‘The Whole World is Turning Toward Evil’

All true believers will be concerned about the way things are heading:

With my title in quote marks, I must be quoting someone. I am: myself. While out on my morning prayer walk, I was reflecting – as I do so often – on the deteriorating condition of the world. I was thinking of all the evil rulers and governments we find ourselves surrounded by. And worse yet, I thought of how many of these have the support of the masses. Many of them were cheerily voted into power by the majority.

We seem to keep voting in leaders, parties and governments that are in so many ways peddlers of evil and hostile to the faith. And the majority of folks seem to love it this way. One thinks of the words of the prophet Jeremiah when he was denouncing the false prophets and their influence in Jer. 5. He said, sadly, that “my people love it this way” (verse 31).

So as I thought about and prayed over this sad state of affairs, the phrase popped into my head, ‘The whole world is turning toward evil.’ There certainly is every indication of this – something I have documented countless times on this site. Those who are biblical Christians – that is, those who are not ideologically blinded, or living in a Pollyannish world – know this to be the case.

But if things are so bad, how is the Christian to respond? Let me offer three general considerations. They may not tell us all that we are wanting to know in terms of dealing with this, but they should at least give us some perspective and some comfort.

Remnant

Our haters and critics on the secular left will gloat gleefully over all this and say, ‘See, your side is losing. Your side is the clear and shrinking minority.’ That may be the case, but I actually have some good news for those who may be losing heart here.

As the Bible makes perfectly clear, as history demonstrates, and as I have so often written about, it is God’s customary way to use a remnant to accomplish his purposes. That is usually how he gets the job done. And of course that is how he gets the glory. As we read in Zechariah 4:6 for example, ‘“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

Biblical examples of this are numerous, including the story of how God commanded Gideon to whittle down his army of 32,000 to just 300 men! And Wilberforce never had more than a small committed group of co-workers as he took on the giant slave trade. I speak to these realities further in this piece: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2015/07/16/so-where-are-all-the-real-christians/

Let me offer a famous quote from Whittaker Chambers. He was a noted Communist who turned anti-Communist. A conversion to Christianity was the basis for this, based on an incident as recorded in his powerful 1952 autobiography Witness.

In it he mentions how simply looking at his young daughter’s ear one day convinced him that there must be a creator, and that life did not come about by accident. I record the episode here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2015/10/02/whittaker-chambers-witness-and-hope/

But the quote from Witness that I had in mind is this: “I wanted my wife to realize clearly one long-term penalty, for herself and for the children, of the step I was taking. I said: ‘You know, we are leaving the winning world for the losing world.’ I meant that, in the revolutionary conflict of the 20th century, I knowingly chose the side of probable defeat.”

At the time he said that it did indeed look like Communism was the wave of the future, and that Christianity would eventually disappear. But of course Communism is now largely a relic of the past, while the Christian faith continues unabated. But yes, true believers will always be a remnant in a largely hostile world, and it may SEEM like we are on the losing side.

Enemies

The reality that the people of God will have enemies is everywhere attested to in Scripture. How can this not be the case? The children of darkness will forever be opposed to the children of light. The world will always resist God and his people. Simply looking at the warnings made by Jesus should make this quite clear. Here are just a few of them:

Matthew 10:22-23 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.

Luke 6:22-23 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

John 15:18-20 If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 

John 16:2-4 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you.

And Paul could even say this about the Galatians: “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (Gal. 4:16). Contemporary quotes can also be offered on this. A neat one attributed to Winston Churchill can be shared: “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” And the poem “You Have No Enemies” by 19th century Scottish poet Charles Mackay is also worth posting:

You have no enemies, you say?
Alas! my friend, the boast is poor;
He who has mingled in the fray
Of duty, that the brave endure,
Must have made foes! If you have none,
Small is the work that you have done.
You’ve hit no traitor on the hip,
You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip,
You’ve never turned the wrong to right,
You’ve been a coward in the fight.

Not the whole world

In one sense, the entire world is covered in darkness. As John put it, “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). But in another sense, some places may be worse than others. Some nations may be further down the tubes than others.

So when I speak about the world turning toward evil, I usually am referring to the Western world of which I am a part. But I realise that the world is far bigger than the West, and not every nation is deteriorating as badly as most Western nations are.

As I and others have pointed out, while the West is becoming increasingly secular and hostile to biblical Christianity, with things moving from post-Christian to anti-Christian, many great things are happening in the non-Western world. The spiritual centre of gravity has shifted, mainly from the northern hemisphere to the southern.

Most of the greatest church growth is now found in places like Africa, Asia and Latin America. All this is not to say that the West is without any Christian witness. But the two points I made above do accurately describe the scene: true Christians are quickly becoming a remnant there, and hatred and enmity toward the faith is greatly on the increase.

So what is the way forward for Western believers? It is much the same as it has always been: we put our full trust in a God who is still on the throne; we keep busy doing the work of the Kingdom; and we must learn to pray more and do more for Christ while we still can.

And as we do what we are called to do, we leave the rest up to God. He is working out his purposes and we know what the final chapter of human history looks like. Having just finished reading again the Corinthian letters of Paul, let me close with two quotes from them.

Perhaps the first thing we need to make clear is that we really are right with God. Are we really his? This passage is something all who claim to be Christians must take quite seriously: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” (2 Corinthians 13:5)

And we must occupy till Christ comes. As Paul commands us in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

[1516 words]

15 Replies to “‘The Whole World is Turning Toward Evil’”

  1. I have felt that I would not vote again. This world is in real bad shape. This article was a real encouragement. Thank you

  2. Great word Bill. Thanks. “For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD upholds the righteous.” Ps 37:17

  3. Look at the anger in peoples faces when they ridicule your faith and you look at them and smile! They don’t like that!!!!

  4. Be encouraged!

    It is true that if Biden were to become President, then Xi and Putin would be the most powerful men in the world. While Communism’s global influence continues unabated in our world today, with Voice of the Martyrs stating:

    “Approximately 3 billion people live in countries where Christians face communist oppression’ . .

    . . Almighty God, however, has raised up His man for this time, who will be used by God to drain many diabolical swamps (including electoral corruption).

    President Trump will be shown to have been re-elected in a landslide on November 3rd, with > 80 million Americans having voted for his re-election – despite his victory having been concealed by massive documented electoral fraud.

    Watch this powerful and conclusive press conference and be encouraged:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8LiGZhK-bg

    Further special encouragement hereunder:

    Note the call towards the end of this interview for God’s people to set aside a day of prayer and fasting tomorrow, Monday, faithfully praying together as one: ‘God help us!’

    It pleases our Father God when we humbly call out to Him to help us . . !

    In President Trump’s words: God bless you all – and God bless America!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeR4aUiDiQ8&t=1073s

  5. Thank you Bill for sharing this perspective…it is so easy to bury our head in the sand, (news, social media, movies, etc), during these tumultuous days and not commit ourselves to the things of the Lord and the plans He has for us.
    Respectfully,
    Ron adams

  6. Hi Bill,
    I certainly agree with what you have said. It did get me thinking about ‘Who is my enemy’. Completely true that many have made decisions and positioned themselves as enemies of the church and God, so be it. But with God moving heaven and earth to redeem the lost, how do I position myself in relation to people who have decided to be enemies of God? I suppose I see myself called to Love all and, as you are doing, speak the truth in Love (if that causes offence because people have aligned themselves with their own sin, so be it). But we do not relate to people in relation to the failings, we relate to them relative to ‘who’ they are. It feels like a difficult balancing act, fortunate we stand on a strong foundation not shifting sand. As you said ‘putting our trust in God’. Thanks again Bill.

  7. Thanks Peter. Sure, we seek to speak truth in love to all, certainly to all who will listen. But to be fully biblical, we must also recognise that there indeed are enemies out there: enemies of God, enemies of the gospel, and enemies of us. There are plenty of texts that speak to this reality. Here is just one: “For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18).

    And when you say “we do not relate to people in relation to the failings, we relate to them relative to ‘who’ they are” that is not quite accurate either. We are to relate to people as God relates to them. And now he relates to everyone who has so far refused the gospel as sinners under his wrath. Indeed, among other things, they are God’s enemies (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). So in a sense we need to be careful that we don’t try to be more loving and accepting than God is!

    Again, we pray for all, seek to love all, and hope they turn from sin and self – but not all will. Many remain committed enemies of God, the gospel, and therefore of God’s people. So yes we pray for our enemies, but that does not mean they are not enemies! In fact, we are also told that we can pray against our enemies! But I speak to this in more detail here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2020/05/28/praying-against-enemies/

    But thanks again for your thoughts.

  8. Well said Bill!
    When you see these things, look up and rejoice. He is coming soon! I am starting to get excited.
    The crazy thing is, all these people going around litigating against people with a moral conscience have no idea (or maybe they do) that their day before the great white throne of judgement is soon approaching. Maybe that is why they are foaming at the mouth!

  9. Good article, just one slight disagreement. The whole world isn’t “turning toward” evil… the evil in the world is being exposed. I see it as what we have described for us in Romans chapter one. God is removing His restraining grace, and thus the evil in mens hearts is no longer being restrained as it once was. The “world” was already turned toward evil, but simply being restrained from being as wicked as it is now revealed to be.
    If the Lord continues to pull back His hands, we will see the fullness of mans depravity soon. Stand firm in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *