Church Deception
So what are the signs of Jesus second coming? Jesus pretty much laid it out for us.
Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
The signs indicating His second coming is near are deception, a falling away, and then the man of sin, the antichrist, is revealed or comes into power.
Although I always believed hopefully that the falling away would be the rapture because the Greek translation of this part doesn’t necessarily exclude it from being so, now, with the decimation of the church so apparent, I wonder.
Every mainline denomination is under pressure to accept homosexuals as ministers, and several have caved and now celebrate this new diversity:
- Oregon’s same-sex marriage battle divides people of faith
- Church offers prayers after same-sex weddings – but bans gay priests from marrying
- Gay Baptist minister sues for right to wed
- More Methodists Pushing Rebellious Gay and Lesbian Envelope
- Presbyterian church in Philadelphia to welcome openly gay pastor
- First Openly Gay Pastor Approved by Mennonite Conference
This list goes on. For more check out our page called A Form of Godliness.
The church is under extreme pressure to accept homosexuality all the way.
This falling away includes other deceptions. The hyper-grace movement is gaining acceptance. It’s also called greasy-grace, or sloppy-grace. Good, solid Christians and even pastors who are well-equipped with strong doctrinal and seminary experience are falling for this one. There’s just enough truth to make it palatable.
Hyper-grace teaches that Jesus paid the full price through His substitutionary work on the cross. But that’s where the truth stops. They go on to say:
- You don’t have to ask for forgiveness when you sin
- The Old Testament is irrelevant to Christians and doesn’t apply
- Even Christ’s teachings were under the old covenant, so they don’t apply
Some extreme hyper-grace teachers go as far to say there is no hell, everyone is going to be save, no matter what, and God’s going to restore Satan. Yep, seriously.
For more on this deceptive and destructive teaching, I recommend Dr. Michael Brown’s Hyper-Grace.
When Jesus listed deception as a sign, He wasn’t describing the world being deceived. The spirit of deception is a designed weapon against the church. Those caught in it are taken by Satan’s will. Those who manage to break free are often deeply ashamed and bewildered at how easily and deeply they were deceived.
As much as peace is the breath of heaven, deception is a cloak for spiritual blindness. Deception is invited and it finds that invitation wrapped in partial truth.
Deception is progressive and begins with opening what initially appears to be a harmless door, or so the deceived justifies their action. Deception is an arrow that pierces a weakness, no matter how small that weakness is.
I’m absolutely convinced the weakness arrowed by hyper-grace is pride. Those who wallow in hyper-grace are arrogant and absent of humility. The irony is that hyper-grace is more legalistic than those with whom the hyper-grace followers separate themselves.
Deception draws one from community to seclusion where Bible interpretation is private and secretive. The end results in cultic characteristics.
What other deceptions are brewing?
- More Evangelicals Believe Suicide Is a Moral Right
- When Your Worship Leader Can Drink You Under the Table
- Secularism Sucking the Pneuma Out of Spirit-Filled Christianity
- 1 in 3 Christians believe Jesus Lied About Being the Only Way To Heaven
- How the Seeker-Sensitive, Consumer Church Is Failing a Generation
- NM Presbyterian church to lead classes on Islam
- Zombies, Vampires: Dark Themes Invade Christian Homes
- Protestant Denomination Embraces Gnosticism, Sexual Liberalism, Transgenderism
And this one gets the prize. It’s the peak of deception to rewrite the Bible:
This is humanity fashioning God into an image they control. They remove the demands and expectations to appease their consciousness as they seek to live more comfortably in their sin. They disguise it as anti-religion, but it's antichrist. It’s deception.
Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Romans 1:23-24
Oh, this seems so negative! But facing the decline with a response to return to the foundational roots will save a remnant from despair. Pushing to seek God and what He has hidden for us to find will place us into a position to be the church of the last days. Maybe a remnant, but a faithful, loyal, empowered with supernatural giftings body of Christ revealing the true grace of God to a very lost and very dying generation.
Rise up, Church!
Related:
How much longer can this go on?
Foolishness!
The Two Churches of the End Times
Move Over Doomsday Preachers; Something Good is on its Way!
Five Signs the Church May Now Be Falling Away
The Sign of Deception
PD
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