The Strand Study Bible

LUKE LUKE Because of the coming apostasy (II Thess 2:3), lawlessness will abound, causing once-serious believers to lose their first love. With the flood of iniquity to come, the love of many will grow cold (Mt 24:12). According to Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, most Christians in America are seduced by comfort. He notes: “We’re so much at peace with this culture, we’re so affluent, we don’t really hear the radical message of the Gospel,” he states. “We hear a therapy in church, we don’t hear the truth; we don’t hear a truth that is counter-cultural. We’re not called and summoned [by the church] to stand courageously and boldly to defend what we believe…most of us don’t know what we believe.” 16 David Wilkerson, pastor at Times Square Church in New York City, in his monthly pamphlet called The World Challenge Pulpit Series , entitled ‘God Has Not Passed You By,’ agrees. He notes: 1681

In thousands of churches now, there is never any mention of sin, the Cross, sacrifice, judgment or hell. Godly watchmen aren’t allowed to speak, and there is no stirring of hearts. Instead, the whole focus is on success, with every sermon designed to make people feel good. It’s all resulting in apathy, greed, self-centeredness, coldness of heart. And it’s causing pain to godly believers everywhere, as they see God’s name brought to disgrace. 17

Indeed, it has happened just as CHRIST (Lk 17:26-30 & 18:8), the Apostle Paul (I Tim 4:1-2), the Apostle Peter (II Pet 3:3-4) and the Apostle John (Rev 3:17) prophesied it would. Many of God’s people today have become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (II Tim 3:1-5). Clarence Larkin in The Book Of Revelation notes:

What do these “Messages to the Churches” teach us? They clearly teach the DECLINE OF THE CHURCH. That the professing Church instead of increasing in spiritual and world converting power will become lukewarm, faithless, and CHRISTLESS. 18

R. L. Hymers, Jr. & Christopher Cagan in Preaching To A Dying Nation note:

The church in America is like the Titanic, according to pollster George Barna: “It is large, elegant, and sinking fast.” 19

2. The denunciation of Israel ( Mt 24:4,9 , Jere 30:5-8, Dan 9:27 and Ezk 38:8-12) Jesus knew that Israel would be in tact as a nation and that she would be the focus of the world’s hatred right before His Second Coming. 3. A rise in demonic activity ( I Tim 4:1 ) A close examination of demonic movement throughout the Old Testament indicates that activity was spotty at best (Gen 3:1-5 & 6:1-2, Job 1-2, I Sam 28:7, II Ki 21:6 & 23:24, II Chr 11:14-15, and Dan 10), that is, until the time of Christ. Then demonic activity exploded with a vengeance (Rev 12:1-5, Mt 4:1-11,23-24 & 7:22 & 8:16,28-33 & 9:32-34 & 10:1,8 & 11:18 & 12:22-28,43 & 13:39 & 15:22 & 17:18, Mk 1:23-27,32-39 & 3:11-22 & 5:1-18 & 6:7,13 & 7:25-30 & 9:17-26,38 & 16:9,17, Lk 4:2-13,33-41 & 6:18 & 7:21 & 8:2,27-38 & 9:1,42,49 & 10:17,20 & 11:14-24 & 13:11,32 and Jn 13:2). Harold L. Willmington in Signs of the Times notes: During the earthly ministry of Jesus there was a great outburst of demonic activity (of his thirty-six recorded miracles, seven were performed to cast out demons), and according to Paul, we may expect the same hellish activity just prior to our Lord’s Second Coming. 20 Thus, whenever Jesus is close to appearing, demonic movement becomes the most active; and right before His return, it will happen again ( II Thess 2:3 , Rev 12:7-9 and Dan 8:25). 4. A rise in deception (II Thess 2:8-12) Paul reminds us that in the last days during the rise of the Antichrist, right before the return of Christ, “deception” will be at an all time high. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins in Are We Living in the End Times ? note: The end times will be filled with deception–count on it. Jesus Christ predicted it. 14 For example: *Scientists are now telling us that evolution is a fact instead of a theory (Gen 1:11,24, Job 26:7, Judges 14:8, Eccl 1:9, Mt 12:12 and Mk 5:25). Consider Carl Sagan’s self-proclaimed manifesto: Better by far to embrace the hard truth than a reassuring fable. 21 What Carl Sagan meant was that evolution is a fact, whereas religion is a fable. The “great deception” has begun. *Historians are now telling us that life began in Africa instead of the Middle East (Gen 2:7-15). Sharon Begley, in a Newsweek article (3/19/07) called Beyond Stones & Bones , notes: “Fossils and tools testified to our ancestors’ origins in Africa…

The science of human evolution is undergoing its own revolution. Although we tend to see the march of species down through time as a single-file parade, with descendant succeeding ancestor in a neat line, the emerging science shows that the story of our species is far more complicated than Biblical literalists would have it–but also more complex than secular science suspected. By analyzing the DNA of today’s humans as well as chimps and other species (even lice), scientists are zeroing in on turning points in evolution, such as when and how language and speech developed, and when our ancestors left Africa. The first modern humans–and therefore, unlike the earlier wave of Homo erectus into Asia a million years ago, the ancestors of everyone today–departed Africa about 66,000 years ago.” 22