The Great Shut-Down

Not long ago, social media presenting end times information was bustling with activity.  Eschatological and discernment posts were peppered with thousands of likes, comments and shares.  Now, most of the ones I’ve checked have incurred a significant drop-off in views, likes, comments and shares.  The most popular ones are receiving only a few hundred views and some less than a hundred.  It is as if a switch was flipped and people are staying away from information deemed negative.  The blogs and pages maintaining viewership are the ones presenting heresy or benign information.

Negative information overload reaches critical mass

Why are people shunning the news of a perilous time arriving?  Are they rejecting portents of harsh period because they no longer believe them to be true?  I do not believe that is the case.  I believe that it is the Great Shut-down.  I’ve been expecting it to manifest—it has finally arrived.  The Great Shut-down is the point when negative information overload reaches critical mass.  People can only take so much bad news, especially the ones who are spiritually weak, or have not been incrementally conditioned to receive harsh truth.

Futurologist Alvin Toffler, labels the phenomenon in secular society as “future shock” syndrome.  Toffler postulates that “Future Shock” is the result of people witnessing and feeling the effects of sudden negative changes in society.  The lack of response from any authoritative source can cause them to feel helpless and hopeless.  They reach the point that they no longer have the will to resist or even complain.  Obviously, the secular faction is not looking to Christianity for hope.  However, there appears to be a lack of hope in professing Christians.

Burdens and stresses prevent people from sensing the presence of God

Émile Durkheim, observed that the collapse of European society by modernity dramatically affected Christianity.  He observed that once “the collective force so vital for the life of a society was no longer generated”, faith in God declined.  Harsh burdens and stresses prevented the people from sensing the presence of God.  This resulted in a replacement of faith with belief in social justice and science.  In other words, “the social milieu that supported Christianity disappeared, leaving Christian faith, values, and thinking without any social foundations to give them life.”  (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Émile Durkheim, c. The Death of the Gods)

Heretical and cultural trends diametrically opposed to the biblical concept of God’s nature

Consider the situation today.  There is a constant stream of information indicating that Christianity is disintegrating from the inside out.  Incredible doctrines and practices virtually unopposed by any significant leader are being introduced by heretics.  The effects of that heresy plus the fact that hirelings are inviting diabolical practices, trends, and philosophy into the churches, is erasing biblical Christianity.  One of the major heresies, Contemplative Spirituality, appears unchecked and is spreading like a deadly disease throughout Christianity.  Effects of that malignancy is rejection of love for truth and unbridled acceptance of heretical and cultural trends diametrically opposed to the biblical concept of God’s nature.

A steady flow of negative information

Concurrently, there is a steady flow of negative information about the shenanigans being foisted on society by the courts and the federal government.  There are the ObamaCare, IRS scandals, executive orders circumventing Congress, the aberrant and oppressive SCOTUS ruling against Christianity, the Nuclear Treaty with Iran, an porous border with Mexico, etcetera.  Adding to the flow is the news of terrorists beheading Christians (among other atrocities), the Umpqua Community College massacre, the Kim Davis saga, and attacks on Christian businesses that decline to support homosexual marriage.  Combined with the Benghazi scandal, the  Common Core invasion of public education, concerns about presidential election and that our current president may be a Muslim, a completely undependable economic future, the nationwide genuflection of the pope, etcetera, it piles on the burdens and stresses, crushing all hope.

Professing Christians brought to the tipping point

Additionally, psychological studies concerning the effects of watching cable news indicate it produces “negative mood experiences”.  Many professing Christians have been daily cycling through a spectrum of negative experiences including anxiety, outrage, sadness, anger, disgust, discouragement and even depression, from cable news and radio talk shows.  This combination of a constant flow of bad news about secular and religious events, along with the many warnings about encroaching heresy, the great apostasy, and the dark and deadly period ahead, has brought millions of professing Christians to the tipping point.

In my opinion, the factor that initiated the shut-down was the highly publicized false prophecies based on the “blood moon” theories.  People have had their emotions manipulated for profit with “wolf warnings” one too many times and at the wrong time.  It was after that fiasco was proven false that I noticed the shut-down.

The “Ostrich Complex”

Whatever the cause, shutting down is the worst thing a Christian can do at this point.  Instead of shutting down, people need to be selective about what they are putting into their minds and spirits.  Being informed is essential to be prepared.  Shutting down will not prepare one to endure the harshness of the last days.  I can understand if people are focusing on their relationship with God to the extent that they spend less time on the Internet and watching TV.  However, many of the ones who are shutting down are engaging in entertainment media and outlets of benign and mundane information.  They are not adjusting with a balance, but are going into denial.  They are forcing themselves to believe that it will be a long process if and when our society collapses.  That’s the “Ostrich Complex”.

A “House of Cards”

Whether one accepts it or not, the fact is that the United States has become a “house of cards” society.  Further, there are individuals and forces working feverishly to topple it. It will only take a push in the right area for it to collapse.  It can and perhaps will occur very rapidly, possibly overnight.  Christianity (the religion) has been compromised into the same precarious “house of cards”.  If one falls, both will fall.

As harsh as it is to accept, we are on the verge of a global government and religion that will be very brutal to true Christians.  It will take more than a sabbatical from bad news and ominous warnings to prepare for enduring life in that environment.  Instead of shutting down, we need to look up.  Genuine blessed hope is the buffer for the stress of perilous times.  It can only be had with a sincere and strong relationship with Christ.  That is the only focus that makes sense in this period of encroaching darkness.

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death. and to keep them alive in famine.  Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and shield, for our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.” – Psalm 33:18-21 NKJV