The following is distributed by
The Berean Call.
WHERE IS THE WORLD AND CHRISTENDOM HEADED?
This is our second session. The subtitle is:
The Necessity of Understanding Biblical Eschatology.
In our first session we looked at what the
Scriptures tell us will take place in the
end times just prior to and including the
return of Jesus Christ.
Our focus was primarily on the world, that
is, those who have rejected biblical Christianity,
Jesus Christ, and the way of salvation that
He has provided for all those who are willing
to accept it.
We noted that those who rejected Christ’s
way for mankind to be reconciled to its Creator
turned to mysticism in the form of pantheism.
They replaced the true and living God with
themselves. They bought the lie that Satan
deceived Eve with in Genesis chapter three,
and are being prepared to accept the Antichrist’s
claim to be God as described in 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2 verses 3-4:
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for
that day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first, and that man of sin
be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth
and exalteth himself above all that is called
God, or that is worshipped; so that he as
God sitteth in the temple of God, showing
himself that he is God.”
We looked at the writings of Samuel Andrews
in his book Christianity and Antichristianity
In Their Final Conflict and his method of
studying the scriptures of the end times.
He looked to see if what the Bible said was
to come was being manifested to some degree
in his own day.
He found examples of every deception the Bible
warns about. The only difference between his
day and ours is the world and the devil have
expanded Satan’s lies exponentially.
What was emerging 120 years ago has become
blatant today. I believe the phrase “hidden
in plain sight” best describes what’s
taking place.
The beliefs of Eastern Mysticism, Hinduism,
and Buddhism have all but displaced the traditional
Christian beliefs in the West.
Anyone who doesn’t recognize that has their
head spiritually buried in the sand or doesn’t
see a problem with the Young Men’s Christian
Association being a popular center for Yoga
lessons.
Most people today couldn’t tell you what
the letters YMCA stand for, with many thinking
the Y probably stands for Yoga.
In Part 1 the focus was mainly on the world
being drawn to pantheism, the belief that
everything and everyone is God. That is the
expected outcome due to the world’s rejection
of Jesus Christ and it consequently being
drawn to the religion of the Antichrist.
In this talk, we’re going to briefly consider
the state of Christendom in Samuel Andrew’s
day as it was influenced by the world. Then
we’ll look at the state of the church today
by comparison.
Andrews points to Revelation chapter 2 where
Jesus addresses the church at Ephesus. Although
the church was doing many good works, Jesus
admonishes the fellowship:
"I have this against thee, that thou has left
thy first love."
Andrews connects the church’s drifting away
from its love for Jesus with apostasy: [quote]
“It is thus in the loss of the first love,
not in doctrinal errors, that we find the
root of the falling away [the apostasy] in
the beginning, and the key to the whole subsequent
history of the Church. Then began that spiritual
separation from the Head which cannot cease
till the first love has been regained.”
He defines apostasy:
“The apostasy, or falling away…means,
generally, a falling away from some given
standard; a defection. Here it means a falling
away from the true standing of the Church
as appointed by God.”
“This general meaning leaves undetermined
the degree of the apostasy or falling away,
whether a total or partial denial of the truth.
The Apostle [Paul] distinguishes two forms
of the apostasy, one being the corruption
of Christianity, the other its absolute rejection.
…the falling away, beginning with the loss
of love, is not to be confined to doctrine;
it embraces the whole spiritual life; and
therefore the whole external order of the
Church.” [end of quote]
When Jesus addresses the churches in Revelation
He is doing so as the Head of the church.
He is speaking to His body.
As the body’s love for Him decreases, it’s
obedience to Him also decreases…resulting
in the body doing its own thing without submitting
to Jesus, the Head of the church.
That’s how the apostasy in its corrupting
sense develops. It’s the forsaking of the
truth through ceasing to love and obey the
instructions of our Lord and Savior.
Based upon what we addressed yesterday regarding
what the world is into, Andrews identified
much of that which had influenced the church
of his day.
It was a case of the church in the world and
the world in the church, all brought on by
slipping away from the Head.
HEBREWS 2:1 1Therefore we ought to give the
more earnest heed to the things which we have
heard, lest at any time we should let them
slip.
The “earnest heed” exhortation from the
Head was not heeded then…or now.
The “slip” therefore has turned into a
massive spiritual landslide in our day, burying
the truth of God’s Word in every demonically
conceived way possible, or so it seems.
If you’ve been following The Berean Call
for a moderate length of time, or even for
a decade before the start of the TBC ministry
in 1992, you no doubt became familiar with
the book, The Seduction of Christianity.
That being the case, you have been made aware
of more heresies and false teachers infecting
the church than most Christians probably care
to know about.
It can be a bit discouraging at times. Kinda
like swamp swimming. It’s often a sluggish
affair with nasty leeches sticking to your
body for the ride…and for lunch.
So, I’ll spare you my enumerating most of
the heresies which could easily fill up the
next four hours or so.
On the other hand, there’s much exhortation
and encouragement in what the Lord has enabled
us to do.
After all, I’m not the one who said “Take
heed that no man deceive you.”
Or, “…in the latter times some will depart
from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils.”
Or, “For the time will come when they will
not endure sound doctrine; but after their
own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers,
having itching ears; 4And they shall turn
away their ears from the truth, and shall
be turned unto fables.”
Or, “29For I know this, that after my departing
shall grievous wolves enter in among you,
not sparing the flock. 30Also of your own
selves shall men arise, speaking perverse
things, to draw away disciples after them.
31Therefore watch, and remember, that by the
space of three years I ceased not to warn
every one night and day with tears.”
Or, the Book of Jude?
Or, “…when the Son of man cometh, shall
he find faith on the earth?”
So, it never gets boring…even though the
times of apostasy are not pleasant.
If you’ve been unsure about apostasy, and
are thinking more along “positive” lines
such as a pending global revival and national
repentance—and those verses don’t give
you pause—I have dozens upon dozens more.
Nevertheless, rather than review the multitude
of heresies that abound today, I want to share
a perspective that the title of Samuel Andrews
book motivated me to consider.
The title again is: Christianity and Antichristianity
In Their Final Conflict. That made me think
that those two entities will be in a battle
that will conclude when Jesus returns to destroy
all those whom Satan has rallied against Him.
Satan rallying his troops draws them from
a diversity of his deceits, his devices, his
frauds, his seductions, his lies, his twisting
of Scriptures, his false prophets and teachers,
his cults, his appeal to man’s lusts, and
particularly to man’s ego, all of which
he used to entrap them.
Those deceptions have captured not only those
who have rejected Christ, but also those believers
who were ensnared by Satan’s “angel of
light” deceptions and his multitude of lying
signs and wonders.
My goal is to show how connected the seemingly
diverse deceptions of the Adversary are, and
how they will converge as they contribute
to the development and acceptance of the religion
and kingdom of the Antichrist.
I see it as the perfect storm where many elements
come together to create something far more
volatile and deadly than one might expect
under normal storm conditions.
Here are just some of the diverse entities
that are prepared wholly or inpart to contribute
to the kingdom of the Antichrist.
Starting with the Roman Catholic Church, it
is loaded with antichrist kingdom supporting
essentials. First of all it sees itself as
the head of Christianity.
Its pope is called the Vicar of Christ, meaning
the human representative of Christ on earth.
Its eschatology is amillennial. It has replaced
Israel and has been trying to set up the kingdom
of Christ since the days of the Roman Emperor
Constantine and later as the popes ruled over
kingdoms of the world.
Much of the Church has been given to mysticism
and pantheism through the Desert Fathers,
Ignatius Loyola of the Jesuits, and of late
the Buddhist/Catholic monk Thomas Merton,
and the favorite priest of leading evangelicals,
Henri Nouwen.
A more direct connection to pantheism is found
in the latest Catholic Catechism: [quote]
“For the Son of God became man so that we
might become God” and “The only-begotten
Son of God, wanting to make us sharers of
his divinity, assumed our nature, so that
he, made man, might make men gods.”
Those quotes listed in the official Catholic
catechism are from St. Thomas Aquinas and
St. Athanasius.
There’s much more that could be cited regarding
the Church of Rome, but I want to cover as
much as I can before my time runs out.
In any case, I’m sure you get the picture
that the billion and a half Catholics are
being set up to receive the religion and kingdom
of the Antichrist.
Moving on to a church organization that’s
trying to rival the Church of Rome in power
and money—namely the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.
Mormonism’s fundamental belief is that man
can work his way to godhood. As the saying
goes that was received from the Mormon gods
to man, “As you are, we once were. As we
are, you will become.”
Brigham Young declared “The Lord created
you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods
like Himself. …to become Gods like unto
our Father in heaven,” and “The devil
told the truth. I do not blame Mother Eve
for eating the forbidden fruit. That’s how
we become gods.”
Mormons obviously are well-prepared to accept
the pantheistic lies of the Antichrist. They
also believe they will rule over the world
government set up in the last days as the
kingdom of God on earth.
Nothing’s too far fetched for Mormons to
believe because they’re told the more unrealistic
and impracticable Mormon doctrine seems to
them, the greater their faith is when they
nevertheless believe it.
Among the Word/Faith, Prosperity and Healing
preachers, godhood has been a significant
part of their conniving. As one of their influential
leaders declared: “Just as dogs have puppies
and cats have kittens, so does God have little
gods.”
Kenneth Copeland says,  “Man was created
in the god class. We are a class of gods.”
Last year my talks at this conference addressed
a gathering of nearly 50,000 young adults
at a stadium in Orlando, Florida.
The gathering was titled The Send…Send—S
E N D.
The stated purpose was to send the young people
out to evangelize the world, beginning with
their neighborhoods, their schools, their
communities, their countries, and on to the
ends of the earth.
What could be wrong with that? You tell me…following
this:
Those who put on the gathering were kingdom
dominionists representing YWAM, Bethel Church
and its School of Supernatural Ministry, the
New Apostolic Reformation, and numerous Word/Faith
preachers.
The elder leaders of the event were introduced
as “mighty men of God.” They included
Benny Hinn, Rodney Howard-Browne, Lou Engels,
Bill Johnson, and Loren Cunningham.
What then are Kingdom dominionists? They believe
that Jesus, as the head of the church, has
appointed the body to take over the world
in His physical absence and are to set up
His kingdom in order for Him to return.
Those taken in by this are clamoring for worldwide
revival.
That’s been the call of those Pentecostals
and Charismatics involved in the Latter-rain,
Manifest Sons of God movement of the mid 1940s,
and later the Toronto Blessing, the Brownsville
Revival, the Kansas City Prophets, IHOP the
International House of Prayer, and the New
Apostolic Reformation.
Why? They believe a worldwide Christian revival
will put them in charge.
I interviewed a young man who was attending
the Bethel School of Supernatural ministry.
He was in his third year.
I asked him about his eschatology. He didn’t
know what the term meant. Not surprising.
Biblical eschatology isn’t taught there.
It gets in the way of the school’s Kingdom
Dominion agenda.
Having sat in on a Bethel service, I told
him I was curious about the preacher mentioning
a coming worldwide revival, and could he tell
me where that’s found in Scripture. He wasn’t
sure.
I asked him what, according to the Scriptures,
was the next kingdom to come. He seemed more
than startled when I informed him it will
be “the kingdom of the Antichrist.”
Many of our young Christians are being recruited
to contribute to the development of the religion
and kingdom of the “man of lawlessness,
the beast.”
I don’t believe a true Christian can lose
his salvation, but I do believe that by buying
into Satan’s deceptions a believer’s life
and fruitfulness can be wrecked.
This next one may shock some of you. It has
to do with a more conservative group, those
into Reformation theology and Calvinism.
With some notable exceptions, most Calvinists
are amillennialists. That’s part of the
doctrinal baggage the reformers kept from
their Roman Catholicism.
They do not believe in a literal thousand-year
reign of Jesus Christ on the earth.
Calvinism drew heavily on Augustine, the author
of The City of God, and the father of most
of the dogmas of Roman Catholicism.
Many Calvinists follow Augustine’s method
of biblical interpretation which relies heavily
on allegory and spiritualizing passages of
Scripture.
That’s a way of making the Bible say anything
you want. Allegory sidesteps context of a
verse, the common meaning of words, the grammar
of a verse, it’s logic, and the discernment
as to whether it should be understood literally
or figuratively.
Being a Berean with that approach to the Scriptures
is nearly impossible.
It’s also a doorway to the mystical approach
used to promote pantheism.
It’s the death of hermeneutics, the biblical
way of understanding the teachings of the
Bible.
It’s also involves eisegesis—which is
reading one’s beliefs into the Scriptures
rather than concentrating on what God is saying.
A good example of Amillennial allegorizing
is how they view the details given in Revelation
regarding the thousand-year reign of Christ.
It’s not to be taken literally, including
Satan being bound and later released.
The words have a deeper meaning not signified
by the context or the common definition or
the plain sense of how the words are defined
and used.
Amillennialists believe the millennium began
at the ascension of Jesus and continues today.
Satan was bound at the Cross.
Since Christ has not returned, and we are
in the millennium now with Satan bound, setting
up His kingdom becomes the chief function
of the body of Christ.
Here again whether intentional or not, we
have the body taking control from the Head
of the church.
Following Augustine’s teachings, especially
The City of God, Calvin resolved to establish
the kingdom of God on earth in Geneva, Switzerland.
However, it was a disaster of legalism.
One church historian comments: [Quote] “With
systematic thoroughness, Calvin set to work
for the realization of his plan to convert
Geneva into the first Kingdom of God on earth.
It was to be a community without corruption,
disorder, vice or sin; it was to be the New
Jerusalem, a centre from which the salvation
of the world would radiate.… The whole of
his life was devoted to the service of this
one idea.” [Quote]
It was also akin to Roman Catholicism’s
global takeover plans, which is one reason
Calvin was referred to as the Protestant pope.
Other later kingdom dominion attempts by Calvinists
took place here in the US beginning in the
60s and the 70s.
Led by Calvinists, Christian Reconstructionism,
also known as theonomy, teaches that through
the application of God's Laws (including Old
Testament laws) the earth will be transformed
and the Kingdom of God will be ushered in.
Christian Reconstructionism greatly influenced
the Christian Right and Moral Majority of
the day.
It was followed by COR, the Coalition On Revival,
which fostered getting Christians elected
to local offices, to Congress, to the Senate,
and to the presidency.
These were believed to be actions necessary
to fulfill the mandate to establish the Kingdom
of God. In Calvin’s words, “the state
must consent to be the servant of the church.”
The church however, disconnected from the
Head, Jesus Christ, more often than not became
the servant of the state. That was the condition
that amillennialism produced.
Ministers were appointed by government authorities,
and in many places such as the Dutch Reformed
dominated Netherlands, state officials arbitrated
doctrinal conflicts between religious groups.
That’s a throwback to the Emperor Constantine
who legalized Christianity and then stepped
in to running the religious show for a while.
Young Christians are being increasingly exposed
to kingdom dominion teachings. The Send, mentioned
earlier, was pretty much an emotionally driven
kingdom dominion vehicle for the 50,000 young
attendees.
Many are being seduced by the music of Hillsong
United and Jesus Culture. Kingdom dominionism
is their theology which is revealed in some
of the lyrics of their songs.
On the more conservative side, Christian Reconstructionism
and Calvinism has made surprising inroads
into the Home Schooling Movement.
A very successful apologetic series titled
The Truth Project, which was produced by Focus
on the Family and taught by Calvinists encouraged
the young audience to work for global transformation
through leadership in the major spheres of
influence of society like the state, the family,
the community, education, labor, the media,
the arts, etc.
For all the value that some of these kingdom
of God building entities may seem to present,
if they are not true to the course set forth
in Scripture by the Head of the Church, Jesus
Christ—they are wittingly or unwittingly
antichrist.
Nevertheless, amillennialism is the most common
eschatological belief among professing Christians.
It is the view of Roman Catholics as noted,
Greek and Russian Orthodox churches, Lutherans,
Presbyterians, Anglicans, Episcopalians, the
Church of Christ, some Independent Baptists,
and most Calvinists.
This final entity I’m going to address,
I believe is the most effective in its preparing
the world and Christendom for the religion
and kingdom of the Antichrist.
It’s psychology, in particular, psychotherapy
or psychological counseling.
To make my case, let’s apply the criteria
I used for the other entities that were also
in an antichrist acceptance conditioning process.
First some background:
Psychotherapy is a pseudo-science pretending
to be science.
Its substance is talk, just talk.
The therapeutic talk is totally subjective.
It has all to do with emotions, experiences,
intuitions, feelings, etc.
Psychotherapy has about 500 therapies and
thousands of techniques most of which contradict
one another.
Psychotherapy is a religion that pretends
to be science as well as medicine.
The chief criteria for treatment evaluation
in psychotherapy is one’s beliefs or feelings.
A psychotherapist’s personal opinion rather
than objective science is the principle for
diagnosis in psychological counseling.
In Part 1 of my talks I addressed the failure
of attempts by the world, those who have rejected
the God of the Bible and His instructions,
as the solution to mankind’s sin problem
and the destruction it has caused.
I referred to it as “the mess” humanity
and the rest of creation is in.
We are in the process of dying an ugly death.
Since no hope has been found in man’s attempt
to fix the mess through scientific materialism,
evolutionary theory, or naturalism, man has
turned to mysticism for his salvation.
He is putting his hope in pantheism, the belief
that he is God—along with everything else.
Well that makes sense…sorta.
After all, the problem is God-sized.
But believing in Godhood begets another problem.
How do you get people to buy into the idea
that they are God or gods?
As I noted earlier, the Adversary has been
working that scheme for a long time with reasonable
success.
But think about how the success rate could
go up if godhood, especially in the West,
was given a veneer of science while reducing
the religious stigma.
Enter the pseudo-scientific world of psychology.
Are psychologists up to the task? One research
psychologist writes about his own profession,
“I have personally seen therapists convince
their clients that all of their problems come
from their mothers, the stars, their biochemical
make-up, their diet, their life-style and
even the 'kharma' from their past lives."
Kharma and other Eastern mystical ideas have
moved to the top of the therapy list.
One past president of the Association of Humanistic
Psychology has suggested that psychotherapy
will probably be known as the hoax of the
twentieth century.
So yes the field is up to the task.
Rather than abandon their obviously bankrupt
profession, many psychologists and psychiatrists
have compounded their error by trying to shore
up their collapsing house of cards with Eastern
mysticism of one form or another.
As University of California professor Jacob
Needleman has said:
A large and growing number of psychotherapists
are now convinced that the Eastern religions
offer an understanding of the mind far more
complete than anything yet envisaged by Western
science.
At the same time, the leaders of the new religions
themselves—the numerous gurus and spiritual
teachers now in the West—are reformulating
and adapting the traditional systems according
to the language and atmosphere of modern psychology.
An article in Psychology Today noted that
Eastern philosophies “seem to be making
gradual headway [in the West] as psychologies,
not as religions.”
Godhood now is easier to accept wrapped in
the packages of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung’s
collective unconscious or a human’s higher
potential or self-improvement seminars for
the business world.
MBA candidates at Stanford University learned
to tap into their “inner essence,” (a
substitute term for God) for seeking inner
guidance in their course titled “Creativity
in Business” taught by Professor Michael
Ray, a disciple of the Indian Guru Muktananda.
Eastern meditation practices passed off as
Yoga for health exercises or holotropic breathing
techniques opens one up to the experience
of God realization.
Normal consciousness has taken a backseat
to supposed higher consciousness gained mostly
through drug induced altered states of consciousness
but also through various non-drug Yogic techniques.
Common sense has given way to uncommon higher
sense.
Practitioners of psychotherapy and psychiatry
themselves have reached an all-knowing, godlike
status before the multitudes.
That and the influence of their 300 billion
dollar industry makes them a major force in
selling mysticism to the masses.
That’s the world, but what about psychotherapy’s
influence in the church?
During the 1970s psychotherapy came into the
church like a tsunami.
Led by psychologist James Dobson and many
others representing so-called Christian psychology,
they reinterpreted the Bible pertaining to
its self teachings in order to be consistent
with psychology’s perspective.
Self rules in psychology; that’s what psychotherapy
is all about.
We’ve been explaining that if we believe
that the God of the Bible is truly God, then
it should be obvious we are not God.
If a person doesn’t believe that then the
position he will be led to is that he is God.
Christians, whether they be true or only professing,
they are disinclined to go there. Yet psychology
moves them in that direction.
How so?
For the believer there is God and self. Submission
to one or the other is the ongoing battle
of life.
However, during the latter part of the last
century, the psychology derived self teachings
came into the church like a flood:
Self-love, self-esteem, self-image, self-confidence,
self-worth, and as Dave Hunt was given to
add: self-ad nauseam.
These teachings, backed by an army of Christian
psychologists and counselors, turned the Bible
verses on self upside down.
Instead of dying to self, the church has been
exhorted to love and esteem self.
I believe that has been Satan’s most effective
ploy in the last fifty years of church history.
Like Tobiah in the Book of Jeremiah, psychology,
which leads to the idolatry of self, even
to its deification, has set up shop in the
church causing untold spiritual destruction
among our brothers and sisters in Christ.
How then shall we live?
What’s the antidote, the biblical protection
plan, in regard to the warning Jesus gave
concerning the deception that will take place
in the last days?
“Take heed that no man deceive you.” Matthew
24:4
We need to be like the children of Issachar
who had understanding of the times to know
what Israel ought to do. (1 Chronicles 12:32)
The antidote for deception is not complicated,
yet it demands diligence regarding discernment.
We are first of all to submit to God who will
enable us by His Holy Spirit to resist the
devil (James 4:7).
Then we are to continue stedfastly in the
doctrine and instructions of Scripture. That
means reading the Word of God daily as a habit,
which is the most important habit we can have.
Then we are to do what it says, not by might
nor by our own power, but by the Holy Spirit.
We are also to be in fellowship with other
believers, upholding one another in prayer,
as well as praying continually for the Lord
Jesus to guide and direct us into His will
(Acts 2:42).
Again, it’s not complicated, but it demands
our full commitment.
Let’s pray.
Lord you have given us Your Word, You have
not left us to our own devices. For believers
Lord, you've given us not just your Word but
your Holy Spirit to enable us to understand
the things that are going on. So Lord, we
continue to thank You, and look to You for
guidance and direction, for encouragement,
for enablement in all these things. We pray
in Jesus precious name, Amen!
Well! Folks! What can I say? Except I hope
you were blessed, I hope you were encouraged.
I believe that the speakers all brought what
the Lord has put on their hearts to do and
that we're edified by it and blessed and encouraged.
Hopefully you were encouraged! That you were
convicted of some things, that you're going
to go about these things now by the Word of
God— not that you haven't— but I pray
that this would be a greater encouragement
to deal with the issues that are coming up,
and that are there in our time. This is the
apostasy! Well, the antidote to the apostasy...
what is it? Get into the Word of God, maintain
fellowship with believers that are of like
mind. Also that we can stay on our knees before
the Lord, or however you want to do it, praying
to the Lord for encouragement, for protection,
for ways to go about witnessing and ministering
in these times. It's a rescue operation! We
can't turn this around, but we can rescue
those whether they're believers who have unwittingly
fallen into these false ideas and false teachings,
or whether it be they just need your encouragement.
So how do we go about it? Again, the Word
of God! Prayer, fellowship, that's what we
need and we need to develop the habit of studying
the Word of God daily. Reading God's Word
daily. That's the only way to protect ourselves,
that's the antidote to the apostasy and the
things that are happening today. So hopefully
you were blessed! Let me end our time together
in prayer.
Lord, You have not left us to our own devices.
You have given us Your Word, Your Truth. You
have, for those of us who believe in You,
who trust in You, for those of us who have
put our faith in You Lord, You have given
us not just Your Word but You've given us
Your Holy Spirit to help us to understand.
and to enable us to do the things that Your
Word says. So I pray that that will be the
message that all those who watch this, listen
to it, however it might be... that they would
be encouraged and blessed. And we thank you
for these things and our time together in
Jesus precious name, Amen!
