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There has been a lot of discussion about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Rightly so, those on the side of desiring to honor God have lamented his brutal end but also predicted what good might arise from the ashes of his earthly grave. Those on the side of evil have made their intentions quite clear: they hate God and intend to use his murder as a springboard for further violence. Given these two polar extremes, what can we determine of all this from a prophetic perspective?
Martyrdom isn’t a rare event in the world. Yes, in America, we react in absolute shock because we’ve essentially closed our eyes to that which occurs elsewhere around the globe. Our easy Christian life hasn’t really prepared us for the worst, yet that happens every day, multiple times a day, in nations such as Nigeria, China, India, North Korea, and so many more. In fact, the church in America has been pretty determined not to see those atrocities, the result being that we are spectacularly unprepared for what is still to come.
Not long after I was saved, I learned about Christian persecution for the first time. That led to my volunteering with Voice of the Martyrs. In that role, I spoke at a variety of churches concerning the troubling opposition Christians had, primarily, in the 10-40 Window, i.e., the area generally between 10 to 40 degrees latitude north of the equator. My speaking opportunities came through churches inquiring about having someone visit to speak to their congregations and through my own initiative in creating contacts. I also worked the yearly conferences VOM held in my area, where I served in a variety of ways.
Over time, a distressing reality became apparent: fewer churches had any interest in learning about their brothers and sisters in Christ who were persecuted around the world. Finally, literally all speaking opportunities dried up. When Covid came along, that stopped the regional conferences, and VOM had to go online to present information. One of the major sentiments that I heard regarding the potential of having someone like me from VOM speak at churches as time went on was that learning about persecution was too hard – too distressing – and people simply didn’t want to listen.
I was quite interested in Bible prophecy even in those early days, and one of the warnings I gave regarding persecution and being too comfortable here in our nation was that a day was coming when we would also have to face it. I stressed that I didn’t believe it would be of the nature that Christians faced daily in Third World countries, but that it was going to reach us in some way. I knew this because the Bible told me so. I don’t know how many really heard that warning, but as we’ve seen over the years now, Christians in the US have been targeted in many ways, and the hatred fueling the attacks is increasing.
The horrors of Christian persecution are very real. Entire villages are laid waste with tens, even hundreds, of believers – both simply professing and those truly sold-out for Christ – raped, tortured, kidnapped, maimed, or murdered. The persecutors don’t make a distinction. If Christ’s Name is attached to you in some manner, you will be targeted in those locales.
Here in our country, we’ve had freedoms threatened and perhaps a few murders, but nothing on the scale that happens elsewhere. In one sense, we haven’t become anesthetized to the brutality, but we also don’t expect it for having a Christian label. That could be about to change.
What the enemy has found, although few admit it, is that indeed Tertullian was correct in saying that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” The way that God has designed us is that for our faith in Him, when we witness persecution, that raises up something in us to desire God more. It can happen in lukewarm Christians as well as in secular atheists. Sadly, it can also cause those who are on the fence to hop onto the other side and oppose or run away from Christianity in the hope they will be spared. They are sadly mistaken. What we also see is that the blood of martyrs increases the bloodlust of those who hate God. In those 10-40 Window nations, the enemy is strong, and his allure is to man’s sinful nature that glories in the shedding of blood.
This is exactly what’s been happening since Charlie Kirk was assassinated. His Turning Point USA organization has been flooded with tens of thousands of new chapter requests as young people, and some older, have had their consciences stricken by the Holy Spirit. They realize that Charlie had something they don’t, and it’s attractive to them.
If anyone is shocked by the opposite reaction, he shouldn’t be. Social media has been awash in demon-possessed people mocking Charlie, his murder, and those affected by it. There are also reports that those who profess this ideology are increasing in numbers because they wish to carry out the hatred in their hearts in a physical manner.
Real Raw News is a rather fringy website, but I find it interesting to peruse at times. It came out with an article titled: ANTIFA Recruitment Surges Following Kirk’s Death and Trump Promising to Label ANTIFA Domestic Terrorists, which doesn’t surprise me a bit. Here are a couple of pertinent quotes:
Within hours of Kirk’s death, leaflets celebrating his demise and encouraging young men and women to join the resistance were being passed around at college campuses across the country.
“We’re seeing it all over the place, and ANTIFA is winning the hearts and minds of Leftwingers. Promoting violence, anarchy. Even if Trump labels them terrorists, which they are, they won’t be stopped unless the government freezes every single one of Soros’ bank accounts and confiscates his assets,” our source said.
So, what do we have in the aftermath of the martyrdom of Charlie Kirk? With all the interest coming forth in TPUSA, we may actually be seeing the beginning of the final ingathering of God’s people prior to the Rapture. Of course, it’s a given that many who are influenced in this way won’t become true Christ-followers. The Parable of the Sower shows us this explicitly. However, even with those who are exposed to Christ who don’t believe today, they may be some of the martyrs in the Tribulation.
Likewise, the rise of evil is exactly what the Bible foretells. What we see now is only a taste of that which is coming. Once the Holy Spirit steps aside in the Rapture of Christ’s true church, all bets are off, and every evil under the sun will be made manifest. If you’ve seen some of the craziness on social media following what was done to Charlie, that will have been a day at the park compared to what’s in store once the Tribulation begins.
Many in the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation) camp have predicted a great Christian revival throughout the world whereby great numbers of people come to Christ, leading to His return in the 2nd Coming. There are many in secular circles who likewise describe a coming Great Awakening whereby spirituality intensifies and good overcomes evil, mostly in the political realm.
Since there’s nothing Biblical about a massive Christian turning to the Lord before the Rapture, actually, the secular-spiritual Great Awakening makes more sense. Unfortunately, its manifestation is exactly what’s being shown on social media as many profess their hatred toward Charlie Kirk. Demonic presence is growing. The only real Great Awakening in this regard will be to the realization that vast numbers of people who reject God will be demon-possessed and express that in violence and chaos.
Despite this, it may very well be that this awareness of Christ through Charlie’s example could be that which leads to the fullness of the Gentiles. It’s quite possible we’re seeing this reality in a final ingathering of true believers.
Pray that this is so. Pray also that God will have finally had it with those whose hard hearts will never turn to Him. Judgment is at hand, and for this dark and decaying world, it can’t come too soon. Just as Jesus instructed us to knock the dust from our feet and move on after encountering those who hate God and refuse to see truth, let us hope that the Lord likewise does this so as to bring down His much-deserved wrath.
Yes, we desire all who will turn to the Lord to do it soon, but after that, for those who don’t turn to Him, there is nothing left but God’s punishment upon this unbelieving world.
Surely, that time is here, which means our time as believers is also ended. In other words, we’ll soon be going up, and God’s wrath in Judgment will come down.
https://garyritter.com/biblical-audio-commentary-martyrdom-the-final-ingathering/
Gary Ritter
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