DaDad said:
Hi Michael V Pardo,
It would seem that the "great falling away" will occur as Scripture outlines, but those who are founded in the Word (having no FALSE Tribulation Rapture expectation) may be sufficiently steadfast AND PREPARED to endure the near future, -- per my best understanding, 42 months lasting from Spring 2015 to Fall, 2018.
With Best Regards,
DD
There's a great deal more to it than the ability to fire out scripture verses like machine gun bullets, at least as far as churches are concerned.
The falling away, the Great Apostacy, is upon us. It is not past. It is not future. It's here and now. Europe, once considered to be the bastion of Christendom, is now completely secularized. This status is confirmed by every mission group of legitimate means. America is close behind. Already the forms of illegal practice of the faith are firmly in place. The popular culture rejects and mocks God. American hubris is rising like bile in the throat of a man about to retch. Does God not see this?
It should be remembered that although God has promised forgiveness to persons, He has NOT made such promises to institutions. I refer to the religious franchises known as churches. The pattern of the fall is being repeated over and over again across the land. The only difference is in the tally of numbers and the statistics of church failures. The pattern goes like this;
For many years church leaders have fostered meaningless conceited efforts called 'ministries'. Mostly they are organized and paid for to enhance the liturgical empire of the organization - the franchise. Chief among these, and most expensive, is the TV 'ministry'. Meant to broadcast the personality of the leader rather than gospel truth, these 'ministries' have only served as gigantic holes in which money is poured with futility. To a lesser extent poorer congregations invest their dough in professional help; ministry staff, office staff (one computer can do it all and you know it), ministry staff, professional musicians, ministry staff, nursery staff, ministry staff, grounds maintenance crew, ministry staff, real estate and interior decorator staffs and of course the ever present ministry staff. All these to one extent or another exist in churches.
The problem is that money is getting tight. So are occupants of pews. Both are dwindling at an alarming rate. According to several independent surveys, current regular church attendance is less than half of 1948 levels. By the year 2050, all agree it will fall to 10%. If this isn't apostasy, I don't know what would serve as a better example.
So what do money hungry 'ministries' do? Cut the budget? God forbid. Evangelize the city? Heavens no. They begin regular and insipid campaigns to impress upon the membership their 'duty', their 'obligation' and their 'spiritual reward' of giving MORE to the church coffers so that the obscene outward flow of money can continue. Despite the fact that tithing is NOT mentioned in the New Testament at all and the fact that the 21st Century version isn't mentioned in the Old Testament either, church leaders continue to prostitute themselves to their congregations begging for more cash.
And people are refusing to cough up more........
One church elder told me that he believed it was an act of disobedience for church leadership to outspend money that God has provided.
Churches continue to do this until the red line becomes a hurricane, threatening to sweep away everything. In cases of famous note, such as Crystal Cathedral in California, the epiphany has come too late. Church doors are closing at an increasingly alarming rate.
It's real and it's here. The apostasy is reality and current events. The fact that Christendom is literally circling the drain of history needs to be acknowledged and dealt with, not denied or swept under the carpet. Nowhere does the Bible recommend sticking one's head into the sand.
DaDad is correct in stating that INDIVIDUALS must remain steadfast (rapture & tribulation nonsense notwithstanding). For such folk, scripture reminders is as necessary as food and water in a ship's life boat. You'd BETTER have it if you're going to survive the next few years.
Churches? Not so much.
There are some interesting solutions being tried, however. Things that haven't been seen in America for two hundred years are happening again. If the protestant church in America is to survive, mercy must be prayed for. American hubris is under divine judgment. Anyone, repeat anyone, who believes otherwise is kidding themselves.
"..I said in my prosperity, I will never be moved.
Oh Lord, by Thy favor Thou hast made my mountain to stand strong."
- Ps. 30:6 & 7a
This is almost an echo of American pride which states
'we are too big to fall'.
....and then what happened?
"Thou didst hide Thy face, I was dismayed."
- Ps. 30:7b
God is greater than America and He loves righteousness more than wickedness. God will sure judge us. Even our enemies know that which we hide from our own eyes.
The alienation of God in society began in the classroom. Today, blasphemies can easily be seen on TV and the cinema. Hollywood portrays the sane as the insane. The abnormal and perverted as normal. The unborn babies are seen as nothing. The silent holocaust continues. Is it any wonder America is in trouble?
- Pravda
IF GOD DOES NOT JUDGE AMERICA, HE WILL HAVE TO APOLOGIZE TO SODOM AND GOMORRAH.
and that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...