HOW’S THE FUTURE LOOKING?

 

It is becoming quite obvious to almost everyone that we live in a crazy and fallen world.  Even a brief look at the events transpiring in America in the last few years should give us pause and make us ask, “What in the world is going on with this planet?  But it is actually an act of God’s grace to let us see these troubling times and to shake us out of our complacency.  Thanks to these sobering events, it seems that more people are getting interested in spiritual things, one of them being prophecy.

But not all “prophecies” circulating out there are biblical.  I’ve noticed that there seems to be an increase in prophecies, even within some Catholic circles.  Most of these Catholic prophecies are allegedly from Mary, and some from certain mystics or Catholic “saints.”  

Some of the Catholic prophecies I’ve seen deal with the end-times, although the Catholic Church, as a whole, hasn’t normally been very interested in that topic.  I recently heard a devout Catholic share some interesting thoughts on end-time events.  I was both excited, and at the same time, disappointed.  I was excited that a Catholic was interested at all in end-time events, but disappointed in the fact that his rendition of these events was a puzzling mixture of scenes from the book of Revelation and a blurring of different prophecies and events (some biblical) mixed in with some Marian concepts.  It was a distorting of the biblical message into a confusing mishmash of unscriptural ideas.  It was all very interesting, but very faulty.

You see, that’s why we need the doctrine of Sola Scriptura.  All prophecies and all teachings are to be tested against the only infallible source of God-breathed revelation available today, i.e., Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  It doesn’t matter whether these messages come from a priest, a minister, a rabbi, an imam, or an atheist – the Bible overrules them all.  That is, if their message is to be trusted, it must line up with biblical principles.  This is where God invests His authority.

Having said that, it’s not just Catholics who distort prophecy, but I also wish to address the so-called “prophecies” of many Protestants out there, as well.  Many of their predictions about modern-day events have certainly missed the mark, but a number of these “prophets” have not admitted it, and they seem unwilling to repent, but rather, try to “modify” or “adjust” their prophecies so that they appear to still be true. 

In the Old Testament, prophets were honored and feared, but if a prophet’s word did not come true, he was put to death (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).  They had to be awfully careful when bearing the title of prophet and not be so quick to blurt out what they thought might be from God.  The same principle applies today.  If you claim to be a modern-day prophet, and you don’t have a 100% accurate record, then you are a false prophet (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)!  It’s a good thing we don’t stone false prophets any more, but if we did, there would be a sharp decline in these rich, loud-mouthed charlatans who love to be in front of a camera.  They certainly do true Christianity a disservice.  God is still as disgusted with such prophets today as He was back then.  So don’t think that He approves of you just because He is allowing your ministry to continue.

But my advice to Catholics, if you are interested in prophecy, is to make sure you are thoroughly familiar with Scripture first.  Then you can better discern which prophecies line up with the Bible.  Any prophecy allegedly from Mary can be dismissed outright, since we have no biblical reason to believe that she could communicate with us now, anyway.  And hopefully, after familiarizing yourself with Scripture, you will also discern that the Catholic Church is not all that it claims to be, and that you should leave it for a good biblical church.  Please feel free to search the articles in this blog to find many of the “chinks” in the Catholic Church’s “armor.”

So, what about your future?  Your eternal future is bright if you live by the guidance of God’s Word and trust only in Jesus Christ’s work on the cross in order to make it to Heaven.  All other ground is sinking sand (Matthew 7:24-27). 

 

THE DANGER OF THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT

We already defined the Ecumenical Movement (EM) in a previous article – namely, that it is a movement headed by the Catholic Church, which will bring about the merging of all religions in the last days, that the Bible speaks of in Revelation 13:8, 12, 15. It will be the religion of the antichrist and it will be a perversion of Christianity. This coming together of all religions is being done today in the name of “peace” and “unity” and is actually a move toward the Catholic Church.

This EM is multi-faceted and it will appeal to all the world’s religions, even to many individuals within Christianity. We can see much of this movement in the church world today. It is attracting many, like Rick Warren’s “purpose driven” crowd, the “seeker sensitive” churches, the “emerging church,” the Church Growth Movement (CGM), and those promoting a “social gospel” (who are far more concerned with poverty, social change, civil rights, etc., than they are with saving souls through the gospel).

This ecumenical concept is also welcomed by the “unity at any cost” crowd, those looking for a “mystical” experience, the “contemplative prayer” types, “self-esteem” proponents and the “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” (ECT) crowd. There are even some who are pushing “Chrislam”, which is the merging of Christianity with Islam!

Other promoters of ecumenism are the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship, Promise Keepers, some in the “Positive Confession” and the “Word of Faith” arenas, and many Charismatics, as well. The EM also includes Freemasons, New Agers, nature worshipers / tree huggers / environmentalists and evolutionists. There will be something for everyone in this movement, even for atheists! It seems that one can find the ecumenical spirit almost everywhere today.

Those involved in the EM today are insisting that we put aside our differences and join hands. But consider this analogy:

Imagine a building with many people in it. Everyone in it is in poor health except for only one person, Bill, who happens to have the medicine that can cure everyone in the building. But the sick people complain that Bill is much too “exclusive” and thinks much too highly of himself and his medicine, and that he is always wanting to heal everybody. Bill always talks about his “cure” and wants to “push” it on everyone else. They say, “Who does he think he is? We like the way we are… after all, don’t we sick people also have some value? Let’s put aside the medicine and the good health, because it makes everybody else feel inferior.” So, they get together and demand that they all put their differences aside, tolerate each other, and consider everyone as an equal.

But wouldn’t this be silly? Shouldn’t they be thanking Bill that he has the cure and that he is willing to share it? But this is what the EM is doing with Christianity… they are trying to neutralize Christianity by making it equal to all other religions. Jesus Christ truly is the only cure for this sin-sick world, but the people within the EM don’t like any religion that is “exclusive,” that is, claiming to be the only one that has the answers. It makes others feel “inferior” and it hurts their feelings. When the ecumenists say they want us to “put aside our differences,” they want us to put aside DOCTRINE, so that no one is offended.

But it is this doctrine, this gospel of Jesus Christ, that is the answer to the world’s problems. It is the only “medicine” for solving the world’s hurts, and it is this exclusive nature of Christianity that is most important:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

The message of Jesus Christ certainly is exclusive, and it would be senseless to abandon that which is our only hope.

Now, we’re NOT saying that we shouldn’t feed the hungry or help the poor or the sick, etc. But sharing the gospel and changing hearts should be the church’s MAIN priority. (Mark 16:15) We should not overlook man’s GREATEST need (i.e., salvation) by over-emphasizing his temporal needs. The gospel is God’s gift from which all other blessings flow.

But what could possibly be wrong with joining hands with others, or having a desire for world peace, or social justice? Aren’t these worthy goals? Yes, but they are not going to be achieved by the EM. On the surface, the EM sounds good, but it is a trap, a scheme of the devil. It is a rejection of Christianity and a denial of the gospel, and it is gaining momentum like a runaway freight train. The EM will give the church and the world a false sense of security, which will ultimately lead the majority of the world into apostasy and into the grip of the antichrist, who will be worshiped by the whole world and will cause them to take his mark… 666. (Revelation 13:16-18)

With this in mind, we are urging our Catholic friends to come out of the Catholic Church, and we are urging our Protestant friends to steer clear of these groups mentioned above and any group that embraces unbiblical ideas.

For more information, see this article, which is an online excerpt from chapter 12 of Dave Hunt’s book, “Global Peace and the Rise of Antichrist.” Go down to the section “Ecumenism and the Coming New World Order” in this article to find an eye-opening message about the EM:

http://bernsstories.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/the-berean-call-january-2011-newsletter/

Another article is by Roger Oakland and it carries a solemn warning and a heartfelt appeal to the Evangelical and Protestant pastors of the world to avoid the EM:

http://www.understandthetimes.org/commentary/c95.shtml