The Bible predicts that the whole of the world,
despite national and cultural distinctions, will
in the end time be consolidated under the powerful
and controlling dictatorship of Antichrist. This
system of world oneness and domination will be
held together by several normal influences that
unite all societies. These would include politics,
which of course Antichrist will tightly control,
economics, which likewise he and his administration
will tightly manipulate, military power, and
he will have vast military power, and finally
religion. Religion is one of those influences
that helps to unite a people. The religious aspect
of Antichrist's ruling order is described to
us somewhat in symbolic terms in the book of
the Revelation, the 17th chapter. We're not going
to do a verse by verse analysis of this, but
I invite you to turn there and see what John
saw as he describes to us what might be termed
the religious side of Babylon. This final world
order that John sees here in these final chapters
of the book of Revelation Chapter 17 of Revelation
says and one of the seven angels who had the
seven bowls came and spoke with me saying Come
here. I will show you the judgment of the great
harlot Who sits on many waters with whom the
kings of the earth committed acts of immorality?
And those who dwell on the earth were made drunk
with the wine of her immorality. And he carried
me away in the spirit into a wilderness. And
I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full
of blasphemous names, having seven heads and
ten horns. And the woman was clothed in purple
and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious
stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold
cup full of abominations and of unclean things
of her immorality. And upon her forehead a name
was written, a mystery, quote, Babylon the Great,
the mother of harlots and of the abominations
of the earth. I saw the woman drunk with the
blood of the saints and with the blood of the
witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered
greatly. John was left in awe by the sight that
was before him there in this wilderness vision.
What we have here is a symbolic presentation
of the culminating ecumenical religious system
which will cooperate with Antichrist on a worldwide
basis in the end times. Idolatry, immorality,
demonic activity, and pageantry are all united
in this obscene and monstrous religious system.
This prostitute that is seen here riding upon
the scarlet beast pictured at once royally attired
and grossly wicked, is the absolute antithesis
of the bride, the Lamb's pure and holy wife,
who is introduced to us in just a couple of chapters
in this book. The push for oneness of religious
identity and experience has been a strong one,
particularly in the last 40 years since the beginning
of the World Council of Churches. You may recall
that back in the 60s, the World Council of Churches
organized, along with its United States affiliate
organization, the National Council of Churches,
what was called the Council on Church Union,
COCU. It was called COCU, though some people
called it CUCU. It was formed in order to encourage
the eventual, not only cooperation, but the unification
of various religious bodies. Mainly it worked
with the main line denominations. It failed in
its attempts. It is still around, but is not
very active today. Other things have surpassed
it. Today, in the beginning of the 90s, at a
time when there is a lot of emphasis in various
parts of society, of people and organizations
and things coming together, there is a new emphasis
on the people of faith coming together. The people
of faith, whatever they believe in. They are
represented by theologian Harvey Cox, for example.
one of the great universities out in the East.
Harvey Cox might be better called an untheologian.
He is extremely liberal in his perspective. He
wrote a book not too long ago entitled Many Mansions,
subtitled A Christian Encounter with Other Faiths.
In a review of this book in Psychology Today
about a year ago, the reviewer Elizabeth Stark
says, Cox argues that appreciation for facets
of another religion can enhance one's own and
shows how we can be inspired by other faiths.
My, that sounds so good. It sounds so American
to talk that way. It sounds so up to date, so
modern to say it. It is in step with the age
in which we live. for we are living in a time
when tolerance, cooperation, and pluralism are
the American way. What is actually happening,
in my opinion, as we enter the 90s, is that the
groundwork is being laid and initial steps are
being taken toward the apostasy which the Bible
long ago predicted would occur in the last times.
I'd like for you to turn into the New Testament
to the book of 2 Thessalonians and notice this
word apostasy used by the Apostle Paul. There
were some who had come to this city that we've
been studying about on Sunday mornings They had
come to this city in the months since Paul had
been there, and they were teaching that the day
of the Lord had already come. And so Paul is
going to refute that in this second epistle,
and he says very simply here in the first part
of verse 3, in the second chapter, let no one
in any way deceive you, for it will not come,
that is the day of the Lord. will not come unless
the apostasy comes first. And then he says, the
man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.
So the apostle tells us that before the day of
the Lord, the time of final judgment comes, there
are two things that have to take place. Now,
these are not things that must take place before
the rapture of the church. Keep that in mind.
These are things that take place before the day
of the Lord, the time of judgment. And those
two things he names are the apostasy and the
unveiling of the man of lawlessness, the Antichrist.
The one seems to precede the other. Apostasy
simply means revolt. It is a defection. from
among those who are professing Christians toward
deep false doctrine. Again, in 1 Timothy chapter
4, the apostle addresses the same theme. 1 Timothy
4 and verse 1, he says, But the Spirit explicitly
says that in the later times, Some will fall
away from the faith. Here is the verb form of
apostasy. Some will apostasize from the faith,
paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines
originating with demons. That's what he's saying.
By means of the hypocrisy of liars, seared in
their own conscience as with a branding iron.
In other words, their leaders The human instruments
of these demonic spirits will be people without
morals, people without any sense of ethics about
them. Their conscience will be completely inactive
and seared, no sensitivity there. He says, who
forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from
foods which God has created to be gratefully
shared in by those who believe and know the truth.
which seems to indicate that these people will
bring with their false teaching either salvation
by works, including doing these kinds of things,
or a certain asceticism about life. But he predicts
that in the latter times, the later times of
this age, there will come a falling away from
the faith. This is exactly what we're talking
about tonight. The final apostasy. What is it
that will characterize this final form of world
religion, this apostate church? Well, I would
like to give you several characteristics tonight.
I've chosen six of them. I don't know, somehow
that seemed like the right number. There are
six of them I'd like for us to look at briefly
before we go on our way. What characterizes the
apostate church, this coming world religion?
Number one. A denial of the person and the work
of Jesus Christ. Turn please to 2 Peter chapter
2. This epistle is written to believers to warn
about false teachers, already active of course
in the first century. Peter says in verse 1,
but false prophets also arose among the people.
as well as the prophets who spoke from God that
he's just spoken about. Just as there will also
be false teachers among you who will secretly
introduce destructive heresies. And now he suggests
in broad categories what they will deny. Denying
the master, the word literally means the sovereign
Lord, who bought them And as a result of this
they will bring swift destruction upon themselves.
He says many will follow their sensuality. So
tied together with their denial of Jesus Christ
is sensuous, lustful kind of living. And it says
because of them the way of truth will be maligned
and in their greed. So we have here another characteristic
of these teachers who deny Jesus Christ. It is
greed. They will exploit you with false words,
and then he warns again of the judgment that
is coming to them. In the first place, this coming
world religion will deny the uniqueness of Jesus
Christ as sovereign Lord. There will be a denial
of his deity. A denial of his unique revelation
as the incarnate God. This is not new, of course.
This is something that believers in the first
century dealt with. John writes about this in
the epistle of 1 John, and he says in the fourth
chapter, Beloved, do not believe every spirit.
to some Christian radio stations today, you become
alarmed. When you listen to some of the stuff
that comes over so -called Christian television,
some of the stuff, it is absolutely nauseating.
And there are people who take in everything they
hear as though that person is certainly speaking
from God. What an important word John gives.
Do not believe every spirit that is the prophets
who come but test the spirits to see whether
they are from God because many false prophets
have gone out into the world and by this you
know the Spirit of God every spirit that confesses
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from
God and every spirit that does not confess Jesus
is not from God and this is the spirit of the
Antichrist of which you have heard that it is
coming and now it is already in the world." In
other words, John is saying this spirit is already
at work even in the first century. Eventually
it will become fully exposed and revealed and
will be culminated in the person of the Antichrist.
But even then the same spirit was at work, the
spirit of denying that Jesus Christ is the incarnate
God. In chapter 3 verse 22 he says, well my computer
wrote down the wrong verses here. I'm going to
have to get a new computer. Turn over to 2 John
7. I'm not going to take time to look for those
right now. 2 John verse 7. John says, for many
deceivers have gone out into the world, those
who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming
in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.
So there's the point. This coming world religion
will be a culmination of what has been true of
false teaching since the first century, and that
is a denial of Jesus as God. as the sovereign
Lord. But accompanying that, accompanying that,
says Peter back now in 2 Peter 2, is a denial
of Jesus Christ's sufficient sacrifice for sin.
He says that there will be a denial of the master
who bought them. That's an interesting phrase
there. It is one of the arguments used against
the idea of a particular or limited atonement.
because Peter clearly says here that this sacrifice
of the Lord, this purchase price, this atonement
of the Lord by which he purchased a people was
also sufficient for the false teachers. A denial
of the Lord who bought them, it says. There are
people today who say that Jesus by his death
set a good example for the rest of us But they
deny that his was a vicarious death He died in
the place of sinners and they put in place of
that doctrine salvation by works or salvation
by self fulfillment or self realization Let me
just wrap this up by saying once again that one
characteristic of the coming religious system
is a denial of the person and the work of Jesus
Christ and we see that all around us. Secondly,
there will be an exaltation of a new Messiah
in the coming world religion. Let's go again
to 2 Thessalonians, the second chapter at verse
4 this time. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 4. Regarding
this man of lawlessness, the apostle says, who
opposes and exalts himself above every so -called
God or object of worship so that he takes his
seat in the temple of God displaying himself
as being God. Now, if we had time, we would turn
to Revelation 13, verse 8, where it is said there
that he will cause the masses of his empire to
worship him, those whose names are not written
in the book of life. This is Antichrist, and
in that coming religious order, there will be
the exaltation of a new Messiah, someone who
will come to finish what Jesus failed to finish.
even what Mohammed did not do. He will come to
fully reveal God. He will be God in the flesh
or maybe it will be put this way that the God
consciousness in him will be fully manifested
and he will be unique among all men because he
has risen to that level where the God consciousness
in him has now caused him to be as deity itself.
The coming world religious system will not only
deny Jesus Christ for who He is and what He has
done, but it will exalt the Antichrist and worship
Him as its Messiah, as its new God. A third characteristic
of this coming world religious system is found
in Revelation chapter 17 and verse 6, a verse
we've already read. Did you notice it? Where
it says, the woman drunk with the blood of the
saints. Characteristic number three is a persecution
of believers in the true God. This coming world
religious system will persecute the true people
of God at that time. So much so that it will
cause many of them to lose their lives. This
is confirmed for us in chapter 20 and verse 4.
We now come to the first resurrection as it is
termed and John sees thrones and those that sat
upon them and judgment was given to them and
then he says Revelation 20 verse 4 and I saw
the souls of those who had been beheaded because
of the testimony of Jesus and because of the
Word of God and those who had not worshipped
the beast or his image and had not received the
mark upon their forehead and upon their hand.
And it says they came to life and reigned with
Christ for a thousand years. And so John, as
he in this vision sees a great multitude of people
who had lost their heads, who had been beheaded
for the sake of Jesus Christ in the coming tribulation
period. This world religious system, while it
will call itself Christian in some sense, it
will be under the label of Christendom, will
also be a system that will turn upon true believers
in the living God and persecute them without
mercy. A fourth characteristic of this coming
world religious system is a ridicule of Christ's
return. For this, let's go back to 2 Peter, and
this time to chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3, and
beginning in verse 3. Know this first of all,
says Peter, that in the last days, mockers will
come with their mocking, following after their
own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of
His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep,
all continues just as it was from the beginning
of creation." It says here that there is going
to come in the last days a noted emphasis upon
a mockery of the return of Jesus Christ. Well,
people who have been unbelievers have long mocked
that. But I think it's very interesting that
we are seeing a new emphasis on this very point.
I think that's in part because the teaching of
the coming of Jesus Christ, which has always
been a part of evangelical churches, has now
become better known out in there in the culture
at large. They're hearing more of what we say.
And that causes them to respond more. But I think
there's another element. And that is the end
of this century and the end of this millennium.
You will see, and there was even this last week,
articles in the paper anticipating the fact that
as we get closer to 2000, there are going to
be more and more people, they say, talking about
the end of the world. Just expect them. It's
going to happen, they say. and the implication
is brush it off. Don't worry about it. It happened,
they say, about 1000 AD too. I don't know if
they have the newspaper clippings from then or
what, but it happened then, they say, and they
say around every turn of the century there's
this brand new emphasis that the end is near.
The apocalypse is upon us. Armageddon is at hand.
Well, in fact, This is true, that there is a
renewed talk at the end of each century, and
particularly at the end of a millennium. But
it's interesting to me to note that as this talk
increases, the denial, the mockery, the jeering,
the jibing of those who believe in it only increases
more. There is a ridicule of the return of Jesus
Christ. And Peter says this arises with this
excuse on the part of the culture at large. They
say, look, everything's continued like it always
has. Nothing before has ever intervened. There's
a uniformity to all of history. You know, we
evolved out of this little bit of whatever back
then, and nothing's ever happened to change that.
They refuse to acknowledge, it says, that God
has intervened before. It says in verse 5, When
they maintain this, it escapes their notice.
That doesn't mean that somehow they fail to read
the clippings. It means that they refuse to take
note of something. That by the word of God, the
heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed
out of water and by water, through which the
world at that time was destroyed, being flooded
with water. There are two things that seem to
be the point here. They refuse to acknowledge
the creative activity of God in the beginning,
along with his intervention at the flood of Noah.
He goes on to talk about the fact that the world
was destroyed by water at one time and someday
will be destroyed by the intervention of God
again, this time by fire. But here's the point.
You're saying that along with a denial of the
return of Jesus Christ will be a denial of God's
creative activity and a denial of God's intervention
by the flood. How I would delight if Noah's ark
could be found. Not because it would prove to
me the Bible. Not at all. But just to watch the
liberals dance around that ark trying to explain
it. as they seek to deny that God ever intervened,
that there was ever a Noah, that there was ever
an ark built. I would love to see them try to
do that. And they will. Because everything has
always continued like it always has been. There's
been no intervention of God. And Jesus Christ
is not coming. We have to make our own utopia
in the world. And we have to worship this Messiah
who's here, they will say. Number five. The final
world religion will be characterized by a form
of religion without any life -transforming power.
Second Timothy, chapter 3. Beginning in verse
1, again, the apostle focuses on the last days.
He says, difficult times will come. Literally
he says, times hard to deal with. For men will
be lovers of self and he goes on to describe
1990 and a lot of other times I'm sure but especially
our day and then verse 5 he says also holding
to a form of godliness Although they have denied
its power He says avoid such men as these That
final world religion will have a form of godliness
there will be a certain sense of religion of
liturgy, of outward show, exhibition, of worship.
It will be pageantry. It will all be there. All
the outward forms, you see, will be there, but
there will be no power to it. No power to transform
the life. No power to save. There's no reality
in it, is what he is saying. That's how it will
be characterized. And then number six, there
will be a rejection of doctrine for what is self
-pleasing. That will characterize this final
world religion. Look in chapter four of 2 Timothy.
He says, verse three, the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting
to have their ears tickled, They will accumulate
for themselves teachers in accordance to their
own desires and will turn away, that is, as an
act of their will, turn away their ears from
the truth and will turn aside to myths. So there
will be a definite rejection of doctrine in the
last days for what is self -pleasing, what tickles
the ear, what people enjoy hearing, what flatters
the human spirit. Oh, are we ever living in a
day like that today? When there are masses who
are turning away from the truth, they don't want
to hear what the Bible has to say, but they want
to hear religious teachers. who will tell them
the things that compliment them, that please
them, that build up humanity, that show us the
potential that resides in all of us, the God
-consciousness that is there, how we're all in
touch with all of nature, holistic teaching,
interconnectedness with all things, the Mother
Earth, and all of that. Today we have before
us What may well be at least a part of the glue
that's going to hold this world religion together
is called the New Age Movement. If you want to
know more about it, one of the electives the
next four weeks will talk about it in detail.
The New Age Movement is the fastest growing religious
movement in the United States today. And it is
infiltrating not only off -brand kinds of religious
movements, but it's infiltrating mainstream churches.
I could take you to churches right here in Roseville,
which today taught New Age doctrine. You say,
well, what is that? Well, I have a little booklet
in which I'm just going to read a couple of paragraphs
that sort of gives you a taste for it. Interestingly,
this is a booklet by a nun and comes from the
evangelical sisterhood of Mary. Interesting,
isn't it? Interesting title for their group.
But I have never read anything that exposes the
heart of the New Age movement any better than
this nun does as she talks about the New Age
philosophy. She says, the New Age movement aspires
after a new and perfect world. But if this goal
is to be attained, there will have to be a paradigm
shift, that is, a change in the conventional
way of thinking, according to the New Age philosophy.
Instead of the previous analytical mode of thought,
corresponding to the linear and mechanistic conception
of the world, there is to be a new holistic perspective,
the belief in the interconnectedness of all things,
or the doctrine of wholeness. All things are
interdependent and accordingly need to be regarded
holistically. Every individual feels part of
nature and of the whole cosmos, a microcosmos
of the macrocosmos. Rational thinking, which
proceeds analytically and critically and which
formed the basis of scientific method, is to
give way to synthetical thinking. and intuitive
knowledge based on non -rational experience.
Have you ever heard of quantum physics? It ties
together with this. He says New Age philosophy
aims at reconciling all opposites. Science and
occultism are placed on a par. All ethical values
collapse. Good and evil no longer exist. All
is one. This explains the move towards a synthesis
of all religions. For New Agers, the highest
goal of man is to find his happiness. Performance
and output used to be generally considered the
criterion for living. Now the main emphasis is
on personal satisfaction and success. Fear of
coming apocalyptic events is therefore channeled
into escapism. To a utopian world society where
there are no tensions. In other words, they're
saying that people like us who teach in the second
coming of Jesus Christ and the end of the age
are just escapists. That what we need to be doing
is channeling our energies toward a man -made
utopia. Which only man can make. Well, there
will be a continual rejection of doctrine and
an acceptance of what tickles the ear just as
the Apostle said there would be. There will be
other glues and adhesives that will be a part
of this one world religion. But I believe that
New Age thought is a key component of it. Now
of course in one sense apostasy and the spirit
of Antichrist have always been present in the
age. But what is predicted in the final climactic
revolt against God and reveal truth will sweep
the masses into the waiting arms of Antichrist.
It might be helpful to keep in mind that apostasy
A revolt against the truth, which we're talking
about here, is not the same thing as heresy,
technically. A heresy is a false idea which Satan
uses as a snare even for true believers. 2 Timothy
chapter 2 verses 25 and 26 talks about that.
Apostasy is not identical with all doctrinal
errors for even Believers can have doctrinal
errors. Probably in some ways, most of us, all
of us, are misunderstanding some things. Doctrinal
error can come out of ignorance, for example.
Both heresy and doctrinal error can be found
in believers. Not in us, of course, but in other
believers. However, apostasy is different. Apostasy
which will find its culmination in this coming
world religion is a deliberate rejection of the
truth, and it is never characteristic of a true
believer. And when one becomes an apostate, one
who is outwardly a professing Christian of some
sort, and then he turns from that and apostatizes,
there is no remedy for him. Only judgment. awaits
the apostate. And that is why Jude speaks so
forcefully as he does in verses 11 through 16
of his little epistle. And he says basically,
woe to them. In Revelation chapter 17, there
is ultimate judgment of this one world religion.
And victory is given to the Lamb and to those
who are the followers of the Lamb. What are we
to do in light of the coming world religion?
Let me just give you three quick thoughts. Number
one, we're to live a godly life. We are to be
diligent, to be found by Jesus when he comes,
as Peter says, in peace, spotless, and blameless.
That's what we're to do. We're to be sure that
our lives are holy lives. We're to be found by
him when he comes, in peace, spotless, and blameless.
Furthermore, Peter tells us that we are to be
on guard. He says, you therefore, beloved, knowing
this beforehand, be on your guard. Be on your
guard against the kind of false teaching we're
talking about, and don't be sucked into it. Don't
be allured by it, but recognize it for what it
is. And finally, as the people of God, we are
to preach the truth. By preaching the truth,
we are doing the best thing we can do to combat
the error. I recognize there are times to expose
it specifically as we're going to do with New
Age in particular over the next few weeks. But
the best thing we can do is just to preach the
truth. Preach what is true. Preach the genuine
Word of God because that's what God uses to do
His work. God right now, we need to be patient.
is patient and he is saving people. He's calling
out people yet. But one day God's patience, God's
long suffering will come to an end and God will
deal in judgment. In the meantime, we are to
live a godly life. We're to be on guard and we're
to keep believing and to keep preaching the truth
of God in our generation. Let's pray. Dear Lord,
living at this particular time in the history
of the world, as best as we can understand it
from our finite and limited perspective, but
living at this time is an exciting thing because
we believe that truly the end of the age is upon
us. I pray that we will not be like those who
just go about their daily routines giving no
thought to that. Like those who in the days of
Noah just went on about their normal activity,
not realizing that judgment was close. May we
as your people, the ones whom you've graciously
called out from the world, may we live this wee
godly lives, being on guard in our minds and
our spirits against that which is false, deliver
us from the lie. And may we be faithful in proclaiming
the truth in love to those who need to hear it,
because that's what you use to call others to
salvation. I pray that as we live through these
days, despite the fact that they are days hard
to deal with, that we may be your faithful people,
and that our hearts may burn with a fervent love
for Jesus. for the truth and for one another.
And may our hearts be also burdened for the lost,
seeking as were to snatch them out of the flames
by our persistent and consistent witness to them.
I pray that we as a church will be faithful.
God deliver this church from ever, as long as
you leave us here, from ever succumbing to the
lie. May we be a true church, a pure bride for
Jesus Christ, a bride that fervently loves its
bridegroom. This we pray in the name of our Savior
and our Lord, our Sovereign Lord who bought us.
Amen.