Category: apostasy

A Papal Prophecy? #13

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

“And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time” (2 Thessalonians 2:6 KJV).

The recent resignation of Benedict XVI as pope is being greatly discussed within “Christian” circles in light of eschatology. Are we seeing Bible prophecy fulfilled today, or is this simply the (usual) failure to “rightly divide the word of truth?”

This is (deliberately) the thirteenth and final study of this devotional arc: the number 13 in Scripture symbolizes rebellion (Genesis 14:4), and the antichrist is the epitome of Satan’s evil policy aimed at rebelling against God.

In these past one-dozen studies, we have studied the Holy Scriptures to briefly introduce the antichrist. You should have a better understanding of who he is and what role he plays in God’s dealings with mankind, particularly with Israel.

We leave you with some final thoughts.

  • Scripture never provides any dates or time frames for God’s dealings with us in the Dispensation of Grace. Contrariwise, the Bible does provide time frames for Israel’s program: regarding prophecy, the seven-year Tribulation is the concluding “week” (seven-year period) of a larger 490-year (70-week) period of time God deals with the nation Israel (Daniel 9:24-27). This further proves we, the Church the Body of Christ, cannot and will not experience the seven-year Tribulation.
  • This world is certainly preparing for the antichrist via false teaching, ecumenism (once-antagonistic denominations uniting), religious pluralism (uniting world religions), and increased technology and mass communication. However, the scriptural record is silent about papal resignations: Benedict XVI’s resignation is not Bible prophecy. Nevertheless, it does expose the dire condition—the scandals, perplexity, and desperation—of professing Christianity.
  • The rapture will occur at any time, so we cannot and should not set dates. However, you need to be ready for it! Jesus Christ died for your sins, He was buried, and He was raised again the third day to give you His life when you trust Him alone as your personal Saviour. Trust Him alone today, and in due time, you will be raptured out with the rest of the Church the Body of Christ, before the awful seven-year Tribulation begins, and before the antichrist is revealed.

Do Not Confuse Me With Facts!

Monday, February 25, 2013

“If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 14:37,38 KJV).

Some people will just never accept what the Bible actually says….

Every person is born spiritually “ignorant” and “dead in [his or her] trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1-3; Ephesians 4:17-19). However, only a minority will ever accept true wisdom (Matthew 7:13,14): just a few will ever acknowledge their pitiful Adamic state, and just a fraction of that minority will appropriate by faith Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for their sins. What about the majority? They will do their absolute best to pretend that they are not really lost, that they are not really going to hell, that their church tradition is the final authority. They have an agenda—never, ever submit to the Holy Bible (this is the attitude of those already in hell).

I have encountered many individuals in my ministry. Some eagerly believed the Bible verses I shared with them. They were thrilled to have God’s Word enlighten them. Unfortunately, other people I met laughed at the verses (including a “grace” preacher!), they blatantly ignored God’s Word, and some quickly ended the conversation and literally ran away! They also discouraged others from using dispensational Bible study. Their experiences, their preconceived notions, and their traditions were at stake, and they knew it. Essentially, there was only one thing to say, and their actions could be reduced to the following words: “Do NOT confuse me with facts!”

In the context of today’s Scripture, the Corinthians were abusing spiritual gifts (especially the gift of tongues). They wrongly believed that speaking in gibberish (“unknown tongues”) was a sign of spirituality, so Paul reminded them that the test for spirituality today is what Jesus Christ says in his epistles, Romans through Philemon (today’s Scripture). Today’s Scripture makes it very clear—if anyone refuses to believe what the Lord has to say through Paul, let the person remain in ignorance. Give them their wish—confuse them not with facts. Free will!

Saved from Hell, But Lost in Tradition #5

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

“…God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4 KJV).

Can someone go to heaven without ever learning dispensational Bible study?

The Gospel of the Grace of God is the solution to man’s sin problem, and salvation from hell can be found therein: “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Simple faith in this Gospel alone guarantees a person that he or she has been given the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), is forgiven of all sins (Colossians 2:13), and will be “present with the Lord” in heaven upon physical death (2 Corinthians 5:8). “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5).

Dispensational Bible study is the key to Bible understanding, and salvation from false teaching can be found therein: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Verses 16-18 discuss false teachers who failed to “rightly divide the word of truth.” They subsequently misled some Christians to doubt their own salvation from hell!

Paul warned Timothy of apostasy, a departure from God’s truth in order to embrace “doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). He instructed Timothy regarding salvation from deception: “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (verse 16). Years later, he cautioned Timothy regarding impending “perilous times”—especially false teaching (2 Timothy 3:1-13). “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (verses 14,15).

Salvation from hell is the most important Bible doctrine, but let us not forget that God wants to save us Christians from false teaching….

Replacement Terminology Theology #6

Sunday, February 10, 2013

“For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him” (1 Corinthians 8:5,6 KJV).

Satan deceptively employs terms that the Bible uses—”God,” “Lord,” “Jesus,” “Christ”—but he does not always apply them to the same individuals the Bible does. What ingenuity!

Have you ever called a religious leader “reverend?” What about “father” and “monsignor” (pronounced mon-seen-your)?

The title “reverend” is only found once in the King James Bible, and it applies to the true and living God, not some fallible, sinful man! Psalm 111:9 says: “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.”

The term “monsignor” is French for… perhaps you guessed it… “my lord!” Although “lord” itself is not an evil word, using it for a religious leader is blasphemous. No church leader is our “lord.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ forbade His disciples to call religious leaders “father,” for they had one Father—His heavenly Father (Matthew 23:9). Interestingly, in ancient Israel, a Jewish man asked a younger man, an apostate Levitical priest, to be unto him “a father and a priest”—he agreed too (Judges 17:7-13). Would you call a younger man “father?!” It was clearly used in a spiritual sense, not a physical one. Furthermore, “Holy Father” is a title of Father God (John 17:11), so why is this the pope’s title? Even the term “pope” is derived from the Latin papas, meaning… what else?… “father!”

Why is this serious?

The Holy Bible speaks of a future time—the seven-year Tribulation—when religious deception will be at an all-time high (Matthew 24:24). We can see the world preparing for it even today: the confounding of Bible terms and applying them to Satan’s counterfeits (see today’s Scripture). Modern “bibles” and many so-called “Bible-believing” churches and “godly” church leaders are paving the way for the antichrist’s satanic, one-world religion. Beware!

Decent and Orderly

Sunday, December 2, 2012

“Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is straightforward regarding individuals’ behavior within the local church.

A lady recently shared with me her experience of visiting a new local church. After an hour of singing, dancing, shouting, jumping, and tongue talking, there was less than an hour of preaching. While she claimed that she learned “a little” (!) from the Bible, she was overall displeased. Thankfully, she said she was not returning there. (I was then able to share some Scriptural truth with her concerning those matters.)

Emotionalism dominated the Corinthian church. The Corinthians, although Christians, were spiritually immature: they failed to learn and grasp the doctrine found in the book of Romans. They could not function like adult saints because they were “babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1). Consequently, they abused spiritual gifts.

Rather than using their spiritual gifts to benefit the assembly as God intended, these believers were selfishly glorifying their flesh by drawing attention to themselves (the “charismatic movement” is nothing new). The Apostle Paul spent three chapters—1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14—addressing spiritual gifts. The last verse of that section is today’s Scripture, which summarizes God’s view of the whole issue. We are not to lose self-control under any circumstances.

Dear readers, be not swept away by the charismatic movement. We humans are emotional creatures, prone to fall into the trap of deceptive feelings, and this religious movement appeals to our flesh. Spiritual gifts—even when they operated in biblical times—were never meant to be haphazardly used to lift up the individual Christian, or be utilized to give an “emotional high.”

Lost people are watching us, and is that the impression we want them to have about God? Jumping, shouting, and babbling incoherently? As 1 Corinthians 14:23 says, these lost souls will exclaim, “Ye are mad [crazy]!!!” Remember, everything in the local church should be done “decently and in order.” Let us be grounded in this truth, let us walk by faith in sound Pauline Bible doctrine, and let us not be “children… tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14).

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

Sunday, October 28, 2012

“For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29 KJV).

Saints, let us be mindful that today’s Scripture is truer today than ever before.

In the context of today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul is bidding the Ephesian church leaders farewell. He is determined to return to Jerusalem, unsure if the Jews will kill him there (verses 22,23). Paul warns these church leaders to “take heed therefore unto [themselves], and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made [them] overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (verse 28).

They need to be on guard, for in the next verse—today’s Scripture—he cautions them that false teachers will come in and spiritually devour these Christian leaders and their local assemblies. Satan’s ministers, denominationalists/religionists/legalists, will devastate the spiritual health of God’s people. They will come in from the outside world, and infiltrate the church with heresy so Christians become ineffective.

But, the subsequent verse says, “Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (verse 30). Not only will people outside the local church come in and deceive, there will be false teachers within the church (already doing the damage subtly and hypocritically). They claim “Jesus is Lord,” they talk about God’s love and grace, and some will even go so far as to agree with us by teaching the special ministry and gospel committed to the Apostle Paul’s trust. But, when you read the King James Bible for yourself, and compare their teaching to it, you realize that their ministry confirms today’s Scripture.

“With tears,” Paul warned the Ephesians for three years about false teaching (Acts 20:31). By the end of Paul’s ministry, several years after that warning in Acts chapter 20, Ephesus and the rest of Asia (Turkey) went into apostasy (2 Timothy 1:15). Dear saints, how we would STRONGLY URGE you to be very careful about what preacher, ministry, and/or church you follow. “Many corrupt the word of God” (2 Corinthians 2:17).

An Abomination and a Delight #1

Monday, October 22, 2012

“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight” (Proverbs 15:8 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, we read of an abomination to the LORD and a delight of the LORD.

Especially during Isaiah’s time (circa 700 B.C.), apostasy was rampant in Israel’s southern kingdom (Judah and Benjamin). The LORD went so far as to call it (spiritually) “Sodom and Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:10)!

Read God’s reprimanding of Israel’s southern kingdom: “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats…. Bring no more vain [worthless] oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood” (verses 11,13-15).

God is sick of Judah’s double mindedness—she murders His prophets, yet she performs the Mosaic Law religiously (animal sacrifices, Sabbath day keeping, et cetera). Despite their godly façade, God can read their evil hearts. They were practicing Judaism, but not by faith: it was just worthless, mindless repetition, which God literally hated.

Jesus chided Israel’s religious leaders of His day, who were so fixated on executing ceremonies that they ignored having faith in why God had instructed them to perform those rituals (formalism): “Well hath Esaias [Isaiah 29:13] prophesied of you hypocrites, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mark 7:6).

Let us not be like Israel, in Jesus’ and Isaiah’s day, who blindly performed religious ceremonies just to appear good. Faithless religious performance is “an abomination to the LORD,” just as wicked as indulging in the sins of the flesh.

Myriads of Itching Ears #3

Thursday, August 23, 2012

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3,4 KJV).

Beware of the megachurches, for they teach mega error!

Today’s Scripture teaches how, as time would pass, people with “itching ears”—an eagerness to hear an entertaining, soothing message void of God’s truth—would “heap to themselves teachers.” Literally, they accumulate (“heap”) more and more of these false teachers to themselves. Religious (false) teaching is like a drug. Not only is it addictive, it also inhibits common reasoning, it promotes incontinence and hysteria, and worst of all, it prevents Bible understanding.

There were perhaps 250 million people on Earth during the New Testament times. Today, almost 2,000 years later, Earth’s human population has increased nearly 30-fold. False teaching has also exponentially increased, especially due to megachurches.

What are we Bible-believing Christians to do? Throw up our hands in defeat, and just “go along with the crowd” in their doctrinal error? This would be quite easy to do, but it would not honor the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. The context of today’s Scripture explains that our surrendering to the devil’s policy of evil is not the answer!

In his final instructions to Timothy, the context of today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul “charged” (commanded) him “before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (verses 1,2). Paul urged Timothy to continue in sound Pauline Bible doctrine: “Preach the Word, Timothy. Prepare yourself for the false teaching that will grow progressively worse and widespread [as described in today’s Scripture].”

Paul’s directions to Timothy are God’s instructions to us. As more professing Christians abandon sound Bible doctrine, we continue in faith in God’s Word (the King James Bible) rightly divided, and we refuse to join the “myriads of itching ears.” 🙂

Myriads of Itching Ears #2

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3,4 KJV).

Beware of the megachurches, for they teach mega error!

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly [clearly], that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1,2). False teaching within professing Christianity is nothing new: these verses (including today’s Scripture) foretold an explosion of it. Ever since Paul wrote these Scriptures almost 20 centuries ago, literally tens of thousands of apostate religious systems, denominations, creeds, and ceremonies have been devised.

Furthermore, the rise of megachurches in the past few decades has exacerbated this false teaching. These monstrous congregations have incorporated a mishmash of the aforementioned doctrinal errors in order to accommodate just about anyone. Sadly, it is “hypocrisy” (it professes to be Christianity, but it is everything but, and it deceives Christians and lost people alike). So many good, sincere souls are “bewitched” by religion, especially in megachurches. They, seeking entertainment, are under a satanic spell, as described in Galatians 3:1-3 and 2 Timothy 2:24-26, and many are oblivious to it.

In Paul’s final epistle, written just prior to his martyrdom, he admitted—2,000 years ago—that the Body of Christ was in apostasy: “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes” (2 Timothy 1:15). Two false teachers, Phygellus and Hermogenes had convinced “all they which are in Asia [that is, present-day Turkey]” to “turn away” from Paul. Basically, Phyllegus and Hermogenes had undone everything that Paul had labored so hard to accomplish with these Christians in Asia.

With the doctrine Jesus Christ committed to the Apostle Paul now forsaken, the Christians in Asia had only one way to go spiritually—down, down, down, down, down! This is true of Christendom today, especially within the megachurches. Beware!!!

Myriads of Itching Ears #1

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3,4 KJV).

Beware of the megachurches, for they teach mega error!

Lately, I read a news article about megachurches, churches that have a weekly attendance of at least 2,000 people. According to the reporter, “Americans have less faith in religion than any time in the last three decades, but megachurches are on the rise.” Megachurches in the United States have multiplied from only 350 in 1990 to over 1,200 today!

According to the sociology researcher who contributed to the article, megachurch members feel a sense of “belonging.” These dear souls, most probably sincere, literally get so excited when they see thousands “worshiping” “God” that they have to join them. These members then often form smaller groups based on nonreligious activities and hobbies (knitting, fishing, cooking, et cetera). In addition to their “social club” atmosphere, megachurches are appealing because of their charismatic (charming) preachers and their feel-good messages. Megachurches capitalize less on sound Bible study and more on entertainment, which our sinful flesh gravitates toward.

Yes, megachurches read Bible verses and they shout, “Praise Jesus!,” but these activities are not necessarily godly. Satan quoted the Bible to Jesus (Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:10,11), so preaching Bible verses is not necessarily of God. Crying “Jesus is Lord” and someone speaking about God with their lips is not necessarily godly, either. Before Jesus Christ will cast lost people into hell, they will call Him “Lord, Lord” and He will declare they work “iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). He also mentioned people who “draw nigh unto [him] with their mouth, and honoureth [him] with their lips, but their heart is far from [him]” (Matthew 15:8).

When the Holy Spirit moved the Apostle Paul to write today’s Scripture, He undoubtedly foresaw and foretold of our day, when megachurches and their damnable doctrines would arise, and the clarity of the Bible would be further complicated. Heed the warning!!!