Dearth of Discernment?

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Audio for this article can be heard here: SermonAudio.com/StudyGrowKnow

More links for your research:

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• They Were Right – Now You Know Who to Follow
• Spike protein is very dangerous (doctors’ round table) Excellent short video!
• Dr. Malone (inventor of mRNA vax)
• Two Potential Nightmare Scenarios for USA
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• Peace, Peace When There is No Peace
• More Mapping the Brain?
• Teen Vogue Teaches 12-17-Year-Old Readers How to Use Menstrual Blood in Witchcraft
• Jen Wilkin of Village Church Says Women’s Periods are a Parable of the Crucifixion
• Lego Toys With More LGBT Extremism
• Christian Organizations Everywhere Should Brace Themselves For Weaponized IRS
• Latest CDC VAERS Data for 12- to 17-Year-Olds Include 7 Deaths, 271 Serious Adverse Events Following COVID Vaccines

Churches of Revelation and Today
In Revelation 2-3, the apostle John takes dictation from Jesus concerning seven specific churches that were in Asia Minor. Only two churches – Smyrna and Philadelphia – are praised and not taken to task by our Lord. The other five? All had problems in spite of the fact that they had good things going for them as reported by our Lord.

Again, this was for seven specific churches and as we’ve discussed before, many conservative Bible scholars believe that an application across the entirety of church history is appropriate with our current day mirroring the Laodicean Church, noted for its “lukewarm” attitude toward Jesus. They had grown cold but weren’t completely iced over because they hadn’t fully turned their back on Jesus. They were also not solely hot; not fully sold out to Him anymore either. Their lukewarmness rightly concerned Jesus. The people at Laodicea had compromised with the world and embraced, accepted or simply put up with more worldliness inside their church. That fact had pulled them slowly but consistently away from Jesus by dulling their commitment to Him.

If five out of seven churches then (around 95-96 AD), were called out for their compromise and complacency, how much more would individual churches and denominations of today have the same type of problem or worse?

I’m hearing from folks how difficult it is for them to find a church where the pastor preaches expositionally and from a truly biblical perspective, where the music is God-honoring and where people come together to worship the Lord as their primary reason for gathering. Folks who cannot find these type of churches are wondering what to do.

Fortunately, we live in an age of Internet that can be a blessing of sorts letting connecting people with others whose goal it is to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.

Truth today seems to be up for grabs. I also think that since Christians in America have had it easy for so long, we have been taken by surprise because of what has transpired over the past year and a half, specifically with CV-19. No one was expecting that and what occurred in society because of it forced on us by politicians who keep saying they want us safe.

Many, including pastors, applaud what government has done, either not realizing or caring that the government’s illegal overreach has forced churches to close, with congregants being fined (early on), for “illegal” gatherings and has placed numerous pastors in jail or with threat of major fines and/or prison. Some want even longer periods of shutdown, have gladly taken the CV-19 jab and insist that everyone take it. This is the growing fascism throughout America and the world, enabled by non-thinking people.

The America we grew up in is forcibly being killed, being replaced by a new world order precipitated by a “great reset” as envisioned by organizations and people associated with World Economic Forum (Klaus Schwab), and others. I’m fairly certain there is no going back.

Globalist organizations are not stopping. They are now warning us of an impending danger of a new Delta “variant” of CV-19 that will hit this fall. I can only wonder how they know this? Moreover, they continue to push Critical Race Theory (CRT), which is the false belief that all white people are white supremacists and have been endangering black and brown lives since America’s inception by holding them back through various aspects of oppression. Many churches are going along with this; what they call racial reconciliation.

Beyond this, conservative and patriot groups are being singled out by government agencies as “terrorists,” while a blind eye is turned to AntiFa and BLM that actually are domestic terrorist groups. It is now looking like the FBI may have not only infiltrated protesters of the Capitol “insurrection,” but may also have played a much larger roll in it.

The goal of CRT is to elevate and enrich blacks while vilifying whites. It’s the classic Marxist strategy of pitting groups against one another to overthrow a society by first fomenting agitation.

The Marxist playbook has not changed because it works. It has always worked by engendering jealousy into society so that cultures and races begin looking at other cultures and races with a jaundiced eye and eventually insist on some form of “reparations.” This does nothing but create ill will, anger and hatred because of skin color. It gives birth to a “get or kill” mentality that pits people against one another all based on perceived wrongs.

Doesn’t the Bible teach that no one is worthy of the Kingdom of God if they put their hand to the plow and look back (Luke 9:62)? Yet Marxists know they can create chaos throughout society if they can “agitate” certain groups to constantly look back, complaining about wrongs done to some of their ancestors. It has worked every time and promises to work again to bring the entire world under the control of the evil one in the final world government of Daniel 2.

The Psalms are filled with prayers and requests as well as praise to God for what He will eventually do to the wicked. The day of judgment that He has determined will arrive and all the people who think they are getting away with things now will be faced with their evil reality and will be judged because of it. That day is certainly coming.

What makes it so difficult for average Christians at times is wondering when it’s going to occur. It seems like it’ll never happen, right? Many Psalms sigh heavily about this same problem way back then. But as Peter says, a day with the Lord is like a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8; see also Psalm 90:4).

Millennial Kingdom
This is so different from the way things will be during the physical reign of Jesus starting at the end of the Tribulation (which His coming brings to an end), when He will deal with things at that moment, which is why He will rule with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:7). That’s fascinating to me and I think I understand the “timing” involved here. Now, God reigns from outside our timeline. He is not restricted by time as we understand it. Because He Himself is eternal and outside time (though He can come into our timeline whenever He wishes without corrupting His eternal character), He has specifically set a “day” when He will pour out judgment onto the earth and its citizens for all the wrongs that have been done in rejecting His rule. Ultimately, each person who dies without Jesus will also face Him and will be fully judged for all their sin. These specific days and times are set by God for some future date (from our perspective, not His), but they will occur. For us, living in our “time,” it just seems so long in the making, doesn’t it? It seems that in this life, too many people get away with their crimes and just continue on as though there is no God.

Once again, the Psalms complain of the same thing (ex Psalm 104:35). Many of those Psalms though end with the assurance that judgment is in God’s hand and He will avenge. He will do so in His time and in His way as Creator of this universe and all things in it. Only God can judge righteously. We long for it.

However, what will be different when Jesus physically reigns on and over this earth is the fact that He will be physically present on this earth in our timeline! Everyone alive then will see Him. They will interact with Him. They will either obey His royal dictates or they will experience His temporal judgment. Depending on the infractions, it may result in their death right then and there. Notice the difference? Jesus will deal with things immediately because He will be ruling in real time and in our time.

For now, God keeps track of everything that happens here – thought, word and deed for each person – and has set a specific time when He will deal with all of those infractions. It will be done and we should never think that He is “slack” concerning His promises (2 Peter 3). We know that He waits – by setting a future date of judgment – because He wants no one to perish.

During the Millennial Kingdom when Jesus physically reigns, if He allows any sin to go unpunished, havoc will be created, followed by anarchy. It would not be long before society then would start to sink. Of course, even if He delayed in judgment, allowing some sense of lawlessness to occur (which He would not), He could easily squash that as He will during the very end of His Millennial Kingdom when Satan is loosed from the Bottomless Pit to gather forces against Jesus and His saints (Revelation 20). But during the Millennial Kingdom, Jesus will nip every problem in the bud. Isn’t that good news? The fact though that people will still sin and sometimes egregiously enough to warrant the death penalty is tragic though. This is in spite of the fact that Satan is locked up in the Bottomless Pit, which tells us that our sin nature all by itself can create havoc.

So what does this have to do with the churches of today? It simply means that as the world marches toward the final global government, aspects of that government are overtaking society now and that includes churches. How many churches do you personally know that complied and closed their doors during what was originally to be a “15 day period to slow the spread,” which became months of lock-down? In our area, I can only think of two that did not lock down at all.

How many pastors do you know who received the CV-19 jab because they wanted to be all things to all people, yet did not research it enough to know the potential dangers of it as we are learning now?

How many churches do you know that took PPP money from the government to keep things afloat? Why the apparent lack of discernment? Why not rely on Jesus instead of the government? We have a new president now than the one who under which funds were provided to churches. What if the rules change retroactively so that certain things are required of those churches that took money?

There appears to be a growing discernment dearth, for the lack of putting it another way. Christians, by and large, are failing to see the signs. I’m guessing it’s because they are failing to read His Word or have that Word expositionally preached. For too long, it seems that seeker-sensitive churches have “warmed hearts” while not educating believers or professing Christians. The result is a growing tide of church-goers who cannot distinguish between truth and lies.

Christian, we need to do better. We must seek to understand and delight in the fear of (offending) the Lord!

But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children (Psalm 103:17)

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective