PTNews
July 2020
Published monthly
All Bible references are from the KJV
(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)
P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006
The Spirit of Lawless at the End of This Age
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people image a vain thing?” Psalm 2:1
By Mike Wingfield
The Bible has much to say about the spirit of lawlessness that has gripped our nation in recent weeks. The aftermath of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, we have been shocked and even horrified by what has occurred in our beloved nation. Massive mobs have protested in the streets across the land. Millions of dollars in property have been destroyed or burned to the ground. Hordes of unruly thugs have looted businesses taking whatever they want. There have been attacks upon police. Some have been murdered. With the support of some liberal left-wing government leaders, there are those who are calling for defunding the police departments. All of this causes us to ask, “What is going on and where is all of this going?”
As we look at the Scriptures, in light of this matter, they expose the real soul of America. The Bible reveals where our nation and world are spiritually, and where we are headed. In the Bible, the word “lawless” speaks about a person or nation in rebellion against God and God’s law. God’s law, generally expressed in the 10 Commandments, has been the foundation of law and order in this country for hundreds of years. Our justice system is based upon the 10 Commandments. God has given us His law to guide and instruct us in the way of truth and righteousness. The law of God is good (1 Timothy 1:8) and perfect (Psalm 19:7). The Bible clearly states that God’s law “is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners …” (1 Timothy 1:9). The law of God in the Bible is eternal and unchanging. It comes from the mouth of God, Who is eternal, perfect, just, and unchanging. Therefore, the moral standards presented in the law of God are for all people in all cultures throughout all the ages. When any person measures his spiritual standing in light of this perfect standard, he realizes that he is a sinner, and in need of God’s power to be saved and change.
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At the heart of lawlessness is sin. 1 John 3:4 says that sin is a transgression of God’s law. Hence, a person who has no respect for law and order is in rebellion against God. Such a person has reached a pinnacle of rebellion against God. He is expressing a defiant spirit toward a holy God!
According to the Bible, we are all by nature and choice spiritual rebels. It is the nature of the human heart to sin against God. We are “children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2; 5:6; Colossians 3:6). That is why God has given us a conscience. Our conscience is the means whereby the Holy Spirit warns all human beings of the dangers of transgressing God’s law. The Holy Spirit uses the conscience to internally restrain people from sinning. When a person refuses to yield to the internal warning of the Holy Spirit in his conscience, it has a devastating impact on this God-given spiritual warning system. Willful sin always gradually silences the inner voice of our conscience. As a person persists in his sinful pleasures, the conscience becomes more silent. Thus, the sinner loses any sense of shame or guilt. As a result, he becomes bold and defiant against God and His law. This situation can become so severe that this person acts like a wild beast. He is filled with a toxic hate, and commits acts of brutal violence. He becomes merciless and treacherous in dealing with people. Read about the evil character of such people in Romans 1:29-32 and 2 Timothy 3:1-7. These texts give us an exact description of the people we see today who are displaying a spirit of lawlessness in America and around the world.
If you have not read my book, Living in a World with No Conscience, please do so if you really want to understand what is happening in our world today. Understanding what the Bible has to say about this will open your eyes to why God must judge America and the world. See the order form on Page 8 to order it.
Furthermore, when the conscience is seared or silenced, God gives that person over to his own destructive nature of sin (Romans 1:24-32). The Bible says that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). God hates all sin because it is offensive to His holiness. God is life, not death. God also hates sin because of its deadly consequences. Sin is not to be taken lightly. Sin always leads to tragic and sorrowful results. The Bible says, “Then when lust hath conceived, it [brings] forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, [brings] forth death” (James 1:15).
Sinners are not only “children of disobedience,” they also are “children of [God’s] wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). The Bible declares that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who [suppress] the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). All sin is offensive to a holy God. It angers Him that man, whom He created for His glory, willfully chooses to sin against Him. Therefore, in His wrathful judgment, God has determined that there are consequences to man’s sin. The Bible gives this solemn warning, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but his that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8).
When a great number of people in a culture have seared their conscience and willfully rebel against God, the LORD pours out His wrath in righteous judgment. This is a repeated occurrence recorded throughout God’s Word. God judged the entire world in the days of Noah, and He will do it again in the Tribulation Period (Isaiah 13:9, 13; Revelation 6:16-17; 11:18; 14:10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19; 19:15). As we shall see later in this article, the eruption of lawlessness in America and around the world is preparing the way for God’s final judgment upon the wicked of this earth.
God has also created and ordained human government to externally restrain people from their transgression against His law (Romans 13:1-6). That is why the Bible commands believers to respect and obey their government and law officials. We are to pray “for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:2). When the apostles gave this command to the early church, they were commanding them to submit to a wicked and godless Roman government. Having wicked leaders does not excuse us from obeying the law or respecting their office. The only time we have the right to rebel or disobey our government or law authority, is if they demand us to do something that goes against the law of God. In that situation “we ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
Those who are lawless are lovers of self and their sin (2 Timothy 3:1-5). When a person puts self and his sin above God and others, it will cause him to formulate his own laws. In essence, he has become his own god. He becomes his own judge and jury. He is blinded by his love for sin and self. He thinks only of his own rights. He does not care about God or others. He actually hates God (Romans 1:30), His truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10), and “[despises] those that are good” (2 Timothy 3:3).
In light of all of the prophetic developments in our world, I am convinced we are currently witnessing the beginning of the final rebellion against God and His law. In the days of Noah, this rebellion against God became so pervasive that God decided to destroy the entire global population. The Bible says, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). They had reached the spiritual point of no return. Their consciences had been seared. Genesis 6 indicates that the wickedness of men was expressed by their moral corruption and violence. This is being exhibited once again. Jesus said that lawlessness would increase in the end times. Concerning the last days, Jesus said, “And because iniquity [lawlessness] shall [multiply], the love of many shall [grow] cold” (Matthew 24:12). Lawlessness is always accompanied by hate – a toxic hatred of all that is good and godly.
The Bible testifies that when the end comes, a lawless people will demand a lawless government. These evil governments will prepare the way for the Antichrist, whom the Bible calls “the lawless one.”
According to the Bible, the generation of the Tribulation Period will be so lawless that they will demand a lawless government. This lawless government will prepare the way for “the lawless one” – the Antichrist. This truth is clearly revealed to us in Psalm 2, an ancient prophecy written by King David of Israel more than 3,000 years ago. In this psalm, we are told that in the last days, the world will unite for a single cause – to get rid of God and His moral precepts (Psalm 2:2-3). In his excellent commentary on this psalm, the late John Phillips, a world-renown Bible teacher at Moody Bible Institute, comments on the world’s rebellion at the end of this age, “This rebellion is not something imposed on the masses of mankind by the masters of the world. It is a popular, grass-roots movement which embraces everyone – princes and people alike. It is a mass movement which has popular support. The world is of one mind. It may have its different political systems, different ideas about economic and social structures, about education and national goals, but it is united in this: get rid of God! …
“The rebellion is also against the hated precepts of God. Men want to get rid of God’s … restraints which the Bible imposes on society. The moral and ethical teachings of the Bible are repugnant to the rebellious human heart. The precepts of the law of Moses and the sermon on the mount aggravate the fallen nature of men.
“The Psalmist sees a world in which time-honored Bible restraints are thrown off. Men have a new system of morality, a morality which lets them do as they please without being faced with the warnings and wooing of God. Modern man finds wholly unacceptable what the Bible says about the sanctity of marriage, sexual purity, respect for parents, reverence for those in authority; about sin, salvation, and coming judgment” (John Phillips, Exploring the Psalms, Psalm 1-88, p. 24).
The prophetic Word of God indicates that this spirit of lawlessness will set the stage for the appearance of the lawless one – the Antichrist. When the Apostle Paul wrote his second epistle to the church in Thessalonica, he told them that the day of the Lord [the Tribulation Period] could not begin until the apostasy [“falling away”] would come (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Following this, the Antichrist would be revealed. The word “apostasy” means “a revolt” or “rebellion.” So, Paul was telling the church that the appearance of the Antichrist, which begins the Tribulation Period, would not take place until there was a great rebellion against God and His Word. Read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.
It is frightening to see how this rebellion has crept into the professing church of today. Many professing Christians seek a church that will give approval of their sinful lifestyles. Many of the pastors of these churches are nothing more that religious hucksters. They are deceptive religious entertainers. We have been warned that this would come (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Their followers only have an empty “form of godliness” (2 Timothy 3:5). In reality, they seek to hear messages on self-esteem that will enhance their love of self (2 Timothy 3:1-2).
Throughout the centuries, The world has witnessed many wicked, vile, evil, murderous leaders. Within the last 100 years we have had our share of antichrist-like lawless leaders – such as Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Mao Tzekung, etc. However, there is one coming that will surpass their evil and murderous acts. He is the Antichrist.
According to the Bible, he will be an intellectual genius, a military master, and a mesmerizing orator. He will be a skillful politician rising out of total obscurity. He will be a cunning deceiver. He will be filled with hatred for God, truth, and all who are good. He will bring about a level of destruction upon the entire world as never experienced in history. He will be filled with arrogant pride and he will exalt himself as god, demanding global worship. He will be the personification of Satan and all that is wicked and immoral.
The Bible speaks of the Antichrist and those who receive him. They will love and worship him because he is just like them. They are lawless, so they love him because he is lawless. They love their sinful pleasures. He too is a lover of sin. They hate the truth and thrive on lies and deception, so they love him because he is a master deceiver and hates God and His truth. According to the ancient prophet Daniel, the Antichrist will speak monstrous, unheard of things against the God of the Bible (Daniel 11:36). The Apostle John wrote about the Antichrist, “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven” (Revelation 13:6).
As we watch anarchy and a lawless spirit erupt across America, please do not overlook another very significant development. The government in Israel has stated, with President Donald Trump’s approval, that during the first few days of July, Israel will annex the Jordan Valley and several areas on “the West Bank” [Biblical Judea and Samaria] where Jewish communities have lived for decades. The entire world is ready to erupt in rebellion over this move by Israel. Only the U.S. administration stands with Israel on this matter. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Party have declared that if Israel does annex these areas, the Jewish nation will lose the support of the Democratic Party.
The world falsely believes that the West Bank belongs to the Palestinian people. The Bible declares that this land belongs to Israel. The LORD gave this to them in an eternal covenant (Genesis 13:15; Jeremiah 7:7). God said He gave them this land FOREVER! Forever means forever! The Bible declares that the Antichrist will “divide the land for gain” (Daniel 11:39). The Antichrist, who is against God and His Word, will seek to oppose God by dividing the land of Israel. According to the Bible, the major reason for the battle of Armageddon [the world’s final war against God], is their ill treatment of God’s people, Israel, and the dividing of the land of Israel. Speaking of this battle, the ancient prophet Joel recorded the very words of God, “I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat [near Jerusalem], and will plead with them there for my people, and for my heritage Israel, who they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land” (Joel 3:2). 
Why does the land of Israel matter so much to the nations of the world? They may not understand, but the kingdom of darkness understands what is at stake. In Psalm 2, mentioned earlier, the world is set against God and His Word. Yet God in His heaven laughs at these fools who think they can oppose God and obstruct His eternal decrees. Read Psalm 2:4-6. God has a plan. His kingdom is coming. His physical kingdom will be established upon this earth and Jerusalem will be the future capital of the global kingdom of God. God has declared, “Yet have I set my king [Jesus the Messiah] upon my holy hill of Zion [the Temple Mount in Jerusalem]” (Psalm 2:6). Jesus will rule over the nations of the world from Jerusalem. Before this happens, the devil will be cast into the fiery bottomless pit for 1,000 years. He will be confined so that he cannot continue to “deceive the nations” (Revelation 20:3).
Satan and his human evil agents on earth are orchestrating this eruption of lawlessness to prepare for their final confrontation with God. I am convinced that the Antichrist is ready to step onto the stage of the nations for his role determined by Almighty God from the beginning of time.
The stage is set. The world has been humbled by the COVID-19 pandemic. We may be on the brink of a global economic collapse. The wicked, immoral, and lawless masses “rage and the people imagine a vain thing” (Psalm 2:1). The word translated “rage” means, “to conspire in open defiance,” “disorderly conduct,” and “attempting to overthrow a government.” Evil leaders are seeking to topple any form of government that honors God and His Word (Psalm 2:2-3). And, they oppose any attempt to recognize Jewish control over Jerusalem and especially the Temple Mount. All of this is aimed at preventing Jesus from returning from heaven to destroy the kingdoms of this world and establish God’s kingdom upon this earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-6).
God will vindicate His Name and law when He “shall speak unto [the nations] in his wrath, and vex [terrify] them in his [burning anger]” (Psalm 2:5). This is speaking about the horrific judgments of God during the Tribulation Period.
The real problem that we are facing in America is not about the color of a person’s skin. Rather, it is about the condition of their heart! All people are created equal in the sight of God. All people are precious in the sight of God. All people are sinners by nature and choice. All people are in need of a Savior. All people struggle with selfishness, greed, and self-love. All people need to repent and let God begin to change the condition of their heart. He is the only One who can take out our wicked heart of rebellion and replace it with a heart for God and a love for others. He is the only One who can help us to treat others with respect and dignity. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
True godly people will be known for their gracious spirit. They will treat others in a way they do not deserve to be treated – with love and forgiveness. They will be eager and ready to forgive others for the wrongs that have been committed against them. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 about God’s kind of love. Real love does not keep a record. The Bible commands, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. … Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and [screaming], and evil speaking , be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:26-27, 31-32).
The only hope for America is found in Jesus Christ. What we are dealing with at this hour is a heart issue. It will not be resolved by a change in political policy or by handing out large sums of money.
My heart is broken over the division in America. I am angry over all of the deception and manipulation from evil politicians who want to destroy the freedoms that have been given to us by God and our forefathers since the founding of America. I hurt for all of my fellow Americans who have not discovered the joy that comes only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
God hates slavery. He wants us to be free to worship and serve Him. He especially hates the slavery of sin. Jesus said, “Whosoever [commits] sin is the [slave] of sin. … If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:34, 36).
There is great freedom and blessing in being set free from the slavery of sin! “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1). Has sin got a grip on you? Only Jesus can set you free!
More money and the pleasure of sins will not set you free. They will only enslave you. Listen to what Moses discovered when he had to make a choice between following God or enjoying the pleasures and riches of the most powerful kingdom in the world in ancient Egypt. The Bible says, that Moses chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt …” (Hebrews 11:25-26). By faith, Moses had his eyes on a greater prize. He was thinking about eternity and living in the presence of the invisible God.
My friend, the only way to escape the wrath of God upon your sinfulness is to come to Jesus and ask for forgiveness and be saved (Romans 6:23; 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9). Only God can forgive you for transgressing His law. Don’t join the masses in their love for sinful pleasure and their suppression of God’s truth. If the Holy Spirit is working in you at this moment, repent and turn to the Lord for salvation. Please obey God. Bow your head now and ask the Lord to save you. Read the gospel of John and discover who Jesus is and give your life to Him before it is too late.
The hour is late. Jesus is coming soon. Don’t get left behind for the time of the outpouring of God’s wrath. Get ready for the shout that will soon take us out!
Israel’s Final Borders?
Israel’s Army Radio has announced that the Trump administration has informed Israel that when it annexes parts of the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley, that this will finalize Israel’s borders. In other words, all remaining land in the disputed area will be recognized as belonging to a future Palestinian State. This has brought about great division in Israel over the current annexation plans of the Israeli government. Many religious Israelis realize that God has given them the entire area that is known as the West Bank. As a matter of fact, more than eighty percent of the Old Testament history of Israel that is recorded in the Bible took place in this area.
If this report is true, then the United Sates has joined the rest of the world, and is opposing God’s eternal land grant to the Jewish people.
God has promised that whatever the nations attempt to do to His people and His land, He will turn it upon the nations in judgment. In Jeremiah 30:16, in a passage that clearly speaks about the onslaught of attacks and opposition that Israel will face in the last days, God says, “Therefore, all they that devour thee shall be devoured, and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.” I call this the boomerang prophecy. God has promised that whatever the nations hurl at His people, He will turn it back upon the heads of Israel’s enemies.
It is not an accident that when the U.S. administration announced that Israel’s annexation would mark her final recognized borders, that with the attempt to divide God’s land, the riots erupted in America and divided our nation.
God clearly laid out all of the borders of the land that He has promised to Israel in Genesis 15:18; Deuteronomy 1:7-8 and Joshua 1:3-4. This is reflected in the map below. What God has said will come to pass.
In the future, the land of Israel will include all of Jordan, portions of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, and all of Lebanon.