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THE “LAST DAYS” DECEPTION: A Brief History of Misapplied Prophecy (1)
We have been convinced we are living in the “Last Days,” that there is no remedy for the growing evil of these times, and that we must surrender apathetically without a fight.
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“THIS GENERATION”
“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” [Matthew 24:34]
The Lord Jesus frequently and consistently referred to a single generation throughout His ministry. Throughout the Gospel accounts He refers to it specifically as “this generation.” There are a total of seventeen such references, five in Matthew, three in Mark, and nine in Luke. He also described it. He referred to “this generation” as “evil, adulterous, unbelieving, perverted, sinful, and wicked.” In Acts 2:40, Peter also refers to it as “perverse.” In Philippians 2:15, Paul agrees with Peter and adds another fitting adjective—“crooked.” So here we have seven quite descriptive adjectives describing the generation the Lord referred to as “this generation.”
GROSS ERROR
There is a very strange occurrence that takes place when Christians refer to prophetic content within the Gospel accounts. They almost always have a tendency to refer to the generation the Lord referred to as “this generation” as their own generation. This phenomenon became more common after the advent of the Protestant Reformation five hundred years ago. It happened before then as well though the instances are far less due to a lack of access to the Word of God, attributed to general illiteracy, and also because the Roman Catholic Church had purposely hidden the written Word behind a wall of Latin.
Thus, in the 1500s, as more Christians began reading the few emerging Gospel accounts in their own languages, and apparently due to their limited understanding of the phrase “this generation,” they had the decided tendency to think it meant their generation. The same thing happened in successive generations since, from the 1500s to the present. This became especially true beginning in the early to mid 1800s in America with the advent of Dispensational Theology, a spurious construct invented out of thin air. By the time the 20th century dawned in the year 1900, the phenomenon became much more pronounced. It gained great steam by mid century, especially by the 1960s when America began being inundated with so-called Christian “prophecy teachers.”
Strangely enough, though these “prophecy teachers” had relatively slight differences which got blown out of proportion (such as the pre-trib, mid-trib, and post-trib nonsense), they generally agreed very closely on what they termed Biblical prophecies coming true in our time. This does not mean that they were right but that their interpretations were coming from the same original source.
Then, in the mode of Space-based science fiction popular at that time, the phenomenon broke out into the secular culture with the publication of a seminal Christian prophecy work entitled The Late Great Planet Earth in 1970. According to the New York Times, this was the “bestselling nonfiction book of the 1970s.” [1] All of the sudden, Biblical prophecy not only became a popular topic in America, it was also said to be coming to pass in real time. According to the author, the prophesied future was now upon that generation of fifty-two years ago. Due to its nature and claims, the book was also publicized through high circulation mainstream newspapers and magazines. Many more prophecy books were published by various authors. The top prophecy teachers were touring the states speaking at churches, colleges, and conferences. With the advent of Christian television in the early 1970s they were suddenly selling their wares through that medium. It truly was a burgeoning phenomenon. And the one astounding constant those guys all had in common was that our time (the 1970s) was the specific time referred to in the New Testament when the “Last Days” prophecies of the Lord Jesus were actually coming to pass.
In essence, the prophecy teachers made the declarative persistent claim that the American generation of the 1970s was the New Testament “this generation” referred to by the Lord Jesus.
THE DECEPTION PERSISTS
Remember, pretty much every generation over the last five hundred years has, to varying degrees, believed their generation to be the one that would see the culmination of prophetic events and the second coming of the Lord Jesus. This was more pronounced on scattered occasions here and there especially during times of revival. But as I stated previously, the phenomenon became a flowing stream with no discernible interruptions beginning about 120 years ago. This had never happened before. That generation was convinced we were at the end of time. When WWI broke out it appeared all the more believable. The same thing happened during WWII. The belief that we were in the “Last Days” gained force and notoriety for seventy years until it burst onto the scene in the 1970s reaching an apogee that carried on into the 1980s and 90s.
Of course, the year 1900 or thereabouts was not the end of the world, nor did the prophesied end come in the 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, or 1940s though many in those two generations were convinced otherwise. A third generation then came upon the scene and gained age in the 1950s and 60s. This generation was also fully convinced it must be the last one on earth due in part to the advent of nuclear weapons which were said to have the firepower to effectively destroy the planet. The 1960s saw great social change not only in the secular but also within Christianity which for the first time was visited throughout with the Holy Spirit outpouring within all major denominations. This occurrence definitely had an effect on the “Last Days” theme.
Then, with the initial emergence of the fourth generation beginning in roughly 1970 the phenomenon blasted into outer space. One could not escape such news if one tried. The Christians of that time knew the “Last Days” had certainly arrived. Regardless of what any previous generation had thought prior to the 1970s, those people were simply wrong, it was said, and they were only seeing the earliest glimpses of the future in their time. The previous generations had made the mistake of attributing the future to their time, it was said, while the emerging generation of the 1970s, having been shown so clearly by the prophecy teachers “that one can see prophecy coming to pass simply by reading the newspapers,” were convinced their days were truly the “Last Days,” the time when Jesus would definitely return. Well, He didn’t return fifty years ago in the early 1970s. Maybe He was “tarrying.”
When nothing changed in the 1970s the new mantra was based on the state of Israel. The prophecy teachers insisted the Lord must return within a generation of the founding of the state of Israel, which took place in the spring of 1948, as wrongheaded as that contention was. Their reasoning was thus: Since a Biblical generation was thought to be forty years the Lord will return by 1988. And of course, because there must be a seven year “Tribulation” period within this construct, this great time of turmoil and suffering which the world has never before seen would have to begin by 1981. That was forty-one years ago. Of course, the “The Great Tribulation” never happened. The Lord did not return in the 1980s.
The prophecy teachers made more adjustments. They were absolutely right all along you see and never admitted to being off, so they simply added more to the mix. They continued to make the rounds and make money. They continued writing best sellers. They continued pontificating on Christian television. Everyone, it seems, kept believing them. As time went on, however, they started sounding that much more incorrect. They could no longer come up with adequate explanations. But giving credit where credit is certainly due, these guys were masters at their craft. And Christians in general remained Biblically uninformed regarding New Testament Scripture as usual and thus extremely gullible. As time continued to pass the entire prophecy timelines and constructs of the prophecy teachers simply started to fade away. There was no sense pushing them anymore. They could no longer be made to fit.
Then a new generation began to rise in roughly the mid-1990s. Christians were still aware of these so-called prophecies somewhat but no longer emphasized them. Nevertheless, from then until now the deception has remained. Christians still insist we are in the “Last Days” referred to in the New Covenant literature. Christians still believe we are in the days directly preceding the Second Coming.
As it turns out, the “Last Days” last a long time, much longer than prophecy says they should. They have now lasted over 120 years. The state of Israel is almost 74 years old. That’s almost two Biblical generations. Every generation from roughly 1900 until now believed they would see the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. Each generation was obviously wrong.
THIS PRESENT DARKNESS
We are now at the beginning of the sixth generation. The entire construct of the prophecy teachers of the recent past has been proven absolutely wrong though a probable majority of Christians and even great millions of non-Christians still believe it. Though it has no rhyme or reason from a New Testament perspective, it has become accepted religious theology. We have seen this play out once again over the last few weeks in the Russian war with Ukraine in which prophecy is once again being applied to the actions of Russia as it always is when Russia makes a perceived major move of one kind or another.
The major problem which arises from this prophecy heresy is the idea that evil will continue to grow worse and worse in the world and that there is absolutely nothing Christians can do about it. Though the Lord Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth there is nothing He can do about it either. If Christians have been convinced that prophecy says the world is lost then the current Kingdom of the Lord Jesus existing in this world lacks the power to overcome evil which indicates evil is the greater power.
I submit that this idea is pure unadulterated garbage and that the reason evil is overcoming good is because many potential proponents of spiritual good have been erroneously taught to stand down and go about their Christianity in such a way that they represent no threat to the devil. This absurd attitude based on the “Last Days” deception may best be described by the Lord Himself in the following:
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” [Matthew 5:13][2]
Sound familiar?
© 2022 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued]
[1] Wikipedia
[2] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THE “LAST DAYS” DECEPTION: “This Generation” (2)
THE “LAST DAYS” DECEPTION: New Testament References to the “Last Days” (3)
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (7)
They’ve been violated. It has already happened. There is no use, therefore, in being fearful of what’s coming because it’s already here. It’s been here in stages a long time…
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THIS PRESENT DARKNESS
The deceived don’t know this. They have been unaware of this hidden reality in general ever since it was first brought forth. They have no idea they are being played. Some may have a clue or two momentarily but usually reject the idea of sinister planning behind closed doors by hidden higher-ups as the fruit of the nut brigade. By this they prove their membership in the latter by discarding the very possibility of gaining the required insight toward being released from deception.
Anyone with adequate Biblical knowledge knows the enemy is a deceiver. He deceived Eve in the very beginning. What thus took place in The Garden of Eden was certainly a conspiracy. It was a planned assault formulated in secret and expertly managed to deceive our first parents toward surrendering their high spiritual status and gaining authority over their lives. It worked like a charm, as they say.
The enemy has done the same masterful job to date by bringing along a long term plan very slowly but surely. As in the beginning, he has a lot riding on its success. Part of the reason for the long gradualism approach was waiting on the technology to catch up with the plans. The plans, of course, have always been there. The specific plans for our generation were made long before our generation existed. One must go back four or five generations to discover the original source of the river now upon us.
Because people are created by God to be Strong and Freedom-Loving, one of the first things that had to be done was pare down the inherent strength of human beings and remove their freedom in as many areas as possible to the greatest degree possible to make them more pliable, conforming, and weak. An insecure weakened foe with less freedom and confidence is more easily defeated. An ignorant unaware foe disconnected from the reality of his or her inherent potent nature is much less likely to make a stand and fight. For the most part, through surreptitious and deceptive means undetected by the victim, the battle is often over before it ever starts.
SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY AND DISCIPLESHIP
Big rocks are not pliable. There are big rocks in big rivers that can withstand indefinitely the ongoing powerful effect of raging waters. It will take a very long time to wear them down. Most of the time the only thing that happens to them is ongoing smoothing and polishing. They become more rounded and less sharp-edged. This is the exact process that takes place when the Lord’s people subject themselves to real discipleship. The rough edges are slowly removed. But the great Strength of the Freedom-Loving rock not only remains but grows even Stronger and more Freedom-Loving. Their smoothed out and polished nature allows opposing forces to flow past with little feeling or discomfort.
Christians who have been brainwashed by religion and religious idiots into thinking that God is against freedom obviously do not know God. That a likely majority of Christians believe this and surrender their lives accordingly proves that a likely majority of Christians are not clear on the concept. They’ve got their minds stuck on submission to authority, submission to authority, submission to authority. The idea isn’t necessarily wrong but they submit inappropriately to the wrong people. They become slaves to those they submit to whether they understand it or not. Slaves have little or no freedom.
And as I have said forever, the teachings of the Lord Jesus never advocate for such beyond one’s complete submission to Him. If the Lord wants us to obey others under His authority we only do so because we obey Him first. Real Christians place themselves first and foremost under His umbrella of authority. In this way whatever we may do is under His authority which means He has complete control over anyone else He may want us to submit to and if such people exceed their authority we can immediately cease to obey them just as the apostles Peter and John explained in the following:
And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” [Acts 4:18-20]
In other words, those who command Christians to do something against the will of God that grossly violates their entire reason for living can be effectively told to go stick it in their left ear and jam it in all the way until everyone knows they’re as much a moron as they appear. Christians with such an attitude will always have the full 100% support of the Lord Jesus in doing such. ¿Comprende?
Therefore, all real Christians know they must submit to the Lord Jesus entirely or there cannot possibly be a real relationship with Him and His authority will never work in their lives. The unreal Christians do not understand this or have lost sight of the fact that all real Christians have been bought with a price. Our spiritual freedom was paid for by His horrific torture and death as the only possible Sacrifice Lamb who paid for our sins and set us free from its power.
Now, after the Lord Jesus has willingly paid the greatest price that could ever possibly be paid to buy us back from the forces of evil and the evil power of sin, why would He then violate our new freedom by making us slaves all over again?
It is true that real Christians are effectively His bond slaves. In fact, the English word “servant” in the Gospels referring to the Lord’s people is best translated as slaves and is translated that way in some versions. But this fact must be put into the proper context. The Lord Jesus is also obviously a loving Father. Again, did He not die for us? And is not that the greatest love? This being the case, He is obviously wholly trustworthy, loving, kind, merciful, and compassionate. Why then, must real Christians go through such a tough process which seems to violate this affection to become Strong Freedom-Loving disciples?
There are several reasons. We live in a broken, dysfunctional, sinful, fallen world filled with evil ruled over by powerful evil forces. If one is to have any effect against such evil then one must be very strong and powerful otherwise one will have no chance. To become spiritually strong and powerful one must work very hard at it and allow the Lord to assist in the process. This is in part why there must be growing pains and spiritual trials.
And in case you’re wondering, it impossible to possess this kind of powerful spiritual strength unless one is filled with the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus Himself was filled with the Holy Spirit without measure. The Early Church of the first century was filled with His Holy Spirit and this is what made it so powerful. They had greater power than the devil. It wasn’t their power. It was His power. The evidence of His power within them is illustrated throughout the New Covenant writings.
Remember the Roman centurion who believed in the Lord? He stated the authority paradigm very well. By considering the military we better understand the need for growing pains, spiritual trials, and necessary discipleship. The military takes young raw recruits and transforms them into strong, disciplined soldiers who obey orders. One could never have an effective military otherwise. We can also see this in the realm of sports in which the very best players work extremely hard over many years to become the best they can be. Both of these examples illustrate the necessity of submitting to strong training and discipline. It is how the largely worthless and weak become powerful and great. Some may have great natural talent but such still must be properly subjected to the process. For real Christians, it is absolutely mandatory that they get their flesh under control and never allow their lower human nature to subvert their higher nature and violate their true character. The addition of the Lord’s Spirit to our spirit makes this possible.
But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. [1Corinthians 6:17]
Real Christians understand real discipleship. They know they are greatly loved and supported by the Lord Jesus but also know they are in a spiritual war against powerful evil enemies. They know that pacified, compliant, soft, wimpy, conformed-to-the-sinful-culture non-Spirit-filled Christians won’t have much impact whatsoever against such evil forces. They know that those who insist on such an attitude are actually working for the enemy. Keep this in mind when religious rulers insist that one must submit to them rather than the Lord Jesus. It is exactly the same when such Christians weakly submit to the secular variety of such rulers. Those who submit to either of these without ever submitting fully to the Lord are doing the same thing Adam and Eve did when they rebelled against God. They are effectively submitting to the devil.
This is why it is vitally necessary to submit to the Lord fully and properly. His teachings tell us how this is done. The history of the first-century Christians reveal to us how they did it. However, much of what the Lord taught and what the original Christians did in obedience to His teachings has been thoroughly rejected by the majority of Christians ever since. Now, why would they do that? Hmmm… This should tell one all one needs to know about Unreal Christianity. It is just another of the devil’s evil and deceptive hell holes. Rather than being Strong Freedom-Loving rocks as created by God, such Christians are mere spiritual wimps led around by the nose, broken and violated. And they don’t even know it. They are deceived.
THE LAST TWO YEARS
The Lord told me eleven and a half years ago in late August of 2010 that we were in the early stages of a national Great Awakening. He revealed this to me long before the term “Great Awakening” became popular. Starting maybe five years ago at the most this term began being appropriated by a few and then grew to massive acceptance. Curiously, however, it has rarely been used in Christian circles, Christian media, or churches. It is as if Christians are completely unaware of what is actually going on in these times. In reality, this is exactly the case. The majority of Christians are clueless because their chosen official leaders are clueless, because such official Christian leaders for the most part are not serving the Lord Jesus and have different agendas. They serve someone else. They desire something else.
Yet, how is it then that many non-Christians in America know a great deal of what’s going on behind the scenes, do an incredible amount of research, work very hard to stay informed and aware, filter out all the mis and disinformation, and do their best to inform others (for free!) while most Christians don’t know squat? Could it be because such Freedom-Loving people are doing a much better job obeying their Creator and being what He wants them to be even though they likely don’t know Him or know Him very well? And could it be that they have refused to submit to brainwashing of either the secular or religious variety?
For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. [Romans 2:14-16]
“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.” [Matthew 21:28-32]
Even though the last two years have likely been the worst ever experienced in America though many Americans don’t know this or believe it because they are, well, you know, and though the devil has made great strides toward his master plan, the Lord Jesus has also had a plan. His plans always predate the devil’s plans. The Lord knows what the devil will do before he does it and has a plan to counteract it. But the Lord can only implement His plans through fully submitted disciples—loving sons and daughters pledged to Him and His work—those who not only say they will do the work but actually go out and do it. Thus, we now perceive much more clearly the real Christians and the fake ones based on what each has done over the last two years. Some Christians merely did everything they were told to do without ever seeking the Lord and therefore were exactly like the wayward son who told his father he would obey but never did. And because these Christians obeyed someone other than the one they claim to follow it proves they don’t really follow Him. The last two years have revealed the unreal Christians for what they are.
The last two years have also revealed the real. The real are those who acted as big rocks in a raging river who refused to move but got that much more smoothed out and rounded and polished during a greatly difficult time. By staying with the Lord Jesus and one another and doing their best, they preserved who they are and got even stronger and more aware of the devil’s tricks.
…so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes. [2Corinthians 2:11] [1]
Because the enemy was arrogant he became vulnerable. The Lord Jesus drew him out. The Lord depended on His people to withstand the process and remain faithful though it looked as though all was done and over with and the enemy had achieved a great victory. Thank the Lord that so many of His children did remain faithful. The enemy will never quit, of course, and has already brought the next phase of his plan out, but, as always, the Lord Jesus has His own plan to counteract this one as well. His people must be faithful to the current plan of the Lord as well. It is why real Christians must be forever faithful and obedient. It is how they remain Strong and Freedom-Loving.
Anything less proves spiritual adultery.
© 2022 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (1)
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (2)
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (3)
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (4)
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (5)
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (6)
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (6)
As objects in your side-view mirror are closer than they appear, so is the encroaching evil rapidly bearing down upon us. It is likely much worse than you may think.
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A DEEP SLEEP PANDEMIC
I do not write the following to frighten but to awaken. If a person is determined to remain asleep and oblivious regardless of ongoing attempts to rouse him from listless slumber he will eventually tune out the lifesaving alarm bells to the point of no longer hearing them at all. He will effectively mute the warning. He will destroy his spiritual ears. He will become spiritually tone-deaf.
By means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron… [1Timothy 4:2]
Once seared, the damage is pretty much irreparable. If a person is hopelessly indoctrinated, completely programmed by false narratives, filled to the saturation level with propaganda—brainwashed, he will almost always react in one of two primary ways against the truth that attempts to rescue him:
(1) There will be anger. But it will be a strange incoherent anger. It is similar to the anger of one who got severely burned by enemies disguised as friends. Such fooled ones who were played as fools, upon realizing they were greatly deceived and ridiculed by evil forces, have a tendency to grow very angry very fast. It is an explosive anger. So it is with the brainwashed, except in their case, instead of realizing or accepting that they are brainwashed, they will angrily stand their ground as if they are not.
And in case you’re wondering, facts will not matter. Facts actually become the enemy. Truth is the enemy. Why? Because truth acts as an aggravating, incessant alarm that never stops. The brainwashed are angry in the face of truth in part because they have invested heavily in falsehood without necessarily knowing it was falsehood when they invested so heavily in it (believing it was truth) and do not appreciate being confronted with the difficult fork in the road now before them. Repentance leads to a doable tear down and rebuild:
“Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” [Luke 17:33]
The lack of repentance thereof leads to their lives eventually crashing down as the proverbial house built on shifting sands:
“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” [Matthew 7:26-27] [1]
So in order to keep their mock lives intact, if that is the foolish choice they make, they must flee from truth. They must reject the facts that prove their lives are mere artificial constructs. They must preserve their faux lives and fabrications. They must protect their simulated realities in order to protect themselves. Though what they’ve spent years embracing and nurturing may make them feel very comfortable, may look very pleasing to the eye, may greatly satisfy one’s sinful flesh, and may make one socially acceptable and maybe a social standout (because seemingly everybody embraces the same), it is still a lie.
(2) The other reaction is on the opposite end of the spectrum. When confronted with truth, the brainwashed often react with ongoing ceaseless yawning. They fight falling asleep. Of course, what is actually happening is that they are already asleep and doing their best to stay that way and safeguard their sleep status. It could be they have already rejected such truth and such truth does not only not interest them but bores them.
This is what the rejecting of facts that don’t fit one’s overall desires, personal narrative, or belief system does. Such people exhibit the extreme opposite of love and hunger for truth. They do not so much possess a hatred of truth but a complete indifference toward it. We see this in common reactions to such warnings as: “Engaging in that immoral activity, ingesting that excuse for food, and partaking of such chemical poisons is causing you great harm,” and “Whether you believe it or not or accept it or not, sin is real and the wages of sin is death.” These essentially have no effect whatsoever because the person has long since decided they WANT to engage in such sinful activities regardless of the harm and pain they will cause.
And while they must acknowledge such undeniable truth on a head level, they remain hopeful against such facts on a heart level, convincing themselves to be unconvinced in hopes of dodging the otherwise inevitable. They are thus bored by truth alarms and fight hard to stay asleep. In fact, their immoral activities and bad habits often increase in order to maintain their chosen rebellious state and condition.
PHARMAKEIA INC
Perhaps this is why America—a drug state with a pronounced drug culture of both the legal and illegal variety (two wings of the same bird if you will that has existed for multiple decades now)—is currently engaged in a drug epidemic of such immense proportions. And what is more, the legal drugs and pharmaceuticals now arguably outrank and outnumber those of the illegal variety. The wicked little seedy drug pusher of decades past has now graduated to elite status and wears his white lab coat proudly. Perhaps as many as 200 million Americans now run to him unswervingly without equivocation for their ongoing fix. And it could be that these required fixes exist in the first place because their wholesale embrace of fear and lack of courage to face the truth demands their use and abuse.
The enemy of our souls has everything to do with this. A drug and alcohol-addled population of pseudo-Christians is of course no threat to him. He is the great drug pusher par excellence after all, sitting at the top of the pharmakeia pyramid, sending out directives through his henchmen and their billionaire human agents. There is great profit in this trade on many levels. The greatest is the ongoing propagation of evil that has now captured the very soul of the nation in that a great bulk of the warriors that should be and should be fighting for God have been brainwashed by the serpent and have defected to the enemy camp. Rather than stand against the flood of evil and engage in the spiritual fight they have weakly surrendered and willingly entered soul prison, closing the cold steel doors behind them.
Where they’re safe.
And you’re wondering when this evil will end…
© 2022 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (1)
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (2)
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (3)
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (4)
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (5)
IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHEN THIS EVIL WILL END… (7)
WAKE FROM SLUMBER: EMBRACE THE REAL KINGDOM
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” [John 18:36]
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The reality of the kingdom of the Lord is much more far-reaching than most Christians acknowledge. Many believers have made varying compromises toward this simple but extremely profound fact, that the Lord’s kingdom is thoroughly and unapologetically spiritual.
It is something that cannot be replicated in the material world but that has never stopped Christians from trying. There have always been ongoing, incessant movements throughout the Church Age to demystify the nature of the Lord’s kingdom and thoroughly revamp it into materialistic modes and representations. There has always been the strange thought in many Christian circles that material representations and symbols are indispensable to a proper understanding of the kingdom, in that without such the reality of real spirituality is both unknowable and unapproachable.
What this actually represents is complete ignorance of the Lord’s kingdom and an attempt to reformulate it into outward representations created to capture the mind and thus, the heart. But it doesn’t work. It only functions on a mundane level that many Christians are apparently satisfied with and only serves to cover up and cloud over the possibility of knowing the actual kingdom.
IMAGE IS EVERYTHING? NOT
There is a reason the Lord God said from the very beginning to never make any kind of graven image or material representation of what is thought to be of the spiritual world or the things that comprise it. Invariably, if one is wont to create such, one will invariably create something sinister regardless of how benign it may appear outwardly. In the most obtuse sense, someone feels he must construct a small image to which he will direct his “spiritual” energy and thought, in that he may feel a strong need for such though completely ignorant of why or why it must be such. These efforts grow in time to full-fledged statuary of perfect human forms, something the ancient Greeks perfected centuries before the Lord’s time.
We still have a great many examples of this ancient “art” and many more representations, of course, that have been created since. It gets seriously goofy when one lays eyes on the ridiculous stone figures of such people as George Washington and other founding fathers of America. This entire thing could not be more of a joke. I think Washington himself would be greatly embarrassed and would probably lead the charge in getting rid of them. One of the even more goofy efforts in this vein is the trend that began a few decades ago in constructing statues of baseball players outside major league baseball parks. Baseball players? Seriously? I like baseball but whoever signs off on this stuff needs to have their head examined.
The Lord has always warned against any of this stuff because people can be so easily deceived and begin seeing these things as reality. But they are mere idols. Other than the Lord Jesus, every human being who ever lived is flawed and sinful regardless of what they or others may think. No human being is worthy of a statue nor is the human being in general worthy of such, nor is such a proper representation anyway. Everything about unregenerate humanity is actually antithetical to spirituality, the antithesis of honor, and screams out the need for humility.
THE DEFAULT MUST BE RADICALLY ADJUSTED
Human beings are all going to hell without the Lord’s salvation. Regardless of all the good we know about everyone, there is also all the bad which must be acknowledged. Something must be done about it. Human beings can get so caught up in their own good looks or accomplishments, or the many material items they may have been able to acquire, and believe that all of that is somehow indicative of spiritual worth and self worth. It is not.
Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” [Luke 12:15]
The default eternal destination of every human being is hell. If something is not done to correct that then that is where one will end up. If one does nothing to change and attempt to get right with God one has no chance. But one must not only begin the process, one must see it through, no matter what it takes or how long it takes. Eternity is riding on it. The Lord stood before Pilate at His ongoing trial and stated this very clearly. Here was God Himself making it very clear that His kingdom was not of this earth. Pilate was an intelligent man but completely failed to grasp this truth.
Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?”
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.” [John 18:33-38]
Here was God. YHWH. The Great I AM. Standing before a mere human potentate. His rabid enemies right outside wanting to kill Him. This pretty much tells you all you need to know about the real nature of this world and of humanity. Why such a great divide? How did this happen?
It is obvious that the real Gospel calls for radical change and transformation, something the majority of Christians have never engaged in and often shun. Many of these have substituted material representations and large material structures costing great amounts of money to build and maintain. Many have substituted counterfeit doctrines and teachings resulting in spiritual ignorance. What would the Lord say?
Keep in mind that the Lord never wanted to be replaced by human leaders but allowed it only because people insisted. We also know He doesn’t dwell in houses made with human hands.
Why then the temple? Again, the entire paradigm changed forever after the Babylonian Captivity. A second temple was built but it never had anything in the Holy of Holies. The Ark of the Covenant was gone and has been missing ever since then. The third temple built by Herod, that which authorities insist was actually still the second temple, was also empty where it mattered. Was this a sign?
DOING WHAT COMES NATURALLY
And then the Lord came and they killed Him. They wanted the material. They wanted the money. They wanted the prestige. They wanted the honor. But the Lord said all of that was a complete joke and what one really needs is to get one’s spiritual eyes fixed. He stood before His inquisitors with nothing. This Man who made the universe, who created the planet, who set off Creation. This Man stood before them with nothing that they could see. And yet He was rich beyond measure. He would go through the process. He would allow them to kill Him. But He also warned them of what was coming and the judgment they would face. They paid no attention, just as most people pay no attention to what is required of them to gain eternal life.
It would be good if all Christians would get spiritual. It would be good if we would all pay attention to actual spiritual reality. If we did the things the Lord actually told us to do it would make more sense. The things the apostle Paul taught regarding spiritual gifts would make more sense. All Christians would flock to spiritual truth and do all that was required.
More Christians would wake from their slumber.
While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.” [Matthew 27:19] [1]
© 2018 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THE HIDDEN ENEMY AMONG US
The adversary is a master of propaganda. He revels in misinformation. He lives to deceive. If he can’t stop you he will try to send you in the wrong direction. He does everything in his power to conceal the truth.
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And it should be evident that what is referred to in an overall general sense by an unsuspecting world as “Christianity” is actually a vast collection of unrelated, incongruent, disparate, and often contradictory elements, from merely human but also otherworldly sources, with no connection whatsoever to the original. Unreal Christianity is thus rife with untruths, half-truths, fruitless rituals, syncretic misapplications, and even what Paul referred to as teachings of demons.
The million or so separate Christian camps each have their own primary ideology and religious slant, and each, for the most part, declines close fellowship with the others for fear that its individual identity and brand will be diluted and weakened, and thus compromised toward funding and support. Many of these factions, some quite large, got started because some DA believed the whispered fabrications of the enemy or the weird ramblings of his own wayward mind and ran with them, taking many clueless hangers-on along for the ride.
Once such groups effectively progress from single dominator and analogous cultic origins to gain the desired reputable respectability and requisite numbers, a strange but perfectly understandable phenomenon occurs: The recognition, reception, and incorporation of greater truth, light, and correction is absolutely refused so as not to interfere with established success and acceptance. This only facilitates even more splintering off, the creation of new sects, and greater division. Thus, the multitudinous Christian factions of the last two millennia have more in common with the devil’s obfuscations and religious confusion than the Lord’s original teachings.
Therefore, if one wants to figure out what is what and which is which, one must be willing to do comprehensive, long-term, in-depth study of the Word of God and particularly the pure teachings of the Lord Jesus. One must investigate actual Christian history (not the fake constructs) in as much detail as possible. One must also do much wide-ranging research (much), with no vested interest or personal religious apologia, and wade through the ubiquitous, muddy, debris-laden waters of deception and misinformation to sort it all out.
In that process, as a byproduct of the search for truth, one will discover the frauds and the deceived. Their deceptive cloaking devices will fall away. They will no longer be concealed and they become completely exposed. This is exactly what happened with the Lord regarding the fake religionists of His time. He could see right through them. He could also apparently see demons, which, when you think about it, is really cool, since the devious imps were used to being invisible and getting away with all their lying shenanigans but could no longer hide—Anywhere. Whenever they attempted their magic disappearing act around the Lord it no longer worked.
Here’s just one example:
In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” [Luke 4:33-36]
Think about this the next time you go to church.
FRUITLESS FRAUDS
It was therefore impossible to deceive Him. This is the way it must be for His real disciples. This is why the vast majority of those who claim to be NT Christians are not seeing Christians—they still have their blinders on. They can’t see the enemy. They remain deceived.
As a starting point in one’s search for truth and dividing truth from error, consider what the Lord told the frauds and deceived people of His time:
“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.” [Matthew 21:43] [1]
© 2017 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
NO ONE KNOWS WHAT GOES ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
There are a great many tacit taboos in traditional Christianity. One of them concerns knowing what happens behind the outer stage presentation and the unknown agenda of the few in charge.
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“For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.” [Luke 8:17-18] [1]
I heard a sermon many years ago relaying a story that took place many years before then. The elder preacher, very well respected with an excellent reputation, was well aware of the incident, having lived at that time.
BANG THE DRUM QUICKLY
It seems one of those small-church revivals had started up. They were going every night and much spiritual excitement was in the air. Those kinds of things would traditionally carry on for about two weeks, maybe three, and served as a method to get stuck-in-a-ditch church people back on track with God.
The preacher said someone there had a big bass drum. When things got to swinging every night that feller would bang on that drum incessantly. This somehow greatly helped inspire the people to get all excited and keep things happening. They were doing all the many things church people did in those kinds of revivals, which were different things from those in regular services. And the big drum would keep banging away in the background.
As I listened to the older man’s sermon I wondered where he was heading with the story. This was a veteran preacher who knew very well what he was doing and I was a young man quite intrigued with a story from way back, picturing a small church congregation intent on following the pastor’s lead and honoring the apparent fact that the man of God heard from God and the revival was heaven-sent.
He said night after night the revival kept going, the people kept coming, the Spirit kept blessing, and the big bass drum kept booming. Then one night the drum broke…
I learned a giant lesson. The preacher was not bashing the church or Christianity or any such thing. He was only giving people a small peak into what actually goes on behind the scenes. At that time I was still thoroughly wet behind the ears in that I trusted all leadership and never suspected anyone of doing anything untoward. I was so blessed to have had the incredible born again experience I had and everything in life was brand new and fresh. There was no way I would question anything about the process the Lord used to bless me so abundantly.
But that sermon brought me back to earth in a sense. It let me know there was more going on that I didn’t know about. It let me know all was not what it seemed… [To Be Continued]
© 2017 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Is God Three People? JESUS IS YHWH (4)
Dear Readers: Thank you for all your support this year. I believe the content in this current series is indispensible regarding the coming Great Awakening in America. We must all grow closer to the Lord Jesus. He must be exalted in this nation. His real identity must be known. Christian persecution will continue rising in America in 2016 and we must all be prepared. Please help make this current series reach as many believers as possible. Be blessed!
“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM…” [John 8:28 NAB]
Since the vast majority of Christians are Trinitarians, even though the first believers were not, one must address this issue if one wants to arrive at truth.
As I said in Part 2 of this series, …The “Trinity Doctrine” was formulated THREE CENTURIES after the Lord Jesus began His community. One can check any reputable reference book for this fact.
There is obviously a lot of confusion regarding this issue but God is not the author of confusion. The confusion has arisen from the enemies of God.
WHO IS THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE?
The Roman Catholic Church says that “God the Father,” not the Lord Jesus, is the Creator. So do the Jehovah’s Witnesses. So do most “Christian” cults. So do most major Protestant bodies who should know better but still reject the many verses of scripture which state clearly that the Lord Jesus is the Creator. They do this primarily because it violates the teaching of the “Trinity Doctrine.” This is why most Christians believe that the Lord Jesus is not the Creator.
They’re all wrong.
In Part 1 of this series I quoted directly from Paul’s letter to the Colossians that the Lord Jesus is indeed the Creator. So why does almost everyone see it differently? Why do most Christians believe something the New Testament does not teach?
I want all of you to know, especially my long time loyal readers and the supporters of this site that I have no agenda other than expressing the truth revealed in the Gospels and New Covenant writings. I am not here supporting any particular denomination, institution, church, or man-made belief system. I am only an apologist for the Lord’s original teachings.
Anyone who is led by the Spirit of God and reads the written Word will soon discover discrepancies between what the Word says and what the majority of Christians have been taught.
There is a reason for this. There is an enemy. And the enemy often shows up as an angel of light:
But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. [2Corinthians 11:12-15]
The apostle Paul was often exasperated in his own time with fake believers. The Lord Jesus was always being accused by fake believers that they were right and He was wrong. In fact, THE MAJORITY was always wrong and was always accusing the Lord and the original apostles of being heretics.
This is why Paul said such a thing should not be seen as surprising. He knew the Lord had enemies. And he knew such enemies were determined to destroy him and they tried many, many times. They also tried to destroy the Lord Jesus many times. From this all real Christians should know, then, that the enemies of God play for keeps. They don’t mess around. They are intent on destroying the Lord and His people.
THE DEVIL GOES TO CHURCH
Satan understood early on that the best way to do serious damage to the Lord’s community was to infiltrate it by disguising himself and going under cover as a believer and even as an angel. He obviously sent demons on such missions. He had no problem finding human beings to join him. He has achieved incredible success at this over the centuries and especially at present.
It is relatively simple for the devil to deceive sinful human beings who are not in fellowship with the Lord. Hence, he began creating confusion from the very beginning of the Lord’s community. It’s what he does. It is what he has always done. He is liar and a master deceiver.
HE SPECIALIZES PRIMARILY IN THE RELIGIOUS LIE.
It is why he has always had so many people on his side who have been brainwashed into believing his religious garbage.
“Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
“But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.” [John 8:43-45]
The Lord Jesus did not look like the truth. His teachings did not sound like the truth. This is why—
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. [John 1:10-11] [1]
How can this be explained? Easy: The Lord Jesus is the Light. But the people thought they were already dwelling in light. However, they were actually dwelling in darkness. They had become convinced by the devil that their darkness was light. So when the real Light appeared and He shone His great light all over their darkness, to them it looked like the worst form of darkness.
It is ALWAYS that way with false religions, cults, and false belief systems, including Unreal Christianity. The people who embrace the lie and live in darkness are so convinced they are right they see the real light as something wrong and even evil. Also, they are extremely uncomfortable with the Light because it exposes their sin and brings them under conviction. They would rather live comfortably in deception and continue in sin.
This is why so many attempts have been made by false believers to deceive the world with false doctrines IN THE NAME OF CHRISTIANITY. And it is why so many people in the world think Christianity is a joke: Many of them are reacting to Unreal Christianity.
I did the same thing. Then, several decades ago, I saw the Light.
A REVELATION OF TRUTH
I discovered that I had been lied to. I was young and didn’t know any better. I had been the victim of a false “Christian” ideology. For that reason I had rejected “official” Christianity as a belief system.
BUT I NEVER REJECTED THE LORD JESUS. I had been taught that He was not God and had come to believe it, but I knew He was good. Since He was not God I wanted to find out who was. Who was this unknown mysterious “God the Father” they kept talking about?
In high school I quit attending church. I started searching for truth. I dedicated my life to this goal. I was relentless. I was very hungry for truth. Then the Lord, completely unknown to me, was able to start guiding me out of deception and toward truth by His Holy Spirit. I was not aware that He was doing this. He led me closer and closer toward the truth. While everyone else was getting on with their lives, I kept searching and studying and doing much research. I rejected a lot of stuff I found to be garbage.
Several years later the Lord Jesus had been able to lead me right to the Door and into His very presence.
It was then that I discovered that the Lord Jesus was not just a good guy, kind of a hippie, who taught peace and love. He was not just another wise teacher like so many others who had come before and since. He was not only the Son of God. And He was certainly not some strange second person of a weird Roman religious trinity.
He showed me that He is the Truth. He revealed to me that He is the One God—the same YHWH of the Old Testament that the patriarchs and prophets knew, and the One embraced and loved by the original New Covenant community.
He is who I had been searching for all along… [To Be Continued.]
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Heart of Darkness: The Sinner’s Self-Deception
Unrepentant sinners never care to count the cost. They never care to look down the road. They never perceive the future consequences of their actions. They seem to live only for the moment and let tomorrow “take care of itself.”
There are many Biblical passages which speak to the fallacy of living in such a way. The Lord Jesus taught very much on the subject. In fact, the subject is so widespread and all-inclusive, one should always be cognizant of what one’s current actions will turn into when his or her karma chickens come home to roost.
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption… [Galatians 6:7-8]
Every day we are planting seeds. Each decision we make and act on is a seed that will manifest in something. It therefore stands to reason that we should all concentrate on making good decisions, on doing good things, and on planting good “seeds” so we can later have good outcomes.
…But the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. [Galatians 6:8-9]
There are consequences in every single action we make. Like the proverbial ripples in the pond, what one does today will spread into tomorrow and next week and will continue “paying dividends” far into the future.
It is therefore mandatory that we know what is good and what is bad, so we can avoid planting bad seeds and concentrate on planting good seeds.
If we are always doing good deeds, the fruit of the good deeds will constantly be coming forth. Something good will happen tomorrow or the next day and it will be because we planted good seed and performed good deeds.
Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. [James 3:12-13]
However, those who do good must also be aware of the presence of evil in this world. Evil hates the good and goes to war against it. So one may do many good things and have the fruit of that good come forth, but also attract the attack of evil for doing good. Such evil is not the result of one doing good, but the result of being attacked by evil for doing good.
Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. [1 Peter 2:12]
Unrepentant sinners are those who join forces with the dark side whether they know it or not. In fact, most of these do not know they are in league with the devil because they are deceived. And many are self-deceived. But in most cases it does not mean their conscience is dead. They deceive themselves into thinking their sin has no consequences and thus, not only continue to sin but develop a sinful lifestyle. Their personal culture and way of life has sin infused throughout it, and they actually believe their sin is good, and thus, not sin.
This is willing deception of the highest order.
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!
Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!
Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble and dry grass collapses into the flame, so their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. [Isaiah 5:20-24]
As an excellent example, this is why millions of American Christians believe ripping apart a living, breathing innocent baby is a good thing.
What?
It’s elementary.
Logic teaches us, through the basic form of the argument structure, the following:
Premise 1: Polls continually show that the vast majority of Americans refer to themselves as Christians.
Premise 2: America is supposedly a Christian nation.
Conclusion: Therefore, American Christians are pro-abortion, and have consistently supported abortion rights for over forty years, in that abortion, totally and completely illegal and immoral in the eyes of God, still exists as a legal and moral choice in this country.
If the conclusion is false, then one or both premises must be false. If either premise is false, America is not a Christian nation, and the giant majority that claims Christianity is not composed of real Christians. Since the facts of abortion are true, and since real Christians oppose abortion, it must be the unreal Christians who support it. And it must also be the unreal Christians who have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Doctors have advised thousands and thousands of parents that their unborn babies have such severe defects they should abort the pregnancies. And millions of parents-to-be have been counseled that babies on the way, physically impaired or not, are terribly inconvenient. Consequently, such parents have aborted their babies thinking they were doing the right thing, though they had to bypass a God-given convicting conscience. Many have regretted such decisions ever since.
But many parents have also refused such advice, trusted God, allowed their babies to be born, and such babies end up bringing great joy to their parents and the world, grow up and become good, productive adults, and are ever thankful that their parents allowed them to live.
Abortion is an extreme example, maybe the most extreme. But such an example gives perfect perspective to the “evil is good” mentality spread throughout the country and this fallen world.
Doing good is not necessarily easy. But deceiving oneself into sinning without repentance or recognizing the sin makes doing evil very easy. Such people have circumvented the one check on their bad behavior—they have removed their will/conscience from the equation.
Picture the ultimate running-with-scissors scenario. Picture one knowing full well what their evil behavior will manifest in but keep doing it anyway, over and over again.
And because of their disregard of goodness and light
And not living according to what is morally right
God makes it simple to sin to their hearts delight
By giving them a reprobate mind of blind and blight.
And they begin to believe in, practice, and teach the most idiotic things ever known to mankind. They become complete and total doofuses—total fools unto themselves, though with an arrogant air and the perception of intelligence.
And they hang around with like-minded people—those who are also willingly deceived. And they fight for evil. They join forces with the devil and not only do they not care or see, they laugh at the thought. And they think God is an idiot. And they think God’s people are idiots. And they laugh at those who try to rescue them.
They will not be laughing in hell.
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. [Romans 1:28-32] [1]
In other words, such people know they are doing wrong but are compelled to continue sowing bad seed with no remorse or repentance until they can no longer feel remorse or desire repentance. What else can this be but willing self-deception and an enthusiastic eagerness for endless sin sprees? And why should there not be justice for such crimes? Others may call them victims or place the blame anywhere but where it belongs, but God calls them what they are—those who love sin.
For most, justice will come after death. And they will not be able to defend their evil deeds.
Therefore, the idea that sinners are completely unmindful of and completely deceived regarding their bad seed and resultant bad fruit does not hold water. They know. And they know they will pay. The problem is they simply don’t care. They possess a self-created apathetic heart of darkness.
Nevertheless, though the result of their sin continues to erupt like a mad volcano spewing evil and misery all over the land, the Lord, in His great love and compassion, still tries to reach them…
Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD until He comes to rain righteousness on you. You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous warriors, therefore a tumult will arise among your people, and all your fortresses will be destroyed… [Hosea 10:12-14]
© 2013 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
