In the wake of the tragic Las Vegas mass shooting that left 59 dead and more than 500 wounded, Rev. Franklin Graham warned about the rising tide of “wickedness” sweeping the United States and urged Americans to check the “evil” brewing in their own hearts.
The Christian leader used the Las Vegas killer Stephen Paddock as just one example of people’s hardening hearts today that are turning further away from the goodness and righteousness of God’s Word.
“Many people don’t understand what would be in a person’s heart to spray bullets into a crowd to kill and wound as many as he can,” Graham started off his Facebook post on Wednesday. “Or what’s in the heart of a person who drives his car across a bridge in London and into a crowd of people, get out with a knife, and stab innocent people and police officers. Or what’s in the heart of a person who would take a knife and cut off the head of another human being.”
The president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) went on to say that this callousness has even permeated the Left-leaning mainstream media.
“Many don’t understand what’s in the heart of a person who’s a senior attorney for CBS and says she has ‘no sympathy’ for those killed or wounded in Las Vegas simply because people who listen to country music might be Republicans,” he added.
The bond that ties the godless examples together was then divulged.
“The common thread that runs through the heart of each of these is evil,” Graham continued, before sharing Scripture that drove his point home. “The Bible says, ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?’ (Jeremiah 17:9).“
The lack of love and compassion in today’s world was attributed to its separation from God, and he says the displays of depravity will continue to escalate as we enter the End Times spoken about in the Bible.
“Evil exists in the world today and the Bible warns us that ‘because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.’ (Matthew 24:12),” Graham quoted from the New Testament.
The North Carolina native insisted that the unprecedented persecution, massacres and genocides taking place today on a regular basis is typical of a generation that has turned its back on God and His Word – a people that instead embraces and celebrates the sin and abominable lifestyles that the Bible warns about.
“We see a rise in wickedness – not just in this country but around the world,” Graham pointed out. “And Hollywood filmmakers continue to promote evil, wickedness, violence as a form of entertainment.”
He warned that this generation will continue to sink into its godless tailspin unless it repents and turns to God.
“Our nation is in trouble, and only God can heal the human heart,” Graham concluded. “That’s why Jesus Christ came – to pay the penalty for our sins and to offer forgiveness through faith in Him.”
“In the midst of great suffering – whether it’s a shooting in Orlando or Virginia Tech or Newtown – we always see good that comes out of it, because that’s God’s heart,” the tragedy response missionary shared. “Evil and sin are never satisfied, but as God touches lives and brings healing, we see the good.”