In the end times will people get more wicked or will there be a revival?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Scripture paints a sobering picture of the end times, showing that humanity will grow increasingly wicked rather than move toward widespread revival (2 Timothy 3:12–13). Just as before the flood, when every intention of the human heart was continually evil (Genesis 6:5–7), the last days will reflect deep moral corruption rooted in the deceitful nature of the human heart (Jeremiah 17:9). Paul explains that those who reject God will be given over to their sinful desires, leading to escalating rebellion and spiritual blindness (Romans 1:18–32). Revelation further describes a world system consumed by political, economic, and spiritual corruption, where people persist in sin despite God’s judgments (Revelation 17–18; 9:20–21; 16:9–11). Yet while lawlessness increases and love grows cold, the gospel continues to advance to all nations, ensuring that the world hears the truth before the end comes (Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:10; Revelation 14:6). The story is not one of humanity gradually improving but of God faithfully proclaiming salvation in the midst of deepening rebellion, leaving no one without witness and no excuse before His final judgment.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Genesis 6 describes the world before the flood: "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them' (Genesis 6:5-7, emphasis added).”
• In Jeremiah 17:9 the LORD tells the people through the prophet, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• In Romans 1:18-32 Paul describes God's wrath against wicked people who deny and suppress their knowledge of Him and go after their own lusts.
• Revelation 17 and 18 describe the fallen and sinful world in the last days—politically, economically and spiritually.
• Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12-13 that, "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived."
• In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Paul explains that there is something currently in the world that is restraining lawlessness. "And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7)." This implies that once the restrainer is gone, all hell will break loose. The restrainer is the Holy Spirit working through the church. The restrainer is “taken out of the way” at the rapture, when the Spirit’s present, church-centered restraining influence is removed. After this, "the lawless one will be revealed” (2 Thessalonians 2:8), and evil will temporarily surge until Christ destroys the Antichrist at His coming.
• During the end times we read that the wicked do not repent despite the warnings and judgments of God upon the world (Revelation 9:20-21; 16:9-11).
• There are other descriptions of the end, not just human rebellion and evil. While people increasingly grow cold and evil, Matthew 24:14 says: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Mark 13:10 tells us that "the gospel must first be proclaimed to the nations," and Revelation 14:6 records, “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.” Therefore, the gospel is going out concurrently as people are growing more cold to God.
• Matthew 24:12 describes times of the end times: Matthew 24:12: “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” Not only will rebellion increase and love for God grow cold, so will love for other people.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

We live in a world that often feels like it’s unraveling—and Scripture tells us that’s not an illusion, it’s a trajectory. But this truth isn’t meant to make us fearful or passive; it’s meant to wake us up. If the love of many will grow cold, then we are called to burn brighter—guarding our hearts from apathy, compromise, and self-preservation. If the world will not steadily move toward revival, we cannot wait for the “right moment” to take our faith seriously or to share the gospel with urgency. The time is now.

We are living in the time where the gospel is still going out, where the Spirit is still restraining evil, and where people are still being saved—and that means our lives matter right now in a way they won’t forever. Instead of being consumed by how dark the world is becoming, we are called to be people who stand firm, love deeply, and speak truth boldly while there is still time. We don’t respond to increasing wickedness with despair but with clarity, conviction, and compassion, taking seriously that every interaction could be someone’s opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

So we live differently—we take sin seriously, we pursue holiness intentionally, and we refuse to let our love grow cold in a culture that is more about me, me, me. We stay anchored in God’s Word when everything else shifts, and we engage the world not by blending in but by faithfully representing Jesus in it. Knowing that the world will get darker, we are called to shine brighter in the middle of it.

UNDERSTAND

• The Bible teaches that in the end times, people will grow increasingly wicked, not better.
• Sin and deception intensify as the end times approach.
• Even as the world darkens and love grows cold, the gospel will continue going out to all nations so people still have the opportunity to be saved.

REFLECT

• How are you guarding your heart from growing cold in a world where love and truth are fading?
• Where might you be delaying obedience or sharing your faith, assuming there will be more time later?
• In what areas of your life are you being shaped more by the culture around you than by God’s Word?

ENGAGE

• How should we, as believers, live differently if we truly believe the world is moving toward greater rebellion, not revival?
• What does it look like for us to balance urgency in sharing the gospel with patience and trust in God’s timing?
• How can we help each other stay spiritually alert and faithful as deception and wickedness increase around us?