One would have to be living under a rock not to have seen the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Live on national TV, the man was murdered by someone with a rifle. Charlie Kirk was a polarizing person because he was willing to debate anyone on what he believed to be right.
As this was happening, Joe Rogan, a well-known podcaster, was doing a podcast and his guest commented that this assassination could serve as a tipping point just as other assassinations in history have caused some serious issues to happen, so for example the Rodney King video that caused massive riots or the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which triggered a series of declarations of war due to complex alliances and underlying tensions which ended up causing the start of World War One, etc.
A few days before this, there was another killing where a young Ukrainian woman was stabbed on a train in New York, and she sat there for a few minutes dying, and no one stepped in to help or confront her attacker.
If we were to monitor the news from all over the world, the number of deaths is extraordinary and it grows day by day.
I have been watching a lot of podcasters and YouTubers and reading articles and talking to people, and the general consensus I am getting is that people are tired of what has been going on over the last few years. There is a rift growing within the United States. The problem is that people want to fight. Left and Right are hating one another.
On top of this, there are wars going on: Israel and its fight for Gaza. Ukraine and its war with Russia. This is the state of the world that we live in at this time.
It should be clear that we are experiencing the days that Christ spoke about, which would occur before the start of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:12; Luke 21:9). These are not just random tragedies, but they are evidence that the world is unraveling, and Christ told us this would happen.
We must be vigilant and aware that we are not caught up in these same worldly mindsets and attitudes. Violence is not just the act of murder or war. Christ expanded the definition in Matthew 5:22: “…whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment…” The increase in hostility, division, and rage, even in speech and attitude, shows how violence grows first in people’s hearts before it spills out into the world.
We are called for a different purpose. We are standing up for the Truth. This may cause serious violence for us. Most of the early apostles ended up being martyrs. Seeing a man shot on TV for being brave enough to speak his mind made me stop and evaluate who I am and what I believe and it is making me confront some fears. Christ minced no words about this. He said in John 15:18: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” He added in Matthew 10:28: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”
We cannot live in fear and panic, and we cannot consider retaliation. Rather, we have to live in faith. We continue to speak the Truth even though we realize what it will cost. We refuse to turn to the right or to the left. We are the ambassadors for the light, for peace, for a Way of Life that is foreign and unknown to the masses.
From the first murder (Cain killing Abel) to where we are now, the world thinks that violence can end violence. This lie is sold over and over again. James 4:1-2 makes it so abundantly clear that this is so far from the Truth: “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.”
In a few short weeks, we will be keeping the Feast of Tabernacles! One of the highlights of the Feast is the revelation that we are going to have peace. These wars and violent acts will be a thing of the past. There is a promise of peace, real peace under Christ’s rule in the Kingdom of God. Isaiah 2:4 tells us: “…They shall beat their swords into plowshares…” We as Christians must not be overcome by the violence around us, but rather, we should live as witnesses of Christ’s peace in a divided and violent world. Part of our commission is to live and act in this way; the other part of it is to preach the Gospel to all the world.
We will continue to preach this and we will continue to grow in Faith in doing this.
In stark contrast to this current world, let us cling to the promise of what is before us, which is described in Isaiah 9:6-7: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”