Jews call him Armilus.
It appears to me that our world is now undergoing this apostasy. Our English word apostasy comes from the Greek word apostasia which means a “falling away.” In the Bible, apostasy means a falling away from God, goodness, and righteousness. Throughout my life I have witnessed in my nation a general decline in peoples’ moral values, thus righteousness. For example, there was the so-called “sexual revolution” that began in the 1960s which was enabled somewhat by invention of contraceptive pills for females. Then in 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe vs. Wade that legalized abortion. Throughout the following decades, the courts became more liberal on how to define “free speech” protected by our U.S. Constitution. This has resulted in movies and television, which highly influence peoples’ moral values, being allowed greater liberties than ever before to widen the moral boundaries.
Now that we have legalized abortion and gay marriage, what’s next in this degradation of morality? I think with the continuing ascendency of “human rights,” which the five court justices hailed as the basis of their decision affirming homosexual (I think “gay” is an inappropriate word) marriage–polygamy can be better argued.
Some Christians say not to fret since “God is in control” or “God reigns in his world.” Where do they get that? Not from the Bible. The Apostle Paul calls Satan “the god of this world” or age (2 Corinthians 4.4). Thus, Satan legitimately tempted Jesus by showing him all the kingdoms of the world and offering to give them to him if he would fall down and worship him because those kingdoms belonged to Satan (Matt. 4.8-9). No, God does not reign in this world until he rises up from his throne at the end of this age. Then “The LORD goes forth like a soldier, like a warrior” (Isaiah 42.13). Then loud voices in heaven will say, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever…. We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty,… for you have taken your great power and begun to reign” (Revelation 11.15, 17). Then heaven also exalts, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns” (Rev. 19.6). He obviously did not reign in this world before that.
The book of Daniel in the Jewish Bible (Christian Old Testament) predicts that the great apostasy will occur in the latter times. Daniel, who I believe wrote his book during the sixth century BCE, says he had a vision that the angel Gabriel interpreted for him. Gabriel told Daniel, “I will tell you what will take place later in the period of wrath; for it refers to the appointed time of the end” (Daniel 8.19 NRSV). The appointed time of the end is the end of the age or this world as we know it. The term “endtimes” has derived from this and similar expressions in this book of Daniel. Gabriel then predicts Greece’s Alexander the Great and his military overthrow of the Media-Persians (vv. 20-22). Then there is a time gap in this prophecy that fits the scenario of previous prophecies of Daniel 2 and 7.
Gabriel then continues, “At the end of their rule, when the transgressors have reached their full measure, a king of bold countenance shall arise, skilled in intrigue” (v. 23). I believe this king is the final Antichrist. Gabriel continues in his description of him and then says, “Without warning he shall destroy many and shall even rise up against the Prince of princes. But he shall be broken, and not by humans hands” (v. 25). The destroying of “many” refers to the final, 3.5-year long “tribulation,” which is the persecution and destruction of God’s people. Daniel tells about in other prophecies, and Jesus cites this in his Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24.15-20; Mark 13.14-19).
Notice that Gabriel says this “king,” who is the final Antichrist, will arise when “the transgressors have reached their full measure.” Jesus probably referred to this in his Olivet Discourse when he said, “many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24.10-14 NIV). This is the great apostasy that will occur over an undetermined period of time during the latter times.
Like Jesus, the Apostle Paul probably alludes to Daniel 8.23 as well when he wrote to the church of the Thessalonians saying of Jesus’ second coming, “it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed,” referring to the Antichrist. “And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord [Jesus] will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his coming” (2 Thessalonians 2.3, 8 NASB; cf. Isaiah 11.4).
Jesus taught a parable that relates to this subject. He said “the kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat” (Matt. 13.24-25). When both wheat and weeds appeared, the servants asked their master if they should pull up the weeds. He said no and explained, “Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn'” (v. 30). Early in the growth process, weeds are not as discernible from wheat. But as harvest time nears, the green weeds are increasingly distinguished from the wheat that turns golden in color. So it will be during the latter times in distinguishing the unrighteous from the righteous.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In