Back in March of 2013, before I had created this blog, I wrote a rather long post about some things that WILL come to pass before Christ returns to take us home. This post is written primarily to and for Christians, but it got quite a bit of feedback from a couple of others. I thought I’d put it here to preserve it’s message. If you didn’t see it before, here is your chance. If you did, here is another chance. 😉 In either event, here is the text of that post copied directly from FaceBook.
This is going to be a pretty long post, so prepare yourself if you want to read it all. It will be a good learning experience for you if you do read it through.
We will be celebrating Easter on Sunday, March 31, 2013. Many people , both Christian and non-Christian will participate in the celebrations. Most people in the US and many other places around the world where this particular Holy Day is celebrated realize that it has something to do with Jesus, whether he is the focus of their celebrations or not. This is the day we, as Christians, celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. As Christians, this day is MUCH more important than any other day in the life of Jesus Christ, as this is the day that death was defeated and the life that Jesus promised his followers became possible. Before I continue in this post, I just want to say THANK YOU GOD for your incredible love for me!
I know it looks like this post is all about the Easter celebration and it some ways, it is. However, this post is about another reality that is coming that involves Jesus Christ. In fact, it is a day that is even GREATER for Christians around the world than the resurrection itself. Christ’s resurrection brought with it the possibity of eternal life with him. This life begins the moment we accept his sacrifice for us. There is another part of his promise that is our eternal hope that when our physical bodies die, we will be united with him in Heaven! That is a GLORIOUS hope indeed! Even that, as good as it sounds, isn’t the BEST day for us. You see, Jesus has promised to return to the earth and take his church to heaven with him. We call this the rapture. Friends, I cannot wait for THAT day! The word “rapture” is defined as “ecstatic joy or delight”. His return to take us to be with him is a hope worth looking toward indeed!
Now, Christians have been looking toward this day since the earliest days of the church’s existence. There are a number of prophetic passages that talk about this event. There are a few things that must happen BEFORE the event we call the rapture can take place, however. One of those events, is the REAL subject of this post.
While, as Christians, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus during this time, most of the world will be celebrating their “holiday” without inviting him to be a part of their day. Many of them consider this time of year to be a time for family (which is not a bad thing), or a time to share love with others (also not a bad thing). However, these things are NOT what this time of year is about. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV), Paul said, “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.” The word translated as “falling away” here is the Greek word “apostasia”, which is where the English word “apostasy” comes from. Other translations use the word “rebellion” here. What, exactly, is Paul talking about “falling away” from? It is a falling away from the truth. In other words, it is a falling away from sound doctrine. In 1 Timothy 4:1-2, we read “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”
So what does all that mean? Well, “the apostasy” (often referred to as “the great apostasy”) is not about the behaviors of those who are not Christians. This falling away from the truth and falling toward these false doctrines is something that will happen IN THE CHURCH! Before I continue, let me just say that I am not speaking about a particular meeting place or even about a specific denomination. This problem of apostasy is something that will happen in the hearts and minds of God’s people everywhere. Not all will fall prey to this apostasy, but it is sadly true that MANY will (and already have). You see, as people begin to abandon the truth, which is often hard to hear and even harder to speak, their “consciences will become seared”, their hearts will become hardened to the truth. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (NIV)
So what is the point of all this? In the past few months, I have noticed more and more things that seem to be “feel good” attitudes in the place of God’s truth. Let me just say this: In the presence of evil, God’s truth WILL BE PAINFUL! I am not advocating that we should be mean to anyone, but the fact is that we MUST be proclaimers of truth. Certain behaviors ARE sinful and should be called sinful. None of us are immune to the impact of sin. In fact, if you are human, you ARE A SINNER! That includes me, you, the Pope and everyone in between! Jesus loved us enough to suffer the most gruesome death imaginable. He was resurrected 3 days later and THAT is what we celebrate during this time of year. We, too, can call sin by what it is and still love people. In fact, by NOT calling sinful behavior by it’s TRUE name, we are hurting people even more than telling the truth would hurt.
Do I believe we are in this “great apostasy”? Yes, I do. I believe biblical teaching is clear in this area. This apostasy will continue to get worse until Jesus comes to take us all home (those who have accepted his sacrifice, that is). This is just one more sign that tells me that his return is fast approaching. If you are a Christian, that means that we MUST be about speaking the truth. We need to be teaching the world that there IS a God and that sinful behavior WILL be punished. We need to help them understand that there is someone who has already accepted their punishment on their behalf. We need to be helping them to find out WHY this celebration is about much more than candy eggs and bunnies. Jesus is the answer.
Now, let me add here (for those who have endured this very long post) that there is nothing wrong with the “tradition” of hunting easter eggs or with “pretending” the Easter bunny brings gifts for our kids. I just think that we ALSO should be speaking the TRUTH of the meaning of this season.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks