March 12, 2013
"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives,
the disciples came to Him privately. 'Tell us,' they said, 'when
will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and the end
of the age?' Jesus answered: 'Watch out that no one deceives
you.' " (Matthew 24:3-4) ....
Well guess what! ... As always, Jesus was absolutely
right! ... and it's coming at us from all directions, as I'm about to
show you. ...... The latest deception that I'm aware of is that of Fox
News anchor Bill O'reilly, who just so happens to be the host of the
#1 cable news show on television for the past 13+ years. ... On Wednesday
of last week, he starts out one of his segments with this comment ....
"A lot of the Bible is allegorical, and the New Testament Gospels
contradict themselves." .... During an interview with the producers
of the new television series, The Bible, Mr. O'reilly goes on to say
this ... "When you say you are a believer, do you believe in the
Bible literally? ... that Adam & Eve were out there? ... and the
snake & the apple and all that business?" ... Then he stated,
"Look, a lot of the Bible is allegorical, and we know that in creationism
and things like that ... So are you telling people that they should
believe in Adam & Eve? ... that they should believe in Noah's Ark?
... Jonah & the whale? ... are you telling people that this is the
way to go?" ......
Sadly, Bill O'reilly does not think these events
actually took place ... that they were all allegorical (meaning symbolic).
.... The real tragedy here is this ... Besides his shows drawing millions
of viewers each day, he's also writing a new book titled "Killing
Jesus" ... which follows his two previous huge bestsellers, "Killing
Lincoln" & "Killing Kennedy" .... Just think of the
masses of people who will read this deception ... in its purest form!
While we're on the subject of deception, let's look
at some other examples taking place in these final days of the Church
age ....
*Nationalism - "God is not finished
with us yet" ... While this may be true, selling this hope seems
to be the stock & trade of politicians & Christian leaders alike
who seek to rally their constituents & reassure their flocks of
better days yet to come, and it's usually based upon misapplication
of Scripture. Capitalizing on the fears of many who are anxious at the
changes occurring in our nation .... which threaten to irreversibly
affect the quality of life for generations to come .... a myriad of
ministries compete for the pocketbooks of those who give as generously
as possible in a last-ditch effort to 'restore America.' ... 700 Club
founder and one-time presidential candidate, Pat Robertson, continues
his tradition of raising 'ministry' funds by selling 'hope' to these
same anxious viewers concerned over what's happening to America. ...
Simply, their is not, nor ever will be any one nation that will bring
salvation to the people ... that is reserved for the One & Only
Jesus Christ .....
*Kingdom / Dominionism - Quoting Mark
Dinsmore of TBC, he says, "...from the heresies and evil deeds
of Roman Catholicism to the aberrations of Reformed theology and modern
Reconstructionism to the extrabiblical and occultic practices of the
Charismatic Latter Rain movement ... each of these historic cults and
schisms has shared the same goal: to establish a 'Christian' religious
and political authority ... first nationally and then globally.
........ Some of the main 'players' in these movements are self-appointed
super Apostle C. Peter Wagner, Rick Joyner, Jack Deere, John Wimber,
and pretty much the entire Vineyard Church movement ... and there are
many more. ... Simply stated, they believe they can 'eliminate' large
portions of Scripture relating to end-time prophecies by reclaiming
the world and preparing it for the Second Coming of the Lord. ... Unfortunately
for them, that is NOT how the Lord said it would happen ..... and again,
all lies & pure heresy!
*Converging Church / The New Religious
Right - This whole new concept is being built on the foundation of "common
ground" with Masons, Mormons, and even Muslims ... the eventual
hope is for a World Council of Churches to come together to unite the
world. .... Rick Warren is seeming to be playing a major role in this
arena ... another national Christian 'heavyweight walking on very dangerous
turf. .. Looks to me to be a perfect setup for the coming World Church
that comes into partnership with the anti-christ. .... Simply another
form of evil doctrine that is deceiving millions .....
*The Emergent Church - The following
is a statement from one of their leaders, Tony Jones ... "gay,
lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and queer individuals can and should
live out their sexuality in .. and blessed by .. the Christian church."
.... The Emergent Church, as these mostly young, community and mission-driven
congregations are collectively known, are primarily 'theologically liberal'
and praised by many as the best hope for passing the torch of Christianity
to future generations. .... Another well-known leader in this movement,
Brian McLaren, said this ... "I think our future will also require
us to join humbly and charitably with people of other faiths .... Muslim,
Hindu, Buddhist, secularists, and others ... in pursuit of peace, environmental
stewardship, and justice for all people, things that matter greatly
to the heart of God." .... Sorry, Brian, but what matters to the
heart of God is that "all should come to repentance" and believe
the Gospel.
There's so many more deceptive practices going on,
such as Wealth Teaching and the Seeker-Sensitive movement, but for the
sake of length, I'll stop here for now ... but rest assured, they will
NOT get a free pass ... we WILL talk about every one in time.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 says this, "For a time
will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead,
to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number
of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They
will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."
..... And this is exactly what is taking place all
around us today. ... and the real tragedy, like I stated in my "Dumb
Church" commentary a few weeks back, is that people don't have
enough Bible knowledge to fend off this onslaught of utter deception.
....Sadly, the majority of professing Christians are either ill-equipped,
or unwilling to address this 'stench' of corruption, immorality, and
doctrinal deception that is taking place in our Churches today!
So what about your Church? ... Are your leaders
teaching the truth of the Gospel, or are they either avoiding, or removing
huge portions of Scripture to make it 'socially acceptable' so as not
to offend anyone? .... If so, call them on it! ... I encourage each
of you to be brave and call it what it is! ... After all, someone's
salvation may be on the line. ....
And finally, if you can't change the deception taking
place in your fellowship, then flee and seek one that is doing its best
to follow the 'literal' teachings of the Bible. ... I've been to many
services and events and must admit that there are not many out there
.... but there is a "remnant" holding out ... Go & find
them! .. They need you just as badly as you need them!
Until next time,
Red