UNDERCURRENTS AND AFTERMATH

Luke 18:6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (NIV)

UNDERCURRENTS

There are undercurrents in the world today that do not bode well for humanity. There are hatreds among nations that are stirred up by world leaders who do not seek peace. Within the United States, there are undercurrents of crime, violence, corruption, greed, materialism, and a lack of faith in God. We have always had these stirrings at the bottom of our world and at the bottom of our society. However, with the advancement of technology and the speed of communication, these undercurrents are more lethal to the human race. The world is full of weapons of mass destruction. At no time in the history of the world has the world possessed more destructive power than it does today. In the Cold War era, only the United States and the Soviet Union possessed the atom bomb. Now, other nations have nuclear capability. Many of these nations have not only nuclear weapons but also biological weapons. Persons are developing viral and germ warfare capabilities that have the potential of depopulating whole regions of the earth. As of this writing, in December of 2000, the world financial markets are indicating that the world is headed for a deep recession or depression; always harbinger of armed conflict and war. The weather of the earth is changing and changing rapidly. Weather cycles come and go but there are indications this weather cycle is more than a cycle, perhaps a permanent change in weather patterns that threaten the world's food supply. In third-world nations like Africa, the threat of AIDS, ebola, and other diseases threaten to totally depopulate whole continents within the next century. Through technology, mankind is now able to clone animals and humans, to what end and to what effect, no one knows. Throughout most of the world, abortion is taking life away from the unborn at an increasing pace. Euthanasia is being used to murder the old and the infirm. We have polluted our air and water. Plant and animal species are dying off due to the actions of man.

There is in the world a dark cloud forming on the horizon. Perhaps the darkest cloud is not what mankind has done or is capable of doing to the human race, but the darkest cloud is in the heart of human beings. There is a growing disregard for God or religious practice. Fewer and fewer men and women are answering the call to enter the ministry in all denominations or beliefs. Among many people, there is no longer a fear of God or even a respect for Him. As this dark cloud upon the heart grows ever larger, the dark clouds on the horizon come ever closer to raining the most horrible of destruction upon us. What is now an undercurrent is ready to come to the surface in a rampage that will sweep away all but a tiny remnant of love, truth, mercy, justice, and God. Pray daily that your children and your family will be spared from the downpour and deluge of wrath.

THE AFTERMATH

After the deluge, there will be no real civilization left. There will be only scattered groups of people who harbor hatreds against one another. Small groups of survivors, having somehow escaped the rampage and deluge of wrath that engulfed the world, have no technology, no means of restoring modern life, and no hope of living beyond the age of 35 or 40. The survivors envy the dead. There is often mass suicide among surviving groups. The world has been plunged back into a new dark age where survivors bear children who are deformed and crippled. The world has no hope and no light. Climate changes occur rapidly as groups try to grow crops from hybrid seeds that fail to produce after two generations of growth. Even those who live underground in shelters especially designed for surviving these dark ages live in despair. There is little communication in the world. World domination, sought by powers and forces that brought on the world conflict, is no longer feasible. There are not enough people left on the planet to mine the ore, grow the crops, or produce the goods to which the world had been accustomed. Those people that have survived hold such bitterness in their hearts they are uncontrollable. Money has disappeared because it is worthless. Food is used for barter and exchange. Food and clean water are more highly treasured than gold and silver. There is little education and learning for there are few teachers. Every person must work to grow food or produce other ingredients needed to survive. There is little time left to teach, besides, healthy able-bodied children are rare. Communication with persons unknown is seen as dangerous because no one can be trusted. In this climate of darkness, the motto in most places is "Trust no one." There is no reflection upon what happened to modern civilization because there is no time to reflect. There is no culture and no art because there is no inspiration. There is generally no worship or sense of God because thoughts of God are no more. There are only a few, what the survivors consider to be, lunatic Christians who still believe in God. They call themselves "The Last Remnant" and they believe that Christ is coming back. They are the laughing stock of the rest of what used to be called humanity.