Threadbare Illusions

“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Matthew 11:11-15

What a strange time to be alive. If one were so inclined to look a little closer behind the thin veil of reality we are currently being subjected to, we could see the interweaving’s of several divergent worldviews, all fighting for dominance and relevance, and yet, all contradicting one another with great vigor. Point of fact, the fine, interweaving of tapestry, is both illusionary and now threadbare, allowing points of light to shine through it. How then is it that mankind can go so swiftly out of the Age of Enlightenment, into the Age of Reason, only to surrender to the moronic Postmodern Era?

Furthermore, as Christians, if we truly believed that the Gospel of Jesus Christ really is the greatest and most important message mankind ever received, why then do so many water it down until it is nothing more than a vague creed on moral living? Is the Gospel nothing more than a casus belli for social justice experiments? Somehow, the WWJD application is turned on its head, and if Jesus didn’t explicitly condemn something in Scripture (i.e., transgenderism, homosexuality, abortion, open borders, reparations, socialism, etc.) then it is seen as tacit approval for such things.

Even worse, is taking the things Christ and the apostles actually condemned, and still, somehow twisting the meaning, or by overly complicating it to the point of confusion so that yes is no, up is down, and wrong is right. Is that why Jesus left the glories of heaven, became a man, and humbled Himself and died naked upon an old wooden cross? Did he do all that so the world would become more inclusive and tolerant of the abhorrent behavior the Bible clearly labels as either unlawful or sinful?

It is strange times indeed. It is also true, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, both from without and within. From without, the doctrines of devils sweep through laying waste to millions, promising immortality, and delivering hell. It is the hybridization of ancient heresies being resurrected and given the 21st-century, technological makeover. Recycled, repackaged, and regurgitated upon an increasingly dumbed-down population; these lies from the abyss have become increasingly brash and antichrist.

From within, a shadowy, damp corruption, which has been growing since the third century, has begun to grow beyond the darkened corners of the kingdom like an invasive species of black mold. It is the opposite of the "in your face" liberalistic and progressive revisioning. It is the pendulum swing between the two extremes: first, the subtle, half-truths that twist and contort the truth into lies. Or, it is the unnecessary burdening and complication of God’s free gift of Salvation. It is the fine print at the bottom, with its laundry list of dos and don'ts before heavenly admittance can be obtained.

Why do so many denominations, build fences around the walls of the moat, to make this newfound freedom in Christ, drudgery, instead of liberty? Why now, if Christ’s death on the cross was meant to free man from a law he couldn’t keep, do we insist on reinstituting said law through lesser creeds, doctrines, and dogmas which can only condemn?

Why is the Gospel hidden from so many? Why is the Gospel blacklisted and censored from the public arena of ideas? If we truly believe that Jesus Christ, the God-Man, whom by all the worlds were formed and exist, seeks a relationship with us mere, fallen mortals, then why is He so diminished in our day and age? Don’t believe me? Stand on the corner and preach the Gospel, and see how many walk by without a moment’s glance. Approaching the average man on the street or at home, and offer them the greatest news anyone could ever receive; that being eternal redemption, eternal salvation, and glory beyond glory, and the reception more often than not, is relegated to the category of ‘meh’?

Is this what Jesus meant that when He returned, would He really find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8)

Assessment

From the Christian perspective, God Almighty is the creator of all things. He spoke the universe into reality ex nihilo (out of nothing). He gives order to our universe and purpose to our existence. There is nothing which exists apart from Him, nor, could anything exist without His explicit approval. He is the “Becoming One,” as He is always in the eternal present, existing outside of time and space, yet, encompassing and viewing all of time and space concurrently. From the tiniest nanoparticle to the vast expanse of galaxies that make up our universe, and everything in between, God both spoke it into existence and sustains it all without using up an ounce of His boundless energy. He holds the very fabric of our reality together by His sheer pleasure. (Hebrews 1:2, 11:3)

We often liken our world today, to reality. I mean to say, we wake up, go to work or school, pay our bills, enjoy our families, and watch the world roll by, and think, this is life. But this is not real, real life. This world, and everything in it, is momentary, temporary, and at present, is in the process of passing away (1 John 2:17). Even though we (mankind) were created for eternity, our temporary physical bodies (tents) age, weaken, and eventually wear out (die). It is for this reason, the dead in Christ are resurrected, and the living is translated at the Rapture of the Church (1 Thess. 4:13-18). We will finally put on our permanent, glorified bodies (buildings- 2 Cor. 5:1), for which we will inherit eternity to enjoy as immortals. And whether we like it or not, we are going to live forever. Where we spend that “forever” largely depends on what we do with the God-Man Christ Jesus, today.

Who was He to us?

Was He just a good man?

A prophet?

A moral guide?

A social justice warrior?

Or was He God come in the flesh, to redeem fallen man from eternal separation from his Creator?

For those of us who have received the pardon and the free gift of salvation, we are given an earnest, or down payment, in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit seals and indwells us until the Day of Redemption (the Rapture), by which we will be caught up to God (Eph. 1:11-14, 4:30). And because we have God the Holy Spirit indwelling us, we can never again, feel at home in this fallen world. That is why we feel out of place, and out of touch with this present antichrist zeitgeist sweeping the planet.

We tend to focus on this fact until it makes us downtrodden and beleaguered by this sad state of affairs. Dr. Andy Woods once pointed out something that should be rather obvious to all of us believers, but we all too often forget; the world God spoke into existence (Genesis 1-2) and the world He one day restores it back to (Revelation 21-22), is the real reality. Everything else is an aberration of that fact. If we feel out of sorts in this day and age, it is because we are living through the aberration of that reality, not the reality itself.

The world we are in now, as well as our present reality, is an illusion. Granted, while our present reality is “real” in the physical sense of the word, the way the world is today, is what the illusion is. Satan has convinced the unregenerate world that this is the way things will always be, and many people are living their entire lives based on that lie. In fact, so many have bought into this and shrugged off their eternal destinies as being inconsequential that it really gives teeth to Jesus’s saying that “wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.” (Matthew 7:13)

How many of our friends and neighbors today, do not want to talk about it, or don’t want to be bothered by where they will spend eternity? I have many. I am sure you do as well. And if they really knew how close to eternity they really were at any moment (a heartbeat away), they would probably think twice before shrugging it off. These are they who have bought into the satanic illusion that ‘the road goes on forever and the party never ends.” Ironically, as if they didn't have enough evidence hitting them in the face on a daily basis, the road does end for everyone. Tragically for most, they have no idea when that road ends for them. But never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity, our present generation has become so hardened against the Gospel of Jesus Christ that it seems now, only divine intervention could penetrate their hearts of stone.

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

Conclusion

Isaiah 14 refers to the Devil (or Satan) as a ‘morning star’ or Lucifer (in Latin), or in Hebrew, (helel-shining one). Lucifer is a created being. He is a fallen angel (a covering cherub) whom God made the pinnacle of the angelic order (Ezekiel 28:12-19). He does not wear a red cap and carry a red pitchfork. He presents himself as an angel of light, probably, very beautiful to behold. Even still, he is the embodiment of evil and wickedness. He is the father of lies. Satan has tens of thousands of lies, and dozens of major falsehoods he keeps circulating throughout the earth at any given time in order to keep the minds of men blinded to reality. However, this is an uphill battle for Satan. The problem for Satan is always the same- God’s handiwork keeps bleeding through his web of illusions.

Ezekiel writes that because of Lucifer's beauty and preeminence, his pride corrupted his ability to reason and his purpose of being. He sought to exalt himself above God. Thus, Lucifer was cast out of heaven as a ‘profane thing.’ Satan is not ruling in hell; Satan takes up residency in our atmosphere, thus earning the title “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:1-3). Satan cannot create; he is limited to using what God has already created and corrupting it like black mold or rust.

He is also unable to generate truth apart from God, therefore, he can only twist what God has said into half-truths and damnable lies. He is a cursed creature and knows the fate that awaits him is beyond horror, hence, he is doing everything he can to avoid that fate. Even his demons know their fate and are dreading it (Luke 8:30-32). And yet, these cursed and doomed creatures, knowing what horror awaits them, maliciously lie and deceive unwitting mortals into believing this life is all there is. They are wretched and wicked beings, and I liken them to an adult who willingly gives crack or heroin to a young child, full-well knowing what it will do to them.

Satan knowing his fate, therefore, goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may destroy and devour (1 Peter 5:8). He destroys through lies and uses half-truths to deceive millions so that they almost get to heaven, but miss it by eight inches (distance from the head to the heart). He uses lies and subterfuge to tear down God’s created order and uses these lies to blind the minds of those created in God’s image (2 Cor. 4:3-4). Just think about how much damage Satan did with the first lie he told Eve? (Genesis 3:1-5). He cannot give life. He cannot give redemption. He destroys and is a destroyer by nature.

And as mankind progressed forward once again from Babel (Gen. 11:1-9) and began the great pilgrimage towards urbanization and modernization, Satan was forced to replace the heathen gods of old, with the new and improved gods of wealth, vice, narcissism, violence, and greed. Human sacrifice, which once took place in the high places on an altar with fire and wood, was far too inefficient for the burgeoning populations. Satan sought to corrupt mankind wholesale and used his doctrines of devils, by which, millions upon millions would be sacrificed on the altars of war, paganism, communism, fascism, eugenics, and materialism. Although it has been a bloody history, the earth will not yet reach its holocaust-level efficiency again until the seven-year Tribulation (Daniel’s 70th Week) begins.

Whether we are talking about Rationalism (CARM), Materialism (CARM), Post-Modernism (CARM), Spiritism/Spiritualism (CARM), or Paganism (CARM), Satan’s frontal assault against the Gospel has been highly effective.

Now, with the aforementioned belief systems listed, we must ask ourselves, which view (if any) is true? They cannot all be true, because while Materialism and Rationalism complement each other, they are in direct contrast with Spiritualism and Paganism. Even with the compromise approach of Postmodernism, which seeks to give all these views equal footing, both logic and reality fail it. These contradictions not even include the major belief systems that have billions of adherents such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Roman Catholicism, Shintoism, Jainism, and so forth. This does not even include the hundreds of faux/pseudo-Christian groups masquerading as true churches, but are really, ravenous wolves destroying the faith of tens of thousands. These are the violent who try to take the kingdom by force, and yet, destroy themselves in the process.

Herein lies the dilemma for both man and devil; while these can all be wrong, they cannot all be right. There is only one Jesus, one Gospel, and one Bible. The Bible clearly lays out that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day, thus, conquering death and hell in the process. Our salvation is a gift (cannot be earned) and is by His grace, through our faith, in His finished work on the cross. There is no other way to spin, complicate, or diminish what He has done. So given the myriad of false belief systems out there, the question still remains; how can real truth (i.e., the Gospel of Jesus Christ) shine through the haze of all the lies and contradictory worldviews Satan has obscured the world with?

As I mentioned earlier, I believe it may take divine intervention to penetrate the stony hearts of this generation. I believe we are that generation in which will see the Lord return for His Church. I also believe the Church will be a remnant, with little strength remaining, when the Rapture does occur (Rev. 3:10). While God allows a strong delusion to overtake the world after the Rapture, (2 Thess 2:11), we also know there are countless others who come to faith, from all tongues, tribes, and nations as well (Rev. 7:9). Perhaps it is the Rapture event itself that strips away this threadbare satanic illusion and finally opens the eyes of those blinded by the pseudo-fake-faux belief systems out there masquerading as Christianity.

Given the liberty this website and many ministries have enjoyed these past few decades to give one final curtain call to a world on the verge of destruction, this labor is of the Lord. It has to be

because Scripture states the whole world is under the sway of the wicked one (1 John 5:19) and if Satan had his way, our ministries would have been silenced decades ago. We are warning of the lateness of the hour and by declaring what Scripture says ahead of time, so when it happens, it validates the truthfulness of God’s Word and some might believe as to be saved.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:50-58