A CIVIL WAR IS BREWING IN THE USA

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America is deeply divided, yet there is no single conflict at the core of the discord. Instead, an ideological divide is widening at an alarming pace. We have seen “cancel culture,” which initially aimed to suppress opposing voices, evolve into an “assassination culture,” where some openly call for the violent elimination of adversaries.

Evidence of this disturbing trend was highlighted by a recent Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) report. Among those surveyed who self-identified as left-of-center, 55% felt that assassinating President Trump could be justified to some extent, while 48% said the same about Elon Musk. Alarmingly, 38% of all respondents believed it would be at least somewhat justifiable to murder Donald Trump. Researchers noted that these findings reflect a growing acceptance of political violence among ideological extremists.

Such a dangerous shift is taking root as assassination ideation becomes more normalized. We’ve seen Tesla dealerships vandalized and the murder of executives like Brian Thompson of United Healthcare met with approval in certain circles. Clearly, extremism begets extremism, and the future of America stands on precarious ground.

History and Scripture are unequivocal: a house — or a nation — divided against itself cannot stand for long. If America wishes to remain under a shared roof, it must find a path toward unity.

This is spiritual warfare, and because we are approaching the time of Jesus’s return, it will only intensify, so civil war between the States is a real possibility. If it does, expect China, possibly in collusion with Russia, to take advantage of it. We are in the end times, and wars and rumours of wars are prophesied.

“And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” Matthew 24:6-8

IS AMERICA ON THE CUSP OF A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING?

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David Closson, director of the Centre for Biblical Worldview at Family Research Council, thinks that the measurable rise in popularity of religious and Bible apps is a sign that America may be on the cusp of a spiritual awakening.

At the same time, America is deeply divided, yet there is no single conflict at the core of the discord. Instead, an ideological divide is widening at an alarming pace. We have seen “cancel culture,” which initially aimed to suppress opposing voices, evolve into an “assassination culture,” where some openly call for the violent elimination of adversaries. Perhaps this is the reason why young people are looking for something better: hope in a world consumed with hate.

“I’m encouraged by the growing popularity of faith-based apps like YouVersion and Hallow,” Closson told TWS. “As someone who works closely on cultivating a biblical worldview in the next generation, I see this as more than a digital trend — it could be a sign that something deeper is stirring. The political and cultural ‘vibe shift’ we’ve all sensed might actually point to a spiritual awakening. People are looking for clarity, truth, and hope in a confusing world, and many are turning — or returning — to faith as the foundation for that. I believe this hunger for meaning could very well be connected to a deeper worldview shift that could signal the beginning of revival in our nation.”

The surge in religious app popularity is coinciding with a marked rise in the sales of print Bibles, with sales up 22% as of last fall (compared to the same period the previous year), which is being partially attributed to a jump in first-time buyers.

Observers say the resurgence in faith can be partially attributed to — of all things — the ubiquity of phones and the increasing popularity of religious apps like Hallow. In a profile on the explosive growth of the Catholic app published Saturday on The Free Press, 39-year-old “Sarah,” a fallen away Catholic, says she had hit rock bottom after she embarked on an affair and found herself estranged from her husband and three children. Alone in a Chicago hotel room after binging on drugs and alcohol, she offered a desperate prayer to God for help. Days later, she happened upon an Instagram ad for Hallow featuring Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg, inviting people to pray the rosary. After downloading the app and listening to morning prayer routines, short sermons, a guided “examination of conscience,” and a multitude of other resources, she sensed a change beginning to happen in her.

Months later, Sarah had moved back in with her family and began therapy with her husband. Sarah is now a cantor at her church and regularly goes to confession. “She is convinced God used Hallow to save her soul, her marriage, her career — perhaps even her life.”

As of now, Hallow has been downloaded 23 million times since its creation in 2018. In February of last year on Ash Wednesday, Hallow became the first religious app to ever reach the number one spot in Apple’s App Store. The app once again reached number one on Ash Wednesday this year. Sarah told The Free Press that the reason for the app’s massive growth is because there are a multitude of people like her who are “starved for connection, for meaning” and “starved for God.”

Hallow is far from the only religious app to see unprecedented growth over the last year. Bible Chat, “an AI chatbot trained exclusively on the Bible,” has been downloaded seven million times since 2023 and was second only behind Google Translate in the Reference category. On January 5, the first Sunday of this year, almost 800,000 people installed the Bible app YouVersion, with 18.2 million people opening the app that same day.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out as persecution of Christians increases as we enter the tribulation and extreme tribulation of the last seven years before Jesus returns to restore righteousness.

END TIMES – LAWLESSNESS WILL ABOUND

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‘Assassination Culture’: Half of Left-leaning Americans say assassinating Trump, Musk is justified

The Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University’s Social Perception Lab released a report Monday titled “Assassination Culture: How Burning Teslas and Killing Billionaires Became a Meme Aesthetic for Political Violence.” The data included in the report is based on responses collected from 1,264 U.S. adults. The main takeaway from the report is that, “A broader ‘assassination culture’ appears to be emerging within segments of the U.S. public on the extreme left.”

“This report points to disturbingly high levels of support for political violence, particularly targeting President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Across survey responses, nearly one-third of respondents — and a significantly higher share of left-leaning respondents — expressed some degree of justification for acts of lethal violence,” the report stated. 

“Unless political and cultural leadership explicitly confronts and condemns this trend, [a] growing probability of real-world escalation” exists, the report added. “Given the current economic volatility and institutional distrust, the online normalization of political violence may increasingly translate into offline action.” 

“Taken together, the findings underscore the erosion of democratic norms and the growing acceptability of political violence in American discourse, particularly among ideologically extreme communities online,” the report warned. “Continued monitoring and broader measurement efforts are urgently needed.” 

Fortunately for Christians, God has revealed how this story plays out, and we know it is both good news and bad news. The good news is that Jesus’s return is imminent, but the bad news is that God allows Satan to refine His church and to do his utmost to deceive the world. The following Scripture is Jesus’s response to the disciples’ question about what it will be like in the end times before He returns to restore righteousness.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

We cannot say that Jesus did not warn us. It is time to draw close to God to ensure we do what He has called and prepared us to do.