By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music;Pastoral ministry & Counseling Date 7/1/2023
In the last days what difficult times will
come? Today, are we facing the same scenario as Apostle described in the New
Testament? Are we facing spiritual famine as Amos’ prophecy in Old Testament? This
message will help you to discover the Word of God, and remind you to be aware
of the last days difficult times will come such as Anti-Christ, lawlessness,
unrighteousness, false prophet, false teacher and spiritual famine. The Lord
calls us to be watchful and pray as five wise virgins who took oil in jars
along with their lamps, patiently wait for bridegroom and were out to meet the
bridegroom.(Matt.24:4). Christ will take His bride, the church, to heaven
before the Tribulation period begins, and then He will return with His bride at
His second coming to the marriage supper on earth. The virgins represent the
professing Jewish remnant on earth at His return. Jesus urged His disciples keep watching and
pray, so that we will not fall into temptation. My friends let us discover
Apostle’s letters and their warming about the last days.
Ø First,
Apostle Paul wrote letter to Timothy, indicates that “But know this, that in the last days
difficult times will come, for men will be lovers of self, lovers of money,
boasters, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control,
savage, not lovers of good, having an outward form of godliness, though denying
its power; from these also turn away. (2Timothy3:1-5)
The prophetic picture presented in vv.2-5
portrays not the evil condition of the non-Christian society but the corrupted
situation of the great house mentioned in 2Timothy 2:20, which is
Christianity in decline.
This is proved by the phrase having an outward form of godliness in v.5
Non-Christians do not have even the outward form of godliness. History
tells us that the root of the church's decline was the loss of her first love
toward the Lord (Rev.2:4) to maintain the victorious standard of the
church, we must be lovers of God and
lovers of the good that pertains to
God's economy.
Ø Second,
the letter, Apostle Paul wrote to Thessalonians, he stated, “The man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to
destruction. 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. (2Thessalonians 2: 3b-4). For the secret power of lawlessness is already
at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is
taken out of the way. And then the
lawless one will be revealed whom the
Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the
splendor of His coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the
work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and
wonders. (2Thessalonians2:7-9)
Ø Third,
the letter, Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Rome, he expressed the consequences of the condemnation
and the reason of divine abandonment. He said,
“The wrath
of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness
of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness…For although they knew God,
they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their foolish
hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for
images made to look like mortal man and birds, and animals and reptiles.(Romans1:18,21-22).
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to
sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created
things rather than the Creator-who is forever
praised. Amen. (Romans 1:24-25)
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful
lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned
natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men
committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due
penalty for their perversion. (Romans1:26-27)
Furthermore, since they did not think it
worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved
mind; to do what ought not to be done. They
have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.
They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,
slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent ways of
doing evil; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless.
Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve
death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those
who practice them. (Romans1:28-32)
The result of man’s giving up God is man’s
being given up by Him. Those who give up God force God to give them up. According
to Romans 1:24, God gives
people up to three thing, uncleanness (v.24), passions of dishonor (v.26), and
a disapproved mind (v.28). The
consequence of such a giving up is fornication (v.24, 26-27), which violates a governing and controlling
principle and brings in confusion. Every kind of evil issue is from this
fornication. (vv. 29-32).
Ø Fourth,
Apostle John wrote a letter to Christians all over Asia Minor (much like Ephesians). He mentioned about the
spirit of the antichrist which you have heard is coming and even now is already
in the world. “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every
spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit
of the antichrist. (1John4:2-3). Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but
prove the sprits whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone
out into the world. (1John4:1)
In
Matt.24:24 the false prophets differ from the false Christs. But here the false
prophets are the antichrist (v.3), those who teach heretically concerning the
person of Christ. The spirit of a genuine prophet, which is motivated by the
Holy Spirit of truth; such a spirit confesses the divine conception of Jesus,
affirming that He was born as the Son of God. Every such spirit is surely of
God. In this we know the Spirit of God. Jesus was conceived of the Spirit
(Matt.1:18). To confess that Jesus has come in the flesh is to confess that He
was divinely conceived to be born as the Son of God (Luke1:31-35). Since He was
conceived of the Spirit to be born in the flesh, the Spirit would never deny
that He has come in the flesh through divine conception.
The spirit
of a false prophet, which is actuated by the spirit of deception; such a
spirit does not confess that Jesus came in the flesh. This is the spirit of the
errors of the Docetists (or
Docetes). This name was derived from the Greek word meaning to seen, to appear
to be. The heretical view of the Docetists was that Jesus Christ was not a real
man but simply appeared to be; to them He was merely a phantasm. Docetism was
intermixed with Gnosticism, which taught that all matter was essentially evil.
Hence, the Docetists taught that since Christ is holy, He could never have had
the defilement of human flesh. They taught that His body was not real flesh and
blood but was merely a deceptive, transient phantom, and thus that He did not
suffer, die, and resurrect. Such a heresy undermines not only the Lord’s
incarnation but also His redemption and resurrection. Docetism was a
characteristic feature of the first antichristian errorists, whom John had in
view here and in 2 John 7. The spirit of such errorists is surely not of God.
This is the spirit of the antichrist.
Ø Fifth,
Apostle Peter wrote a letter to reminder of the truth of Christianity as
opposed to the heresies of false teachers. Their conduct and characteristics as follows,
They will secretly introduce destructive
heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them bringing swift
destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring
the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you
with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over
them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial
beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not
bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.
But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute
beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like
beasts they too will perish. They will be paid back with harm for the harm
they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They
are blots and blemishes, revealing in their pleasures while they feast with
you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the
unstable; they are experts in greed –an accursed brood! They have left the straightway
and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages
of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey a beast
without speech spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
(2Peter2:1-3; 10-16).
These men are springs without water and mists
driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For their mouth
empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human
nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.
They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity –for a
man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the
world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it
and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It
would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness,
than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that
was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its
vomit,” and “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” (2 Peter
2: 17-22).
Are we facing Spiritual famine this day? In Old
Testament Amos’ vision in Chapter 8:11-13 indicates that “ the days are coming,
declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land not a
famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men
will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the
Word of Lord, but they will not find it.” In that day the lovely young women and strong young men will
faint because of thirst. (Amos 8:11-13).
1 Samuel 3:1 also expressed the word of God not
occurring very often. “And the boy
Samuel ministered to Jehovah before Eli. Now the word of Jehovah was rare in
those days, visions were not widespread.” (1 Samuel 3:1).
Ezekiel 7:26 said, “Disaster upon disaster will
come, and there will be rumor upon rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a
prophet, but instruction will
perish from the priest, and
counsel from the elders.”
Psalm74:9
said, “We do not see our signs, there is no longer a
prophet, nor is there anyone among us who knows how long.”
Today, in
our society, we sense that those prophecies in the Bible come to the reality. Children
of God face spiritual famine. God’s
judgment begins to take effect. “Famine
of hearing the words of the Lord”, In times of great distress Israel,
children of God turned to the Lord for a prophetic word of hope or guidance,
but in the coming judgment the Lord will answer all such appeals with
silence-the awful silence of God.
My
friends, do you sense the silence of God these days? You sought God’s guidance
and instruction but the word of God was rare, visions were not widespread. For
the evil, lawlessness, unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, depravity, murder,
strife, deceit, malice, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant occurred,
boastful people become senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless. Many
people forsake faith, and no more open the Bible, the Word of God seems no long
appear in our society, school, library, and family. Christianity is in decline,
young men, and young girls are thirsty for the Words of God, but they no longer
find the Bible, nor hear the Words of God. My friends look around of your community
and workplace, people- young and old; do they talk or read about the Word of
God (Bible), express about Jesus Christ Messiah and proclaim gospel? Do you see
the Christianity is decline? What shall we do about?
Jesus had provided a parable for
watchfulness in the Matthew 25:1-13, he said,
“At that time the kingdom of the heavens will
be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went forth to meet the
bridegroom. And five of them were foolish and five were prudent. For the
foolish, when they took their lamps, didn’t take oil with them; but the prudent
took oil in their vessels with their lamps. And while the bridegroom delayed,
they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, Behold, the bridegroom!
Go forth to meet Him. And the foolish said to the prudent, give us some of your
oil, for our lamps are going out. But the prudent answered, saying perhaps
there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to those who sell, and
buy for yourselves. And as they were going away to buy, the bridegroom came,
and those who were ready went in with Him to the wedding feast and the door was
shut. And later the rest of the virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to
us! But He answered and said, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.” Watch therefore,
for you do not know the day nor the hour. (Matt.25:1-13).
They have oil in their lamps
signifies that they have the Spirit of God dwelling in their spirit
(Rom.8:9,16), and that they take oil in their vessels signifies that they have
the Spirit of God filling and saturating their souls. We shall ready always have
oil in our vessel, always being filled with the Spirit of God in our whole
being. Watching and being ready should be our daily exercise for the Lord’s
coming. This is the rapture of the resurrected believers to the air
(1Thes.4:17) at the time that the Lord’s coming descends to the air. This is
the marriage dinner of the Lamb (Rev.19:9), which will be spread in air on the
path of the Lord’s coming. It will occur before the manifestation of the
kingdom and will be a reward of mutual enjoyment with the Lord, a reward to be
given to the believers who are ready, who are equipped with the filling of the
Holy Spirit before they die.
The foolish virgins were
represent the believers who are regenerated with the Spirit of God and indwelt
by the Spirit of God, but who have not been filled with Him sufficiently to
have their whole being saturated with Him. A price must be paid in order to buy
oil. Having the filling of Holy Spirit is at a cost, such as giving up the
world, dealing with self, loving the Lord above all, and counting all things
loss for Christ. If we do not pay this price today, we will have to pay it
after we are resurrected. The foolish virgins had their lamps lighted, went
forth to meet the Lord, died, and were resurrected and raptured, but were late
in paying the price for the filling of the Holy Spirit. Because of this the
Lord would not recognize them, approve them, for participation in His wedding
feast. They miss this dispensational reward but do not lose their eternal
salvation.
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Bibliography,
King James, The Holy Bible,
Cleveland, OH: The world publishing company
Lee, Witness. The New
Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.
Ryrie, Charles
C. The Ryrie study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible
Institute, 1986.
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