The tragedy in Charleston allowed the world to see the true example of spirit filled Christians who know that a believer must not allow hate to become a part of their being. Love is a God given priority and it cannot be a spiritual love with hate in one’s heart. Hate can only be removed with forgiveness. One can be angry without being hateful. What we have seen on TV must be a lesson for every person that God can gives us the ability to forgive and remove hate. It is not the nature of carnal man to do so! This may answer those who do not understand how the shooter could ever be forgiven.

A normal person would not attend a Wednesday evening prayer service and shoot nine people. Yet I read where some Christians and many unbelievers in Christ do not believe there is a Satan or that some people are just evil or may even be demon possessed. We realize that the shooter’s defense will probably be that of insanity or mentally incapacitated. Drug addiction can lead to possession and evil deeds. Apparently he had a drug problem and many want to legalize drugs. Maybe when the Antichrist takes over, as Scripture says will happen, everything will be permissible and legal.

II Timothy 3:1 – 5 – “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”

I believe we are living in the last days and we should not be surprised at the moral degeneration of society around us. Man’s state of depravity is increasing exponentially all around us. When people misdirect their love toward themselves and material pleasures there can be no love left to direct toward others. Then moral corruption normally results. Here are other reasons for moral corruption: Boastful, proud – An inflated self-importance. Abusive – People who speak disrespectfully to others. Disobedient to their parents – Behavior that breaks the fifth Commandment. Ungrateful – Cannot appreciate others or give gratitude for favors. Unholy – Disregard God in order to live only to please themselves. Without love – People who love only themselves. Unforgiving – Cannot allow for other people’s mistakes or weaknesses. Slanderous – Enjoy spreading gossip and malicious reports about others. Without self-control – Cannot restrain their feelings or actions. Brutal – Live like untamed animals. Not lovers of good – People who hate anything good and hate others because of their race or religion. Treacherous – Ready and willing to betray anyone and capable of committing murder. Rash – People who act foolishly and carelessly and normally head-strong.

Conceited – A person who is narcissistic and a very high opinion of themselves. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – People who are so misdirected that they can think only of themselves. Having a form of godliness but denying its power – People who practice a form of godliness and used godliness as a cloak of respectability while denying God’s power over their lives. Can we not see this happening daily?

Matthew 24:21 – “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”

Using the above Scripture it tells us what will happen in the end times and how morality will disappear. Why are we surprised when tragedy occurs if we are entering the end times as it is going to get even worse? When believers are raptured and meet Christ in the air and the Holy Spirit is removed, would you want to live through that time?

God sends them a powerful delusion Revelation 13:7 & 8 – “It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” (The beast refers to the Antichrist.)

2 Thessalonians 2:9 – 12 – “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”

Jesus explains that believers must be on guard and ready for Him to come at any moment. He will come suddenly and swiftly. There will be no last chance for repentance or bargaining. The choice each person has previously made will determine their eternal destiny. Christ’s followers are not to let their minds and spirits be dulled by careless living or the foolish pursuit of pleasure. No human knows the date He will come but we are told to be ready at any time.
I Thessalonians 4:16 – 17 – “ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

We will begin seeing more and more demon possessed and evil people committing all kinds of crimes. Unless Americans return to God and changes what they believe and how they live. If not, expect the worst to come.