Todd Coconato: “This is the Hour of the Lion”
Our world seems to be unraveling before our eyes. There is social unrest erupting all around the world. Much of it is not covered by the corporate media, as they don’t want us to know that there is a global populist awakening as people are waking up in droves and starting to see the wicked plans of the elites play out which have been hidden for decades but now are being exposed in many ways for people to see clearly.
The internet has opened a whole new frontier for information gathering and for the ability of truth to be shared. While much truth is coming to the surface, there is also a lot of disinformation and misinformation being shared as well, which is why it’s more important than ever to operate in discernment.
Many Christians have fallen victim to some of the deceptions that are packed well and that appear to be Christian. This is why the Bible tells us that we must “test the spirits”. Men are saying they are women and women are claiming to be men. There is an attack on gender and biblical marriage. Babies are ripped from their mother’s wombs in the form of late-term abortion, and this is celebrated by millions of people who claim this is their right to do so.
As we witness some of our brothers and sisters lose their jobs and reputations due to their beliefs and cancel culture, we also continue to see Christianity being pushed out of schools and educational institutions. Our kids are a major target. The evil players in this world are making a significant effort to target children at a young age and indoctrinate them with demonic and unholy propaganda.
This has become more important to much of the nation’s school systems than actually educating these kids and setting them up for success. The indoctrination has reached such a level of critical mass, that we are now seeing a major uptick in homeschooling by concerned parents who don’t want to see their kids indoctrinated by an out-of-control state. Witnessing this all, and sometimes feeling overwhelmed by it, we are rightfully alarmed.
This hasn’t been our experience and Christians in the West have not been taught by the church leaders how to spiritually endure what is now happening to us as a culture. We almost know nothing of the persecution faced by so many of our fellow saints in other countries, but it’s growing rapidly here in the U.S., and many are beginning to wonder if our comfortable times are over. They are. This is the hour of the lion.
I say this with caution and trembling because persecution is unnerving, but so often, it is God’s path to cleanse and grow his Church. I just finished studying the book of Amos and it was rich in explanations for some of this. In case not all of you have read Amos, I’ll summarize for you: The people of Israel had become arrogant and had rejected God’s law (Amos 2:4). Instead of being about God’s work, like God commanded in Deuteronomy 15, they trample the poor for their own selfish gain (Amos 2:7). They make deceitful deals and are filled with greed (Amos 8:5).
They commit perversion before the Lord with no remorse (Amos 2:7). They take sin lightly. They worship created things in place of their Creator--idolatry. In response, God sends multiple judgments upon them, yet they refuse to turn to Him (Amos 4). Does this all sound familiar? I believe in many ways; we are Israel in the book of Amos right now. You see, Israel continued to sacrifice to God as they pursued all the world had to offer. They thought that as long as they continue to bring their burnt and grain offerings, they’d be A-OK with the Lord. They felt that because of that they were free to live how they want–even committing sexual sin right on the altar. (Yes, that happened.)
We may shake our heads and utter, “how terrible!” Oh, but how blind we are! Don’t we do the same thing right now in the American church? We go to church and Bible study, pray, read our Bible, and maybe even serve in some ministry-check, check, and check! But then, when we’re alone, we entertain and even give in to thoughts that would profane God’s name. We gossip about this one or that one. We move in with that boyfriend or girlfriend. We have sex outside of marriage. We go into debt to buy that new purse but save no money for those who can’t even buy food.
We too, take sin lightly. But God does not. And He is not pleased right now. This is why He is calling His people out from among this worldly system and…the worldly “Christians” as well. This message may not be received by all, but it is for those with ears to hear and eyes to see. We can’t expect everyone to see what we see. Many will continue in their rebellion. They will continue to make excuses and have their heads buried. We must not look to them for affirmation. We must make our own moves and return to God’s perfect will for our life. We cannot control anyone else, but we can take responsibility for our own actions.