Some Thoughts on
A N O M I A
Jesus’ words 2,000 years ago on the Mount of Olives are as fresh as today’s news. And, yes, they are for us. He warned that, through the influence of many last-day deceivers, iniquity would abound and the love of many would wax cold. Matthew 24:11, 12.
The Greek word for "iniquity" in this text is anomia–a meaning "without," and nomia meaning "law." This has to mean more than "lawlessness" in general; rather, it means that many will refuse to come under God’s law in particular. Why is this definition more accurate? Because we can see that almost all–if not all–who deny God’s explicit law and order eventually set up (or come under) a substitute code of conduct– rules of judgment.
Even gangs of young people, who have refused to come under their parents’ control, have their own rules and expected "norms" of conduct with explicit consequences for disobedience. They have rejected one set of rules (those of their parents and society), only to come under a truly cruel taskmaster. What they have chosen is quite often a bondage worse than death, for their "new" rules are often more harsh than those from which they "escaped."
So, the word anomia cannot simply mean that people will be without any law whatsoever. It has to mean that in the last days people will seek to live without God’s law and therefore without God. This definition fits with the rest of Biblical prophecy concerning end-time events.
Using the above definition, we can see that there are many examples of anomia today. In fact, every society and sub-society, every religion except one, and every ideology is a demonstration of Jesus’ words of Matthew 24:12. It is therefore logical that with many false christs and prophets there will be an equal number of erroneous ways (cults, factions, parties, religious groups)–each one establishing its authority by redefining "truth" to agree with some personal assumptions. Through "enlightened" views and charisma, the charmers mesmerize many minds. Their work is actually calculated to lead individuals away from God and to themselves. These "new religions" are most often set up with an imbalance of power–some people having control over others. Many do this in the name of God. Others, like Mao, Marx, Stalin, and Hitler, do it through some "noble cause." And the apostle Paul said that "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." 2 Timothy 3.13.
The apostle Peter described the work of these false last-day (anti-)christs clearly: "For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." 2 Peter 2:18, 19.
While many anomias bear a religious or political connection, others pass as scientific hypotheses. Many are only manmade illusions created to eliminate the Creator and cloud the minds of those who want an excuse not to believe. These ideas (or manmade hypotheses) gain credibility through their sophistication, subtlety, and language. But in reality they are counterfeits–mirages hanging in the hot desert air of atheism, trying to adjust the explanations with every new thought that challenges its credibility.
One of the foremost of these hypotheses is–yes, you guessed it–the "theory" of evolution. While the hypothesis (NOT theory) of evolution has had to bow time and again and even change its basic assumptions, the theory of our origin as found in the Bible has not so suffered. Although it has been under constant, direct assault from the scientific and intellectual communities for more than a century and a half, the archaeological shovel and the ever-more-rapid discoveries of science have been repeatedly confirming it as correct. In the end, sophisticated "modern man" will be "without excuse." In fact, the tide seems to have turned; more and more men of science are ceding their atheism and turning to faith and religion. Honest evidence says that the record of origins and the history of our world as found in the Bible are increasingly plausible in the light of the facts.
In this issue of Youth Anchor, you will find some facts to encourage your faith in the divine Designer, along with a few relevant current events. In future issues, more such evidence will be presented, and points mentioned only briefly here will be amplified.
If you have questions, current events, thoughts, or comments for other youth, you are welcome to share them in Youth Anchor.
--Larry Watts, General Conference Youth Leader, Germany/U.S.A.
