Cold-Hearted People

The Lord spoke to me in 2020 not to deviate from the message of Matthew 24, and to the best of my ability I have kept this command. Matthew 24 is the chapter where the Lord speaks about last days and such things as wars, rumors of wars, false prophets, false Christs, pestilences, and being hated for His name’s sake. He told me that there would be those who would try to get me not to address it. People, by and large, do not want to hear that there are difficult times coming in the last days, neither do they want to believe we are living in the last days.

Recently, the Lord highlighted to me the words of Matthew 24 where Jesus prophesied about cold-hearted people. He said, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax (grow) cold” (Mat. 24:12).

Take note that Jesus said “many” would be affected by a lack of love. The word “many” means “numerous, countless, lots of, and masses.” In other words, the earmark of most people who will live in the last days would be indifference, lack of love, and even hatred! He also said earlier in same chapter, addressing His disciples, who represented both Jews and Christians, “⁹ Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another” (Mat. 24:9–10). Again, Jesus said, “many”—many shall be offended, many shall betray one another, and many shall hate one another! We are seeing this today with antisemitism spreading around the world and the horrible slaughter of millions of Christians (even children) that the news will not report in such countries as Nigeria, North Korea, India, Iran, China, Pakistan, Eritrea, Algeria, Indonesia, and Azerbaijan.

Allow me to sum up what Jesus said in Matthew 24 would be the emotions and feelings of the majority of the people who would live in the last days:

1.     The love of people will grow cold (v 12).

2.     Jews and Christians will be hated in all nations, which would lead to widespread persecution and murder (v 9).

3.     People will be easily and often offended, meaning they will get upset over the slightest things (v 10).

4.     People will not keep their word; they will be disloyal and will betray one another (v 10).

5.     People will hate one another (v 10).

The description given of the last day generation is not very good. In fact, it would cause those who lived throughout the ages who read the Lord’s words here to rejoice they weren’t living during this frightful time! Yet here we are. We are that last day generation of whom Jesus spoke, and we are seeing this happening all around us. The Lord even explains why the people would become cold-hearted! He said it is “because iniquity shall abound” (v 12). There are three progressions to sin, and of the three stages iniquity is by far the worse.

Sin is the first stage and refers to all intentional, unintentional, and “crossing the line,” against God or man. Transgression is the second stage of sin and refers to continual, unrepentant, intentional sin. Iniquity, the third stage, is when one willfully sins with no fear of God. Iniquity produces unnatural affections, leads to a reprobate mind, and brings on judgment. Jesus said that the last day generation people will be at the third stage of sin where their sin is so great that there is no remedy for it but judgement.

My word to you is to guard your heart. Don’t let it become hard at what you see and what you hear. Be like Jesus and show compassion.

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Choose Compassion Over a Cold Heart

Sojourner Truth (AD 1797–1883) was born Isabella Baumfree in Uster County, New York into slavery, on a New York estate. She and her parents were owned by a Dutchman, whose name was Colonel Hardenbergh. Her “tall” father was called by the Dutch word “Bomefree,” meaning “tree” due to his great height. He was taken from Ghana, and her mother from Guinea. Truth’s first language was Dutch; she learned and spoke English with an accent all her life. Later, when she became a believer, she accurately prophesied of the abolition of slavery. Truth fell in love with another slave, Robert, owned by a close neighbor who would not let them marry because he would not own their children. One night, Robert sneaked out to see her and when he was caught, he was almost beaten to death by her owners, and would have been if his own master had not intervened. This was a memory she never forgot. After this, she was forced to marry an older slave named Thomas. She had five children while being married to him (one was fathered by her owner who daily raped her). Her early childhood and young adult years consisted of being sold four times, harsh treatments, beatings, and repeated rapes by her third owner whose surname was Neely. His wife too treated her harshly being aware of her husband’s preference for her. She suffered the trauma of her five-year-old son, Peter, being illegally sold into slavery in the South (Alabama) where he was abused. In 1826, Truth fled slavery with her infant daughter to a nearby abolitionist family, who bought her freedom for $20.00. They helped her to successfully sue in the New York Supreme Court to recover her son, a major legal victory for a black woman at the time.

In 1843, Truth was born again and changed her birth name to reflect her newfound calling as an itinerant minister and author. Her impressive height (nearly 6 ft. tall) caused her to stand out from the crowd and drew attention to her speeches, which were spoken during and after the Civil War. In the AD 19^th Century, she became one of the most powerful advocates for human rights, women’s rights, and for land grants for freed slaves. In 1864, she was invited to meet with President Abraham Lincoln in the White House, where they collaborated on land grants for freed slaves. Truth fought against segregation successfully, even while in D.C. when a streetcar conductor tried to violently block her from riding. She ensured his arrest and won her subsequent case. Sojourner Truth was, indeed, a great woman who changed American history!

Sojourner Truth is included in the Smithsonian magazine’s list of the “100 Most Significant Americans of All Time.” She is known for her “Ain’t I A Woman” speech delivered at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1851. The following is a small excerpt of it.

Pointing at a man who had just delivered his speech, she began her speech by saying, “That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman? Then that little man in black there, he says women can’t have as much rights as men, ‘cause Christ wasn’t a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.” She ended it with... “Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain’t got nothing more to say.”