What is happening, exactly? What Jesus prophesied to His disciples, that’s what. There was both a timeliness of what He said in that the disciples would experience it in their own lifetimes, but also an eschatological (end times) aspect to it, as well.
Luke 21:17 (NIV) “Everyone will hate you because of Me.”
Now, we might want that statement to be confined to the historical setting of the apostles’ ministry. But Jesus clearly – in the overall context of His prophecies about end times in Luke 21 – meant that the secular world would come to hate Him, and Christians. It would only ever be a question of intensity. The rise of antisemitism around the world, and especially in Australia, is demonic in origin. Behind this antisemitism is the powerful spirit of anti-Christ. The Jews are always the first targets of this spirit because the Messiah (Jesus) has come from the Jews. This spirit has become increasingly active and has never been more brazenly influential than it is right now. Just look at the last few days of attacks on a synagogue in Melbourne, and then a vicious assault on an Israeli restaurant where diners were punched and kicked, meals thrown, tables overturned and the venue trashed. Thankfully, arrests have now been made – but it should never have happened.
The state government response has been muted handwringing with new “get tough” statements which are really just more of the same. We have a confused police force unsure of what it can and cannot do (or wants to do) to bring perpetrators to justice, and a state premier confessing she is unable to find ways of “operationalising” our current legislation – oh, but there is going to be (another) crack down on hate crimes. If there were similar attacks and assaults on any other group in our city the government would not hesitate to act more decisively.
The facts are these, dear readers, as I have stated more than once; we have more than enough very clearly articulated legislation to tackle hate crimes, racial and religious vilification and more. But there is a palpable reluctance to “operationalise” it so that offenders are brought before the courts and some sense of personal safety and security is restored – especially for our Jewish brothers and sisters. Why the reluctance to act?
My discernment is that the spirit of anti-Christ has so infiltrated and intimidated every area of our society, from government to the police, to the education systems (don’t get me started here), to statutory authorities and more. The overall response, especially from every single university in the country, has been feeble platitudes that lack any real corrective action. This did not happen overnight, of course. We’ve let it happen. All of us. Australia prides itself on being the most tolerant multicultural society in the world. Well, maybe it has been, but I no longer feel that this is true. What we are seeing – and not just with the rise of antisemitism, either – is the increasing divisiveness in our land and in many western democracies. There are several drivers, but a key one is the incredible, intimidating influence of the spirit of anti-Christ across the board.
You may not be aware but the state government is preparing, as we speak, several large slabs of legislation that will be particularly directed against churches and Christians. Foundations are being laid with apparently noble intentions but which are, in fact, a smoke screen for the real agenda - to restrict freedom of religious expression and persecute the Christian churches. One such piece of legislation will be aimed at cults (and whatever the government deems to be a cult, or cultish behaviour). Another is aimed at making churches legally liable for criminal offences committed by any employee or volunteer – yes, it’s about the money. The drafts of these pieces of legislation need to be looked at and critically examined in earnest by all Christian leaders – or they will simply pass into law unchallenged. Christian leaders cannot leave this to anyone else.
To some this may sound alarmist. I assure you that I am not the alarmist, bed-wetting type. I’m a realist. And I am discerning a great and accelerating convergence of anti-Christ agenda that is ramping up in all western democracies. A shocking example of what I am warning about here is the case of Päivi Räsänen. She has served as a member of the Finnish Parliament since 1995, and was Minister of the Interior from 2011-2015. She is also a medical doctor, mother of five children, has eleven grandchildren and is an active member of the Lutheran Church. Finland, a supposed democracy, now has draconian laws in place to combat “hate speech”. Back in 2019 for daring to question the Lutheran Church leadership’s official sponsorship of the annual LGBT Pride event in a tweet – with an attached Bible verse - Päivi was arrested.
For several months, she attended thirteen hours of police interrogation about her “views”, and was charged a year later with three counts of “agitation against a minority group”. All she did was tweet her opinion on marriage and human sexuality according to the Bible – to her own church. She also expressed her sincerely held Christian beliefs - disparaging no one - in a radio interview. Under Finnish law “agitation against a minority group” falls under the ‘war crimes and crimes against humanity’ section in the criminal code. Päivi faced two days of trial at the Helsinki District Court on 24 January and 14 February 2022 where the hostile prosecutor randomly confronted her with other Bible verses demanding that she justify herself – it was bizarre, an inquisition rather than a trial. On 30 March 2022, the Court unanimously acquitted Päivi of any “hate speech”, stating that “it is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts”. The prosecution appealed the “not guilty” ruling in April 2022 and continued to demand tens of thousands of Euros in fines and that Päivi’s publications be censored. Unlike many other legal systems, under Finnish law the prosecutor can appeal “not guilty” verdicts all the way to the Supreme Court of Finland. The Helsinki Court of Appeal heard Räsänen’s case and upheld her acquittal on 1 September 2023. Angry, the chief prosecutor appealed again in January 2024 to the Finnish Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will now hear the case. The costs are now through the roof.
This is a real case in our day in a democracy, and only brief details are outlined here. But the point is made. Legislation has found its way into western democracies that is being weaponised against Christians and churches. According to Alliance Defending Freedom International most cases they are defending around the world involve Christians being targeted with these kinds of laws. The spirit of anti-Christ is running rampant in our day.
The Church has a responsibility to pray against its intimidatory influence at every level of society. I know that many Christians will hesitate to speak up because this can all seem so “political” – and that is part of the spirit of anti-Christ’s deceptive strategy, to intimidate Christians into silence as legislation erodes our basic freedoms. Not getting involved in “political” stuff is an abrogation of our priestly responsibilities. We cannot just hide behind that and then lament when we have laws in place like Finland does. There was hardly a thing Jesus ever said that did not have some kind of political ramification. Christians simply must be properly aware of what is going on and not only pray but speak up on these critical matters – letters to politicians carry weight. Write! We were not meant to just sit here passively accepting whatever comes, but to be salt and light which is used by Holy Spirit (the Restrainer, 2 Thess. 2:6-7) to prevent moral decay and the loss of freedoms.
It is time to pray, and to speak up and write letters. See this month’s The Intercessor for helpful online links.
Ps Milton
[Sources: ADF International newsletter, July 5th 2025; (Key source) ADF International website; ACL website]