The apostate church’s unstable foundation is cracking and crumbling, just as God warned in His prophetic Word. How much longer can this house that is built upon the sand stand?
Paul prophesied in his second letter to Timothy, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Tim. 4:3-4).
Recent happenings reveal that this world is marching step-by-step toward the biblical end-times scenario. The stage is being set for the Great Tribulation. The church must be awake and alert as a bride ready to meet her groom when the trumpet sounds the rapture call.
How is the church turning away from truth in today’s world? Consider some recent events that back up this claim.
Is the Pope Christian?
“Is the pope Catholic?” This popular idiom rhetorically answers a question that deserves an obvious, “Yes.” If someone asked football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning if he likes football, he could answer, “Is the pope Catholic?” Obviously, yes, Peyton Manning likes football. Obviously, yes, the pope is Catholic. However, after Pope Francis’ September remarks in Singapore, one wonders if he is a Christian.
Pope Francis spoke largely off the cuff to a group of students at a Catholic junior college in Singapore. “If you start to fight, ‘My religion is more important than yours, mine is true and yours isn’t’, where will that lead us?” he asked. “There’s only one God, and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Some are Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and they are different paths [to God],” reported Crux Catholic Media.
LifeSiteNews reported that Pope Francis later doubled down on his statements and said, “Diversity of religious identities is a gift of God,” in a Sept. 17, 2024, video.
In 2022, Pope Francis made similar remarks in Kazakhstan. This reveals he hasn’t changed his mind on this theological belief nor are his recent remarks a mere slip of the tongue.
Jesus clearly stated, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). If there are multiple ways to God, as Pope Francis claims, then why did Jesus go to the cross? His death and resurrection are meaningless if people can get to God in many ways.
Pope Francis committed a logical error when he compared different languages to different religions. While the word for “cup,” for example, differs across languages, it is still a description of the same item no matter what language is spoken. However, different spiritual beliefs and religions vary widely on who God is. It is like calling a cup a wrench or a computer. It is not those things. It is a cup.
Some religions say there are thousands of gods. Some say there is no God. Christianity is the only worldview that says Jesus is God. Calling a cup a wrench or a computer is simply wrong. Either Jesus is God or He is not. That is common sense logic. For the record, in my book, Fake Jesus, I make the case that Jesus is the God He claimed to be. He is the way, the truth and the life!
Pope Francis undercut the Gospel with his recent comments. How many people will be deceived into thinking, “If Pope Francis says there are many paths to God, then he must be right”? His dangerous theology could deceive millions, including a large percentage of the young people he is attempting to reach with these comments.
Further, one wonders about the state of his soul since he continues to deny the Gospel.
Inclusive Sunday Collectives
The end-times globalist religion will emphasize self over God, spirituality over religion, feelings over faith and works over belief. USA TODAY shared a story on Sept. 2, 2024, that revealed the growing spirit of the age is precisely what the Bible predicted.
Some former church buildings, originally built to share God’s truth with their communities, are now spiritual centers for people of any faith or no faith to gather as a community. The article highlights how several inclusive Sunday collectives are springing up across America.
These groups are typically made up of people who walked away from the Christian faith but still want to belong to a community of friends. Their anything-goes Sunday gatherings might consist of reading a religious text from any faith, reading self-help psychology books, practicing yoga, breathing exercises or just talking to each other.
The longing for community and attempts to meet spiritual needs reveal that they understand there is more to this world than the physical realm. The image of God created within them cries out for belonging and spiritual connection. They try to connect with any spirituality they can. Sadly, they are connecting with spirits who are not the Holy Spirit and thus, are turning away from their Creator who placed that longing in their hearts. Their spiritual hunger will never be satisfied until they turn to the way, truth and life.
Like Pope Francis, they consider beliefs (doctrines) a spiritual hindrance. However, absolute truth is central to spirituality. What people believe informs who or what they worship. If the self is the ultimate authority, it becomes the object of worship and the definer of values and beliefs. These inclusive Sunday collectives are not ultimately rejecting a system of doctrines. They reject God’s authority over their lives and make the individual the ultimate object of worship.
A former Baptist pastor who now leads one of these collectives commented, “This is the future of spirituality in our country—communities finding creative ways of leaving behind stodgy practices that no longer serve a society moving into a better place,” USA TODAY reports.
The “stodgy practices” he mentions are references to Christian doctrine based upon the truth and authority of God’s Word. They are worshipping the creature instead of the Creator, just as Romans 1:18-32 reveals.
The former pastor’s statement is right on one account: This is the future of spirituality, but only after the church is raptured and the Great Tribulation begins. Thousands of years ago, the Bible prophesied this would be the end-times spiritual deception. The stage is being set across the world.
Further Evidence of Apostasy
There are too many sad stories to comment on in this brief article. The (London) Telegraph reported in August that the Church of England preferred the name “community” over “church” to describe some of the new gatherings it is starting. British Christian journalist Alan Franklin wrote an article about the sad state of churches in the U.K. for Prophecy in the News magazine, issue 23.
Hardly a week passes without news of a pastor being arrested or having to step down from ministry because of sin. The Dallas metroplex has been hit hard this year, with several well-known pastors resigning from ministry due to moral failings. Heartbreaking!
The church must pay close attention to Paul’s exhortation to Timothy immediately before he warned him about future apostasy:
I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine (2 Tim. 4:1-2).
Download September 2024 Prophetic Observer
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