Events Preceding Christ’s Return, Part 2

Transcript

Events Preceding Christ’s Return, Part 2
1/03/1999
GRM 608
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

As I mentioned this morning, I want to continue what we were talking about relating to events associated with the second coming of Christ. The second coming of Christ really has two phases. You might express it that way. The first phase is when Christ comes in the air to take the Church to glory. The Church being comprised of all those who have come to believe in Jesus Christ from Acts, chapter 2, down until the rapture of the Church.

What’s sometimes referred to as a parenthesis, simply because it is a break, if you will, in God’s program with Israel, where Israel has been the focal point of God’s program since Genesis, chapter 12, about 2,000 years before Christ, with the call of Abraham and the beginning of the Jewish people, up until Acts, chapter 2, shortly following the crucifixion of Christ.

Maybe you ought to look at just 1 Corinthians, chapter 15. 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 50, is where we’ll pick up. 1 Corinthians 15 is the great chapter on the resurrection in the Bible. That’s not the only portion of the scripture that talks about the resurrection, but this is the single greatest portion on the subject of the bodily resurrection. And at the end of this chapter, beginning with verse 50, Paul writes, “This I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” Here he’s talking about the Church. The Church cannot go into the kingdom in their physical bodies. “Nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable, but, behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” And that’s the event we’re talking about.

“I tell you a mystery.” A mystery is something that had not before been revealed in the scripture. It’s not something necessarily hard to understand. It’s something that is impossible to know without revelation from God. This is something that God had not previously revealed. So, you could study the entire Old Testament, you could study the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, but the specifics of the Rapture are now revealed here by Paul.

Verse 52 tells us this rapture will occur “in a moment.” We get the English word, we have the word carried over into English from Greek, “atom” from the word here. In an atom of time. An atom’s supposed to be the smallest particle that can’t be divided or something like that. Well, in that smallest particle of time, quicker than you can, blink your eye, there’ll be a trumpet, the dead will be raised imperishable. These are those who are members of the Church who have died since Acts, chapter 2. They experience a bodily resurrection.

“And we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable. This mortal must put on immortality.” The order here compares to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, as well. We won’t take the time to go there. Those who have died who were believers in Christ, part of His Church, experience bodily resurrection first. Immediately following their resurrection, we who are alive undergo an instantaneous transformation. Now, quicker than you can blink your eye. The smallest particle of time, that’s how fast it will occur. We will be caught up to meet Christ in the air and instantaneously will have transformed from this body of corruption to a glorified body suitable for eternal glory in God’s presence.

That’s when the perishable would have put on the imperishable. So, when we refer to the Rapture of the Church that’s the event we are talking about. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4 and said they ought not to have that intense grief over the death of a loved one that the unbelievers have. Nothing wrong with grief and tears, but we should not sorrow as the world sorrows because we have hope in our sorrow. When a loved one who is a believer dies, we have the hope of knowing that we shall see them someday in the presence of the Lord and be united with them for all eternity. There’s grief and pain over the separation that has occurred through death, but that pain is softened by the assurance that we will see that loved one again. The Rapture of the Church is the blessed hope. So, Titus 2 says we are “looking for the blessed hope, even the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” That is the next event in prophecy.

Now, following that, as we were talking about this morning, there will be a seven-year period where God completes His program with Israel. And you’ll note, the Church Age fits within that break. It is after the 69th week and it ends before the 70th week of Daniel, from Daniel, chapter 9, verses 24-27. After the 69th week, the Messiah was cut off. He was crucified. Probably about a week after the 69th week, the 483 years came to their conclusion. Fifty days later He’s resurrected from the dead and ascends to heaven. He's resurrected three days later. Fifty days later, you have His ascension in Acts, chapter 1, forty days later, then you have Feast of Pentecost and in Acts chapter 2 the Church begins. That’s after the 69th week.

The 70th week does not begin until after the Rapture of the Church. So, you see, 70 weeks have been decreed for your people, Daniel, the Jews, for your holy city, Daniel, Jerusalem. The Church is not part of those 70 weeks of God’s program for Israel. It comes into existence and goes out of existence, if you will, by being removed from the earth between the 69th and the 70th week of Daniel.

We spent our time this morning talking about the revived Roman Empire. That final form of the Roman Empire, when the Roman Empire will re-assert itself, that empire of iron, but will be mixed with clay. It will have the strength of iron, but the brittleness of clay, Daniel, chapter 2 told us. We may see the anticipation of that in the European community and the Euro currency that has just come into existence, which will bind those nations most strongly together. Now, there are more than ten presently involved in the European community. More than ten current involved with the economic, Euro currency. The Bible says that that revived Roman Empire will, in its final form, settle into ten nations federated together to form one empire and yet they maintain their individuality, so that there’s strength but there’s brittleness there. Out of those ten nations will arise a man who will become supreme. And halfway through that 7-year period, he assumes world dominance. And with that world dominance will come world worship.

Go back to the book of Genesis, chapter 10. As you go to Genesis, chapter 10, let me add a parenthesis in here myself and say just a comment about the year 2000. Its significance, I don’t know. You can go back through history, back into early Jewish years. A tradition of a 7,000 year period of time, the 7,000th year being the millennium, can be traced by through the centuries of time. Some Bibles have Usher’s chronology and he pre-dates Adam and the creation at 4,400 BC. We’re coming to the year 2000, that makes us about 6,000 years along and the millennium would be the 7,000th year. Well, adjusting for maybe some mistakes in, chronology and that, it could be close. It may be right. I don’t know. There are those who believe we have a longer period than 4,000 years BC for the creation. The furthest back we can go with sure dating is Abraham, 2,000 years before Christ. Genealogies, that’s how Usher got to 4,400, adding the genealogies up, but we know there’s gaps in those genealogies. So, how much and the time there, I don’ know. My observation on the year 2000 is it just doesn’t make any difference to me as a believer, from this sense. There’s not preparation for the tribulation except belief in Christ. All this idea we ought to stockpile food and we ought to be getting a place away in, mountains or the country where we can hide gives you the idea that people are supposed to be getting ready for the tribulation. I’m getting ready for the Rapture! So, there’s no preparation for the tribulation except for Israel. It’s told where in the Bible to flee to in the middle of that 7-year period. Then you’d have to buy a plane ticket and get over to the region of the Transjordan and Petra and that area. That could be pretty tough on us flabby Americans trying to make do in the caves however long. Then if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, you got all that food stored and you’re going to heaven to meet the Lord and it was a waste of time. Then you’ve got to give an account of why you wasted all the Lord’s money stockpiling food as though you were going into the tribulation when He told us He’d save us from wrath to come.

I received some correspondence from, ah, some believers who are terrible concerned and wonder if they should be stockpiling food and, ah, you know, getting ready for a terrible time, you know, with, what is it? The computer collapse and everything’s that’s going to happen. Maybe it will! I don’t know. Maybe it’s going to be a catastrophe. And maybe that will be part, and maybe it all will be, but I know I’m not getting ready for the tribulation. Our responsibility as believers is clear. As I mentioned this morning, we’re to be looking for the return of the Lord. If the millennium is going to begin soon, wonderful! It’s at least 7 years away, because we have the 70th week of Daniel yet to deal with. So, we’re not going to have the millennium begin in 2000. And from what I’ve been reading, even on our calendar, 2000 really begins in 2001 and Christ was probably born around 4 or 5 BC, so we already had 2000 on that calendar.

But at any rate, we’re at least 7 years away from the millennium and we know the millennium is coming. Wonderful! If we’re about 7 years away, I couldn’t be more excited because the Rapture is coming first. I wouldn’t be excited about looking for the 7-year tribulation.

So, all that to say, I don’t know that I find any particular reason to be excited about the year 2000 except as I’m excited that the Lord is coming. As people talk about the world may be thrown into chaos, I could say, Oh, good. Here’s another thing that will maybe contribute to the development of the events that we’re talking about. And I’m not saying I’m glad for tragedy, but I am glad for the fulfillment of scripture. So, we as believers want to be sure.

Amazing, we believers who, oh, yes, we’ve got our theology down, we’ve got our theology down. Then a new wind of doctrine comes along, and it seems we’re blowing along like a kite. No, we just look as say, here’s what our theology is. We’re looking forward to the Rapture of the Church, that’s going to precede the Tribulation, and there’s no preparation for the Tribulation except faith in Christ and be delivered by the Rapture.

So I’m not worried about it. And if there’s going to be terrible turmoil before the tribulation, before the Rapture that comes upon us, our duty is the same: to take advantage of every day to carry out the work that God has called us to do. Not to act like the world, as though we’re afraid of tomorrow. What did Jesus say? “Don’t worry about tomorrow; each day has enough worry of its own. You have a heavenly Father who takes care of your tomorrow’s.” Walk with Him today.

All right. Come to Genesis, chapter 10. Babylon is key. The worship associated with Babylon. Nimrod is a key figure with Babylon, in verse 8. “Cush became the father of Nimrod.” This table of nations is very important in the rest of scripture, because from the table of nations, as we call it, in Genesis, chapter 10, the descendants of Noah, all the rest of the earth is populated. So, in later places, particularly like Ezekiel, chapter 38, where we have nations described, we can trace something of who those nations are and where in the world we are talking about by looking at where these people settled. But all the world is populated, remember, because only Noah and his family were on the Ark and survived the Flood. So, we are all descendants of Noah through one of his sons.

Here we are talking about Cush and his son Nimrod. And “he became a mighty one on the earth.” Verse 10, he was the founder of Babylon, Babel, Babylon in the land of Shinar. We want to come down to chapter 11, which I referred to this morning. “The whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.” So the land of Shinar is the land of Babylon, where Babylon is located and that will be given its named here in a moment. They settle there. Verse 3, “They said to one another, “Come let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.”” And they said “let us make” “a city,” verse 4, “a tower whose top will reach to heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves; lest we be scattered abroad over the whole earth.”” You note what was going to unite them was the tower whose top will reach into heaven. A center of worship becomes a unifying force to keep the peoples of the world together.

Satan has as his goal to create an artificial kingdom. Remember, God has promised the kingdom, which will be ruled by His Son. Satan’s goal is to usurp that place. Remember what he offered Christ in the Temptation in Matthew 4? “Bow down and worship me and I will give You all the kingdoms.” Catch in that, “I will give them to You.” In other words, You’ll be under me. So, here, Satan begins early to establish, if you will, a counterfeit world government solidified by world religion. Babylon becomes a dominant theme and element down through history from this point on disseminating the Devil’s teaching.

In 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2. Now, remember we have the Rapture of the Church, then we are going to have the 7-year Tribulation that began with the signing of the covenant by the Anti-Christ in Daniel 9:27. That marked the beginning of that 7-year period. In the middle of that 7-year period, the Anti-Christ breaks his covenant with Israel and begins a persecution of the Jews. That is why all the discussion going on, today about a peace accord involving Israel is of very great interest to us as believers. Isn’t it amazing that Daniel 9:27, 500 years before Christ, said that there is going to be a peace agreement signed between Israel and the leader of the Revived Roman Empire that is going to bring an artificial peace to Israel for a time for the first 3 and a half years of that 70th week of Daniel. That doesn’t mean there won’t be other peace accords signed, and there have been, but we are looking for a peace. One of these agreements that will be signed will be signed by a man that represents the revived Roman Empire. That will mark the beginning of the tribulation.

Evidently, it will involve guaranteeing the sovereignty and security of Israel enabling Israel to be freed from its constant emphasis on defense, and the Jews have come to that point. Now they’re willing to give up land if it will bring peace. And there’s debate, there’s conflict going on. They need outside help. So that is all taking place. The Anti-Christ is the man who does that. He becomes an artificial, a counterfeit Messiah, if you will. He has brought peace to the region. In the middle of the 7-year tribulation he breaks that peace and turns against Israel.

We’re told in verse 4 of 2 Thessalonians 2, he is the one “who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” If you were here this morning and were with us in our study in Revelation, chapter 13, verse 8 we were told “All who dwell on the earth will worship him.” All being all the non-elect, he goes on to elaborate. I want you to note, when connecting that with what we just read about Babylon and Babel in Genesis 11, again Satan works to establish a counterfeit world kingdom held together by a false worship center. The Anti-Christ declares himself to be god. Verse 4 of 2 Thessalonians 2. “He takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

Now, there may have been some events that have taken place, but why would people believe this man is God? Well, several things seem to be indicated in scripture. Number 1, he receives a mortal wound and seemingly has been killed but comes back to life. Well, that’s pretty impressive. Seems to be a counterfeit of the death and resurrection of the Son of God. Secondly, they make an image of the beast and set it in the temple and he gives life or spirit to that image. Gives spirit to it, and it may be a demonic spirit, enters that image and gives it the appearance that actual life is there. And who but God could create life? It’s not life in the true sense because it’s a spirit that’s entered that image of the beast. But things like this will work together to impress the world that this man is more than man. And Satan establishes his counterfeit Christ. And, you note, in 2 Thessalonians 2, we’re in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel, he takes his seat in the temple of God! We know from Revelation 13 that there’s 42 months until Christ returns. So, that’s why we know we’re in the middle of the tribulation when he is the object of worship. The temple has been rebuilt by that time because he takes a seat in the temple of God.

Back in Matthew, chapter 24. A great prophetic chapter that is unfolding the details of the 70th week of Daniel, that 7-year period, culminating with the return of Christ. Verse 15, “”Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place let the reader understand.”” Remember, he that has wisdom. Daniel 9:27you have the abomination that makes desolate, when the Anti-Christ breaks his agreement with Israel in the middle of the 70th week. Here, “”when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place.”” Here Christ tells us that the temple will be rebuilt. It's in the holy place, it’s in the temple.

We talk about a rebuilt temple. They will rebuild the temple. There’s been some articles that have appeared over the last year about the problems on the temple mount. One of those talked about is water problems. There are tunnels under the temple mount, and there’s water problems and some have said the Dome of the Rock and the Mosques there are going to collapse. Some of these newspaper articles say] there are some who believe that could happen. Other things that go on there. And their concern was, that if that happened, people would believe the Jews did it and that would bring about a war.

My interest in it is the fact that they’re even writing in the newspaper that there is a danger that these Muslim holy places could just collapse by natural means. However it happens, I have no idea. I don’t want to imply I do. The temple is going to be rebuilt and it has to be rebuilt on the temple mount.

There have been numerous articles. I’ve shared different ones with you before. I don’t even remember which ones I’ve brought with me, if any. Let’s see. “Jews plan to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.” This came from the Lincoln Journal several years ago. All their preparation I’ve shared with you before. They are training priests in the Old Quarter in Jerusalem, making the garments, making the utensils. There is momentum there for this to happen. They have begun the process of tracing down, who are in the line of the priests. The Jewish name Cohen comes from the Hebrew word for a priest. So, they trace this down because they believe these Jews carry the name because they come in the line of the priests. They are trying to establish who would be valid as a priest. We’ve seen the red heifer and the attempt to find a red heifer that is absolutely pure. They found one, but he was found to have a white hair, so something. Because they need the ashes of a red heifer, they believe, to do the initial purifying to get the temple ceremony under way. With all that, you read about a red heifer and all that was in the news a little while back about a red heifer, that is only of significance when you have a temple. And the reason the red heifer is significant is because they are anticipating have a temple. Once they have the temple, they want to re-institute the sacrifices. And to re-institute the sacrifices, they believe they have to do the initial cleansing with the ashes of the red heifer and the ceremony, and so on. So, again this isn’t Bible believers, Bible believing Christians promoting this. This is what’s being talked about in the world today.

We know the temple will re-built, because its referred to. Turn over to Revelation, chapter 11. One quote, as you turn to Revelation 11, from one Rabbi who is part of the Temple Institute there in Jerusalem, “All Jewish history, as far as we’re concerned, is one big parenthesis until the Temple is returned.” Jewish history can’t go on until we have the Temple. They’ve raised large sums of money already. When asked what he would do about the mosques, the two mosques on the Temple Mount, “I honor Muslim feelings about Mecca. So, we shall help them take the two mosques to Mecca and rebuild them there.”” Jews have a solution for every problem. So, you wake up some morning, turn on the news and you see them dismantling the Mosque and say, what are they doing? Oh, they are taking them to Mecca. Then you put on your white robe and run outside and wait.

Okay, we’re in Revelation 11. We’re in the middle of the tribulation in Revelation 11. These are chapters here that deal with events relating to the middle of the tribulation period. “There was given to me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Rise and measure the temple of God.”” You get to the middle of the tribulation and the Temple of God is there. “”Measure the altar, those who worship, you leave out the court, the outside of the temple, do not measure it, it has been given to the nations; and they will tread it under foot, they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.””
We’ve seen that before, haven’t we? Chapter 13, chapter 12. 1360 days, time, times and a half time. “”And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days.”” A prophetic year is 360 days rounded off in scripture. So, you multiply the 360-day year and you get the 1260 days for 3 and 1/2 years that we have here. So, you have the temple referred to here and the tribulation, the persecution that breaks out and so on, in Revelation 11 as well.

So the rebuilt temple is a subject prophesied in Daniel 9:27 where we’re told that the Anti-Christ, in the middle of the 70th week, will put an end to the sacrifices. That would indicate the temple is under way. There are no sacrifices going on in Jerusalem today because there is no temple. But there will be, Daniel 9:27 said. Jesus referred to it. John refers to it in Revelation. Paul referred to it in 2 Thessalonians. So, we have the rebuilt temple. In this context there is apostate worship that goes on.

Turn over to Revelation, chapter 17. Since we’re in Revelation, we’ll go to Revelation 17. Some articles I’ve shared with you on other occasions. These are about a year old. One came from the Lincoln paper. “United Religion Movement Grows. An idea that began in 1993 of a world-wide united religion, has been slowly taking shape according to a news item from the Lincoln Interfaith Council.” Since I am blessed to be on the mailing list of the Lincoln Interfaith Council. Continuing, “was told that united religions, by the year 2000? This idea began in 1993 in connection with an Interfaith service commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations charter.” And the Episcopal Bishop in San Francisco purposed the idea of “inter-nation, inter-religious organization dedicated to daily prayerful dialogue, to peace among religions, and cooperative action for global good. In 1995 and early 1996 additional meetings took place. In June of 1996, a variety of individuals, religious leaders, representative global organizations met to create a plan of action to move toward a preliminary charter writing conference, tentatively scheduled for June 1997 in San Francisco, to further develop the vision and purpose of united religions. The year 1997-1998 would be the time of taking united religions home to as many religious organizations, group, faith communities as possible. And June of the year 2000 is envisioned as the United Religion’s charter signing. A walking pilgrimage for peace among religions in villages, towns, and cities throughout the world. A working document is being created, outlining in draft form the vision, purpose, assumptions and commitment of this project.” Anyone interested? I have the address for you, right here, to write to.

What’s interesting to me on that is, what are we talking about? We talk about moving toward one-world government, ultimately under the Anti-Christ, and at the same time, what? You can read the news about one-world religion. At the same time, we see Roman Catholics and evangelicals moving together and we see a movement that we can get together. We play down our differences. We play up our agreements. We can accomplish so much more in the world for good if we stop fighting for one another. If we devote all that energy we spend toward fighting and toward disagreeing, to accomplishing what we can agree on, think of what we can do in the world. And, you know, that begins to make sense to people. And of course, it makes sense to the unbelieving world because the only thing they’re opposed to is to the truth. That is not a part of the apostate church.

In Revelation, chapter 17, we were here looking at the beast and his kingdom, but there is a picture here that at least we ought to take note of. You have the great harlot in the end of verse 1, who sits on many waters. The waters refer to people, further explained as we get later in the chapter. This great harlot is the one with whom the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality. Verse 3, “They carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and she’s called,” down in verse 5, “a mystery.” The mystery, now here, is more information. Something that would not be understood without God revealing it.

It’s “Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth. I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered greatly.” In the context here, my understanding is we are talking about religious Babylon. She is the great harlot. What we had back in Babylon, at the founding of Babylon in Revelation, Genesis, chapter 11. It was centered in religion. We’ll build a tower. Its top will reach to heaven. Nimrod becomes a key figure in the Babylonian system that was developed down through history. I take it, we come down, that the dominant display of the Babylonian system is present today in the Roman Catholic church and apostate Protestantism. The Roman Catholic church is the dominate element and a whole variety of the pagan practices that characterized the Babylonian system are carried down in Roman Catholicism.

I’m not doing this to be a Catholic basher. Any time you speak against the error of someone you are supposedly bashing them today. Well, somethings are true; somethings are false; somethings are right; somethings are wrong. They need to be addressed. That doesn’t mean there’s personal animosity that is the motivating factor. Truth is the motivating factor. All the way back in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah contends that Israel got involved in offering cakes, making cakes to the Queen of Heaven. Worship of the Queen of Heaven is not something new. It was part of the Babylonian system, carried down through Baal worship and so on, and Canaan, pagan Canaan. What happened? Israel got effected by that.

We move down toward the climax, and the first three and a half years of the 7-year tribulation, the apostate church, the church that is left after the true Church is raptured. All the believers are gone. The true Church is gone. But the Church, generally, Christendom goes on and is a powerful political influence. The Anti-Christ rides the power of the apostate church, until he can solidify his own power. When you get down to verse 16 and 17, the “ten horns which you saw, and the beast.” So, remember the ten horns? The ten-nation confederacy that make up the Revived Roman Empire and the beast that now rules them and through them rules the world “Will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, will eat her flesh, burn her with fire. For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be fulfilled.”

So, you see here that the Anti-Christ, the revived Roman Empire, will use the apostate church until they are strong enough not to need it anymore. Then the church is destroyed, even the apostate church, because the Anti-Christ is god now. There can be no completing worship system. Isn’t it true that that becomes a unifying force? The Muslim world has great power and influence and what unites it? Certainly not their agreement. I mean, they’re a fragmented people. But their religious commitment is what drives them, in spite of their diversity. The Anti-Christ will realize the power of religion. And here you have the apostate church that is going to be destroyed. We’re not going to walk through this. We’ve done this before.

Mystery Babylon, let me just read you a couple of comments that show where we’re going. I’ve shared these with you before but just to remind you. Charles Colson has become a leader in bringing Catholics and Protestants together, but more than Protestants, Evangelicals. This is the thing that amazes me. We see a movement toward a world church developing and that is being promoted by those who profess to be evangelical Christians. A Roman Catholic, Keith Forney wrote a book called “Evangelical Catholics.” I believe that is two terms that would be hard to put together. Charles Colson writes the forward to the book. And he says, “The changes that take place at Steubenville,” that’s a Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. “They can only be attributed to a great movement of the Holy Spirit among people committed to Christian living within the Catholic church, evangelical Catholics. Only in recent years has the terms evangelical and Catholic be joined, been joined. The Church has often been plagued by wars within her walls.” That means the Church broadly, Protestants and Catholics. “Crippling her against the encroaching armies of secularism.” Now, you see what’s happened here? Secularism has become the enemy and what has hurt the Church is battles among itself, like Protestants battling with Catholics, when really Catholics and Protestants ought to be joined together battling secularism. “But at root, those who are called of God, whether Catholic or Protestant, are part of the same body. It is high time that all of us who are Christians come together regardless of the difference of our confessions and traditions. And make common cause to bring Christian values to bear on our society. When the barbarians are scaling the walls, there is no time for petty quarreling in the camp.”

Now, you know, when you have someone of stature like a Charles Colson in an evangelical world and he’s joined with others, like Bill Bright, founder and leader of Campus Crusade, and others, you say, well, maybe there’s something to this. I mean, the real danger from this is not from the Catholics. The Catholics have moral standards, and they believe that marriage is honorable. They believe that homosexual conduct is defiling. They believe in the family. We have a lot in common with these people. Secularism is destroying our country. We need to get together. And he calls it “petty quarreling.” We need to come together regardless of the difference of our confessions and traditions. Another way to say that is regardless of our doctrinal differences. You say, I never thought I would see the move toward a world church being promoted from within the evangelical church. “Keith Forney,” this is Charles Colson writing about the Keith Forney, the Roman Catholic, “stands in the breach, truly orthodox in his adherence to Catholic doctrine and fully evangelical in his relationship to Christ and His creation.”

I’m going to read you some quotes from Roman Catholic doctrine, as you might expect, because I don’t think both statements that Colson makes here are true, even though he’s a lawyer and would know something. He cannot be truly orthodox in his adherence to Catholic doctrine and fully evangelical in his relationship to Christ. To throw a statement out like that but somethings wrong. It’s not true. Those are two things that cannot be put together.

Let me read to you some truly Roman Catholic doctrine. I picked out Mary because this is dominate. Some of you may, periodically, watch the Roman Catholic channel on television. I hope not. I won’t ask you to raise your hand. I’m the only one that’s to do that. It is sometimes enlightening because sometimes they sound very, very evangelical. At the same time, sometimes they’re talking about devotion to Mary and the importance of devotion to Mary.

This is a quote from “The Ten Series of Meditations on the Mysteries of the Rosary” by John Farraro. It has the nihil obstat. Nihil obstat is Latin and it means “nothing objectionable.” From the Catholic catechism, they define the nihil obstat and the imprimatur, this book has both of them, “are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error.” So, this has the stamp of the Church that there is no doctrinal error in this book. Let me read you, ah, some of what they say. Concerning Mary. “Mary is co-redemptrix of the human race. The Church and the saints greet her thus, “You, Oh, Mary, together with Jesus Christ, redeemed us.”” Now, can you be truly orthodox Catholic and a truly evangelical Christian if that is orthodox Catholic doctrine? “It is doctrine preached by all the saints that no grace can come to us from heaven without passing through Mary’s hands. No one will be saved, nor obtain mercy, except through you, Oh, Heavenly Lady. Remember this well, no one will enter heaven without passing through Mary as one would pass through a door.” Now, you don’t have to be a great Bible scholar to contemplate that there are serious conflicts here with the word of God.

“Mary is our co-redemptrix because she gave us Jesus, pledge of our salvation. Furthermore, she is co-redemptrix of the human race because with Christ.” Note this! “With Christ she ransomed mankind from the power of Satan. Jesus redeemed us with the blood of His body, Mary with the agonies of her heart. We were condemned through the fault of one woman.” That would have been Eve. “And we were saved through the merits of another woman” referring to Mary. “Just as Eve was the root of death for everyone, so Mary was the source of life for everyone. Mary is our co-redemptrix because she suffered in her heart what was lacking to the passion of Christ. Mary is the mystical neck which inclined the divine head, Jesus, to mercy to us.”

And this just goes on and on and on and on. ”As Mother of the Word-incarnate, Mary was elevated to a certain equality with the Heavenly Father.” Now, is that not blasphemy? Mary was elevated to equality with God the Father. We no longer have a trinity, we have a quad-unity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit and Mary. Yet someone who has been with in the evangelical camp, Jack Van Impe, proclaims the Pope as a leading evangelical in our day. The Pope has devoted his reign to Mary. Something’s gone terribly wrong, has it not?

And yet, this is in complete agreement with what the Bible says we are moving toward a one-world church. We’re talking about the Western world. We’re concerned about the Roman Empire, the revived Roman Empire, and the power of the Roman Church and the influence of that Church. Do you know how little criticism is gets? I was reading in our paper this week that they are building a cathedral in Los Angeles, the Romans Catholic cathedral. It costs $163 million. You know, if an evangelical church spends a little bit too much money, everybody wonders why, why do they spend all that money? Where did they get that money? What do they do? But here we have Roman Catholic Church that is wealthy beyond measure. We’ve looked into that in other studies.

So you put their doctrines together, and I just brought this one sample of their teaching on Mary, and you cannot be an orthodox Catholic and be a born again Christian. Now, I’m not saying there are no Roman Catholics who are saved. There probably are some who have come to trust Christ who are basically ignorant of the word of God, to the large extent, and ignorant of the teachings of the Church. You cannot be an orthodox Roman Catholic, believing the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, and be a born-again Christian. It just cannot be. The doctrines are contrary to one another.
Yet, we have those from within the evangelical Church promoting getting together, playing down our petty differences. “It is important to be devoted to Mary, it as important to be devoted to Mary as it is to enter heaven, because no one can enter paradise who is not devoted to Mary.” Now you call that a petty difference we have with that. “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,” and they say I can’t get to heaven unless I’m devoted to Mary! That’s not a petty difference. That’s what it’s all about and I don’t believe the real dangers to the Church lie in the realm of secularism. I believe the real dangers to the Church lie within the camp. Those who are promoting such terrible doctrine.

I had sent for some material from the Roman Catholic organization years ago so they continue to send me material. I received a booklet this week, a whole booklet, I don’t know, it must have about 80, 100 pages in it. What is it? It’s on Mary and how the Church needs to be doing more to promote Mary and disseminate the doctrine of Mary and getting people to realize that Mary is what unites us and on and on it goes. And you have supposedly Christians running around saying, look, let’s put down our differences.

Yet in this I see the purposes of God as what? We are moving toward a time when the Protestants and the Catholics will get together and that will facilitate the establishing of a one-world religion. That will enable the Anti-Christ and the revived Romans Empire to solidify its power. But in the middle of the tribulation, the Anti-Christ and the revived Roman Empire will no longer need the Church and it will be destroyed. I take it that means it’s hierarchy and those who will not transfer their worship to the Anti-Christ. Unbelievers will have no trouble doing that, by and large. Sure the Church will be destroyed. The leadership, the Pope, the religious leaders and now he will set himself in the Temple declaring, “I am god.”

So, we ought to be fascinated to watch and see the prominence of the Pope and the move toward the unity that’s taking place. As disturbing as it is, it is consistent with biblical truth. Let me read you a couple of passages. Go back to 1 Timothy, chapter 4. We didn’t get to Ezekiel 38 and 39 and some other things. I may do that next week. We’ll see how the week goes. 1 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 1, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in the later time some will fall away from the faith.” Now, we’re not talking about pagans out here, pagans in the sense of those who never made a profession. We’re talking about those who made a profession, those who claim to belong to Christ, in the later times they’ll fall away from the faith. “Paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” Involved in this are “men who forbid marriage, abstaining from foods, advocating abstaining from foods” and so on.

You know what we have to do? We have to point these things out, verse 6, because that will make you a good servant of Jesus Christ. The goal is not unity and playing down our differences, [but] the goal is to make clear the differences here. Because in the later day some are going to depart from the faith. We ought to be prepared for it, as a Church because it’s discouraging when it happens. Pretty soon, we get to thinking, what’s happening? We get to think we’re the only ones right and everybody’s wrong. I don’t like that. That seems arrogant. We need to be careful we’re being Biblical. But when we’re being Biblical, then that’s whatever the cost must be. In the hymn by Isaac Watts, you hear him saying, “Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of easy?” That conveys what we are thinking, what we ought to be careful of. A comfortable Christianity which becomes a compromised Christianity.

In 2 Timothy, chapter 3, the last days of the Church. “Realize this, in the last days difficult times will come.” And then you have that description of men, in verse 5, who hold “to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power. Avoid such men as this.” And chapter 4. Incidentally, the influence of these false teachers is strong with women, as verse 6 goes along. They “enter into households and captivate weak women.” Chapter 4, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom.” This is solemn. In light of the coming of Christ, in light of the future kingdom He will establish, I charge you in the presence of that, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.” When it’s popular; when it’s not. When you see results, when you don’t. “Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.” We’re talking about the Church, here. The pagan world never did endure sound doctrine. The Hindu never did want to hear sound doctrine. The pagan Roman never did want to hear sound doctrine. He’s talking about the time when the Church will be intolerant of sound doctrine. And we can see ourselves moving rapidly toward that today.

I have contact with a number of pastors in different places, and I can’t believe the trouble they’re having just because they’re teaching the truth. The intolerance that is there for that, in churches that have had a name as a Bible-believing church. “But wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires will turn away their ears from the truth will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship.” I don’t have a gloom and doom perspective, but I want to have a Biblical perspective. The Church is called to endure hardship. And as we move toward the last days and the closer we get to the return of Christ for the Church, I take it, they closer we’re getting to that coming tribulation period, the more trouble there’s going to be in the Church. And I take it we’re talking here about the last days of the Church, because when the Church is gone then it will be an apostate group that’s left. So, here we’re talking about what we ought to do, because we’ve come to the time that they won’t want to put up with sound doctrine. Amazing.

You know, I always thought, when I started the ministry 30 years ago, started in the ministry, that it would be those outside that would be problem and that we’d always sort of come together and huddle in and be excited to study the word of God together. That’s not the way it is in most churches, even churches that profess to be Bible-believing. “Do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” and on it goes. We are to be living in light of the return of Christ and we ought to count it a privilege. Isn’t it thrilling that the difficulties that we may encounter, the opposition we may encounter on ours are slight, but it may be due to the fact that we are very near to the return of Christ and even the struggle to be faithful in teaching the word and having people who are interested in the teaching of the word, may relate to the fact that’s another sign, if you will, indication we are getting close.

Israel in the land, talk about rebuilding the Temple, a Revived Roman empire in Europe and an apostate church all together and we say, amazing! So, we ought not to be surprised to what’s happening to the Church. It’s moving toward an ecumenicalism, but we as the evangelical, Bible-believing elect, if you will, cannot go that direction. And we will only get more out of step as we get closer to the return of the Lord. Praise God for that! Because we’re not here for popularity. “Endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist.” Keep at the ministry. Fulfill your ministry. May God grant by His grace that we as a Church fulfill our ministry until Christ comes.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your grace. Thank you for calling us together as a Church in these days. May we not lose sight of the fact that we are the body of Christ. We praise you that there are many others throughout this nation, throughout the world, whom you have called together as your people in these days. And we ask for your strength and grace for them, as we ask for it for ourselves. Lord, may we be committed to the proclamation of truth, to the enduring of hardship, to the fulfilling of our ministry as we move rapidly toward the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord, may we live on the edge of expectation and anticipation that the Lord of glory is about to call us into His presence. And may we be faithful as we look for Him. We ask in His name, amen.