The End of the Church Age
As I was reading a recent issue of Reader’s Digest, I stumbled across an ad which struck me as humorously ironic. Here is the text:
The End of the Church Age…and After – A careful study that shows that about 2000 years agod, God shifted from the use of the nation of Israel to the local congregations, which came into existence all over the world to be the representation of the kingdom of God in this world (the church age). However, the Bible teaches that God has now ended the church age, and is using individuals who are true believers to evangelize the world.
If that’s true, we’re doomed. Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age,” was the first thing that leapt to mind. Christ promised to be with us until the end of the age, and made no mention of an age after that, save the final coming, new heaven, new earth bit. Christ brought about and commissioned the ‘church age’; who has commissioned the ‘individual age’?
This synopsis of a book is so thoroughly evangelical, and a great reminder to me of the reasons I began searching for the rock. The church is defined as ‘local congregations’, implying no connecting authority, and ‘came into existence’ apparently without any human assistance, since we have only recently begun the age in which believing individuals evangelize the world. What utter nonsense. Nevermind the logistical problems such a change in the nature of Christianity would cause.
It could be argued that such a change did indeed occur at the so-called reformation, and it is interesting that this evangelical group has identified it. But, perhaps they should apply a little further linear thought to this happening before they decide that it was motivated by God. Without the centering force of the Church and the protective walls of the fold, the faithful will ultimately only experience chaos and confusion, a weakening of evangelization, and a loss of identity as one chosen people.
Here is a link to the book online. It might be interesting to scan through and see what other gems this novel interpretation of Scripture has produced.
But God does mention a short time after the tribulation of “those days” during the second part of the great tribulation period:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:” Matthew 24:29
I’ve learned that the above Bible verse contains parabolic language. For insight into the time we’re now living in just before Christ returns, i invite you to go to http://www.ebiblefellowship.com and listen to the study on mp3 file titled “Sun, Moon and Stars.” Here’s a link to the page if you’re interested:
http://www.ebiblefellowship.com/depart_out/depart_out_menu.htm
Sean said this on September 24, 2006 at 8:06 pm
I have read the book “The end of the church age and after.” I found that the book was not only extremely insightful, but also used the bible to back itself up. This idea of the end of the church age is not only the author’s, but now mine as well. I didn’t jump on board right away. I carefully read and re-read the scriptures. I began cross referencing these ideas with others, and together we have all agreed that this is true. I only pray for others to read the bible. Start with this book, but don’t take the authors wprd for it. Search the scriptures yourself. You will find the truth if it is God’s will.
peter stepanovic said this on October 3, 2006 at 10:54 pm
Continue through in Matthew:
“Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” (v. 34)
Now, was Christ a liar, or are we supposed to infer other than the plain meaning of His words here? In fact, history proves that there indeed was tribulation before that generation passed, and there remains eye-witness accounts of the horror of those days. “With Titus was a Jewish historian named Josephus who recorded the terrible story in minute detail. It was one of the most ghastly sieges in all history. When the Romans came the city was divided among three warring factions of Jews who were so at each others’ throats that they paid no heed to the approach of the Romans. Thus Titus came up and surrounded the city while it was distracted by its own internecine warfare. The Romans assaulted the walls again and again, and gave every opportunity to the Jews to surrender and save their capital from destruction.
During the long siege a terrible famine raged in the city and the bodies of the inhabitants were literally stacked like cordwood in the streets. Mothers ate their children to preserve their own strength. The toll of Jewish suffering was horrible but they would not surrender the city. Again and again they attempted to trick the Romans through guile and perfidy. When at last the walls were breached Titus tried to preserve the Temple by giving orders to his soldiers not to destroy or burn it. But the anger of the soldiers against the Jews was so intense that, maddened by the resistance they encountered, they disobeyed the order of their general and set fire to the Temple. There were great quantities of gold and silver there which had been placed in the Temple for safekeeping. This melted and ran down between the rocks and into the cracks of the stones. When the soldiers captured the Temple area, in their greed to obtain this gold and silver they took long bars and pried apart the massive stones. Thus, quite literally, not one stone was left standing upon another. The Temple itself was totally destroyed, though the wall supporting the area upon which the Temple was built was left partially intact and a portion of it remains to this day, called the Western Wall. (Ref. 2)”
http://www.templemount.org/destruct2.html
The “parabolic language” Christ was using referred to the passing of the Old Covenant period, heralding the arrival of the Church age. So in fact, this section of Scripture conflicts directly with the assertions of the author of this book.
Bekah said this on November 30, 2006 at 2:19 pm
“I found that the book was not only extremely insightful, but also used the bible to back itself up.”
That is not surprising. Neither is it surprising that individuals should be persuaded by such tactics. St. Peter warned us that such things would happen: “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. … Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (2 Peter 1:20-2:3, 3:14-17)
Your statement actually serves to prove my point, that without a guiding authority, individual Christians are lost, left wandering in search of what is real and true, without any but the guidance of their own emotions or intellect to discern from the myriad interpretations offered. I have Scriptural support that Christ assured us His Church would not pass away. You suggest that this author has Scriptural support that the Church has passed away. How shall we know who is right?
This is a matter of evangelization; one of the last explicit commands of Christ. This is no “nonessential”. But are we left orphans with only what we can each decipher from an ancient text translated, and then translated again into our present language?
Bekah said this on November 30, 2006 at 2:28 pm
I have read the book The End Of The Church Age And After.I can only encorage people to read the bible, as we see many congragations in our day seperating from the true gospel. And teaching man made gospels the most common of which beign devorcing for fornication.If you want more assistance on this i recommend people log in to the familyradio.com website for more assistance there you will read comments and pointers about this topic with refrence from the Bible God`s word.
Andrew said this on January 12, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Even in the days of the Apostles, from Holy Scripture, we see that early believers were being confused on what the Gospel truly was. The Apostles’ answer was to abide by their teacing as it was handed down to them, by those directly under the source. The text of the Scriptures can easily be twisted to support this or that point of view. We can only be sure of the true interpretation by knowing from whom the interpretation descends. The only unbroken line of authority proceeds from Christ through the Apostles down through the Catholic Church. She holds and protects the true Gospel and all that must be held to be true. She promulgated the Creeds, which nearly all Christian Churches hold to be true, has remained firm on the teachings of the Eucharist, and the sanctity of marriage and life from conception, even as all other Churches have fallen on at least one, if not all, of these teachings. She is the Shepherd God left to guide us through time until His return.
Bekah said this on January 14, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Hi. Christ is still with his true children, as He Promised He would be till the very end. OF course, in a real sense, the end will never come for the children of Christ, but they will live with Him for eternity. He never needed a church institution, but chose to use it for His own reasons. The falling away in the churches is not only the cause of Christ’s abandonment of the churches, as per 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, the entire chapter, but this falling away is also the evidence of Christ’s abandonment of the churches. Don’t confuse the earthly church institution with the eternal church, which is made up of only the saved. The gates of hell will certainly not prevail against the saved, but against those who are not saved, especially those who believe they are saved, the gates of hell will certainly and surely be the victor.
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:22-23 av)
You speak of the church as if she were the foundation, but this is not true. The Bible is the foundation of the true believer. The following verse was written by God in a way that would permit two understandings.
1 Timothy 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
This verse is a test for the churches? Would they read the verse and realize that the living God is the pillar and ground of the truth, or would they read it and think that God is saying that the church is the pillar and ground of the truth? The churches failed the test.
Be careful not to take the Bible so literally. Don’t use historical events to validate your interpretation of the Bible. Let the Bible be your authority. God speaks in riddles. He calls them parables, dark sayings, proverbs, etc.
Psalms 78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable:
I will utter dark sayings of old:
Proverbs 1:6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
“And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” (Matthew 13:14-15 av)
“Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then [is it] no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if [it be] of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded” (Romans 11:5-7 av)
“And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar: He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants. He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed [it] by great waters, [and] set it [as] a willow tree. And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs. There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof. Yea, behold, [being] planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.” (Ezekiel 17:1-10 av)
May God bless you.
Tony said this on April 24, 2007 at 9:44 pm
I’m sorry, but I cannot take you seriously. You tell me not to take the Bible literally and in the same breath do not use historical evidence to interpret it. What then is left? My own “burning in the bosom”, I suppose.
Your “system” of interpretation is entirely impossible to enact. No one reads the Bible in a vacuum. Each one of us brings to the Scriptures our previous teachings, our own personal experiences and our world view. This colors our interpretation of the words of Scripture, which explains why there are multitudes of Christian Churches each claiming to be true, but which often conflict with other Christians on the essentials of the faith. You may claim these disagreements are non-essentials. But that is only your interpretation. Others, such as myself, will disagree. An interpretation from one Christian carries no more weight than any other, unless we can support that interpretation with an authority given by God.
Since both our interpretations are founded on Scripture, we cannot use Scripture to discern which is true. Did God mean to leave us orphans, with no way to discern between a true interpretation, and an honest misinterpretation of these ancient texts? Does the Holy Spirit speak one truth to one soul, and another to others?
I lived that system, and I have been rescued from it. The fruit of your system is confusion and loss of witness to the world that Our Lord is true. Just as John’s witness records: “…so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” (17:21)
The world cannot receive a spiritual witness of the union of “true believers”. The world recognizes visible unity. Since your system of interpretation results in active disunity, in fact claims no physical unity is necessary, you have violated one of the Scriptural signs of the faith.
Just as we cannot read the Scriptures in a vacuum, neither did the authors of Scripture write in a vacuum. Abandoing historicity is a convenient excuse for disguising the fact that your system is not that founded on and by Christ, but a much later evolution of rebellion against that system instituted by Him. Man hates to submit. This is why Adam ate the apple Eve gave him. He wants no authority but himself. By recasting God’s religion into a form of our own making, we can salve our consciences that we are following Him, when rather it is our own path we choose. This is exactly what happens when we choose to interpret Scripture outside of any authority but our own or that of our own choosing.
I, for one, am not one to play roulette with my soul. I want to follow the path that surely leads to truth, to salvation. That is why this is “The Road Well Traveled”. That road has been followed to its successful conclusion by hundreds of thousands. I choose not to experiment with my eternal destiny. Experimentation may ultimately lead to salvation, but through fire. No thank you.
Bekah said this on April 25, 2007 at 11:26 am
Your authority is not the Bible. You are going to end up in hell if God doesn’t rescue you. Even if you left the churches like we’re commanded to, that isn’t any guarantee that you will not be damned. You don’t understand what it really means to submit to the Bible because you yourself said that you bring your own previous ideas and teachings into the mix when you read your Bible. In the End, it doesn’t matter if you take me seriously or not. You are not insubmission to the Bible at all. You think you are, but you are not. You will go to hell if God doesn’t rescue you. You’re the one experimenting with your eternal destiny, blindly following what you have been taught by your church. As it stands now, you are dead, and you will die. If God has chosen you, you will not die, but that remains to be seen. Your authority is not the Bible, but your own belly, you are your own god.
Tony said this on May 1, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Where does the Bible claim to be our sole authority? I submit to God and his Word, Jesus Christ.
Bekah said this on May 3, 2007 at 9:23 am
Read 2nd Thess. 2nd Chapter for the answers you seek. It’s not long book, and it says alot about the end of the church age.
#1 – in the first verse it tells you the “TOPIC” of what is going to be discussed. It says….”this chapter is about what happens right before Christ returns and gathers HIS people together with him. TRANSLATION – THE END OF THE WORLD.
#2 – In verse 3, it says Christ will not come until “The Falling Away” of Christians happen first. Look up the definition of APOSTATE, so you can understand what is being discussed here.
#3 – It says that satan wil; be ruling in the churches, showing himself that he is god — even though he is not. SCARY!!!!
#4 – While satan is ruling there, non-true believers will be their worshiping him, because they have not RECEIVED A LOVE FOR THE TRUTH. Translation — a hunger to seek out these scriptures and find out what they mean, so they (you, we, me) don’t get caught in this trap and be right there w/the rest worshiping satan….
#5 – Futher 2nd Thess. says, because these unbelievers did not receive a love for the truth, they will be given an ADDITIONAL DOSE OF DELUSION to make their fake-out even worse.
Please, just read it for yourself.
Vivi said this on September 10, 2007 at 7:47 pm
No where in Scripture are we told to depart out of a faithful Bible believing Christ centered church, only apostate churches. To proclaim that no Bible believing Christ centered churches exist today is error.
I fervently caution everyone to beware of this man and his false teachings. Cling to Christ and Christ alone as His Sheep hear His voice and not the voice of an hireling.
Greg said this on October 2, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I dont think this should be a matter of aguement, Tony. The bible makes it clear that that “the wise will understand”. In Daniel, God told Daniel to seal up the word until the time of the end. We who understand the doctrine of the end of the church age should count our selves lucky. If we tell others and they dont agree then we just leave them and continue to pray for them. You cant imagine how my father thinks that I am going astray. He is a pastor and he sees all this as a silly idea. What I know is that those who God has chosen and saved ill come out of the church. May God’s will be done.
Tolulade said this on December 3, 2007 at 10:42 am
“The bible makes it clear that that “the wise will understand”.”
The Gnostics used the same argument to defend all manner of silly and evil things.
Bekah said this on December 3, 2007 at 2:50 pm
If God is going to judge the world, it only makes since that he judges his own house first. He has already done that and he has found the churches (all churches) guilty of apostasy. It grieves me that many do not see what is clearly written in the Bible. All the Old Testament prophets speak of this time….Jeremiah and Ezekiel are rife with numerous illustrations. Only a couple hundred years ago, there were only three or four major denominations of Christianity. Now there are innumerable denominations. This is because man wants to parse and pick what he wants to believe about the Bible; instead of the whole Bible. I encourage you to study the Bible more closely in hopes that God opens your eyes to the truth.
PS. Start by removing that graven image of Mary and Jesus from your post.
Brian said this on December 28, 2007 at 4:25 am
Where is the proof, beyond your assertion, that God has already judged His people? Your post is so rife with logical inconsistencies, that I can hardly believe you are serious! First you say that the problem is that everyone picks and chooses Scriptures to believe, then you go right ahead and do the same. Do you not believe Christ’s promises to build a church on the rock which will last for all time?
This is why it is so dangerous to individual’s souls to rely on their own understanding, or other mentor’s personal “new” revelation of Scripture. You have found a teacher who tickles your ears with new doctrines, because you are too proud to submit to the order Christ established. I know how painful the process of submission and obedience can be, but I took seriously the Proverbs which warn against relying on our own understanding. It’s been well worth the price.
P.S. If you don’t like the decorations, I’m sure there are plenty of places where you’d feel more at home.
Bekah said this on December 28, 2007 at 11:34 am
My post is based on Biblical fact. I don’t parse and pick what I want to believe. There are a lot of scarry things written in the Bible, and even though we don’t like to hear about them, we are required to believe in them. God commands us to believe and follow the entire Bible. Also, I don’t believe the corporate church here on earth is indestructible. It is the eternal church, which consists of the true believers, which the gates of hell will not prevail against. That is the church that Christ is referring to in your post. The churches here on earth are comprised of human beings and are therefore fallible. Thus there has always been high places in all churches. It is especially true today with all the different beliefs, unsubstantiated by scripture, that exist within the local congregagtions….The existence of purgatory, the acceptance of divorce, the practice of remarrying after divorce, the anullment of marriage, the falling backwards of church members, the belief in speaking in tongues, and in some cases, the neglection of preaching that there is a judgement and an existence of hell are just a few high places that exist in churches today.
I’d also like to mention that I was in the same place you were about 3 years ago. I thought that this was madness, and I set out to disprove Harold Camping. Through an intensive study of the Bible, and many hours spent in a concordance, I found that I could not refute or disprove any of his statements. They all harmonized with what is written in the Bible. I’m not saying that the man is 100% right on everything. Nobody can be that way. All I’m saying is that on this particular issue, he seems to be correct in his interpretation. Trust me, I’m not relying on my own understanding either. I didn’t want to believe this when I started out, however, I was compelled to believe it by studying the Bible and comparing scripture with scripture.
It also makes since that when ancient Israel rejected Christ, he removed his presence from the Temple in Jerusalem and the synogogues. Now that the churches have rejected Christ (the complete teachings of the Bible), would it not make since that the Holy Spirit would leave there as well? True, some churches may still try to be as faithful as they possibly can, but because Satan has been loosed from Hell during this Great Tribulation and has subsequently set up his throne in the churches, he is able to frustrate the hearing of the word of God. Please refer to Luke 8:12 in regards to the parable of sower. Also refer to Amos 8:11 in regards to the famine of the hearing of the word of God. People can hear a perfect sermon, but unless God is present to apply the word, it will not take in a sinner’s heart.
I do my best, as a sinner, to submit to Christ, and many times I fail, however, I will not submit to a priest, a deacon, an elder, or any other authority that claims to be associated with a corporate church. Their time is over.
Brian said this on December 31, 2007 at 1:55 am
“Also, I don’t believe the corporate church here on earth is indestructible. It is the eternal church, which consists of the true believers, which the gates of hell will not prevail against. That is the church that Christ is referring to in your post.”
There, right there, you have made an interpretation. A supposition based on preformed beliefs. You have inserted yourself between the text and myself and are now expecting me to place my faith in your interpretation of the text. I know nothing about you, except that you have made remarkable claims which contradict millennia of faith.
If this is not your understanding, how is it that only “I” is referred to when explaining your discernment process. You are the one who compared Scripture with Scripture. Your mind is making the connections, whether real or imagined. I am not compelled by your reasoning, which defies the proper use and meaning of language.
A body is the physical presence of the self in space. Christ’s body is just the same. The physical expression of Himself, through those who are adopted by baptism, in a physical identifiable community. To redefine clear imagery into a nebulous spiritual sense of connection introduces confusion and conflict, neither of which are fruits of the Spirit. Neither is the refusal to submit. Submission is the fruit of love, which allows the person to grow beyond comfort and stretch beyond his knowledge. To herald a refusal to submit is not a laudable claim. Even while calling out those in authority for their sins, note that Christ still demanded his disciples to respect and submit to their proper authority.
Of course we are not to submit blindly. Because of the clear witness of the true Body of Christ, the light on the hill that is the beacon of hope, identified through the constant marks of the Church: One, Holy, and Apostolic, we can identify the true authority Christ left under which we are commanded to submit to ALL that has been taught us, whether by word or deed (hmmm, Paul didn’t really explain what those particular deeds are in Scripture), and grow into the Christ-likeness God requires of every believer. Yes, authority often has warts, because of the constant attack of the devil, provoking every possible trick to lead the sheep astray. But the truth is clear, and clearly taught. History is clear, and the continuity of the witness of multitudes of believers in submission to the Church is clear.
We are not better disciples without the Church. We are not better witnesses without the Church. The Church has a mission to all peoples of all times, and the mission will not be fulfilled until the triumphant return of Christ.
Bekah said this on December 31, 2007 at 1:03 pm
[...] Heresies Over a year and a half old, I’m shocked that I still get replies on this post. The fractious nature of modern protestantism has spawned, or rather reinvigorated, every [...]
Take a look… « The Road Well Traveled said this on December 31, 2007 at 1:08 pm
The book has been out for a while now, and the big difference in those that can “see” that the “church age” is over and those that do not is hermeneutics. I don’t think it’s possible to comprehend the truth without comparing scripture with scripture as 1Cor2:13 teaches. If you’re going to take a historical/grammatical approach (in rebellion to proverbs 3:5) to interpretation, you might see this type of teaching to be foolishness. In which case, you are a candidate for fulfilling 1Cor1:19-21)
rob said this on March 14, 2008 at 12:25 am
Do you not see how clearly this exhibits gnostic tendencies?? “I have the secret knowledge of what this really means and you do not.”
This type of gnosticism was rejected as heresy a long time ago.
The problem with using your method of comparing Scripture with Scripture is that this is really a defense of proof-texting, which is a wonderful way to prove just about any novel interpretation you are inclined to accept. Ironically, this is also the complete opposite process another poster above (Brian) claimed we needed to use to reach the same interpretation, that is that we must take all of Scripture together as illustrative of the “end of the Church Age”. Too much confusion, here. Scripture should not be abused in this way.
Bekah said this on April 17, 2008 at 9:50 am
Test scripture against scripture…
God has used the churches for as long as he had planned.
The enemy is there now and God is asking us to walk solely in his word as the authorities of the church have begun to use his word less and less and their own “interpretations” of his word more and more. We speak of his love and his mercy, but not of the fact that we are hurting our lord and that he cannot have wickedness in his house…he’s angry and saddened, but his law is his word.
Rob said this on May 21, 2008 at 5:16 pm
The church Christ spoke about is still there but you have to find it. One thing I know for sure is that it is not the Catholic Church, Baptist, Adventist, Pentecostal, Apostolic, kingdom hall, or what ever is out there today. These churches have all been polluted with false doctrines and most of them have homosexuals as pastors; and some have images of dead saints all over their walls which they pray to; and some have ashes of dead people in bottles inside the church. Christ is clean and pure and will never be in these churches and that’s why he warned us to stay away from such places. There must be one church out there that is clean but you have to find it. One thing people do not remember is that Christ told us that the road to heaven is very narrow and not too many people are on that road. If you belong to these big churches, then you are not on the narrow road!
Judywire said this on August 9, 2008 at 6:41 am
[...] 13, 2008 · Filed under Apologetics, Catholicism A new commenter on an old thread writes: The church Christ spoke about is still there but you have to find it. One thing I know for [...]
Finding Christ’s Church « The Road Well Traveled said this on August 13, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Sincerely, and I say this without disrespect or respect of persons;
Everyone knows most of the Bible is written in figurative ways, but they are blind to it, which is OK to me, because I understand, and not with my eyes or ears, but with the heart that God gave me after He took the stony heart out of my flesh and gave me a new heart to know these things.
Like now, I season my conversation with salt, and most won’t know what scriptures I just quoted, but it’s all good, for no matter how Christ is preached, whether of contention or in obedience… (the meaning for the word “love”), Christ is Preached!
But know that Judgment must begin at the house of God, and if it first begins with them…. God didn’t just put this verse there because He didn’t have anything else to do!
Ya’ll are to lazy, yea, to L-A-Z-Y to search out the scriptures and compare scripture to scripture to understand How God uses His words, and how He means them for understanding, Cuz you read it like a book! It’s Spiritual, It’s Life! It’s a parable!
Wake up ! and quit giving God lip service!
Ask Him to give you understanding in the reading of His word distinctly, and He will give it, and soon the parable will be easier to understand, and as time ticks down to the very last days or hours, maybe you’ll know who you have been serving in those dens of owls you call Churches! And who those ministers of righteousness are, as the one who came as an angel of Light…It’s Satans Seat!
ASK HIM FIRST, STUDY, COMPARE SCRIPTURE TO SCRIPTURE, TEST AND PROVE ALL THINGS>scripture.
Look these words up as I used, for they are scripture… or are you too lazy.
Mistakenidentity said this on February 2, 2009 at 10:41 pm
If you really want to get hurt, I mean really, really crushed go to ANY church and believe that people care for you. Oh as long as you are doing and doing and doing for them you are the greatest, but cross them ONE time and your not worth the trouble!!!!!
Going to a church for help is like a 12 year old girl that’s being molested by her step dad, and going to a friend’s house only to later get molested by her friend’s dad.
So the end of the church would be a blessing to the world. Churches cannot make good people because Jesus said “there is none good…” MATT 19:17
jerry said this on May 18, 2009 at 10:00 am