"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.  4) They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." .. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 ... Let me open this with a statement from Francis A. Schaeffer .... "Here is the great evangelical disaster - the failure of the evangelical world to stand for truth as truth.  There is only one word for this - namely  Accommodation:  the evangelical church has accommodated to the world spirit of the age.  First, there has been accommodation on scripture, so that many who call themselves evangelicals hold a weakened view of the Bible and no longer affirm the truth of all the Bible teaches." Anybody with even a half a brain can see that our country, and the rest of the world for that matter, is careening rapidly toward a social & moral implosion. .. There certainly are many reasons for this, as Bible prophecy teaches, but today, I want to focus on how the current Church 'condition' is contributing to this dilemma. .. Simply put, the majority of today's churches & their leaders have decided that the 'literal' Word of God is no longer that important - that it no longer applies to our times.  .. Instead of it being our recipe for how to live our lives, many have decided to rewrite it so as to fit their desired lifestyles. .. They have decided to 'adjust' it so that it doesn't intrude into our lives. .. In plain words, this modern trend has decided to 'maneuver' scripture to fit the shifting interests of popular culture. ... While we are certainly seeing many satanic attacks on our faith, which will only increase as we draw ever nearer, we are also seeing the Church itself contribute greatly to this tragedy. .. Pastor John MacArthur notes that the most dangerous attacks against God's Word have come from the evangelical community. .. He lists:  "seminary professors, megachurch pastors, charismatic charlatans on television, popular evangelical authors, Christian psychologists, and bloggers on the evangelical fringe." .. Sadly, he is absolutely correct in this analysis! .. I myself experienced this first-hand. .. I had a pastor tell me to my face that the writings of the Apostle Paul were no longer relevant! .... How about this one .. Recently, a columnist for the 'Lutheran Advent Newsletter' asserted that it was time for Lutherans to close their Bibles for a few months because they weren't going to find the answer to questions there! .. Here's another gem - ELCA Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber said this:  "The Bible is not God.  The Bible is simply the cradle that holds Christ.  Anything in the Bible that does not hold up to the Gospel of Jesus simply does not have the same authority." ... One more & I'll move on .... One popular leader blogged this following gem:  "The truth is, you can completely doubt the accuracy of the Bible, and yet be Bible-minded to such a degree that Christ is clearly alive in and through you." .. This same deceived nut-job stated that Jesus was born 'intersex.' .. Of course we know exactly what motivated him to state this ... simply to justify the acceptance of the perverted sexual lifestyles that are now rampant in our culture. .. And sadly, more & more churches are endorsing this perversion as well. ... Time is short! .... Oh, and by the way, just a few days ago, the Pope himself said that 'fundamentalist-thinking Christians' were a detriment to Christianity. ...   Wow! .. Guess the Pope doesn't like me very much. .. Oh well .. somehow I got over it quickly ....... So..... is this Church 'condition' a prophesied event for these last days? .. You bet it is! .. Revelation 17 tells us of a 'great whore' (other translations say 'harlot') that will rise up in the last days. .. Of course, this 'whore' represents the coming world church that will ultimately partner with the world leader, or anti-christ. .. When reading chapter 17, you will see the woman (great whore representing the world church) riding a scarlet beast (anti-christ) which clearly depicts their end-time partnership.  The scripture also goes on to describe the vileness of this last-day representation of the church. In fact, verse 4 says that "She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries." ... Dr. John Walvoord helps us understand the use of such a vile description for the end-time church. ... "The picture of a woman as utterly evil signifies spiritual adultery, portraying those who outwardly and religiously seem to be joined to the true God, but who are untrue to this relationship.  The symbolism of spiritual adultery is not ordinarily used of heathen nations who know not God, but always of people who outwardly carry the name of God while actually worshipping and serving other gods ... In the new Testament, the Church is viewed as a virgin destined to be joined to her husband in the future (2 Corinthians 11:2), but she is warned against spiritual adultery (James 4:4)." ... The bottom line is this ... the evangelical churches today, no matter how positive the message may be, without the foundation of solid Bible teaching, are committing spiritual adultery! .... I could show you examples of the desecration of God's Word in today's so-called 'christian' churches until the cows come home. .. In fact, it could well take us past the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  ... What we must remember is this. .. The Bible teaches that a remnant will exist in these final days that will hang on to the true teaching of ALL the Bible. .. No, this remnant will not be very popular because it does not 'fit' into today's rapidly disintegrating mainstream church world .. where evil is considered good & good evil ( see Isaiah 5:20). .. Like the opening verse in 2 Timothy, sadly most will 'turn aside to myths' in order to live the way they choose. .. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 sums it up quite clearly ... "But mark this:  There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,  without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,  treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." ... Powerful indictment for those just 'going through the motions' I would say ....... Let me close with this excerpt from "Church Awakening' by Charles Swindoll.  .... "The House of God needs to represent its Biblical purpose for existence. It is a house of prayer, not a house of business.  It is a place of worship, not a place of entertainment.  Jesus is our Savior whom we worship, not a brand to market.  The Body of Christ is a sanctuary of protection for the vulnerable - for children, single women, the abused, and the bruised and broken in life.  The House of God is a refuge for those who have special needs and can't keep up.  It's a harbor of hope for those who are addicted and struggling.  For those trying to find a reason to go on after a death or divorce, the Church has a powerful opportunity to offer hope that God Gives." ... I love the simplicity of these words, plus the descriptive overview of just what an uncompromising, God-fearing body of Christ should look like. .. This IS what Jesus wanted for His flock. ...... A brief warning ... We must remember that we all are responsible for our own salvation. .. Trust me when I say, just 'going through the motions' and adjusting the Word to fit your own desires is not going to cut it. .. In fact, Jesus Himself placed a perilous indictment on the 'lukewarm' church of these last days ... "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other! .. so, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth."  (Revelation 3:15-16). ... Please notice this ... He said He was 'about' to spit you out' of His mouth ... which means you still have time if, in fact, you are guilty of this indictment. .. Remember that Jesus loves you so very much & truly wants any & all of you to turn to the ways He has shown you throughout His Holy Word.  ... Time is short! .. I pray that each of you will take a hard look at 'where' you are in your spiritual walk. .. It IS the most important thing you can do ..  and why? ... Because it will determine where you will be for all of eternity! .... That's just how serious it is ..... May our Great God richly bless you. ... Until next time, Red