In what is called His Olivet prophecy recorded in Matthew 24, Jesus warned His followers then and now about problems that would arise in the world in general and within God’s church in particular just prior to His Second Coming.  He warned about men who would rise to leadership  who would deceive the masses.  He said: “Take heed that no man deceive you.  For MANY will come to you IN MY NAME, proclaiming that I (Jesus) AM THE CHRIST, and will deceive many” (vss 4,5).  Note that these false Christians (sent by Simon Magus) would admit that He, Jesus, was indeed the Lord’s Messiah, would gain the people’s trust, then would lead MANY of them astray with false “truths,” some of which are listed in the Introduction to this website.  Obviously, Christ’s “many” turned out to be approximately 99.99% of those within professing Christendom.  Simon Magus worked hard to infiltrate the first (Ephesus) era of the New Testament Church (see Rev. 2:1-7).  His efforts caused many of that era to leave their “first love,”  “fall” away from God, causing them to be in need of “repentance.”  Jesus told them that they had to “overcome” (Satan’s call to sin) in order to inherit eternal life.  In Revelation 3:21 He said believers had to “… overcome EVEN AS I OVERCAME (Satan) in order to join Him in the Kingdom of God.  Satan, through Simon Magus’s church, worked to prevent the true church from recognizing that they had been infiltrated by a deadly enemy–false Christians speaking false doctrines.  Unfortunately, their efforts were successful as the people became complacent and self-directive.  Read Christ’s messages to the other churches of that day which represent the evolution of the church throughout history, ending in the Laodicean era which represented the modern day church and the hundreds of denominations, faiths, etc. that dot the world’s religious landscapes.

No one recognized the demise of the church better than the Apostle Paul.  No one fought against it more than this former destroyer of Christians.  During the last 10 to 20 years of his life he exposed several deadly doctrinal errors that had become church “truths.”  Two of the most egregious falsities concerned what God said about His Law and His grace.  Another lie concerned the subject and focus of Christ’s Gospel.  Simon’s people were poisoning God’s people with false teachings about those subjects, among others.  Paul and the other apostles worked tirelessly to combat their false doctrines.  In the end, only John died a natural death.  I thank God for their sacrifice and the writings of the prophets and apostles which God caused to be recorded and preserved for our instruction (1 Cor. 10:11).

The Law versus grace conflict concerned whether one could, upon receiving God’s grace, continue to sin and remain a part of God’s family.  Paul’s answer to the Rome church went straight to the point because some in that church loaf were buying into Satan’s religious leaven: “What shall we say then?  Can we continue to sin so that God can display His grace?  GOD FORBID!–God forbids sin within His church.  How can we that are dead to (the pull of) sin continue to sin (6:1,2).  Obviously, “SINNERS SAVED BY GRACE” got their start early on by listening to Simon’s representatives.

Another deadly lie put forth by Simon’s infiltrators involved the subject of Christ’s Gospel.  Simon’s people were leading people to focus on the person of Jesus rather than on His message.  Recall that, following His death and resurrection Jesus met with His disciples on the Mount of Olives where, for 40 DAYS, He taught them “THE THINGS CONCERNING THE KINGDOM OF GOD”  (Acts 1:1-3), which was the subject of His Gospel (“good news”).  False teachers focused on the person of Jesus and His promises–His “headlines”–and ignored His message concerning how to appropriate His promises (His “fine print”) by obedience to His Law (1 Jn. 3:4).  Simon’s people taught a gospel that required only faith and grace in order to be saved.  Paul and the other apostles taught a Gospel based on obedience to the will (Law) of God in order to appropriate eternal life.  The Apostle James called such obedience “WORKS,” a Biblical Truth the false (“only believe”) church continues to reject.  Read James 2:10,14,17,18,20,24,26.  In verse 14 James makes it clear that faith alone cannot save the soul.  Martin Luther rejected the Book of James, calling it a “straw book,” meaning that it was worthless relative to salvation.  In Romans 1:5 Paul makes it equally clear that God gives grace for one purpose: OBEDIENCE TO THE FAITH.  FAITH IS TAKING GOD AT HIS WORD, as is written in Romans 10:19 “Faith comes by hearing (or reading) the Word of God.”  The vast majority of ancient peoples were illiterate.  Therefore the learned by hearing.  For this reason the Holy Scriptures were read aloud in the Temple and the synagogues on the Sabbath.  Interested Gentiles could hear the priest read from the Scriptures from outside the walls of the Temple in an area called “Solomon’s porch.”  The local synagogues also had areas where Gentiles could hear the Scriptures read (Acts 13:42).  Notice that Paul met with them and some believing Jews on the following Sabbath (vs 44).  Some 25 years after the establishing of the New Testament Church Paul was observing the 7th day Sabbath.  If anyone would have known about a change in what God called “My holy day,” (Isa. 58:13), it would have been Paul who received his Gospel directly from Jesus Christ through revelation (Gal. 1:12).

In his letter to the churches of Galatia Paul wrote: “I marvel that you have so soon left God by turning from His grace to ANOTHER GOSPEL.  He goes on to explain that it was actually a PERVERSION OF CHRIST’S GOSPEL (1:6-9).  Perversion of the true Gospel is Satan’s stock in trade.  Paul pronounces a DOUBLE CURSE on those who pervert Christ’s Gospel about the coming Kingdom of God: “But if WE (apostles) or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you, he is ACCURSED (condemned/cursed by God).  As WE (apostles) said before, so I say now, ‘If any man preaches a Gospel to you other than the Gospel we have taught you, let him be ACCURSED'” (vss 8,9).  A double curse would come on those who changed the Lord’s Gospel–even so much as a jot or tittle, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT THE WHOLE OF CATHOLICISM/PROTESTANTISM HAS DONE.  Read The Kingdom of God.  Key word–Kingdom.  Then ask yourself if you have ever heard a Bible-based sermon on that subject.

The civil war between God’s church and Satan’s (Catholic/Protestant) church system continues.  Anyone proclaiming God’s Truth is rejected by the congregants in Satan’s churches.  For years I have preached and written God’s Bible Truth locally on both radio and in the newspaper.  Yet I have never been invited to speak to a Catholic or Protestant congregation.  Why?  BECAUSE I PREACH GOD’S WORD, which the churches hate because its light exposes their darkness, its Truth exposes their lies, its revelation proves that they worship and serve Satan–the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4).  L.J.