Institutional Indicators of the End Times
By Tom Gilbreath
Bible prophecy shows a decrease in morality and corresponding increases in chaos and iniquity as the end of the age draws near. Chaos and iniquity can overwhelm human institutions such as courts, police, schools, prisons, and law-making bodies. Trying to keep societal order in an environment of moral decline, these institutions make changes — changes that will eventually lead to Antichrist.
Jesus said the last days would be like the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37). Genesis 6 verses 11 and 13, characterize the days of Noah as a time of violence. Jesus said last-days events would be like the labor pains a woman’s body goes through as it gets ready to give birth. Labor pain comes in waves. So it will be with violence. Each year will not be worse than the last, but the general trend will be toward more violence, and society will do things to compensate.
In 1970, about 330,000 people in the United States were incarcerated. Less than 40 years later, by 2008, that number had risen to 2.3 million. In 1970, 161 out of every 100,000 Americans were incarcerated. By 2008, that number had risen to 755. That’s more than a 450% increase. (These numbers do not include juveniles.) Since 2008, both violent crimes and incarceration rates seem to have gone down. If published statistics on violent crime are correct, that particular labor pain has somewhat subsided. Meanwhile, fear of violence continues to rise.
Parents can now buy armor-plated backpacks for their school-age children. Some schools require clear backpacks so it will be harder for students to bring in contraband such as guns. Many children walk through metal detectors just going to class in the morning. Theme parks routinely use metal detectors and bag checks. Security cameras are everywhere from homes and schools to grocery stores, city sidewalks, and restaurants.
What’s happening? Government agencies and private businesses are adjusting to ever-increasing dangers as the end of the age comes closer.
Revelation 9:21 and 18:23 indicate a last-days rise in something called “pharmakeia” in the Greek. Most English Bibles say “sorcery,” and that’s a good translation. But pharmakeia forms the root word for the English words pharmacy and pharmaceutical. It literally means drugs. Over the last few decades, the world has seen an explosion of both legal and illegal pharmakeia. How do governments, schools, and businesses adjust? They routinely stock Narcan or its equivalent in schools, patrol cars, ambulances, and even in places like restaurants and malls. This has saved countless lives, but even with its prevalence, way too many still die. Our institutions also do a great deal of drug education and drug testing.
Our biggest adjustment to moral decline may be in the number of laws. In 2023, state legislatures in the United States introduced 246,405 new bills. Much of this is an attempt to push back against the rising tide of evil flowing over the land. Add that to the thousands of pages of new federal laws and regulations along with city ordinances and local directives enacted every year. People keep inventing new ways to steal and otherwise harm the vulnerable, so governments scramble to keep things safe and fair.
What about individual Christians and their families? How do we cope with the increasing chaos that seems to be engulfing both our world and our neighborhoods? Philippians 4:6-7 gives a powerful set of instructions. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”