The End of the Church Age...and After

    Everywhere we look, we see that the churches are increasingly falling away form the truth of the Bible and following their own wisdom. They are departing form the rules of the Bible and developing their own rules. Also, we see that there are very few in the churches who are concerned about the faithfulness of their church or of their own rules. Also, we see that there are very few in the churches who are concerned about the faithfulness of their church or of their own doctrines. There may be concern that “those liberal churches” are unfaithful to God or that this “cult” is bad. However, when it comes to individuals looking at their own doctrinal positions or the positions of their church, we do not see much of this. In many churches, effectively, the confessions are the highest authority. The confessions have been around so long the church leaders will not change them. Any new idea is tested against the confessions rather than the Bible. If the idea does not square with what the church believers or the confessions, it is rejected.
    A few believers in a church may get nervous and speak with their pastor or an elder, but their suggestions do not have much impact. In fact, these people will probably find that their church continues to depart further in doctrine and practice from the truths of the Bible.
    If we honestly examine our own church or the churches in general, we find many areas in which the truths of the Bible have been set aside. If we made the same examination 50 or 100 years ago, we would have to conclude that most of the churches then were much more faithful. Here are a sampling of areas in which the churches have departed from the Bible. A careful examination could add many more items to this list.

    (a) Divorce and remarriage. The Bible clearly commands that the husband is bound to his wife until death (I Corinthians 7:39, Romans 7:1-3). Therefore, there is not to be divorce and remarriage. Passages like Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 are being used to teach that divorce and remarriage are permissible. However, a careful study of the Bible shows that this is not the case. The church traditionally has correctly understood this, but in the last 50 years, this rule has been completely set aside, so that the divorce rate is as high in the churches as in the secular world. Virtually every denomination has made provision for divorce, and the result of this has been

great damage upon society. There are broken homes, mixed-up children, single parents, etc.

    However, no denomination is dealing with the root problems, namely, how can we stop the divorce plague and return to the sanctity of marriage? The solution is to go back to the Biblical rules of no divorce and remarriage, but we do not see this happening. (For more information about the Biblical rules for marriage, please contact Family Radio and ask for the booklet, “What God Hath Joined Together”)

    (b) Sunday Sabbath. God has established Sunday as the New Testament Sabbath day. It is the Lord’s Day, a day to be used entirely for the things of the Lord. It is a day for worship, evangelizing, training our children in the things of the Lord, Bible study, visiting those who need encouragement, etc. The churches have historically kept this day exclusively for the Lord’s things. They may not have fully understood the Sunday Sabbath, and confused it with the seventh-day Sabbath of the Old Testament, but nevertheless, it was kept pretty much according to the Bible. However, in the past 50 years, this day has been turned into a day of pleasure, a day for our pleasure, and not for God’s pleasure. God warned about his in Isaiah 58:13-14. Virtually every church has departed form God in this area. (For a detailed explanation of the Bible verses that explain the Sunday Sabbath, please contact Family Radio and request the booklet, “Sunday: The Sabbath”)

    (c) Gospels of signs and wonders. In the past 50 years, the churches that feature “tongues” as described in I Corinthians 12, 13, and 14 have increased enormously, to the point that almost every denomination has been impacted. Tongues are frequently a part of those churches that are the fastest growing in our day, and it is a very difficult to find pastors who will say definitively that this is not from God. Tongues are a world-wide phenomenon, showing up in the fastest growing churches worldwide.

    In addition to tongues, many of these churches also feature other kinds of miracles, including the miracle called “falling down backward.” However, God completed His divine revelation when He completed the last chapter of the last book of the Bible. In Revelation 22:18-19, God indicates that there is not to be any addition or removal from this “book.” The “book” in view can only be the Bible (Revelation 22:9-10, Hebrews 10:7). Therefore, once the Bible was completed in approximately A.D. 95, that ended all divine revelation. This means that the phenomenon of speaking in tongues in the church at Corinth would have ended. With it would have

    ended the other signs and wonders that occurred during Bible days. However, mankind by nature is not satisfied with a gospel of jest trusting the Bible, he seeks something more, something such as a miraculous message from God. God will not accommodate this desire, but Satan, as he is taking his seat (rulership) in the corporate body, will provide supernatural messages (II Corinthians 11:13-14, II Thessalonians 2:1-4). God warns that one of the signs that we are near the end is the appearance of these false christs coming with gospels of signs and wonders (Matthew 24:24). We will cover this subject in much more detail later on this study.

    (d) Rulership and the place of women in the church. Women’s place in the church is another example of the decision by the church to change God’s law to suit man’s ideas. There is tremendous pressure to accept women in the pulpit and women who rule and have authority in the church. This is absolutely contrary to the law of God (I Corinthians 14:34, I Timothy 2:12). Also, God has given strict rules regarding the leadership in the church (I Timothy 3). Not only must the leaders be men, but they must be married with children, giving evidence that they can rule their own home. Also, many other qualifications are given for these rulers. Therefore, most men do not qualify for leadership, and yet churches today are appointing single men and married men without children. The churches have chosen to go their own way and to disregard God’s law.

    (e) Music. For hundreds of years, the church has been blessed by Godly Christian music, in which both the words and the music were God glorifying. The words of the music expressed important spiritual principles. These words helped encourage believers in the truths of the Bible. As believers would think about these words, they would be built up in the Word of God. However, today it is different. There is much less substance to the words today. Often times anthems are sung that just repeat short phrases. These phrases tend to be very shallow in spiritual context. Also, the sound is patterned after the music of the world. Very often worldly music is chosen, such as rock-and-roll, and the words are just changed to words from the Bible. One has difficulty telling the music of the world from the Bible. One has difficulty telling the music of the world form the contemporary Christian music since it is difficult to understand the words. The Christian music has effectively just become the music of the world because you cannot tell the two apart.

    However, the Bible indicates that music is associated with worship and should reflect the holy nature of God. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, the word “worship” identifies with bowing down. That is, when we worship God, we are bowing down before God, we are

    acknowledging His rulership over us. We are showing that we should be trembling before God because He is holy God. This is the proper setting for the music of the church. Christian music should reflect the holy nature of God. It should be music that reflects the idea of “bowing down” before God, the idea that God is His eternal majesty who is to be feared and held in awe. The music of the church through the ages has generally reflected this in both its words and sounds. However, today the music of the church is closely patterned after that of the world.

    (f) Salvation is by grace alone. The law of God has been changed in that it is widely taught that salvation is not altogether dependent on God’s grace alone. It is taught that God has provided for the salvation of every individual in the human race and that salvation thus depends upon man to be the decision maker. Of his own free will, some say, man can accept or reject salvation. Thus, salvation would ultimately be a joining of Christ’s work on the cross the man’s work in accepting Christ - both would have contributed to the individual’s salvation.

    This perverse teaching disregards all kinds of laws of the Bible. No recognition is given to the Bible’s teaching that man is spiritually dead and has no desire to seek God (Ephesians 2:1-5, Roman 3:10-11). It denies the truth that Christ went to the cross to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21), and the rest of the world must stand at Judgment Day and give an account of their sins (II Corinthians 5:10). This teaching fails to face statements such as Revelation 17:8, which teaches that only some people have their names written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.

    Moreover, the Bible tells us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, we are to trust Him for all that He has done for our salvation, and that includes the fact that from the foundation of the world, God chose those whom He would save, and therefore has obligated Himself to save those whom He has chosen (Ephesians 1:4-10).

    Those, however, who believe that man has a free will effectively are indicating that they do not trust Christ to save them in His time and in His manner. They want a salvation in which they, themselves, are the guarantor, that is, they can become saved any time they wish by simply reaching out and accepting Christ. In this way, they do not have to wait for God to act. Thus, effectively, they do not trust God at all. But if they do not trust Christ who is eternal God then they are not saved, for they do not believe on Him. The result of God saving us is that we believe on Him, that our will has been broken, and we trust everything in the Bible that God has declared

    concerning salvation.

    To some degree, the pernicious teaching of free will has plagued the church throughout New Testament history, but in our day it has invaded almost every congregation. Thus, these congregations no longer have God’s salvation plan. The salvation they offer is designed by men and will save no one from the wrath of God. What a terrible situation the church has come into. (For further information, please contact Family Radio and request the book, “Baptism: The Washing Away of Our Sins” or the book “God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan.”)

    (g) Today’s gospel - a social gospel. All people have three aspirations: 1) political freedom, 2). economic security, and 3) freedom from disease. All of mankind desires these blessings, and pastors and teachers increasingly incorporate these desires into their gospels. The social gospel, which has great concern for the physically hungry, is becoming the number one priority. Preachers say that the Christian ethic demands that all men have political freedom. It is believed that the church must do all it can to provide medicine and doctors to the world, and it is also believed that the church can expect God to provide good health (even miraculous healings), to those who claim the name of Jesus.

    These aspirations have nothing to do with the Gospel of the Bible. This is proven by the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16). The rich man with all his money could buy many, many freedoms that were denied others. He could afford the finest doctors and medicines. Certainly he had economic security.

    Lazarus, on the other hand, was a beggar. He had sores that were licked by dogs. He had no economic security, and he had poor health. His political freedom was of no consequence. Which of these two men most badly needed the Gospel? According to today’s social gospel, it is obvious that Lazarus had the greater need, but did he? Both the rich man and Lazarus equally need the Gospel. God strips the curtain of eternity aside and the rich man is seen in hell and Lazarus is in Abraham’s bosom, a figure which signifies heaven. The beggar, Lazarus, had everything in this life because he was saved. The rich man had nothing because he was unsaved. Surely this teaches that the social-political gospel has nothing to do with the Gospel of salvation.

    The Gospel is concerned with the spiritual needs of mankind. Only within the congregation does the Gospel concern itself with physical needs.

    Many doctrines and practices that are prevalent today present evidence that the church has rewritten the laws of the Bible. Indeed, congregations are being encouraged to follow a salvation program different from that which is found in the Bible.

    (h) Preaching the full counsel of God: hell and damnation. One frightening thing is that there is so little preaching about hell and damnation, but hell is that from which we are saved. All kinds of salvation messages are being presented with the general theme of God’s love, the idea being that it would be salutary and wise to become identified with the Lord Jesus Christ. These messages imply that by accepting Him, things are going to go well and life will have purpose and meaning.

    How can anyone become saved if he does not know what he is being saved from? How can he know what he is saved form unless it is thoroughly discussed and diligently taught that because of sins he is under the wrath of God. He is subject to eternal damnation. He ought to be taught from what he needs to be saved from.

    One can rightly fear eternal damnation only if the Bible’s disclosures of the awful nature of hell are taught. God did not place multitudinous Biblical references to the awfulness and certainty of His wrath just to fill up space. These warnings are to be read, taught, discussed, and should instill fear in mankind. If these passages are neglected, it is not the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26-27). It would be man’s gospel and not the true Gospel.

    These are just a few of the areas in which churches have fallen away from the truths of the Bible. If anyone takes a close examination of their own church, they will see other areas in which their church has departed from the Bible.

Does the Bible speak about this Falling Away?

    We have seen some of the areas in which the churches of today have departed from the Bible. There are many more items that could be added to this list. We are seeing that the Bible is no longer the final authority. When a concerned church member comes with a verse that disagrees with something that his church teaches and asks his pastor or elder about the verse, the response is not encouraging. We would expect that pastors and elders would tremble before the Word of God if they discovered that they are holding a doctrine contrary to the Bible. But, generally, we do not find this.

    So, the question is: Does the Bible speak about this falling away? Does the Bible predict what we are seeing today? The answer is Yes! The Bible definitely speaks about his falling away. The Bible definitely predicts that this falling away would come. As we will see in this study, Matthews 24 as well as many other passages are definitely discussing this time. We read in verses 21 and 24 of Matthew 24:

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

    Verse 21 tells us of a future time of great tribulation. It is a tribulation that is so great that there has never been such a tribulation in the history of the world. Then verse 24 tells us the character of this tribulation. It is a spiritual tribulation that plagues the churches. Notice that false christs are arising. Since Christ has worked in the churches, these false christs, of whom Satan is the chief, will work in the church. That is why they are called false christs. These false christs are coming with all of their false doctrines, which is what we see in the churches today.

    Notice the signpost that God gives us. Namely, they come with sings and wonders. As mentioned above, gospels of signs and wonders, including tongues, are prevalent in the church today, like no other time in history. This is a big evidence. As we continue in this study, we will learn much more about these gospels of signs and wonders.

    God also indicated that there will come a time in history in which Satan will be victorious over the body of believers. We read in Revelation 13:7:

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

    The saints are those in the churches and congregations. It was given to Satan to make war with the corporate body and to overcome it. Notice that it was “given unto him.” God has given him this victory. We read in Revelation 9:1-3:

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And

he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of the great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

    The “star” here is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, He is the only one with the key to the bottomless pit. The bottomless pit is a reference to hell. Christ is the one that loosed Satan to come against the church. This explains what we read in II Thessalonians 2:1-4, which tells us that the man of sin (Satan) will take his seat in the temple. From I Corinthians 3, we know that the temple is a reference to the corporate body, the churches and congregations, and the man of sin is Satan, and finally to take ones “seat” is to rule. We will go into more details on these verses later in this study.

    The Old Testament Book of Daniel also speaks of this time. We know this because God has directed us to look back into the Book of Daniel in Matthew 24:15. We read in Daniel 7:21 and 25:

I beheld, and the same horn made warn with the saints, and prevailed against them;

And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until the time and times and the dividing of time.

    Verse 21 is very similar to Revelation 13:7. Satan is the “little horn” who will make war with the churches and will prevail. The changing of “times and laws” refers to Satan working in the churches to change the rules of the Bible. This identifies exactly with what we have seen. In the short listing above, we can see many areas in which the churches have changed the laws of the Bible to suit their own desires.

    Therefore, we can see form this short sampling of verses that the Bible does speak of this time, and that it is a dreadful time, because God has not

only allowed the churches to fall away, but has appointed Satan as the ruler of the churches. We must remember that to “sit” or to take one’s “seat” means to rule.

    Therefore, we can see that the Bible is not silent about the falling away that we see today. The Bible actually has a whole lot to say about what is happening today. As we proceed in this study, we will see that the “Great Tribulation” that we are experiencing today is very well documented in the Bible. There are many more passages that describes the time in which we are living.

What is God’s Response to the Churches Falling Away?

    We have seen that the churches and congregations have departed form the truths of the Bible, and that there appears to be little or no fear of God in the hearts of church leaders today. As we have compared what churches do and teach versus the Bible, we see the flippant disregard for the laws of God. We have also seen that the Bible is not silent about this time, but rather that God has declared that this time would come, and that it would be a dreadful time. We have seen these two important points, and now we are faced with the next logical question: What is God’s response to this open rebellion? Is God just going to sit idle while all of this is occurring? Has God simply written about his so that the believers are not in shock when this happens? Is God going to allow all of this without any response?

    We will find that the Bible answer these questions with a definite NO! Let us look briefly at the few passages to get an introduction to this topic. First, we read in I Peter 4:17-18:

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

    Just as God will examine all of the unsaved of the whole world on the last day, as we reading Revelation 20:11-15 and in other passages, God is insisting in I Peter 4:17 that His judgment begins in His own house, in His churches and congregations. Now, just as in the final judgment on the last day when God will show no mercy, we will see in this study that there is no mercy in God’s judgment upon the church. This is truly a dreadful situation: it is a situation of such magnitude that God speaks about it in many parts of the Bible. For example, God speaks about this same judgment in

    Jeremiah 25. In Jeremiah 25, God expands the explanation of I Peter 4:17. We read in Jeremiah 25:15-26:

For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me: To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink them.

    If we examine this language carefully, we see that it must be talking about Judgment Day. Notice how God emphasizes judgment upon all of the nations of the world. He lists many known nations at that time and then transitions to speaking about all of the nations that are “upon the face of the earth.” This can only be the final judgment, Judgment Day at the last day. Notice also where this judgment begins. It begins at Jerusalem and Judah. This parallels I Peter 4:17. Also, look at verses 28 and 29:

And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be punished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

    Notice God’s response if the peoples of the world complain that judgment has come for them. God declares that those in the world who have had no connection with the churches of God will be judged because God has first begun with His own house. God is insisting that He is not a respecter of persons. His judgment upon the unsaved in the churches is no less severe than those outside. We see the exact parallel between Jeremiah 25 and I Peter 4:17-18. Judgment begins first with the corporate body, the people of God, the churches and congregations, then it transitions to the whole world. No one will be able to complain that God is unfair because He began with His own people.

    So, God is using two parallel passages to indicate that when the final judgment comes, it begins with the churches and congregation. They are the visible House of God that we can see in the world today.

    Therefore, God is teaching in these two passages that He is not silent in all of this falling away. Rather, God’s judgment has already begun, and it has begun in the churches. We will see this more as we proceed in this study. God’s response is that the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God.

    As further evidence that God is not silent, we can examine how God has dealt with His people in the past. We can see God’s patience with national Israel in the Book of Judges. We see God’s continued patience in I an II Samuel and I and II Kings. This is really parallel to God’s patience with the New Testament churches and congregations. As we study Revelation 2 and 3, we can see that most of these seven churches were already in trouble with God, indicating that even back to the beginning of the New Testament era, there were problems in the churches. However, God persisted with the New Testament churches for over 1900 years, just like He did with Israel. However, there came a time that judgment fell upon Israel for their increasing wickedness. For the ten northern tribes, in came in 709 B.C. and for the two southern tribes, known as Judah, it came in 587 B.C.

    We read in Hebrews 13:8:

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

    So, we know that as Jesus Christ dealt with His people in the Old Testament, we can expect the same thing for His people, the churches and congregations, in the New Testament. Therefore, we have further Biblical evidence that the judgment of God has come upon the church.

    One thing we want to note is that when God judged His corporate body in the past, it was a complete judgment. He completely destroyed Israel, the ten northern tribes in 709 B.C. Then, in 587 B.C., He completely destroyed

Jerusalem and the temple. We can therefore expect a similar complete destruction of the corporate body again.

    As we continue in this study, we will see abundant Biblical evidence that the churches are under the judgment of God.

What Does God Expect from the Believers?

    We are beginning to see that the churches and congregations are under the judgment of God. This explains why we see the falling away that we do, an why pastors, elders, and church officers are not really concerned about being altogether faithful to the Word of God. This is why when an individual in the congregation gets nervous about how his church is departing form the Bible and speaks to his pastor, he is pretty much ignored or rebuffed.

    Now, we must face the questions: Given all of this falling away and given that the time of God’s judgment has begun for the churches, what is God’s expected response from the believer? Does He expect anything form me? Should I continue to attend my church as I have always done? Is God only directing His judgment upon the “liberal” churches? Surely my church is still under the blessing of God and my pastor is still preaching form the Bible, so I should not have to worry too much about these things.

    Actually, God has a lot of say to the believer today, and He has a big expectation of the believer. However, in order to understand God’s command for the believer today, we are going to back up and study God’s whole plan of salvation throughout time. We are going to see that what is happening today is not an isolated situation, but rather that it fits neatly into God’s plan of “times and seasons.” Let’s continue our study now by looking at God’s salvation plan throughout the history of the world.