Tag: Apostasy in the church

The Vatican Says That Christians Must Love Demons!

Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. (Isaiah 28:18)

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil. (Hebrews 2:14)

From the Vatican document: TOWARDS A SPIRITUALITY FOR SYNODALITY

We also learn that which is God’s way of loving and acting for the salvation of the world through the new ‘music of the Cross’. In the end, discernment is an act of love for God and for neighbour. It is the knowledge that comes through love. In discerning in and through love, we can begin to comprehend reality in all its relationships and in its ultimate destiny to participate in God’s triune life. Discernment, then, is also an opening of the heart in love and mercy to all things.

As St Isaac of Nineveh (St Isaac the Syrian) expresses it: What is a merciful heart? It is a heart on fire for the whole of creation, for humanity, for the birds, for the animals, for demons, and for all that exists. By the recollection of them, the eyes of a merciful person pour forth tears in abundance. By the strong and vehement mercy that grips such a person’s heart, and by such great compassion, the heart is humbled, and one cannot bear to hear or to see any injury or slight sorrow in any in creation. For this reason, such a person offers up tearful prayer continually even for irrational beasts, for the enemies of the truth, and for those who harm her or him, that they be protected and receive mercy. And in like manner, such a person prays for the family of reptiles because of the great compassion that burns without measure in a heart that is in the likeness of God.

Spirituality-of-Synodality-A4-Orizzontale-ENDownload

Lukewarm Christianity – Separating the Sheep from the Goats

By the Moderator.

The Final Judgement
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[a] you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
(Matthew 25:31-46
English Standard Version)

As the Day of the Lord approaches, Christians need to examine their life carefully – using the lens of the Lord’s Word and the working of His Spirit. We need to ask ourself – Are we really in the family of the Lord? Is my life on the path of growth in Christ and flourishing with the gifts of holiness? All gifts come from the Lord, yet have we used our gifts for His greater glory? Unfortunately, western society has now made it acceptable and legal that which was previously immoral and unacceptable in the eyes of our Saviour.

We are entering a time when Christians are being attacked – both spiritually and within a lonely demonic society. We are asked to accept values and laws that are contrary to traditional Christian life. One may be a lawful citizen, and yet in the same way, be a sinner and far from the love of Christ. If we do not examine our soul and faith carefully, we are at risk of being a worldly, lukewarm Christian.

Revelation 3:14–22 (NKJV): 14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”

Consider the following test:

10 Questions To See If You Are a Lukewarm “Christian”
1 – Do Cares & Worries of This Life Dominate Most of Your Thoughts & Conversations?
2 – Do You Practice Sin on a Regular Basis?
3 – Do You “Love” The Things of This World More Than God’s Word?
4 – Are You Too Busy for Jesus? What are Your Priorities?
5 – Do You Use God’s Name In Vain? (‘Oh My G-d?’)
6 – Do You Fail to Pray Earnestly & Pray for the Lost Who Will Spend Eternity in Hell?
7 – Do You Fail to Preach the Gospel on a Regular Basis? OR Do You Hinder Others?
8 – Are You Indifferent About Your Sin? What is Your Attitude?
9 – Do You Seek After Worldly Wealth & Fame vs Seeking First The Kingdom of God?
10-Do You Fail to Obey Jesus, and God’s Word Consistently?

Lukewarm Christian Test

Let us hear the Word and realise that the solution is clear, to anoint our eyes with the salve of the Word to see things as they truly are in our lives. We shall repent as we have become too comfortable with the immorality of the world and realise that we have become lukewarm and comfortable with these sins. Revelation 3:19 (NKJV): As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

Examine yourself as though the Lord is judging you at the end of days. Every secret thought, word or deed will be seen and heard. There is nothing that can be hidden. The guilt may be raw, peeling away layers of self-justification and pride to show your heart as it truly is – in need of forgiveness. This may be quite upsetting if you have not relied on Christ alone and have become a satisfied in a life of mediocre sin. With genuine repentance and prayer, the grace of the Lord will comfort you and lead you onto the path of holiness.

1 Peter 4:1–6 (NKJV): 4 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

The Jesus Prayer

According to the Orthodox Church, this ancient simple prayer provides the necessary humility to approach the Lord (and burns demons!)

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Straight to Heaven Prayer / Prayer of Daily Neglects

(Roman Catholic version from Father Mark Goring)

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with all its love, all its sufferings and all its merits.

First — To expiate all the sins I have committed this day and during all my life. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Second — To purify the good I have done poorly this day and during all my life. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Third — To supply for the good I ought to have done, and that I have neglected this day and all my life. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

(Protestant version)

Almighty Father, I ask that my sins may be covered and washed away by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, whose atoning grace is sufficient for all eternity.

First — To forgive all the sins I have committed this day and during all my life. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Second — To purify any good I have done poorly this day and during all my life. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Third — To forgive my sins of omission, be they through ignorance or selfishness, all that I have neglected this day and all my life. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

I ask these things through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Once we are forgiven, we also need to learn to forgive ourselves for falling into the luke-warmness of the world. If we are forgiven, yet cannot forgive ourselves, we deny the redemptive work and grace of Christ in our own life.

Jude 24–25 (NKJV): 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
25 To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Self Forgiveness quotes.pdfDownload

The Coming Totalitarian Persecution

Woke Ideology Mimics Precursors to Totalitarian Slaughter, Experts Say

BY PETR SVAB June 21, 2021 Updated: June 22, 2021


Some of the core tenets of the “woke” ideology spreading around the country mimic ideas used to justify many of the most horrendous atrocities of the past century, according to several experts.

A recently released documentary exploring the topic, called “Better Left Unsaid,” concludes that the self-identified “radical left” endorses four fundamental “truths” that they “hold to be self-evident,” noting that these tenets have also been used to justify and incite many of the worst massacres of the 20th century.

The first of the four claims is that “the world is best viewed through a group oppression narrative lens.”

The “woke” ideology is based on a set of quasi-Marxist theories that divide society into “oppressors” and the “oppressed” based on characteristics such as race, sex, class, or sexual proclivities. “Woke” is sometimes used interchangeably with Critical Race Theory (CRT), which is one of the more prominent ideologies that operate within this framework.

A scene from the documentary “Better Left Unsaid” by Curt Jaimungal. (Better Left Unsaid/Curt Jaimungal)

The second claim is that “evidence of oppression is the inequality between groups,” the documentary says. If the designated “oppressed” group does on average worse in some regard than the designated “oppressor” group, that is taken as virtually unassailable proof of “oppression.”

The third claim is that “peaceful dialog and understanding between the groups is impossible since the dominant group’s strategy is to retain its power.”

Woke theorists have posited that the “oppressed” have a uniquely valuable perspective on reality unavailable to the “oppressors.” Meanwhile, they say, “whiteness” or “white heteropatriarchy” can’t help but to try to maintain its “hegemony.” Even if it does things that benefit members of other groups, such as by abolishing slavery or giving women and blacks the right to vote, it’s still done out of self-interest and in order to further entrench its institutions and norms and thus ensure the “privilege” of its members.

A scene from the documentary “Better Left Unsaid” by Curt Jaimungal. (Better Left Unsaid/Curt Jaimungal)


Proponents of the ideology engage in dialogue between themselves, but with everybody else the communication is supposed to generally flow in one direction—that of acceptance of their views. Any challenge to the ideology is labeled as self-serving or even as an assault on the “oppressed.”

Finally, the ideology at least implicitly acknowledges that “because of the above, violence is justified to eradicate the inequities,” the documentary says.

“From my experience, they (to the degree they can be grouped together enough to call them ‘they’) tend to advocate for violence against those oppressing and equate it to laudatory behavior; hence, ‘punch a Nazi,’” author of the documentary, Curt Jaimungal, told The Epoch Times via email.

“I have catalogs of tweets, written statements, and videos of people ranging from students to [professors] explicitly calling for violence and downplaying the violence of those on the left when compared to the right,” he added, not because of intensity or frequency of such violence, but because of the so-called “nobleness of the extreme left’s position.”

These four tenets, Jaimungal demonstrated in the documentary, are common to many of the most brutal massacres and regimes of the 20th century, from the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany to communist China and the Rwandan genocide.

In each case, an entire class of society is painted as unfairly privileged and as such inherently oppressive, with little regard to specific actions of the individual members of the group. Meanwhile, disagreement with or mere disinterest in this classification is taken as support for the perceived oppression. With reconciliation through dialog taken off the table, the only remaining recourse is conflict—a “revolutionary” action where violence is seen as inevitable and, ultimately, preferable.

“Too few people know about the ceaseless carnage that took place under the masthead of the isomers of equity,” Jaimungal narrates in the documentary.

He said he avoided using examples of atrocities committed as a consequence of the totalitarian nature of the various regimes.

“I am careful to only list or only talk about the deaths associated with the philosophical doctrine of group guilt and class guilt,” he said.

Proponents of socialism commonly argue that the movements that led to these tragedies were commandeered or hijacked by people that didn’t really believe in the ideology. But they have tended to level the argument retrospectively, after they or their like-minded predecessors initially endorsed the movements and nascent regimes, the documentary points out. Also, proponents usually stop short of detailing how the next attempt will prevent any supposed nonbelievers from taking over.

Endorsements
The comparison between the preludes to past massacres and the current manifestations of the woke ideology is a fair one, as long as it’s not taken as an absolute, according to Erec Smith, associate professor of Rhetoric and Composition at York College of Pennsylvania.

“We’re not saying [a massacre] is definitely going to happen, but we need to be cognizant and remember our history and be careful about what’s going on here,” he told The Epoch Times.

Jaimungal’s conclusions were also recently endorsed by several scholars of totalitarianism, all of whom are critical of woke ideology. They were invited to comment on the film by Pat Kambhampati, chemistry professor and head of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship at McGill University in Canada.

“The same ideas that gave rise to Curt’s movie and the discussion of communism, we see a lot of parallels and isomorphisms taking place in the West and within academia,” he said during a May 31 panel discussion on topics raised by the documentary.

Janice Fiamengo, retired English professor at the University of Ottawa and self-declared anti-feminist, backed Jaimungal’s argument during the panel discussion. She was also featured in the film.

“As soon as one establishes these oppressor groups and oppressed groups, then when you are speaking supposedly on behalf of the oppressed, you can do nearly anything,” she said.

A scene from the documentary “Better Left Unsaid” by Curt Jaimungal featuring retired English professor, Janice Fiamengo. (Better Left Unsaid/Curt Jaimungal)



Gad Saad, evolutionary psychology professor at Concordia University, put forth the point during the panel that people professing utopian goals have a tendency toward eliminating those who oppose them.

“Utopians believe that the world could be a perfect place except for this one group that is stopping the world from becoming a perfect place,” he said.

Another panelist, retired New York University professor of liberal studies Michael Rectenwald, linked the woke ideology’s potential to unleash totalitarian force to its postmodern roots.

Postmodernism introduced the idea of fundamental relativism, professing that there is no objective truth, but instead the powers that be establish as true whatever is in their interest.

While the documentary notes that this notion is itself a “truth claim” and thus undermines its own validity, Rectenwald pointed out that adoption of the notion has serious real-life implications.

“The problem with this is not simply that we have no criteria for truth claims with this kind of notion, but rather it leaves open the possibility that when it has the requisite power behind it then anything can be asserted and can be asserted with force,” he said.

Michael Rectenwald, a former professor at New York University and author of “The Google Archipelago: The Digital Gulag and the Simulation of Freedom.” in New York City on Oct. 4, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)


He gave the example of the ideology behind the transgender movement sweeping through government institutions.

“The force of the state is behind it and they can say that if you don’t accept that your child is a boy or a girl when they are the other then you could go to jail for this … or you could lose custody of your child,” he said.

“So when my truth becomes as good or better than any objective truth then we get to this point where the requisite power is applied and therefore we get the kind of authoritarianism and totalitarianism that we saw in the Soviet Union where people were forced to maintain things they knew to be false.”

Memes of Survival
Jaimungal defended in his film not only physical truths, but argued that just as there are “preserved genes” in human DNA that stand virtually unchanged through time and would be catastrophic to meddle with, there are also “preserved memes”—ideas that stand true throughout history and are similarly crucial to maintain, timeless lessons one can find in many religious scriptures and ancient stories.

These ideas are ingrained in humans, but have also been “externalized,” meaning imprinted on the external world in the form of the written word, art, rituals, and so on, he says in the film.

“Our survival depends on these ‘externalized memes.’”

A scene from the documentary “Better Left Unsaid” by Curt Jaimungal. (Better Left Unsaid/Curt Jaimungal)


Clinical psychologist and professor Jordan Peterson touched upon this topic during the panel discussion, noting the damage to the Western mythos inflicted by certain scientific theories, particularly Darwinism, and the subsequent substitution of the religious underpinnings of Western culture by an ideological ersatz.

“I could say to the atheists among the group, you know, ‘You’re not too fond of religion. How are you feeling about its replacement?’” he said.

In an “intact culture” a person is “inculturated” by the age of about 18 into “a religious belief that saturates the entire culture,” he said.

“It’s granted to you, it gives you an identity, and that’s what your identity is.”

Western culture has become in this sense fragmented, he argued, as it now lacks such a comprehensive unifying ethos.

Students still come to universities with a “messianic” urge, craving an initiation of this sort, but what they’re offered instead is an ideology, which he described as “a parasite on an underlying religious structure.”

“A proper religious structure gives you a balanced view of the world, there’s characters for that negative part of nature, there’s characters for the positive part of nature, for the negative part of culture, for the positive part of culture. [It] gives you a view that enables you to look at the world and it’s existential permanences, I guess, in a manner that allows you to live a balanced life.”

Ideology, he said, doesn’t serve this purpose.

“You get indoctrinated into an ideology and you find where Satan is, you know, it’s not in you, it’s out there in the patriarchal oppressor, let’s say. And the thing about that is that it rings true mythologically and it is also true because every culture is oppressive to some degree and we’re all crushed as individuals by the dictates of arbitrary society. And kids get into the university and they’re taught this one-sided, lopsided doctrine with a utopian end and it matches their developmental needs perfectly,” he said.

If an ideology is accepted as an intimate part of one’s identity, it becomes difficult to let go of as it provides the person’s life meaning, Fiamengo noted.

“They would actually rather die than admit that they’re wrong,” she said.

Part of the solution, the panelists agreed, would be to restore universities to their original purpose of pursuing objective truth.

Update: The article has been edited for clarity.

Follow Petr on Twitter: @petrsvab

Source: https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_morningbrief/woke-ideology-mimics-precursors-to-totalitarian-slaughter-experts-say_3865035.html?utm_source=morningbriefnoe&utm_medium=email2&utm_campaign=mb-2021-06-22&mktids=77672ec378aa798521e84091f8f8bd17&est=kjrV%2FN%2F6yVcoXPy%2BYlfFxdPUrk4fjdD91GOCmZCc7z8xR8gvm%2F9u0%2BNABa72cCld

Rome Will Lose Faith and be the Seat of Anti-Christ – Archbishop Vigano

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò said an upcoming global health conference at the Vatican — with guests such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, Deepak Chopra and Chelsea Clinton — constitutes “the umpteenth scandalous confirmation” of Pope Francis leading the Catholic Church astray.

A new op-ed by the Catholic Church’s former Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S. blasts the pope and his allies within the Church for betraying the faithful by cozying up to “representatives of Big Tech … a whole slew of abortionists, Malthusians, and globalists known to the general public.”

“The Holy See has deliberately renounced the supernatural mission of the Church, making itself the servant of the New World Order and Masonic globalism in an antichristic counter-magisterium,” the archbishop wrote Tuesday for LifeSite. “The submission of the Cathedra veritatis to the interests of the Masonic elite is manifesting itself in all its evidence, in the deafening silence of the Sacred Pastors and in the bewilderment of the People of God, who have been abandoned to themselves.”

At issue is a Vatican event May 6-8 titled ‘Exploring the Mind, Body & Soul. Unite to Prevent & Unite to Cure. A Global Health Care Initiative: How Innovation and Novel Delivery Systems Improve Human Health,” in addition to participation with the Council for Inclusive Capitalism for a June event in Kazakhstan.

“The sectarianism and partisanship of the Vatican Conference are made evident by the topic it addresses, the conclusions it seeks to draw, its participants, and its sponsors,” the archbishop continued. “Even the image chosen to promote the Conference is extremely eloquent: a close-up of Michelangelo’s fresco of Creation on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, in which the hand of God the Father reaches out towards the hand of Adam, but with both hands covered by disposable surgical gloves, recalling the regulations of the new ‘health liturgy’ and implying that even the Lord Himself might spread the virus.”

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/apr/23/archbishop-vigano-rips-vatican-conference-with-fau/

Woke-ism: The Rise and Rise of the Anti-Christ Religion.

Author: The Moderator.

In general terms, the Woke social justice movement shares common values with traditional Christianity. The values of equality, respect, caring for those in need, justice and sharing things for the common good are admirable qualities of woke-ism. Within Christianity, this is seen in:

Acts 2:44–47 (NKJV):  Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Acts 4:32–35 (NKJV): 32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

Differences are obvious within the daily application of such shared values. A great disparity exists between Christianity and Woke-ism with the issue of immediacy of justice. The Woke incessantly demand change and that all of their desires to be met, regardless of morality, laws and existing traditions. Christians are always asked to consider the actions of God while seeking justice.

Romans 12:17–21 (NKJV): Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

In contrast, Woke culture wishes to attain immediate results, even if it is through the pursuit of violent riots, protests and looting. This immediacy and need for conflict to force change has generated a “cancel culture”. The self-justified woke adherents seek to cancel an entire person’s status, employment and social media reputation from the entire planet. One may liken this to a virtual act of bloodless execution against a person that they hate. Cancel culture is an expression of hate, and it is only a slight margin of difference between cancelling a person’s status from cancelling the entire person from the entire Earth (i.e. murder).

Christians live and work in the Lord with the trust that, at the end of days, Christ will return and reign over His gloriously peaceful Kingdom:

Isaiah 11:6–9 (NKJV): The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.

Christians are required to submit to the authority of Christ as well as the laws of the land:

Romans 13:1–7 (NKJV): Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

In recent years, ‘mostly peaceful protests’ have turned into murderous, violent, fiery protests. Insurrections and destructive protests, regardless of political affiliation, are against people, property, laws of the state and against the will of the Lord. The states and countries who fail to maintain civil peace through law and order are negligent and have failed their citizens. As Paul states, love is the fulfillment of God’s will.

Romans 13:8–10 (NKJV): Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Woke culture endorses the world view that one race is greater or less than another, which logically concludes with the need for reparations and limitation of status and opportunities for ‘privileged’ races or groups. Certainly, if there is evident unfairness or inequality, then this should be resolved and monitored to ensure that all races and all groups have equal rights, freedoms and access to justice. The glaring problem with woke-ism is that it justifies the degradation of other groups and races. This ignores the fallen nature of humanity and the hypocrisy of such an act.

All are sinners: Romans 5:12 (NKJV): Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned…

Hypocrisy: Matthew 7:1–5 (NKJV): Judge  not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Woke-ism is a false religion antithetical to the love of God. By resembling closely the values of equality, respect, justice and sharing the common good, Woke-ism is a trojan horse or a fifth column full of hate, racism and lawlessness. This is anathema to the love of God.

Jesus, the Son of God, is the pinnacle of love and sacrifice by redeeming sinful humanity through his redemptive work on the cross. Jesus redeems all who believe upon Him regardless of their age, race or gender. Woke culture, on the other hand, is envious and demands that other people make a sacrifice for its cause. The only love displayed by the woke is self-love before the idol of humanism.

Jesus asks us to forgive those who harm us and to model Christlike behaviour so that, we, as brothers and sisters in Christ, may be part of His eternal family.

Luke 6:27–36 (NKJV): “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Woke culture is unforgiving and will unnecessarily find evidence of the most minor social sin or mistake endlessly. They will ignore apologies and insist on the harshest penalties for the person who has offended them. This is in stark contrast to Christ, who commands us to forgive others so as to be forgiven.

Matthew 6:14–15 (NKJV): “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

We live in dangerous times when radical humanism, through critical race theory, has blinded the population to instigate a false utopia on Earth. Like all godless utopias, this too is destined to fail. We are in the end times and Satan has developed a counterfeit image of God’s Kingdom, a kingdom that is selfish, merciless, unforgiving and self-righteous. The citizens of this counterfeit kingdom choose to force others to do as they do, and believe as they believe. Woke-ism and Cancel Culture are signs of a rising anti-christian religion. True Christians will never deny the Lord, who is the only Hope,  Light and Truth in this fallen world. Upon the appearance of the Anti-Christ, Christians will be persecuted because they will never relinquish their love and faith in Christ.

2 Timothy 3:1–7 (NKJV): But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Woke-ism embraces victim-hood. An adherent of this cult is quick to absolve themselves from responsibility and guilt in order to project it upon other people and races. Instead, God will judge our own thoughts, words and deeds – regardless of social status, gender, race or age.

Psalm 7:8 (NKJV): The Lord shall judge the peoples;
Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness,
And according to my integrity within me.

Most Christian Churches have been infected by the cancerous humanism of woke-ism. Be wary of anyone who preaches division of race, reparations for historic injustice, and is also unforgiving and condemns people or groups for opposing woke-ism. These are false prophets who are sowing division, instead of uniting the Body of Christ. The Anti-Christ spirit will show in those who protest for peace while inciting violence, looting and killing. The evil spirit also thrives in those who encourage guilt and unforgiveness when Christ has plainly commanded mercy and forgiveness to the least one of us. They preach the necessity of giving when they sacrifice nothing and gain much; they speak lies and hide the truth; they tolerate much evil, yet cannot tolerate biblical truth. These preachers are the blind, leading the lost, into a pit of everlasting flames.

Matthew 7:15–20 (NKJV): “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Nike And Famous Rapper Releases “Satan Shoes” With Human Blood In Them, Only 666 Pairs Made

by Andrew Bieszad on March 27, 2021 in Featured, General

Rapper Montero Hall, known publicly as Lil Nas X, skyrocketed to fame in 2029 with his song “Old Town Road” and has remained in the public attention since then. The rapper, who is an open homosexual and has made videos with blatantly occult themes, now is releasing a limited line of ‘satan shoes’, which claim to have human blood in them and are limited to 666 pairs.

Lil Nas X is reportedly all set to release a pair of exclusive “Satan-themed shoes,” and fans can’t seem to quite wrap their heads around this peculiar development.

Just a day after his Montero “Call Me By Your Name” music video took the internet by storm, Montero Lamar Hill, aka Lil Nas X, found himself on the Twitter trending page yet again, after his latest collaboration with retail start-up MSCHF surfaced online:

A limited edition collab, the Nike-style shoes have been modeled on the lines of the popular Air Max ‘ 97 and are priced at a steep $1,018.

If the association with Satan wasn’t already established enough, what’s interesting to note is that there are reportedly 666 pairs that have been manufactured, with each pair bearing a message from Luke 10: 18 of The Bible which reads:

“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

However, the most sinister reveal lies in the soles of the pair, which are reportedly filled with 66cc of red ink and “one drop of human blood”.

In light of this unconventional collaboration, Twitter was soon abuzz with a slew of reactions. (source)

One can see the website for the shoe release here. It’s openly satanic, and there is no hiding what he is saying. The number ‘666’ on the shoe, the black color, the giant bronze pentagram on the front, the clear red liquid in the shoe bottom, make it very clear that nothing good is associated with these shoes. Likewise, the newest video from this rapper, released at the same time as his shoes (which one can look up on his own) shows the rapper in a variety of sodomitic and demonic scenes until at the end, the rapper dies and slides down a stripper pole into hell where she twerks on and simulates being sodomized by the devil before killing him and taking his place.

However, what one should be concerned about is not merely the satanic imagery. In fact, that might be considered at best a secondary concern. Yet what could be worse that the obvious?

What is worse is that Nike is the one who manufactured these shoes.

The rapper did not make these shoes. It is doubtful he would know the first thing to do. He certainly supports the concept, and is clearly one who supports evil things, but he ultimately is just a useful food, a willing pawn, one who cares more about power and influence than about truth or moral right. What is more disturbing are the actions of Nike, because the corporation is the one- and not just “the company”, but the specific individuals in R&D, marketing, customer service, and leadership -who supported, created, engineered, marketed, and are profiting from the sale of these shoes.

The real blame is more with Nike. Nike did not have to market these shoes. Nobody forced them to do this. This is an action made by their free choice. It is also unlikely they are making much money from these shoes anyways, but rather are profiting off of promoting satanism. This is the real commodity, not the shoes being marketed to people.

No amount of ‘activism’ is likely to stop these people at this point, because the reason that Nike is able to market such shoes is because, clearly, they believe they have enough popular support to be able to sell these shoes without too much open backlash that threatens their bottom line.

Companies and even government do not care about the backlash, because it has no real effect on their ability to do business, for that is the only kind that they care about.

The country is changing. This isn’t about rap, or any one particular kind of music, but that open demon worship is now being accepted in society, and the marketing of this stuff is the proof of it.

Likewise, ask yourself, what has the ‘conservative’ movement done to stop this? The conservative movement has not conserved anything, except for putting a temporary hold on the status quo.

What one is looking at here is a view of the future with these shoes.

It gives me no joy to say that the Christians have lost the culture wars, because the consequences are going to be serious. Christianity is no longer a ‘profitable’ thing, but rather, anti-Christian causes have become popular, and even arguably profitable to promote. This is just part of the result here, and it is not going to get better, for this is just the obvious. It is often the less obvious things- such as the public embrace and defining of the culture by the sins which cry out for divine vengeance, and punishing those who stand against them -that are more serious, as their end result is thing such as the above.

If it took thirty years- 1987 to 2017 -for the US to completely embrace sodom, what will the US look like if patterns do not stop in 2047?

One can only imagine.

Source: http://shoebat.com/2021/03/27/nike-and-famous-rapper-releases-satan-shoes-with-human-blood-in-them-only-666-pairs-made/

Believers in an Apostate Church

WHAT CAN BELIEVERS DO IN DAYS OF APOSTASY?

By Dr J. Vernon McGee (1904 – 1988)

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your
most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep
yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy
of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of
some have compassion, making a difference; and
others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire,
hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now
unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and
to present you faultless before the presence of his glory
with exceeding joy, to the only wise God, our Savior,
be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both
now and ever. Amen. (Jude 20 — 25)

The Apostasy Has Arrived

The church is in a very sad state at the present hour. The thing that is alarming about it is that the church is satisfied with it. Some preachers are greatly exercised over it, but they are the minority. I find very few people who are disturbed today. Most of the church has settled down into this deplorable state we’re in, have accepted it, and feel that nothing can be done about it.

As we approach this subject of apostasy, I want to define our terms so that we do not get lost in the labyrinth of bewildering theological nomenclature. We need to understand exactly what the apostasy is before we can know what to do about it.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that, in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)

The verse begins with the little Greek word de, which is translated here as “now” but is better translated as “but” since it indicates a contrast with the early doctrinal creed given in the verse that immediately precedes it:

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the nations, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

“Latter times” in 1 Timothy 4:1 is a technical expression. In the Bible you will find the terms “last days,” “last times,” or “the time of the end.” The Bible doesn’t use the expression “the end of time” because the world doesn’t come to an end. (Although “the end of the world” appears in our Authorized Version, it is more accurately “the end of the age.” The world doesn’t come to an end. Oh, I know there will be a new heaven and a new earth, but that doesn’t mean we get rid of the earth. It’s here for eternity. Therefore, there is no such thing — as far as the Word of God is concerned — as the end of the world or the end of time.) But there is such a thing as the last days, the latter times, and the end of the age. When you find this expression occurring in the Scriptures, you need to discern to what it refers. It can refer to the nation Israel (as in Genesis 49:1) or it can refer to the church. Those “last days” refer to a very definite technical period that the Lord Jesus in the Olivet Discourse labeled the Great Tribulation Period.

Now when Paul uses it here, speaking to the young preacher Timothy, he is referring to the latter days of the church — that is, those days immediately preceding the Rapture. This is the way the church will conclude its earthly career: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that, in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith” (1 Timothy 4:1). In other words, the Spirit of God would emphasize to believers that in the latter days some shall depart from the faith.

The expression “depart from the faith” is where we want to center our attention. The word “depart” is the Greek aphistemi, formed by the little preposition apo, which means “away from,” and histemi, meaning “to stand.” The apostasy (for we bring it over into English by transliteration) means “to stand away from.” It means to one time profess something and another time deny that which you once professed. Webster, who always does a good job of defining words, says that the apostasy is the “abandonment of what one has voluntarily professed; total desertion of the principles of faith.” Abandonment of that which was voluntarily professed. Our Lord used that expression when He was giving the parable of the sower. Referring to the seed that fell on the rock, He said:

They on the rock are they who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who for a while believe, and in time of testing fall away. (Luke 8:13)

“Fall away” is the Greek aphistemi — they apostatize. They professed to believe, then they moved away from it. They no longer believe; they have departed from the faith. Apostasy would be impossible among unevangelized tribes who have never heard the gospel. An apostate is one who has not only heard the gospel, but who has professed to believe it, and then departs from it. That’s apostasy. This word occurs also in Hebrews:

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12)

Here are those who have professed to believe, and then they no longer believe. They have departed from it. Time and time again I have heard this among preachers. There are today thousands of men in the ministry (and they’re an unhappy lot) who can say, “I once professed it, but I no longer believe it.”

I want to give an example that I think is startling. Frankly, it ought to cause us to bow our heads in humility before God and ask for His help. We are told to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith. These are days when God’s people need to examine their relationship with Christ.

It may surprise you to know that Karl Marx was an apostate. This is the man who wrote Das Capital, the basis of Communism and world revolution. He was brought up in a Christian home. His father, who descended from a long line of rabbis, accepted Christian baptism for himself and his family when Karl was six years old. Young Karl attended the gymnasium at Trier and his school-leaving examination papers have been discovered. The one that gained the most unqualified approval was a theological essay on the union of the faithful in Christ according to John 15:1-14, portrayed in its origin and essence, in its unconditional necessity and in its effect. That is quite a subject for a young fellow! It was marked by the teacher as a thoughtful, copious, and powerful presentation of the theme. The boy was 17 when he wrote this essay in 1835. This is the man who went on to write the ideology for godless states. He was an apostate! He once professed to believe something, there came a day when he stood away from it, and then he no longer believed it.

In my own lifetime I have known man after man who once preached the faith, then later on repudiated it entirely. They are apostates. The Word of God warns that this will happen: “In the latter times, some shall depart from the faith” — they will apostatize.

All the New Testament writers speak of the approaching apostasy. To them it was just a little cloud on the horizon the size of a man’s hand. But that cloud has now darkened and covered the sky. Today you and I are in the storm. We are seeing one of the greatest departures from the faith in the history of the church.

When the church was young it thought of itself as a pilgrim and stranger in this world. It was true to the Lord. It preached the gospel, as defined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. Had it continued in that condition, there would have been worldwide evangelism in the first 500 years. But in A.D. 313 Constantine was converted. He issued the Edict of Toleration, which meant that persecution ceased. No longer was the church a martyr church. It came up out of the catacombs. Five million Christians had shed their blood and laid down their lives gladly for Jesus Christ. But suddenly the church found itself in power. Augustine, a great man with a keen mind, wrote The City of God, which gave the church a vision of building the kingdom of God down here upon this earth. Actually this explains Roman Catholicism today. They have attempted to do what Augustine said the church should do — build the kingdom of God here upon this earth. But God never intended that His church should do that. Its mission was to preach the Word of God and to win men to Jesus Christ. But it got away from that. By the end of the nineteenth century, with the tremendous expansion of the British Empire, the most optimistic ideas and notions entered the church. Let me give you two illustrations of this. Ernest Naville in his book, The Problem of Evil, pointed out that the civilization of Europe, which he characterized as Christian civilization, “is visibly making the conquest of the world. Its triumph is only a matter of time. No one doubts it.” A few years ago a man could make that statement and nobody would contradict him. (Oh, there were a few old mossbacks who contradicted him, but nobody paid any attention to them.) But how absurd that statement is today! Also, Justin Smith wrote in 1883: “It has been said that in twenty-five years more, if the present rate of progress continues, India will become as thoroughly Christian as Great Britain is today. There will be 30,000,000 Christians in China, and Japan will be as thoroughly Christianized as America is now. The old systems, they tell us, are honeycombed through and through by Christian influence. It looks as if a day may soon come when these systems, struck by vigorous blows, will fall in tremendous collapse. Meantime, every weapon formed against Christianity breaks in the hand that holds it. Already the Lord’s right hand has gotten Him the victory.” On and on he goes in that vein, as if the entire world would be converted by the beginning of the twentieth century!

However, today there is a line of demarcation running through the organized church, irrespective of denomination, that is as deep and as wide as the Grand Canyon. This breach cannot be resolved, and it cannot be reconciled. It has passed the point of no return. This bifurcation in the church began years ago in Germany in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Its origin was with what is known as higher criticism. First the Graf- Wellhausen hypothesis made its attack upon the integrity of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible written by Moses), and the attack was, of course, upon the Mosaic authorship. Then there was the Bauer-Tubingen hypothesis that made its attack upon the New Testament. These started the assault upon the integrity of the Word of God. Also during that century Darwin wrote his Origin of the Species, and the theory of evolution was introduced into the church and accepted by many. Also it was at this time that Karl Marx wrote Das Capital.

At the turn of the century these philosophies were splitting the church. The protagonists who espoused these viewpoints boastfully took the name of “modernism.” They were progressive, modern, and intellectual, according to their own estimation. Those who did not adopt their viewpoint were called “intellectual obscurantists” — that was their favorite designation. Today modernism has pretty much gone out of style, and the tag that it bears today is “liberalism.” That covers a multitude of sins, let me tell you! It covers a wide range of those who hold various viewpoints in the church today.

Those who adhered to the old creedal statements of the church and defended the fundamentals of the faith were designated as “fundamentalists.” This was an honorable and proud name in the old days. Under this banner marched an array of brilliant scholars and fine Christian gentlemen of the past. The outstanding Hebrew and Greek scholars (who still stand head and shoulders above any that we have today) were called fundamentalists, for that is exactly what they were. They believed in the integrity of the Word of God.

As time went on, “fighting fundamentalists” appeared in the ranks. They were more interested in attacking than in defending the faith. Many of them were unlovely in their conduct and questionable in their ethics. Also there appeared among the fundamentalists religious racketeers, making merchandise out of those who loved the Word of God.

Now don’t misunderstand me, I am a fundamentalist in the true sense of the word, but today the label of “fundamentalism” is almost in desuetude. The press uses it as a term of aspersion and derision, and it is applied to some peculiar groups. For example, several years ago there were articles in the press concerning a group of Mormons in southern Utah and northern Arizona who practiced polygamy, and they were called fundamentalists! We find that the term “fundamentalist” was dropped by a great many, and a broader term “evangelical” was adopted. Under this banner march many speckled birds. It is a catch-all for those who make some attempt to stand for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. Today the term we use more often to designate one who stands for the fundamentals of the faith is “conservative.”

When I entered the ministry in the 1930s, this matter of the apostasy was something way out yonder in the future. We had modernism, yes, but it was a minority and discredited. Dr. Machen had absolutely put the critics of the New Testament (especially concerning the virgin birth) to riot — they were running for cover. Dr. Robert Dick Wilson, the greatest scholar of the twentieth century as far as the Old Testament is concerned, spoke forty languages and had written many books on these ancient languages. I heard him make the statement that the thing he objected to was that his critics had to use his books for source material because there were none others. Dr. Wilson was an outstanding defender of the faith.

Now all of this is changed. The storm has broken with all of its fury. Though I am not a pessimist (I refuse to be called a pessimist unless the pessimist can be defined as the man who blows out the light the optimist thought he saw in the dark, and I do not want to blow out that light), I do think that we need not let the apostasy take us by surprise. We ought to be able to meet it in this hour in which we are living and to recognize it for what it is.

Our Lord Jesus never did predict phenomenal success for His church. This is the thing He did say:

…When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8)

In the Greek it is “the faith,” and the faith is that body of truth which the apostles have handed down to us. It is not a reference to personal faith, but to belief in the whole body of revealed truth.

The question, “Shall He find the faith on the earth?” is couched in such a way in the Greek that it demands a negative answer. No, He frankly says that He will not find the faith on the earth when He returns. Now I recognize that He is referring to the day when He returns to establish His kingdom, but this hour in which we live is the beginning of that apostasy. So we need to recognize it. We should not let it take us by surprise.

Jude is the book in the New Testament that deals almost exclusively with the apostasy. Jude begins his subject with verse 4:

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men…

He warns against these certain men who have crept in unawares. “Ordained” here means they were written of beforehand. This is not something new, Jude says. They were “long beforehand marked out for this condemnation.” We went through a period when theologians said that God was dead. Of course they would say that because they were “ungodly men” and God was not even in their thinking.

…Turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

A better understood translation would be, “They turned the grace of our God into blatant immorality.” You see, the difference today is the fact that sin, which before was carried on undercover (I’m perfectly willing to admit that there was sin and unbelief in the church before), is today blatant. Immorality has come out in the open. Ministers in our great denominations are saying that adultery, lying, and stealing are perfectly permissible. They have turned the grace of our God into blatant immorality.

A few years ago in Washington, D.C., a minister said, “We liberal churchmen are no longer interested in the fundamental modernist controversy. We do not believe we should even waste our time engaging in it. So far as we are concerned, it makes no difference whether Christ was born of a virgin or not. We don’t even bother to form an opinion on the subject.”

An Arlington, Virginia, minister said, “We have closed our minds to such trivial consideration as the question of the resurrection of Christ. If you fundamentalists wish to believe that nonsense, we have no objection, but we have more important things to preach than the presence or absence of an empty tomb twenty centuries ago.”

A leading minister in Washington, D.C., said flatly, “In our denomination what you call the ‘faith of our Fathers’ is approaching total extinction. Of course a few of the older ministers still cling to the Bible. But among the younger men, the real leaders of our denomination today, I do not know a single one who believes in Christ, or any of the things that you classify as fundamentals.”

Another man said, “We are interested in human life and human destiny on earth. We don’t know or care whether there is a life beyond the grave. We presume there is a God but we know that he will ever be a mystery to us. We do not know or care whether God possesses personality or not. He may be just an impersonal force. Religion means very little, if anything. In the modern world religion has no vital place. The function of the modern ministers is to guide the thinking people along social and economic lines. Morals, like religion, are out of date. The world today requires a new social order. The younger generation won’t need either morals or religion if we create a social order without ignorance or poverty. We are moving in the direction of the elimination of prayer from our services entirely. We still include it occasionally, to please those who are accustomed to it, for prayer is a sort of habit with folks. It takes time to educate them to a realization that it is a hang-over from the superstitious past. We do not teach Bible to our young people. We do not teach them to pray. Our youth program is centered around recreation.”

Friends, at the present moment and for some time now the church has been engaged in a great brainwashing program to absolutely get rid of the Word of God. Now I went to school with some of these fellows, and I know what kind of grades they made, so their intellectual facade is interesting indeed.

It is my feeling that real believers ought to wake up at this hour. What a wonderful hour in which to live! We can still be intelligent and believe the Word of God, believe that Jesus Christ nearly 2000 years ago intruded into history and died on a cross, that He arose again the third day bodily, ascended back to heaven, and that He is alive today. He has sent the Holy Spirit into the world, and the Holy Spirit has made Him real to multitudes of folk in every walk of life. This is our message, and it is still pertinent for this hour to meet the needs of the human heart.

I feel sorry for these men who have departed from the faith. My heart goes out to apostates, because they are lost without a compass, lost in the dark, lost without knowing where they are going.

Have you ever been lost?

I used to hunt up in the Tehachapi mountains in California. Several years ago a friend and I went up to the Kelso Valley to hunt quail. We parked the car and walked two or three miles, but we did not see a quail. Finally we came to a covey of quail, there must have been 200 birds in it! I have never seen such a large covey — believe me, we were excited. My companion had a heart condition, and he overdid it so he had to return to the car. But I stayed on and followed that covey as they scattered in every direction. As I followed them, I lost sense of time and direction. I didn’t even know where I was. All of a sudden it occurred to me that I was lost. I did not know which direction to go. The foothills of the Tehachapis are rugged country. I climbed to the top of one of the hills and looked around to see if I could recognize some spot. I give you my word, I couldn’t see a hill, a tree, or anything that looked familiar. At a time like that one has a feeling of fright, so I started out rather hurriedly and walked, I’m sure, for thirty minutes. Suddenly it occurred to me that I must be going in the wrong direction. I could see nothing familiar. I turned around and started off in the opposite direction, thinking I would see something familiar. There was nothing. Without a compass, without knowing where I was, I became absolutely frightened. Again I climbed to the top of the highest hill in that area and scanned the landscape. Believe me, I prayed to the Lord to get me out of that situation. And as I stood there, I thought how tragic it is to be lost in this world and not know where you are going — to have no compass, no map, no anything. Just lost.

I must have stayed there over an hour praying and wondering. Finally I saw a car coming down a very rough trail. Men got out and started down the road. I called to them, “Have you seen a blue car?”

“Yes, parked up the road about one mile.” That was my direction. I came down off that hill, went up that road, and when I saw my friend — I never have seen anyone that I was as glad to see — there he was sitting, eating lunch.

My friend, today multitudes in this world are lost. And the tragedy of it is they have wrecked their compass, they have mutilated their map, and they don’t know which way to go.

Maybe you are lost.

Well, I am delighted to be able to tell you that this Book, the Bible, is a compass, and it’s a map. It clearly reveals the way to God. In it the Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Multitudes who have been lost in this world have come to Him and found it to be true, and you can find it to be true even in these days of apostasy.

What Can Believers Do?

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference; and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. (Jude 20-25)

When Jude began to write his epistle, he tells us that it was his thought to write on some theme that pertained to our common salvation. I imagine he could have been writing on repentance or redemption or sanctification or even the coming of Christ. But he was detoured by the Holy Spirit to write on the forthcoming apostasy, and he uses frightful terms to speak of it. I am of the opinion that folk in the early church, as they read the Epistle of Jude, found it difficult to believe that the days would come when there would be that kind of an apostasy in the church.

You see, the apostasy is not outside the church. It is on the inside. The severest attack upon the Word of God, upon the Christian faith, and upon the church, is coming from inside the church today. So much so that Charles Lee Smith, who founded the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism, said: “The pulpit is doing a much better job than we are doing!” You will no longer see the greatest attack upon the Word of God made in the city square where the soap box orators hold forth — they are pikers. Go to some liberal church today and you will hear the greatest attack upon the Word of God. The Bible is being discredited all across America every Sunday morning.

It was Horatius Bonar, a great saint of the past, who made this statement in light of the little Epistle of Jude: “In some ages evil seems to sleep. In the last days it will awake to full life and activity. It will seize every instrument: the press, the pulpit, the platform.” Today evil has taken over the press; it has taken over the pulpit and the platform. Bonar continues, “It will enlist every science and art — music, sculpture, painting, portrait, philosophy — making them all subservient to its development. The multiplication of crimes, contempt of laws, blasphemies — these are the specimens of the energy of evil.” In this day in which you and I live, these are the things that fill our morning newspaper. There is no use for me to recount ad nauseum the things that are happening in our contemporary society. We are now in the midst of the apostasy.

What can God’s people do? Jude details for us what we as believers can do in days of apostasy. Frankly, these are things we must do if we are to keep our heads above water.

Now it irritates me a little when I’m aboard an airplane, especially when I’m flying over water, to be given those long instructions about what I’m to do in case we ditch. As you know, the stewardess goes through a demonstration, explaining what to do. I was complaining about this to a friend of mine who is a pilot. He said to me, “You’d better listen to those instructions. If you don’t follow them, you’d never get out alive. But you have a chance if you will follow the instructions.”

Jude has given us instructions. He warns us that we are flying over dangerous territory. If we want to survive, these are the things we must do. He mentions seven things that believers can do in days like these in which we are living.

Beginning with verse 20, he says, “But ye, beloved…” Up to this point he has described the apostasy. And, believe me, he paints a dark picture. But now he is speaking to believers. “But ye, beloved” do these things:

1. Building up yourselves on your most holy faith…

The word “faith” is actually the faith, the body of truth that has been given to us in the Word of God. When the first church came into existence, it is said that they “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2:42), which was the body of truth that has come down to us in the Word of God. We must build up ourselves in that if we are to stand.

In other words we are to study the Word of God. Since God gave sixty-six books, He meant that we are to study all sixty-six of them — not only the three or four that are our favorites. How many Bible classes go back and forth, teaching John, Romans, and oh, they’ll teach Revelation, but what about the other sixty-three books that are in the Bible? Why don’t we study them? Why don’t we study all of them? My friend, if you are going to build yourself up in your most holy faith, you must have the total Word of God. You can’t build a house without a foundation. And when you get the foundation laid, you will need to put up some timbers to hold the roof, you’ll need sides on it, and of course you’ll want to fix it up on the inside. Friend, you need all sixty-six books of the Bible if you are going to build up yourself on your most holy faith.

Paul and Peter urge us to study the Word of God. Paul in his “swan song” said:

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

We are to study! And he added:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)

In other words, the recourse that you and I have in these days is the Word of God.

The reason that many fall by the wayside is that the Seed fell among stones. It didn’t get deeply rooted. The Word of God is the Seed, and unless you study all the Word of God, getting down in the good rich soil, you are not going to become a very healthy looking plant. And it won’t be long until you are trampled down and burned out by the sun. To stand in days like these you need to be rooted in the Word of God.

Now Peter in his second Epistle (he is writing of the apostasy, just as did Paul) says:

We have also a more sure word of prophecy, unto which ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. (2 Peter 1:19, 20)

Don’t pull out just one or two verses and think you have it, my friend. That is the tragedy of Bible study today — drawing out a few verses here and a few verses there and building a system. Why not take it all? Certainly there are parts of the Word of God that you are not going to like. It steps on your toes, or it runs counter to current philosophy, but it is necessary to build up ourselves on our most holy faith.

In other words, when you get into days of apostasy, the compass and the chart that you have is the Word of God. This is the reason I have built my ministry entirely upon the Word of God. I believe it is our only hope.

Now these pastors who say they do not believe nor teach the Bible — I am wondering how many people are interested in their liberal message today. In spite of days of apostasy, I find that there is a great heart-hunger on the part of many folk for the Word of God. They want a sure word from God Himself in this hour of uncertainty. They want to know what He says.

At the turn of the century there was a movement in the church away from preaching and teaching the Bible. I remember as a boy going to church I knew nothing, and I knew nothing after I’d been to church because the Word of God was never preached. It was always a service built on emotion or it was a book review or it had to do with some sort of an entertainment. As a result, we have in America a “Christian” civilization of the most biblically illiterate people who ever have been on top side of the earth. The common man in Germany after the Reformation knew more about the Word of God than does the average man in America today.

The tragedy is that even believers are ignorant of the Bible. In this hour of apostasy, God’s people need not only to say they believe in the Word of God from cover to cover, but they need to know what is between the covers. In this day of confusion and compromise you need to build up yourself in the most holy faith by a serious study of the Word of God.

Let me remind you that the Bible is unique. It is a Book that is different from any other. It is written by men and they include in it their own personalities — God did not disturb that at all — but He so guided them that when they had finished, God had gotten through His message to man without error.

Not only is it without error, but this Book still has power. Paul writes to the Thessalonians:

For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. (1 Thessalonians 1:5)

This Book has a message for those who will hear it, a message that will transform hearts and lives. The Word of God is not only a chart and compass, but it is our powerhouse. My friend, you cannot be ignorant of the Word of God and live the Christian life!

There is a second thing, Jude says, that we are to do in days of apostasy:

2. Praying in the Holy Spirit…

This is a little different from saying your prayers at night. Paul, in writing to the Ephesians, told them to take the armor of God (you’ll notice that, with the exception of two, every piece of that armor is for defense). Finally he says to them, “…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17) — that is that offensive weapon. We have no other offense than that plus “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…” (Ephesians 6:18). This is the type of prayer that touches the throne of God. It is the type of prayer that gets things from God.

It was my theory, up until the time I was pastor of the Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles, that what we needed to do was multiply numbers in a prayer meeting. I do not hold that view any longer. If you have ten people attending a prayer meeting and they are more or less spiritually asleep, it is not a very effective prayer meeting, I can tell you. But to multiply that number from ten to one hundred hasn’t helped it if you’ve brought in ninety more spiritually dull people. All you have now is a hundred dead people instead of ten dead people, and that has not helped the prayer meeting!

However, we do need those who will pray in the Holy Spirit. We need prayer that reaches through and touches the heart of God — prayer to which He listens.

I love that prayer in the ninth chapter of Daniel. Daniel said:

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes; and I prayed unto the LORD, my God, and made my confession…. (Daniel 9:3, 4)

And God dispatched an angel with an answer to his prayer. I think God said, “You go down and answer his prayer, but I’m going to listen to him.” Daniel went on praying, and he touched the very heart of God.

Have you ever read any of Martin Luther’s prayers? Oh, I tell you, when that man prayed, it was like storming the battlements of heaven! We hear very little praying like that today. But that is the type of prayer that absolutely transformed Europe — prayer in the Holy Spirit.

There are many times when we don’t know what to pray for. I’ll be honest with you — in my lifetime, I have encountered problems for which I have no solution. I used to be able to give the Lord the best advice He ever had received on just how He ought to handle the thing. But I’ve learned that instead of going to Him with a program all outlined and saying, “Look here, Lord, this is the course You should follow,” now I am more inclined to say, “Lord, I don’t know the answer, but You do; if we get the right answer, it will have to come from You.” Therefore, we can throw this back — and I say it reverently — into the lap of God. That’s the way He wants it.

Years ago a missionary in Venezuela sent me a little card on which was a definition of prayer: “Prayer is the Holy Spirit, speaking in the believer, through Christ, to the Father.” Friend, that is a very good definition of prayer.

Praying in the Holy Spirit means the Spirit of God leads and guides us in our prayer life. A great many folk say, “I pray for a certain thing, and I don’t get an answer.” That ought to tell you something! You are not praying in the will of God. My grandson can ask for more things that he shouldn’t have than any little fellow I’ve ever met! I take him with me to the store sometimes, and he wants everything he shouldn’t have. I think to myself, My, that’s the way I pray! Just like a little child, I say, “Lord, give me this and give me that,” and He doesn’t do it. Why? Because I am not praying in the Holy Spirit. Oh, to cast ourselves upon Him in days like these! In times of apostasy, how we need to pray in the Holy Spirit.

Jude gives us the third thing believers are to do in days of apostasy:

3. Keep yourselves in the love of God…

Notice this exact language. He did not say that we are to do something to win the love of God. You are already in the love of God — just keep yourself there. And, friend, you cannot do anything to merit the love of God, neither can you keep Him from loving you.

Do you remember the rich young ruler who came to Jesus with a question? He wanted to know what he should do to inherit eternal life. The record tells us:

Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest; go thy way, sell whatever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved; for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:21, 22)

He turned and walked away from Christ, but God still loved him!

We need to recognize that God loves the believer. All through the Epistle of Jude he calls believers “beloved.” That doesn’t mean that Jude loves them or that they love him. It simply means they are beloved of God.

You see, you can’t keep God from loving you. You can, however, get out of that love. Let me use the example of sunshine. Where I am today the sun is shining brightly; it’s a beautiful California day. I can’t keep the sun from shining, but I’m not in the sunshine — I’m inside a building. It is possible to put over yourself a roof of sin. You can put over yourself a roof of indifference. You can step out of the will of God so that you will not feel the warmth of God’s love in your life. But you cannot keep Him from loving you. So Jude says in effect, “Keep yourselves out there in the sunshine of His love.” Let His love flood your heart and flood your life. That is needed in days of apostasy.

There are many people today who are going through severe trials. Recently, I have been talking to a family that has been called upon to bear more than its share of trouble. It is a Christian family. The father — candidly, I wondered if he would make it or not — said to me the other day, “If it were not for the fact that I am persuaded that the Lord Jesus loves me, I’d give up the whole thing and walk out.” But he won’t be walking out, because he has kept himself in the love of God.

How you and I need to keep ourselves in the light and warmth of God’s love in these days!

Jude reminds us of the fourth thing we need to do:

4. Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

The mercy of God is His concern and care for you. Because of His mercy, He was able to save you — He was concerned about you. He is rich in mercy, He has plenty of it, and we need all we can get because it is by mercy that God would even put up with us.

“Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ” refers, I believe, to the coming of Christ for His church, the event we know as the Rapture of the church. You see, the reason I believe the church is not going through the Great Tribulation is that we are told to look for mercy, not judgment. I am not looking for judgment or the Great Tribulation. I am looking for the mercy of God.

A long time ago when He saved me, He did it by His mercy. And the very fact that He keeps holding on to me is an evidence of His mercy. One of these days He will take His church out of this world. Believe it or not, I’ll be going along, and I’ll be going because of His mercy. If you meet me a million years from today in eternity and you find I’m still in heaven (and I will be there), I will tell you now what I’ll tell you then: I’ve been here a million years, because He is merciful to me.

I am looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. In days of apostasy we need to look for that, my beloved. In this day of failure, in this day of compromise, in this day of discouragement, we are to look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

The fifth thing is a caution:

5. And of some have compassion, making a difference.

I’ll have to change that translation just a little: “And of some have compassion who are in doubt.” There are a great many good sincere people today who do have their doubts, and we need to be patient with them.

In our Thursday night Bible study several years ago a woman came to me after every service for, I suppose, six weeks with some question. I began to have a feeling she was trying to trap me or trick me, and I became, frankly, a little impatient with her. Always there was another lady with her, one of our church members. So one night I answered her question rather sharply, and she turned and walked out. The lady with her came to me and said, “Dr. McGee, just be patient with her. She is a very brilliant woman. She’s in ‘Who’s Who,’ and she has been in practically every cult there is. She is really mixed up! Now she is trying to make her way out. Please be patient with her.” So after that I would really answer her questions the best I could. About three months later she accepted Christ as her Savior. And I had a wonderful letter from her when she was back in Ohio, telling me of how the Lord was leading her.

We are living in days when there is so much doubt cast upon the Word of God. Remember that we are in the apostasy. Though the creeds of all the great denominations were sound creeds (they differ a little in some points, but on the great basics there was no difference at all), the church has been taken over by liberals who totally reject the great doctrines their denominations were founded upon. Folk in these churches have been so brainwashed over the years that though they want to believe, they are having their problems. We would do well to be patient with them.

Now the sixth thing:

6. And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire…

These are folk whom we would judge to be hopeless sinners. It seems to us that nobody could reach them. I have been amazed at some of the people who have come to the Lord through the medium of radio. People that I have known, and frankly have given up, have come to Christ by hearing the Word taught on radio. “And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire!” What a tremendous thing!

A letter has come to me from Fairbanks, Alaska, which illustrates this:

…Because KJNP is the loudest voice in the Arctic, hundreds of bush pilots lock onto the station to guide them into the city of Fairbanks and they must listen to what is on the air at the time. Just a few weeks ago, one of the pilots was locked onto KJNP and, behold, you were broadcasting! By the time he reached Fairbanks he had repented and was wonderfully born again by the Spirit of God. He is now attending a fundamental church and doing well. Praise God!

 

May I say to you, friend, there is somebody around you today whom you can pull out of the fire. If there were a house on fire with somebody inside of it, you would do your best to get him out. But just think of the people around you today who are on the way to a lost eternity, and some of them you can reach. I don’t think you can reach them all. I don’t recommend you go out on the street and hand a tract to everybody who comes along, but I do say there is somebody you can reach. And the interesting thing is, you are the only one who can reach them — they would never listen to this preacher, but they will listen to you. They have respect for you. They have confidence in you. Yet you have never told them about the Savior who has saved you. That is the type of witnessing we need in days of apostasy.

Now the seventh and final admonition of Jude is:

7. Hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

The word “flesh” does not necessarily mean only that which is licentious, although it includes that. The “flesh” refers to this old nature that we have, and this old nature does not always go in the direction of licentiousness. There are a great many people today who are art lovers and music lovers. There are cultured folk who would never rob anyone or engage in immorality. But without Christ they are lost people, and they are living in the flesh — as much in the flesh as any drunkard on Main Street. In God’s sight they are just as lost. God says that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). All come under that category.

You and I today are to hate the garment that is spotted by the flesh. May I make it personal? Pride is of the flesh. Gossip is of the flesh. Harsh criticism is of the flesh. And there is a lot of the flesh manifested in our churches. This pious pose that many have toward “spirituality” is of the flesh and not of God at all. Even Paul the apostle, a religious man who was converted to Christ, said, “Oh, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24). This is not a lost man asking for salvation. This is the cry of a saved man who was living in the flesh. Anything that Vernon McGee produces of the flesh, God hates. Regardless of how religious it is or how pious it might be or how much Bible it has in it. If it is of the flesh, He hates it. Only that which the Spirit of God produces through us can He use. We should learn to hate “even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

These are the seven things we are to do in days of apostasy.

Dwight L. Moody said, “I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. Its ruin is getting nearer and nearer. God said to me, ‘Moody, here’s a lifeboat. Go out and rescue as many as you can before the crash comes.’” And up until the ministry of Billy Graham, Moody looked into the faces of more people than any man who ever lived, and he reduced the population of hell by 200,000. My friend, if God could use Moody, He can use you and He can use me in these days of apostasy.

The little Book of Jude concludes with a glorious benediction. Let me give you a literal translation:

Now unto Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you (make you stand) before the presence of His glory blameless with great rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might, and authority, before all time both now and forever. Amen. (Jude 24 and 25, as translated by Dr. McGee)

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mcgee_j_vernon/eBooks/what-can-believers-do-in-days-of-apostasy.cfm

images

THE NUMBER ONE SIGN WE ARE AT THE VERY END OF THE END TIMES!

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition…” 2 Thessalonians 2:30NOVEMBER 26, 2018 2:02 PM by Lyn Leahz.

FNN Featured Article by Lyn Leahz

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition…” 2 Thessalonians 2:30NOVEMBER 26, 2018 2:02 PM by Lyn Leahz

What is the most obvious sign that, not only is the Antichrist about to be revealed, but that we are standing on the precipice of the start of the tribulation?  And how can we know for sure that this particular sign does indeed mean we are that close?

To answer this question, let’s take a look at 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3:

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,

Verse three specifically tells us “that” Day will NOT come UNLESS the falling away comes first.  Are we seeing the falling away?  I believe so. 

The church has been given over to an ear tickling message and their leaders who preach it.  2 Timothy 4:3-5 tells us, “3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”  (As a side note, I would also like to add, for those of you who feel warning people is ungodly or unbiblical; verse 5 commands us to be watchful in ALL things and DO THE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST, which is warning people and telling them the truth about Jesus Christ!)

We are seeing a deluge of false teachers, preachers, and people who have given themselves over to their ear tickling messages.

Please Help Support Our New Show, Freedom Nation News, With Lyn Leahz & Linda Kay Barnett. You Can Give A Gift Via PayPal (Info@FreedomNationNews.Com) or Check/Money Order Payable To Freedom Nation News, P. O. Box 7316, Moore, OK  73153

GotQuestions.Org had one of the best, biblical articles on the matter: 

The Bible indicates that there will be a great apostasy during the end times. The “great apostasy” is mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. The KJV calls it the “falling away,” while the NIV and ESV call it “the rebellion.” And that’s what an apostasy is: a rebellion, an abandonment of the truth. The end times will include a wholesale rejection of God’s revelation, a further “falling away” of an already fallen world.

The occasion of Paul’s writing to the Thessalonians was to correct some of the errors concerning the end times that the believers had heard from false teachers. Among the falsehoods was that “the day of the Lord has already come” (2 Thessalonians 2:2). The Christians in Thessalonica were afraid that Jesus had already come, they had missed the rapture, and they were now in the tribulation. Paul had already explained the rapture to them in his first letter (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). Paul writes his second letter to assure them that, contrary to what they had heard, and despite the persecution they were enduring, the “day of Christ” had not yet come.

We are seeing a deluge of false teachers, preachers, and people who have given themselves over to their ear tickling messages. 

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul makes it clear that the day of the Lord, a time of worldwide judgment (Isaiah 13:6; Obadiah 1:15), will not transpire until two things happen. First, the falling away, or great apostasy, must occur. Second, the “man of lawlessness” must be revealed, he who is called the “son of perdition,” also known as the Antichrist. Once this person makes himself known, the end times will indeed have come. Numerous speculations about the identity of the man of sin, beginning in the first century, have included Caligula, Caius Caesar, Mohammed, Napoleon, and any number of Roman popes. None of them were the Anti-christ.

The man of lawlessness, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:4, is the one who “will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” Clearly, this has not yet happened; no one since Paul’s time has set himself up as God in the Jewish temple. Two thousand years have passed since the epistle was written, and the “day of the Lord” has not yet come. Paul assures us that it will not come until the falling away comes first.

The Greek word translated “rebellion” or “falling away” in verse 3 is apostasia, from which we get the English word apostasy. It refers to a general defection from the true God, the Bible, and the Christian faith. Every age has its defectors, but the falling away at the end times will be complete and worldwide. The whole planet will be in rebellion against God and His Christ. Every coup requires a leader, and into this global apostasy will step the Antichrist. We believe this takes place after the church has been raptured from the earth.

Please pay close attention to the next paragraph here:

Jesus warned the disciples concerning the final days in Matthew 24:10–12: “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” These are the characteristics of the great apostasy of the end times.

Here are important bullet points from the above verse about the characteristics of the great apostasy of the end times:

-Many will turn away from the faith (Would you say that many people have turned away from the truth of God’s Word? Following a watered down, politically correct, corrupt version, which is a lie, instead?)

-Many will betray and hate each other (Have you noticed both in the news, and looking around in your own life at others, that more and more people seem to be betraying one another for their own personal gain or selfish reasons? And, not only are betraying one another, but filled with hatred, bitterness and unforgiveness as well?)

-Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people (How many self-proclaimed prophets have you seen on the internet who are hearing from God with dates, time frames, warnings, messages and more?  Many have similar messages, and many are also different. Have what these people proclaimed come to pass?  Is what their proclaiming something that is also recorded in the Bible almost word for word?  Aren’t many people losing hope and faith as a result of false prophecies that never come to pass?)

-An increase of wickedness (Just turn on the news or look at the news on the internet.  It’s pretty obvious wickedness is on the rise every day. Sexual immorality, murder and abortion, child abuse, hatred, hate crimes, witchcraft, violence, no conscience, love of money, children killing their own parents, parents killing their own children, etc. The list could go on and on.)

-As a result of an increase of wickedness, the love of MOST will grow cold (The world has moved so far away from the true Biblical definition of love it’s not funny.  We live in a narcissistic self-absorbed society. People are in a hurry and do not have time to care about other people.  As the old saying goes, “It’s a dog eat dog world,” which means “ruthless and competitive.”)

I will leave the answer to the question up to you.  Open your eyes and look around at everything going on in the world, particularly the church (and I don’t mean a building). Given all that you see, do you feel the falling away spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 has taken place? And, if so, according to that same verse, doesn’t it mean the “man of sin, son of perdition (Antichrist), is next on the agenda and at hand?

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, I strongly urge you today to consider. Here is a plan of salvation from AllAboutGod.Com: 

Plan of Salvation: Rebirth is the Answer to Life’s Most Important Question
Plan of Salvation — We think life’s most important question is “Are you going to heaven when you die?” It is not a question of how good you are, whether you go to church, or how much money you give to charity. God says, in order to go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3).

Plan of Salvation: How can we be Born Again?
The plan of salvation is right in the Bible. God gives us His clear plan for being “born again.” 

First, we must acknowledge God as the Creator of everything, and accept our humble position in God’s creation. “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:11). 

Next, we must realize that we are sinners. “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). 

Because we are sinners, we are condemned to death. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal separation from God. 

But God loved each of us so much that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear our sin and die in our place. “God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Although we cannot understand how, God said our sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. Jesus became our substitute. 

In the Bible, a jailer asked his prisoners, Paul and Silas: “’Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.’” (Acts 16:30-31). 

It’s very clear in the Bible, believe in Jesus as the one who bore your sins, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected. It’s Christ’s blood and resurrection that assures us of everlasting life when we call on Him as our Lord and Savior. “For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13). “Whosoever” includes each and every one of us. 

Therefore, if you understand that you are a sinner, and you believe that Jesus Christ came as the one and only Redeemer of sin, then you understand the plan of salvation. The question is – are you ready to implement the plan, by receiving God’s gift of His Son, Jesus Christ? If so, believe in Christ, repent of your sins, and commit the rest of your life to Him as Lord:

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

If you decided to receive Jesus today, welcome to God’s family. Now, as a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to follow up on our commitment.

  • Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
  • Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
  • Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
  • Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
  • Find a local church where you can worship God. (Added by Lyn Leahz: make sure you find a good, Bible believing, truth-telling church that preaches the convicting message of truth, not the ear-tickling watered down false love message)