The Things to Come

• My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?

CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

Universalism is gaining a foothold in Christianity, it is the latest tentacle in a multi-faceted apostasy that I believe will continue to grow in popularity as the days grow darker. Why should we care? We should care because it comes against the very basics of what true Christians believe with all our hearts. True believers hang on every word He says, to loosely quote Phil Keaggy.

The last days falling away encompasses more than one element of falsehood, and this is causing those who are determined to contend for the faith to have to work overtime just to stay on top of all the methods the enemy is using to confuse, distract, and neutralize. The more smoke and mirrors Satan can use to divert the spiritually naive/ignorant, the greater his chances of not only derailing a believer from the true path, but also causing untold collateral damage in the lives of those who dabble in spiritual things, people I call ‘professional seekers’ – ever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth. It’s like entering a carnival funhouse with it’s myriad of halls and reflections, before long anyone who tries to figure out where they are on the map will become hopelessly confused.

Whether through the liberal theology of Emergents who dabble in the new contemplative occultism, or through the global phenomenon of the heretical Shack, the church is wittingly, or unwittingly, buying into the idea that there are many ways to God and all are equally valid, whether simply within the realm of spiritual experiences or even regarding something as critical as the doctrines of salvation. Within both of these highly influential trends, there is a concerted effort to redefine who God is and what He requires of us, outside of biblical revelation. Emergents deny absolute truth, and Paul Young of the Shack is a universalist and denies the atonement. This may be news to some, but nonetheless true.

As more and more Christians abandon the pure milk of the Word in favor of itching ears and heaps of teachers, they no longer have their spiritual wits about them and naively accept any book or movement that soothes that incessant itch without regard to the spiritual credentials of these pied pipers or the best-selling author of the day. Today’s compromising Christian is so gullible, it’s frightening. Even with the ability to research the most obscure religious practices at their fingertips, they choose willful ignorance over divine revelation. Such dark days we live in. Where will it lead, and as dark as today is, was there an even darker day on earth that we can learn from?

Universalism, whether it be general (all roads lead to God) or religious/Christian (God will reconcile all to Himself in the end) is fast becoming the glue that is holding all these trends together, and may indeed be the “doctrine of demons” in the final world order. Combine that with New Age practices as a form of worship and becoming one with the divine, (the object of that worship being Antichrist) and you might easily be staring down the barrel of the one world religion that prophecy students have been watching for.

Put simply for my purposes here today, universalism, (eventual salvation for all mankind) including anhilism (the soul is anhiliated after a brief time of punishment) completely negates any need for prosyltizing or missionary work. It teaches the sinner that it does not matter one bit what their life consists of on this earth, in the end it will all be made right, and painlessly for the most part. Now, this morning, as I listened to Pastor Dwight’s Bible study on the Days of Noah, I understood from Genesis 6:5 that in Noah’s day, every intent of the thoughts of men’s hearts was only evil continually. I thought to myself, in light of such severe cultural analysis by God Himself as He assesses the world situation, what in the world was the process, or chain of spiritual events, that brought the state of the human heart to that intolerable point, the point at which God regretted even giving man life? Since the enemy of our souls is the father of lies, I can’t help but think that what is in view here is something – a certain lie or delusion- that had been going on perhaps for generations to arrive at that reprobate point; lies upon lies about who we are in light of who God is -and included here is a wholesale rejection of the notion that there is a God with Whom we have to do, and that judgment is part of that, and the idea that even if He is coming, as Noah rightly taught his generation, he certainly is not coming any time soon; but when He does nevertheless, “we shall not surely die”. Universalism? I can’t help but think that the end game of not believing we deserve hell or that there is a God who disagrees with that (universalism) is something called “The Great Tribulation.” Hard, reprobate hearts. Kinda like those in the Days of Noah, right? Is this the end game for us too, as we see universalism take a foothold? Or something worse?

And those mischievous universalists, they often start their thinking with something like this: “I can’t believe that a loving God would….send people to hell”. There is always a problem with thinking that we are more compassionate than God, more loving and tolerant, because whether we like it or not, His ways are not our ways. How dare we lean on our own understanding on such a critical doctrine! But maybe if you saw Noah with that big old boat, and never heard of rain before, but all of a sudden the water line is at your door, wouldn’t you hope that Noah, your old high school buddy, would let you in? That boat has gotta be big enough for the whole neighborhood, so somehow you expect at the last minute there would be room for you, that Noah would never be so, well, “unloving” as to not let you in! But here is the rub: that was not Noah’s call, any more than it is yours or mine to determine who gets in to heaven. I know, the replacement theologians think they know, and the Calvinists think they know, universalists only wish they knew; but only God knows. And in His infinite love AND justice, both in view here, it says this in Genesis 7:16- “and the Lord shut him in.” It was not in Noah’s hands, it was based on a criteria that only God in His omniscient will could determine, and one that is spelled out through and through the Scriptures. Another spot worth noting, that brings it home one more time, that we went to this morning was Matthew 25:10, which should equally put fear in the unbeliever’s heart, speaking of entering in with the bridegroom: “…and the door was shut.”

Universalists take note: the doorknob is not on our side of the door; it is on His. He warns us of the things to come, we warn others out of love and obedience, and whether anyone will listen in “the Days of Noah 2.0″ remains to be seen. But one day the door will be shut, and it will all be over but the shouting. If you are one who has been dragging their heels, thinking you are in control of your own destiny, I plead with you to repent before it is too late, before the door is shut forever.

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.

Read the following post, below, about the test run of a global currency, and then tell me we have long on this earth.

Go to: http://www.futureworldcurrency.com/Default.asp

to see the home page of this amazing prophetic fulfillment. On the “Tests” page, it tells what is on each coin:

“OBVERSE the “Number 1” icon is repeated five times, representing the five continents. The border inscription reads “Unity in Diversity” and includes the first issue date of 2009.

Author: Luc Luycx, Royal Mint of Belgium.

REVERSE: the Tree of Life, with five leaves symbolizing local tree species that grow in the five continents. The border inscription reads “United Future World Currency”.

Author: Laura Cretara, former artistic chief of the Italian State Mint.
Wow, I think things are winding up – or down, depending on your perspective.
mary

Medvedev Shows Off Sample Coin of New ‘World Currency’ at G-8

By Lyubov Pronina

July 10 (Bloomberg) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev illustrated his call for a supranational currency to replace the dollar by pulling from his pocket a sample coin of a “united future world currency.”

“Here it is,” Medvedev told reporters today in L’Aquila, Italy, after a summit of the Group of Eight nations. “You can see it and touch it.”

The coin, which bears the words “unity in diversity,” was minted in Belgium and presented to the heads of G-8 delegations, Medvedev said.

The question of a supranational currency “concerns everyone now, even the mints,” Medvedev said. The test coin “means they’re getting ready. I think it’s a good sign that we understand how interdependent we are.”

Medvedev has repeatedly called for creating a mix of regional reserve currencies as part of the drive to address the global financial crisis, while questioning the U.S. dollar’s future as a global reserve currency. Russia’s proposals for the G-20 meeting in London in April included the creation of a supranational currency.

I was stunned recently by the story of a pastor from Brazil. One day in the not-too-distant past he was airborne and seated next to a lady who, at 6 p.m., began praying fervently. When an opportune moment presented itself, he asked her if she was a Christian. Much to his chagrin she said, no, that she was praying to her father, Satan, for the demise of pastor so-and-so.

As the conversation progressed, this Brazilian pastor found out that the Church of Satan worldwide has set aside the 6 p.m. hour every day to pray for the demise of the Christian church, and most specifically for its pastors. It would also appear that they assume or are assigned specific Christian leaders to pray against.

Now think about this for a moment: It is always 6 p.m. somewhere in the world. So 24 hours a day “prayers” are being directed to the god of this world for the destruction of Christian pastors and the churches they shepherd. What does this mean?

It means we darn well better get on our knees — and particularly for our pastors! When I consider this story in light of the way churches that were once solid, biblically-sound bastions of truth have gone into doctrinal and moral free fall, I can now understand what has been happening.

How has the Emergent Church completely consumed much of what we call Christianity today? Do you know any pastor who has stepped down from his position (or been forcibly removed) because of immorality? What about those dear pastors who simply become exhausted with the strain of shepherding and walk away from the ministry? A pastor from the 17th century, Gardener Spring, once wrote, “It is no marvel that the pulpit is so powerless and ministers so often disheartened when there are so few to hold up their hands. The consequence of neglecting this duty is seen and felt in the spiritual declension of the churches and it will be seen and felt in the everlasting perdition of men . . .”

God’s warning to believers is, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8). This warning is more critical than we have probably ever considered.

Satan is our accuser (Rev. 12:10). He schemes to make us fall (Eph. 6:11). He sets snares to entangle us (I Tim. 3:7; II Tim. 2:26).

Until we reach our heavenly home, we are all in a fierce, spiritual battle. In that battle, our pastors and other spiritual leaders would be considered the front line against Satan and his minions. How to fight against the forces of evil? God says the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh (II Cor. 10:4). We must PRAY.

Pastor John MacArthur in his message, A Plea to Pray for Pastors, says, “We need to remember that prayer is battle; it wages war not against God but against the status quo, against sin and fallenness and the flesh and devils.” In Rom. 15:30, 31, Paul directs the Christians to “strive together with” him in prayer. In Col. 4:2 he admonishes the church to “continue earnestly in prayer.” The word “continue” says that he took for granted their prayers; the word “earnestly” means to be “courageously persistent” or “to hold fast and not let go.” This praying is hard work. But we are commanded repeatedly to do it.

So how do we pray for our pastor? Scripture provides the answer! We should pray that God will:

USE HIM to spread God’s Word and that it will be received with honor (II Thess. 3:1).
DELIVER HIM from those who oppose him and the gospel (II Thess. 3:2; Romans 15:30, 31).
GIVE HIM opportunities to share the Word and the whole gospel (Col. 4:2-4).
MAKE HIM bold and faithful to continue proclaiming the gospel no matter what the cost (Eph. 6:19, 20).
GIVE HIM godly knowledge and insight (Eph. 1:8) so that he can grasp the greatness of the hope (Rom. 8:29; I John 3:2) and the inheritance that is his in Christ (Eph. 1:17, 18).
HELP HIM to understand God’s great power that is always available to him (Eph. 1:18, 19).
GIVE HIM peace in the midst of the storms that come upon him (II Thess. 3:16; Phil. 4:6, 7).
BE GLORIFIED as he walks worthy of the calling he’s been given (II Thess. 1:12).

Also we must pray that he:

DRESSES IN the complete armor of God every day (Eph. 6:10-18); and,
BEHAVES consistently with his identity in Jesus Christ (II Thess. 1:11).

MacArthur says, “We are called upon… to pray agonizingly on behalf of spiritual leaders… tapping the power of prayer for God’s Kingdom sake and the ministry of those anointed and faithful servants who stand in the place of Jesus Christ as His agents, ambassadors, and spokesmen leading the battle against evil.”

God did promise that the gates of Hell would not prevail against the church (Matt. 16:18). Praise the Lord! But we are in a battle and the servants of the enemy are actually praying for the church’s demise and that of the men who lead it. Can we do less than obey the command of Scripture to pray for the triumph of the church and its leaders?

This is the text version of a Prophecy Update given at Calvary Chapel of Appleton
June 28, 2009

Please read my economic update (part 1) , as this will make much more sense as a whole, and there is so much more going on than we see on the surface, hence my title, “the Tip of the Iceberg”.

The word of the day again is, “titanic” – you can look it up in your dictionary – it literally means, “of enormous scope, power, or influence: “a deepening sense that some titanic event lay just beyond the horizon” . I know many of you feel that way about these times. As of this week, exactly half of 2009 is in the rear view mirror. What have we learned so far? I know I have learned a lot – and much more than I could ever get into in a month of Sundays.

Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger said this about current events: “The nadir of the existing international financial system coincides with simultaneous political crises around the globe. Never have so many transformations occurred at the same time in so many different parts of the world and been made globally accessible via instantaneous communication. The alternative to a new international order is chaos.” – or Mary’s sideways paraphrase: “the alternative to all this chaos is a new international order.” Did I read that right?

Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, who was in the States this week, said: “New economic principles should be enshrined in ‘a new charter for a global economic order, governed by an international body.” This confirms everything I said last week; the current financial overhaul is leading to a political transformation, the world-over. The furious pace of change is mind-boggling.
Last week we also learned that a handful of central banks that wield the real power have a plan in place already for a global currency, and more banks and corporations will be taken over by government under the guise of protecting us from further financial collapse.

Initially, an infrastructure of technology, a planet wired from one end to the other, put this financial system on the fast track, and is providing the blueprint now, for political domination. Meyer Rothschild, founder of the Rothschild financial dynasty said over 200 years ago, “Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes it’s laws.” He understood even back then, that economic control is more powerful than political, and gives powerful people nearly unlimited leverage over people’s lives. And we know from the Bible that a Big Brother political system will follow, with all the high-tech tracking and monitoring needed to enforce the new order of things. All these things prepare the way for one powerful individual to call the shots, with a side order of deep spiritual deception. So the three aspects of the end times I mentioned last week – a global economy, government, and religion are right at the door, inseparable, and ready to take this old, tired world down it’s final road before Jesus returns.

The Bible says the final kingdom will center around a revived Roman Empire. But the real headlines at least for now are centered in the US. Remember our Tommy Ice quote from last Sunday? “Previously, the US was often the one standing in the way of a global economy and government. The US has always acted in her own national interest but now we are the last domino to fall, so nothing of significance stands in the way of globalism.” Indeed, our nation is being transformed before our very eyes, a new kind of political system is quickly being implemented, and those who have done their homework are labeling it, ‘socialism’.

What is “socialism”?
Simply put, it is a system of society in which the means of production and distribution of goods are owned and controlled by the government. The state’s goal of all this control is said to be to eliminate economic inequalities so everyone has access to everything they need. It’s not new, and there have been those who have been trying to drag our country down that road for the last 100 years. But we are not the strong nation we once were; we are weak in will, weak in morals, and led around by our credit cards, and so we are ripe for takeover, we can be bought.

But the problem is, any government that is powerful enough to give you everything you need is powerful enough to take away everything you have. I don’t believe for a second that it’s all about equal distribution of the world’s resources, but I believe it’s about control of people.

While we are certainly seeing a form of national socialism take over our country, the Bible foretells a coming world ruler whose kingdom will control everyone and everything, which likely goes way beyond the realm of a some version of American “socialism” that the media is trying to wrap their brains around. For now, it’s socialism while our final destination lies in the book of Revelation, as the form of world government Bible students are expecting may not be something we have seen, but rather something unlike anything the world has EVER seen!

Remember, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Perhaps the shock of government bailouts and takeovers has worn off already, but this is only the beginning, and the trend will continue unabated both domestically and internationally. So now the agenda continues:

Socialized healthcare, or ‘health rationing’, is on the front burner. This will likely include heavily taxing things like Pepsi and potato chips and a host of other items deemed unhealthy or fattening; we will be subject to compulsory nutrition counseling, so no more late-night pizza or burger runs at the risk of losing your benefits….the food police will be watching you. On the heels of that, the current Energy bill, built entirely on the deceptive notion that the globe is running a fever. It passed the House on Friday, and some are saying it will tie industry’s hands so tightly it will be the final undoing of our economy. It is the largest tax increase in the history of the US, so get out your checkbook, unless there is nothing in it; in that case, get in line.

Another trend you may have been watching is the appointment of a couple dozen government ‘czars’ to oversee fairly critical political situations, both domestic and international. These “czars” represent a significant expansion of power in our government with no accountability, except to the “Czar of Czars”.

A ‘czar’ is a position created by the administration that does not require Congressional confirmation, but reports directly and ONLY to the president, completely sidestepping Congress. So the president could have not only the typical number of approved cabinet members but actually double the size of his staff simply by adding these positions under the radar, positions filled by people we know nothing about. I am not going to list all 20-some czars, but some of the more important ones, and I predict that these unknown insiders will matter to us all down the road somehow – but there is a:

Middle East czar, a US border czar, a bank bailout czar, an Iran czar, an auto workers czar, a climate czar, a mortgage czar, a car czar, a Great Lakes czar and my favorite, the “payout czar”. This guy’s job is to actually tell companies that have received bailout money what they can pay their employees. The only thing it can be is bi-czar, when you learn that not only does he NOT want to be called a payout-czar, but his official title is, “Special Master”, and you know what? I couldn’t make this stuff up.

Other trends in our ever more claustrophobic little world that indicate more control, the classic sign of encroaching fascism, come in the area of personal freedoms. Increasing control over your kids and how you raise them – (the UN Rights of the Child treaty will likely be ratified under this administration) what can be said from the pulpit, or across the fence to your neighbors, what doctor you will see, what you will eat, what kind of lightbulbs you will use what kind of vehicle you will drive, and eventually whether you even deserve the right to live – will govern our lives.

Digital technology will then provide the eyes and ears needed to make sure people are falling in step with our brave new fascist world. The following example will drive that home clearly:

About 3 weeks ago we reported in the Newsbytes about the upcoming Census, and how the government has hired 140,000 workers to approach every single home in the nation to record its GPS location within 40 feet of your front door. This is the exact longitude and latitude of where you live, so you can be easily found. And I’ve found there is more to this than that one article indicated.

First, let me back up a few censuses: Back in 1890, when European immigration was at an all time high and the government wanted to keep up with the changing face of America, they held a contest to see if someone could come up with a new technology to speed up the process of the census, since the actual tabulating of collected information had been taking all of the 10 years between each census. I did an update on this about a year and a half ago, but I want to refresh your memories so you can re-connect the dots.

German immigrant Herman Hollerith came up with the technology to enable the government to add 8 million new immigrants to the population, with a processing time of only 1 year. He developed what we call an automated ‘punch card’ type of system for tabulating data and he is the father of the modern computer.

If any of you worked on mainframes as late as the 1960s, you would have used Hollerith Cards to analyze data. His Hollerith Cards and calculating machines became The Computer Tabulating and Recording Company in 1911, renamed “IBM” in 1924. This technology transformed American business and it became the fastest growing company in US history. But within 10 years, things took a disturbing turn, as is often the case with technology in the hands of sinful humans.

The book “IBM and the Holocaust” recounts how IBM Germany willingly worked hand in hand with Hitler to accomplish what had never been done before–the automation of human destruction. More than 2,000 punch card machines were dispatched throughout Germany, and thousands more throughout Europe to enable them to identify and round up all European Jews. Card sorting operations were established in every major concentration camp. I saw one such machine at the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.

With this short snip of background, fast forward to today: the GPS coordinates of your dwelling will be combined with all the other info you will supply next April for the written part of the census, providing a complete profile of your life. Of course, the potential for abuse of this information is staggering.

Upon further digging I have found that the GPS part of the program has been in the planning for a few years. There exists a document that reveals that the UN is implementing a system to identify every person and dwelling on EARTH, actively working to supply other nations the necessary technology to accomplish this. The document is entitled, “Integration of GPS, Digital Imagery and GIS with Census Mapping” -it is readily available on the internet and outlines their goals to have every hut and home in the world GPS – tagged. Most people are not even aware that there is a global census going on also, under the direction of the UN’s ‘2010 World Population and Housing Census Programme”.

I have often heard the comment over the years- “I’ll just go live somewhere they can’t track me”, with the idea that a person can still get lost on planet earth if they want to. But when this mapping is accomplished, there will be no place that is “off the grid” — no place to hide in the kingdom of antichrist – and the bible predicted this millennia before even one punchcard, PC, GPS unit, or RFID chip came into existence. Imagine that.

Oh, and did I mention who got the US government contract to tabulate all the information for the 2010 census? Why, IBM, of course.

OK – so far we have a mix of economics and politics in our three-legged global beast. But there remains one more aspect to the final world kingdom: a religion for the masses. Just like politics today, it’s not about definitions – but we know enough about the endgame – worship of one man – to take the trends seriously. Today’s pluralism is quite the smorgasbord, with one aspect that will require you to ramp up your discernment a notch. And in these days, we all need to be up to that challenge, and not leave it for a select few.

More than just a collection of news items, prophecy also encompasses something I call the Spirit of the Age, an overall mood and collective movement toward the kind of world the Bible calls, “perilous times”. This intangible mood and atmosphere reflects not only outward events, but also what is also going on in the human heart.

Not only are people reflecting the runaway love of self that Paul predicted, and all the mischief that goes along with that, but there is an obvious desire for a global collectivism in spirit, to work as one to bring in some sort of kingdom other than God’s kingdom, and since man is a spiritual being, it WILL include the supernatural. Clearly, there is an overall “socialization” of nearly everything, reflected in something as basically harmless as social networking on the ‘net, something people seem strangely drawn to as if it were spiritual, and in huge numbers. Now, there is nothing either good or bad about these social networks of themselves, so don’t Twitter me on that – I mention them only by way of observing the big picture, and how they curiously fit the global mood we find ourselves in. The digital culture is greatly promoting a spirit of collectivism in multiple areas of life. The death of Michael Jackson on Thursday actually shut down Twitter and several servers, a good indicator of just how wired the masses really are.

I also thought it was interesting that one day last week the dissidents in Iran were using Twitter to get around government censorship, and within days the Iranian government was threatening to shut that outlet off. I saw that coming a mile away. Technology has always been a two-edged sword, on the one hand opening previously unimaginable new doors, and the next minute, slamming them shut once the genie is out of the bottle.

So, what is the official religion of the new world order, anyway? Well, at this point, there is something for everyone. And I am truly sorry to say that the church today has become a repository for a little bit of everything the world is dabbling in, as if our filtering system is completely clogged and our radar jammed.

On a purely secular level, Socialism is in itself a belief system. It looks to human institutions to provide for man’s needs; tends toward atheism. It is also defined by self-righteous good works, glorifying man for his compassion for the downtrodden; it involves worshiping the creature rather than the Creator, seen in the global warming scam and green movement cult; included in that we find the worship of science. Add to that mix some New Age mysticism, throw in some paganism, and you really do have something for anyone to whom absolute truth is absolutely irrelevant.

But in this day of apostasy, socialism’s influence has also crept into the church, and this is where you have to be sharp. Increasingly, the church is rejecting the narrow way of the cross for the broad road of the ecumenical movement, which turns on something called “The Social Gospel”. The Social Gospel is basically redistribution of resources – in the name of Jesus; the church walking hand in hand with government, and bringing with it the utopian idea of creating the kingdom of God right here on earth, rejecting prophecy and God’s plan for Israel. It packs a watered down gospel, and universalism, which, if you think about it, attributes a form of political correctness to God, teaching that He would never send anyone to hell. It also embraces environmentalism.

The social gospel has really gained ground today not only through liberal protestant denominations, but also through the ideology of Rick Warren, reflected in his global peace plan. The people he has speak at his various conferences have much more in common with social equality than winning souls and warning of the times. Also, the liberal leaders of the Emergent church movement have run with this good works gospel, where absolute truth is replaced by cultural relevance, relationships, and rejection of prophecy. Social justice is becoming central to many churches, thanks to such highly influential men like Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, and another man, Jim Wallis. I did an update on him about a year ago, but he merits closer scrutiny because our president has named him as his spiritual advisor, truly a match made somewhere other than heaven. So who is Jim Wallis?

He is the editor, and has been for over 30 years, of an activist magazine called, “Sojourners”. Last Spring, he organized a huge march in Washington on Pentecost, calling for a ‘new kind of Pentecost’ in the church, that had nothing to do with the Holy Spirit, but centers on man’s work to end poverty and bring peace and justice to the earth. He and his main board member, Brian McLaren, are often referred to as evangelicals by the media, but I beg to differ.

Wallis is as far left-leaning as you can get. He has had relationships with every Marxist regime imaginable. Beginning in his college years he has cozied up with every socialist-marxist cause that would have him. He has worked right alongside Jeremiah Wright, during the timespan that our president was attending Wright’s church. Wallis is more left than Wright! The only difference is that the media has chosen to throw Wright under the bus, but not to reveal who Wallis he really is. He is so radical that he says that ‘every president in his lifetime has had him arrested’. Until now. And he is speaking at Christian campuses to standing room only crowds, apparently no one is aware or discerning enough to know that his sole purpose in life is to see America transformed into a marxist nation.

If you have been here any length of time, the news that these men are promoting a social gospel in today’s churches and on college campuses is not news at all. What should concern us is that this is all done under the guise of “just another way to do church.” Undiscerning evangelicals are eating it up, and so the marriage of the church and the world adds another dimension to last days spiritual deception.

And there is so much more going on…but my time is up, so I will wrap up:

The signs of His coming are EVERYWHERE; just this week alone, the president of Visa Europe said we will be cashless by 2012. A new initiative was announced in Israel to push for the rebuilding the Jewish Temple next to the Dome of the Rock – the head of this initiative said all we need is a prophet with divine revelation to tell us exactly where it goes. Leaders the world over are calling for centralized, global control over every aspect of our lives. Everything is coming together.

I made a mental note/decision back in ‘81 at the end of my first Revelation study. I told myself, if what I just heard is all true, and I had no reason not to believe it, I am going to spend the rest of my days watching it unfold to the letter. For me, these updates are not just to keep us all on our toes, but also a fulfillment of a promise I made to myself many years ago to watch intently, and Lord willing I knew I would see all the things I have shared with you over the last 2 weeks.

The average person has no idea what is really going on, or where it will lead, and so they are fearful, but I am so grateful that He has told us the end from the beginning and there is great comfort in that.

Maranatha!

Every once in a while the Lord lays on me such a sense of anticipation for the kingdom to come I can hardly bear it, my heart about explodes with excitement because something about it has become a bit more real to me than it was yesterday. A bit like when I was a child and something delectable loomed on my event horizon, if it would just GET HERE!

This morning I read a quote in “Israel My Glory” magazine that the Spirit used to shoot a dart of excitement into my heart:

This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper

“Thus did the modernist poet T.S. Eliot conclude his melancholy poem, The Hollow Men. Many are convinced this description will likely be close to reality – that the earth will finally roll to a meaningless stop, and the world of men will simply shuffle off into a quiet obilivion. But Eliot was wrong. The world end not with a whimper, but with a bang of God’s making – indeed, with a breathtaking drama described in remarkable detail in Scripture. And that drama will commence with a cataclysmic, seven-year period … that will be God’s way of bringing in His righteous Kingdom over which His Messiah will rule.” Douglas Bookman

Bring it on, I say. It may not have started with a Big Bang, but that is yet to come, for all those who seem to need one of those in their lives.

Happy Monday. Perhaps today.