The Truth and The Lie

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There is only one truth in the world. The Truth is Jesus Christ. There is only one lie in the world. The lie is everything that is not of Jesus Christ. He Himself is the Way, the Truth, the Life, and the Resurrection from the dead. We can overcome the Antichrist lie only as He who is the only Truth comes to maturity in us.

(9/4/2005) We focused today on the second chapter of the Book of II Thessalonians. We discovered several things. One passage tells us that we will not be gathered to Christ until first there is the great rebellion against authority and Antichrist is revealed.

Also we noted that Antichrist cannot be revealed until that which is hindering him is removed.

As often is the case, we cannot see how the Bible relates to that which is going on around us. It is obvious that in the last three or four hundred years, lawlessness, the Antichrist spirit, has been developing. The Antichrist spirit has not attained maturity as yet, but it certainly is more pronounced than it was in America and Europe two hundred years ago.

There are many manifestations of the Antichrist spirit. Four of the principal manifestations are the worship of entertainment; the worship of the world; the worship of sexual lust; and the worship of self, which is revealed in the practice of abortion.

This year there have been gay parades. One of the outstanding gay parades was scheduled to take place last week in New Orleans, the week of the disastrous flood. It is termed "Southern Decadence."

This year there was a gay parade in San Diego, where we live. It was supported by some of the large local industries.

I believe I am correct in stating that a gay parade would not have been tolerated in San Diego a hundred years ago. I think it is true also that Mardi gras or Southern Decadence would not be permitted today in San Diego as has been true annually in New Orleans.

What is standing in the way of the manifestation of this Antichrist spirit, this lie, that it could not have been revealed to such an extent two hundred years ago in America? It is the Spirit of Christ in the believers that is blocking the full manifestation of lawlessness.

According to the Books of Daniel and Revelation, the power of the saints will be broken before the Lord returns. The testimony will be destroyed and Antichrist will be revealed throughout his appointed period.

How will the saints be overcome? They will be overcome just as they have been overcome in New Orleans and San Diego. They will be overcome by their sexual lust, by their love for the world spirit and their trust in it, and by self-centeredness and personal ambition (Sodom, Egypt, and Jerusalem).

The reason there can be a gay parade in San Diego is that there is not sufficient strength in the Christians to prevent it. The reason there is abortion practiced in our land is that there is not sufficient strength in the Christians to prevent it. That which prevents the manifestation of Antichrist, the spirit of lawlessness, has been removed from his path in America and Europe.

The maturing of Antichrist, of lawlessness, of the tares, is upon us. But the teaching of lawless-grace and our imminent trip to Heaven have prevented the believers from seeing the need to put on the whole armour of the Spirit. Thus they cannot stand in the day of wickedness, of lawlessness.

How many pastors are watching pornography on the Internet in the wee hours of the morning, believing they will go to Heaven by grace?

What are we to do? The Spirit of God is searching the churches today to see who are crying out for righteousness; for those who will say, "Not my will but yours be done." We have become so soft today because of the lawless-grace, rapture, Heaven teaching that we will be overcome in the near future by the ready availability of entertainment, of worldly comfort, of sexual lust.

The ministers of the Gospel absolutely must cease preaching Divine grace as an alternative to godly behaviour. The Lord Jesus told us that those who stand firm to the end in the midst of wickedness shall be saved. But in order to be "seeker friendly" we no longer tell people that we cannot be a Christian unless we are willing to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow the Lord Jesus each day. When we begin teaching the Gospel of the Kingdom the pleasure-loving believers will flee to a church where they are told that God loves them too much to permit them to suffer.

But what about the many Christians in New Orleans? Has God rejected them? Or is it not true that unless we repent we likewise will perish? Why weren’t these good black folks raptured to Heaven so they wouldn’t suffer as they did for four days? Does the Lord discriminate against black people? I don’t believe so!

The experts of the media are not connecting the Southern Decadence parade and the flood. They are speaking of failure on the part of the government and socioeconomic inequities. While these may or may not be true, the experts are missing the point. The point is, the disaster happened during the week of Southern Decadence (what a title!).

Judgment on America has just begun. What will it take before the American people recognize that God is speaking to us? What will it take before we cease preaching grace, grace, grace, and cry for righteousness, righteousness, righteousness?

... When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it? Amos 3:6)

But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (Amos 5:24)

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