Deceived and Misled

Text: 2 Thes. 2:1 -12

Turn with me to 2 Thes. Chapter 2.

Let us study this passage of scripture together and see if we can’t recognize our day to be the time period Paul spoke of when Satan would deceive and mislead something. What is that something which will be deceived? Understand, it is not the world being misled or deceived. No, in a sense the world has always been misled by Satan. The world is deceived and misled because they completely missed the plan of God which showed them God would be able to save their lost soul. No, we are not discussing the man of the cold world being deceived, what we will be discussing being deceived is religion! 

Part I

PAUL CORRECTS ERROR

 Many people fail to recognize that the Bible shows a picture of the end of time, how the church going people will be deceived! This letter was written to one of the gentile churches called Thessalonica about the time the Corinthian Church of Greece was missionarized by Paul. Shortly after its birth, (perhaps even a year), this particular church for some reason had fallen into a certain frame of thinking pertaining to the Lord’s coming. Perhaps during Paul’s absence they had heard from some source saying the Lord was coming very soon. No doubt this prompted other men to declare the lord is corning., he has given me a revelation of it. He is coming soon! 

VARYING IDEAS CREATE CONFUSION

 It seems to always fall in man’s lot if he doesn’t know exactly the leading of the Lord, he will reach out for something to use as a crutch to justify his own statements. Often such statements mislead people, perhaps not intentionally, but somewhere he hopes to gain the recognition of people. Paul had heard about this—how it was beginning to affect these Thessalonians. Many were becoming discouraged but when you have been taught one thing and someone comes along and seeks to change that by teaching something else, sure it will create a question in your mind and after awhile if that question is not answered or cleared up it does create a realm of discouragement. Because discouragement so often is a reaction from your mind becoming contused, Nevertheless this situation had come into existence and Paul was compelled by necessity over what he had heard to write a letter and explain or admonish and set the Thessalonian church straight on this subject of Jesus’ soon return! 

Using this scripture as a basis, let me say how often I too have heard this phrase–Oh, but the Lord can come today! True, he can come today for you! However if he does come for you today may I remind you that your body will be in a casket! I don’t believe we do the scriptures justice when we try to scare or make people believe Christ coming for us in the rapture is immediate. This is what Paul was confronted with. No, Paul was not confronted with the question that Christ could not come for the individual, but instead that his coming would be soon for the entire body, the church!

 CONFUSED ON LORD’S APPEARING

 The Thessalonians believed so strongly that Christ’s coming was very soon, they had settled down waiting, not desiring to work anymore! This is certainly not the frame of thinking the Apostle Paul had taught the Christian! While on one hand Paul would say to some, we are not to be cumbered about with cares or tied down to many unnecessary obligations (I Cor. 7) yet he never taught anyone they were to merely float along, being idle or busybodies, doing nothing as though this is the attitude God wants us to be in when he does come for us as a collective body of people. NO, that is not the attitude he wants us to be in! Watch Paul in Chapter 2 of his second letter to the Thessalonians approaching this subject of thought concerning the coming of Christ for his church. From it we draw a beautiful picture which brings it straight into our own day. 

OUR “GATHERING TOGETHER UNTO HIM”

Paul said V-1, “Now we beseech you”—Anyone should know wha beseech means, set up take notice hearken, give me your attention–“brethren, by the coming of ow Lord.”  Our Lord shows Paul speaking in a collective term. He is my Lord and he is your Lord, but when we are speaking collective from the standpoint of the church or body of Christ, he is OUR Lord.” -“by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by (or about) our gathering together unto him. ” Wording it in this manner shows Paul is not referring to Christians merely dying off, one by one and then going to be with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6) No Sir, Paul was absolutely speaking, about the hour Jesus Christ will come in the clouds of glory and first call forth the dead in Christ from their graves, then we which are mortal and remain alive shall be changed in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye, together with those who have been immortal raised from the dust of the earth, shall we then be gathered together to meet the Lord in the sky or the air (1 Thess. 4:13-18). In other words we don’t meet him out in a cornfield or meet him in another dimension. NO SIR, MEET HIM IN THE CLOUDS OF GLORY because that is exactly the way he departed this earth, Acts 1 : 9-11, by our gathering together unto him, his statement reveals this will be his subject in mind concerning what he is writing. I repeat, he is not discussing Christ taking them one by one as they die going to be with the Lord. He is discussing, and so are we, that definite time period Christ will return to receive his own unto himself. Paul calls it “OUR GATHERING TOGETHER UNTO HIM.” 

BE STEADFAST 

Verse 2, That ye be not soon shaken… Realize this, whenever you believe something, as long as everything about that thing is resting on a solid, stable, immovable foundation of truth, you have something established in your thinking and that thought will rest there in your mind unshaken. This is what Paul is speaking of… that ye be not soon shaken… Not soon shaken, in what capacity or realm? Mentally or spiritually? Your spiritual mind of course! Don’t let your spiritual mind get shook up, don’t let it get agitated. Statements such as this shows someone had planted some different ideas which were beginning to disturb their spiritual thinking . This is a day when the devil plays on the mental ability of human minds. No wonder this world has gone mad after the psychiatrist profession and the poor psychiatrist himself must seek help also! We are told in America alone almost 24 million teenagers (13-19) should be under psychiatric care! Satan is wrecking this human race. Paul said he didn’t want the Christians in the Thessalonian church to be shaken or troubled in mind… neither by Spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let us pause to refresh our memory over something Paul wrote to the Corinthian church I Cor. 7, discussing there the relationships of marriage etc. 

BALANCING STATEMENTS

Recall Paul advised young people in that hour because the coming of the Lord was nigh to remain unmarried! James also wrote, for even now the coming of the Lord draws nigh! Well, how do we balance such statements with what he says here in 2 Thess. 2:2-3? We balance it in this attitude or frame of thinking— in the days of the apostles and early church (that first generation) our Lord never told that church he would not come for them in their generation, did he? NO, they were warned as word was left them to always be watchful, not knowing when. It is a fact, in every generation the Holy Ghost has always prompted the believer to live with the expectancy that the coming of the Lord could be in their generation. This expectation furnishes you with an enthusiasm or a want to attitude in doing everything possible you know to keep your heart and life in tune with him. In no generation (past or present) did he ever tell anyone, I am coming for the church at a certain hour! Such ideas (date setting etc.) are mere tricks of the devil to get people confused! 

WHAT GOVERNS “NEAR” 

Here Paul is saying— and remember we are going to balance his previous statements in I Cor. 7 along with any other statements in this manner spoken by any other apostle concerning that statement -the coming of the Lord – was nigh. (All those apostles knew, when they make that statement – The coming of the Lord is nigh) –that nigh could only be terminated by the absolute fact that certain other prophetic signs must first develop, before that hour could elapse. That alone must indicate how near nigh really is. See, you can’t say his coming for the church is nigh on the one hand and leave all other connecting prophecies to the event hanging loose in the air! Somewhere God will balance it! The coming of the Lord for his church is by no means a crossword puzzle. God will prompt people to live right, walk right, talk right, do right, and live as though Christ could come in their generation, yet as this is being done never forget, there are certain scriptures dealing with prophecy which govern the time cycle of that glorious event as to just how close or how far off it may be from us. Beloved when you disassociate your frame of thinking from those prophetical time factors (prophecies) you can only hold to the one word, nigh! You will walk straight up against that post of nigh and never be able to recognize it when you hit it. WHY? Because you have not read the signs which told you how close you were getting to nigh! 

USING GIMMICKS

I have seen evangelists using all kinds of gimmicks to get sinners to believe, saying — he is coming soon, why he could come for you tonight and “How many here believe the Lord can come tonight? Stand to your feet! OH, I hate to be foolish and misunderstood in this respect. Try to understand what I am trying to get into your frame of thinking! He can come for you but if he comes for you tonight you will be to casket tomorrow!! Personally, I feel it does the word of God injustice as to what the apostles have written for us to pray with it, thinking by this means we will frighten sinners into repenting. No doubt you can scare them into something, however once they awaken to the fact the little scare is all over they are right back on the same road, sooner or later all these little gimmicks lose their effect. Recall the night Paul and Silas were in jail (Acts 16). Are you aware Paul never once Wed to use psychology or some gimmick on that PhIlippian jailer. He didn’t say, the Lord could come for you tonight so you had better repent! That jailer wasn’t concerned about what Paul might preach to him, however, once God took hold of that jailhouse it made a difference. 

WORD STABILIZES

Keep in mind the word of God has been so placed to stabilize the Christian’s faith in order to absolutely guide his pathway. As he centers his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and believes with all his heart he says, Yes Lord, you can come in my generation, you could even come for me this minute. However when he comes for his church there are certain developments that must first transpire and that beloved is what Paul the apostle seeks to bring out In 2 Thess. 2! Because of something that had been said, the Thessalonian church was gradually getting off Paul’s true revelation, and as a result was beginning to get all shook up unto the place they were saying…Christ can come for us right now. Yes, the church had lost its ability to read and recognize the signs which Paul had previously instructed them and here Paul said, don’t be shaken; don’t be troubled, neither by Spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ 4 is ( presently ) at hand. 

Part 2 —TWO DEFINITE SIGNS BEFORE RETURN 

Verse 3— Let no man deceive or…. trouble you; let no man mislead you… by any means concerning that day. What day is he referring to? THE DAY THE LORD WOULD COME FOR HIS CHURCH! for that day shall not come…. Imagine if you will Paul telling others the coming of the Lord is nigh, seeing the day of the Lord is nigh etc. The are only terms of Paul’s speech but when people would sit down and say, if the Lord is coming that soon there is simply no need for me to do anything— when that attitude arose, Paul became more specific saying, now wait a minute! I have told you to keep your heart prayed up, stay in the right spirit and even if the Lord were to come in your generation, don’t ever disassociate that event from all other revelations given by God which will govern or regulate the event! It is from this the Christian, as he keeps himself alert, his eyes are able to distinguish and identify these signs which allows him to know Just how close he is living to that hour. 

SIGN I—FALLING AWAY

Paul said that day of his coming for his bride would not come….(1) except there come a falling away first. Remember beloved, this letter was written in 54 A. D., some 20 years after Pentecost, in an hour when the apostolic church was already living in the era of its brightest, Its fervency and zeal of that age! Understand this, the church of that how had not as yet fallen away from the gospel which. had been delivered by the apostles.

 FALLING AWAY FROM WHAT

We must understand what this “falling away” is from! It can by no means be associated with the world. The world has its styles, fashions, customs and traditions. They change from generations, from races, from nations, etc., nevertheless when Paul stated here there would first be a falling away. You can rest assured it will only take place within the realm of Christianity or Christian belief and it can only take place sometime after the true faith or original faith has first gone forth being applied or preached unto the gentile world! True, at some time after that period, there is going to come a period of time when there definitely will be a drastic falling or decaying away from the original gospel of truth. Therefore sign number one before Christ’s return for his church, according to Paul, would come a falling away from all original, revelated truth as taught by the apostles of Christ. And recall throughout that first generation, all saints or believers were completely loyal to the true faith. Watch for that sign of the falling away, Paul says, because it will lead you unto sign number 2. 

SIGN 2—MAN OF SIN 

Sign No. 2 is that man of sin (or unbelief) to be revealed who is none other than the anti-Christ! Again I remind you that in that first generation of believers, all believers were loyal and true to the truth of God’s word seeing there was no make-believers or unbelievers in the church body during that first generation! No, they may not have lived up to all expected of a believer in that hour, nevertheless everyone was a full-fledged believer under the ministry of the apostles. That man of sin is none other than the anti-Christ who, again I must remind you, did not exist during that first generation of saints! 

MINOR ANTI-CHRIST

True, as the Apostle John spoke when writing First John around 90 A. D. he along with Peter, James, Jude and other apostles spoke of these minor agitating spirits with their false teaching already being on the scene. However beloved, these men or false teachers being many were mere forerunners in that hour 

Their purpose being led of Satan was to harass the church, harass the true word in preventing the true body of Christ from meeting its God given objective as being an example and spiritual light of truth to the rest of the darkened world! This harassing by these minor anti-Christ spirits was responsible for the second generation of saints in that Ephesus Church age losing their first love for the word of God (Rev. 2:4) before passing into the second age called Smyrna. Yet at no time were any of these spirits advanced far enough in the first or second generation of saints to be considered the anti-Christ (that ONE man) as we shall later see developing. However remember, the true born again Holy Ghost filled and Holy Ghost led believers through that spirit of revelation will be the only people on earth who can possibly recognize when that happens! 

MANY TITLES 

Having the revelation on the first sign will lead only the true believer to the revelation of who the man of sin, referred to as the son of perdition, is to be! Many other writers refer to him under various titles. Here are a few. Revelation calls him the false prophet (16:13, 13:3-8). Daniel refers to him as “the little horn that came up among ten gentile national horns making up the 4th beast of world power – the Roman Empire and plucked up three of the ten (Dan. 7:8). Paul referred to him as the man of sin. showing it is one man, the son of perdition or destruction? John called our second sign, the antiChrist which is to come. That beloved is why John the Apostle so clearly distinguishes between these two (major and minor) spirits of anti-Christ showing the minor anti-Christ was already working before 90 A. D. when he says in I Jn. 4:1-4 there are many anti-Christs or false prophets which have already arisen to harass the true church. Never-theless, all this harassment and bombardment by the enemy through these minor anti-Christ spirits of false revelation was serving only to pave the way or set the pace in harassing the church as she journeyed out of that first gentile church age called Ephesus, headed down through time until that hour would arrive that he, that man of sin, would. appear. Furthermore all this harassment would eventually lead the church into the hour of the thousand years of dark ages wherein all the true revelations on the word would reach a total decay wherein the people of the church world in that hour would no longer seek or desire the original truth. People not desiring truth reminds us of the people in this day, throughout this great divided religious world of protestantism not yet 460 years old. After the gospel light of christianity of Jesus Christ for 1900 years has been preached among gentiles we reach a day where only certain church going people (one here and one there) even seem to be the slightest bit sensitive to truth or show any signs of being a little hungry for it, while the overall attitude of the religious realm says, leave me alone preacher, I know what I believe! I even have my perfect Sunday school attendance pins to prove it; I have my own church record and all my Sunday school awards and certificates. Don’t bother me preacher, I just don’t see it the way you do. Will you use that same excuse when you meet Christ? Beloved, it won’t work! We live in a day when everyone feels he knows exactly what the [Bible is saying. However the pathetic part is, poor religious, deceived man interpreted it according to the knowledge of his own particular faith or creed of belief or either to his own liking and wants. Most of the time their interpretation stems from their own carnal weakness and lust of their fleshly nature. No, he doesn’t want the old man (or old fleshly nature) to be disturbed seeing he has already clothed it in a cloak of religious rags! Therefore he doesn’t want those filthy religious rags disturbed! 

EXALT SELF

So Paul says, there will come a falling away and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. In verse 4, Paul declares when this man comes on the scene and is fully recognized. identified to the world, watch what he will do! When he is manifested he takes over the reins of government, politics, economy, military, and religion. Once he has succeeded in this task, his attitude or expression becomes this—he opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped so that he (the man of sin) as God setteth in the temple of God (At Jerusalem) showing himself that he is God! If you don’t believe that is true turn to Daniel Chap. 8, where you will see that little horn of which Daniel spoke will exalt himself and speak great swelling words! He will magnify himself! These are all prophetic terms each writer used to show the spirit that projects itself through that (one) world leader once he does come on the scene. Beloved, this man of sin is a literal human being. No, he has not come from out of space, nor is he some Communist force taking over and by no means is he the latest revelation we hear today–the American half Jew peace ambassador to the world, Henry Kissinger! The anti-christ doesn’t have to sell out America to become a headline figure because his office has been in constant operation since the 6th Century, though not revealed or made known to the world as such! Nevertheless that office has been present waiting for its hours to be revealed. All that God could ever possibly be in the eyes of humanity, he (this man of sin) will pull that down to his own level. Here, beloved, is the devil’s way of seeking to disgrace God as being the object of human worship as Satan will then be worshiped in this manner. 

INFORMED EARLIER 

Paul declares in verse 5, remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you all these things? Here, beloved, is the answer to why Paul was writing these things. I have already preached this unto you when I was with you. Don’t become all disturbed or shook up, deceived nor misled over this thing of Christ coming for his church. CHRIST IS COMING, be sure of that. He can even come in your generation, his coming is “nigh” yet don’t ever reach the place or point where you think “nigh” or his coming to be so soon you fail to recognize those most ‘important signs of which I told you that must be in the earth as the most important evidence before “nigh” can become a reality! The Lord never came in their generation for the church, although he did come for them one by one, in death did he not? Then, was Paul and the other apostles wrong in telling the people the coming of the Lord was nigh? NOT IN THE LEAST! For it is this type of an attitude which keeps believers fervently waiting, watching and alert for the Lord’s coming for his church. When people reach the place they think everything is finished, there is nothing more to be done; that everything is fixed–I know this when they merely get on this bandwagon (or line of thought) they sit around and become so pre-occupied in other things, sooner or later they go to sleep! All other signs or indications in scripture surrounding this event mean little to them seeing they feel they already have the time set! 

LIVING IN THAT HAY 

Bringing this message over into our day we realize how God has so graciously visited the Laodicean Church Age with a true message to restore the people of this age back on the original faith of the apostles. You are living in that very day of which Paul spoke when “nigh” (or his coming for the church) is so very near at hand. This generation is witnessing with their natural eyes the No. I sign–in effect, this great falling away—a great falling away from original protestant doctrines, ideas and principles is in progress which will lead to the revealing before the world of this man of sin—this superman the world awaits to bring world peace! 

SPIRITS RUN PARALLEL 

To prove this I want to show you how this deceptive spirit is working. Notice, after showing how this man of sin will characterize himself, how he will be identified and what he will do etc., Paul goes back to bring up other spiritual details of the working of this wicked spirit which, get this, will run parallel or work its course or objective right along side the true church and its teachings throughout all 7 dispensation of the grace age leading up to this very hour!  

INIQUITY ALREADY WORKING

Paul expresses this spirit in this manner concerning its working in that first generation saying—for the mystery of Iniquity doll] already works… What was already working in Paul’s day? Wherever Paul journeyed he continually witnessed that spirit In its early stages working against him, working against the objective God was working through his apostle to establish christian witnessing in various gentile areas. Paul in his hour, could already see that spirit of the mystery of iniquity already working against the church. It is this spirit of iniquity, as it was called in its first stage of work, already at work trying to bring in all these other ideas into the church to get them all shook up or shaken off the truth! Such ideas planted by the spirit (of iniquity) is what gets Christians off center, unstable and confused. And through a confused mind over certain teachings contrary to Paul’s revelation, the devil is able to shoot the believers’ minds full of poison darts of unbelief and such. The devil has this one objective, if he can not prevent you from living for the Lord, he is going to do the next best thing— do everything possible to hinder your mind from being established in all the truth whereby you won’t be able to live a successful victorious life. And remember, Satan doesn’t care who he must use to obtain that goal either! If he can get you off into some strange teaching that is completely contrary to the word of God he will do that, because sooner or later your influence with what little spiritual light you do have will cause others also to be misled In the same route you took. OH, Certainly it seems right–but remember Satan’s business is getting us all confused to the point we are unable to decide on knowing to make clear cut decisions in the truth of Christ. Becoming discouraged, many people give up saying, I am going to quit and right back to the world they go. All these are mere tricks Satan uses to accomplish his goal! 

HOLY SPIRIT HINDERS DECEPTIVE SPIRIT

In verse 7, Paul says….for the mystery of iniquity doeth already work, only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way. “Only he”—the word “he” used here literally refers in each incident to the Holy Ghost who was the hindering force to hinder this mystery of iniquity through each stage of its growth. He, the Holy Ghost, will continue to hinder this spirit, the working of the mystery of iniquity. The Holy Ghost will hinder or keep this spirit down or in check, keeping it back until he be withdrawn or taken out of the way. 

REMOVES CONVICTION

When we say withdrawn we do not mean to imply the Holy Ghost will be completely removed. NO, but his convicting power will be removed in order to allow this spirit full potential of manifesting itself in the man of sin. When James, in that very first Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), sat with Paul, Barnabas Peter and the others discussing the erroneous teachings of circumcision for the grace age, it was James who declared—listen brethren, you know Peter at the beginning (Acts 10) was led by the Lord to go up to the gentiles (Cornelius’ house). And how he returned with that good report how the Lord had poured out the Holy Ghost on the gentile! James said, this was correct because it agrees perfectly with the scriptures how God prophesied through the prophets of old he would come among the gentile to take out of the gentile a people for his name. After this event he would again return, meaning somewhere at the close of the 7th gentile church age called Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22) or last generation, Christ would return again, build the house of David, close up the breaches etc. Praise the Lord: What had been accomplished had agreed perfectly with the scriptures. Little did James realize all the truth he was bringing into that little discourse in Acts 15 because as the Holy Ghost came among the gentile believers accompanying the revelational teachings of his servant Paul the Holy Ghost was doing so, as James stated, to take out of the gentiles a people to bear the name of Christ who one day would become the bride or wife of Jesus Christ! However, while the Holy Ghost which is referred to as “He” in 2 Thess. 2 is working in the gentile world, taking out this chosen predestined seed, it will be his business to keep the devil back from that predestinated, elected soul, which already had been predestined and chosen in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. Eph. 1:4, He goes among the nations along with the preaching of the gospel, and woos and convicts sinners, drawing that soul unto his plan of salvation that he may become a special member in the true body and church of the Lord Jesus Christ—and to establish them on the true word of God. As Paul says, he will work and hinder that power of Satan whether in its first stage of harassment called the spirit of the mystery of iniquity as it was called in Paul’s hour or whether in the final stage when that spirit is poured into one man called the anti-christ. He will hold it back while he is doing his spiritual office work among the gentiles, but when the year, day or hour has arrived that his (Holy Ghost ) work among the gentiles is coming to a close, you can rest assured it is going to fulfill exactly as Paul said. Because as he no longer hinders or opposes that wicked spirit from its purpose as he, the Holy Ghost, has about reached out and gathered that last elected gentile seed, you see him begin to withdraw his hindering work. Watch the flood of iniquity pour in much like an ocean tide as it goes out, that Holy Ghost begins to withdraw and pull back. Keep in mind, the Spirit does not leave the world! How could a holy God be omnipresent and leave the world! Remember, if God the Father and God the Holy Ghost are one and the selfsame Spirit, what does it mean when he is withdrawn? It literally means he withdraws his convicting presence. Now there is no convicting power to hinder the enemy. He simply no longer deals with you although he is still present. 

OMNIPRESENT GOD 

Are you aware before Christianity ever visited the gentile, the Holy Ghost was right here! You say, I thought God was only in Israel. If that be true, then the Spirit called God was not omnipresent. God always has been and always will be omnipresent. It matters not if Israel was in the Middle East and Solomon and All Israel danced and praised the Lord, God was also right here in North America just as much as anywhere else. What was the answer? The hour had simply not arrived in God’s program when God’s presence was going to work among the gentiles in the capacity of seeing he only works where the word of revelation has been brought forth. Therefore, only he who now letteth (in the first age) will let (throughout the 7 dispensations) until he be taken out of the way–then the devil has the entire stage to bring his man of sin on the stage of action. 

GAINED MOMENTUM

 Verse 6… Get this, Paul says, then (or afterwards) shall that Wicked be revealed. As the days of the early church passed through their second generation of saints, closing out the first dispensation of the grace age called Ephesus, around 173 A.D., from the scriptures and historical accounts we, note during that closing period seeing how that generation had left their first love (Rev. 2:9) that spirit of those (minor) anti-Christs gained momentum or began more and more to work effectively and successfully against the church. More and more antichrist spirits, more false prophets, false teachers came against the true church now by the second age producing their own converts (Matt. 13:29-30-3613) ; on down into 325 A.D. where at the Nicean Council the church went completely off course and later plunged into the Dark Ages! 

ESTABLISHING AN OFFICE

 Certain well established doctrines were in that Nicean council which were alien to the word of God and it is true, down through the Dark Ages the church had completely fallen away from all the truth! Yet isn’t it strange, in all that heathenism, it had not as yet manifested the man of sin! It only manifested and characterized the spirit of the man of sin, establishing his office in the earth. It established an office and once that office was established within the realm of religion, it would run a course. It would establish certain authoritative powers in the earth. Those things would linger and hold in the earth until the day this scripture in 2 Thes. 2:7 would come to fulfillment and consummation. Through the Dark Ages the office of the Papacy was established and pope after pope sat on that papal throne to fulfill the words of Daniel. He will think to change times and seasons and laws. If you think that to be absurd, where do you think the year 1974 came from The Roman calendar: It is none other than the calendar of the pope! It is an updating of the old Roman calendar compiled by Caesar Augustus. Today in the western world we date time by a calendar which was updated as much as two or three times and is the old Roman calendar compiled by Caesar Augustus and Julius Caesar. It reaches only back into the founding of the city of Rome. No, the Roman calendar can’t reach back and record or date the history of creation. Only one calendar can do that—the Jewish calendar! Although beginning around the 16th Century we still have not as yet seen that great religious falling away which Paul spoke of that would lead to the man of sin and the return of Christ for his church. It is true in the 2nd and 3rd Century we did see a falling away from original truth and that falling away established within the Dark Ages an office for the anti-Christ yet by no means did it introduce the man of sin on the scene as portrayed in 2 Thes. 2:3-9. Remember this falling away of which Paul spoke paves the way for the revealing of the man of sin and his diabolical work at the very end of the grace age. 

HOLY GHOST AGAIN WORKS

 Moreover beginning around 1515 the church slowly began to creep out of the results of the long Dark Age which had permanently established an office for the anti-christ. (Rev. 13:3-6) For the next few hundred years as God begins to restore the revelation of his precious word, here a little and there a little, we see a move of God coming on the scene which will last for approximately 450 years. Throughout that period, referred to as protestantism, do we once again after so long a period of the Dark Ages see the Holy Ghost begin to work in a certain degree, though by no means in the full measure of how he operated in the first age. Yes, to a certain degree we again see the Holy Ghost working truth is being revealed, little by little, here a little and there a little among the gentiles. This working continues until it reaches the 20th Century, some 460 years later, down into our hour of time where today not only do we have a religious world consisting of Roman Catholicism which flooded the Dark Ages throughout Europe, we also now have millions of Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Church of England, Baptist, Methodists, all types of Holiness groups, Evangelical and many, many others. All resulting from what God did through that period of time known as the Protestant Reformation. God was slowly reestablishing certain apostolic truths through various reformation leaders which at the closing of that program would produce the falling away and the revealing of the man of sin into his program before Christ, according to Paul, would return for his church. 

SMALL FRAGMENT OF ORIGINAL

 All these movements somewhere possessed a small fragment of original truth, yet when you place all that together and examine it in the light of the scripture, all of it together cannot be the church of shelving God as we see it split into a thousand and one different ideas and opinions. These are all organizations and systems of man which he organized in a spiritually dark hour as he took certain fundamental truths of the word of God, truths which, standing alone separated from the rest of the revelation of truth, could only furnish a small portion of the revelation light needed for believers to know In which direction to walk spiritually; With this small portion of truth which produced only a limited amount of spiritual revelation, man established his followers into a manmade system which he called the church of the present truth. Beloved, it was only the devil’s way of fulfilling his role in 2 Thes. 2:7 as he was permitted to work through the three church ages of Rev. 3, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea during the last few hundred years of the grace age in order to block individual believers from receiving more of the revelated truth scattered throughout the Protestant Reformation which would allow them more light on the word of God. 

Part 3 — GOD OFFERS CHANGE THROUGH MESSAGE

Roughly, up until 1960, and you will understand later why I emphasize the ’60’s mainly for that great falling away period, for some 400 years, although many denominations couldn’t boast of 200 years of existence during that period, nevertheless, God permitted a staggering progressive growth and strength with properties, lands, buildings etc., accumulating in America alone by the close of the 60’s to reach 102 billion dollars! No wonder the Bible said Laodicea was rich, increased with goods and had need of nothing! Truly they could not join the Apostle Peter who said, concerning material wealth– silver and gold have I none- yet neither could the Laodicean church age say with the Apostle Peter and John–but such as I have I give unto thee, in the name of Jesus Christ arise and walk! Doctrinally, up to the 60’s the religious world had spent much time fuming and fussing like spoiled school brats, one saying to the lost world, come over to my movement, we are the light, we have it all! While others would declare, OH, NO, you haven’t because we have some of it too. How beloved, could God possibly come for a people in such a religious mess of confusion—running 40 ways for Sunday! Can you see now why he had to send a prophet at the end of this age with such a vindicated message that would restore us back to that same original doctrinal truth as taught by our apostolic fathers, Peter, James, John, Paul etc..? 

PROTESTANTISM NEVER FELL FROM ORIGINAL TRUTH 

Nevertheless I remind you, never throughout this long successful period of better than 400 years of Protestant history do we at any time see the great falling away from the original truth! How could we beloved, seeing not one of these movements possessed much over a small fraction of that great original apostolic truth that swept the gentile world by apostolic missionaries, headed by the Apostle Paul! NO beloved, they did not fall away from the original truth during that period, and I remind you further, even though they did not have very much of that original truth in one locality or under one religious head, in those hours when all were fighting so hard in defense for what little they possessed or believed in no one could accuse them of falling away from what little they had, but Instead daily grew in more conviction that what they had was right and would die in defense if necessary for the truth their movement professed to have!

 PLUMBLINE MESSAGE

However the time did arrive approaching the 60’s in the 20th Century that God will declare unto all of them that they do not have anything as to what they really should have to make the rapture and be in the bride of Christ! Moreover, he will prove to each of them that the little fragment of bread or Bible truth they did have and cherished for so long, that in the 60’s and 70’s they will throw It away for just any old kind of unity! True, in the 60’s and 70’s they are ready to compromise and abandon it all and God is going to show them they will sell what little they do have for a mess of porridge, such as Esau who, after he had committed the act of selling his birthright, wept bitterly and sought it again through much repentance but IN VAIN! (Heb. 12:16-17) 

SELLOUT

We are now ready to approach that period in order to show you what has happened and what is going on presently in this religious world in both Catholicism and Protestantism proving to you beyond any doubt that the beginning of the 60’s was the hour of the sellout or the falling away, setting of the stage of 2 Thes. 2:3. Beloved, if you don’t think this religious world has been deceived and the great falling away is upon us paving the way for the anti-Christ to become the man of sin and do his diabolical work for Satan, watch closely! As I said before the Lord sent a specially anointed prophet with his true spiritual anointing on the word of God in such a strategic time during the late 50’s and early 60’s to speak truth unto a called out people–truth which one day would begin to establish certain individual souls causing them to stop dead in their tracks and realize where their particular religious system would eventually take them and that was into the brink of spiritual oblivion and destruction. You and I did not know that, but God did! Once God had brought this man into this generation with a message, God did exactly everything he promised in his word he would do. He sent a messenger at the end of the gentile age, anointed with the spirit of Elijah with a revelated message to restore the children’s hearts back unto the apostolic fathers! That is what he promised and that is what he did! And beloved the hour came for that man to be anointed with God’s spirit of truth, according to the word, to uphold nothing but the true word of God, catering to no man’s denomination or belief, but, I repeat, only to the true word of God. Do you realize in the late 50’s and early 60’s, once that man’s message began to sound forth and was laid as a plumb line over this Laodicean Age. Don’t you know every one of those religious systems, founded upon a certain portion of the revelation of God’s word but had long since placed a period at the end of what they originally believed, feeling they had it all and hence there was no need to go any further in truth, rose up to fight this message of light which would have established them back upon the original word, of truth as taught by the apostles! It is absolutely true, as it has always been, the spirit of every organized religious system will fight other truth which, unbeknownst to them, is Just as important as their own truth to the program of God. 

Part 4 –WORLD PRESSURE FORCES CHANCE

Once Catholicism; mother of Protestantism, was established (around 325 A.D.) as well as her daughters, (1515 to 1913) fundamentally, doctrinally and creedwise on certain teachings they would rather die than make any change whatsoever which would affect one of their ideas! And did you know, die they did, but get this, they also had to change! Change was now forced upon them, not by the word of God, but by the world in general! No, they would not change for the truth’s sake but every one of them is having to make changes and adjustments because of pressures being brought down heavily upon them by different events and happenings in the world which we intend to look into shortly. 

CHANGES COME TO CATHOLIC CHURCH

True, we recognize in our day there are certain things, even in the mother church which does not cater to the word of God, nevertheless by pressure she, as well as her daughters. is being forced to make some drastic changes because of world pressures! No, God isn’t causing any of them now to change, he gave them that opportunity and privilege through the late 50’s and early 60’s and they all refused flatfooted! Now watch Satan as his great hour is approaching, first of all through the falling away which paves the way for the man of sin to come on the scene. Satan has now brought certain conditions and situations into the world which is placing pressure upon these great religious systems – seeing they are all nothing but worldly man-made systems which may still be holding some of God’s elected seed. 

WORLD FORCES CHANGE 

The spirit of the world is making demands upon the church world for certain changes, saying if you don’t change we will not cater to you! Now we see Catholicism (along with Protestantism) having to make changes they never dreamed they would ever make! They are now having to make changes in such fields as women’s liberation or woman’s right in the church; paying the bill for guerilla and revolutionary activities here and abroad; furnishing money for communistic plots the world over; accepting into their ranks and into the ministry homosexuals and lesbians and being forced to take issues in civil rights matters etc. Oh, yes, they have all had to make a change though they declared by their actions to God’s prophet WE WILL NOT CHANGE, as he preached the word of life to them, giving all the Laodicean Age an opportunity to return to the original truth (before the coming of Christ) as taught by the apostles! What changes and new adjustments they had to make? First, in the realm of Roman Catholicism perhaps in the last 10 years she alone has made more drastic changes than she had made in 1500 years! Note some startling statistics which will only be a mere smothering which is promoting these drastic changes in the mother church alone! Over the last seven years in the U.S. alone her priesthood has dropped over 10 per cent. In India over 100 priests left the ministry. Gabriel Moran, a leader of the Christian Brothers teaching order proclaimed the Order totally dead! What is wrong? It is because these men want changes they are not seeing. Let us look at some other figures published by Roman Catholics themselves. One of the men questioned why so many in India had left the priesthood, according to the Bombay Blitz said this, Christ never established an in-stitutional priesthood. He did not specify, said the priest who had left the ministry, any particular dress for a priest. Moreover he never advocated compulsory celibacy. The church now practices, said the priest, rituals which Christ has not taught and have forgotten the principles he sacrificed his life for! French clergy also faces a critical state seeing they have dropped seminary students 47 per cent in 1971 and over an eight year period have fallen to a low 61 per cent. While France herself has a population of some 50 million, 90 per cent are said to be Roman Catholics however only 25 per cent even attend the church! The Dutch Church in the Netherlands one of the sore spots are also divided sharply demanding changes as both conservatives and Liberals are at odds with each other over celibacy, new roles in the church for women etc. Based on a recent poll taken by the American Catholic Magazine over one third of the 48.6 million American Catholic under the age of 30 are dissatisfied with the church’s rule pertaining to pre-marital sex saying it is not wrong. Most Catholics polled concerning abortion said it was proper and furthermore stated the clergy was incapable in handling the real issues of life inside and outside the church, confronting them! The article continued by saying we are not destroyed from the outside, we are destroyed from the inside. One leader went on to say, if the blessed mother wants us to survive she had better send us some leaders and prophets soon! In a recent scientific magazine it recalled 68 percent of 1000 Catholic women interviewed declared openly their use of birth control methods which is definitely forbidden by the church and is in complete apparent rejection of the 1968 Encyclical statement on birth control. The Toronto Star in Canada who reported a disturbing number of Roman Catholics demanding change, considers the church to be irrelevant in setting the moral and social tones for modern day living. (What does that mean?, It means a change must come or there will be serious trouble! The article continued by saying, she, speaking of the church, is like an artificial flower, beautiful, but HAS NO LIFE! A Change has already had to be made, for the some 58,000 priests wherein 12 per cent are classified as problem drinkers. Recently the Vatican on behalf of this high percentage of priests “hitting the bottle” has permitted that grape juice instead of wine be used for mass. 

Therefore, the pope fusses, the cardinals bicker, the bishops all get together wondering what do you think we ought to do? And here is the general idea—times have changed, if we are going to keep our people we have to do something! But did you know, you don’t have to handle God’s true children that way? If you have the Holy Ghost and born again by the Spirit of God you are not searching for an easy way out. You are not looking for ways and means and things to please your flesh as this religious world had to do after 1960 to keep going. You are only in-terested in one thing—the TRUTH-whereby you might acquaint your soul and spiritual mentality with the will of God. 

THE STORMY 60’S

Seemingly the 50’s were great years for religion as a whole, all reporting gains and enthusiasm yet something unexplainable happened in the 60’s that seemingly struck a death blow to the heart of organised Christian religion! Why suddenly, have the American churches reached a point of despair? I think it is very well explained by a historian from Yale University, S.E. Ahlstroms in his new book – A RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE – showing what transpired through the 60’s. Great radical changes occurred, says he, in the 60’s as No. 1, a Catholic president was elected, (served 1000 days) and was assassinated. Pope John introduced changes into his own church (calling also for unity of all religious movements). Protestants were shocked by Supreme Court decisions concerning religious ceremonies of Bible reading and prayer in the school, declaring it unconstitutional! Civil Rights movements as well as Vietnam protest marches and other issues forced churches to choose sides! Death of God movement sprang forth along with a terrifying moral decay everywhere. (The New Morality move which laughed at old standards of morality and shoved them aside). Urban racial problems in the 60’s came to a head. In short the 60’s was a time of destroying or Washing away old foundations, says Alhstroms: Truer words were never spoken! As a prophet of God to the Laodicean church age was in the process of wrapping up his ministry (seeing he died in 1965) giving the route of the original apostolic truth back to the body of Christ in order they might walk in the true scriptural revelation and be dressed in the revelation of the word before Christ came for his church! 

WHY CHANGE HAD TO COME 

Yes, we see these world pressures being applied against the dead religious church world who declared by their action they would not change to accept more truth or light on the word of God but are being forced by these world pressures to make a change, and this change is not for the better but for the worst, forcing them to accept every kind of ungodly worldly style, forcing them to accept a new role for women in the church, forcing them to pay for guerilla action as well as pay the bill for revolutionary activity here and abroad, because this falling away from what little TRUE BIBLE TEACHINGS they possessed had to come! We see the short lived Protestant Reformation had its day, and at the close of that period God sent a church age prophet messenger with a message which would acquaint any born again child of God who was affiliated with any kind of religious belief, with TRUTH!

 PROTESTANTISM FORCED TO CHANGE 

We have examined somewhat the plight the Catholic Church faces, but what about Protestantism which has also fallen tar below its original position in the childhood stages of various movements, having so fervently begun in the Sardis Church Age, moving powerfully through Philadelphia or the age of brotherly love-Methodist age-and on into the final age called Laodicea where the great “falling away “appears. 

SUPER CHURCH COMING 

Let us examine the Laodicean age of which God declared, because they were neither hot or cold but lukewarm, he would spue them out of his mouth. Rev. 3:14-18! Two of the largest bodies in Protestantism seems to be the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches who say they represent 42 million Protestants. There is a third body forming which shall consist of some 25 million Protestants, covering the nine mainstream denominations of Protestantism, which could become the right arm of strength for both the National and World Council of churches seeing that many promoters of the new body to make up the super church, now referred to as the COCU (Consultation on church union), are staunch members of the National Council of Churches. In March 1970 the Consultation committee meeting in St. Louis adopted a 150 page document which presents the plan of union—a plan which frightens many who feel they are still in the fundamental line of Christian faith. 

2000 BISHOPS

The new church at present has about 200 bishops in five churches and will be extended to 2.000 holding offices! A leaflet showing the nature of the structure carried, this caption—truly Catholic, truly Evangelical, truly Reformed! Statements, no doubt, used to bait and lure the Evangelicals into the trap for the man of sin. The main part of the chapter entitled, Faith of the Church, concerns itself with the authority of the scripture, tradition and confession. Evangelical terminology used, such as unique authority of the Holy Scriptures, ‘Supremacy of the scriptures’, ‘God’s revelation, fulfilled in Jesus Christ’, ‘Jesus Christ, crucified and risen the living head of the church is the center of the Holy Scriptures,” definitely no doubt will sound good to many. The super church will subscribe to the apostles’ creed (written years after the death of the apostles) as well as the Nicene creed. 

SUPPORTS WORLD AND NATIONAL COUNCIL

Many statements do sound good, such as this church will exercise faithful guardianship of the Christian heritage and tradition although many fundamentalists feel such statements are purely bait to lure. It is quite apparent the COCU is a —”fence straddling” movement as its confession of faith, which nine mainstream denominations will be able to subscribe to is very broad, and not strictly ‘orthodox’ – seeing it must shy away from Biblical doctrine – many groups don’t subscribe to it and shall no doubt play a great role for the tribulation period. The united church in the booklet, page 17 under the heading Preliminary Outline of A Plan of Union says, they reaffirm active membership and support to the World Council as well as the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A statement within itself which identifies the united church as giving support to liberal and leftist causes, seeing the National Council of Churches has committed itself to raise a large sum of money for “reparations” in response to the Black Manifesto which is notoriously communistic, calling for the destruction of our government! 

SUPPORTING REVOLUTION

In an article entitled “MUST CHURCHES FINANCE REVOLUTION”, appearing in the October issue Reader’s Digest, the author Clarence W. Hall brought out pertinent facts concerning the World Council of Churches. Under the guise of racial justice, the World Council is using church funds to back insurrection in both the U.S. and Africa. WCC funds have gone to support organizations dedicated to guerilla warfare. WCC and National Council side with left wing, pro-communist and anti-American outfits. Michael Ramsey: Archbishop of Canterbury, declared funds contributed to WCC may well be used to purchase arms. His reference was to a donation by are WCC of $200,000 to such groups as an ecumenical program to combat racialism–The WCC worked feverishly throughout the 60s for the acceptance of Red China in the U.N. 

 AIDING GUERILLAS

WCC aids guerillas–the Executive Committee of WCC meeting in Frankfurt, Germany to combat racialism, some 8 groups received $2500 to $20,000 each from a total allocation fund of $200,000! Four of the 18 in late 60’s were engaged in guerilla warfare against Portugal. Some of the African based groups included guerilla type organizations thus under the guise of combating racism WCC supported revolutionary movements in Africa when the best antidote for racialism would be preaching the saving grace of Jesus Christ! 

DENIES GOSPEL 

WCC leaders deny gospel—the following statements were made at the international missionary conference sponsored by the WCC Commission of World Missions and Evangelism in Thailand. Before 326 participants from 29 countries, Roman Catholics, Communists and other revolutionaries were present. The object of the meeting was searching for some acceptable SUPPORT REVOLUTION OR ELSE! The National Council of Churches in Dallas, Texas December 3-17, 1972 elected its first black president, Dr. W. Sterling Cory who was one of the signers of the notorious Black Manifesto. As you recall, the Black Manifesto advocated armed confrontation and long years of sustained guerilla warfare! One of the main speakers at the NCC meeting was black radical Leroy Jones (alias Amiribaraka) who publicly called for revolution in the U.S. and stated if the church did not support the revolution “it would cease to exist”! For General Secretary of the Governing Board, its top executive office of the 31 denomination NCC representing 42 million members, elected a woman who is deeply involved in the fight for women’s rights says Atlanta (Ga.) Journal. Another move of the governing board was to approve a dialogue for “gay” or homosexual men! Council president Cory in a recent press conference release said, I do not think you can be a Christian without being political. You have got to be involved in politics! Remember we are examining what this new body of 25 million, nine denominations will be called upon to support seeing they reserve the right to choose and screen each minister who shall be a part of this great body of apostasy! 

RELIGION OUTSIDE CHRISTIANITY

In search for a way to bring in all religious movements such as Moslems, Hindus, and Buddhists etc., that could be acceptable by all, a meeting held in January 1971 in Ethiopia disclosed one leader posed two questions– Was Christianity by its very nature totally exclusive of other religions, secondly, does the Holy Spirit ever operate outside the confines of the institutional church? His purpose was to attack the dogmatism of the theologians which still ignored other religions, as he declared Christ and the Holy Spirit was working in the other religions outside Christianity saying it is Christ alone who is received as light when grace visits a Brahmin, a Buddhist, or Moslem when reading his own scriptures (another book contrary to the Bible). George Khodre in his address called this, salvation outside the historical church. Have you ever heard such blasphemies! But remember we are definitely in the falling away. What doctrines of faith must be sacrificed in order for this nine mainstream denomination body to have a faith upon which they can all agree? What will be their qualifications for ministers, other than they must be devout supporters of the WCC and NCC? What about soul winning and missions? In 165 pages of reading COCU literature, the word evangelism occurs only once and rout winning is never mentioned! 

OUTSIDE RELIGIONS AND COCU 

paragraph heading called, “RELATIONS WITH NON CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES”, reads thus, the United Church out of reverence for reverence and in recognition of possible compatible means and aims will seek to find ways and means of dialogue (or communication), cooperation and common action with representatives of world religions” A statement which is preparing the way for the great gathering of religions under the anti-Christ while God’s word teaches us his people are to be separated and reprove the unfruitful works of darkness! Undoubtedly, the united church is structured strictly for social action rather than Biblical evangelism and Bible teaching! 

BIBLE BELT DYING 

The southern part of the U.S. referred to as the “Bible Belt”, is dying according to many authoritative scholars. For 200 years the “Bible Belt” has basically been conservative protestants, mainly Baptist, Methodist etc.. In 1971 the Baptist Church was the only major denomination reporting any membership gain and this was only a nominal 1.2 percent increase, only one-tenth of 1 percent over population growth. 1972 was somewhat more impressive. A former college president of the Southern Baptist Convention told an Evangelism Conference that a flood tide of paganism, hedonism, and atheism threatens the church. At a time when the church faces its greatest challenge the church is the most anemic and sickliest. We are living, said he, to see the (Baptist) Church die before our very eyes! Observers of other denominations make similar expressions. Some feel that reviving the dying church may be impossible, Ken Forshee, pastor of a Christian church in Oklahoma City, concluded after interviewing ministers from 25 churches of that area–for every man I can point to receiving gratification from the ministry, 3 would leave the ministry if they had any idea what they could do! This is the most crucial issue of the church today, said he. 

AMERICA’S GREATNESS

A poet and historian once visited America to find where her greatness lay. Visiting cities with tall buildings and various governmental agencies in search for America’s greatness at last visited the pulpits of the churches (in the 18th Century) and seeing them fired up returned to Europe declaring, I have seen America’s greatness—IT IS IN HER CHURCHES WHERE MINISTERS POUR OUT THEIR SOULS IN EVANGELIZING THE LOST AND TEACHING THE SAINTS RIGHTEOUS LIVING! They keep the pulpits hot! But where, I ask you, is that fervent, fiery spirit today, as such fervor has long since died in American pulpits? Seemingly pastors have lost the zeal to preach the gospel of Christ as a socialistic gospel has taken its place along with other more modern up to date subjects of the hour. Religion continues to lose numbers in the U.S. says the ’73 edition of the yearbook of American and Canadian churches edited by the NCC. Overall, it says, religious growth is at its lowest ebb in over a century! 

MINISTERIAL APOSTASY 

Space will not permit to show the apostasy or falling away I wish to, although I would like to use a few examples concerning apostate protestantism as she sinks deeper and deeper into the mire of iniquity. In the latter GO’s a poll of protestant ministers was made by sociologist Jeffery Haddep conducting a poll among protestant ministers, contacting 10,000 of whom 7,441 who were willing to reply on their position concerning certain fundamental in the faiths. (1) Do you believe in Christ’s physical resurrection from the grave: and 51 percent of Methodists ministers said they could not accept it as a historical fact; 35 percent United Presbyterians could not accept ; 33 percent Baptist could not; 13 percent American Lutherans could not; 7 percent Missouri Synod Lutherans could not. (2) Do you believe the virgin birth of Christ to be a biological miracle? 60 percent Methodists; 44 percent Episcopalians; 49 percent Presbyterians; 44 percent Baptist; 19 percent American Lutherans; and 5 percent Missouri Synod Lutherans all said no. (3) Do you believe in Satan and demonistic power? 62 percent Methodist; 37 percent Episcopalians; 47 percent Presbyterians; 33 percent Baptist; 14 percent Missouri Synod Lutherans answered no! I remind you this poll was taken approximately 7 years ago. (4) Do you believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God? 82 percent Methodist ministers said no; 86 percent percent Episcopalians, Presbyterians, no: no; 81 57 percent American Lutherans no -whilst no figures to this question was given from Baptists or Missouri Synod Lutherans. Therefore these men are using their pulpits to destroy the foundation of Christian faith which definitely accounts why many people are losing interest. 

DYING CHURCH WORLD 

What has happened to religion over the past 15 years that would prompt as recorded by a national survey, that 4 out of 10 young protestant and Catholic clergymen to say they considered seriously leaving religious life! Why would 20 of 33 seminaries close their doors in one area of the mid-U.S.A.? Protestant and Catholic seminaries are “dying on the vine” says Christian Century. Not only America but other countries show even worse signs of decay and falling away as 18,000 churches and chapels in France alone have been or will soon be abandoned, reported a Paris newspaper, January 1970. The Ottawa Citizen reported 5,000 churches closed in the past few years in Britain. Such a decline threatens to cripple world religion–WHAT IS BEHIND IT? Church attendance is sagging and millions are quitting the church–WHY? John W. Downing, Episcopal priest director of an agency which helps former priests and ministers find secular employment, predicted one half the clergy in the U.S. would quit before 1976! 

EXAMPLES OF APOSTASY

We know all religion has not stooped to this degree of apostasy, yet we should note what is ahead for the religious world as she sinks deeper into apostasy or the great “falling away”. Several years ago a student magazine called “THE GOWN” of Queens University in Belfast referred to God as a “bully at an early age” having no fixed abode, guilty of egomania and increasing sadism! It declared that “4000 years ago God showed definite signs of mental decay which manifested themselves in multiple personalities. And that 2000 years ago the split personality went through a real trauma—when the Father had the Son killed; but so great was the guilt experienced that he resurrected him again!” Two examples I shall use to show deep apostasy — the first concerning the Lutheran Church. In a chapel exercise at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn , broadcast over a local radio station, WCAL., some of the following statements were made – God is a bearded father of creation; the Bible is mythology; the Holy Spirit is a bird; sweet Jesus was a young rebel. He was violent. We are funny clowns. We rebel against the circus around us. We are another of old Abraham’s gypsies sin is an obsolete word. Our generation will make it work. The chapel exercise closed with the following prayer “Oh, Lord, dear sir, give us our daily circus. Three cheers for the old man, the young man and the bird. D–n everything. Give us brass knucks!” This was followed by what could only be characterized as “sick, pagan. heathen music.” 

John Wesley once wrote, “I am not afraid of the people called Methodist ever ceasing to exist here in America or Europe but what I am afraid, less we should only exist as a dead sect, having a form of religion without the power, as this will undoubtedly be the case unless they hold fast the doctrine, spirit and discipline with which they first set out.” Time Magazine, May 8, 1972, analyzed the situation very well saying, The United Methodist Church is a case of a great American success story that is going bad. Once a movement leaped like a brush fire along the 19th Century frontier, the United Methodist has suffered a loss of 518,000 members in the past 4 years—the largest in any church history. A great church has become hopelessly apostate as for a number of years this church has espoused radical leftist causes and no doubt ICHABOD is written on the door. We do our thing and then the nightclubs of the San Francisco area pattern after us, says Pastor Cecil Williams, minister of Glide United Methodist Church, San Francisco, speaking at a “Convocation on Worship” sponsored by the United Methodist Church. “In every service at Glide Church we embrace one another. We kiss one another. We smell one another. We feel one another….The chairman of my official board was an admitted homosexual. And why not? This is one way for every person to find his sexual identity…Most of our people believe in the communal life. I have not married a single couple at Glide who were not already living together. “One qualification for our secretaries at Glide is that they be sexy and wear miniskirts. If a woman is sexually desirable, why not tell her so? We had one of our girls who had given birth to a child out of wedlock stand before our church and tell the inner joy of having a baby without moral inhibitions….People become stimulated in our church happenings. We believe in people doing their thing and doing what they want to. Several have become so stimulated…they have disrobed. 

Methodists on “the Road” 

United Methodist Church (UMC) Bishop W. McFerrin Stowe warned: “If we go on the way we’re going, the road we’ll be going won’t be the road to God, but the road to hell.” 

LATEST GUIDELINES

Note the latest guidelines being prepared for the consideration of the General Council of the United Methodist Church. One of these statements, “we declare our acceptance of homosexuals as persons of sacred worth and we welcome them into the fellowship of the church.” Another recognizes the rights and values of total abstinence but will no longer require abstinence from alcoholic beverages by faithful Methodist Not only the Methodist Church is sanctioning the acceptance of homosexuals in christian fellowship but most all denominations are now joining the religious ‘gay’ crusade to pass rulings to accept all such perverts into christian fellowship: One of the last, no doubt, to join the bandwagon of the religious ‘gay’ crusade is the National Federation of Catholic Priest Council which recently urged repeal of civil laws which make homosexual acts between consenting adults a crime and to find employment within the church where their abilities may be used. The United Methodist Council on Youth ministry declares homosexuality should not be a bar to the ministry, however THE BIBLE WOULD DISAGREE, 1 Cor. 6:9-10 

PROTESTANT CONVERTS 

Concerning the wrap up of Protestantism in her apostate condition Laodicean Church Age is declared as being rich and having need of nothing, but also as being wretched, miserable, poor and Mind and not even knowing it Evangelist Merv Russell declared concerning people who supposedly have been brought to Christ, that 5 percent of all reported church members do not exist: 10 percent of so called saints never attend service; 40 per cent never give to any cause, 50 per cent never receive any religious training; 60 percent never attend church on Sunday night; 70 per cent never give to missions; 80 percent never attend prayer meeting; 90 per cent never have family worship; and 95 per cent never win a soul to Jesus Christ 

WORLD PRESSURES DEMAND CHANGE 

 the stormy 60’s became a decade of mankind, through laws and changes within the world, busy destroying old foundations both politically, morally, and religiously. It was those moves and changes made by the world in the 60’s that brought heavy pressure upon the worldly church in the 70’s, causing them, if they intend to stay in business, to make such radical changes they never dreamed they would ever be called upon to make! 

LAODICEAN MESSENGER 

When this message was sounded and brought forth to the earth, did you know not one other religious leader ever proclaimed or preached things from the word of God as this man did! Name me one! For any one you might name I will give you three who went in the other direction!! Back in the early 50’s Billy Graham preached hard against sin. In that hour to him sin was man’s moral and social way of living and conducting himself. He taught man was a sinner and strictly as a person needed salvation through the grace and power of God. However, his idea was—after you have made your decision, join any church of your choice! Even if the pastor was a modernist or unsaved man who denied the virgin birth of Christ as was the case with many modernist ministers seated on his platform, taking active roles in his campaigns. This alone shows he was not GOD’S MESSENGER for the age! Also back in the 50’s Oral Roberts preached strongly the baptism of the Holy Ghost and living a holy life; he preached absolutely a clean appearance and dress, But neither was he God’s messenger for the age. Do you know why? Look at what he did—during that hour although he would not point you to the Methodist or Baptist Church, etc. as Graham did, he pointed you to some pentecostal church, because the pentecostals were more familiar to his beliefs as well as his own personal experience. 

LAW OF ELIMINATION 

Many other men of that same era of time preached strong and fervent in the things they believed however when the hour arrived they were faced with an ultimatum—WOULD THEY GO ON DEEPER WITH GOD ANL PREACH FURTHER TRUTH–It was there they. as men, drew the line on God! Knowling they drew a line on God by their own choice and decision is to only examine the situation as it stands today Their convictions and the conditions all proved they went backwards, not forward! God’s law of elimination has brought about conditions in these men’s lives causing some to go back spiritually, resulting in a destroyed testimony. Some returned to the business world. Because of mental pressure others turned to drinking-certain conditions would develop and it appeared they thought they could drink the problem away. All these things are merely God’s law of elimination. Never has there been a generation or time in the history of the church where things happened as they have in our generation. Never before has there been a generation dealt with and cursed in the manner God has dealt with this generation of our day once they rejected Bible truth! Today either you go on with God or you must go along with this entire religious system which, sooner or later, will absolutely be washed completely out from under you and turned over to the man of sin! Why? Because it is the day we live in and God is shaking all things and he is bringing everything about the gentiles unto an ultimatum! Therefore you must either go with God or you are compelled to cast your lot either with the cold, cruel world or in the realm of religious make believe that now is in its hour! After the falling away, all is turned over to the anti-Christ or man of sin who, no doubt, is already here, waiting his opportunity! 

FACING ULTIMATUM 

There is absolutely no room in God’s program for sentimentality, it can destroy you! Here we are in a day and how of protestantism when once again God more than ever before has laid truth on the line for the age, and we have seen what took place, especially throughout the 60’s and early 70’s once these various groups in their hearts declared—we do not intend to change! No, they would not change because of truth, yet nevertheless THEY HAD TO MAKE CHANGES AS THE WORLD BROUGHT CERTAIN PRESSURES AGAINST THEM and the stormy 60’s definitely became the period of the falling away from many old principles and foundations, first in the world now in the church. 

LIVING FAITH PRODUCES CONVICTION 

Let us examine religiously the “falling away” found mainly in the 60’s. The “falling away” can be characterized by answering this one question—what did these movements actually “fall away” from? Remember each movement originally began off a fraction of original TRUTH as recorded in the word. Therefore concerning their portion, their falling away had to be from TRUE FAITH IN WHAT THEY BELIEVED and stood for with great conviction through the years. Are you aware TRUE revelated FAITH will keep you in spiritual contact with God because the FAITH or revelation on the word you have will definitely sooner or later lead you into further revelation as Paul says in Hebrews 10:38, now the just shall live by faith (or revelation). In Romans again he said (Rom 1:17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed. (how?), from faith to faith. As it is written the just shall live by faith Notice in verse 17 the righteousness of God is revealed, step by step, or from one revelation to the next which Paul referred to as from faith unto faith and it is living faith that the just live by. Without it a man cannot please God. Hebrews, 11:6! And remember this, the true revelated faith these movements were once founded upon, though it was only a fragment or portion of the original truth nevertheless God was restoring the original truth in bits back unto the church through the Reformation leaders and accompanying this living faith or revelation restored back, was also a great living conviction and get this-as long as you walk in the revelation of that faith, you maintain a strong conviction! Nevertheless. when the day arrives more truth on the same word of God is introduced unto you and you draw a line on God over this new truth, which is just as much true word as you have already accepted, God says in Heb. 10:38, the just lives by faith (faith unto faith, Rom. 1:17) however, God goes on to say since we live by faith, if any man draw back from walking in that faith which positively leads you on into more faith, perhaps a little more than your organized movement will accept, will God excuse you saying, I realize what you are up against, therefore remain where you are and do the best you can!, No, that isn’t what God says, he says Just the opposite—-but if any man draw back (from accepting more faith or revelation on this word) my soul shall have no pleasure in him! 

WHEN FAITH DIES CONVICTION DIES

 The day you draw back on God from walking in further revelation of his word or further light, saying in your heart, I can’t go on with this or that because of popularity or for any other reason you may have, you intend to go your way of belief, right there, my friends, is where you stop walking in God and it is there you will stand still, and sooner or later you will either make up your mind to go on with God or stand there and die spiritually because the just must live by faith or revelation and the righteousness of God is not revealed in the first 30 minutes of your Christian life nor the first year but that righteousness of God is revealed over a period of time from faith unto faith and the day you stop walking with God, is the day your spiritual revelation begins to run out! See, that is what happened religiously in the latter 50’s and early 60’s. Therefore as the faith and conviction of these movements failed to link up with other truth they died spiritually! 

FAITH IN LETTER FORM ONLY

 Naturally such an event in God’s program where he is ready to lead you from faith unto faith or the next step in your faith and you fail to take that step as God is ready to fulfill more scriptures in your life, this is the place you die spiritually. No, I do not mean you drop dead in the natural, you may continue on to be a very pleasing church member, the Sunday School superintendent may think you are tops; your organization may think you are an outstanding person, BUT WHAT DOES GOD THINK from whom you drew back! Your faith no longer becomes a living faith, it becomes a faith in letter form only (2 Cor. 3:6). Once this transpires it now becomes difficult to hold on to that true living conviction which your portion of true revelated faith had produced and seeing your faith has died, now being in letter form only on the word, your conviction dies also. What then becomes one’s outlook seeing true faith is gone and they no longer have true revelation to lead them on, what happens then? Their speech concerning their faith is now spoken without true conviction! Are we not told in Heb. 11:1, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The word “evidence” here actually means “conviction”. If you are truly a born again child of God, living from faith unto faith as the just must do, that faith in God imparted unto you gives you a God consciousness along with a spiritual mind and a correct frame of thinking causing you to look at the Spirit of God correctly through the revelation of his word and also accompanying that continual growth of faith is a feeling of deep conviction placed in your heart that will scripturally stabilize an individual no matter what the devil throws in your pathway. You will stand there and look it squarely in the face, examining it by your spiritual stabilizer (the revelation of the word). 

PROPHETS FAITH & CONVICTION

 Just another word concerning the little man and his faith and conviction as he brought forth a message, especially in those latter 50’s and early 60’s. Although I shall never glory in the flesh of the man, as some have and rim off the deep end, I do glory in the purpose and objective of God in that man, because while evangelists had huge programs and systems moving in their behalf during that period of time which would appear to be outrunning him 90 m.p.h., sitting in their dust, may I say down deep in his bosom was such a Holy Ghost conviction allowing him to see through all that modern superfluously of glorified evangelism of that hour. It was this conviction that let him know one day God’s purpose through his life would leave upon this earth such a testimony in behalf of truth and away of Christian life that was going to stabilize the true course of every born again child of God in the Laodicean Age, wherein sooner or later God would speak unto each of them, regardless to where they may be, and say, come and follow this truth. While evangelists in the 50’s and 60’s began moving more and more toward that realm of compromise, thinking far more of their own programs, radio and TV ministries, tent campaign etc., in order not to lose their crowds and huge offerings, it was this man’s sole intention to preach only the word of TRUTH. And walking in the living faith he was in, produced an equal conviction as great which stabilized him. You see beloved, you could never have the great falling away of which Paul spoke until first God had brought every religious movement upon the scene and presented unto all of them more or further light in which to walk thus their failing to walk in that living light produced or now caused a loss of real true conviction even upon their own foundational truth although, they may still speak highly of their foundational doctrines, yet now it is without deep conviction their movement is the way. You must first fall away or lose your former conviction in order for that which you actually teach or believe to have reached the point in your own life that what you say is spoken now without deep conviction–that it is truth! 

IMPORTANCE OF CONVICTIONS

 Once you reach a point that what you declare is spoken without Holy Ghost conviction, it soon reaches a point that what you do believe no longer means as much to you! Mark it well, without conviction on certain truth the day will come that you will absolutely have nothing to hold on to seeing every cord of your former belief which produced conviction is now cut and left you to drift as driftwood upon the tides of time! Your conviction was the stake driven into the ground of truth which held you securely, now without it you are set adrift, thus causing you to drift off your old foundation or into the great falling away of scriptural reality paving the way for the anti-Christ or man of sin to come upon the scene and take under his wing all those poor deluded souls who have had their convictions washed out from under them! You may think it all nonsense, but can you deny the religious world now having drawn a line on God’s truth, has not definitely lost their Holy Ghost conviction and vision of Jesus in the word! Thus the faith they do now speak of is without any conviction and fur– thermore, is void of all spiritual ; values seeing what they say is no longer based on Bible doctrine! There is no more true worship; there is no longer a gospel preached which separates men from the world as was being taught in the late 50’s and early 60’s placing a firm conviction in hearts! There are no longer teachings that make man God conscious to the extent that he has fear and respect in his bosom that he might be doing the wrong thing or the right thing by associating himself in certain worldly matters, etc.! He lives the same way the man of the world does! How often did we hear that Prophet of God declare, there are three kinds of people in the world, BELIEVERS, MAKE BELIEVERS, AND UNBELIEVERS! Oh, in this falling away of which Paul spoke, it hit this religious world a powerful lick as they have lost their Vision, their spiritual values and now whatever the devil pops up in front of them in the world before long you will see it in their church house! Why? Because of the pressure of the world, the church who wasn’t going to change because of God’s truth in the earth will be forced by circumstances to change and go after whatever Satan wants to send through. Maybe the worldly church is just a little behind time, compared to the world nevertheless, as Satan through the world sets the pace, the make believing church world must follow suit to maintain the worldly people on their side! Sure they will always hang on to just enough of certain things of Christ to make it look like a religious, spiritual cloak or garb but brother, to walk or be clothed in God’s spiritual revelation as taught in Rom. 13:14, the answer is NO! 

MODERN DAY SERMON

 Now in the falling away, because of the things of the world creeping into the churches of this day, their vision and outlook on life is strictly based on a materialistic and monetary value. That is why beloved, in pulpits across America the sermons are civil rights, intergration, segregation, women’s liberation, equality of sex even in church, the new morality which hit the world in the 60’s and all this other nonsense which has no application to the gospel of Christ whatsoever! Why these type sermons today? Because the modern church has now accepted that role. The world movements set a demand upon the church as they want your church treasury to back their poverty programs, guerilla activities or revolutionary programs aimed at destroying the government. The world sets a demand on your church treasury and you pay the bill or the world church will be in serious trouble. 

God gave to this pentecostal age of Laodicea, a messenger and had they really truthfully had the true Spirit of the Holy Ghost, which is the spirit of truth as they claimed, they would have listened to the truth and come running to it; for true revelation as the Bible said the Spirit would lead you into all truth (An. 16:13). This Laodicean messenger preached a message that stabilized and brought a Holy Ghost conviction into the lives of thousands that there was truth in the earth and we need to come to it in order to be in the bride of Christ! Yes, he stopped people dead in their religious tracks, causing them to take note of the word of God. 

GLOSSOLALIA. WHERE IS IT HEADED? 

We note this great glossolalia tongue talking movement often called charismatic revival that has swept across the religious world within the hour of the great falling away, has not only grown in momentum in Pentecost and Protestant denominations but is also deeply embedded in the Roman Catholic Church as well. Yet as they go across the land giving people this experience of speaking in tongues, we note coming right in behind it is everything of the world, every style etc., styles and things of the world so provoking that those who are now accepting them, 15 years ago they would have thrown them out the church door bodily could they not have gotten it to leave any other way. These poor people even with their tongue talking, glossolalia experience, as a whole, ministers included, doesn’t have enough spiritual reality left in their soul to turn around and look this movement square in the face and realize when it is all said and done, will have been nothing but a trick of the devil to dump a multitude of people into the arms of the man of sin who perhaps Would not have come in any other way! Some no doubt will have enough of God to wake up, I pray they will. 

CAPTIVATED BY AN EXPERIENCE

 I do not mean to imply their talking in tongues is a trick of the devil, though in many cases it may be, but I do say this, their little experience has so captivated their frame of thinking their idea is—with my glossolalia experience I don’t need anything else to make it! A wrong spirit promotes that theory! I have the Holy Ghost, they say! Wonderful! Then let the Holy Ghost lead you! The day he cannot lead you, you do not have it! You may have had a religious sensation, you may have even had a little experience, but you sure did not get the Holy Ghost! Because Jesus said, how be it after the spirit of truth has come he will put you on a bandwagon and you simply cross your legs, wear your mini-skirt and lib suits or you men can wear hair down to your shoulders, in plain language you can do anything you want to, you can look like something a cat drug in; you can follow every little fashion and fad of the world because you have it made — Is that what the Holy Ghost teaches In the word? NO, I only spoke it in this manner because that is the way they live and teach it! When the Holy Ghost is come in your life he will guide you into all truth which includes washing you up, standing you up on your two feet and placing a robe of righteousness about you because the Bible says, if any man be in Christ he Is a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). That stuff you see walking around professing glossolalia, the majority are not new creatures, instead it is old creature only getting worse! 90 percent of it comes in and sits down in your big churches. They do not want truth preached to them because they do not want to change. They do not want those old clothes touched, yet the Bible declares you and I are new creatures in Christ Jesus, old things are passed away behold all things have become new That certainly does not apply to the way they are interpreting the scripture. Nevertheless we must remember we are in the great “falling away” which is paving the way for the man of sin to come on the scene. And as long as the movements had any scriptural conviction that could not be accomplished. 

REVEALING WICKED ONE

 Verse 8 begins to speak, not of the falling away but of the wicked man of sin, this anti-Christ who is to come on the scene following this falling away for Paul says, then shall that Wicked one be revealed—whom later on the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth. Pause there and turn to Rev. 19:19-20 to see where John tells us when this consuming took place– it finally takes place at Christ’s second coming to earth as his armies follow him (Rev. 19:11-16) as they make war against those ten (resurrected) horns or nations of European power making up this one political. Monetary beast system under the headship and leadership of the (religious) man who is recorded as the 8th (of the 5th) political head of power to rule the beast! Rev. 17:11, 13:3. (For ) complete discussion on this subject order FROM ROME TO THE VATICAN). And note, it says this – beast system under the man of sin will make war against him who sitteth on the white horse. , Nevertheless Rev. 17:14 declares he (Christ) shall overcome them. How beautifully the scripture falls t in line as it paints for us such a magnificent, clear picture of this hour. The Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming, (also 2 Thes. 1:240). Note in 2 Thes. 2:8 where it declares, that Wicked (one) shall be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him, Paul said, who is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. Note, Paul said that Wicked shall be revealed whose coming is after the working of Satan. Him the Lord shall consume. Isn’t it strange, practically every religious program today people think is of God. No, I do not want to discredit what God does in his acts of mercy toward any of these people. If a person is healed, only Christ can do that—I won’t touch that whatsoever. But I do ask you one question, what has been the Lord’s motive in doing this other than somewhere allowing the person to be familiar enough with the grace of God to know that same grace desires to draw that person to his precious word, that is the purpose in healing, that is the purpose in all things of God that he might draw us to the truth. If this is all people ever see Christ to be (referred to healing etc., then all I say is somewhere many of them will be drastically misled, right into the arms of the man of sin whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders. Get this, and Paul says with all deceivableness of unrighteousness (not in the saints) in them that perish! If you do not believe he will deceive them through great deceivableness of unrighteousness and because of that they will perish, turn to Rev. 17:8 and hear John declaring in the spirit as he saw this setting as it unfolded in his vision saying, all those names which were not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life shall wonder after the beast when they behold the beast which was and is not and yet (now) is. (Rev. 17:11) see this thing moving over the earth today as that spirit of anti-Christ moves now among this gentile religious structure and behind it comes in every spirit of the world, moving into the church—every fashion and style of this world is moving into the modernistic church who no longer have any life or conviction on anything. The world set the pace and declared, church you follow us. The world sets the demands and the price and the modern church screams for change saying, time to get modernized, we definitely have to make changes and if we do not we will lose our congregation. Yes, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish in this religious world, seeing they receive not the love of truth which would mean they didn’t receive the spirit of truth. The spirit of truth is the love of God that has been extended to all those through a message of God for these last days. God did so love us as he saw everyone of us going in our individual ways feeling we were right, headed toward the very brink of spiritual chaos and destruction! God loved us enough to send us the spirit of truth in a message. Where would you be had God not stopped you dead in your tracks, turning you around! Yes, the day will surely come in eternity when millions of them will wish to the Almighty God they would have listened to something to turn them around. But because they won’t listen and have no intentions of listening, notice what Paul says in verse 11 to that class…. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusions.

 SENDING STRONG DELUSION

 Delusions show they are deceived! Why are they deceived? Because they have been taught wrong, they have been misled! What a pathetic picture, they who would never change for truth’s sake, who won’t take heed to the Holy Ghost, rejecting his leadership to carry them on into greater light or truth — for this cause God shall send them strong delusions and they shall believe the lie that they all might be judged who believed not the truth. Those who talked about and spoke against it, made fun of it, said it was crazy and we don’t need it in this day. Who did all this—those who believed not the truth. And please,note why Paul said they did not want the truth. They had pleasure in unrighteousness. Here is where it lies —in unrighteousness. They simply would not cut loose from the world when they had the chance. What is a delusion? It is something, from a distance if not examined too closely, looks to be very real but a close up examination reveals it is not! The reality of it does not even exist—Put glossolalia under the microscope of God’s word, examine it and you will see it fits that picture! As this delusion moves more and more over the earth gaining momentum, leaving behind no Bible conviction its true purpose can quickly be identified in fact it is an eccumencial spirit and a general move toward world unity — a move to unite all denominations under one head. Because of this rejection of truth, God says he will actually turn these people over to this other spirit by sending them a strong delusion (something that appears real but isn’t). The Pentecostal world, for some time, has already been caught up with a strong delusion called glossolalia or the charismatic move as it sweeps protestantism and Catholicism as well. A movement which was openly declared by Time Magazine, as various ministers had studied the movement. that it would be the one thing more than anything else that could be used to promote all chrtstian religion Into one body! The pentecostals had already been caught up in this one strong delusion called glossolalia and now we see the Oneness side of pentecost who stood back for quite some time eyeing this movement with skepticism yet because they too rejected the truth for the hour now also are swallowing the delusion! The trinity pentecost side more quickly embraced the movement declaring it was of God. However, neither side of Pentecost said it was of God until first they were confronted with a message of the hour brought by a vindicated prophet messenger to the age and in their hearts OPENLY REBELLED AGAINST God’s word becoming blinded to the true revelated message of the hour! They flatly refused to walk on any further in the truth nevertheless, following close on the heels of this message which they rejected God sent them this strong delusion (which they accepted). Note, it was God who sent this strong delusion. Yes, God sends them a delusion, that they should believe a lie, be lost, condemned and judged, because they believe not the love of the truth. The reason why is because they have pleasure in unrighteousness! When glossolalia hit pentecost, it gave them enthusiasm, it gave them excitement. They saw people coming from Methodist, Baptist, all kinds of denominations, receiving experiences. Nothing is wrong with experiences, provided they leave you with God in his word. Yet when that experience blinds you, I must say, there is something wrong with the spirit that has taken hold of you! When it will not lead you on with God’s word, there is something wrong with your sensation: there is something wrong with your experience! There is something wrong with your spiritual eyes! Something is wrong with your ears, because the Bible says in this day that the Lord knocks. The Bible doesn’t say that this religious world hears his knock; they don’t want him in it. But to him who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the spirit saith to the church. Not the churches. It was the churches in Asia Minor, but brother, it is the church of the living God that lives in this day and hour. When the glossolalia movement came down through trinity pentecost, when it became evident that it looked like it was God, boy, I can see the old U. P. C. preachers setting on the back row. Because that is a trinity bunch over there, it simply can’t be of God, he thought. But you know, when he couldn’t go on with God in his word, it wasn’t long until he was for it. You have to align yourself with something if you believe that you’re living in a day of unity. You either go with God and his unity or you go with the spirit of Satan and his unity. So, it wasn’t long until the U. P. C. and the Apostolic Church of Christ, etc. all began to say, we’re behind schedule. It must be of God. They couldn’t realize it is only foolish virgins out there seeking for oil (Matt. 25:1-13). That delusion is going to stop one of these days; this is not always going to be a rolling, momentous thing. One of these days, it’s going to come to a complete stop — As it rolls up in the courtyard of Babylon unity! When it has come to its stop, foolish virgins who have been caught up in the vacuum will begin to realize they are a long way off the scripture! It is going to turn them around and they will say we’re not on the word of God! But I understand that there’s a message somewhere. Watch this final important verse and we close. Recall, Paul showed this falling away had to first come to set the stage for this mystery man of sin to be revealed or made manifest in the world. And note, when that hour arrived the worldly church, the Bible declares, will literally be deceived and misled through all the satanic maneuverings of the workings of the power of Satan this man will accomplish through the world and religious systems. If you are a Holy Ghost filled child of God, led and guided by the Spirit, look back down the road into that stormy decade of the 60’s and you definitely see certain things set in motion, or shall we say, things being collaborated with religiously, setting the stage for world unity of religion that 15 years ago people within those particular religious structures would have fought tooth and toenail! Nevertheless today, through the great falling away including pressures in general building up in the world, all this together creates an outside condition which causes that atmosphere to be dumped into the lap of the world church system. World church leaders are then faced with an ultimatum of making certain worldly decisions or adjustments to stabilize their congregation because if they do not the pull of the world will be so great it will take the people away from that church. Therefore they are forced to change from what they once were, in order to handle or meet the conditions forced on them by the world’s demands. The deceived religious world having lost their faith and convictions on what little truth they did possess on the word of God, is now going to the dogs as we now see God completely reversing the table on them as conditions have arisen in the world that is forcing them to change their ideas unto a more sociable gospel and change ideas about acts of perversion and accept all that perversion into the so-called church of Jesus Christ! The ‘gay church’ is growing by leaps and bounds says a San Francisco pastor in a recent conference on religion and homosexuality–and christians ought to recognize it vulguar. By the way, it should be noted the ‘gay church’ has already made application for entry into the National Council of Churches. Of all things, colleges now have non-credit courses to offer students on homosexuality as they offer a deeper understanding of problems of homosexuality. These experimental classes were mainly conducted at the University of Washington as well as the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Of a surety they should include in the classes the first chapter of Romans to get God’s feeling on the subject also! Soon it shall be normal to see all kinds of sex perversion, filling the pews of the nominal church! Already they can sit there half naked in mini-skirts or wearing their lib breeches, looking like the world defying the clergy of the churches to preach one thing contrary to what they are doing. The parents will get mad and the businessmen will become irritated declaring if the minister is going to preach against that, they will just have to stop coming, I won’t support a church like that. We want to support a church wherein at least we feel socially welcome. When the Bible plainly declares that the sinner shall not sit in the congregation of the righteous e (Psm. 1:5) If there had not been a message brought years ago which a stopped some of us dead in our 1- tracks, turning us around, no doubt e with what little religious background I had, I too would be honoring that spirit of rebellion also and wearing my hair as long and shaggy as the rest of them, and no doubt most of the rest of you would also. You men would have sideburns resembling a miserable, hairy airedale dog. You women would be sitting here in your mini skirts, hot pants, lib suits with your hair bobbed off and a wig on So abnormal! It is all false! It is a false day! It is a day of make believe! The old try to be young and the young try to be old! 

RELIGIOUS CESSPOOL

 I don’t quite see it that way, someone says. Beloved, observe how terrible things have gotten in only the last five years and she is definitely sinking deeper in the mire of iniquity as she nears the brink of chaos. What would it be, if God permitted another five years at the present rate she is falling, would you want to be here five years from now. Recall, it has been almost nine years since God took his messenger home and when the prophet was on the scene the mini-skirt was not here then! No, nine years ago women weren’t sitting around in church services with their skirts up to their thighs, but they are less than nine years later. Eight years ago they were not walking Main Street with hot pants or with all their body exposed at the waist. There was a day when a woman never showed that part of her body except at a beach however now many have even shed their bathing suits on the public beaches in California! You are seeing a picture of what it will be like one day inside your modern church as your unbelieving church world will have to cater to that kind of spirit to keep a congregation. 

YOUTH CRIES FOR VOICE

 We see these spirits in the world invading the churches as youth cries out for identity. to a voice. Never has there been a time in the history of the world when youth are crying for a voice as today. It does not fit the program of God. There is nowhere in the Bible youth was to have a voice! No one can look me , in the eye and say the Bible teaches that! When Israelite teenagers walked out of Egyptian bondage with their fathers and mothers they kept their mouths shut! They did not participate in some long demonstration march saying, I AM NOT GOING! NO, SIR, THEY WENT!! They were not like many today who would have told Dad and Mother, WE ARE NOT GOING! I do not care how many youth today cry out, we want liberty, we want a voice (though it may appear God is giving it to them) when you discover who did you will find it only in the realm of Satan! the devil, through the world system, has released a spirit. That spirit of rebellion is in the schools, it is in every system of the world. It has invaded apostate christendom and parents do not know what to do as it invaded the home also! This is a day when the spirit of the devil, through the world system, is trying to tell the world we don’t need parents to raise the children, you just bring them into the world and we will raise them. The Bible says Dad and Mother should love their children and raise them up in the right way– raise them up in the way they should go, not in the way they want to go! 

That is why the old in the church world have to take a back seat in everything, it is to keep the congregation. Shame, shame. When they bring the long haired, rock groups in, to beat, to entertain the young ones to keep them coming. To give them the same kind of music in the church as they get out there in the world, in the beer joints, in the drive in restaurants, where they can sit all night long and play their tape recorders with their rock music. If you don’t believe it, drive by one of these all night joints and hear the type music that’s bang, bang, bang all night long. They come in the modern church world with IC They demand it! The spirit of Satan says, give them more of a voice. You give them a voice and you will answer to God for it! I realize my words may be harsh, but I ask you, look in this book. This book is the final test for it all. Remember, the Bible said, this would be the day these things would be. Yes, I know there are many young people who don’t mean to be caught up in this, they don’t want to be caught up in this. They would somewhere like to escape. I tell you, one of these days when God shakes this thing, it is going to bring a lot of young people to a stark realization, there’s a God setting over all this who can do with us what he pleases, any time I, he chooses. When they look up and see him and they flee to the mountains; they flee to the islands of the sea; they cry to the rocks and the mountains to fall on us and hide us from him that sitteth upon the throne; What will be their reaction then? I’ll tell you young people, you won’t have a voice in that day! No! Nobody is going to have a voice in that day. There is going to be one voice sounded. It is going to shake the world. When the echo of that voice penetrates into this old planet, mankind is going to realize if he ever realized anything, there is a God to be served. There is a God to be fearful of, if you don’t live for him. How can we have the love of God in us if the love of the world is in us? How can the love of God be in us? How can the leading of God be in us if the pull of the world is greater than the Spirit of God in us? The Bible says, greater is he that Is In you than he that Is In the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. However, the faith we see now appearing in this religious world is certainly not a faith based on any convictions as it is no longer established on the true revelated word of God. Instead it is absolutely a religious philosophy based on economics, monetary systems, programs. etc. As this delusion moves in, taking over more and more seeing that true conviction is now gone, this is what causes people to come together in denominational systems to have their suppers or alcoholic beverages served at bars in the basements. These spirits working in religious circles today are now causing many church leaders to turn over their church facilities to women’s liberation movements and even to revolutionary and radical groups who plot to overthrow this government! 

WOMEN’S LIBERATION

 In this modernistic church world today, as women fight for liberation we find them invading pulpits, invading congregations. We see situations developing in organized congregations today that pushes the man in the back seat and there stands a woman telling you how things should be done! For what purpose? World religious unity and fellowship. Give the woman a greater role! Where did that spirit come from? IT DID NOT COME FROM THE BIBLE! Where did it start from? It did not start from the church world. It started right out there in the fallen world of unbelief among unbelieving womanhood and rose to become a problem in the political realm. Once this was set off among unbelieving womanhood, that spirit was passed on down into apostate Christianity and is being propagated from pulpit to pulpit around the country. You see how people are being deceived? Convictions they once held to now are laid aside. That fits the scripture. Because of this God will send a strong delusion that men should believe a lie and be condemned. Why won’t people accept the Lord in his truth? Why are they deceived? Why are they misled? It is because they have pleasure living in unrighteousness. Who Is the Prostitute? A convention of 700 prostitutes ‘recently met in San Francisco. Today, that raises a few eyebrows. But at least some people were surprised to learn that the prostitutes: gathered in a Methodist church. Says one letter published in The Cleveland Press: “That’s like the Mafia convention in the hall of the Fraternal Order of Police.” 

15 YEARS AGO 

This thing does not creep upon man in 24 hours, yet we can see as this message goes through the earth the Holy Ghost within it calls out, seeking out God’s people and as they depart the gates of old spiritual Babylon these various systems are turned over to be attacked by all these other spirits of Satan. WHY? Because we are definitely approaching the day of the Lord’s return. That is why we see that spirit building up, getting more predominant in the world, invading the religious world with greater conquest than ever. All kinds of perversions and evil now enter the church world, perversions and evils embraced today within denominational churches which 15 years ago would have bitterly fought against it tooth and toenail, declaring it to be of the devil. Today they accept it as completely normal! Think of it, people who at one time would have preached against certain fashions and styles, today are going after them hook, line and sinker the modern church is not going to change or update itself with the present demand, if they intend to still hold on to the old convictions they once had, you are not going to get that man of the world in here! When I say that, I am speaking collectively of what is going on in the religious world. They will not change; they will not give up their unrighteous ways of living, these styles, fashions and fads are motivations of the spirit in general to break down man’s ability to resist anything. Remember, the only reason we can see all this is because the scriptures declared in 2 Thessalonians this great falling away will be recognized by the true child of God. NO, the world will never recognize it as a great falling away, the world will treat it as normal. The modern church will never recognize it as being a falling away, seeing it will be accepted as the order of the day! Furthermore, the world will never see the true believer because that make-believer is standing in their way. The man of the world doesn’t see the true church of the living God; the man of the world does not even see this restoring message! If he sees anything in the religious front at all, he sees only what is going on in the church world! 

WHY UNNOTICEABLE

 I pray that the Lord doesn’t tarry 5 more years, but if 5 more years would tick by, the pace it has in the last 5, if you don’t think that I’m I talking truth wait and then tell me, I if you’re still alive — in one of these denominational churches it would I be as terrible as going to some night club. You’d probably hear as much gospel in a nightclub as you would in church. I would just as soon hear some rock and roll outfit singing some gospel songs as hearing some of the stuff that would go on in these churches 5 years from now! I realize it is hard for people to see what I am talking about. And the reason why is because it hasn’t come blooming in over a 24 hour period. No it is slow, grinding away, a little here, a little there; A change here, a change there. But for everything that is taken away in the truth, it is replaced by something that Satan wants to build it on, Brother, by the time the end of this thing has come and it has accomplished its purpose, you can rest assured the church is deceived. The world is not deceived. The world is deceived today from what true Christianity actually is because of all this big religious apostasy which stands out in front of her! Beloved, the church of the living God is not a playhouse or it wasn’t in the past before the falling away entered on the scene. Instead it was a place you could learn how to live, walk and act right or else hit the road and go straight to the world, seeing the church in that day wouldn’t cater to that kind of spirit. Rome, in the 3rd and 4th Century took the church off course and into the Dark Ages while God spent the last 950 years bring her back on course and now the spirit of the anti-Christ, through the great falling away, will do its best to get you off the word and become wrapped up in some monetary worldly program whereby everyone, saint, sinner and pervert may all sit together. Therefore we see in this religious world, as this spirit of anti-Christ begins more and more to possess poor mankind, poor innocent people will become victims of a disguised spirit which works through high places using deceptive, undermining tactics. The devil has by his spirit, cloaked himself in a clergy today who have blinded themselves by refusing God’s word! They will not go on with God! They do not want God’s word! They are more interested in their program because of that they will not heed to the love of the truth which is the Spirit of truth which has brought a true message. They will not hear the truth, because through the message God’s love was projected to lost mankind as well as to church going people. Had God not known this centuries in advance it would never have been prophesied to be so! But God knew every one of us would be wrapped up in Babylon as these various systems were headed toward a brink. However, because of God’s love for his elect in this hour he sent a message as if to say, WHOA! STOP! DON’T GO ONE STEP FURTHER IN THAT DIRECTION! Any man or woman led by the Holy Ghost, hearing that call of God, is going to stop and turn around saying, Thank you Lord for saving me from a terrible mess! You are in the day Almighty God has purposed to separate and shake everything, bringing it to naught in order to establish his own purpose. We realize certain things religiously are being shaken for falling from a previous status only to be at last wrapped up in the last final setting with the man of sin as the religious world is headed for a complete spiritual decay and ruination, receiving final destruction at the coming of the Lord! 

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