Everyone who calls themselves a Christian and attends church believes their path to be straight and their theology / doctrines to be sound. If they didn’t believe that to be true, it really doesn’t make sense to continue, even though some continue because that is what is expected of them. Obviously, there is a wide range of commitment in the church. There are those who begrudgingly attend church to those who are zealous for their faith. Whether begrudgingly or zealous, sound doctrine is missing from the church, although the zealous would disagree. The begrudging attenders really have no idea as to what is being taught and many who are zealous do not test the spirits. Paul said Romans 10:2 “For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.” Paul was zealous for the law of his ancestors, but Jesus opened his eyes. The fact that sound doctrine is missing in the church is difficult for most people to receive, especially since they have staked their life to what is being taught at the church they have committed to. It doesn’t matter how zealous you are if it is not zeal for the truth as we saw that Paul would have. Many will continue to attend as long as their appetite is satisfied. 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” When their appetites are no longer satisfied, they will switch churches and even go somewhere where a different doctrine is taught.
Itching ears do not want to hear the words repent and turn from your wicked ways. Isaiah 30:10 “They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. 11 Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!” This time of not putting up with sound doctrine has long been here as Paul said to Titus, Titus 1:9 “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. 10 For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. 11 They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” 13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” Titus 2:1 “You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.” As we have been talking about, the church is filled with false teachers who promote a different jesus and other gospels. They say their vision came from God, but when their so-called God given plan is implemented, it looks nothing like the Gospels, nor is there the power of the Gospel to do as Jesus did.
We live in a day where many are claiming to know God but by their actions have no idea what they are talking about. If you watch the news, Pete Hegseth is a good example of that, not that he is a preacher. He is clueless about the scripture he so confidently quotes. 1 Timothy 1:3 “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.” Following a different jesus and other gospels have been happening in the church since Paul said this. 2 Corinthians 11:3 “I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” Galatians 1:6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.”
We live in a day where piecing information together is easy and fast. Our home internet has “download speeds up to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps) and 200 Mbps upload with unlimited usage.” A different jesus and other gospels are being taught all around the world, but it is easy to see them. That also comes with a warning as not everything on the internet is sound, especially now with AI. Also, you want to be sound in the Gospel as taught in the scriptures before you look because there is a tremendous amount of deception and delusion out there. As I said before, rabbit holes can be extensive as well as very dangerous. Some people do not come back from them. When research is lightning fast, gone are the days where you would have no idea what false gospels were being taught, even in the same or next town over. Paul warned about false teachers when the word was spread by letter or word of mouth. He said, 2 Thessalonians 2:1 “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.” Colossians 4:16 “After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.” It appears according to Revelation that the Laodiceans did not read it. This problem continues but is enhanced by the internet. Peter said about Paul’s writing, 2 Peter 3:14 “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” His writing is still distorted.
In the previous chapter Peter warned about false teachers. 2 Peter 2:1 “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” The distortion of scripture is moving just as fast as the internet. Even in Jeremiah we were warned about this. Jeremiah 23:36 “But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ 39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.” Jeremiah 23:20 “In days to come you will understand it clearly. 21 I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.” Peter also said 2 Peter 2:17 “These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”
Today, in the blink of an eye, you can see what someone is teaching in California or China. You can even see and hear what is being said in real time. Testing the spirits has never been easier. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” We have no excuse not to adhere to sound doctrine, even though we were already without excuse. Romans 1:18 “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” The reality is that if everyone was actually teaching what scripture said, what was being taught in California would be the same as China and if the Holy Spirit was truly present you wouldn’t have a plethora of differing views as seen in the many distinct groups who call themselves the church. John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” We would also not see the volumes written about topics in the bible as writers would not dare to add to or take away from scripture as they do now. Revelation 22:18 “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.” There is access to the word of God like no other time but there is also commentaries by false teachers just as accessible. Sadly, the bible is the best-selling book (although not a book as the bible is the living word of God) of all time, but the least read and least believed. Know the bible - know truth; no bible - no truth and the latter is where the church is at and because of this rejection of God’s word, the church is filled with detestable practices. The bible, though most have one has been replaced with traditions, reasoning and experiences, which is rebellion against God’s word.
Rebellion as we see in scripture always leads to defeat. 2 Chronicles 7:19 “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’” Following a different jesus and other gospels is the same rebellion as following other gods. The church did this and now the church, the third temple, is a heap of rubble that has been destroyed by the abomination that causes desolation as we were warned in Daniel and by Jesus. Daniel 9:27 “And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” Daniel 7:21 “As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.” After talking about the abomination that causes desolation, Jesus said Matthew 24:22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.” Paul also said 2 Thessalonians 2:4 “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” The church has been decimated but not completely because God gave David a promise that there would always be a remnant of survivors just as Jesus said above (If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive). Jeremiah 33:19 “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’”
The word abomination “is something that causes extreme disgust, hatred, or loathing, often referring to a vile action, habit, or a morally offensive object. It is used to describe intense disapproval of things like cruelty or wickedness, and historically, it represents something repulsive to God.” A synonym of abomination is detestation which means “extreme hatred or dislike,” and that would be detestable. Some versions of the bible use detestable and other use abomination, although abomination seems stronger especially when talking about a snowman. An abominable snowman sounds worse than a detestable snowman, even though they basically mean the same. When describing the abomination that causes desolation, it is abomination not detestation that causes desolation.
When talking about the abomination that causes desolation, most have been taught this is something way off in the future. Although there are some who teach that the abomination that causes desolation were the Romans, but that really doesn’t explain the destruction we have seen to the church. It appears the Romans were used to destroy the temple which would never be built again because the church is now the temple. Ephesians 1:19 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Acts 17:24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.” Most hold to the teaching that the abomination that causes desolation will take place off in the future. They disagree with scripture and teach the temple will be rebuilt, there will be tribulation, and antichrist, yet that also does not explain the result of the church’s powerlessness caused by rebellion of which resulted in deception and delusion and the destruction and captivity of the powerless church.
It appears that most in the church are blind and deaf to the desolation of the church. I am not sure how, unless you have no contact with the outside world, that you cannot see the decimation of the church. The problem is that false teachers are teaching that the church is how it should be, yet today the destruction of the church is front and centre and being led by the most powerful people in the world and those who gather to worship them. It is easy for people to say we do not believe as they do but at the same time are believing what they should not be believing. Some will say those charismatics are wrong but while saying that they are also wrong as both are following a different jesus and other gospels.
I want to give just a brief synopsis of what has been happening just in the last few weeks. This will show just how bad the attack from the abomination has been and how bad the desolation is and it may get worse. Easter Sunday was April 5, 2026, just a few short weeks ago. A few days before Easter, the Whitehouse had an Easter luncheon. History shows us that Easter is supposed to be about Jesus rising from the dead. Mind you the Easter Bunny and chocolate are right up there with Jesus. During this luncheon, Trump spoke about himself, war and other rants while interjecting a few points about Jesus. After his rambling, Paula White the Senior Advisor to the White House Faith Office, compared Trump to Jesus. Franklin Graham then compared Trump to Esther. He said, “Father, we thank you. Today, the Iranians, the wicked regime of this government wants to kill every Jew and destroy them with an atomic fire. But you have raised up President Trump. Yes, You’ve raised him up for such a time as this.” Franklin Graham and Paul White could not be further apart, but they stand united in their worship of Donald Trump. While all this nonsense was being said people clapped for Trump. The luncheon was on April 1, 2026, and then the next day April 2, 2026, Trump “threatened to bomb Iran "back to the stone ages." Now skip ahead a few days to Easter for Trump’s Easter message to the world. It really centers on the true meaning of Easter. He said "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!" "Open the F….n' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!" Trump said, ending his Easter morning post with: "Praise be to Allah." Remember what Franklin Graham said about the Iranians using atomic fire. You then have Trump continue his rant on April 7, 2026, and said, "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." “He was speaking of Iran and its 90 million people.” Yet he talks about saving the people of Iran. Trump has nuclear power at his fingertips to decimate Iran, yet Iran does not, as have been proven. Trump is surrounded by people who worship him as a god. Many believe that Trump is somehow a messiah to be used to save America, but instead he is destroying the world as we know it. You would think, can it get any worse? Yes, it can! Trump then picks a fight with the Pope. The vice-president JD Vance a new Catholic then like others think they no more than the pope and join in on the assault. During his assault on the Pope, Trump then puts out an AI image of himself as Jesus. It turns out that he went too far even for his ardent followers who have ignored everything else about him and he took it down. In doing so, he lied to their faces and said he was a doctor. Once again Graham comes to his defense and says, “I do not believe President Trump would knowingly depict himself as Jesus Christ—that would certainly be inappropriate,” Graham wrote in a lengthy X post on Thursday. “I’m thankful the President has made it very clear that this was not at all what he thought the AI-generated image was representing—he thought it was a doctor helping someone, and when he learned of the concerns, he immediately removed the post.” Meanwhile Franklin Graham’s Easter message was “What is Truth.” How bizarre is that? It didn’t end there with Trump’s attack on the Pope and Trump claimed “I'm all about the gospel. I'm about it as much as anybody can be.” Trump doesn’t have a clue what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. He just uses it to deceive so-called Christians who also do not know what the true Gospel is. Without naive Christians Trump would not be president.
No matter what Trump does or says, these false teachers worship the ground he walks on. Franklin Graham, Paula White, Robert Jefferies, Greg Laurie to name a few continue to heap praise upon him. One person described it by saying, “False prophets are making false messiahs out of tyrants.” Graham’s statement above is an example of that. Plus, he said, “There is so much ill-intended speculation. I think his enemies are always foaming at the mouth at a possible opportunity to make him look bad,” Graham wrote. “He is the most pro-Christian, pro-life president in my lifetime and he doesn’t shy away from it.” Then you have the likes of Mike Johnson, Pete Hegseth and Karoline Leavitt who call themselves Christians but are prolific liars just like Trump. These are just the high-profile people. We are not just talking about a few false teachers here as each of these teachers have a following and there are many more like them. The common denominator is their worship of Trump. One person called it Christian Trumpism. This is described as the “view Donald Trump is a divinely ordained, "chosen" leader to protect Christian values and restore America to a perceived godly nation. It blends populist politics with ideas of spiritual warfare, often framing Trump as a "vessel" or Old Testament-style leader, such as Cyrus or David.” Most everyone can see the flaw in this, that is comedians, political commentators, yet those who call themselves Christians do not and continue to persuade their followers not to see it either.
I am not sure that there has ever been a person with a stronger spirit of anti-christ than Donald Trump. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” satan’s deception is to get God’s people to question the validity of His word and people have been deceived since Adam and Eve rejected God’s word. 1 John 2:3 “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” Whenever Trump opens his mouth, he lies. When he speaks about his enemies, he is actually talking about himself. He embraces enemies and goes to war with his allies. He wants his name everywhere and building built in his image. If his AI image of himself wasn’t bad enough, there was a demonic figure above him. satan is so arrogant he will always in some way tell you that he is present. Jesus said John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Yes, Trump was placed in power for a reason, but it is not for the reason they think. This man is pure evil just as the Babylonians were and scripture tells us God said the king of Babylon was his servant. Jeremiah 25:9 “I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin.” That should bring fear to the church as per God’s plan for Trump.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, but the presence of this abomination has infiltrated not just the church, but the most powerful country in the world. Having said that Assyria and Babylon were easily destroyed by God. Isaiah 2:11 “The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.” Isaiah 10:12 “When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. 13 For he says: “‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.” Isaiah 37:21 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him: “Virgin Daughter Zion despises and mocks you. Daughter Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee. 23 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! 24 By your messengers you have ridiculed the Lord.” Jeremiah 51:31 “See, I am against you, you arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty, “for your day has come, the time for you to be punished. 32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall and no one will help her up; I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her.” Proverbs 6:16 “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” Proverbs 26:24 “Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit. 25 Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts. 26 Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.” Trump will be accountable before God even though he seems to get away with almost everything. Even the king of Babylon repented, so there is hope even with someone like Donald Trump.
I say tip of the iceberg when it comes to the destruction of the church because you also have a whole bunch of “isms.” A lot of what I talked about above has been front and center in the news and it is hard to miss. But the destruction is far deeper than just what we see happening with Trump and his minions and had been going on for generations. There has been and there are false teachers everywhere in the church just as we were warned. Paul said Acts 20:29 “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” After Paul, the church deteriorated very quickly and because the church rebelled, God turned His face from the church and allowed the abomination that causes desolation to decimate the powerless church just as Israel and Judah were destroyed. Instead of defeating our enemies the church was defeated by its enemy, even though the church was given power at Pentecost so that would not happen.
There are many “isms” that have been detrimental to the church. The first was Catholicism and has done massive damage to the church. Another “ism” that has been detrimental to the church is schism. There was the Great Schism 1054 with the Catholics and the Orthodox. Neither returned to the true Gospel but continued down the wrong path. Then there was the Reformation initiated by Martin Luther in 1517. Again, this did not lead the church back to the true Gospel, but did even more damage than the Catholics and the Orthodox. The result was Protestantism, which is just as bad or worse than Catholicism. The schisms continued with Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, Methodism Pentecostalism and schisms continued in each of those. To this day the church continues to divide, and each group has their very own and very distinct beliefs, yet the church never returns to the gospels by repenting and turning from wicked ways nor has the power given at Pentecost returned. Instead, the ways of man are followed like Calvinism or Arminianism and others. Today gurus are followed as if they are Jesus and their words are equivalent to His like Rick Warrenism, John MacArthurism, Joel Osteenism, Francis Chanism, John Maxwellism, Joyce Meyerism, Beth Mooreism, and no more, Bill Hybelism. Yes, I added “ism” to their names and these are just a few.
The church is constantly following men and women instead of Jesus and placing their words above the words of God. These are false teachers and false gospels because their words are not being confirmed as Jesus said they would be. Mark 16:15 “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
You can look up all the “isms” that have been destroying the church like secularism, consumerism, individualism, liberalism and nationalsim. I am not going to go into them but christian nationalism and christian zionism and zionism are at the tip of the iceberg and are deceiving many. The belief that Israel can take the land all around them and those who help them will be blessed is false. The belief that the United States is a Christian country is false as it is religious, not Christian. Their own constitution verifies that. You also have doctrines of demons like cessationism where the power to the church ceased. This is a devastating teaching when it comes to healing. There is also prosperity gospel (I couldn’t find the ism with this one) all about money and fame. There are still many others like rejection of hell (universalism where all will be saved) and eternal security no matter what and predestination where some are chosen and some are not. It is always interesting to me how the person preaching this lie is always chosen.
This is not about providing information as to why these should be rejected, and they should be rejected, but to show that the church has been annihilated and it looks nothing like the church that began at Pentecost nor is the church doing as Jesus did. Even so, most continue to believe all is well with their soul, but in the end their eternal destination will not be where they were told it would be. Understanding that the church has been decimated and is in captivity and powerless against our enemies changes everything. It means repentance is of the utmost importance and the church cannot continue down the path it is on. Jesus said, Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Most think the kingdom is coming in the future. Luke 13:23 “Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”
Earlier we read 2 Chronicles 7:21 “This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’” We are also told Jeremiah 7:21 “‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! 22 For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.’ 27 “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. 30 “‘The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it.”
The church has done the same and has done what is detestable / abomination in the eyes of God by embracing a different jesus and other gospels thus invoking God’s wrath and is a heap of rubble. The church also refuses to let go of that embrace and has paid a severe price. Millions have died without ever knowing they had been deceived and deluded. Most have no idea that God has hidden His face from the church. Ezekiel 39:21 “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them. 22 From that day forward the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.” After Babylon attacked as the prophets said they would, one of the Babylonian commanders said, Jeremiah 40:3 “And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him.” God’s people were warned over and over again but they refused to listen. Ezekiel 20:2 “Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ 4 “Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their ancestors 5 and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore with uplifted hand to the descendants of Jacob and revealed myself to them in Egypt. With uplifted hand I said to them, “I am the Lord your God.” 6 On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. 7 And I said to them, “Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” 8 “‘But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt.” Jeremiah 44:2 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw the great disaster I brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Today they lie deserted and in ruins 3 because of the evil they have done. They aroused my anger by burning incense to and worshiping other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors ever knew. 4 Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!’ 5 But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods. 6 Therefore, my fierce anger was poured out; it raged against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem and made them the desolate ruins they are today.” Jeremiah 8:4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: ‘When people fall down, do they not get up? When someone turns away, do they not return? 5 Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. 6 I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle. 7 Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.” Jeremiah 2:26 “As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the people of Israel are disgraced— they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets. 27 They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’ 28 Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns. 32 my people have forgotten me, days without number. 34 Yet in spite of all this 35 you say, ‘I am innocent; he is not angry with me.’ But I will pass judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’” Jeremiah 9:6 “You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,” declares the Lord. 7 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “See, I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people? 8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully. With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors, but in their hearts they set traps for them. 9 Should I not punish them for this?” declares the Lord. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?” 10 I will weep and wail for the mountains and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands. They are desolate and untraveled, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. The birds have all fled and the animals are gone. 11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.” 12 Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross? 13 The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. 14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” 15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.” Ezekiel 8:6 “And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.” Ezekiel 16:32 “‘You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!”
The church is filled with what is detestable in God sight, yet the Lord wants to be gracious His people. Isaiah 30:15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 16 You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift! 17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.” 18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” But God’s people refused to listen. Isaiah 65:2 “All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations— 3 a people who continually provoke me to my very face.” Repentance is still our only hope. Ezekiel 14:6 “Therefore say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!” Ezekiel 44:5 “The Lord said to me, “Son of man, look carefully, listen closely and give attention to everything I tell you concerning all the regulations and instructions regarding the temple of the Lord. Give attention to the entrance to the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary. 6 Say to rebellious Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Enough of your detestable practices, people of Israel!” Isaiah 48:17 “This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. 18 If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea. 19 Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be blotted out nor destroyed from before me.” Lamentation 5:7 “Our ancestors sinned and are no more, and we bear their punishment.”
King Hezekiah proclaimed these powerful words and they apply today. 2 Chronicles 29:3 “In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side 5 and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. 6 Our parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place and turned their backs on him. 7 They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. 9 This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. 10 Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us.” 2 Chronicles 30:6 “People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your parents and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. 9 If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”
The only reason the church still has hope in spite of all its detestable practices, is that God is gracious and compassionate, even though we do not deserve His grace. The detestable practices continue and few turn away from them. What they do not realize is these practices lead to where the dead are and there will not be eternal life. Proverbs 9:16 “Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, 17 “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!” 18 But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.” We are told Jeremiah 35:15 “Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me.” Don’t be like those who refused to listen to God’s word; listen and repent. Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’” God said Zechariah 1:3 “Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Daniel 9:4 “I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. 7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. “Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14 The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him. 15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. 17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”
