The Things to Come

As the truth war heats up and the desire for discernment grows cold (I think when you mix the two you get something called, “lukewarm”) I am having some clarity of thought.

There seems to be 2 distinct camps within Christendom right now that will draw some serious lines in the sand, I predict. It already has. Rick Warren, who has influenced the church today more than any of us really realize, said back in 2007 that the greatest threat to the church is DISUNITY and this is Satan’s greatest tool. That really accounts for a lot of what he does, chit-chatting with Muslims on our common faith, for instance, and telling pastors that some folks (those old stubborn bible thumpin’ ones) would rather die than change, so your congregation won’t shift as quickly to his mode of ministry as quickly as you might like. Anyway, so we have a camp that has been influenced more by purpose and feelings than by Scripture.

The other camp is thinking that there might be a danger of lukewarmness and such in that approach, and believes that the Satan’s greatest tool is DECEPTION. Like deception in the areas of ecumenism, social justice, and that why-can’t-we-all-just-get-along attitude that surely God will have to bless regardless of sound doctrine on the “majors”.  Now, some folks in the first camp think that there may even be some wiggle room as to what the majors actually are. But, you know, God is love, and as long as it makes me feel good I know it’s from God because it’s all about how I feel. So I can just play fast and loose with things that make me feel good.

Here’s what I see happening all over this land, which will continue to crank up: These 2 camps will never come together. I know what I believe about the “worldview revolution” that is flooding the church and the secular world right now, and I condemn it wholeheartedly because it involves a whole lot of compromise and people pleasing – walking before men.  I want nothing to do with it, because it is sly and cunning and what breaks my heart is that so many Christians refuse to see it and come against it or even listen to those sounding the two-minute warning.  And these two concepts are very polarizing.  That’s why the church growth movement, The Shack, Purpose-Driven, and even what is going on regarding a local festival and their controversial speaker(s) are polarizing too. People feel very strongly one way or another on all the above: unity for the sake of it,  or deception at the heart of it – talk about your “polar opposites”.

As Joseph Farah wrote way back in 2007 in a column entitled, “Rick Warren’s Inquisition” – “Satan loves unity – as long as those unified are knowingly or unknowingly serving him. He’d love for all of us to “go to hell in a handbasket.”

Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?

I have asked this question more than once in my editorials and on my old radio program. Today, on the heels of a very crazy week concerning the controversial Jim Wallis, I have this to say: yes, some folks apparently DO know what time it is. And they DO care.  They have told me in spades.  Bless you. But more and more people don’t (know) and don’t (care) thanks to blogs, books, summits, emergent mystical heresy, and a multitude of opinions that have nothing to do with the revealed nature and Word of God.  And because there are so many voices out there, people are getting confused, particularly the young believer who has not enough meat on their bones to figure it all out or even know where to begin. So they look to leaders, trusting they will feed them unadulterated and sincere milk, and what do they get? Spiritual JUNK food with nothing to sustain them or give them hope but in this life only. The bible tells us if that is our perspective we are men most miserable! This misery is not optional, it is promised, if we live for this life only.

I could do a prophecy update each Sunday for the rest of the summer and barely touch all the apostasy going on out there. Yes, it is a strong word. Yes, it is in the Bible, so you post-tribbers can forget about that rant. But that is a different post. Coming soon! And I mean that literally about our blessed hope. It is coming soon, and I am going to revisit this subject on a future post because I think it needs to be expounded often and with deep feeling.

For those who might think that the church needs to be exposed to all the different views out there in order to be a more balanced “organization”, I say baloney.  The Body is Christ’s, He is the head -  so let’s pour poison in it, expose it to disease and decay and see what happens? What do you think will happen? And the body has no immunity toward this last days lukewarm junk thanks to all those churches who no longer preach the bible. The church’s job is to proclaim the gospel, forget “fair and balanced”. Leave that to FOX News.  And we are all up to our eyeballs in opinions and noise and spin.  But whose opinion really matters? God’s. And we had better be doing all we do in the fear of the Lord, not man. We will all give an account one day.

The separation of church and state, which the Left bellered about to the heavens when the Right was given a pulpit in the 90s, only applies to true Christians who want to call sin, sin.  Now the political arm of the Emergent church, the Left as led by Wallis and others, wants to marry this world and the next, and this has nothing to do with the true gospel. The Left is all about seeking to bring some sort of humanistic kingdom to earth instead of occupying with the whole counsel till He returns, and to bring the dead decaying liberal denominations new life.

Someone show me in the Scriptures where we are to give such carnal and mixed messages in the name of Jesus Christ, who gave His life to redeem us from -out of – this dying world?

It’s “festival” and conference season in the body.  There are myriad conferences and music fests that have proliferated on the Christian scene and everyone is getting into the act. Yeah, kinda like a circus circuit. When we’re done with one town, we move on to the next one and on and on it goes. We get more flyers at our church for summits and other venues than I can ever remember getting or even caring about. But I just cannot read them mindlessly – I take them seriously because someone took the time to organize, compose, publish and send, and so I will have a complete thought on them. Isn’t that what they are expecting of the receiver? But I admit that in reality, these flyers are a great thermometer – I get to take the temperature of the church and measure the depth of the apostasy. It’s not good. It’s getting, well, “deep” out there, if you get my drift.

First, a disclaimer: these events that proliferate like rabbits are not to be confused with genuine, godly, bible-based conferences that bring in solid teachers and exhort and refresh those who are on the front lines in bringing the gospel to those who need it, to minister to those God has put into our sphere of influence. No, not the excellent leadership and prophecy conferences put on by legitimate ministries, such as the Calvary Chapels and other light-bearers. What I am addressing is the “relevant” change agents that want you to believe that the body of Christ is just some random club that is entitled to do it’s own thing with no regard whatsoever for sound doctrine, contending for the faith, or having a right fear of God. And never the tween shall meet if I read my prophecy passages correctly.

Just today, I received yet another obnoxious invitation to some “relevant” conference. I was completely offended by this one, as opposed to simply mildly annoyed. This Minnesota area event says in its flyer, “Let’s face it: there’s an elephant in the church. Actually, the elephant IS the church, and you need it to move. Working together, you can harness the energy of your church to accomplish big things. Relevance is not a leadership conference; it’s a practical, how-do-you-do-it conference.” And just how do-you-do-what? Lead reverent worship, teach verse by verse through the bible,  hold the hand of someone who is dying, answer a mulititude of questions on dating, cohabitating, marriage, child-rearing, tongues, warfare, emergent garbage…what’s the question? How to get saved? Live the spirit filled life?  I have no doubt that most churches today can’t answer even those questions, let alone make sure things are done decently and in order by actually letting the Holy Spirit add, purify, direct, exhort, reprove, etc.   As bad as this is, the real offense to me hidden in this marketing ploy is this part:

“Let’s face it: there’s an elephant in the church. Actually, the elephant IS the church, and you need it to move.”

Let me say this just once: the church is not an elephant. It is the precious body of Christ, His bride, for whom He shed His blood and gave His life. Jesus is the head of the Church. If the body is not functioning as it should, perhaps it has ceased to allow Him to be the head, ceased to obey His word, and instead is looking to be its own entity with its own will, winking at carnality and flaunting baseness.  And no amount of relevance or emergent foolishness will right it. Only by knowing Him, being led by Him, and being daily filled with His Spirit can the church EVER expect to function as it should. In these last days, instead of warning of His soon coming, the church is one big sideshow. And don’t even think about telling me I am too old to understand the new stuff. I understand plenty, and all too well.

The other flyer I received is for a music fest. We have one of those in our backyard, in Oshkosh, each year. This one is in Minnesota. In marketing this shindig, the first selling point/promise to the attendee is: “Experience Deeper Worship”. Well, what soul who loves God wouldn’t want that? But let’s deconstruct this in context: first of all, they make it a selling point. If you pay the admission and attend, we will give you this in return. I didn’t know they could offer that unconditionally! If I don’t experience this, do I get my money back, like at JC Penney? Secondly, they are taking responsibility for me having that experience, as if it were all up to them and their manipulations to make sure I have that experience. I did not know that “deeper worship” could be sold at a festival.  I thought it was interaction between the believer and the Spirit of God. Now that I know where to find it, how could I not seek it out at this event? But once the event is over, where o where will I find it then? Hint: your local body of believers, your prayer closet, or maybe in the middle of an open field. And it’s free.

The church needs desperately to stop running to and fro looking for the latest and greatest speaker they can elevate to prophet; the biggest best-seller they can elevate to inerrancy; and stop whining about what the church is not doing for the most narcissistic generation that ever lived.

If you want to seek out solid biblical events, we have 3 coming up this year, and there are other good ones around the nation as well:  our 22nd annual Great Lakes Pastors and Leadership Conference (April 23-25), our 1st annual Great Lakes Worship Conference (June 18, 19) and our 11th Annual Great Lakes Prophecy Conference (Sept 10-12). All are welcome to come for edifying, Scripturally sound teaching and exhortation. Watch our website! www.ccappleton.org.

The longer I go between posts the longer I go between posts.

I admit I am conflicted. I am frustrated with myself. I could use this site to simply re-post others’ articles that are of significance to prophecy students. That would of itself be edifying and fruitful and this site would be updated more regularly.  But I have never been into that, it makes me feel like I have not accomplished anything, and I like to contribute to the base of biblical understanding of those who read this.  From time to time I just might repost good stuff.  But  I feel God has asked me to speak from my own perspective, even though I read lots of good stuff by others with similar perspective. There are some very articulate and discerning believers out there, and for this I am thankful and I learn a lot.

But one of the real reasons I get a mental block regarding this site is because I always feel as though no matter what I post it will understate the obvious: meaning, there are so many signs of His soon coming that I won’t  even make a dent in your knowledge base and I can hardly keep up myself. I know, boo hoo. I just returned from a great prophecy conference in Lafayette, Indiana. There was a superb mix of speakers including some Sr. Pastors, and some watchmen. I like that because the Pastors keep the main thing the main thing (watching, witnessing, loving the brethren) by expositing the Scriptures. The “watchmen” among us keep one eye on the headlines and one eye and the skies.  Pastor Jack Hibbs exposed the amazing encroachment of Islam in America. Some of it was quite shocking actually.  Pastor Lloyd Pulley and Pastor Bill Gallatin gave great exhortative teachings;  Bill Koenig (www.watch.org) gave an Israel update, always necessary at these events. Tommy Ice was positively ablaze with zeal about the imminency of the rapture, and his sense of humor drove it all home in spades.

Why do these men take their time to travel and prepare and labor in the Word for the listener? Why did 6 of us take the time – 6 hours of road time each way -  to take in what they have to say? Because the hour is really really late. If those who know little or nothing about prophecy would stop listening to the prophecy scoffers who want them to invest in this temporal age, and pay more heed to those who have been studying this and shouting out the time for decades, the church would be in a different mood and her effectiveness in this world would actually skyrocket. Today’s postmoderns think the church would be more effective if it attempted to do God’s will at the polls, or ran a soup kitchen in lieu of warning about the hour. Sorry, that is plain wrong. So we give a politician a paycheck, or pass more laws to take money out of my pocket and put it into someone else’s for a few months. Then the money runs out, the jobs are gone, the politician is in jail, and those we “helped” are still eternally lost. Come on, church, let’s get back to our true calling.  Preach the Word, be in season and out, exhort, reprove, rebuke, correct with longsuffering and patience. Nothing else matters. I don’t care what the latest bestseller says to the contrary. They are wrong.

What do we have for proof of the hour? RFID  tracking chips that can be implanted into humans and RFID ink tattoo capabilities. A European powerhouse flexing it’s muscle in the world. Talk of the third temple. Global socialism pointing to a global leader. Apostate churches breeding like rabbits via New Age practices; the death of discernment.  The decline of the US. A global economy just around the corner. Middle East peace talks and our president bowing to a Saudi Prince but blowing off Israel. A generation of global citizens being prepped for delusion. These are just the highlights, and I have been warning about all this since 1988.

Who are we to be allowed to be alive during the time that Jesus Christ Himself will likely return to earth and exact judgment? Do we live like we believe this?  If we allow ourselves to do so, what will we do with it? Just a few questions I ask myself following a great conference. The more we know, the more we are accountable for it, and I wrestle with such things every day.

The Shack has as it’s main theme, something the author calls, “The Great Sadness”, describing a season in a person’s life that pertains to a time of great loss and the subsequent stages of emotion and grief that naturally follow. We all go through those, and I don’t recommend taking one’s theology on what it all means to experience such a season from this book. Of course I recommend the Bible only for all matters of life and faith. While everyone’s tragedy is, well, tragic, it is nevertheless experienced on a subjective and personal level and therefore takes place within the confines of one particular human at a time. Let me suggest some far greater sadnesses with far-reaching and eternal ramifications:

Here are my “Great Sadness”es:

The Shack: What Peter calls a “cleverly devised fable” that will turn hearts away from pure doctrine. Additionally it presents an altogether different gospel and Jesus that is leading many astray. It is not fiction. Repeat after me, it is not fiction. Repeat after me, it’s not fiction. I don’t care who claims it is, I do not buy it. Period. If it were, why do so many care about it’s contents and analyze it ad nauseum?

The Emergent Church: this mess of apostasy is leading biblically illiterate youth head-long into the Laodicean New Age last days church; a liberal social gospel that denies absolute truth and last days prophecy. It is still emerging, so stay tuned.

Seeker-sensitive body counts: Another lame and shallow attempt to tell unbelievers what they want to hear, instead of godly pastors telling unbelievers what they need to have to obtain eternal life. Shameful man-pleasing.

And there are more. I will continue this as needed.

As a result of all these grievous movements, we have a generation of people who do not fear God nor live as though they could die tomorrow. We have the blind leading the blind, not knowing they will be accountable to God for not giving the true gospel and presenting the multiple facets of a God who both loves and requires justice and a penalty for sin.

Concerning the times we live in, I see the Great Sadness morphing into the Great Tribulation and not until that is all over will there be a reality in which righteousness dwells.

I am not big on politics. I love not this world, I am a sojourner and pilgrim. I have to be because I know too much about what is on the horizon for every human from a prophetic perspective, and to take any other stance is to deny what the Bible clearly teaches.

When it comes to politics, I tend to listen with one ear, out of curiosity, mostly, to see just how far our government will go to become further estranged from their constituency, and ultimately pound another nail into America’s coffin. I expect such, considering my first and primary objective is to view my world through the prophetic lens, not the political, and I know what time it is, believe me. But regardless of how extreme the ideology of our leaders, I don’t get whipped up about it, nor do I plan any recourse despite my frustration, because ultimately, I would give my life for the Lord, but never for a nation, one that is passing into history no less and on the fast track. The final world kingdom, the Bible says, will dissolve into the kingdom of our Lord, one not made with human hands. Hallelujah!

So, it is with constant fascination, kind of like watching a train wreck of unimaginable proportions, that I see what the current admin is up to. This health care thing, well, it’s huge. We have been asked to give all we have for the sake of “change” so far. But with national healthcare, you will be giving your own flesh and that of your kids. Have you ever thought of it that way? To be told what you can have treated, when, and how. Whether you will get treated at all on a timely basis is up for question. Now, what more can they take? Our flesh and it’s condition is really the most personal of all things to give to the government to rule over. And if the hate crimes legislation goes through, they will try and take our very soul, our convictions about God’s Word. What will our sleeping and deceived churches do in light of this?

Does anyone else find this disturbing? Come Lord Jesus.

Thanks to Erik for that great play on words.

I read this week that the author of The Shack was pushed into writing his book by his mate who thought we all might benefit from his way of ‘thinking outside the box’. Sweet. But I would have to strenuously disagree with that sentiment, and say “thanks but no thanks”, as this heretical work really only thinks ‘outside The Book’, something the church can ill afford in this day of rampant apostasy.

And PLEASE don’t tell me it’s fiction. This is smoke and mirrors, intended to lull a biblically illiterate generation into an ever deeper sleep to the point where they will not hear the last trump, no matter how loud it might be. The truth is, if anyone is willing to admit it, is that the content in this book is intended to change your mind about the nature of the Godhead, plain and simple. Skip the genres, please –what does it actually do for people, regardless of what the authors and hoards of fans claim in great cop-out fashion? People say they like this god better, that they can relate to Him and prefer the no-strings-attached relationship they can have with Him, which requires nothing more of them than their relationship with the baristia down the road, who at least can remember their AM favorites.

Gives me the warm, caffeinated fuzzies, it does.

Thinking outside the book….gee, can I think outside The Shack and not be branded a kill joy? No matter, I think I must. So sorry to those who think that the phrase, “The Book” actually refers to The Shack. Nope, The Book will always be the Bible, revisionists need to get that straight or things will go from bad to worse in Christendom.

Hey everyone!

I hope you are enjoying your summer. I have a thought: as tough as these times are, and as much change as we are experiencing, the Bible says we are about to enter a time like no other. I welcome it, in spite of the potential for unbridled fear in my flesh, because it MUST take place and gee, I wanna go home really badly. So as things get tougher, realize that some day these will seem like “the good old days”.

Anyway, I have posted some new articles that relate to these phenomenal times, see below. More to come this week! If you take all the signs collectively, you have some pretty major birth pangs: Israel in the land for 60 years plus, a global money system, big brother taking over our lives, global spirituality on the rise…and it just goes forever. Stand up and cheer, and while you are doing that, share the good news of Jesus with someone you care about.

Comments welcome! We gotta stick together in this old world, those who love His appearing.

mare

I have not been asleep at the wheel, in the light, or even on my bed of prayer and petition.

I am constantly looking into the events of the day, monitoring, processing, analyzing. Yes, it is still the end times!

I have placed other posts here, but had to pull them for one reason or another.

But I am working on a prophecy update. I wanted to do one much sooner, but there is so much going on behind the scenes that it takes quite a bit of digging to uncover the real story. Deception abounds, secrecy and covert activities with a healthy side dose of spin is the order of the day. Since our administration changed hands, I have taken a watch and see attitude thus far because it is so difficult to keep up with the mind-boggling changes, and determining how it all fits into prophecy.

But that is about to change! On June 21 I will go after some timely topics. If you can’t be here to find out more about the portion of the iceberg that lurks below the surface, tune in on live stream.

Jesus is coming! Baby, it’s close. Stay focused and in prayer, you will need it.

mary

PS – check out our Conference tab and plan to come for our Prophecy Conference in September.

Riddle: What is it that everyone wants more of, yet more and forgets where it comes from and what it is meant to accomplish? What is it that we want plenty of for ourselves and yet often neglect to pass on to others just as liberally?

Answer: one of the sweetest ’sounds’ in life: GRACE. It can be a girl’s name, it can describe how we walk or move, and it can even be used as a excuse to avoid holiness by living however we want and then presuming on God to look the other way to our fleshly agendas. I have often heard it defined with an acronym: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. And this is accurate. Grace and mercy are two different things. “Grace” is getting what we don’t deserve, “Mercy” is NOT getting what we DO deserve. Grace inspite of who we are, Mercy because of who HE is. This is part of our great gospel. And yet I think there are multiple ways grace works in us, we just don’t really understand them all at this point in our lives. I know I don’t.

I just want to examine briefly one small way I think it does work. While it is not Scripture, I believe that the song “Amazing Grace” was written through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now, many claim that “God gave me this song” for much lesser types of musical compositions, and I’m not going to go there, it’s not my table – but I think given the durability and sweetness of that old hymn we can likely find common ground on that one. So let me point out the part that really speaks to me in light of the times:

“Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.” This hymnwriter understood something perhaps we don’t: that the manifold grace of God accomplishes something other than making us feel good and in right standing with God when in fact we may not be. Let me explain: at some point in our lives, if we are believers, the grace of God set to working in our hearts. I am willing to bet it did not feel ‘good’ at first. I remember my own conversion began with powerful, overwhelming conviction. And this was a miracle as my Catholic phariseeism was just as powerful and had a great stronghold in my young life. And so I was miserable, and thought perhaps God had abandoned me or more accurately, actually hated me at that point. To my carnal mind, I thought that being in God’s presence was to be happy and on some type of emotional high – which I had experienced as a devoted Catholic girl, and at a pretty young age, actually. Likewise today, Emergent adherents believe that doing good deeds and finding some gnostic happy place through mysticism is to find God. This is simply not so. They leave off the fear of God in their understanding of how He works and in how they should show him to the world. I personally believe there is a very serious lack of fear of the Lord in nearly every new book that flies off Christian shelves today. No one who truly fears the God of the Bible could ever write that mess called The Shack, and the seeker sensitive/church growth style of ministry that leaves people in their sins through a power-less gospel is another strong example of a lack of proper fear of God.

But as a youngster I had no right understanding of the other attributes of God – justice, holiness, righteousness – so I mistook what turned out to be His great grace toward me as cosmic cruelty. Kind of like when our earthly parents do something we just don’t want and then we try and cut them by saying, ‘you hate me!!’ as we storm off in a little immature huff. The truth is, when we are heathens and He begins to work in our lives, it is His GRACE and LOVE that draw us. That grace teaches our hearts to fear, first of all. Fear God, His commandments, His justice, His holiness – remember it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Once we have a right fear of God in all aspects, and we surrender our will to His in light of our sinful condition, THEN our fears are relieved. No one, and this includes our loved ones who are burdening under His conviction, should have their fears relieved until they are taught to fear first, by His great grace.

And so, if you have loved ones who are struggling with commitment to Christ, do not relieve their fears of judgment; do not let them off the hook in any way – let God do that in His timing, when He relieves their fears after full repentance, reconciling them to Himself for all eternity. Stand firm, do not be ashamed of the Gospel.

mary