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Job 24:24
24 They are exalted [ramam] for a little while [ma`at], but are gone and brought low [makak]; they are taken out [qaphats] of the way [derek] as all other, and cut off [namal] as the tops [ro'sh] of the ears of corn [shibbol]. KJV-Interlinear
24 'They are exalted a little while, then they are gone; Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up; Even like the heads of grain they are cut off. NASB
This verse along with a verse in Ecclesiastes should make it very clear that ignoring God, Christ, doctrine, and ones spiritual life, will gain you nothing.
Eccl. 8:10
10 So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is futility. NASB
An evil or wicked person can include anyone from a goodie two-shoes to a Hitler type person. Wickedness is the production or activity of evil. Evil is the policy or the philosophy or the belief, of indifference toward God.
Indifference toward God includes anyone who does not function regularly in their spiritual life, or to put it another way, anyone who does not have a pattern of living their life in spiritual fellowship.
This obviously includes all unbelievers, and it includes all believers who live their life regularly out of fellowship.
Several years ago, when the population of the world was at six-billion people, the estimated number of Christians stood at around two-billion, or about a third of the world. Now the population of the world is at seven-billion and the estimate of Christians has remained the same.
So as a faith we seem to be losing ground, numerically. But even within the Christian faith, liberal attitudes as well as passive conservative attitudes around the world have led Christians to act and behave and think like unbelievers. This is not good for anyone, nor the world as a whole. Leadership qualities and media publications are good litmus tests for getting a general idea of how any given region is doing spiritually.
Of course none of us can know exactly what the spiritual status of the world is, but we can see trends from hindsight. I posted that 'end of the age' checklist on the Bible Study List blog. And if we are indeed nearing that time in history, then we can expect over the next generation or so, to see the quality of leadership to decline, we can expect to see interest in Christianity to decline, and we can see a dramatic increase in boisterous anti-truth activity and opinions, among many other things.
But even with the expected trends or anti-God changes in this world, the world is still experiencing a phenomenal period of prosperity and will continue to do so for a time. All of the divine establishment laws, which serve to stabilize the jungle laws, will continue to function as they should.
Good hygiene practices, antibiotics, social practices, and the economics of the world, etc. will not change overnight. That kind of change usually occurs across generations.
But, no matter what the historical timetable for humanity is right now, there are many folks in the wicked category, who are successful by earthly standards. But, earthly standards are temporary, and everything that is temporary, ends.
At harvest time, the heads of wheat, or the ears of corn make the fields look beautiful. They are allowed to come into their full season before harvest. Likewise, people of all walks of life will live out their lives fully.
And as the harvest of the crops occurs on its annual regular schedule, so also, people will come face to face with their own death and separation from his world.
That is when the game, if you will, is over, and the repercussions of all of ones choices in life become a reality.
Wicked people, no matter what their salvation status, will never gain in eternity from their current chosen spiritually negative pattern of life. They will always end up losers. Unbelievers lose the most of course, but believers will lose all of their eternal 'extra' blessings. Blessings set aside for mature believers only.
