... In prior installments we began calling attention to the warnings from a commentator from the past, Clarence Larkin, who noted at least five consequences that "kingdom now" theology has upon Ecclesiology, or the doctrine of the church. The first of four of these five warnings have been discussed in prior installments. First, "kingdom now" theology causes the church to drift into a Social Gospel agenda favoring holistic redemption of societal structures in lieu of fulfilling the Great Commission. Second, viewing itself as the kingdom of God upon the earth causes the church to become at home in the world in contradistinction to the New Testament portrayal of the church as a mere pilgrim passing through both temporary and alien territory en-route to her ultimate eternal destination. Third, because there are not presently and numerically enough Christians necessary to establish God's kingdom upon the earth, it becomes necessary for the church to find common ground with those who do not share its biblical convictions in order to build the political coalition needed to implement a "kingdom now" social agenda. Fourth, Larkin observed that the discarding of the study of Bible prophecy naturally takes place when "kingdom now" theology gains a foothold in the church. Let's now move on and examine Larkin's fifth concern...
In this series, the biblical teaching on the kingdom has been surveyed to demonstrate that Scripture conveys that the kingdom is a future reality. Moreover, equating the church with the Messianic kingdom radically alters God's design for the church...
Many other topics would be more pleasant to write about rather than the last days apostasy of the church. It would be far easier to talk about the positive topic of God’s love rather than something as negative as apostasy. Yet, this subject must be broached since it is part of God’s message in the Bible. In fact, this series will contend that it is impossible to understand God’s plan for the end times without understanding what Scripture reveals about the last days apostasy of the church...
Apostasy must be understood in order to comprehend the last days scenario. This series of articles is dedicated toward tracing the general characteristics of apostasy. In the previous article, apostasy was defined as a movement within Christ’s church representing a departure from known truth. There, it was also established that apostasy is the central sign revealed in Scripture signaling the near completion of the church’s earthly mission (2 Tim 3:1, 13; Matt 13:33)...
Apostasy is an important yet often neglected subject when attempting to comprehend what the Bible teaches about the end times. Thus, this series of articles is dedicated toward tracing ten general, biblical characteristics of apostasy. In the previous articles, apostasy was defined as a movement within Christ’s church representing a departure from known truth. It was also established that apostasy is the central sign revealed in Scripture signaling the near completion of the church’s earthly mission. It was also shown that warnings against apostasy consume much of the New Testament and that these New Testament warnings relate to virtually all of Christianity’s most cherished doctrines. Apostasy is also a phenomenon that occurs internally within the church and even is led by individuals or groups considered the least likely candidates to depart from truth. This article will attempt to develop two more characteristics of apostasy: its speed and satanic influence...