True Discernment

from The Tribulation Network:

Today’s western church ignores prophecy and believes false doctrine at its own peril.  Deception lurks at the door.  Lukewarm bottoms make for comfy pews.  Indifference leads to apostasy and the tar baby of the world system.  The church is an anemic, ineffective, but extravagant entertainment center that panders to the needs of its members and dares not to tell them the uncomfortable , inconvenient truth.

Are these the last days?  Or will life just march along as it always has?  Should we be concerned at all?  Look at the signs of the times.  After nearly two thousand years, the Jews are back in the Promised Land and Israel is a cup of trembling to the nations.  The United Nations seems to think Israel is the greatest terrorist state on the face of the earth!  Recently, the UN Human Rights Council condemned Israel.  Wars, famine, earthquakes, freaky weather, nation rising against nation, shortages of food, potable water and oil continue to grow along with a burgeoning world population of 7 billion—but who’s listening to the hoof beats of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? What will the future be for the billions of new people throughout Asia (China and India), Africa and the Middle East?  Are there enough resources in the world left for them?

And what about the church?  The church is falling away from the faith, embracing the oneness of humanity, trying to be relevant to a post-Christian world.  But do you hear a prophetic message that time is short from the pulpit of churches today?  No, the church seeks to expand membership with entertainment and programs, meeting the felt needs of the people, being “seeker friendly,” open and accepting of others and other faiths, opening their souls to contemplative prayer and meditation, discovering the oneness with all mankind, while embracing the “National Religion.”  A church that embraces the world and ignores prophecy; a church that ignores one third of the entire Bible; a church that is deaf to God’s message in the last days, while embracing the nonsensical tenets of Preterism where everything-in-prophecy-has-been-fulfilled eschatology; a church that refuses to be the watchman on the wall shouting out the warning – is the church that is going to be absorbed by the world, lose its life and anointing and eventually become fused with the Beast State.  

The church that has no prophetic understanding, is a church open to deception.  Recent research shows that the majority of the church no longer believes that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.  Christians are not sure the Bible is completely accurate and inspired.  They believe it probably shares truth with other “sacred books” on an equal basis.  Few “Christians” believe the traditional teachings of the faith.  They are more likely to pick and choose what they want to believe.  The problem in the last days is not some worldwide new age false religion, but a fallen, compromised form of Christianity.  I can’t believe the silly things I hear about the Antichrist introducing a new world religion.  No, the religion of the Antichrist will be Christian in form and name and the counterfeit will be so good most Christians will be deceived.

Granted, the new Christianity will be more universal and accepting of all religions but this trend has been accelerating for the past 50 years.  It is nothing new.  The New Age movement has been working its way into the church for years – from the likes of Norman Vincent Peal to Robert Schuller to Rick Warren known as “America’s pastor” and spokesman for the church today.  Whether you follow the New Age, or the teachings of the “Word Faith” movement the insidious result is the deification of man.  We are gods.  God is in us and in everything.  That is the ultimate error which will be reaffirmed by the Antichrist as he calls down the dark forces to take up habitation in the human spirit, the ultimate desecration of the real temple of God, the abomination of desolations (Please read Doug’s article:  Israel’s Temple Sacrifice and the Abomination of Desolation).

The church today has no power because it pays lip service to the Word of God and has virtually no prophetic vision.  The modern view of prophecy takes many forms in the church today.  It could be Rick Warren saying that “God says that prophecy is none of our business.” (as quoted on page 285 of “The Purpose Driven Life”), to the “Preterist” position that all prophecy was fulfilled by 70AD, to the Dominionists to the pre-tribulation rapture.  Virtually all of these positions negate, minimize or make irrelevant the importance of prophecy to the average Christian.  The “none of our business” people would have the church evangelizing and being relevant to today’s culture.  The Preterist and Dominionists would have the church being active taking control of society.  The pre-tribbers mean well and insist that Jesus will return soon but first the true believers will be caught up to heaven before the tribulation—leaving the Jews to fend for themselves and the so-called “tribulation saints” neither in the Church and or in Christ–somehow saved without the Holy Spirit’s regeneration!  None of these positions give the Christian any sense of urgency, calling or purpose when it comes to the end times.  I have friends who say it may be several hundred years before the Lord returns.  They are into perfecting the bride first, getting her good and ready before the bridegroom can return; helping believers manage their marriages, finances, education, children and being good patriotic folk who care for their country and ready to “let freedom ring!” . . . . . .

read the full article here.