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''This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;'' (II Timothy 3:1-4)

The humanism and lawlessness of our environment, particularly in the so-called "free nations," is increasing every day. Humanism, the philosophy that man is his own God, that self-will and self-love are to be encouraged, has removed the fear of God from the churches. The self-rule of man will find its fullest expression in the man of sin who will sit in the Temple of God and proclaim himself God.

Revelation, Chapter 11 states that the dead bodies of the Christian witness will lie in the street of Sodom, Egypt, and Jerusalem. This means the lust of the flesh, the attractions of the world, and the self-will of religious man will slay the Lord's prophets in the last days.

Sometimes these three enemies of God will slay the prophets from within, meaning the witnesses themselves will be drawn away from God by the lust of the flesh, the spirit of the world, and their own self-will. In other instances the three enemies of God will slay the prophets from without, meaning these three spirits of wickedness will cause the peoples of the earth, particularly worldly Christians, to drive the Christian witness from their midst by scorn, violence, economic pressure, and every other means at hand.

Throughout the ages the Roman Catholic Church has attempted to slay the true witnesses of the Lord wherever they have appeared. So it will be in the last days as every religious institution rises against the Lord's holy remnant.

No wonder the Christian churches are a valley of dry bones, referring to the absence of the Presence of God in their midst! their spiritual impoverishment! the sin practiced by the believers! the physical, mental, and emotional sicknesses that abound when the Scriptures promise healing and fullness of joy and peace to the Lord's people!

The blood-washed are sick today in many instances. Not only are they unable to overcome sin but in addition numerous believers suffer from depression; some are manic depressive; others are coping with childhood molestation; still others are addicted to drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes. Christians are experiencing every sickness from arthritis to AIDS. But the Lord Jesus is well able to heal every disease.

The children of Christians suffer from learning disabilities, hyperactivity, teen-age pregnancy, rebellion, and criminal behavior. Those who minister in jails and prisons find young people who have been raised in church.

The ministry of the two witnesses is beginning in our day. The Spirit of the Lord is saying:

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. (Isaiah 40:1)

God sees the pitiful condition of His flock. God is ready for the Son of righteousness to arise with healing in His wings. It is a day of healing, not one of beating the members of the flock because they are sick and confused.

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