Jun 26
No Secret Knowledge
The electronic information age has been a huge blessing to mankind. It has allowed information to be transmitted at the speed of light. But one unfortunate consequence has come with our able to transmit data. We have no mechanism for ensuring the validity of the information we send to each other.
Falsehood has become so rampant, it is very hard to separate truth from fiction. As we get closer to the tribulation hour, the Bible warns that deception will only become all the more difficult to detect.
“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Mat. 24:24).
I have found a general rule that can be applied to any new teaching that is supposedly of God. If a group claims a "new revelation" that is "exclusive" to its members, you can be almost certain that they are in error.
Everyone has heard the commandment by Jesus that we should love our enemies. No special revelation is required to understand this directive. The problem has always been in implementing truth. People fail to love their enemies because they choose to ignore the Bible’s guidance.
Because Rapture Ready has a strong connection to the pre-trib rapture, I get dozens of letters each week from people who try to argue that they have discovered a new angle on the timing of prophetic events. They believe they have secret knowledge that all the rest of mankind lacks. They are very proud that they are the sole revelators of a new truth.
It has been many years since someone has sent me a message that contained a truly unique twist on the rapture’s timing. The words and dates may vary, but the concept has always been presented by someone else. I would love to have an email database that would instantly allow me to show people how many other times someone has had the same "special revelation."
This past week, members of the Jehovah's Witnesses stopped by my house to tell me about their "one true path to God." As I thought of their view of prophecy, I realized they were a good example of people who are motivated by the idea that they have "secret knowledge."
Whenever I encounter a group whose members believe they are the only genuine faith, I inform them that about a thousand other groups in America have the same view.
I’m a great admirer of the work that Ray Comfort has been doing in the field of personal evangelism. It is easy to identify his material as legitimate by the fact that his organization does not claim to have an exclusive grasp of the truth. They base their tracts on the same Bible that most people have a copy of somewhere in their home.
There is nothing on Rapture Ready that is the result of "special revelation." Terry and I have the easiest jobs in the world. We just identify the problem and then locate the answer in the Word of God.
In our battle with the devil, it is important to know that he has no new strategies. His success stems from his mastery of the same old tricks. Satan may occasionally repackage them into new forms, but they are the same basic ploys he’s used from the beginning. Since the dawn of time, "secret knowledge" has been one of the devil's favorite lures.
God’s biblical truth does not change with the times. It is as rigid as the laws that govern the physical universe. Anyone thinking about promoting a new doctrine needs to be mindful of a warning contained in the last chapter of the Revelation:
"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book" (Rev 22:18-19 KJV).
--- Todd
Replacement Theologofolly
Replacement theology continues to be the most troubling aspect of the developing apostasy –which I believe could well be the endtime “falling away” of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2. I’ve given it --in my view-- the more appropriate designation, “replacement theologofolly,” because that is just what it is. It is religious folly at its egregious worst.
It cuts to the heart of Satan’s war on God Almighty, and it is foolishness at the most profound level.
The prophet John wrote the Lord’s description and condemnation of the final false religious system: “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of
abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Rev. 17:4-5).
God’s Word further describes punishment for this final religious product the apostates will produce: "And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and
burn her with fire” (Rev. 17:16).
So, God views through the prism of extreme, though righteous, anger this horrendous system that will dominate –at least for a time—the whole world with its anti-God activity. This one-world false system of worship will be presided over by the false prophet of Revelation, who will point all worship, ultimately, to the beast –Antichrist. The prophecy says: "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose
deadly wound was healed” (Rev. 13:11-12).
One thing in particular will be at the root of this tribulation-era harlot system. That will be the hatred of Israel and all other things that belong to God’s perfect order. It is not a new world order, but ancient world disorder that will reign for a time on Planet Earth. Satan has, from his invasion at the Garden of Eden, sought to attack the seed of humankind, thus to try to prevent the Deliverer –Israel’s Messiah—from coming into the world and completing His mission. The mission is to offer himself as the lamb slain from the foundation of the world for the redemption of all who will accept Jesus Christ as Savior.
When Jesus said, “It is finished,” on the Cross at Calvary, that sacrifice was complete. Thus Satan was defeated at that time of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. But, the old red dragon, Satan, still is determined to deceive as many as possible, and to inflict as much agony as possible on the world. He particularly wants to inflict his horrors on the people chosen to be the seed through which Messiah would be born.
Israel –as any student of human history who approaches the study with an open mind will attest—has been vilified and persecuted as no other race of people. And, in this generation, the worst of all persecution of Israel is at hand, in preparation for the tribulation genocide against that race –the Jews.
The worst of all of history’s persecutions of Israel is at hand in this generation, because that persecution comes from within the Body of Christ. This is particularly manifest when observing the Presbyterian Church in America. The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. has for more than two years made it its official policy to divest itself of all business dealings with the nation of Israel. The policy was based upon the attitude that Israel is occupying territory that is rightfully the Palestinian people’s land. They view Israel as having no special right given them by God. As a matter of fact, the church’s almost universal belief is that the Body of Christ (all who believe in Christ for salvation) has replaced Israel so far as God’s promises to the Jews are concerned. They claim that the promises of God’s land grant to Israel was conditional, based upon Israel’s obedience to God. When Israel rejected their Messiah, they forfeited all claims to God’s promises to them.
For the world at large to claim Israel is an interloper and the key troublemaker in the Middle East is one thing, but for a major denomination within Christianity to claim that the Jew is finished in God’s view is apostate thinking of apocalyptic dimension.
Thus, it is with interest we observe while the Presbyterian U.S.A. church changes its replacement stand to a very modest degree. Could it be that some who truly know Christ within the organization have absorbed a bit of Holy Spirit light?
The lead portion of the story says:
“The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted yesterday to back off from a decision it made two years ago to pursue divestment from companies that profit from Israel's involvement in the Palestinian territories. The resolution, passed overwhelmingly at the church's general assembly in Birmingham, Ala., responded to outcries by some church members and Jews who accused the church of insensitivity to Israel. The resolution apologized for 'the pain that this has caused' among 'many members of the Jewish community and within our Presbyterian communion'" (Laurie Goodstein, Presbyterians Revise Israel Investing Policy, June 22, 2006).
The change in policy does nothing to negate Presbyterian theological folly that God is through with Israel. It seems to be simply nothing more or less than a return to good business practice. Good business, from the world’s standpoint, is precisely the accusation the prophecies of Revelation, Chapter 17, level at the apostate harlot who rides the beast regime.
We strongly urge all who hold to the folly of replacement theology to change their satanically-inspired view before it’s too late.
--Terry
