THE CURRENT END-TIME APOSTASY OF THE CHURCH – PART 3

December 1, 2011Hunt, Dave

Presented at the Pre-Trib Study Group Conference, December 2005.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith [apostatize], giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron. (1 Tm 4:1-2)

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men [shall be] ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres [two of the magicians in Pharaoh’s court] withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. (2 Tm 3:1,4,8)

Paul thus declared that the major opposition to the truth in the last days would be from false prophets who would counterfeit miracles by the power of Satan just as Jannes and Jambres did in opposition to Moses. Although only God can do genuine miracles, what Pharaoh’s sorcerers did in mimicking the first two plagues was so impressive that Moses declared, “And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments.”¹ But when it came to the third, “the magicians could not.”²

Surely we are seeing this prophesied opposition to the truth today. There is an entire “signs and wonders” movement among charismatics led by false prophets who pretend to do miracles in Christ’s name….There is no clearer sign of “last-days apostasy.”

Yet the great success of The Purpose-Driven Life and the growth of megachurches such as Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston (30,000 each weekend) have sparked a new optimism among evangelicals that even embraces the false “signs and wonders” movement. In his book Megashift, James Rutz writes:

We are now winning the world at an astonishing pace, swept along by a vast array of miracles. [God] has apparently decreed that plain folks like you and me are now a central part of an accelerated plan for a total transformation of the world….We are in the early stages of total transformation of our planet. The family of Jesus Christ is growing so fast that if our growth simply continues at today’s pace, most of us living today may see the fulfillment of Revelation:11:15
: “Now are the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and his Messiah! And he shall reign for ever and ever.”³

This is a delusion that harks back to the Manifest Sons of God heresy but is now gaining acceptance among evangelicals: there is no Rapture and no Great Tribulation. We are already in the Millennium, with the church taking over under the leadership of “miracle-working prophets.” These people expect to meet Christ with their feet planted on planet Earth, rather than being caught up to meet Him in the air and taken to heaven, as His Word promises. It is one more form of apostasy that is preparing a false church to welcome Antichrist….Among the dozens of false prophets we might name who claim to be part not of apostasy but of a great “last-days revival” are Oral and Richard Roberts, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, ReinhardBonnke, the Kenneth Hagins, Rick Joyner, Kim Clement, and many others often seen and heard on TBN and elsewhere. The major one, of course, is Benny Hinn. Hinn has been praised by evangelical leaders (including Jerry Falwell) and is the darling of the largest Christian TV network, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), upon which are regularly displayed false prophets to deceive the church and world.

[Another example is Pastor John Hinkle.] According to a “Voice,” which spoke “so loud and clear” to Hinkle “[and] sounded like a great bell” being rung in his ear, all evil would be “ripped from the earth” on June 9, 1994. Paul Crouch and the studio audience were overjoyed by this “wonderful revelation.”⁴ Crouch backed this obviously false prophecy to the hilt in at least three newsletters⁵ and on several TV shows.⁶ Pat Robertson was [also] enthusiastic about it.⁷

Yet anyone with common sense and a minimal knowledge of the Bible knows that “evil” is not a “thing” to be ripped from Earth but resides in human hearts. Evil will certainly be rampant under Antichrist in the Great Tribulation yet to come; and even at the end of the Millennial reign of Christ when Satan will be loosed, evil will manifest itself as never before in an attack against Jerusalem and Christ by millions of Earth’s inhabitants. Yet on June 9, 1994, Crouch claimed that Hinkle’s prophecy had been fulfilled!

Of course, false prophecies too numerous to mention are standard fare on TBN, from the assurance that the appearing of Christ⁸ will take place onstage at a Benny Hinn revival–to the confident declaration that soon the dead will be resurrected by placing them in front of a TV screen on which a TBN program is being aired. Benny Hinn’s false prophecies are too many to recite. For example, on December 31, 1989, claiming that he was in the very throne room of God, Hinn declared: “The Lord also tells me about ’94 or ’95, no later than that, God will destroy the homosexual community of America by fire.”⁹ Amazingly, as Hinn’s false prophecies increase, so does his audience, growing to at least one million on several occasions. Surely this growing delusion is another sign of last-days apostasy.

Hinn can’t even get his “testimony” straight. In the PTL Family Devotional, he says, “I got saved in Israel in 1968.”¹⁰ But in a 1983 message in St. Louis he said, “It was in Canada that I was born again right after ’68.'”¹¹ Yet in Good Morning, Holy Spirit, he says he was converted in 1972, during his senior year in high school.¹²But he dropped out before his senior year. When was he saved?!

“People of God!” shouts Benny, “We must never speak such faith-destroying words as ‘If it be thy will, Lord.’ I amHim [Jesus]! The Word has become flesh in Meee!….You are a little god on earth.” Hinn and Crouch have declared this lie numerous times together on TBN, and Crouch stated in a newsletter that if we are not little gods, he would apologize in front of 10,000 times 10,000 before the “glassy sea.”13 If he is a “little god,” he won’t be there.

Not to be outdone, Morris Cerullo declares, “From the beginning of time, the whole purpose of God was to reproduce Himself. And when we stand up here, brother, you’re not looking at Morris Cerullo; you’re looking at God. You’re looking at Jesus!”¹⁴ And in fulfillment of Christ’s Word, false prophets keep coming in His name claiming to be Christ.

Paul’s warning (1 Tm 4:1-2) has come true with a vengeance. A major “doctrine of devils” is the occult technique of visualizing persons or events to bring them into the present for one’s private use. This is how shamans (witchdoctors) contact their “spirit guides.” This occult method is widely practiced in today’s church. Norman Vincent Peale taught it,¹⁵ as does Yonggi Cho, Robert Schuller, Richard Foster, Calvin Miller, Karen Mains, John and Paula Sandford, and others who practice “inner healing,” and so do many Christian psychologists.

Visualization is widely taught in the church as a means of creating the answer to one’s prayers and even calling Christ from His throne in heaven to appear in one’s presence. Of course, Christ will not oblige, but there are demons that are only too happy to appear, pretending to be “Christ” in order to further their deception.

Yonggi Cho tells his readers, “You create the presence of Jesus with your mouth. He is bound by your words. Remember that Christ is depending upon you and your spoken word to release His presence.”¹⁶ Likewise, Richard Foster (co-founder of the Renovaré movement and editor of the Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible) assures us that visualization in the imagination of what one desires is not mere fantasy but reality created in the mind.¹⁷ He writes:

Take a single event [from Scripture]. Seek to live the experience, remembering the encouragement of Ignatius of Loyola [founder of the Jesuits, fanatical defenders of the pope and Rome’s heresies]…as an active participant. And since Jesus lives in the eternal “now” you can actually encounter the living Christ in the event, be addressed by His voice, touched by His healing power. Jesus Christ will actually come to you. In your imagination, allow your spiritual body, shining with light, to rise out of your physical body. Look back so that you can see yourself and reassure your body that you will return. Go deeper and deeper into outer space until there is nothing except the warm presence of the eternal Creator. Rest in his presence. Listen quietly [to] any instruction given.¹⁸

This is occult contact with “seducing spirits [bringing] doctrines of demons” through the imagination and is the major technique used by shamans to contact their spirit guides. Yet in full agreement, popular evangelical author Calvin Miller writes:

One door opens to the world of the Spirit: imagination. We cannot commune with a Savior whose form and shape elude us…in my conversation with Christ, I see him white robed…I drink the glory of his hazel eyes, thrill to the golden sunlight dancing on his auburn hair. Do you disagree? His hair is black? Eyes brown? Then have it your way. His image must be real to you as to me, even if our images differ. The key to vitality, however, is the image…block by imaginary block we define him and we adore him. The Bible writers did the same.¹⁹

Instead of being inspired of God, the “Bible writers” wrote from their imagination?! This is not only blasphemy but “Christianized idolatry.” Every pagan image is first formed in the mind before it is fashioned out of wood or stone. [This] is another growing movement among evangelicals. Icons are displayed with candles to light in “prayer stations,” and church members in evangelical churches “pray through the image” to reach God, joining in the practice of Eastern Orthodox and Catholics.

Like Miller, Foster, and Cho, Robert L. Wise, pastor of a large Presbyterian church, endorses visualizing “Jesus” based upon his experience during a “Healing of the Memories” session:

I began to visualize myself as a boy of eight…startled to see myself carrying a large bundle on my back [of] needs and worries. “Now see if you can imagine Jesus appearing,” [I was] instructed. “Let him walk toward you.” Much to my amazement, I–an ordained Reformed clergyman with a doctorate in psychology–found Jesus mov[ing] slowly toward me extend[ing] His hands toward me in a loving, accepting manner. I no longer was creating the scene. Christ reached over and lifted the bundle from my back with such forcefulness that I literally sprang from the pew.²⁰

Wise was sure that it was not his imagination–and we know that it was not Jesus. So it could only have been a demon impersonating Christ that came alive in this occult experience!

Yonggi Cho and Rick Warren recently had breakfast together….Cho [told Warren], “As a minister, you should know that prayer is the foundation of church growth and revival. [Y]ou should have visions and dreams because [these] are the vessels through which God works.”²¹ He failed to tell Rick that his occult practice of visualization has been the key to his success. Cho has some good teachings, but that only commends his heretical and occult teachings and makes them all the more appealing….Yet the Bible declares: “This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart”;²² “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,”²³ etc.

Robert Schuller…declares, “That’s what sets me apart from fundamentalists, who are trying to convert everybody to believe how they believe. We know the things the major faiths can agree on. We try to focus on those without offending those with different viewpoints, or without compromising the integrity of my own Christian commitment.” Of course, the major faiths do not agree on…who God is, who Jesus Christ is, the way of salvation, and all other biblical fundamentals. One can only wonder what “Christian commitment” it is that Schuller isn’t compromising….

Pat Robertson, responding to those asking why he had signed ECT, declared: “People of faith [in which he includes Catholics, Mormons, Moonies, Jews, et al.] are under attack as never before by forces which wish to destroy all religious values, all worship, and all freedoms for Christians like you and me [so] we must lay aside certain Protestant differences to join hands to support those things upon which we all agree.”²⁴

Peter reinforces the warnings by Christ and Paul: “There shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and many shall follow their pernicious ways and through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you.”²⁵ The language is remarkably prophetic. It is covetousness on the part both of the false prophets and those who believe their lies that allows the former to “make merchandise” of the latter. We see this in the “seed faith” teaching invented by Oral Roberts and followed by most of the other false prophets: “Send in your ‘seed faith’ offering to get the miracles started….” It would take minimal common sense to recognize Roberts’s unconscionable lie (has he no fear of God?), but it is the covetousness of recipients that blinds them to the truth in their desire to get “miracles from God” by feeding the covetousness of the “miracle worker.”

The gospel is “to the Jew first,”²⁶ and Paul always preached it in the synagogue before going to the Gentiles. Yet some Christian leaders have claimed that there is a different gospel for Jews. John Hagee has said, “…I believe that every Jewish person who lives in the light of the Torah will come to redemption.”²⁷ In 1987, Pat Robertson was…asked, “Do Jews go to heaven?” Pat replied, “The Jews go to heaven if they keep all the commandments of the Jewish Law.”²⁸ Isn’t it part of the apostasy to deny to Jews the gospel that saves?

When Robertson failed to get the Republican nomination for president, he was asked, “If God called you to run, then why did you fail to get the Republican presidential nomination?” Pat responded, “I suppose we could ask the same question of Jesus: why did He fail the first time around and get crucified?”²⁹

One of the most shocking evidences of apostasy is the acclaim given to Sir John Marks Templeton by evangelical leaders. Templeton’s books blatantly proclaim a false god and false gospel. Yet one of his major works, Discovering the Laws of Life, declares: “The basic principles for leading a ‘sublime life’ may be derived from any religious tradition. Astronauts traveled into outer space [and] did not bring back any evidence of heaven. And whereas drills had penetrated the earth, they’d found oil, not hell…spiritual theorists are inclined to conceive of [heaven and hell] as states of mind…we create our own heaven or hell right here on earth. Our innate goodness is an essential fact of our existence. The God within us–the godhood within you–is in a state of becoming perfect….”

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever; Christianity is not a religion, and it does not “progress” toward a better form. No Christian could possibly accept the Templeton Award as the person who had contributed the most during the year toward the Antichrist religion that Templeton is promoting. Yet Billy Graham did (1982), as did Chuck Colson (1993), and Bill Bright (1996)….

Just as God’s people Israel, to whom He sent His prophets to warn them of their apostasy and its dire consequences, would not listen, so it is today with many professing Christians. Glad to follow any pied piper who plays an enticing tune, and unwilling (and one day unable) to hear the Lord (“who is my strength and my song” – Exodus:15:2
), they dance merrily on to judgment.

Time on this earth is quickly drawing to a close. Let us determine once again to remain true to and earnestly contend for “the faith once delivered unto the saints.” And in that perseverance, may our example give renewed courage and conviction to many others–and may we rescue many before it is forever too late.

Footnotes:

1. Ex 7;22; 8:7.
2. Ex. 8:18.
3. James Rutz, Megashift (Colorado Springs: Empowerment Press), 2005, 1-2,27,41.
4. Praise the Lord, TBN, January 25, 1993; March 14, 1993.
5. TBN Newsletter, August 1993.
6. TBN, March 14, 1993.
7. www.cuttingedge.org/news/n1194.cfm.
8. 2 Tm 4:8; 1 Jn:3:2
   .
9. G. Richard Fisher and M. Kurt Goedelman, The Confusing World of Benny Hinn (St. Louis, MO: Personal Freedom Outreach, 2002), 199-200.
10. Ibid., 34.
11. Ibid., 33.
12. Ibid.
13. Praise the Lord Newsletter, March 1993.
14. Morris Cerullo World Evangelism, “The End Time Manifestation of the Sons of God,” tape 1.
15. Norman Vincent Peale, Positive Imaging (Fleming H. Revell, 1982), etc.
16. Yongghi Cho, The Fourth Dimension (Bridge-Logos Publishers, 1979), Vol I, 83.
17. Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline (Harper & Row, 1978), 26.
18. Ibid., 26-27.
19. Calvin Miller, The Table of Inwardness (InterVarsity Press, 1984), 93-94.
20. Robert L. Wise, “Healing the Memories: A Prayer Therapy for You?”,Christian Life Magazine, July 1984, 63-64.
21. http://pastors.com/articles/ChoInterview.asp.
22. Jer:13:10
    .
23. Gn 6:5.
24. Pat Robertson in form letter on The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., Letterhead, 4/19/94.
25. 2 Pt 2:1-3.
26. Rom 1:16.
27. Julia Dunn, Houston Chronicle, April 30, 1988, Religion, 1.
28. Donahue, NBC Television, June 1987.
29. Bob Slosser, “The Election According to Pat Robertson,” Charisma & Christian Life, October 1988, 56.

April 1, 2015Hunt, DaveMcMahon, T.A.

Knowing that we are in the last of the last days, with an imminent Rapture a very real hope, our thoughts often (and indeed should) turn to the signs that Christ said would herald the nearness of His return. The signs that are most widely cited include “wars and rumours of wars…[when] nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom…and…famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes…these are the beginning of sorrows” (Mt 24:6-8).

Unquestionably, these specific “sorrows” have been both prominent and accelerating since Israel again became a nation in 1948. Since that time, the intensity and frequency of these signs have increased like the birth pangs of a woman approaching her time of delivery, exactly as Christ foretold. However, the first sign that Christ gave has been largely overlooked and His solemn warning neglected:

And Jesus answered and said…Take heed that no man deceive you.

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many….

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many….

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Mt 24:4,5,11,24) [Emphasis added.]

Concern for this prophesied deception has marked this ministry. Let us take a closer look at the religious deception that Christ foretold. He issued a warning: “Take heed [beware] that no man deceive you.” Its seriousness is emphasized by being thrice stated. Its nature is specified: false Christs, false prophets, and false signs and wonders. His repetition four times of the word “many” indicates a worldwide deception of multitudes.

Paul issued a similar warning: “Let no man deceive you by any means….” He explains that the spiritual deception to which Christ referred will infect the professing church. That is evident from his words “falling away,” or apostasy:

For that day [of the Lord] shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin [Antichrist] be revealed, the son of perdition.” (2 Thes:2:3
)

Although a true Christian cannot fall away, a false Christian can. Fall away from what? From the faith in Christ that he or she has outwardly professed without inward reality. Those few apostates who announce themselves as atheists or convert to Buddhism or Hinduism are not the concern of Christ and Paul in this verse. They are warning of a turning from the truth within the professing church. Other scriptures confirm this, as we shall see.

Paul warns us not to be deceived into thinking that the apostasy won’t come. It must. Such a warning can mean only that in the last days many will reject the biblical teaching that apostasy is inevitable. The false prophets to whom Christ refers will use their signs and wonders to support their false teaching that revival, not apostasy, is underway. Paul therefore warns us not to be deceived with talk about revival: the apostasy must come, or Christ will not return!

False signs and wonders will be an integral part of the apostasy. The departure from the truth will be spearheaded by apparent miracle workers, and the delusion will be made possible by a prevailing emphasis upon experience over doctrine: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine” (2 Tm 4:3). Christ declares,

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Mt 7:22-23)

These apostates of whom Christ speaks do not lose their salvation; they were never saved (“I never knew you”). Yet they are high-profile Christian leaders apparently performing signs and wonders in the name of Christ. Tragically, they seem to think that their ability to prophesy and to perform wonders proves that they belong to Him. The signs and wonders are so impressive that doctrine no longer matters—exactly what we see today!

Surely these of whom Christ speaks in Matthew 7 must be the same “false Christs and false prophets” to whom He refers in Matthew 24. Moreover, the signs and wonders they are able to perform are apparently so impressive that without discernment by the Holy Spirit even the very elect would be deceived by them. Obviously, something more than mere trickery is involved. These miracle workers are backed by the power of Satan, whom they unwittingly serve in the name of the Lord.

The Bible clearly predicts a last-days signs and wonders movement—but it will be of Satan, and thus a delusion that will deceive many. After a solemn warning that in the last days “perilous times [not revival!] shall come,” Paul makes this remarkable statement:

Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these [apostates] also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. (2 Tm 3:8)

Jannes and Jambres were the magicians in Pharaoh’s court who, through the power of Satan, duplicated (up to a point) the miracles that God did through Moses and Aaron. Paul thus declares that the last-days opposition to the truth will not come so much from outside the church but from those within who are reprobate concerning the faith: depraved men who corrupt the truth. And they do so by performing apparent miracles in Christ’s name some of which (when more than mere trickery) are actually of Satan. In that way, they deceive and lead many astray—not out of the church but into false doctrine and thus a false hope within the church. Satan has no more effective tactic to damn souls!

Such [deception] involving the whole gamut of today’s revival scene must be seriously faced! Videos of the services show people crawling on the floor, howling like wolves, barking like dogs, roaring like lions, going through bodily contortions impossible without the aid of some spiritual power, unable to speak or even remember their names when they try to give a testimony—and worse. Many of those being baptized seem to lose consciousness or shake so violently that they must be carried out of the baptismal tank or they would drown. Others flail about so wildly as to require several men to handle them. That such things could now be widely accepted as evidence of the Holy Spirit can only testify to the depths of the delusion!

Jude exhorts us to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Contend against whom? Surely not primarily against godless enemies outside the church. The warning concerns those within: “For there are certain men crept in unawares” (v. 4). Crept in can only mean inside the church.

Paul confirms Jude in addressing the Ephesian elders: “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts:20:29-30
). The spiritual deception of which Christ warned would be rampant within the church.

In further confirmation, Christ warned His disciples that “the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service” (Jn:16:2
)—a most remarkable prophecy. He can’t be referring to the slaughter of Christians by the Caesars or by Mao or Stalin or Hitler, for they did not believe they were thereby serving God. Yes, when the Jews of Jesus’ day killed the early Christians, they thought they were serving God; so did the Roman Catholics when they slaughtered the true Christians before and after the Reformation; and so it was when Muslims killed Christians. But none of this was the complete fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy.

“Whosoever” is the key. Neither the Pharisees, the popes, nor the Muslims were alone in killing Christians. Others pursued them to the death at the same time. But Christ is saying that a time is coming when whosoever (in other words, everyone) who kills Christians will think he is serving God thereby. That can only mean that a world religion to which everyone must belong is coming, a religion that will seek to exterminate true Christians in the name of God. John saw the same scene in the future:

And it was given unto him [Antichrist] to make war with the saints, and to overcome them….

And I beheld another beast…he exerciseth all the power of the first beast…and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast….

And he had power to…cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (Rv 13:7-15)

To summarize, the scriptural warnings foretell the very delusion we find in our day: 1) a false signs and wonders movement led by many false prophets; 2) many being deceived through these seeming miracles; 3) the rejection of the biblical teaching concerning apostasy, and the insistence that we are in the midst of, or at least building up to, the “greatest revival in the history of the church.” The promise of revival will be part of the last-days deception, Paul warns, so beware! Instead, in the days preceding the Rapture there will be a great apostasy, a falling away from the faith. Don’t be part of it!

That we must earnestly contend for the faith against those who have crept into the church implies that the battle is not so much one of faith against unbelief, but rather of true faith against false faith. And that, too, is precisely what we see today. Articles in leading medical journals cite studies showing that those who have any “religious faith” are more likely to recover from illness. Christianity Today ran a major article naïvely promoting these studies as though they were supportive of the truth.¹ Thus God has been reduced to a placebo that can come in any shape, size, or color.

Multitudes of Christians imagine that faith is believing that what they are praying for will happen and that if they truly believe, they will have whatever they ask. Obviously, if things happen because one believes they will, then one doesn?t need God. This is mind power, not the faith in God that Christ taught (Mk 11:22)….

The topic on everyone’s lips and mind today is revival. Christian TV and radio and best-selling books persuasively argue that we are in the midst of the greatest revival of Christianity in the history of the world….It comes as a shock to many to learn that the word “revival” does not appear even once in the entire King James Bible. The hope of revival, which excites so many today, is not even a biblical concept. Ask yourself a few questions: Is Christ not indwelling us? Is He not in our midst each time we meet? Are we not to be filled with the Holy Spirit at all times? Is not the Word of God sufficient? Why, then, run after signs and wonders as though unusual manifestations prove that God is at work while neglecting what God has already given us? In the meantime, undertake a study to see what the Bible says. Check every source (including TBC) against Scripture! Be a Berean.  TBC

Endnotes

1. Christianity Today (Jan. 6, 1997), 20-30.

AN AFTERWORD FROM T. A. MCMAHON

In the eighteen years since Dave wrote the above article, the apostasy has intensified in ways that are mind numbing. I write this from the perspective of one who worked with Dave for more than three decades and learned from him how to discern trends that are taking hold in the church, drawing both professing and even true Christians away from the Word of God. I remember that just three years following our book The Seduction of Christianity: Spiritual Discernment in the Last Days (1985) we were astonished by how much worse things had become, spiritually, during that short time. But that was then.

Today seems like light years (or “dark years”) away. At that time, the New Age was dawning. Today we have “Christian” yoga practiced in church sanctuaries. Back then, evangelical leaders were dialoguing with Roman Catholic leaders; today Lent, Ash Wednesday, and the sacred Catholic ritual of the Stations of the Cross have become popular among “Protestants.” In those days, Christian youth were mostly being entertained in their fellowships; now they are being led into emergent contemplative and social gospel ideas. Then, the cults were making headway; today cultic teachings abound throughout Christendom. Then, “Christian” psychology was infecting the church; now, that pseudo-science has contaminated “biblical” counseling. Bible studies (where the Bible was actually studied) and prayer meetings were then rare; currently, books by popular Christian authors have displaced Scripture completely, and prayer has turned into “Lord, give me…” sessions. Back then, faith was being turned into a “force”; today, rare is the Christian who can tell you what biblical faith even is. False prophets used to be found primarily on “Christian” TV; now they proliferate on bestseller lists and head up prosperous “non-profit” organizations. We used to see TV preachers encouraging greed; currently, they sell survival food that they promote through fear-mongering techniques.

We are in those days characterized by Scripture as ones in which the church “will not endure sound doctrine” (2 Tm 4:3). Discernment has all but disappeared. The only antidote lies in the Word—diligence in studying it, reading it, and obeying it by the Spirit.

Christ Becoming A Stranger Among Us? David Wilkerson The following is a prophetic warning from Azusa Street 75 years ago, concerning the dangers of a Christless Pentecost! Frank Bartleman was an eyewitness to the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit in 1907 at Azusa Street, Los Angeles. He has been characterized as the Reporter of the Azusa Street Revival. Nearly 75 years ago, during the outpouring, he wrote a tract warning of a Christless Pentecost He warned: “We may not hold a doctrine, or seek an experience, except in Christ. Many are willing to seek power in order to perform miracles, draw attention and adoration of the people to themselves, thus robbing Christ of His glory, and making a fair showing in the flesh. The greatest need would seem to be for true followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. Religious enthusiasm easily goes to seed. The human spirit so predominates the show-off, religious spirit. But we must stick to our text-Christ. “Any work that exalts the Holy Ghost or ‘gifts’ above Jesus will finally end up in fanaticism. Whatever causes us to exalt and love Jesus is well and safe. The reverse will ruin all. The Holy Ghost is a great light, but focused on Jesus always for His revealing. “Where the Holy Ghost is actually in control, Jesus is proclaimed the Head-the Holy Ghost, His executive.” In another place, Brother Bartleman warned: “The temptation seems to be toward empty manifestations. This does not require any particular cross, or death to the self-life. Hence it is always popular. “We may not put power, gifts, the Holy Ghost, or in fact anything ahead of Jesus. Any mission that exalts even the Holy Ghost above the Lord Jesus Christ is bound for the rocks of error and fanaticism. “There seems to be a great danger of losing sight of the fact that Jesus was ‘all in all’ The work of Calvary, the atonement, must be the center for our consideration. The Holy Ghost will never draw our attention from Christ to Himself, but rather reveal Christ in a fuller way. We are in danger of slighting Jesus – getting Him ‘lost in the temple,’ by the exaltation of the Holy Ghost and of the gifts of the Spirit. Jesus must be the center of everything.” I do not take Brother Bartleman’s warning lightly. The danger of a Christless Pentecost is very real today. I say to you it is possible to gather Spirit-filled people in one place, praising and lifting up their hands – and still have Christ walking among them as a stranger! It’s true He said, “Where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” (Matt. 18:20 NASB) But He can be in our midst as a stranger! Ignored, unrecognized – even by those who meet in His name! The Jews gathered every Sabbath in the synagogue to speak of His name, and to prophesy of His coming. They praised the name of the Father who promised to send Him. They spoke the Messiah’s name with awe and reverence. Then, when He came and walked among them – He was not recognized! He was a stranger to them! Christ, a stranger in the midst of a Spirit-filled congregation? A stranger in the midst of those who speak His name – who worship the Father who sent Him? A stranger to those who sing His hosannas, who call Him “Lord, Lord”? Yes! Absolutely yes! It is not only possible – it is happening among God’s chosen people today! Let me show you three ways in which we are making Christ a stranger In our midst! May the Holy Spirit take away our spiritual blindness so we can once again see Him as He really is – LORD OF ALL! I. We Make Christ A Stranger – By Giving The Holy Spirit Pre-Eminence Over Him!Christ, and Christ alone, must be the center of life and worship! “And He is the head of the body, the Church: who Is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell…” (Col. 1:18-19 KJV) “That in all things He might have the pre-eminence…” That is – distinguished and spoken of above all others. Having first place in all things. Not even the Holy Spirit is to be exalted above that name! The upper room must never overshadow the Cross! We dare not think of Christ as simply the one who sent the Holy Spirit. In other words, “Thank You, Jesus, for sending someone better.” Christ sent the Holy Spirit to reveal His own fullness within us. When the Holy Spirit becomes the center of our attention, the church gets out of focus! The Holy Spirit descended upon Christ as He came out of baptismal waters, and the Father said of Him: “This is My beloved Son – In whom I am well pleased…” The Spirit descended bodily like a dove, but the focus was on the Lamb of God – who taketh away the sins of the world. Not the dove, but the Lamb! Christ told His disciples of a coming Pentecost, when the Spirit would be outpoured for a single purpose: It was to be a power given to lift up the name of Christ! “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost Is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me… unto the uttermost part of the earth…” (Acts 1:8 KJV) Jesus made it clear that when the Spirit comes He will not draw attention to Himself, but will focus on Christ’s words. He will exalt Christ. “…when He, the Spirit of truth, is come… He shall not speak of Himself… He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show It unto you.” (John 16:13-15 KJV) Jesus said, “He will show you My glory, My power, My Kingdom. He will remind you of all My words.” The primary work of the Holy Spirit is not fellowship, although He does bring believers together as one in Christ. It is not ecstasy. It is not simply to teach us an unlearned tongue. The Spirit has come to exalt Christ! To guide all mankind to the truth that Christ is Lord! It is not enough to say the Spirit has brought us close to each other – He must bring us closer to Christ! The fullness of the Spirit is the fullness of Christ If you do not have a consuming love for Christ, you do not have a Holy Ghost baptism! Christ, the baptizer, sent the Holy Spirit to fire our souls over lost humanity, to get us out into the highways and hedges to reach the unsaved. To shake up our lazy lifestyles and get us to doing His work. The blessed Holy Spirit will be grieved, and finally withdraw, the moment men try to exalt Him above the Son of God! He will not permit His power to be abused by those who want only the gift and not Christ, the Giver! What is a true Holy Ghost meeting? Is it where people all speak with tongues? Or where people are healed? Where saints jump for joy? Where saints are prophesying? More – much more than that! It is where Christ is being exalted, where His holiness pierces the soul, where men and women fall before His holy throne, broken, humbled – crying, “Holy, Holy.” The moving of the Holy Spirit is a moving closer to Christ, deeper in Christ, with a greater submission to His Lordship! II. Christ Is Made A Stranger When People Praise Him, But Will Not Pray To Him!We praise a Christ to whom we will not pray! We have become a praising people, but not a praying people. For many of God’s people the prayer closet is a relic of the past. “Why ask God for what He has already promised? Just get hold of the promises and simply command deliverances!“We no longer want Christ as much as we want what He can do for us. We want an escape from pain and suffering. We want our troubles to vanish. And we are so caught up in our escape from pain, we lose the true meaning of the Cross. We refuse crosses and losses – no Gethsemane for us! No nights of agony! We don’t even know this suffering, bleeding, resurrected Christ! We want His healing power. We want His promises of prosperity. We want His protection. We want more of this earth’s goods. We want His happiness. But we really don’t want Him alone! The Church once confessed its sins – now it confesses its rights How many of us would serve Him if He offered nothing but Himself? No healing. No success. No prosperity. No worldly blessings. No miracles, signs, or wonders. What if – onceagain we had to take joyfully the spoiling of our goods? What if – instead of clear sailing and problem-free living, we faced shipwreck, fears within and fightings without? What if -instead of painless living, we suffered cruel mockings, stoning, bloodshed – being sawn asunder? What if – instead of our beautiful homes and cars, we had to wander about in deserts in sheepskins, hiding in dens and caves? What if – instead of prosperity, we were destitute, afflicted, and tormented? And the only better thing provided for us was Christ? Very few of God’s people pray anymore! They are too busy working for Jesus to talk to Him! Ministers especially have become so busy doing kingdom work, they have little or no time left to pray. There is time to visit, to build, to travel, time to vacation, to attend meetings, time for recreation, reading, counseling – but no time to pray! Preachers who do not pray become promoters. They become frustrated building contractors. When they lose touch with God, they lose touch with their people and their needs. Preachers who don’t pray have egos that spin out of control. They want their own way. They substitute sweat for unction (anointing). Evangelists who do not pray become stars, storytellers. They lack humility, so they manipulate crowds through emotional gimmicks. The cry of many pastors is, “Oh, God, where can I find an evangelist who doesn’t care about money, or who is not promoting something? One who can bring heaven down and make Christ real! Oh, God – give me a praying man to bring my congregation to its knees!” The shame of this generation is that we have too many talented men of God and only a few who have touched God in prayer. There is even less praying in the congregation! I’m 100% for getting prayer back in our public schools! But that’s not God’s real problem! His problem is getting prayer back in our homes! His problem is to get His own chosen people to pray! And you are a phony if you fight for school prayer and neglect secret-closet praying yourself! Do we pray? Oh, yes! When we need something. We have the formula down pat – “in the name of Jesus.” All we need Him for is to counter sign our petition checks before the Father. I am weary of hearing people say, “This is such a busy age – I have no time to pray. I’d like to, but I don’t have time.” No! It’s not lack of time; it is a lack of desire. We make time for what we really want to do. Look at our Christian young people! Wasting hours of time playing Pac-Man, Galaxy War, goofing off, bored, restless, looking for some action! But no time to pray! No time for Jesus! Oh, God! Somehow! Some way! Get this generation on its knees. Not just the Lord’s Prayer, but a daily communion with Christ . Our Savior, who has the care and concern for multiplied universes, has the time to pray just for you! He takes the time to intercede for you before the throne of God (Heb. 7:25), and you say you do not have time to pray to Him! We work feverishly for a Christ we ignore. We will go anywhere, do anything, in His name. But we will not pray. We will sing in a choir. We will visit the sick and the prisoners. But we will not pray. We will counsel the hurt and needy; we will stay up all night to comfort a friend, but we will not pray. We will fight corruption! We will crusade for morality! We will stand up against nuclear weapons! But we will not pray! Most of all, we don’t pray because we really don’t believe it works. Prayer is a bloody battleground! It is where victories are won! A place to die to self! A place where a holy God exposes secret sin! No wonder Satan tries to hinder prayer! A praying man sends a shudder through hell. That man or woman is marked because Satan knows prayer is the power that crushes his kingdom. Satan is not afraid of power-hungry saints, but he trembles at the sound of a praying saint! III. Christ Is Made a Stranger In Our Midst – When We Want His Power More Than His Purity!Reader Harris, an Englishman and director of The Pentecostal League of Prayer, once challenged a congregation on this matter of power and purity. He said, “Those who want power, line up to my right. Those who want purity, line up to my left.” The congregation lined up 10 to 1 – for POWER! In the book of Acts, Pentecost was synonymous with purity more than power. Peter told the council at Jerusalem what God did at the house of Cornelius, “God…giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us…purifying their hearts by faith…” (Acts 15:8-9 KJV) Who is the man or woman of God who has power? Is it the one who can heal the sick and raise the dead? Is it the one who can best talk in tongues and prophesy? Is it the one who draws the most people and builds the greatest church? No! The one with the power – is the one with the purity! “…the righteous are bold as a lion… (Proverbs 28:1 KJV) The prophet Malachi prophesied of a supernatural purge coming to God’s house. “… the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple… but who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” (Malachi 3:1-3 KJV) This is a dual prophecy. He speaks of Christ’s first coming, and also of His second! He will come again suddenly, as a thief in the night. But first, He will purify His Church. We are not ready for the coming of Christ! Is this the Church triumphant? Covetous, divorcing, depressed, worldly-minded, grasping for materialism and success, competitive, lukewarm, adulterous, rich and increased with goods, unaware of spiritual blindness and poverty, pleasure-loving, recreation-minded, consumed with sports, politics, and power – is this the Church Jesus is coming for?Simply coping, filled with fear and anxiety, satisfied only to have good health and happiness? My Bible says He is coming back for an overcoming Church! A Church without spot or wrinkle! A people whose affections are on things above! A people with clean hands and pure hearts. A people who are looking for His coming! A people with a “new Jerusalem state of mind.” The question is no longer, “What can my faith get me? What miracle will He perform for me?” The question now is -“How shall I stand before Him? How shall I make it at the judgment?” “… who shall stand when He appeareth?” (Malachi 3:2 KJV) The question is no longer, “How do! feel – how do! get happiness? How do I get the desire of my heart?” The question Is-“Can I withstand that moment when I stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ? How can I withstand when I’ve lived so carelessly, so selfishly, so neglectful of His great salvation?” The central issue now has nothing to do with this world at all. At issue is-“HAVE I NEGLECTED CHRIST IN THIS MIDNIGHT HOUR?” The purge is going to begin in the pulpit! “…He shall purify the sons of Levi…” (Malachi 3:3 KJV) God is going to accomplish that by “turning up the heat ” God isgoing to make things so hot, so fiery, so intense, God’s men will be driven to their knees! This isthe fire of the Holy Ghost! It isthe fire of persecution. It is the fire of tribulation. The fire of unbelievable hardships, ridicule, gossip, financial problems. He is going to shake everything that can be shaken! He is going to shake, and scrub, and burn, and purge – and purify! No man or woman of God will escape the purging! God is determined to get all the dross and filth out of us. The purge will spread from the pulpit to the pew! Get ready, saints! God is getting ready to expose all sin, all adultery, all foolishness! The Holy Ghost is going to reprove us of sin. How can you play games when God puts you in His crucible and turns up the fire? Your Holy Ghost baptism is going to have some fire put to it now! Malachi said-“…the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven: and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up…” (Malachi 4:1 KJV) God also promises to bring down the strongholds of the enemy! He is going to once and for all let the devil and the world know who has the power! If God is about to do all that the prophets predicted He would – WHAT A GLORIOUS FUTURE JUST AHEAD! A purged, purified ministry! A Church that God is calling back to repentance and holiness. A people washed, cleansed – offering praises in true righteousness. A revival among our young people! Drug strongholds coming down! Alchohol and divorce no longer prevalent among God’s people. The sound of prayer-intercession! A people of God who will discern between the holy and the unholy! Everywhere, God’s people turning again to the Word. A tested, tried people, once again devoted to the Person of Jesus Christ! His Person being lifted up to draw all men to Him! Christ no longer the stranger in our midst, but CROWNED – PRE-EMINENT! A Pentecost that truly exalts the name and power of Jesus Christ, the Lord of all. Scripture quotation(s) marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, ©The Lockman Foundation 1977. Scripture quotation(s) marked KJV are from the King James Version.

This video really tells us the “Good News” regarding this virus.  This doctor works directly with Covid patients and knows he will not get ill and has not become ill.   
As this front line doctor from NY says they know more now than ever before.   
It is long but well worth watching
https://vimeo.com/399733860
I see after watching this video that we CAN meet.  We just need to follow the stated criteria of washing hands, using Purell, and wearing a mask as an additional option.   

So we will meet next Wednessay the 8th of April and then the following Sunday, Good Friday, at 2 separate locations as we did last week.   There will however be no Sunday School Service for the kids.   If any suspect that they have the virus of course you need to stay home.   If anyone has a temp over 99.5 stay home.  
It is very important that we meet.  Especially in light of battles currently going on in our midst.  We need to be united in the Spirit.  We need each other.  
If you are still concerned even after watching this video and feel to stay home I completely understand.  Just know that I too have a family to protect and am convinced that they will be safe following the recommendations given in this video.  
If anything changes between now and the next service I will send an update.  

Hebrews 3:12-14 Living Bible (TLB)

12 Beware then of your own hearts, dear brothers, lest you find that they, too, are evil and unbelieving and are leading you away from the living God. 13 Speak to each other about these things every day while there is still time so that none of you will become hardened against God, being blinded by the glamor[a] of sin. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as we did when we first became Christians, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

1 TH 5

12But we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who work diligently among you, who preside over you in the Lord and give you instruction. 13In love, hold them in highest regard because of their work. Live in peace with one another.

14And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.

15Make sure that no one repays evil for evil. Always pursue what is good for one another and for all people.

16Rejoice at all times. 17Pray without ceasing. 18Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

19Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20Do not treat prophecies with contempt, 21but test all things. Hold fast to what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.

23Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blamelessa at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.

25Brothers, pray for us as well.

26Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. (well not yet!)

27I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

28May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.b

You see how they loved and shared with one another?  

I send these scriptures to show how much we need the Spirit in each other.  Each one having a place in the body for the body of which Christ is the head.  So when we come it is to serve one another is it not?   To have a heart to minister to one another.  

This is the love of Jesus…

Acts 2:46-47

46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

I see this in so many homes of those here and praise the Lord for it.  We need more of this and surely not less!  

http://ia600303.us.archive.org/6/items/SERMONINDEX_SID3690/SID3690.mp3