Love of the Fathers

The story of another suspected case of child abuse has been in the news this week.

Why do we hear of more of these kinds of stories than we used to?

It seems that this kind of story is getting more and more common. Child abuse is a sign of the times. One of the things Jesus said would characterize the Tribulation is love growing cold… “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” Matthew 24:12, NKJ). We would then expect to see more and more instances of love growing cold as birth pangs indicating our closeness to the Tribulation.

There is another passage that very specifically states that there will be both child and parent abuse leading up to the Tribulation… “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6). We expect Elijah to return during the Tribulation who will warn the world about the coming judgment of God, see Revelation 11:3-12.

If Elijah is sent to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, then it is clear that in the time leading up to the Tribulation there will be parent-children heart problems. Seeing love grow cold is just one more thing that reminds us how sorely this world needs Jesus to return.