1 Corinthians 3:18 - Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
Good post.
I tend to have a much wider view of these things than most - Beginning with a difference in 'the latter days (in it's various forms)', which most Christians confuse/conflate with the 'end times (in it's various forms)'.
Both Paul and John declare
they were living in 'the latter days', so this thing must necessarily be ongoing for the last 2000 years. It is an interesting study, the latter days, as distinct from the time of the end or end times... Pan way back, and consider.
The Pathriarchal inheritance is in the latter days... Nebuchadnezzar's dream is in the latter days. The latter days is when 'they will search for the truth and will not find it'...
I think the lie is so deep and has been running so long, that virtually everything we think we know is suspect, especially that which has transpired in the last two hundred years, wherein the basic lifestyle of all the time past has been subjugated to something else - Something quick and busy, distracting - Distraction is the tool of the magician and the con artist... moving those walnut shells faster and faster... Is it any wonder that one cannot find the pea?
I think we are the proverbial 'frog in the pot'. With that sense in mind:
If so, then one of the 'things' described as 'happening first' is that the 'world' would be followers of something other than the truth. It states that there 'must come a falling away first'.
The falling away began long ago.
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
What is the 'falling away'? Certainly it isn't a 'falling away from religion' or a 'falling away from faith', for these things would endure no matter what. They always have been an integral part of the existence of man, so it must be something else. It is my belief that the reference is to 'truth'. That directly before the return of Christ, mankind will have 'fallen away' from the 'truth'. Following truth of their own design instead of the 'truth' as delivered by God through prophet, His own Son and the apostles.
I think it is
both. I think that science, ever the companion of false religion, has blinded us.
So, if what I have offered is the truth, then that would mean if we are 'closer than every'
Well, of course we are closer than ever. We are ALWAYS getting 'closer than ever'... And tomorrow will be closer than today. Keep your eyes on those walnuts...
That means that Satan has been working towards turning men away from the truth and to follow him instead of God for thousands of years.
YEP.
That is what I believe the 'falling away' to be. Satan replacing God's truth with his truth and convincing men that it is 'their own'. Teaching men to teach each other that he is God and bringing them to bow to him instead of God.
Pay attention to Torah. It defines the variables at the beginning of the code. It tells you what is sin... It tells you how to worship, how to live... A false teacher will not be able to abide in Torah.
A tricky question: If one did not 'know' God, if Satan pretended to be God, how would one 'know' the difference? In other words, if Satan is capable of 'lying wonders' and miracles, how does one 'know' how to distinguish the difference between his miracles and lying wonders from the Spirit of God?
Torah.
And if Satan has introduced a 'false Christ', how does one 'know' the difference between Satan's 'false Christ' and the 'true Christ'? If Satan is able to mimic the true Christ, how does one distinguish the difference between the Son of God and the Son of Satan?
Torah. Isn't it amazing that the one thing that can keep folks from being fooled is the one thing that most people reject, to include Christians?
Understand, we do not battle against 'flesh' but against evil influence in high places. Those that have the ability to alter the perceptions of this world in a profound manner. Those in POWER to control what we are exposed to the most.
No, the powers and principalities are demonic. Fallen Ones, and their spawn.
Media, the churches, schools, governments, political and social leaders, doctors, lawyers, the courts and judges. What if 'all' those in a place of power are being manipulated by Satan in order to influence the rest of us. University professors, kindergarten teachers, mayors, governors, presidents. What if these are the individuals referred to as 'powers and high places'?
No, merely the tools of those that are. Hoomins are deceived/oppressed/posessed... even the ones that practice evil. The PTB are demonic... It is hard for me to remember that my ex-wife is only deceived (and not demonic), but when I do, it is much easier to forgive her.
And what we see more than anything else in the world today is an attempt at conformity. We are being manipulated by governments to be 'good citizens'. To 'do' that which we are 'trained' to do for the betterment of the 'whole'. "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". Is it really that difficult to see just how easily such a mantra could be used to turn one away from the truth and towards a 'worldly goal'?
Conformity in and of itself is not the problem. It is what we are conforming to. No question that is being promulgated by leaders in unison... But just two generations ago, we all conformed to something that was a whole lot more Christian.
So who close are we really? For it is without any doubt that the closer we get the more the 'falling away' will become fulfilled. Every day closer, the more the 'falling away' will become closer to being manifest. At what point does the 'falling away' become complete?
When the frog in the pot reaches par. I think I will see the day (I am 54)... If not, then I know of a certainty that my children will.
If we use the Bible as an example, each time that God has chosen to destroy men, there was only ONE left that God considered 'worthy' to be saved.
Not true. It was not just Noah - it was eight. It was not just Lot, it was his family. When Elijah thought all was lost, YHWH told him there were still seven thousand who had not bent a knee to Baal. Look up! Be of good cheer. Salvation (Yeshua is his name) draweth nigh!
One of the things that is often lost on Christians is that for all it's woes, the greatest revival and conversion happens in these days that draw near. The fall harvest is much greater than the spring.