The Great Falling Away is characterized by a chilling devaluation of human life, a direct defiance of the sixth decree: “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). As we ascend the stones of the Law, the sternness of the Divine warning intensifies, for we are no longer dealing merely with what a man desires or says, but with the very breath of God within his neighbor. In this “post-Christian” era, the sanctity of life has been exchanged for the convenience of the individual. We see a world that has institutionalized the destruction of the most vulnerable, from the silent screams in the womb to the clinical termination of the elderly. This is the fruit of a society that has rejected the Creator; for when God is removed from the throne, man becomes merely a biological accident, and his life becomes a commodity to be discarded when its “utility” expires.
The forensic evidence of apostasy is found in the hardening of the human heart. Our Lord warned us that the spirit of murder begins long before a blade is drawn, declaring that “whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). We live in an age of unprecedented vitriol, where the “cancel culture” of the world and the “bitter envy” of the religious seek to destroy the lives and reputations of any who stand in their way. This is the “way of Cain” (Jude 1:11), a path that leads directly away from the presence of the Lord. The Great Falling Away is not just a change in policy; it is a spiritual blood-lust that masquerades as “autonomy” and “choice,” hiding the fact that its architect is he who was “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44).
The remnant must stand as a bulwark against this tide of blood. We are called to be a people of life in a valley of dry bones. To honor the Sixth Commandment in these last days is to recognize that every human being is a masterpiece of Divine craftsmanship, deserving of protection and dignity. We must put away the “wrath and clamour” that defines the modern discourse and instead put on the mind of Christ, who came not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. As the shadows grow long and the world becomes increasingly violent, let our lives reflect the mercy of the One who laid down His own life so that we might live. The Day is coming when the earth “shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain” (Isaiah 26:21), and every man will stand before the Judge of all the earth to answer for how he treated the Image of the King.