Wickedness Is Not Winning

“The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.” (Pr 10:30 AV)

 

This verse is kind of hard to believe taking into account the situation of our world today.  As we see the wicked increasingly elevated to authority and power, we might be inclined to disbelieve the promise above.  However, God does not lie!  Solomon, who has written the book of Proverbs, is a type of Christ.  That is, until he marries strange wives and goes after their idols.  His kingdom is a type of millennial kingdom.  The promise above is based on Solomon’s experience as a king of a righteous nation.  He foreshadows what will happen when Jesus Christ returns.  Again, this is a hard one to see given our world as it is.  Wars and rumors of wars are all about us.  When our world had a semblance of freedom and liberty, we believed God was in control.  Now, with the events of the last few years, we begin to wonder.  Much has changed.  Especially in the last hundred years or so.  When the age of enlightenment came to maturity, mankind collectively rejected the reality of God.  When we did, wickedness increased exponentially.  Even in our own country, we are seeing evil we thought we would never see.  Perversion, violence, and corruption are rising and it seems as there is no limit to what we will see.  We read the second part of the verse and doubts arise.  But fret not!  Jesus is coming back.

When studying the kingdoms of this world, he will notice the evil kingdoms do not last nearly as long as one would guess.  Except for Rome, most kingdoms never lasted more than a few hundred years.  In the whole scope of human history, one evil kingdom is pretty insignificant.  The last of them will only last seven years.  We see the invasion of a sovereign nation by a much mightier one, and we think evil is winning.  We see corrupt and totalitarian governments and politicians closing down society, removing basic rights and we think evil is winning.  We see riots continuing unchecked, political opponents being denied due process, or the righteous canceled at every turn and we think evil is winning.  We wonder what our future will hold.  We wonder what will become of the saints of God.  We begin to ask if God sees all that is going on and if He will do anything about it.  We begin to doubt we will ever see righteousness on the earth again.

Our problem is, our hope is misplaced.  We think that if we elect a righteous government, everything will be all right again.  The reason America is under the righteous judgment of God is not because of abortion, same-gender relationships, drug use, or any other vice.  God is not judging America because we have elected corrupt and godless politicians.  He is not judging our world because of greed, lust, or abuse.  These are all manifestations of a greater problem.  If we were to elect a righteous government tomorrow, it would not change the spiritual condition of our nation.  As we knock on doors with proud American themes flying on their flag poles or emblazoned out the exterior of their homes, the answer to the question regarding their eternal soul will still be the same.  “If you were to die today, are you sure God has forgiven your sins and you will be in heaven?”  The response would be the same.  “Not interested.”  If every closed church of every denomination were to reopen, it would not change God’s judgment.  If all the bars were closed.  It would not cease God’s judgment.  If there were no more abortions, God’s wrath would still come.  If every drug dealer was thrown in prison and the stream of drugs ceased at our borders, God’s justice would still come.  Why?  Because we have rejected salvation in Jesus and the Lordship of the Messiah.  All this to conclude, wickedness seems to be winning.  But Jesus is coming back and the righteous will inhabit the earth.  Wickedness is not winning.  It just appears that way.  Holiness is soon to be the condition of this world.  Keep your eyes on the eastern sky for our redemption draweth nigh.