End-Times Echo Chambers And The God vs. No God War
Re-printed from an article in 2022 titled,
The Opposing Stream Theory
By: Vince D’Acchioli
Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father…
Luke 12:51-53
Two recent major events reveal a challenging perspective on the condition of our country, and in a larger context, our world today. The recent State Of The Union address and our decision to dismantle Iran are exposing an alarming division in our people and beg the question: why? Well, if you are a follower of Jesus and understand your Bible, none of this should surprise you. Jesus warns us that this division is going to happen and even a cursory look at bible prophecy suggests the chasm of division is widening as we approach end-times.
It is important for us to note how we got here and seek the Lord for wisdom and discernment to avoid becoming ensnared by our enemy’s traps. At no time in our history has it been this easy to deceive the masses. A dangerous AI driven feedback loop that only provides information we already agree with, combined with a seriously biased media, has created a perfect storm. If you find yourself on social media skipping over information that is not in line with your opinions, you may already be enslaved. What you and I must determine is to whom or to what are we enslaved? I will gladly be a slave to Jesus all day long. But I am concerned about how many Christ-followers may be being led astray.
Perhaps you have heard the term, Mass Formation Psychosis. Here is a definition posted from a Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI) article:
Psychosis is when people lose some contact with reality. Mass formation psychosis is when a large part of a society focuses its attention to a leader(s) or a series of events and their attention focuses on one small point or issue. Followers can be hypnotized and be led anywhere, regardless of data proving otherwise. A key aspect of the phenomena is that the people they identify as the leaders – the ones that can solve the problem or issue alone – they will follow that leader(s) regardless of any new information or data. Furthermore, anybody who questions the leader’s narrative are attacked and disregarded.
Some questions to ponder:
- Am I trapped in a feedback loop where I only consume information that supports my worldview?
- Am I consulting my Bible before deciding about important events taking place?
- Do I find it uncomfortable supporting my opinions with objective facts?
- Am I inclined to only believe and support those media communicators I like?
Back in the mid-eighties my pastor, Jack Hayford, related what he called The Opposing Stream Theory regarding signs attending end-times. What he posited was that throughout the history of man there has been two streams running in opposite directions, the stream of light and the stream of darkness…good and evil.
Pastor Jack would say that throughout most of our history those two streams have been flowing at a relatively slow enough speed that you could have a foot in both. He then suggested that as we approach end-times the darkness is going to get a lot darker and the light a lot brighter. As this occurs those streams will now be moving in opposite directions so fast that, if you try to have a foot in both, it will tear you apart. YOU WILL HAVE TO DECIDE…WHICH ONE WILL YOU BE IN?
Dear friends, I believe we are seeing this in our world today, particularly in America. Please allow me the liberty to apply different names to those streams—I would call them God and no God. Almost every issue we find ourselves facing today, in my view, is being viewed through one of these two lenses. At the ninety-thousand-foot level these are the only two worldviews that really matter, God…no God.
If God is real to you and you believe His word, it is not difficult to see the darkness that is all around you. If you do not believe God exists then there is really no basis upon which you can distinguish truth from error. Reality has become subjective and you have no means to determine what is good or evil. As a believer in the God who is, (and not a god I want), we must examine ourselves to make sure we are standing in the right stream.
Some takeaway thoughts to ponder:
- Societal division is inevitable, will intensify, and is prophesied.
- Ask God to protect you from being entrapped by information designed to enslave you.
- Filter everything through Gods word.
- Actively adhere to and proclaim that which is true.
Let me admonish you with the Apostle Paul’s powerful last words to Timothy:
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:1-5