The Falling Away – Part 4
Speaking of the final years leading to the return of the Messiah, the Lord said that His people would fall into great error specifically because spiritual leaders were more interested in earthly pleasures than in learning and teaching the very intense thing the Lord was doing in their day. There is a blessing in the Book of Revelation for reading and teaching the book because it is hard to commit to. The end time message is offensive to many because it forces a decision. You cannot understand Revelation and remain neutral.
In Isaiah 28, God delivers a stark message to the priests and prophets of His people. God starts out describing the way those loyal to Jesus will see Him as a “crown of glory” and a “diadem of beauty”…God relates this to the willingness of those who love his just, but intense, plans, which require “turning back the battle at the gate” of Jerusalem. This is referring to those who oppose…primarily through intercessional warfare…the plans of the antichrist. A battle IS necessary. Few want to hear about the coming battle, but everyone needs to. For those who refuse to enter in and understand God’s end time plan, there will be great trouble.
Listen to this intense end-time passage from Isaiah:
Isaiah 28:5-13 In that day the LORD of hosts will be For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty To the remnant of His people, For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean. "Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little." For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He said, "This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest," And, "This is the refreshing"; Yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little," That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.
Because God’s plan is very specific, and requires an understanding of the full council of scripture, it takes time and attention to understand, comprehend, and learn the plan. It requires an intentional study of the Bible and a continual conversation with the Holy Spirit.
“what are you doing in THIS hour Lord?” is the question that should be on our lips in this generation continually, for all of creation has longed for the days WE live in. What a tragedy to get to see this hour and miss the very thing God is doing! That is why Jesus warned His disciples…those that knew Him…over and over that His return would come like a thief in the night for many!
Matthew 24:37-39 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Think about that analogy for a minute. Many use the warning Jesus gave to be ready as an excuse to NOT get ready. Jesus didn’t say “no one knows the day or hour” so people would do nothing. He said it so they WOULDN’T WAIT to get ready. If a big flood is coming, and Jesus expects you to build an ark, you better get hammering. God knows human nature is to procrastinate on the hard stuff…so Jesus said: I am not going to tell you when, get ready now! Much of the western Church has taken what those first disciples understood correctly as a warning and turned it into an excuse for rebellion. All of those first disciples were ready for the trouble that is coming:
1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
What the Holy Spirit is saying to the Bride is MUCH different than those who hold themselves up as leaders in Jesus’ body…pastors and prophets alike… are mostly saying to the Bride in this hour. I am not saying this to be mean, I am saying it because the Bible has warned about this for THOUSANDS of years. Do not listen to what I, or anyone else, tells you about this hour. You must ABIDE in Jesus yourself. Use the warnings people like me are giving to prod you to search the word, but please don’t let the false comfort many are giving as an excuse to do nothing. That is why God does not correct anyone for giving the warnings in the wrong season…not once…but over and over He says those who allow the people to fall into false comfort will be responsible for many sorrows:
Jeremiah 28:11-13 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, "Thus says the LORD: 'Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.' " And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. Now the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "Go and tell Hananiah, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron."
Many pastors and prophets, with the intention of comforting and encouraging, are ACTUALLY putting iron yokes on the very ones they are sent to warn and protect. Listen to the encouragement, but you must find out what the Bible says for yourself and begin the conversation with God. If you don’t abide in Jesus, you WILL miss what God is doing. Relying on other people to tell you what God is saying is not acceptable to Jesus. It is great to receive from others, but only as an aide to your OWN conversation with the Lord. Otherwise, you will bear no fruit. Listen to what Jesus told His disciples shortly before He went to the cross:
John 15:1-8 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
I am not speaking against unity. Unity in the Body is very important, but there are many kinds of unity. Unity based on agreeing with other people about Jesus is “man-based” unity. This is unacceptable to the Lord. The unity God wants is based on us agreeing with God about other people, not agreeing with other people about God. God-based unity is the only unity that will endure. Man-based unity will lead many astray. That is what Psalm 14, which I talked about a couple of days ago, is all about. It takes God to love God, and it takes God to love other people. That is why the first commandment is love GOD with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second is to love others as you love yourself. Only by having your OWN deep and ongoing abiding conversation with God can you bear fruit and please God. This is a massive part of God’s end time plan. If you cannot hear God in this hour, that should be your primary issue you are addressing. You need to hear God more and more as the day of His return nears.
This concept is becoming more and more important as the days wear on. This is why: the Bible is clear that MANY will fall away from the truth. According to the Bible, the falling away is primarily based on the lack of information regarding God’s end time plan. In the passage from Isaiah 28 that I opened with, God tells Isaiah the “falling into error” was related to their unwillingness to be taught “line by line, precept upon precept.” Let’s look at that passage again:
Isaiah 28:9-10 "Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little."
Here God is releasing an important insight: it takes TIME and ATTENTION to actually understand this amazing end time plan. Simply thinking in the old patterns of understanding will not cut it. The priests and prophets in this passage are simply running on old information that they are unwilling to add to because they were more interested in the worldly pleasure. So God says the most amazing thing: if you won’t learn in humility from those I raise up to teach you, you will have to learn the hard way…from foreigners who don’t even speak your language as they overrun you in terror:
Isaiah 28:11-13 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He said, "This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest," And, "This is the refreshing"; Yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little," That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.
The Bible is clear that there is much trouble coming, and if you do not learn about it now, you WILL learn the hard way. This is really simple, but who will listen? It requires faith to enter into the warnings and promises of the Bible before they are obvious to the entire world. Jesus is looking for those that will take the time to figure out…to learn…what He is doing in this hour. Listen to what Jesus told His disciples about His return:
Luke 18:7-8 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"
Did you hear that? Jesus told His disciples that He would return to His own elect (that is believers) who are “crying out to Him day and night…though He bears long with them” (that means it is going to take some time of crying out). What are Jesus’ friends in the final days crying out for?...VENGEANCE. That means that great trouble is coming. This is super clear in the Bible. The return of Jesus is like a baby being born. That glorious process of birth comes with great intensity and trial. There is no other birth process. This requires advanced understanding and preparation.
Not knowing what is happening in the months and years leading up to the return of Jesus is a great offense to God. If you live in the generation all of creation has longed to see, you have a great OBLIGATION to sort out what it is you are supposed to do with this great gift. If you don’t, the gift becomes a great curse.
Not only does not understanding Jesus’ specific plans leave you and your family vulnerable to becoming offended and quitting in absolute loyalty to Jesus…it also leaves you and your family vulnerable to BETRAYING other believers. This is why: soon, fundamental Christianity will be illegal globally. This is because the antichrist is going to attempt a global government from His home country, which I believe for reasons to deep to delve into here, is the USA. That means anyone declaring that the world’s greatest leader is actually the world’s greatest deceiver will be considered to be traitors…globally…but primarily in the USA. Listen to what Jesus said EVERY disciple can expect…globally…in the years leading up to His appearing:
Matthew 24:9-14 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
True Christianity…I mean intense loyal-to-Jesus-as-the-only-savior-who-is-coming-to-defeat-the-man-of-lawlessness Christianity…will certainly be illegal in every country. There are already numerous news articles about how our local and state governments are armed to the hilt, and fundamental Christianity is documented to be considered a possible source of right-wing terrorism by the Department of Homeland Security. There is a perfect storm of police state trouble brewing in America and globally. The Church is SUPPOSED to address this. However, according to Jesus, there will be a watered-down Christianity that will compromise with the antichrist government.
You can already see great schisms appearing in the Church over the most important and controversial issues: Israel, eschatology, the truth and inerrancy of God’s word, the truth about sin... The divisions are primarily falling along the lines of what does the Bible say is true vs. what does society WANT to be true…political correctness is literally pulling the Church in half. Many are more afraid of what people might think about any given issue than what GOD thinks about any given issue. Siding with other people…or fearing the fallout from offending people rather than fearing the fallout from offending God…is the great error at the heart of the great falling away. This must happen BEFORE Jesus returns:
2 Thessalonians 2:2-3 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. 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,
This is really bad news for the Church, because it means that many will actually side with the government AGAINST other Christians for fear of the personal cost of staying true to Jesus, and the intense and offensive thing He is doing, which is incrementally judging sin and expecting His people to tell the world why. This has happened numerous times in the past.
For example, the Nazi’s hijacked compromising elements in the protestant German church in order to carry out the horrors of the holocaust. There was a movement called the “German Christian” or “Duetsche Christen” movement who’s betrayal of both Christians and Jews is well documented. Listen to this excerpt from the Wikipedia page for the German Christian movement:
“ The Deutsche Christen were supportive of the Nazi ideas about race. They issued public statements that Christians in Germany with Jewish ancestors "remain Christians in a New Testament sense, but are not German Christians." Also they supported the call from the Nazi party platform for a "positive Christianity" that does not stress human sinfulness. Some went so far as to call for removal of the "Jewish" Old Testament from the Bible. Their symbol was a traditional Christian cross with a swastika in the middle and the group's German initials "D" and "C". It was claimed and remembered, as a "fact", that the Jews had killed Christ, thus appealing to and actively encouraging existing anti-Semitic sentiment among Christians in Germany.”
Consider what is currently happening in the American Church. In the news over the last couple of months some of the largest American denominations are casting off the Biblical teaching about Israel. Sin has become the thing many denominations not only have blurred the line on, but now actively espouse an anti-Biblical stance on. Even fundamental mainline denominations have little to no insight on the evil nature of American involvement in peace negotiations for Israel. Because they refuse to come back to the books of Daniel and Revelation for insight into the events of our day…symbolizing, minimizing, and symbolically fulfilling the Great Tribulation that is bearing down on the whole globe….they teach their people error. They put iron yokes where there was only an easy yoke, if the people would get ready. A hard lesson is coming.
The result of this casual attitude towards the truth of the word colliding with the intensity of Jesus’ end time plan is promised to result in massive division in Jesus’ body. Listen to what Jesus himself prophesied for the Bride:
Mark 13:12-14 Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. "So when you see the 'ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not" (let the reader understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
It isn’t those who warn that cause the betrayal, it is those that ignore the massive amount of information about what is coming because they refuse to take the time, humble themselves, learn, and begin teaching what Jesus taught…all of it. Jesus, in this chronological passage, described the nature of betrayal that will touch the Church BEFORE the Great Tribulation, which begins with the erection of a statue in the Holy Place in Jerusalem, called the abomination of desolation.
If we don’t begin teaching the truth about the intense events to come, preparing each other to stand in the hour of intensity, when it comes like a flood, many will fall in line with the government to save their own skin. Praying and teaching NOW, will prevent MUCH trouble later…but many are unwilling to take the time to learn about what the Bible is clear about coming in the final generation.
I don’t know of one church leader who doesn’t say “we are living in the last days”…but I know of almost none that are willing to actually search out the true nature of the last days…let alone teach it. This is great error. Don’t take my or anyone’s word for what is coming, but for heaven’s sake find out for yourself the particular dynamics the Bible describes. We ALL need each other to understand the pitfalls of falling away and the effect it has on communities. The stakes are VERY high.
I will close with this passage from Ezekiel 13, where the Lord describes to Ezekiel the consequences of the false prophets prophesying “peace and safety” when great trouble is coming. Pay attention to the context of this passage. First in verses 1 through 16, God addresses the false prophets in Jerusalem, and the great trouble that comes on Israel because they are unprepared…but then, God addresses the Bride…the “daughters of Ezekiel’s people.” God says the offspring of Israel has its own false prophets. Their lies of prophesy out of the hopes in their own hearts actually CAUSE the rebellion which results in “veiled” murderers hunting true Christians. This has happened before, and is promised to happen globally in the end time, which this passage clearly is describing:
Ezekiel 13:17-23 "Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy against them, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?" 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as prey in your hand. Then you shall know that I am the LORD. "Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD." ' "
The Lord says through the prophet “And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread,” this is a direct reference to the third seal in Revelation 6:
Revelation 6:5-6 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."
Famine is coming as the world system breaks down. Those of God’s people who get ready in faith will live on supernatural provision. Those the storm takes by surprise, out of fear for their own families will fall in line with the government and help them track down those faithful to the true message of Jesus in order to get enough bread to feed their families. We need to hear the warning. The way to protect your community is to teach the truth. We can all flourish in faith together when we realize trouble is coming, and there is much we can do now to get ready, primarily by building Sermon on the Mount living in our town. Understanding the end time events gives vision to the people to actually press in to the Sermon on the Mount.
Picture the Christians who are persecuted in the middle east right now. Have you seen the pictures of Islamic radicals that hunt Christians in Egypt, Libya, Nigeria…now in Syria and Iraq? Have you seen how they wear hoods? Do you hear the Ezekiel warning? Hooded executioners that think they are serving God are going global, according to the Bible. Do you see ANYTHING in the news that disagrees with this? Are you watching? Do you know what to watch for?
There is a movement to integrate faiths that is gaining much traction in this hour. The pope just traveled to Israel with an Islamic Imam and a Rabbi, which resulted in an interfaith prayer meeting at the Vatican. Mainline denominations in America are boycotting Israel and siding with Islamic Palestinians in the great middle east conflict…the Bible tells us CLEARLY what this is leading to. Do you understand it? Are you ready? This is the hour that information regarding the end time events will make all the difference in how people prepare, but what is happening to those that sound the alarms? Do you hear them and respond, or are they just an interesting curiosity, like John the Baptist was to many in his day? Now is the hour to get ready.
Ezekiel 33:30-33 "As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, 'Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.' So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them."
In Isaiah 28, God delivers a stark message to the priests and prophets of His people. God starts out describing the way those loyal to Jesus will see Him as a “crown of glory” and a “diadem of beauty”…God relates this to the willingness of those who love his just, but intense, plans, which require “turning back the battle at the gate” of Jerusalem. This is referring to those who oppose…primarily through intercessional warfare…the plans of the antichrist. A battle IS necessary. Few want to hear about the coming battle, but everyone needs to. For those who refuse to enter in and understand God’s end time plan, there will be great trouble.
Listen to this intense end-time passage from Isaiah:
Isaiah 28:5-13 In that day the LORD of hosts will be For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty To the remnant of His people, For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean. "Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little." For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He said, "This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest," And, "This is the refreshing"; Yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little," That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.
Because God’s plan is very specific, and requires an understanding of the full council of scripture, it takes time and attention to understand, comprehend, and learn the plan. It requires an intentional study of the Bible and a continual conversation with the Holy Spirit.
“what are you doing in THIS hour Lord?” is the question that should be on our lips in this generation continually, for all of creation has longed for the days WE live in. What a tragedy to get to see this hour and miss the very thing God is doing! That is why Jesus warned His disciples…those that knew Him…over and over that His return would come like a thief in the night for many!
Matthew 24:37-39 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Think about that analogy for a minute. Many use the warning Jesus gave to be ready as an excuse to NOT get ready. Jesus didn’t say “no one knows the day or hour” so people would do nothing. He said it so they WOULDN’T WAIT to get ready. If a big flood is coming, and Jesus expects you to build an ark, you better get hammering. God knows human nature is to procrastinate on the hard stuff…so Jesus said: I am not going to tell you when, get ready now! Much of the western Church has taken what those first disciples understood correctly as a warning and turned it into an excuse for rebellion. All of those first disciples were ready for the trouble that is coming:
1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
What the Holy Spirit is saying to the Bride is MUCH different than those who hold themselves up as leaders in Jesus’ body…pastors and prophets alike… are mostly saying to the Bride in this hour. I am not saying this to be mean, I am saying it because the Bible has warned about this for THOUSANDS of years. Do not listen to what I, or anyone else, tells you about this hour. You must ABIDE in Jesus yourself. Use the warnings people like me are giving to prod you to search the word, but please don’t let the false comfort many are giving as an excuse to do nothing. That is why God does not correct anyone for giving the warnings in the wrong season…not once…but over and over He says those who allow the people to fall into false comfort will be responsible for many sorrows:
Jeremiah 28:11-13 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, "Thus says the LORD: 'Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.' " And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. Now the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "Go and tell Hananiah, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron."
Many pastors and prophets, with the intention of comforting and encouraging, are ACTUALLY putting iron yokes on the very ones they are sent to warn and protect. Listen to the encouragement, but you must find out what the Bible says for yourself and begin the conversation with God. If you don’t abide in Jesus, you WILL miss what God is doing. Relying on other people to tell you what God is saying is not acceptable to Jesus. It is great to receive from others, but only as an aide to your OWN conversation with the Lord. Otherwise, you will bear no fruit. Listen to what Jesus told His disciples shortly before He went to the cross:
John 15:1-8 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
I am not speaking against unity. Unity in the Body is very important, but there are many kinds of unity. Unity based on agreeing with other people about Jesus is “man-based” unity. This is unacceptable to the Lord. The unity God wants is based on us agreeing with God about other people, not agreeing with other people about God. God-based unity is the only unity that will endure. Man-based unity will lead many astray. That is what Psalm 14, which I talked about a couple of days ago, is all about. It takes God to love God, and it takes God to love other people. That is why the first commandment is love GOD with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second is to love others as you love yourself. Only by having your OWN deep and ongoing abiding conversation with God can you bear fruit and please God. This is a massive part of God’s end time plan. If you cannot hear God in this hour, that should be your primary issue you are addressing. You need to hear God more and more as the day of His return nears.
This concept is becoming more and more important as the days wear on. This is why: the Bible is clear that MANY will fall away from the truth. According to the Bible, the falling away is primarily based on the lack of information regarding God’s end time plan. In the passage from Isaiah 28 that I opened with, God tells Isaiah the “falling into error” was related to their unwillingness to be taught “line by line, precept upon precept.” Let’s look at that passage again:
Isaiah 28:9-10 "Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little."
Here God is releasing an important insight: it takes TIME and ATTENTION to actually understand this amazing end time plan. Simply thinking in the old patterns of understanding will not cut it. The priests and prophets in this passage are simply running on old information that they are unwilling to add to because they were more interested in the worldly pleasure. So God says the most amazing thing: if you won’t learn in humility from those I raise up to teach you, you will have to learn the hard way…from foreigners who don’t even speak your language as they overrun you in terror:
Isaiah 28:11-13 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He said, "This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest," And, "This is the refreshing"; Yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little," That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.
The Bible is clear that there is much trouble coming, and if you do not learn about it now, you WILL learn the hard way. This is really simple, but who will listen? It requires faith to enter into the warnings and promises of the Bible before they are obvious to the entire world. Jesus is looking for those that will take the time to figure out…to learn…what He is doing in this hour. Listen to what Jesus told His disciples about His return:
Luke 18:7-8 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"
Did you hear that? Jesus told His disciples that He would return to His own elect (that is believers) who are “crying out to Him day and night…though He bears long with them” (that means it is going to take some time of crying out). What are Jesus’ friends in the final days crying out for?...VENGEANCE. That means that great trouble is coming. This is super clear in the Bible. The return of Jesus is like a baby being born. That glorious process of birth comes with great intensity and trial. There is no other birth process. This requires advanced understanding and preparation.
Not knowing what is happening in the months and years leading up to the return of Jesus is a great offense to God. If you live in the generation all of creation has longed to see, you have a great OBLIGATION to sort out what it is you are supposed to do with this great gift. If you don’t, the gift becomes a great curse.
Not only does not understanding Jesus’ specific plans leave you and your family vulnerable to becoming offended and quitting in absolute loyalty to Jesus…it also leaves you and your family vulnerable to BETRAYING other believers. This is why: soon, fundamental Christianity will be illegal globally. This is because the antichrist is going to attempt a global government from His home country, which I believe for reasons to deep to delve into here, is the USA. That means anyone declaring that the world’s greatest leader is actually the world’s greatest deceiver will be considered to be traitors…globally…but primarily in the USA. Listen to what Jesus said EVERY disciple can expect…globally…in the years leading up to His appearing:
Matthew 24:9-14 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
True Christianity…I mean intense loyal-to-Jesus-as-the-only-savior-who-is-coming-to-defeat-the-man-of-lawlessness Christianity…will certainly be illegal in every country. There are already numerous news articles about how our local and state governments are armed to the hilt, and fundamental Christianity is documented to be considered a possible source of right-wing terrorism by the Department of Homeland Security. There is a perfect storm of police state trouble brewing in America and globally. The Church is SUPPOSED to address this. However, according to Jesus, there will be a watered-down Christianity that will compromise with the antichrist government.
You can already see great schisms appearing in the Church over the most important and controversial issues: Israel, eschatology, the truth and inerrancy of God’s word, the truth about sin... The divisions are primarily falling along the lines of what does the Bible say is true vs. what does society WANT to be true…political correctness is literally pulling the Church in half. Many are more afraid of what people might think about any given issue than what GOD thinks about any given issue. Siding with other people…or fearing the fallout from offending people rather than fearing the fallout from offending God…is the great error at the heart of the great falling away. This must happen BEFORE Jesus returns:
2 Thessalonians 2:2-3 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. 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,
This is really bad news for the Church, because it means that many will actually side with the government AGAINST other Christians for fear of the personal cost of staying true to Jesus, and the intense and offensive thing He is doing, which is incrementally judging sin and expecting His people to tell the world why. This has happened numerous times in the past.
For example, the Nazi’s hijacked compromising elements in the protestant German church in order to carry out the horrors of the holocaust. There was a movement called the “German Christian” or “Duetsche Christen” movement who’s betrayal of both Christians and Jews is well documented. Listen to this excerpt from the Wikipedia page for the German Christian movement:
“ The Deutsche Christen were supportive of the Nazi ideas about race. They issued public statements that Christians in Germany with Jewish ancestors "remain Christians in a New Testament sense, but are not German Christians." Also they supported the call from the Nazi party platform for a "positive Christianity" that does not stress human sinfulness. Some went so far as to call for removal of the "Jewish" Old Testament from the Bible. Their symbol was a traditional Christian cross with a swastika in the middle and the group's German initials "D" and "C". It was claimed and remembered, as a "fact", that the Jews had killed Christ, thus appealing to and actively encouraging existing anti-Semitic sentiment among Christians in Germany.”
Consider what is currently happening in the American Church. In the news over the last couple of months some of the largest American denominations are casting off the Biblical teaching about Israel. Sin has become the thing many denominations not only have blurred the line on, but now actively espouse an anti-Biblical stance on. Even fundamental mainline denominations have little to no insight on the evil nature of American involvement in peace negotiations for Israel. Because they refuse to come back to the books of Daniel and Revelation for insight into the events of our day…symbolizing, minimizing, and symbolically fulfilling the Great Tribulation that is bearing down on the whole globe….they teach their people error. They put iron yokes where there was only an easy yoke, if the people would get ready. A hard lesson is coming.
The result of this casual attitude towards the truth of the word colliding with the intensity of Jesus’ end time plan is promised to result in massive division in Jesus’ body. Listen to what Jesus himself prophesied for the Bride:
Mark 13:12-14 Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. "So when you see the 'ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not" (let the reader understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
It isn’t those who warn that cause the betrayal, it is those that ignore the massive amount of information about what is coming because they refuse to take the time, humble themselves, learn, and begin teaching what Jesus taught…all of it. Jesus, in this chronological passage, described the nature of betrayal that will touch the Church BEFORE the Great Tribulation, which begins with the erection of a statue in the Holy Place in Jerusalem, called the abomination of desolation.
If we don’t begin teaching the truth about the intense events to come, preparing each other to stand in the hour of intensity, when it comes like a flood, many will fall in line with the government to save their own skin. Praying and teaching NOW, will prevent MUCH trouble later…but many are unwilling to take the time to learn about what the Bible is clear about coming in the final generation.
I don’t know of one church leader who doesn’t say “we are living in the last days”…but I know of almost none that are willing to actually search out the true nature of the last days…let alone teach it. This is great error. Don’t take my or anyone’s word for what is coming, but for heaven’s sake find out for yourself the particular dynamics the Bible describes. We ALL need each other to understand the pitfalls of falling away and the effect it has on communities. The stakes are VERY high.
I will close with this passage from Ezekiel 13, where the Lord describes to Ezekiel the consequences of the false prophets prophesying “peace and safety” when great trouble is coming. Pay attention to the context of this passage. First in verses 1 through 16, God addresses the false prophets in Jerusalem, and the great trouble that comes on Israel because they are unprepared…but then, God addresses the Bride…the “daughters of Ezekiel’s people.” God says the offspring of Israel has its own false prophets. Their lies of prophesy out of the hopes in their own hearts actually CAUSE the rebellion which results in “veiled” murderers hunting true Christians. This has happened before, and is promised to happen globally in the end time, which this passage clearly is describing:
Ezekiel 13:17-23 "Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy against them, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?" 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as prey in your hand. Then you shall know that I am the LORD. "Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD." ' "
The Lord says through the prophet “And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread,” this is a direct reference to the third seal in Revelation 6:
Revelation 6:5-6 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."
Famine is coming as the world system breaks down. Those of God’s people who get ready in faith will live on supernatural provision. Those the storm takes by surprise, out of fear for their own families will fall in line with the government and help them track down those faithful to the true message of Jesus in order to get enough bread to feed their families. We need to hear the warning. The way to protect your community is to teach the truth. We can all flourish in faith together when we realize trouble is coming, and there is much we can do now to get ready, primarily by building Sermon on the Mount living in our town. Understanding the end time events gives vision to the people to actually press in to the Sermon on the Mount.
Picture the Christians who are persecuted in the middle east right now. Have you seen the pictures of Islamic radicals that hunt Christians in Egypt, Libya, Nigeria…now in Syria and Iraq? Have you seen how they wear hoods? Do you hear the Ezekiel warning? Hooded executioners that think they are serving God are going global, according to the Bible. Do you see ANYTHING in the news that disagrees with this? Are you watching? Do you know what to watch for?
There is a movement to integrate faiths that is gaining much traction in this hour. The pope just traveled to Israel with an Islamic Imam and a Rabbi, which resulted in an interfaith prayer meeting at the Vatican. Mainline denominations in America are boycotting Israel and siding with Islamic Palestinians in the great middle east conflict…the Bible tells us CLEARLY what this is leading to. Do you understand it? Are you ready? This is the hour that information regarding the end time events will make all the difference in how people prepare, but what is happening to those that sound the alarms? Do you hear them and respond, or are they just an interesting curiosity, like John the Baptist was to many in his day? Now is the hour to get ready.
Ezekiel 33:30-33 "As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, 'Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.' So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them."
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