The Gemara, in Masechet Sotah 49B, describes how the world is going to look in the time called Ikveta D’Mashicha which means the time of the Heels of Mashiach, or the Footsteps of Mashiach. It describes how the worlds social levels will slowly fall apart, there will be wars, there'll be hypocrisy, there'll be a lack of respect, there'll be disgrace for religion... it gives a whole description of a downward spiral of humanity in general. And after each problem, the Gemara states the same line, “ Who can we rely on? Our Father in heaven.” Rav Yerucham Levovitz explains that as the time of Mashiach comes closer, and God is going to reveal that there's nothing else but Him, Hashem prepares us by showing the lackings of all the other things that we used to rely on. Everything we relied on until now will cease to be anything that is reliable. Rav Elchonon Wasserman, in his sefer Ikveta Meshicha/ Footsteps of Mashiach, writes that we find this concept explicitly in the Torah in Haazinu ( Devarim 32, 36 through 39), where it says that God is going to judge His people and there will be nothing to help us. And He'll say, Where are the gods that you relied on? Let them get up and help you. And then He will say, רְא֣וּ ׀ עַתָּ֗ה כִּ֣י אֲנִ֤י אֲנִי֙ ה֔וּא See now, I am the One that's been running everything until now…. and then no one can save them from Me.” He says that in the end of time there will be many different types of Avodah Zara, and one by one they will fall, until eventually they’ll realize the truth of En Od Milevado/ There's nothing else but God. He explains that Avodah Zara doesn't necessarily mean bowing to a Buddha or other type of idol. Avodah Zara is any type of ideal that we think can help us without God, that has its own independent power. All the isms , communism , socialism , even wonderful democracy, that we think we can rely on. We think these are all reliable systems. We're living in the United States of America, where we think everything is fair and just. We think Russia is a horrible place, but we have democracy. There's nothing like democracy, we think. But as time goes on, we start to see the holes in democracy, and all those forces or parties that we relied on, we start to see how weak they are, how illegitimate they are. That's our Avodah during these times. During these times of the Ikveta D’Meshicha . More than ever, we have to work on Bitachon. People always ask me about this sudden surge of Emunah and Bitachon , all the classes and books. People say, “ When I was younger, they didn't talk like this.” And the answer is, it’s because we are in the era of the footsteps of Mashiach, when all that will be left is Avinu ShebaShamayim/Our Father in Heaven to rely on. The Chafetz Chaim discusses this is his sefer Zechor L’Miriam chapter 20, where he talks about chapter 115 in Tehilim, that we say in Hallel, Lo Lanu Hashem Lo Lanu/Not for us. The Gemara in Pesachim says this is talking about the wars of Gog U’MaGog, or Hevleh Mashiach, the wars at the end of time. And there it says, יִ֭שְׂרָאֵל בְּטַ֣ח ה׳ עֶזְרָ֖ם וּמָגִנָּ֣ם הֽוּא׃ בֵּ֣ית אַ֭הֲרֹן בִּטְח֣וּ בה׳ עֶזְרָ֖ם וּמָגִנָּ֣ם הֽוּא יִרְאֵ֣י ה׳ בִּטְח֣וּ בה׳ עֶזְרָ֖ם וּמָגִנָּ֣ם הֽוּא Jewish people rely on God The House of Aharon rely on God, The ones that fear Hashem rely on God The Chafetz Chaim says there are three levels: There's Bet Yisrael, the Jewish people at large, the Bet Aharon, which we'll call the rabbis and the teachers because Aharon was the tribe of the clergy, And the Yireh Hashem, the God-fearing people- and during this time of Mashiach, as good as you are, there are going to be challenges and difficulties. And that's why the only thing to do, whatever group you're in, is, Bitchu B’Hashem, Rely on Hashem, Rely on Hashem, in the merit of our Bitachon, in realizing the lackings and fallacies in all of those idols of yester year. When that happens, Mashiach will come. Have a wonderful day.