Evangelist warns that things will get worse in 2023
President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Rev. Franklyn Graham has taken note of the move towards socialism by developed nations and has warned that things are gearing up to get worse globally as the world ushers in a New Year.
The faith leader who has been vocal in denouncing the LGBTQ lifestyle, premarital sex, abortion and other democratic socialist agendas has been banned from preaching at some venues in the US and the UK because of his views on these policies. His warning came at the start of the New Year on Saturday in a Facebook post.
“Anti-God agendas that once hid in the darkness are now proudly out in the open, demanding acceptance. Developed nations are being overtaken by socialism, removing God from anything and everything in the public square,” he wrote.
He said the world is “imploding” while citing the brutal war in the Ukraine and senseless killings in the United States as evidence of this.
“As followers of Jesus Christ, what do we do? He asked before urging, “We tell a dying world that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life—no one comes to the Father except through Him (see John 14:6). We urge lost souls to repent of their sins and believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, before it’s too late,” said Graham, who also leads the charity organisation, Samaritan’s Purse.
Graham, who is the son of prominent evangelist Billy Graham, engages in several Christian revival tours annually. He has frequently made headlines for his views on current issues, including the recently past Respect for Marriage Act, which he feels will be used against individuals, churches and organizations who honor traditional marriage.
In a follow-up post on New Year’s Day on the same social media platform, Graham shared a passage from the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus discussed the second coming of the Son of Man. He quoted Matthew 24:35-44:
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”