Awaken Bible Prophecy Update 7-20-22: Lost Messages from Book of Acts

The book of Acts recounts the spread of Christianity through the words and actions of faithful apostles who initiated the gathering of people in various places as they began the early church.  This was a church that was on fire.  Not only did they receive salvation through the grace of God and the faith they placed in Jesus Christ as His only unique Son, but they also received power from on high as they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Over the years the church has had its highs and lows.  We know this was the case from beginning in the 1st Century by reading Jesus’ letter to the churches of that era as recorded by the Apostle John in the book of Revelation.  Those were literal churches which had problems and needs at that time that Christ needed to speak to for rebuke, correction, or encouragement.  Not only that, but those letters provide additional guidance as to the ebb and flow of church faithfulness by showing us different types of churches throughout history and what God required of them.  It is also believed that these letters portray or foreshadow various church characteristics and tendencies through different periods over the years, with the Laodicean church representing what the final church will look like in the end times.

At one time or another these churches lost or set aside teaching and commandments from the Lord that would have kept them faithful.  Only two of the churches: Smyrna and Philadelphia retained those characteristics that kept them from straying.

Just as Jesus and the writers of the New Testament foretold, in the final days before the Lord’s return, the church would go south because the people in it would turn from Him into apostasy.  There are three issues in this regard that I want to cover today coming from the book of Acts.  These three, and a host of other reasons, are why we are so close to the end of the Church Age as we know it.

 

 

Transcript:

The book of Acts recounts the spread of Christianity through the words and actions of faithful apostles who initiated the gathering of people in various places as they began the early church.  This was a church that was on fire.  Not only did they receive salvation through the grace of God and the faith they placed in Jesus Christ as His only unique Son, but they also received power from on high as they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

 

Over the years the church has had its highs and lows.  We know this was the case from beginning in the 1st Century by reading Jesus’ letter to the churches of that era as recorded by the Apostle John in the book of Revelation.  Those were literal churches which had problems and needs at that time that Christ needed to speak to for rebuke, correction, or encouragement.  Not only that, but those letters provide additional guidance as to the ebb and flow of church faithfulness by showing us different types of churches throughout history and what God required of them.  It is also believed that these letters portray or foreshadow various church characteristics and tendencies through different periods over the years, with the Laodicean church representing what the final church will look like in the end times.

 

At one time or another these churches lost or set aside teaching and commandments from the Lord that would have kept them faithful.  Only two of the churches: Smyrna and Philadelphia retained those characteristics that kept them from straying.

 

Just as Jesus and the writers of the New Testament foretold, in the final days before the Lord’s return, the church would go south because the people in it would turn from Him into apostasy.  There are three issues in this regard that I want to cover today coming from the book of Acts.  These three, and a host of other reasons, are why we are so close to the end of the Church Age as we know it.

 

Let’s pray, and today I won’t have a specific Scripture since we’ll be referring to several as we go along, and so, we’ll explore this issue.

 

<PRAY>

 

 

Lost Messages from Book of Acts

  • The church today is in a dreadful state
  • A recent Gallup poll determined that belief in God in America has dipped to a new low of 81% of all adults
  • This is simply belief in God – it says nothing about belief in Jesus Christ and the truths revealed in John 3:16 or John 14:6 or Ephesians 2:8-9
  • If that isn’t bad enough, another recent poll found that over 62% of all pastors across all denominations don’t have a Biblical worldview, rather they have one that is syncretistic
  • Syncretism is the mashing together of different beliefs, possibly including some Biblical tenets of faith, but into a worldview that blends these ideas and philosophies into something which appeals to individual preferences but does not hold to God’s holy Word
  • In this pastoral poll, the further shocking statistic is that as few as 12% of youth pastors hold a Biblical worldview
  • Put another way: 88% of all youth pastors do not hold a Biblical worldview
  • Parents: What are these youth pastors teaching your children?
  • In addition to this, have you noticed how many youth pastors get caught have sexual relations with someone they’re supposed to be shepherding?
  • Perhaps we shouldn’t be so shocked given what we see in our youth and the comprise of Scripture spewed from blasphemous pulpits
  • Think of what these numbers say, and what it means about the church of today
  • Jesus must weep at this

 

  • The three primary messages from the book of Acts that I want to discuss today that have been lost and which lead to this situation in the church are:

 

  • #1 – Man’s sinfulness
  • #2 – God’s coming judgment
  • #3 – Christ as the only way to salvation

 

 

#1 – Man’s sinfulness

  • In Acts 2:38 we see this truth preached by Peter about mankind and what we must do about it:

 

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

  • Humanity is sinful
  • Since the rebellion in the Garden, sin has infected the DNA of all the children who are the offspring of Adam and Eve
  • Sin is in our blood
  • It makes us unclean
  • Worse, it makes us unable to stand before God without being consumed by holy fire
  • As Hebrews 12:29 says:

 

For our God is a consuming fire

 

  • This being the case, there’s nothing we can do about it through our own efforts
  • The prophet stresses this in Isaiah 64:6 where he proclaims:

 

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

 

  • Not only did Peter in the power of the Holy Spirit declare this truth, but it was also the very first thing preached by John the Baptist and Jesus Himself
  • We see this in Matthew 3:1-2 and Matthew 4:17:

 

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

  • Believe me, the repetition of a principle twice is significant, three times is crucial
  • The need for repentance because we are sinful is a cornerstone of our faith
  • Without this recognition of sin and turning from it in repentance, we cannot – I repeat: we cannot – truly be saved
  • Ray Comfort – the great evangelist with Way of the Master – recounts this truth in his must-listen message titled Hell’s Best Kept Secret
  • If you’ve never heard Ray preach this, when you’ve finished here, go to the link in the Sources section of my Rumble page and listen to it
  • You will not be disappointed
  • I’ve listened to the message probably 15 times – that’s how much I like it

 

  • I want to take one of my infamous rabbit trails here before continuing
  • The thought came to me while dealing with this issue of sin, repentance, and forgiveness about the global elites and their worldview
  • What do they want – among other things?
  • Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum has articulated this extensively
  • They want to transform mankind – actually just their elite club of the wealthy and powerful – into Man 2.0 as part of the 4th Industrial Revolution
  • I’ve explored in the past where they really want to take this concept by examining the website 2045.com
  • If you’ve ever watched the Stargate series, whether SG-1 or Atlantis, you know that one of the anti-God predictive programming ideas promoted is that mankind can ascend to a higher plane of existence
  • Through technology, the global elites desire to do this very thing, and in so doing, to achieve immortality
  • But as I say, it’s really just for them – the wealthy and powerful – not for ordinary schlubs like you and me
  • You’ll hear this same goal often discussed by Yuval Harari, who is Klaus Schwab’s right hand future technology guy and one of my leading candidates for the role of False Prophet during the Tribulation
  • In wanting this type of future and doing everything to achieve it, the one main component that is eliminated is any need for the One true God
  • In this utopian dream, man through his own self-sufficiency, in fact, becomes like a god
  • Where have we heard that before?
  • Why would these people wish to do this?
  • One very clear answer is that they don’t like the idea of sin
  • Because the Bible tells us that we must depend on God through Jesus Christ for the atonement of our sins – and that idea is anathema to these elites – the truth that they can do nothing for themselves must be altered
  • And that truth is that everything worthwhile in our lives must be accomplished through simple faith in God
  • Thus, this objective truth becomes the one they resist
  • In their eyes, they have no need for God
  • They hate the idea of humbly surrendering to Him
  • They hate the thought that they must depend upon Him for eternal life
  • And so, they try to make their own reality that has no need of considering themselves as sinful
  • It certainly requires no repentance
  • Not does it need forgiveness by anyone

 

  • Back to our main theme
  • What the global elites have done though promoting their ideas for many years is to infiltrate the church and to corrupt its teachings
  • The reason for this is that true Christianity in the form and presence of the Holy Spirit is the only power holding them back from achieving their goals
  • This is – after all – a spiritual war
  • It’s Satan attempting to displace God
  • Faith corruption is a 100-year effort through the Communist initiative that placed their people inside seminaries
  • Through their subtle influence they eventually altered the Biblical doctrine that pastors were taught
  • These pastors went into the world into all the pulpits and preached a false Gospel
  • This message took many forms but one significant aspect was the whitewashing of sin and its consequences
  • Because most people in the church were encouraged not to read their Bibles – rather to simply believe what their pastor told them was true – the vast majority of congregants in the vast majority of churches became Biblically illiterate
  • Hence, we end up with the poll numbers I cited earlier
  • In this raging apostasy throughout Christendom there is little recognition of sin and even fewer thoughts that anything must be done about it
  • Yet, it was one of the core tenets of the Gospel as Jesus and others preached in the early church

 

 

#2 – God’s coming judgment

  • If we’re not sinful and there are no consequences from it, then why would there be any need for judgment regarding sin?
  • The last thing these people want to admit is that the rejection of God through their ideals leads to everlasting torment through God’s judgment
  • Yet Paul speaking on Mars Hill in Athens as recorded in Acts 17:30-31 told his listeners and declares to us:

 

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

 

  • Notice once more that Paul emphasizes the need for repentance
  • Ignorance of the Gospel is no excuse
  • Can you imagine the penalty for willful disregard?
  • Without repentance. God will bring righteous judgment through Jesus Christ
  • The proof of this is Jesus’ resurrection from the dead
  • Question: In people’s minds, how do they avoid this penalty for dismissing the Words and promises of God?
  • Answer: They change the facts on the ground
  • If God says there is a death penalty for dismissing Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with the only way to eternal life being through faith in Him with the accompanying need to repent of one’s sins in order to express that faith . . .
  • Then a couple things have to happen
  • Jesus can no longer be God
  • He must be made perhaps only a good person on the same level as Buddha or Mohammad
  • Perhaps who He was is really what He stood for
  • Thus, He showed the way that every one of us could achieve what He did
  • He represents a type of self-expression called Christ Consciousness that is inherent in every single one of us
  • We can become what He became
  • If that’s the case, we are all actually good inside – we just have to recognize this fact
  • As a result, if we are good, we’re certainly not sinful
  • If we’re not sinful, there is no necessity for anyone or anything to judge us
  • What then is there this talk of coming judgment?
  • From the perspective of the people reasoning this way, it’s all a lie
  • Unfortunately, not only is this thinking rampant outside the church, it has also largely infected the church
  • This is one reason these false gospels are so popular
  • The problem is not in each of us
  • It is in the world
  • It is through injustice in the world that we have so much strife
  • Thus, we have to fix the world

 

  • Having introduced that, let me go off on another bender down one other rabbit trail
  • I’ve tried to point out many times that much of the Christian world would rather burrow into life here instead of seeking the eternal kingdom of God
  • Despite the Bible being comprised of close to 1/3 prophecy, it is the literal elephant in the room because it’s so often ignored
  • When pastors ignore this much of Scripture – that God obviously put there for a purpose – that has significant consequences
  • Many prophetic passages tell us what the final days of this earth will look like
  • If people aren’t looking at life around them through a Biblical and prophetic lens, then what do they see?
  • They may recognize that something is wrong, but they can’t identify it
  • This wrongness all around can then be a source of fear
  • Maybe they heed what Jesus said about not being anxious or fearful, but they can’t necessarily make sense of the world, and it causes unease
  • Proverbs 9:10 says:

 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

 

  • These people may fear the Lord, but they have not accumulated wisdom because they’ve never gained insight through knowledge
  • To gain this insight, first they would have to be reading their Bibles faithfully and thoroughly
  • This means that they would have to actually read and digest what God has shown us through Bible prophecy
  • They would have to read these Scriptures, meditate on them, and digest them . . .
  • Thus acquiring a new level of understanding
  • In this fresh way of seeing, the prophecies would illuminate their vision
  • They would realize that the world is on a collision course with God’s wrath
  • They would see the converging signs – the fact that every single sign that the inspired writers of Scripture spoke of are now in play, crashing like turbulent waves upon the seashore
  • They would understand that the time is near for the Lord’s return for His true church in the pre-Tribulation Rapture
  • And what would that do for them?
  • It would give them a sense of peace – knowing that Christ will never leave nor forsake us since we are His beloved Bride
  • Why then be anxious and fearful?
  • Why then invest so much into life on this earth that will very soon dissolve like dew in the hot sun?
  • Right now, most people in their ignorance of Bible prophecy would be like Lot’s wife
  • The angels hustled Lot and his family out of Sodom to keep them alive, but Lot’s wife – through her attachment to all they were leaving – gazed upon that city (representing her life), and desired it more than what the Lord had in store for their future
  • Is there any better analogy of those who resist the truth of the pre-Trib Rapture?
  • They’re doing all they can to undue in this world that which cannot be undone due to the depth of sin, corruption, and depravity
  • This world is under Satan’s dominion as the Power of the Prince of the Air
  • How do you fight that in the natural by winning a few political elections?
  • How do you root out the Deep State cabal?
  • When Trump was president, he was clueless to this and actually surrounded himself with many people intent on undermining him
  • To this day with his denial of the harm the so-called vaccines bring, he continues to promote that everyone should be jabbed
  • That’s a real problem
  • Why would he do this?
  • I don’t have an answer, but whatever it is, it can’t be good
  • Do you think that Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida would fare better than Trump as president?
  • He might be more perceptive in the people he trusts, but he cannot get rid of the deeply entrenched opposition
  • Such people cannot be fired
  • They’re government employees in many strategic positions absolutely determined to bring in the New World Order
  • I actually hope that DeSantis doesn’t run for president
  • Florida needs him, and the country needs at least that one state to be a haven of some kind of sanity
  • Be that as it may, too many people calling themselves Christians prefer living here than eagerly anticipating the world to come under the dominion of Jesus Christ
  • They’re comfortable here despite all the flaws of everything around them
  • Maybe the thought of a supernatural event like the Rapture freaks them out
  • I know many declare they want to see their children grow, graduate, marry, have kids, etc.
  • They want to see this nation as it was in its heyday
  • That’s all good and a natural reaction to life
  • However, that shouldn’t be the case at the end of the age
  • Instead of these worldly pursuits – as noble as they are – everyone who calls himself by the Name of Christ should be adhering to what Jesus instructed in Luke 21:28:

 

“Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

 

  • But they don’t
  • And so, they ignore the coming judgment because it simply doesn’t fit their worldview

 

 

#3 – Christ as the only way to salvation

  • This is the third and final message of what we’re discussing today as that which has been lost from the book of Acts
  • After the astounding events of Pentecost, the apostles were Baptized in the Holy Spirit and had power from on high
  • That power transformed lowly men with little education into dynamos for the Lord
  • Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking to the rulers and scribes of the temple – those men who were supposed to be well-versed in the ways of Yahweh, but who were in actuality woefully deficient – said in Acts 4:11-12:

 

“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

 

  • The ruling elite believed that by following the Law of Moses, they were right in the eyes of God
  • They sacrificed and obeyed as they understood the Law and figured they were good to go
  • They thought they knew what Yahweh wanted with them, yet they ignored the prophesies that Jesus fulfilled right in their faces
  • They were afraid of losing their vaunted positions in the temple and synagogues and becoming irrelevant
  • More than that they feared another violent Jewish rebellion against the Romans that would cause their downfall – which they were actually quite correct in fearing
  • They couldn’t contemplate God actually fulfilling His Word and incarnating in their very day and age
  • Because of their wrong understanding of the intent of God sending His Messiah, the Jewish rulers hardened their hearts and opposed the will of God
  • Much like most Christians today cannot contemplate God actually fulfilling His Word and snatching His Bride from the earth just prior to His raining down wrath and judgment upon the unbelieving world
  • And why would God do this?
  • Because of unbelief
  • And what does unbelief lead to?
  • Anything and everything that denies the One true God
  • For the Jews in ancient Israel, it led to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD and the final destruction of the nation itself in 135 AD
  • It leads to people opening themselves to demonic spirits
  • If they have done this, then they will be open to hearing and believing that Jesus is not the only way, truth, and life
  • They’ll believe like the Judaizers that we have to add the works of the law to our salvation
  • Or they’ll believe that God is not personal; rather is an impersonal force
  • As such, this force could surely not have a Son – that makes no sense
  • Or they’ll believe that a true and reasonable god would not be dogmatic about one and only way to heaven
  • That seems to be rather judgmental and not tolerant
  • As so many people say: “That’s doesn’t sound like my god. My god is a god of love.  He would never send anyone to hell, so it can’t be true that if someone doesn’t believe in Jesus that he would condemn them.”
  • Of course, these people mischaracterize God and how salvation works
  • God is both a God of love and a God of judgment
  • He must be in order to be a fair and just God
  • He sends no one to hell
  • People choose to go there when they reject that Jesus is God, and that He died for their sins
  • Thus, they retain their sins and are judged under the law
  • Jews are judged under the written Law of Moses
  • Gentiles are judged under the unwritten law on their hearts that God gives each one of us
  • Either way – the law condemns and brings death, instead of acting as a mirror to show the person his sins and utter inability on his own merit to get right with God
  • Rejecting the law of God – written or unwritten – is to reject Jesus Christ and His gift of the blood He shed on the cross in atoning for the sins of every person ever born
  • No other god or man can make this claim
  • When the church leads people astray into the error of worshiping another god and thus grieves the Holy Spirit, the church and its leadership are guilty of great perversion of the truth and will stand before Christ in judgment
  • The eternal consequences are grave

 

Wrapping Up

  • The three messages we’ve discussed today that have been lost from the book of Acts are a major reason we have reached the end of the age – the Church Age
  • When the church itself denies these three issues:
    • Man’s sinfulness
    • God’s coming judgment
    • Christ as the only way to salvation
  • . . . then it’s time to start looking up because God must punish such unbelief
  • He punished ancient Israel for her unbelief
  • He will do the same for all of mankind for this wholesale rejection of who He is and what He’s said
  • There will be no Great Awakening
  • Because of such hardness of people’s hearts toward God, we are very close to the fullness of the Gentiles who must be brought to saving faith before the Lord Jesus comes for His beloved Bride to take us to the Father’s House
  • Look around you at the hate and rage – the disdain for God and all He stands for
  • Consider how every aspect of life in this world has been corrupted and how quickly
  • Think about the depth of the Deep State and how pervasive sin and depravity are in this world – even how they have infected infested the church
  • What we’re experiencing is the asteroid that – rather than veer away from earth – is on a collision course
  • You’d think the world would be aware of the danger – especially that the church would be cognizant of how near that asteroid is to destroying everything in its path
  • But you’d be wrong in thinking this
  • Very few of us see the asteroid coming
  • Despite this – despite all these things I’ve outlined today that take people far from the living God, there is still time for them to turn
  • Time is very short – but while we who believe are watching and waiting eagerly for the Lord – others can still join us
  • Romans 5:8-9 remains true even in these final days:

 

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

 

  • If those currently resisting God’s love and mercy will simply admit their sin and call out to God in repentance, declaring Jesus is their Lord and Savior, they too can know the grace of Christ and eternal life through Him
  • They can know that they also have become sons and daughters of God the Father and heirs to all His riches and blessings that He has in store for us
  • Who would choose otherwise?
  • If you are listening to this and you’re not part of God’s holy family because you’ve never called out to the Lord for His mercy upon you, I beseech you to do so now
  • Today is the day of salvation
  • Tomorrow may be too late

2 Responses to “Awaken Bible Prophecy Update 7-20-22: Lost Messages from Book of Acts”

  1. Reply RobinL

    Christ consciousness without Christ, eh?! Sounds like a variation of The Lie of Satan which introduced sin into the world.

    It’s funny how most of the world, generation after generation, is chasing after all the benefits of Christian salvation which are absolution, true freedom, a future of sinlessness, peace, hope, joy, love, and eternal life. These are ALL things we are guaranteed when we make Jesus our Lord.

    But people don’t want JESUS because it requires repentance and humility and an ongoing effort to please Him…in other words you have to agree to lifelong servitude to our Creator. Who else even deserves that kind of worship?! No one. But humanity will happily enslave themselves to anything and anyone, other than Jesus ,before submitting to Him. Mankind is trapped in a special form of crazy.

    I am reading a book called Daniel (one of my all-time favorite historical people) written by Terry Thompson. It is a beautiful, historical fiction account of what happened to Israel and Judah for their idolatry, and how much our obedience pleases the Lord. The destruction of Judah in particular resonates powerfully, exemplifying how God brings judgement upon people and nations who delude themselves into thinking they are ‘good enough’ to manage on their own, without Him and against His promises, warnings, and instructions.
    Human beings, in our hearts, are irretrievably broken and wicked, just as the Bible says. Thank the Lord that He has made The Way for us to escape what we deserve.

    BTW, I would love to hear why you think YN Harari might be the false prophet. The thought has occurred to me, but I have eliminated him because he is a foaming at the mouth atheist, not really even a humanist since he clearly hates people, and is neither appealing nor gentle (appearing as a lamb) , however he most certainly DOES speak like a dragon. He is the most blasphemous person I have ever heard speak.

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