The Professors of the Modern-Day Church
The Professors of the Modern-Day Church
By J.L. Robb
Church today is not your Grandma’s church, at least not in the big city. Fire and brimstone has been replaced with rock ‘n roll. Big-screen TVs adorn the walls, so hymnals are almost unnecessary. In so many churches God just wants you to be happy, and rich.
I visit a lot of churches because I sell lighting to churches, and some because I’m invited. I think many of the changes in the modern church are magnificent; and the effort made to attract the younger is certainly worthy. Too much fire and brimstone can drive away even the most ardent Christian.
But is too little fire and brimstone a good thing? Is manipulating the words in the Bible a good thing? Does the Bible say anywhere that God wants us to be rich? Does it say that God wants us to be poor? Does the Bible say that we should be miserable? Does the Bible say that men should walk in front of women, or that women are worth only half of the worth of men? Does the Bible say that women should cover themselves from head to toe so they will not be attractive to men?
The Bible gets a lot of credit for things that we sometimes hope that it says, but it does not. For instance, sometimes the adulterer who attends church or synagogue regularly, likes to refer to the Jesus story of forgiveness for Mary the adulterer. In some ways it can appear that Jesus is approving of sin if one does not read the next lines of the story. Go and sin no more. That was Jesus’s advice to Mary after she expressed her gratitude for saving her life.
I drive through rural America, I see small churches adorning open fields, much like the ones in my book series; and I know there is still a lot of the old church in America. But they were silent. They looked the other way as the social structure of the founding fathers was broken down, piece by piece. As though God changed his mind about lifestyle choices.
Many of the big city churches or the corporate churches did not have to look the other way because they endorsed the other way. God said through the prophets the time would come when the believers would fall away and begin to believe the opposite of what God said that is written in the Bible. More today, probably more than ever, believe the Bible is merely a book of fables thought up by some deranged writers a long time ago; but if the church was as active today in teaching the real Word, they would know differently. But they had help. They had the public school system.
During the early to mid 20th century most parents took their children to church or to Sunday school. Then Monday through Friday the children would get another dose of religion from the public school, either through prayer, movies or Bible reading. The church had help. If parents were too busy or too uninterested to take their children to learn about God, who is quite important, the kids at least learned about it in school. Look at the crime rate and pregnancy rate in the 1950s compared with the 21st century.
Many churches in the United States during the 19th century and the early 20th, preached a lot about prophecy. At that time prophecy was not deemed too negative or controversial. It was preached because it was true; and the truth may set you free, but it can also be quite painful.
I read an article last week stating that pastor Rick Warren basically indicated that studying prophecy made one unfit for “the Kingdom of God.”
I read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren and enjoyed it. It was very positive. I admire people who can bring so many to think about God and his great gift to mankind, our Messiah, Jesus the Christ. With that said I would have to disagree on his vision of prophecy and its importance in the Bible.
We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:19 NIV
And this:
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. Revelation 1:3 NIV
What time is near? Of what time was John speaking; the past or the future?
Then we have some of the modern churches, if not endorsing Allah as the same God as Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are at least making their message nebulous and accommodating.
Then there is the Pope explaining to the flock that the Holy Bible and the Quran are one and the same. Say what??
“Jesus Christ, Jehovah, Allah. These are all names employed to describe an entity that is distinctly the same across the world. For centuries, blood has been needlessly shed because of the desire to segregate our faiths. This, however, should be the very concept which unites us as people, as nations, and as a world bound by faith. Together, we can bring about an unprecedented age of peace, all we need to achieve such a state is respect each other’s beliefs, for we are all children of God regardless of the name we choose to address him by. We can accomplish miraculous things in the world by merging our faiths, and the time for such a movement is now. No longer shall we slaughter our neighbors over differences in reference to their God.” Pope Francis
How could a Pope think such a thing? Does the Pope believe that Jesus and Mohammed are equal in God’s eyes? Does the Pope believe that Jesus and Mohammed are one and the same? It’s easy enough to find comparisons.
Jesus said this in Matthew 5:44 NIV:
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”
Mohammed said in Quran 8:60:
“Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies, of Allah and your enemies, and others besides, whom ye may not know but whom Allah doth know.”
Jesus said in John 3:16 NIV:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Mohammed said this in Quran 9:111:
“Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs in return is the garden of Paradise: they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth…”
Does that sound like the same God? Does that sound like the same philosophy?
I am not sure if the church was destined to be in the entertainment business, but I certainly see nothing wrong with it. If it brings in more children and adults to learn about the Creator of everything, Yahweh, then that’s good news. But eventually the churches should also throw in the other good news that happens at the end of this magnificent story. God’s kingdom on Earth ruled by Jesus. It will be big, described as 1500 miles x 1500 miles x 1500 miles, just like Jesus said it would be. Jesus said His Father’s house had many rooms.
When I first read the prophecy about the demise of Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, the prediction sounded pretty gruesome. She would be killed, she would be thrown over the city’s walls and she would be eaten by dogs.
There’s been songs written about Ahab, Ahab the Arab; and he really thought he was special. Jezebel thought she was even more special. But sure enough, it happened. She was killed, thrown over the wall and wild dogs ate her. How did the prophet know that?
These proofs of prophecy fulfillment have endeared me closely to the words written in the Holy Bible and the importance of studying the prophecies that pertain to the period described as the last days.
I love the church. I hate to imagine a world without the church. What would happen when disaster strikes? Where would the addict go to get spiritual guidance and avoid possible suicide? Where would the people of Haiti be were it not for the missionaries. How many marriages has the church saved?
The church should teach their flock about the importance of prophecy, and the especially important prophecies about the days in which we are now living, like it or not.
In college we listened to our professors because they are the professors. We, the students, do not have time to research if the professors are telling the truth. We just assume that they are. Sometimes years pass and we find out the professor was wrong. Do not deride or belittle the great gift of the prophets. They tell what’s happening before it’s happening and their batting average so far is 100%.