The Great Falling Away and Rise of Cults

There is coming a day when there will be a great falling away in the Church, a great rise in the number and influence of cults and also great persecution of Christians. This is Biblical and refers to the "end times".   As Christian influence decreases, the youth that once prospered in the Churches, will fall into other family entities such as cults and gangs.

The Bible does not actually mention the word rapture, but all throughout the New Testament the rapture is spoken of. This is an event when Jesus comes back and all Christians leave the earth to be with God. It's a single event, and the only time when Christians "in mass" will be collected up while they are still alive to be with the Lord in the sky, leaving all non-Christian's behind.

The Bible is VERY clear that no-one knows the time or the date. There have been false prophets for over 2000 years who have tried to predict a date. Predicting a date is completely non-scriptural and therefore those doing the predicting should be completely ignored. However, the Bible does give clues as to the last generation and the Bible states that the end times will occur during the last generation. As you can see, there is a difference between predicting "an actual date" and knowing a particular "time frame". Prophecy states the last generation begins when Israel becomes a nation. We know that the U.N. adopted "Resolution 181" on November 29th, 1947 which approved the creation of the Jewish State of Israel and called for independent status to go into effect by October 1st, 1948. There were 33 countries who voted "yes" and 13 countries that voted "no" to the resolution. The countries that voted no were ironically the same countries that surround Israel and continue to stir up anti-Semitism for the Jews today. They are Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen; all of them Muslim countries except for Greece. History also tells us that Israel declared it's independence on May 14th, 1948.

So, according to the Bible, we do not know the date of the end times and the rapture, but we do know the "last generation" begins when Israel becomes a state. Now, we must find out how long a Jewish generation is and we have a time frame.   However, we could debate whether we're talking about a Jewish generation or a Gentile generation.

Matthew 24:32-34 (NIV)

³² “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³ Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it^[a] is near, right at the door. ³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

The Fig Tree is symbolic for the formation of the State of Israel. Israel is often spoken of as being the fig tree in the Old Testament.  Jesus often quoted verses of the old testament when he spoke. Although He did not specifically specify how long a generation was, the following verse from the old testament is a biblical example of what this time frame could be.

Psalm 90:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;

So using simple math we see that a generation would be 70 years after 1948 is 2018 and 80 years is 2028 but technically speaking it could have happened anytime within the 70 or 80 years meaning the last 7 years (considered the tribulation or time of troubles) could begin at any moment.

I wanted to mention a little history before I got into the content of the great falling away and rise of cults. Some consider the great falling away to be the rapture because after the rapture when all Christians are taken up to be with the Lord, there will be a great rise of sin and immorality in the world, simply because there will be no Christians and/or no Christian witness' (at first) here to influence humanity. All of this changes however as new converts and supernatural "witnesses" come on the scene.  Ironically, there is one verse in the Bible that encourages us to not put off Salvation because once the tribulation starts many "will believe a lie" that the anti-Christ tells everyone.  Satan is using propaganda and even Hollywood right now to prep us for this lie.

Others consider the great falling away to be the Christian church becoming apathetic to sin and abusing "grace" by people not repenting of their sins. Certainly we all are saved by grace, but the Bible speaks about "our works" and further states that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:17).

Either way, we can easily see that whether by the rapture or through apathy of the church which leads to less spiritual leadership in communities, there could be a great falling away which will lead to a great abundance of sin and immorality.  For you sexual atheists, one might say "one big orgy".

It's a strong belief of mine that apathy in the church and/or the rapture is what will create the "rise of cults". This is Biblical that the closer to the end there will be a great increase of false prophets. To me, I have witnessed this in my own community through a local cult here and the control they have over their members. Many times the members want to be in a seperatist cult because they believe or they are "told" by the cults leaders that the church wasn't there for them and that the "cult is the true church". It's an unfortunate by-product of "people falling between the cracks" in the church.  Then the cult using a battery of techniques to brainwash the members and use very strict and controlling techniques to keep them active and obligated to the cult. Biblically speaking we are to be slaves to "Christ" and not slaves to a cult or to a Church, but if we are slaves to Christ we are to be a part of a Church and likewise work both inside and outside of the church using the gifts that Christ has given us to further His Kingdom.

2 Peter 2:1-2 (NLT)The Danger of False Teachers

¹ But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.

As verse two states, "because of these [false] teachers, the way of truth [Christianity] will be slandered. One reason Christians will be scoffed at and persecuted towards the end of times is that these false prophets will be on the rise and people will see their heresy and believe that "all Christians" must be like that. The hatred towards Christians will grow as will anti-Semitism.

Let's look at John 16:1-5

John 16:1-5 (NIV)

¹ “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. ² They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. ³ They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. ⁴ I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them."

There is coming a time when there will be so much hatred against Christians that many people will hate us, after all, if we're not "luke warm" as it speaks of in Revelation, then we might not be entirely politically correct, we may not always say what people want to hear, but it's not that we're supposed to say what people want to hear but what they need to hear. However, the radicals, the non-Christians, the Christian pretend to bee’s, the ones the Bible speaks of who take advantage of weak women, the ones who steal from the Church, the ones who con people out of their money so they can live extravagant lifestyles, all of these pretend Christians and the media's propaganda against us will eventually lead to many people despising us. Who comes to your mind in verse two above that says "the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God"? It's possible that he was speaking of the early Catholic Church was murdered many for what they called heresy, but it could also include any modern day religion that promotes violence and dislikes Christians, Jews, and/or our support of Israel.

Is there any Christian that doesn't believe Adolf Hitler was an early version of the Anti-Christ? He tried to "number" the Jews. Yes, they were assigned a tattoo of identification. Hitler even used technology to try and exterminate the Jews. Ironically, IBM technology was used in this process. Take a look at the following wikipedia.com summary of a book written recently:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust

Another thing Hitler did was use movies, posters and other forms of media propaganda to encourage people to blame the Jews for Germany's economic crisis. This laid the groundwork for genocide.  Is it possible in today's political climate that Hollywood and the media could create a climate of hate against a particular race?  Is it possible that Hollywood and the media could create a climate of hate against a particular religion?  Is it possible for Hollywood and the media to create a climate of hate against a particular political party?  These two questions are very possible with today's political climate.

Is it no wonder that in Revelation we see that the anti-Christ would have us all wear "the mark of the beast" on our arms or foreheads? Doesn't his remind us of how Hitler "tatood and numbered" Jews in the concentration camps. He used IBM which was the best technology had to offer in his day to determine the ancestry of the Jews and today we have computers much more sophisticated. Matter of fact, there has never been a time in history where an "Anti-Christ" could effectively "number" every single person with the "mark of the beast" in which Revelation discusses we will have to have in order to purchase or sell. The technology was just not there when Hitler was in power, but it is in existence today.

Take a look at this "mark" on this Jews arm:

                                              

As the old saying goes "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". If you haven't heard of Facebook’s "face recognition software" which is being used by governments worldwide to help locate people or the strength  and power of Google, then you might consider that the term "knowledge is power" will take an entirely more sophisticated meaning during the "times of trouble".

So, I end with this. The closer to the end times and especially after the rapture, there will be a great rise of cults and false teachers, there will be a great falling away. The more false prophets that do bad things, the more some people will attribute that to Christianity and the more people will hate Christians. By association, we will be portrayed as agreeing with the loud mouths, the radical pro-life people who bomb abortion clinics, the protestors who disturb military funerals with vulgar signs, the conservatives who represent "corporate greed", the pedophile religious leaders who abuse children and all of those other things that will make people hate us. The bible states the end times will be rough and the economy will be even rougher, that there will be all sorts of fighting, lack of trust, earthquakes in diverse places, "tracking", bickering, partying etc. Some will tell you that there has always been those things, but I tell you that there has never been a time in history where the technology existed for all of us to have a number assigned to us in order for us to buy and sell, and there has never been a time in history where we were so completely dependent on the grocery store for food.

We shall see. For now, I'd suggest you read the parable of the ten virgins which is spoken of right after Matthew 24 (the time of troubles) and seek to prepare your lamps, because whether the end times are very close or not, our death could occur in the next few years or even the next few days so we never know "For Whom the Bell Tolls".

Matthew 25:1-13(NIV)

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

¹ “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

We do not know the "day or the hour", but we had better "keep watch".

Is God Lonely?

I've often pondered on the loneliness of God. It's a subject that's not specifically addressed in the Bible, but evidence of its existence does support it. One might ask, how could such a magnificent and intelligent Deity who lives forever be lonely, but I would strongly suggest that being in such a position of intelligence and living forever, could both isolate and intensify the loneliness unless there was a companion, and all of this certainly appears to be leading up to the desired companion - the Bride of Christ as stated repeatedly as being the Church and the New Jerusalem.

The first known written examples of God seeking dialog begin in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. If you remember, God created Adam and He said that Adam would need someone to keep him company because it wasn't good to be alone; therefore he created someone that Adam could communicate with on certain level that would satisfy Adam's loneliness. After all, why would God create such a perfect work to not complete Adam or understand him?  Adam came first and then God made woman out of a part of him and together they formed a team or unit that God could communicate with. Being that they were a part of each other originally, Adam and Eve would always be attracted back to each other and just like a couple of magnets certain men and women are drawn to each other, some more powerfully than others.

Is it too "human" to think that God could be lonely also; is it blasphemous to attempt and attribute human emotions and feelings to the Alpha and Omega? Do not forget that Genesis states that we (humans) were created from His image, therefore are we not emotional people and human to the degree that we sometimes are lonely? The concept of God having emotions is so deeply engraved into the Scriptures that there is no possible way to separate emotions from the Bible; however to say that God is lonely, we'd need to support that with evidence, but my thoughts are how many times throughout the Bible are we taught that God desires our prayers and our dialog, not just our obedience? God does most definitely desire to dialog with us on a daily basis and many of us desire something to fill that void we call loneliness. How can we ever be lonely if we had a good personal relationship with the King who created the universe? How could we ever be bored if we sought after His face through the creative and magnificent art He has created, the most powerful and magnificent of which being the heart? What human on this earth has ever created a painting as wonderfully complicated and colorful as the continually changing clouds and sunsets hovering in the western sky or a painting as welcoming as a beautiful sunrise after the darkest of nights? What artist on this planet could create such a beautiful star system or even come comparatively close to imagining such diversity in the animal and plant kingdom? I often feel sorry for those who think that all of this "just happened" in some sort of big bang, and almost as sorry for those who think that God couldn't create humans, animals and plants maneuvering in a world that continually adapts to ever changing environments.

The analogy of the Church and the New Jerusalem being the Bride of Christ is the example, as a marriage between a man and a woman (I'm trying my best to be politically correct here as you can tell) is the example of a great communion and lifelong partnership, yet the Church getting ready for the Bridegroom is the larger analogy of completion and a partnership for eternity.

Yes, God was communicating with Adam and Eve before they ate from the forbidden fruit, and afterward, and He has been trying to communicate and wishing for reciprocation ever since.

Is it possible to unwittingly pray for our own loneliness?  Solomon appears to do so when he prayed "Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?" (1 Kings) and God's answer to Solomon was "I now do according to your word.  Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you".  And God also made another promise, that He would lengthen Solomon's days if he was obedient.   But Solomon wasn't obedient, and with his great wisdom, he desired communication to fill the emptiness and he sought out diversity through dialog with not one, but "700 wives, princesses and 300 hundred concubines" of different cultures and it turned out to be his downfall.  Wisdom brought him much loneliness.   If God created Eve to be Adam's helper and complete him, then surely there would have been just the one woman to complete Solomon, but if so, Solomon didn't wait on her.  He traded 1 good woman, who would have been perfect for him, for 1000 women.

What diverse and intensely intricate lines of dialog must the God of the Universe require in order to be satisfied from His loneliness; I can't even begin to imagine to what depths such a dialog would penetrate nor could I imagine the great emptiness that would accompany God's heart without such a deep communion.  What voids must exist without that dialog, to not be understood, to not have a partner that sees you for who you are.  You can only give parts of yourself to them because the rest they would not understand, could not understand, especially if they didn't even love you enough to try.

Oh Lord, I desire your communion and more and more wisdom and clarity, that I can understand on a deeper level what it is You would like for me to do in this short temporary life. Please Lord show me, teach me, strengthen me, then lead me down the trails of righteousness, of wisdom, strength, forgiveness and mercy, all at the same time as walking down the Trail of your Word and your will, in Jesus Christ's name I pray. Amen.