Paul writes 2,000 years ago what it will be like in this last generation we are living in, just before the Tribulation begins:
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. Always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-5, 7 ESV)
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4 ESV)
We also know that there will be a great abandoning of the faith in our generation:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. (1 Timothy 4:1 KJV)
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. (2 Thessalonians 2:3 KJV)
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. (Matthew 24:12 KJV)
Now read this remarkable observation of what this generation is like that we are living in:
How’s It Working Out? By Hal Lindsey July 2022
I recently saw a handsome young man during what should be a fantastic period of his life. He did not look happy. In fact, he looked as if he had never known actual joy. The only passions in his face were those of anger and frustration. I looked around, and what I had seen in him was not unique to his youth. People of all ages were looking haggard, angry, beaten, and frustrated. Everyone seemed to be struggling just to cope with that moment of life.
Our generation laughs at God and His rules for living. They act like He’s a spoilsport, or an old fuddy-duddy. They don’t seem to understand that His rules are for our benefit and that of our children. He loves us, but as we stray further from Him, we become more and more miserable.
How is America’s anti-God lifestyle working out? Go to a mall or even an amusement park. Those places are supposed to be fun. Yet most of the people there are not even happy. And they are a million miles from actual joy. Sadness has crept into everything. People walk around like dogs who have been physically abused — heads lowered for the next blow.
How did this happen? We live in a time of extraordinary convenience and personal power. Just look at our phones. They act as personal assistants. They give instant access to worlds of information. They make life easier, saving us vast amounts of time. But when do we get to see the benefit of those hours saved? And are we happier?
We live in a world of addictions. Video games, thought of as merely high-tech toys, can quickly turn into obsessions. Alcohol and recreational drugs promise to open up the essence of life itself. Yet, over time, they become the walls of ever-shrinking prison cells. It started with calling good evil and evil good. And soon, the meaning of everything changed. Our scientific, educational, and medical institutions teach concepts that earlier generations would call crazy. People find it harder and harder to think straight about the simplest things.
Someone dies by suicide every eleven minutes in the United States alone. And, according to Western Michigan University, “It is generally estimated that there are 25 attempts for one death by suicide.” But even though most attempts fail, twice as many people die by suicide than by homicide across the world.
Our society has figuratively wadded up the Bible and thrown it in the trash. Yet it still contains the words of life and joy. Through His word, God gives release from bondage, brings healing to the soul, and breathes life into our beings. Even so, an increasing number of churches avoid it, as if it makes them ashamed.
More than ever before, we need to proclaim God’s word without shame or hesitancy. This parched, drought-stricken world needs streams of living water. In John 7:37-38 (NKJV) Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
At such a time as this, may we say with Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” The whole world needs “the power of God to salvation” and that need has never been more urgent than now.
Our job is to preach the Gospel whether people listen or not. We are to preach the Good News whether we are amongst a hardened generation or not. Learn from what the Lord told Ezekiel:
And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with My words unto them. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto Me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted. Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, all My words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. (Ezekiel 3:4, 7-11, 18-19 KJV)
Annointing 