The Last Great Apostasy...the West in prophecy pt 7

https://billrandles.wordpress.com/2017/06/21/the-last-great-apostasy-the-west-in-prophecy-pt-7/ ^ | 05-20-17 | Bill Randles

[pastorbillrandles]

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?( @ Thessalonains 2:1-5)

Before the day of the LORD comes, there must come first an apostasy, a falling away from revealed truth, which will lead to the revelation of “the man of sin”, who is the “son of Perdition”.

I have been taught this from the very beginning of my Christian life, and am surer of it than I have ever been. In every apostate movement which I have been exposed to in the forty years of my pilgrimage, I have oft asked my self, ‘is this it?’, ‘is this the great apostasy spoken of in second Thessalonians?’.

I have seen and sough to expose, many distortion of the Christian faith, such as The Word of Faith Movement, the Manifested Sons of God and Latter Rain movement, the various false Prophets which have arisen, the mystical but misguided “River Revivals”, Toronto Blessing, and other forms of “experienced based Christianity’. I have seen revivals of ancient heresies such as Pelagianism, Montanism, and defections from the revelation of the Trinity, such as Oneness Pentecostalism.

A good share of my pastoral ministry has been spent teaching and warning in writing against apostasy of all stripes.

In fact I have come to the point of realizing that in the whole time of my pilgrimage, the entire church World has been utterly rife with Apostasy. WE haven’t even mentioned the sub Christian cults such as Jehovah;s Witnesses and Mormons. It almost seems that we are in a place where true Orthodox Christianity is just one of many, many optional versions of ‘Christian spirituality’.

Taking a step back further, I have come to realize in my studies of Church History, that from the beginning it has always been so/ he Apostle Paul warned that shortly after his departure, there would be “grievous wolves’ arising from among his own disciples, ‘not sparing the flock of God’.

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.(Acts 20:28-30)

The one lesson I have learned from Church History is that in the face of such distortion and apostasy, it is truly a miracle that there still is a Christian church which is orthodox and true to the gospel. Jesus did say “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not stand against it…”.

In the light of that, and in view of the warning in Thessalonians, I have a question; how would we know that the final apostasy has come, since all of church history is a testimony of constant apostasy? ” The day of the LORD shall not come, until a falling away first…”...Which falling away would that be?

Perhaps we have made a wrong assumption. We have assumed that the ‘allying away’ would be an apostasy among Christians, that they would fall away from the faith into various cults and false movements, (as has been the case since the time of the Apostles).

What if Paul is referring to something a whole lot broader; not just an apostasy of confessing Christians from the revealed truth of the Gospel, but a worldwide apostasy of humanity from things God has revealed to all of mankind.

Such a defection has happened before in the days of the Tower of Babel, and it ended in a catastrophic judgment which separated mankind, to this very day.

My thoughts on this subject were aroused after reading Isaiah 24, and already having been pondering 2 Thessalonians 2. Isaiah 24-27 is called the ‘mini apocalypse’, and it describes the events occurring in the day of the LORD.

Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.(Isaiah 24:1-6)

The Judgment is universal, the earth staggers , all classes of people are afflicted. The earth itself is seen as being morally sensitive, it mourns, languishes and fades away under the heavy curse put upon it.

The people of the earth are charged with specific crimes, “They have transgressed the laws”, “changed the ordinance” and “Broken the everlasting covenant”.

What are these laws and ordinances? What would the everlasting covenant consist of?

I do not believe this to be reference to the Law of Moses, nor to the New Covenant, for these are chargeable to all of the people of the earth, not just Jews and Christians.

What he is talking about here is a universal apostasy, a rebellion against something God has put into the hearts of all mankind, from Creation itself. This is Primal Law, ordinances for all of humanity to live by… the everlasting covenant.

It goes back to the earliest chapters of Genesis, from chapter 1 to chapter 11, the account of the Babel rebellion, the earliest “World Apostasy”. In those early chapters, starting at chapter One, God establishes everything necessary for all of mankind to be able to live. I quote from my book, Creation,Fall and The Hope Of Redemption,

“Genesis 1-11 contains a divine revelation of all that is basic to a true understanding of man; his world, his fall into sin and alienation from God, his present lost condition, and the possibility of his salvation.

It contains truths that are universal, in that they apply to all men, and not just to the church or to Israel. All men are created in the image of God, (though we have shattered and distorted that image). All men share in the sin of Adam, and have original sin. Marriage is for all people, male and female.

Genesis 1-11 is truth. In other words, it is reality. The hu- man race truly did all descend “from one blood” as Paul told us in Acts 17. There are truly God-given roles for male and female to live out, and marriage is an objective reality, not a

mere social construct. There really was a worldwide Flood, which altered the geography, lifespan, and the weather pat- terns of the earth.

A civilization which has been largely based upon the acceptance and recognition of these primal truths cannot help but flourish for it is based upon reality. The extent to which any human enterprise is based upon reality, i.e., “true truth” as Francis Schaeffer used to call it, is the extent to which it will prosper.

The Judeo-Christian West has flourished for centuries, expanding and developing into the greatest, most power- ful, secure, prosperous beneficial civilization which have ever existed. The West’s liberal, democratic republics have afforded to the most people, the greatest freedoms ever known to any on earth.

But now the West is dying. The second psalm is a prophecy, which explains it all so

well. Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us (Psalm 2).

The expression, “kings of the earth and the rulers”, should not be understood to refer only to our government officials. The phrase refers rather to all of the leaders in education, government, religion, academia, the intellectuals, news and media, the opinion shapers and molders, and entertainers, who have achieved among themselves a remarkable con- sensus.

Our ruling elites, the so called “kings of the earth and the rulers”, have for too long “taken counsel together against the Lord and His Christ”. Where have they taken this god-

less counsel? In my view, they have been taken it for the past eighty years or so to the institutions of higher learning.

It is for many of us an all too familiar story. You scrimp and sacrifice to send a son or daughter to the university. They come home after the first semester saturated with “environmental awareness”. By the end of the first year they have adapted progressive notions about economics, taxes and “social justice”. Eventually they are holding to feminist positions and hate America. After about four years, if the brainwashing does its work, they are virulently anti-Israel,

The psalmist predicted that the ruling class elite, would launch a misguided liberation movement against the very foundations that undergird our blessed and once prosper- ous societies. They preach, “Let us break their bands asunder . . . let us cast aside their cords.”

Whose bands? The Lord and His Anointed (Christ)! Whose cords? Has the Lord and His Messiah put us in bond- age? Are their societal cords that have been cut and cast aside?

I believe that one of the evils of our day and the reason for our rapid societal decline has been this very thing. Our elites are in rebellion against reality! They are leading a “lib- eration movement” against Judeo-Christian moral teaching, seeking to throw it all out!

They are repudiating, everything that Genesis 1-11 says about reality, point by point.

The Creator……………………………………………………Worship the creation God Created everything…………. Impersonal time & chance; evolution

Man made in God’s image.……………………Man as highly evolved animal Man as steward of the earth ……………. Man as blight/disease on earth

Marriage; male and female ….. Sexual anarchy; decide for yourselves Two distinct gender roles ……………………….Gender as a mere construct

“Be fruitful and multiply” ……. ZPG; Children as an unwanted burden

Every seed bearing fruit…………………………..Genetically modified “seed”

Death penalty for murder………….No death penalty (except abortion)

Man to spread out & subdue the earth ……………………………….Earth to be protected from man’s destruction

Nations of the world to be separated …………………. The United Nations

You are allowed to eat meat ……………………………………………Vegetarianism

I could go on and on. It seems like man has repudiated everything that God ordained for man in Genesis 1-11.

Our atheistic leadership elites are trying to remake the world in their own image, which is a godless utopia. But this puts us all on a collision course with the God of the Bible, who has His own purpose for this world.”

[teppe]

I believe that the apostacy was completed after Emperor Theodosius declarred the Eddict of Thesalonica, wherein, it was punishable by death to believe anything but Nicene Christianity.

Up to that point the Christian Majority was not Nicene.

God’s gospel is not decided by an Emperor through Capital Punishment.

Just as the Jews lost the True Gospel of Christ, so did Christians though coercion and force.

Since that time, all Christian thought has been forced through the lenses of the Catholic Creeds. Orthodoxy is simply seeking to justify the Creeds by scripture and ignoring or twisting evidence that does not justify the Creeds.

In essence, when the Creeds of Christianity became more important than the word of Christ .... the Apostacy was complete.

[DocRock]

Bookmark

[metmom]

Good read.

Thank you.

[EliRoom8]

I’m not convinced that this take on apostasy is the correct one. I think it is probably the least of three possible explanations. Departure could be referring to the Rapture or it could be referring to the professing church.

But I did appreciate the article and thank you for it.

[boatbums]

And let me guess...it took Joseph Smith to restore the true gospel?

Nope, you didn’t get even one thing right in your post.

[Elsie]

The Last Great Apostasy...the West in prophecy pt 7

Our Mormon FReepers can add to this topic...

[Elsie]

In essence, when the Creeds of Christianity became more important than the word of Christ .... the Apostacy was complete.

Speaking of creeds...

Here is MORMONism's own creed:

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Articles of Faith

The Articles of Faith outline 13 basic points of belief of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Prophet Joseph Smith first wrote them in a letter to John Wentworth, a newspaper editor,
in response to Mr. Wentworth's request to know what members of the Church believed.
They were subsequently published in Church periodicals.
They are now regarded as scripture and included in the Pearl of Great Price.

 

THE ARTICLES OF FAITH
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
History of the Church, Vol. 4, pp. 535—541

 

 

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
   
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
   
3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
   
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
   
5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
   
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
   
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
   
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
   
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
   
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
    
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
    
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
    
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Joseph Smith

 

[Elsie]

In essence, when the Creeds of Christianity became more important than the word of Christ...

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In essence, when the Doctrines of MORMONism became more important than the words found in the Book of MORMON...

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Trinity:

 

found in the Book of MORMON        -----------   rejected in the Doctrines and Covenants 

Book of Mormon: Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? And he answered, No. (Alma 11:28-29) ...and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. (Alma 11:44) ...doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen. (2 Nephi 31:21) ...praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end. (Mormon 7:7) ...power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son--And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, (Mosiah 15:3-5) ...of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them. (Ether 2:8) "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name." (3 Nephi 9:15) "And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. And he said unto them: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you. Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them--Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them. And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying: Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water. And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one...And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one." (3 Nephi 11:22-27, 36)

Doctrine and Covenants: According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest. (Section 121:32) And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife, and make a covenant with her for time and for all eternity, if that covenant is not by me or by my word, which is my law, and is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom I have anointed and appointed unto this power, then it is not valid neither of force when they are out of the world, because they are not joined by me, saith the Lord, neither by my word; when they are out of the world it cannot be received there, because the angels and the gods are appointed there, by whom they cannot pass; they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory; for my house is a house of order, saith the Lord God. And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them--Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths--then shall it be written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever. Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them. (Section 132:18-20) Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods. (Section 132:37)

 

 

[Campion]

I believe that the apostacy was completed after Emperor Theodosius declarred the Eddict of Thesalonica, wherein, it was punishable by death to believe anything but Nicene Christianity.

Then you believe a fable (one of many spread by the LDS church), because there was no death penalty associated with the Edict of Thessalonica. Churches were confiscated, writings were burned, and people were ordered to live further from the capital city than they wished in some cases, but that was about it.

The idea that heresy was a capital crime against the state came about almost 1000 years later, and was practically dead after another 300 years.

Up to that point the Christian Majority was not Nicene.

Is truth decided by majority vote? If a majority of the LDS faithful decided that Joseph Smith were not a prophet of God, would that convince you that he wasn't?

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“Since that time, all Christian thought has been forced through the lenses of the Catholic Creeds. Orthodoxy is simply seeking to justify the Creeds by scripture and ignoring or twisting evidence that does not justify the Creeds.”

I can assure you that your claim is false.

What causes Mormonism to be forced through the lense of Hindus, the New Age Movement, etc??

[boatbums]

I rejoice when we can find common ground here!

[Elsie]

Since that time, all Christian thought has been forced through the lenses of the Catholic Creeds. Orthodoxy is simply seeking to justify the Creeds by scripture and ignoring or twisting evidence that does not justify the Creeds.

Here is the Nicene 'creed'.

Please; for the uninformed; point out just WHAT is wrong with each statement.

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1. We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

2. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.  

3. Through him all things were made.  

4. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.  

5. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. 

6. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  

7. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

8. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father.  

9. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.

10. He has spoken through the Prophets.  

11. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.  

12. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  

13. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.  

14. Amen.

[Elsie]

If a majority of the LDS faithful decided that Joseph Smith were not a prophet of God, would that convince you that he wasn't?

They evidently don't think too much of Brigham Young as being a 'prophet'!

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"Now if any of you will deny the plurality of wives, and continue to do so, I promise that you will be damned;

and I will go still further and say, take this revelation, or any other revelation that the Lord has given,

and deny it in your feelings, and I promise that you will be damned.

  - JoD 3:266 (July 14, 1855)

[Elsie]

If a majority of the LDS faithful decided that Joseph Smith were not a prophet of God, would that convince you that he wasn't?

They have a Living Prophet® now: Thomas Monson.

Can anyone tell me what HE has prophesied lately?

Ever??

[winodog]

Do you have a ping list? If so add me please.