THE
APOSTASY IS NOW
There is a
verse in the First Epistle of John that seems to condemn many Christians. According to this verse some of those who think
they are saved are still under the threat of God's wrath. The apostle John has drawn a clear dividing
line between those who know God and those who do not. He said:
"He that saith,
I KNOW HIM,
and keepeth not his commandments
is a liar, and
the truth is not in him."
1 John 2:4
Oh, the heartache this verse brings to those who
have ears to hear. How many of our
family and friends does it sentence to death?
Yet that unshakeable truth was written for our protection. Those who accept what it says cannot be
deceived about salvation.
Perhaps you are saying, "Well, even if I don't
keep God's commandments, I am still saved because I believe." This cannot be true because Jesus said that
only those who "know God" will inherit eternal life:
"And these words spake
Jesus...
And this is life eternal,
that
they might KNOW thee the only true God,
and
Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent."
John 17:3
WE DO NOT COME TO "KNOW GOD"
THE
MOMENT WE ARE BORN AGAIN.
Question?
If only
those who "know God" will inherit eternal life;
WHEN DO
WE COME TO KNOW HIM?
Answer:
"And hereby we KNOW that we know Him,
IF WE KEEP HIS
COMMANDMENTS." 1 John 2:3 ASV
John is saying that those who fully keep God's
Commandments (who are able to say "NO!" to sin) are those who have come
to "know Him."
Here then are the facts that Satan carefully hides
from the believer:
1. Only those who "know God"
will finally inherit
eternal life.
2. Those who know
Him, keep His commandments.
3. Those who say that they have come to know Him
and do not keep "His commandments do not
have the truth in them.
You may be sure that "His commandments"
are the same Ten Commandments which were carved in stone by the "finger of
God," AND the even higher Law of Love as commanded by Jesus. (John
15:12) Those who will not obey them will
not come to "know God." The
apostle Paul warned those who do not "know God" to expect vengeance
on the day of judgment:
"...when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance
on them that
KNOW NOT God."
2 Thessalonians 1:7
TRUE OR FALSE TEACHERS?
Many born again believers have not yet come to know
God because they are being led astray by false teachers in the pulpit. The Bible constantly warns us to beware of
false prophets, those wolves "who come to you in sheep's clothing." Doesn't it make sense that God would provide
a fool-proof way to recognize them?
There must be a way to see who the "wolves" are or we would be
helpless before the power of Satan, the one who "deceiveth
the whole world." Of course there
is a way, it is just this simple:
THE
MINISTERS AND PASTORS WHO HAVE
TRULY COME
TO KNOW GOD WILL
KEEP HIS
COMMANDMENTS AND TEACH OTHERS TO KEEP THEM!
Many born again Christians will be lost because of
their blind trust in the denominational church system. They are relying on their teachers and
scholars instead of trusting their Bible and Jesus Christ.
Most denominations have allowed their scholars to
set aside the commandments of God in order that they may "keep their own
traditions." The people themselves
have chosen these leaders because they are teaching exactly what the peoples'
ears are itching to hear. It has come to
pass just as Paul said it would:
"For the time will come when they
WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE; but
wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate or themselves teachers
in accordance to their own desires; AND WILL TURN AWAY THEIR EARS FROM THE
TRUTH." 2 Timothy 4:3 NAS
Question?
What is
"THE TRUTH"?
Answer:
The Bible
teaches that "all scripture is inspired by God," therefore "THE
TRUTH" must forever include God's law, for it is written in the Psalms:
"...and thy law is THE TRUTH."
"...and all thy commandments are
TRUTH."
"...and thou has
founded them forever."
Psalm 119:142 :151 :152
APOSTASY NOW!
Listen to what Paul said to the Thessalonians
concerning the day when Jesus shall return:
"Let no one in any way deceive you, for
it will not
come unless THE APOSTASY* comes first, and the
Man of LAWLESSNESS** is revealed."
2 Thessalonians 2:3 NAS
APOSTASY is from the Greek "Apostasia." It means "defection from truth."
(Strong's Greek Dictionary)
The KJV
translates it as "a falling away."
We are living in the midst of that "falling
away." Now is the time of the Great
Apostasy that is predicted by the scriptures.
Most of the church system has already defected from the truth. (i.e. God's
law) The leaders of the churches have
failed to recognize the "Man of Lawlessness" because they do not
recognize the law.
**
(Man of) LAWLESSNESS is from the Greek "Anomia." It means "contempt and violation of the
law, iniquity, wickedness." (Thayer's Greek Lexicon) The KJV refers to him as "The Man of
Sin."
The apostle John used the same word
("Anomia") when he gave us the scriptural definition of sin. He said:
"Whosoever committeth
sin transgresseth also the law:
for SIN is TRANSGRESSION
OF THE LAW."
Anomia 1 John 3:4
Jesus also used the word "Anomia" when He
warned those who continued to sin to beware of the judgment day. He said:
"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."
Anomian Matt 7:21-23
(i.e. depart from me, ye that transgress
the law
of God.)
I pray that all of the readers who call Jesus
"LORD" will take heed. No matter how good your intentions, no matter
how sincere your "faith," if you do not keep His commandments, you
are the one Jesus is warning.
The seduction of the churches had already begun even
as the apostles were spreading the Gospel.
Paul also used the word "Anomia" when he cautioned the
Thessalonians. He said:
"For the mystery of iniquity
doth already work:
Anomia 2 Thessalonians 2:7
Therefore, each believer must constantly test his
teacher's doctrine for any sign of the "Man of Sin." Remember, Satan will show himself to
believers as an "angel of light," and his servants will seem to be
"ministers of righteousness." (2 Cor.
11:14) The evil one works under the
cover of goodness, and thrives on the word "love." His teachers are the nicest people you could
ever hope to meet. They will cover a
pint of poison for a river of good. But
they can be found out, for the teachers who know God, keep His commandments.
Many who stand in the pulpit have already been led
astray by false teachers in high places.
For example, those ministers who say that a believer may keep his sins
(i.e. be a "carnal Christian") and still inherit eternal life are
teaching the principles of lawlessness.
Beware, for there can be no compromise with God's
truth. Those who accept the devil's lies
will be lost. Paul warned the churches
about the fate of those who would not love and obey "the truth."
He said they were those who would perish:
"because
they received not the LOVE OF THE TRUTH,
that they might
be saved." 2 Thessalonians 2:10
"But unto them that are contentious
and do not OBEY
THE TRUTH, but obey unrighteousness,
indignation and
wrath." Romans 2:8
THY LAW IS THE TRUTH."
Psalm 119:142
I hope that whenever the reader sees the words
"the truth," he will immediately think: "God's law." If you do, Satan will never be able to
deceive you. He and his workers are
continually trying to lead us into apostasy through sin. Without God's law we have no measure of good
and evil, but if we walk in the light of the Ten Commandments, then we are
always able to make the right choices, because:
GOD'S WILL NEVER CONFLICTS WITH
GOD'S LAW
We may also be sure that the Holy Spirit will never lead
us to do something that would cause us to break any of God's commandments.
When we learn to trust the law of God as the only
reliable measuring stick of truth, then the deceptions of the devil become as
visible as a man waving a red flag. Anyone who
teaches against keeping God's law in any way, shape or form
is either a deceiver or has been deceived.
A good example of this deception is the school of dispensationalism (Scofield,
etc.) which teaches that we no longer need to obey God's law because we are
under the "dispensation of grace."
By this device they ever so smoothly set aside the obligation to obey
the Ten Commandments. There it is! The "red flag." No matter what they call it, the fact remains
that they have turned away from the truth.
There are others who teach that the law was only for the Jews (even the
"Sermon on the Mount"). There
it is again, the red flag of lawlessness.
To say that the Old Testament is not for "today's church" is
just another way to get around God's law.
One of the most popular modern day
"prophets", Hal Lindsey, has gone so far as to say that those who
teach obedience to God's law are teaching "doctrines of demons." In his book, "Satan is Alive and Well On Planet Earth," he said: "...seeking to live for
God by the principle of the law is the first and worst doctrine of
demons." On the contrary, God's
word says:
"Blessed are the undefiled in
the way,
who
WALK IN THE LAW of the Lord."
Psalm 119:1
No matter how big the church, no matter how many
scriptures they use to prove their doctrine, look for the red flag. If they
have set aside even a part of God's law, they have turned away from the
truth. By the way, the Sabbath is the
fourth commandment. To deny it is to
deny the God that has declared the seventh day to be holy. The Epistle of James teaches that there is
one law with ten parts. If you refuse to
obey any part of it, you are refusing the authority of the lawgiver. James wrote:
"For whosoever shall keep the whole
law, and yet
offend in one,
he is guilty of all. For He that said,
"Do
not commit
adultery," said also, "Do not kill."
James
2:10
He that said, "Do not kill" also said:
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy....the
SEVENTH day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God."
Exodus
20:8, 10
Another red flag appears every time we are told that
we are unable to keep the Ten Commandments.
How could that be true? The
apostle Paul taught that by the power of God, we who believe are able to obey
that which we choose. He said:
"his
servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of
SIN
UNTO DEATH, or of obedience unto righteousness?"
Romans
In order to excuse disobedience to God's
commandments, many will say, "Jesus is my righteousness!" John has already answered this deception:
"Little children, let no man deceive
you:
HE THAT DOETH
RIGHTEOUSNESS IS RIGHTEOUS."
1 John 3:7
Paul adds:
"Now the works of the flesh are
manifest,...
I FOREWARN you, even as I did forewarn
you,
that they who
practice such things SHALL NOT
INHERIT THE
Galatians
If you look closely you can see the red flag of
lawlessness, because what they are really saying is that you may keep doing
your sins and still inherit eternal life.
Or as Satan suggested to Eve:
"Don't worry Eve, even if you eat the forbidden fruit” ye shall
not surely die."
That is Satan's message to all Christians, "ye
shall not surely die!" Do not be deceived,
only the righteous who have conquered sin by the power of the Holy Spirit will
inherit the