A World in Decline

Proverbs 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.”

With the magnitude of tragedies occurring almost daily, the world is almost numb from the bad news. Christians are being slaughtered daily by muslim extremists, threats of war are commonplace in the news, mass murders in schools and businesses, and wickedness paraded in the streets. Through all the tragedies, substance abuse grows with those who are trying to cope.

Isaiah 5:11 “Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!”

Key findings show:

1. 95 thousand Americans die from the effects of alcohol every year.
2. 7% of drinking adults have AUC
3. 60% of people have increased their alcohol consumption since the Covid lockdowns.

World wide, the use of alcohol is only overshadowed by the magnitude of deaths from smoking.

As the data continues to pour in from 2020 until today, the increase in abuse on every level has risen sharply. Cannabis use has grown to over 200 million people globally while opioid use and amphetamines use has almost doubled since 2015.

In 2024, an estimated 44.3 million Americans used marijuana each month.

64.2 million Americans reported using marijuana within the past year.

In 2024, the percentage of Americans who used marijuana exceeded the percentage who used tobacco products by 5.2%

Marijuana use has surged over the past decade, rising an estimated 65.2% between 2015 and 2024.

Overall illicit drug use has increased by 54.1% between 2015 and 2024.

Rates of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) involving marijuana were 3.7 times higher in 2024 than in 2015.

Proverbs 23:20-21 “Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.”

Could the use of these depressants be the reason for the spike in suicide attempts which reached 14-15 million globally per year?

The Rise of Fear

Anxiety disorders affect an estimated 470 million people worldwide, making them the most common mental disorder globally according to data of the World Health Organization.

The stark increase in alcohol and drug abuse is only a precursor to the neglect people have for their own bodies. Instead of recognizing the value God places in a life, the world only considers the ways to bring comfort from anxiety and stress.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

One pattern of trouble leads to another type of problem, and another, until the snowball effect becomes insurmountable. For those who feel like they are buried under the weight of depression, many think the only escape is suicide. More than 720,000 people die by suicide worldwide each year.

The trouble this world is enduring is only the beginning of troubles.

Matthew 24:6-8 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

The wars and rumors of wars has began, with pestilence comes famine, and even though earthquakes have been present for some time, the frequency of them has continued to accelerate.

The world has reason to fear.

What has always been, will no longer be. The old way of life is no longer an option. Remaining in comfort and security is a thing of the past, every person on earth has been affected by either the pandemic, war, or growing drug and alcohol abuse…..the Lord is shaking out the remnants of those who will believe.

Daniel 12:1 “At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Everyone who is found written in the book.”

Could we be witnessing the close of this present age?

The White Horse

Revelation 6:1-2 “Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”

Christ, the Lamb, opens the first seal: observe what appeared. A rider on a white horse. By the going forth of this white horse, a time of peace, or the early progress of the Christian religion, seems to be intended; its going forth in purity, at the time when its heavenly Founder sent his apostles to teach all nations, adding, Lo! I am with you alway, even to the end of the world. The Divine religion goes out crowned, having the Divine favor resting upon it, armed spiritually against its foes, and destined to be victorious in the end. 

Matthew Henry

Since Christ is to come at the end of the Tribulation riding a white horse to establish a thousand year reign of peace, it doesn’t seem that this rider fits the description of the Messiah. The conditions that follow this particular horse is chaos, so it would lend itself to believe the rider represents someone other than Christ. Matthew Henry likens it more to an age, where others liken the rider to an Anti-Christ figure in the last days who tries to mimic God in his representation of false purity.

War and Bloodshed

Revelation 6:3-4 “When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.”

As long as mankind has lived in sin there has been a consistent pattern of wars. The violence of nations has never been in question, and what we are seeing today is an increase of violence in society. As I write this, mayhem is breaking out in France and muslim immigrants are burning down historic buildings.

With substance abuse increasing rapidly, the desperation of those trying to feed other habits only grows. For those who are wrestling with loss of loved ones, uncertainty of income, broken marriages, and civil unrest due to bad government, many are on edge and it shows among the people. The Middle East is a tinder box waiting to explode and global oil supplies remain tenuous at best.

If the red horse of the apocalypse has been released, the bloodshed will only grow worse, not better.

World Wide Famine

Revelation 6:5-6 “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

With pestilence comes famine. Most countries are suffering from lack of available jobs, spikes in inflation, energy prices, and war to cause the availability of food in societies to suffer.

The black horse may already be riding.

More than 29% of the world’s wheat supply comes from Russia and Ukraine. Currently, the Black Sea ports in Ukraine that are used to ship wheat and other agricultural goods to the United States and other parts of the world are closed. No one knows when or if they will reopen.

Most recently there has been rhetoric of nuclear threats and if this were to occur, the famines would exponentially rise. A global nuclear winter would stifle food production and the death toll would be beyond comprehension.

If there is any doubt we are living in the last days, with each subsequent event that unfolds the proof is harder to deny.

Spread of Death

Revelation 6:7-8 “When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.”

If the pale horse is not already riding, it waits at the doorstep. This fourth, pale horse, was the personification of Death, with Hades following him, jaws open and receiving the victims of the slain. Death’s commission was to kill upon the Earth with all of the four judgements of God—sword, famine, pestilence and wild beasts.

If there was ever a time for concern, the pale horse will provide ample opportunity.

Two Worlds

Psalm 34:17-20 “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.”

Today, there are two people groups in this world—the Righteous who have been set free from the sting of death and the Unrighteous, those who have forsaken the law of the Lord and His provision of grace through Christ alone.

The Lord does not forsake His anointed.

John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

The world has been overcome because the Lord has denounced their rebellion. The philosophies of the proud are founded in an imitation of faith, faith in science, faith in reason, faith in the senses, faith in emotions, faith in a godless hope that denies accountability.

God’s anointed are those who are filled with the Spirit.

The seal of the Lord is on the heads of the saints, the life of Christ is exhibited among the throng, and it is His people the Lord plans to exalt and honor one day. The day of God drawing His people out is close at hand, all the more important to keep the faith, to not give ourselves over to the corrupt practices of substance abuse or fear, but to remain steadfast in our commitment to being a light in the darkness.

If the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse are riding, they are riding out against the world. God’s people have nothing to fear.

If you’ve struggled with committing your way to Christ, if you’ve heard His call and have been reluctant to submit, I can’t urge you enough to not delay any longer.

The time is at hand—be ready.