Many of the cards about the end times have already been played. I don’t mean that we’re there or that events have happened. I just mean that we have had full-on glimpses of what is to come. And it’s wild, that’s how God seems to work. It is fascinating to me how many years he slowly allowed small deportations of Israel to Babylon before the “big one.”
I think this past week we saw another “end time card”.
We no longer have to guess. We know what it will look like. And honestly, it isn’t as cinematic as some of us imagined. It’s not Hollywood villains storming into churches with tanks and torches. It’s closer to home. It’s gritty. It’s ordinary. And maybe that makes it more terrifying. Charlie Kirk’s death is a glimpse of what modern martyrdom in the West will look like.
It unfolded the way things always unfold now — phones out, news feeds lit, comments streaming. Some wept. Some shrugged. Some cheered. The reactions exposed the divided heart of our age. Hatred came from every angle — political, moral and theological. That’s exactly how Jesus said it would be. All nations will hate you for My name’s sake. It won’t feel supernatural. It will feel like this — a man cut down, a family broken, a community in pain. Real blood. Real tears. And a watching world that scrolls, debates and moves on.
We’ve seen some versions of what modern persecution will look like here. Christian bakers and florists are dragged into court. Canadian pastors locked up. Street preachers arrested in the United Kingdom. Not warlords with machetes but lawyers with subpoenas. And yet, make no mistake — Charlie’s death is a snapshot of what’s coming. The West will have its martyrs, too.
To be clear, I believe the ultimate end-time persecution likely comes on the heels of jihad from a Muslim Antichrist, but violence always begets violence.
The Charlie Kirk-style martyrdom will be part of it. Likely the prevailing modus operandi leading up to the final days.
But in God’s infinite wisdom, there’s a reason the last days are coupled with persecution and martyrdom. It’s a bizarre mystery, but martyrdom is the greatest testimony, sermon and revival there is. It’s what the lost and dying generation needs.
As we are seeing, martyrdom never just silences — it multiplies. Tertullian said it centuries ago: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Stephen’s death in Acts scattered believers, and suddenly the gospel was everywhere. Charlie’s death did the same. After Erika spoke, there were 18,000 new requests for Turning Point chapters. His social media surged by millions. Search interest in his name jumped nearly 500%. Like a spark on dry grass, his blood burned a wider path. God has always worked that way — what man means for silence becomes seed.
But there’s another side. Persecution doesn’t just strengthen — it divides. Jesus said many will fall away and betray one another. That’s the cost no one wants to name. Charlie’s death already revealed it. Some believers rallied, ready to be identified with him. Others backed away, careful to distance themselves. They’ll say it was tragic, but also too political, too sharp, too much. That is how it will go in the end. Hatred from the world. Betrayal from within. Only those who know their God will stand.
Jesus didn’t just warn that persecution would come. He warned what it would do inside the church. “Then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:10–12). The dividing line won’t just be the world against the church — it will run through the church itself. Some will stand. Others will shrink back. Some will call it wisdom. Some will call it compromise. In the end, it will be betrayal.
That’s what we’re already tasting. When Charlie Kirk was gunned down, Christians split. Some embraced his death as a witness, even if imperfect. Others distanced themselves, almost relieved to be rid of a controversial brother. Jesus said that’s how it would be—betrayal in the family of faith, cold love where warm courage should have been. The West isn’t prepared for that cost. But we need to be, because when pressure mounts, the question won’t just be “Will the world hate us?” but “Will we betray each other?”
Now we don’t seek this. We don’t glorify it. But we can’t ignore it. Because Jesus told us it was coming, and He told us not to be surprised. The West is not immune. Martyrdom here won’t wear foreign clothes. It will look like Charlie’s. Familiar. Jarring. Streamed to the world. A man gone. A family grieving. A movement shaken. And the gospel finding cracks to run through.
That’s why this matters. It’s not about politics. It’s not even about one man. It’s about us seeing the future in the present. It’s about being ready, standing when the cost comes, not betraying and believing that even in ashes, God writes resurrection.
This is what end-time martyrdom in the West looks like. And this is why we must be ready. And by being ready, I think that means being where we need to be, to minister in the way God has designed us when the time comes.
