TURNING AWAY FROM GOD – AN APOSTATE CHURCH

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“For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” 2 Peter 2:20-22

Many people who declare themselves Christians today and attend church know about God and Jesus. This does not necessarily mean that they are true Christians. People may outwardly reform and escape from the open corruptions that prevail around them or that they have themselves practised but still have no true grace at heart. Neither does “through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesses Christ” imply that they were true Christians and had received the Holy Spirit. There is a knowledge of the doctrines and duties of religion, which may lead sinners to abandon their outward vices, which has no connection with saving grace. They may profess religion and may know enough of religion to understand that it requires them to abandon their vicious habits, but they have never received the Holy Spirit, which enables them to live the Christian life.

Jesus’s parable of the ten virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom, their Saviour, Jesus Christ, should be a wake-up call for the church. Only half of them were saved and had oil (Holy Spirit) for their lamps. This parable is a picture of the church before Jesus returns. It is sobering as it says that all ten virgins were sleeping at the time of His arrival, and only half were saved.

We are living in the Biblical prophesied end times before Jesus’ second coming. Much of the denominational/institutional church has compromised with the world on homosexuality, gay marriage and transgenderism, just as Jesus prophesied. A great falling away, an apostate church.

Are you even aware of what is next on God’s agenda for planet Earth? This Earth has another 1,000 years before God destroys it with fire. After Jesus raptures His Saints to join the resurrected Saints, He will pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world with Trumpet (Revelation 8 & 9) and Bowl judgements (Revelation 15 & 16). Jesus then returns with the glorified Saints to usher in Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom.

PROOF WE ARE IN THE PROPHESIED END TIMES

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The pope’s decision to have a special pilgrimage for the LGBT community in the 2025 Jubilee Year, titled “Church: Home for All, LGBT+ Christians and Other Existential Frontiers” is evidence he has departed from Biblical faith and is leading the Catholic church into apostasy. What he is proposing will involve a prayer vigil for LGBT Catholics on September 5th at the Church of the Gesù in Rome. They will then pass through the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s on September 6th.

Here we have the Church allowing the categories that are at odds with Catholic teaching on sexuality and the human body — to drive the 2025 Jubilee celebration. However well-intentioned the pastoral motivation may be, the impression is one of either ignorance or contempt not merely for traditional Catholicism in particular but for orthodox Christianity in general.

Before Jesus’ second coming, He prophesied that most of the institutional denominations would fall away and compromise with the world. They have departed from God’s ways on homosexuality, gay marriage, and transgender issues. We are truly in the Biblical prophesied end times and as the following Scripture reveals persecution/tribulation will only intensify for Christians.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14

God will purify His church prior to the rapture. We cannot say we were not warned.

A SUPERNATURAL MOVE OF GOD AMONG THE YOUNG

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A new sign of the ongoing revival among America’s young people is being reported again out of Alabama. In the latest example of this supernatural move of God, hundreds of students at the University of Alabama gave their lives to Christ and were immediately baptized in a fountain. “It happened again!” Christian author and speaker Jennie Allen announced on Instagram after the amazing event unfolded. “Last night at the University of Alabama thousands of students gathered. Hundreds responded to the gospel and hundreds were baptized,” Allen shared

The spiritual awakening that first captured headlines at Asbury College more than a year ago is still spreading nationwide. This Alabama awakening is just the latest move of God that Jennie Allen has witnessed as she has travelled to minister on college campuses. In a post several weeks ago after a similar outpouring of revival at Florida State University, Allen said on Instagram, “Hundreds of students came forward to trust Jesus. We can’t explain what’s happening apart from the Spirit.”

It is great to report on these good news stories when so much evil is happening, and surveys reveal Gen Z is the lost generation largely due to our schools and universities teaching evolution and billions of years of Earth’s history. Fortunately, God has told us in advance that before Jesus returns to restore righteousness He told us apostasy, a great falling away from faith would occur. We need to know God is in control and He is purifying His church in preparation for the rapture. In Revelation, the church of Philadelphia is the church that is raptured, read what Jesus has to say to that church, and also to the church that is left behind, the church of Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22), to face the wrath of God, poured out with the Trumpet and Bowl judgments.

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name... Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ Revelation 3:7-13

Source: CBNNews

MAKING HEAVEN ON EARTH IS OUR BUSINESS

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The founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth made this mission statement: “MAKING HEAVEN ON EARTH IS OUR BUSINESS”.

“When we consider that the only prayer Jesus taught us to pray includes up-front “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is done in heaven” Matthew 6:8-10, Booth got it right, and look what he achieved. Making disciples who were totally committed to praying and doing as Jesus commanded.

Sadly, now, like most institutions the Salvation Army has watered down God’s command and has compromised with the world. What is the lead statement on their website?

At the Salvos, we believe in good.

What does good mean to The Salvation Army? “Good is a unique word — a simple yet profound term that takes on different faces and meanings for all of us.

For the Salvos, it is more than a word – it’s a belief. It is helping someone at their point of need, walking alongside a community through and after a crisis, and lending a kind and caring space for someone feeling isolated. And a whole lot more.

At the Salvos, we believe in good for everyone. It is this belief that drives us to find new ways and places where we can make a difference. From times of personal crisis to moments of national grief, we are at work each day, providing support, safety, community, and opportunity.”

God does not get a mention up front and this mission statement is not Booth’s mission statement: MAKING HEAVEN ON EARTH IS OUR BUSINESS but the Mission Statement does get to God.

Why good?

“The meaning of good has been diluted over the years. But at the Salvos, we’ve always believed in the power of good. It reflects our belief in our good God and our calling to share the goodness of God with others. Through our decades of work, we know people can find themselves in hardship anywhere, at any time — be it homelessness or housing stress, drug or alcohol addiction, family and domestic violence, unemployment, financial stress, natural disaster, or another crisis.“

Sydney, Australia church spokesman Major Bruce Harmer says the Salvos offer services to all who are in need, regardless of sexual orientation. “The Salvation Army has worked for many years with gay and lesbian people through their treatment centres and welfare agencies, we have employees who are gay and members of our church who are gay,” he said. “So it’s easy to take one phrase and run with it, but in reality, the Salvation Army is not homophobic.“

In the end times, Jesus told us there would be a great falling away in the church, apostasy, and the love of many will grow cold. Christians need to be prepared for the coming tribulation and be totally committed to God’s agenda for their lives.

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (The Day of the Lord) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” 2 Thessalonians 2:3

“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Matthew 24:9-12

Biblical prophecy gives us a picture of the church which God raptures to heaven before pouring out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.

To the Church in Philadelphia (Philadelphus the “love for a brother” What remains of the faithful Church will be bound in brotherly love by the persecution of earth-shaking proportions.

“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name… Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” Revelation 3:8,10-11

Biblical prophecy also gives us a picture of the church that will be left behind to face the coming judgement.

To the Church in Laodicea (Laodicea is a combination of two Greek words (LAO, meaning “God’s people”; and DIKE, meaning “justice or judgment”) Judgement of God’s people

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” Revelation 3:15-19

WHAT IS THE LEVEL OF YOUR FAITH?

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A.W. Tozer wrote, “The man of pseudo faith will fight for his verbal creed but refuse flatly to allow himself to get into a predicament where his future must depend upon that creed being true. He always provides himself with secondary ways of escape so he will have a way out if the roof caves in. What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians who are prepared to trust God as completely now as they know they must do at the last day (facing death).”

Sadly, Jesus tells us that in the last days before His return when persecution of Christians increases there will be a great falling away/apostasy, and those with pseudo faith will not endure. Already we are seeing institutional churches compromising with the world on issues such as homosexual pastors, gay marriage, and now transgenderism. Every age has its defectors, but the falling away at the end times will be extensive 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.

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed (Antichrist), the son of perdition” 2 Thessalonians 2:3

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared ” 1 Timothy 4:1-3

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:9-12

We should not be surprised, persecution comes with the territory of being a Christian and living out our faith.

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:13

The Parable of the Sower is also relevant here: The seed that fell on the rocky ground in the time of testing fell away. “And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.” Luke 8:13

PROPHESIED END TIMES APOSTASY BY CHURCHES

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C.S. Lewis once observed, “Where men are forbidden to honor a king they honor millionaires, athletes, or film stars instead — even famous prostitutes or gangsters. For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served — deny it food and it will gobble poison.” Just so, as God has been denied the honor He is due in the public square — as prayer and worship have been forced out of the classroom, suppressed in parliament buildings and legislative chambers, and muffled in film, literature, and art — men have decided to bestow that honor upon themselves.

Morality is not determined by the individual, by convenience, by democratic consensus, but by God.

Those entrusted with preaching and teaching His word have a grave responsibility to speak the Truth, to uphold moral clarity in a world gone mad. As long as Christian leaders remain silent, as long as they produce nothing more than ambiguities and reluctant compromises, more and more souls will turn away from God and listen to the serpent’s hollow pledge.

In 2020, the United Methodist Church announced a proposal to split the denomination over “fundamental differences,” predominantly relating to same-sex marriages. So far, nearly 8,000 individual churches have filed to leave the United Methodist Church over its progressive policies. The Presbyterian Church USA allowed the ordination of openly gay men and women in 2011 and, in 2014, approved same-sex marriages. The Episcopal Church (and Anglican Church) allowed blessings for same-sex unions in 2012. They quickly followed by permitting same-sex marriages in 2015. Of course, these moves are more than merely ambiguous and outright contradict the biblical definition of marriage. Moreover, the Pope has recently sanctified the blessing of same-sex couples, a further compromise with the world that confirms Biblical end-times prophecy of apostasy and falling away. (check out my last two posts on Apostate Pope). In the following two Scriptures, we have the apostle Paul and Jesus warning of a falling away from faith before Jesus second coming first to rescue the Saints before pouring out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.

“Now brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, we ask you not to be shaken in mind, or be 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” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

Since Western civilization rests on the back of Christianity, a lack of moral clarity from Christian leaders inevitably leads to a lack of moral clarity in Western civilization. Without that moral clarity, Western nations become uprooted from objective morality, as defined by God, and increasingly turn inward upon themselves, giving rise to the dangerous phenomenon of consent-based and consensus-based morality.

WHAT IS COMING IN 2024

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Thank goodness God told us in His Word, the BIBLE that before Jesus returns to this Earth the world would cast God out of its life. Increasingly, clinging to Christian values will bring persecution and even death as Jesus in the following Scripture reveals.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

The video below produced in the Lion of the Tribe of Judah Studio presents four trends from end-times Biblical prophecies that we need to watch out for in 2024.

  1. Rise in global unity and governance leading to a one-world government and ultimately to the Kingdom of the Antichrist. “And the beast (Antichrist) was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” Revelation 13:5-8
  2. Technological advances have produced digital currencies, microchips, and even the ability to alter DNA, paving the way for global commerce and the Mark of the Beast. “Also it (Antichrist) causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.” Revelation 13:16-17
  3. Apostasy – a great falling away from faith in Jesus and the inerrancy of God’s Word, the Bible. The church conforms to the world and its standards: gay marriage, homosexual pastors, and acceptance of transgenderism.
  4. Moral decay: lawlessness, global rebellion against God and His commandments. “But understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5

PROPHESIED END TIMES CHURCH

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This week, nearly two million people attended a mass celebrated by Pope Francis in Portugal on the occasion of World Youth Day. A couple of days before that, 200,000 people attended a religious celebration at Fatima, the site of an appearance in 1917 to three children of the Virgin Mary. It’s also been a site of miraculous cures ever since. That’s some pulling power.

The striking thing about these giant congregations is that they were overwhelmingly young people. Francis can thank the greatest of the modern popes, John Paul II, who founded WYD in the mid-1980s.

WYD is a key experience for millions of young people and typically leads to spikes in religious vocations and spiritual life generally. However, even this astounding good moment is mired in the strangest contemporary confusion.

Portuguese bishop Americo Aguiar, who has just been elevated to the rank of cardinal by the Pope, assured the world: “We don’t want to convert the young people to Christ or the Catholic Church or anything like that.”

Say what? If a bishop doesn’t want to convert people to Christ, surely he’s in the wrong line of work. Why not become a game show host or a diversity officer at a university? Good callings but, unlike bishoping, they don’t require you to preach Christ.

Bishop Aguiar said the main purpose of WYD was to celebrate diversity so all young people could walk happily together. This is almost literally insane. Of course, diversity’s a good thing. But it’s not the only thing or the main thing. It would be like a cancer hospital declaring it was no longer interested in actually treating cancer but would instead focus on celebrating the wide range of people who came along.

Jesus told us that in the last days before He returns to restore righteousness that much of the church will compromise with the world, that there would be apostasy, a great falling away, and even worse.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

Taken from an article in The Weekend Australian by Greg Sheridan – Pope’s brand of liberalism is ‘entombed’ in the ’60s

GEN Z LIKE THE GENERATION THAT AROSE AFTER JOSHUA DIED

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A 2018 study from Barna Group found that Gen Z is the least Christian generation in American history as just 4% holds a biblical worldview, with more teens identifying as agnostic, atheist, or not religiously affiliated than previous generations. “Gen Z is different because they have grown up in a post-Christian, post-modern environment where many of them have not even been exposed to Christianity or to church. So that is a really unique shift,” Brooke Hempell, Barna’s senior vice president of research, said at the survey’s release event. “There are a lot of churches that are empty in this country. Gen Z is the one who is really showing the fruit of that. There are many of them [who] are a spiritual blank slate. For the first time in our nation’s history, that is more and more common.”

What is happening with the Gen Z generation reminds me of what happened when Joshua died. The Millennials (Gen Y) were brought up in schools and universities that taught evolution (billions of years) not creation (six thousand years and a worldwide flood) as the origin of the Cosmos, is it any wonder that the next generation, Gen Z no longer believes the Bible and the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.“ Judges 2:8-10

The generation that lived in Joshua’s time knew what God had accomplished through Joshua but they were no longer living in obedience to God’s commandments. Hence the next generation saw no evidence of God in their lives, in fact, the opposite.

“And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt.” Judges 2:11-12

Jesus told us that during the last days before His return there will be a great falling away from Biblical faith which is exactly what we see happening in our day. The following was told by Jesus to the disciples prior to Pentecost as Jesus knew the persecution of the early church that would follow.

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away… Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.” John 16:1, 3-4

Jesus told us that the same “falling away” would happen to the church in the last days before He returns in Matthew 24.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:9-12