The Rebellious Generation

We live in the age of rebellion, which is the age that the Lord will judge. The Bible is clear, that our problem is we have turned away from God’s laws. The solution to the problem of rebellion is submission to God and to His laws. Submission is the opposite of rebellion.

There were at least two rebellious generations of Israelites in the Bible. One was in the time of Moses. Moses said of them, “For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord; and how much more after my death?” Deuteronomy 31:27. Some of them were so rebellious that God cut them off from Israel. That meant they would not have any hope of eternal life. Many years later the prophet Samuel commented on the sin of rebellion when he rebuked Saul. “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” I Samuel 15:23. This scripture indicates that rebellion leads to demonization, the influence of evil spirits in the person’s life.

Besides the rebellious generation in Moses’ time, another rebellious generation lived in the time of Jesus and the apostles. That generation accused Jesus of using the power of a demon to drive out demons. His answer was, “If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils by Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.” Luke 11:18-20. The Lord also said of them, “This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.” Luke 11: 29. Paul and Barnabas later contended with that generation and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” Acts 13:46. The rebels of that generation were therefore cut off from Israel by God.

Today we have another rebellious generation. They do not believe the Bible. They are convinced that they were not created, but evolved. They believe it is okay to kill the unborn. Sexual intercourse outside of marriage is accepted as normal. Sunday is their second biggest shopping day of the week. They want to keep Christianity out of the public schools. They think they are more intelligent than all the generations that went before them. I believe this is the generation that will see the return of the Lord. “For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.” Isaiah 66: 15-16. A generation is forty years in the Bible. I believe there was a dividing line between generations with the birth of the Jewish state (represented by the fig tree in scripture). The generation that was born in the period from 1948 to 1987 would be the rebellious generation (my generation). They are in control of things right now and are going to bring judgment on themselves. Most of them had some connection with church in their younger years. The churches were full of young people in the 1950s and 60s. There were moves of God to reach people in all Protestant denominations in the 1970s and 80s, and in schools with such organizations as Inter-School Christian Fellowship and Youth For Christ, and in colleges with the Navigators and Campus Crusade For Christ. The witness has been there but the rebellious generation has refused to hear the call of God.

There is still hope for the rebellious generation. The opposite of rebellion is submission to God and His laws. God has always set apart those who kept His laws. “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. As many as follow His way will have the Lord’s protection in the evil time that is upon us.