I have an observation: have you noticed the rising evil in our world today? Okay, that was a question, but you get the idea. It seems that in the last few generations we've seen evil rear its head in extreme ways; the rise of abortion, homosexuality, ungoverned government, silencing of free speech, physical and sexual abuse, divorce rates, children being raised in unloving homes, and those are just a few. At times it certainly seems like our world is barreling down a road destined for Hell. At times it's extremely easy for Christians to simply throw up their hands in exasperation. What are we supposed to do? Just give up? The world seems to be worse than it's ever been.
Well, before we can look at what we're supposed to do, there are a couple of things that we need to get straight.
First of all, believe it or not, the world is actually not worse than it's ever been. Shocked? It's true! Do a little history research and you will find out really quickly that we don't live in the worst of times as we often seem to think. Need some proof? Let's look at some specific examples.
The days of Noah: The Bible talks about how wicked the world was in the days of Noah, enough to make God almost wipe out mankind!
The Great Seige of Malta: It is said that Mustafa had his victims decapitated and their heads loaded into canons and shot into the city. Sounds like Lord of The Rings stuff doesn't it?
The Aztec Empire: The Aztecs were known for their horrific acts of cruelty. One such act involved the killing of over 10,000 slaves by physically tearing their hearts out while they were still alive.
Child sacrifice: Throughout history, there have been many incidents of child sacrifice (I believe that abortion is a continuation of that in our day). In 2019 a group of archaeologists found a site where they believe over 200 children were sacrificed to bring an end to the El Nino Winter. Another example is Moloch the god (I believe demon) who was appeased by "the passing of children through fire." In other words, burning them alive. Archaeologists have uncovered jars that hold the bones of young children that were sacrificed to appease Moloch.
Roman Emperor Nero: Nero was one bad dude, to put it lightly. He ruled just a few decades after Christ was on earth, and he was ruthless. He was known for his horrific acts of cruelty. He married and castrated a 12-year-old boy. He kicked his pregnant wife to death. He had his mother murdered. He would frequently send notes to people he didn't like, suggesting that they should probably kill themselves. They would often do so, knowing the torture that would come if they didn't. Nero would tie people to stakes, coat them in tar, and light them on fire to use as human candles in his garden parties. He was even known to dress up in animal skins, tie people to stakes (often Christians), and eat them alive. He was a beast.
These are just some specific examples throughout history, but my point is that evil has been present in the world since the fall of man, and it will continue to be present in some magnitude until Christ returns. So no, we are not seeing the world worse than it's ever been, in fact, I believe the world is better now than it has been through much of history, and it all hinges on Christ's incarnation and sacrifice. When Christ won the kingdoms of the world to himself, he forever changed how the world functions. Since then, evil has risen and fallen almost in waves. I believe that we may be on the slope of one of those waves.
Secondly, it's important to keep in mind that America is not "the world." We have seen a massive surge of wickedness in America recently. For some reason, we humans tend to generalize local events. In other words, if something bad is happening to us, it must be happening to everyone else as well. This is not necessarily true. Some countries have seen a great defeat of wickedness and a rise of Christianity in recent years.
So, we see that our day may not actually be the most wicked of days, but that doesn't negate the fact that there is still wickedness all around us that needs to be defeated. So what are Christians supposed to do today to fight the wickedness we are seeing all around us? Well, the good news is, since wickedness has been present for a very long time, we have a lot of good examples to follow that present solutions concerning what to do about it. One such example is the story of Jehoshaphat in 2nd Chronicles 20. This is a cool story and if you haven't read it, you definitely should. I'll paraphrase the story here, interjecting lessons that we can learn along the way.
Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, wakes up one day to several messengers bearing urgent news: a vast army is coming down upon Jerusalem from Edom. They are already in En Gedi, which is only 24 miles away. This was likely less than a two-day march for the army. Jehoshaphat is understandably alarmed. What does he do? He "resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah." (v.3)
Lesson #1: Go to the Lord! When the enemy is rushing upon us, we would be fools to try to fend them off in our own strength! Inquire of the Lord what should be done. Verse 4 presents a beautiful picture: "The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him." This is what the people of God should be doing. We should be coming together from all corners of the earth seeking the Lord for wisdom. Notice what the people of Judah did not do: they did not immediately rush out to meet the enemy without a plan in their own strength, nor did they throw their hands up in despair and wait for the worst. They went to God.
Jehoshaphat goes on to pray a mighty prayer to God, praising him for who he is and for what he's done. He brings the problem before God, and asks for help. Then he brings out an interesting point in verse 12: "Our God, will you not judge them?"
Lesson #2: It's ok to ask for judgment upon the evil ones. Time and again in scripture we see men and women of God calling out to him to bring judgement upon their/his enemies. Yes, we should pray that these wicked people would come to Christ, but if they don't, we need to pray that God would get them out of the way and bring down their fortresses of evil.
Jehoshaphat continues in verse 12: "For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."
Lesson #3: Focus your eyes on God and admit when you don't know what to do. The people of Judah were outnumbered. Things looked hopeless and they didn't know what to do. But they did know one thing; they knew to take it to the Lord. And we see that God blessed them for it.
All the people of Judah gather together to pray to God. Then a guy named Jahaziel has the spirit of the Lord come upon him and he speaks to the assembly: "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s." He goes on to give them instructions from the Lord on what to do. I find it very interesting that right after the people tell God that they don't know what to do, he tells them exactly what to do. Jahaziel says: "You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you."
Lesson #4 Take up your positions and stand firm! The battle is God's! Hebrew 10:39 says, "But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved." We are not to shrink back and cave in to the pressure of the world, but to take a stand, hold our position, and stand firm. I don't think there is anything more honorable than a soldier who takes a stand against all odds to save his friends, family, and country. In the Christians' case, we have the Creator and King of all things on our side! What have we to fear?
The 2nd Chronicles story ends with the people of Judah marching out the following day to go to battle. And, would you believe it, they don't even have to do any fighting. By the time they get there all they find are dead bodies (read the story for yourself if you want to know why). So in their case, all they needed to do was believe and take action, and God did the rest. That's not always how it pans out, but it definitely shows that God is able.
So, what are we supposed to do when the enemy rushes upon us? How are we to respond? We are to go to the Lord in humble recognition that we don't know what to do, ask for his wisdom and guidance, and then, we heed the words of Gandalf the White before the final battle for Middle Earth: "Steady! Steady! You are soldiers of Gondor [or the Kingdom of Christ, perhaps?]! No matter what comes through that gate, you will stand your ground!"