If you are affiliated with what is globally known as “the church,” you are being lied to. If you believe what you are being told, you believe a lie. If you live what you what you believe, you are living a lie. If the aforementioned describes you, then you are serving Satan and operating under his power. Your leaders are his false prophets. If you are part of “the church” you are the blind who are led by the blind. Both of you are “in the ditch.” That ditch is the Catholic/Protestant Religious System which calls itself “Christianity.” Unknowingly, you are trapped in the religious web of the devil (the “prince”) who is the leader of “the powers (fallen angels–devils/demons) of the air” (Eph. 2:2). This “prince” is the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4) who controls 99% of the world’s inhabitants, all of whom unknowingly worship and serve him while “knowing” that they are worshiping and serving the true god, whoever or whatever that god may be.

When the “Christian” portion of the prince’s congregation file into their god’s house” on sun god day (Sunday) to pay homage to their him; when they observe their supposed savior on His birthday; when they honor the goddess of fertility (Easter) on her day while paying lip service to the risen Savior; when they meditate on their supposed future home in heaven; when they brag about being able to sin and get away with it because their imagined savior supposedly did away with the true God’s eternal Law, etc.– they feel very close to Him. When members of “THE” ________________ church (fill in the blank) leave their citadels of sin after bowing before paying homage to their god, they “know” that they can spend the rest of the week doing what they want to do. They “know” that they are saved, born again and rapture-ready.

Why do they “know” these “truths”? BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE IN THEIR SELF-CREATED JESUS AND HAVE TAKEN HIM AS THEIR SAVIOR. They “know” that nothing else is required. All who are members of “THE” ___________ church have “walked the isle,” have uttered their “confession of faith,” have completed the prescribed ritual and repeated the standard prayer, often with the prescribed tears of sorrow. Then, having performed as expected, they are pronounced “saved” and “born again.” Neither of which is true as the Holy Scriptures plainly declare.

Such actions were never performed in the early church. Question: so why are they part of modern religion? Answer: when religious people find themselves lacking the godliness God requires, they substitute whatever religious rituals they can manufacture. Such actions are what the church has elected to perform because the Lord is not in her midst. Nevertheless, once the substituted ritual has been completed and one is declared to be a child of God, it is a done deal–the fix is in. Either Mary or Grace are always ready to make disappear whatever sin they have chosen to commit. Until the moment of death all the supposed convert needs only to sacrifice two hours each sun god day to show the proper respect. The only universal church requirements are to believe and repent. Everything else is considered “works” that are based on “legalism.” And Satan smiles, knowing that his converts “know” that their salvation is assured.

That same level of assurance was present in the Garden of Eden after the Serpent had convinced Adam and Eve that they could defy their Creator and “… not surely die” as He had warned would be the outcome of sin. Their Creator, he assured them, had lied to them. After hearing the words of the Serpent, when they were contemplating eating of the forbidden fruit, when they were on their way to where the tree was located, when they were standing before it and marveling at its beauty and its spiritual benefits, when they were consuming its delicious fruit–THEY “KNEW” THEY WERE DOING THE RIGHT THING. They probably forgave that other God for telling them that “little white lie.” How did the first human beings “know” that that they could defy their Creator and still live forever in the paradise He had created for them?

Because they had embraced a new god, one who told them what they wanted to hear. Because of their new god’s words of comfort and self-gratification, they “knew” that they could defy that other God–the one that had lied to them–and pay no penalty. They “knew” that they would still live forever in the paradise He has created for them and their descendants. They “knew” that their new god had it right. His way was much better than that of the old God Who was much too strict. No more “no not’s” for the members of the New Church of Eden. Their new, more enlightened pastor had shown them a new and improved truth. Recognizing its value, they had embraced it with all their hearts. No more of their old pastor’s rules; no more restrictions, no more punishment for disobeying Him. That was then; this is now. Their new god had opened their eyes to the real truth–the true truth. Out with the old; in with the new. From that time on the theme would be to “Follow your heart.”

Nothing has changed. Just as Lucifer “knew” he could rule the universe better than God, church-man “knows” he can rule himself better than God can. The result of church apostasy is the God-rejecting, Law-hating religious beast known today as “Christianity.”

The vast majority of believers follow their hearts instead of their Bibles. This is not a new phenomenon within the religious community. While on earth Jesus continually dealt with that theological principle found in those whom He tried to teach. Nothing has changed. Today, salvation seekers do what they “know” to be right in spite of His Words to the contrary. Hear what He says to those who claim to be His disciples while rejecting most of His commands.

In Matthew 15 we find Him chastising those in the modern church who call Him their Lord and claim to be His disciples, all the while obeying their religious traditions instead of His Law (1-6). In verses 7 and 8 He calls these counterfeit Christians “hypocrites” who speak well of Him with their mouths and honor Him with their lips while their “…. HEARTS ARE FAR FROM ME” which they prove by rejecting His message. In verse 9 He notes that church people indeed WORSHIP HIM but their worship is all IN VAIN for they obey their church’s doctrines instead of His Law (see the homepage to this website for some examples). In Matthew 15 Jesus is speaking to and about modern Christendom in which church doctrine has replaced His Truth by which those who would spend eternity with Him must live. Satan has the church exactly where he wants her. His parishioners proclaim his word as truth while openly rejecting God’s Words.

Jesus dealt with this theological problem on many occasions. At one point He spoke directly to Satan who was using the Disciple Peter as his mouthpiece. Jesus said: “Get behind me, Satan, for you do not care for the things of God, but for the THINGS OF MAN” (Mat. 16:23). That statement perfectly summarizes the emphasis found in Satan’s church system in which man has replaced the Lord by determining taking for himself the authority to determine right and wrong, good and evil. In so doing man has reversed what God has said by calling good evil and evil good (Isa. 5:20).

Jesus again speaks to this issue in Luke 6:46 where He asks church people why they call him their Lord but refuse to do what He tells them to do. Church people do what their hirelings tell them to do, which is what they (the people) tell them (the hirelings) to tell them (the people) to do. This religious farce amounts to a Satan-designed circular firing squad–everyone dies spiritually. The irony is that the people are not aware that they are spiritually dead. Having blinded their spiritual eyes, Satan has convinced the members of each of the hundreds of churches that they, and they alone are in fact the only ones who are spiritually alive. Having never heard God’s Truth, and relying solely on the teachings of their leaders, the people of each group “know” that they are the apples of God’s eye. Who else but Satan could pull off this incredible hoax?

I will close with what has to be the apex of Christ’s statements concerning false Christians and their leaders. This passage is found in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that (judgment) day, ‘Lord, Lord, we have preached in Your name and have cast out demons in Your name, and in your name done many wonderful works.’ And I will say to them, ‘I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO WORK INIQUITY'”–LAWLESSNESS. Notice that these people will “know” that their sweet-sounding messages and their soul-lifting miracles were proof positive that they were His people. Throughout their lives as they worshiped and served Him they “knew” that He was pleased with their efforts.

However, because they had operated under their own rules and had rejected His Law, HE WILL HAVE NEVER “KNOWN” THEM INTIMATELY AS A FATHER KNOWS HIS CHILDREN. Today they are unwittingly serving Satan. Ironically, because of their self-inflicted ignorance of His Word, they “know” that they living in the center of the true God’s will. And when He sends His messenger to them with His Truth, they summarily reject both His Word and His messenger, thereby proving that they DESPISE both the Father and the Son (Lk. 10:16).

This is the spiritual condition in which those who are in the modern (Laodicean–Rev. 3:14-20) church unknowingly find themselves. Being ignorant of God’s Word and knowing only Satan’s various versions of God’s Truth, they “know” they are in right standing with the Almighty. However, He says that they are wrong, that they are not His true saints, that they are Christians in name only. He warns that them through His servants that if they fail to obey His command found in Second Corinthians 6:14-7:1 they will face Him on Judgment Day and hear His Words as recorded in Matthew 7:21-23.

Having had to deal with that same command and make the ultimate decision, I can tell you that are still in the belly of the religious beast that it is not easy to turn your back on your family and your churchmates and walk away from what you have always “known” to be God’s will. Though it is difficult, the reward is worth the sacrifice. Don’t take my word for it, “come out” of that “unclean thing” and join the Lord’s family. Few, Jesus said, will choose to do so and be chosen to meet Him in the clouds upon His return.
Few, He warned, will choose to make the sacrifice. Knowing this, He promised that where two or three come together in His Name, He will be there (Mat. 18:20). Will you be among the “chosen few?” L.J.