What do the End Times have to do our Culture’s Tendency to “Get Offended”?
A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle- Proverbs 18:19
The term “easter egg” is an expression that refers to a clue, detail or reference hidden in a movie, video game or other media. Easter eggs are designed to enrich the viewing experience and give viewers hints concerning future projects the studio is working on. The term was coined in 1980 by Steve Wright the-then director of software development for Atari.
With all due respect to Mr. Wright, Atari and all the gaming/movie nerds in the world, it was God who conceived the whole concept of an easter egg. The Bible does not use the term “easter egg”, however it does give us clues and insights into future events, especially end time events. Jesus was clear: no one knows the day or hour of His return, not even Jesus (Matthew 24:36, Matthew 25:13, Mark 13:32).
Nonetheless, the Bible does give clues as to what the season of His return will look like. These “easter eggs” are critical to pay attention to because:
- Jesus instructs His followers to be ready for His return (Matthew 24:32-33, Luke 12:35-40, 2nd Peter 3:3-10)
- Jesus warns many professing Christian will NOT be ready for His return (Matthew 25:1-13, Luke 12:42-48, Matthew 25:31-46).
- There will be a lot of spiritual deception specifically surrounding the return of Jesus (Matthew 24:12, 2ndThessalonians 2:1-12, Mark 13:5-22), making every clue critical.
Some signs of Jesus return are familiar (earthquakes, wars, famines, rumors of wars, persecution, etc.), others, not so much. Over the course of the next few weeks I will discuss some of the lesser known signs of end time events. The first is found in Matthew twenty-four, a long discourse on the end of the age. It says;
Many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another- Matthew 24:10 NKJV
Offense or “getting offended” will be a huge issue just prior to the return of Jesus. There are those who believe this verse simply means people will be opposed to Jesus and the truth claims of Christianity. Without a doubt, opposition to Jesus and the Christian faith is growing. However, opposition to Jesus is not new. There have always been those who were offended by the truth claims and moral demands made in Scripture (John 14:6, Hebrews 12:14, 1st Thessalonians 4:3). The real easter egg in this passage is offense.
This is kind of where we are living right now. Everybody is offended by everyone and everything these days. Words are thought to be violence. As a result, there are all sorts of words that are no longer okay to say. Some make sense, no one sane would ever advocate for a return of racial slurs or misogynistic speech.
That’s just gross.
However, there are a lot of folks who want to eliminate words that have been a part of our language for a long time, words like “manhole”, “ghetto”, “hooligan”, “uppity”, and “savage.” These same people want to ban phrases like “peanut gallery”, “food coma”, “long time no see”, and “grandfathered in” simply because they once (long ago) may or may not have been offensive to someone. This unparalleled attempt to control speech is either a clear indicator of widespread mental illness or a pervasive egocentric fixation on controlling other people, or both.
Sigh.
The proclivity towards taking offense goes way beyond silly people attempting to criminalize words they don’t like. The Bible predicts narcissism will eventually take root in the hearts of the majority (2nd Timothy 3:1-5) and it has. Narcissists lack empathy, are hyper focused on personal boundaries, do not respect others and have no real fear of God, although they may be professing Christians. Narcissists love themselves and are entirely self-focused. Anyone is entirely self-focused will inevitably be both easily offended and incredibly unforgiving.
The epidemic of narcissism in our world has led to an rise in people cutting friends and family out of their lives. Sometimes, this means ghosting folks (ghosting is when someone simply stops taking a person’s calls and responding to their texts). Other times this means going “no contact” or “low contact” with friends or relatives. Even some professing Christians have fallen headlong into the offense trap. Ghosting and “going no contact” typically happen without following the biblical standard for resolving conflict found in Matthew 18:15-17 and with zero grace or mercy (Matthew 5:7, Matthew 7:1-2, Luke 6:37).
Picking up offenses is more than just silly, annoying and potentially harmful to personal relationships. According to Jesus it’s dangerous because it makes us susceptible to spiritual deception and can even lead to a loss of faith. Seriously. Matthew 24:11-12 tells us:
Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold- NKJV
Picking up an offense about anything causes a person to become hyper-focused on feelings. Anytime feelings are running the show the ability to discern truth from error is diminished. If we stay in the feelings zone for long enough, discernment disappears completely and we become a sitting duck for all of Satan’s schemes (Ephesians 6:11, 2nd Corinthians 2:11, 1st Peter 5:8).
Like, seriously. ALL OF THEM.
The Bible says the end times will be perilous because people will be awful in ways and to a degree they have never been before (2nd Timothy 3:1-5). Christians must live counter-culturally in these times. This means doing everything in our power to stay free from offense and the sin that comes with it (Proverbs 4:14-16, Romans 16:17-18). Doing so is a powerful protection against deception and it allows Christian to shine for Jesus in a generation that’s rapidly losing its way (Philippians 2:16-17).
