Capt. Kirk said:
Do you feel the Great Apostasy is event driven or the result of a process? After two score
years I still don't have a clue. I'd appreciate any input from those who have thought about this.
The Process you see that is confusing the issue is the ever growing Laodicean dominance amongst western Christian denominations.
While many so called conservative theologies blame the corruption of the Body of Christ on the so called liberal theologies they are fighting the wrong enemy.
The real enemy in this era is the so called faith movement which delivers a health, wealth and prosperity message which teaches its adherents that all they have to do to obtain health, wealth and prosperity is demand it of God by speaking it, believe in faith that they have it and God must give it to them for God must fulfill that which He has promised to His children in His written Word without fail.
The foundation of these teachings is not even in the Scriptures but comes from the teachings of William Clement Stone and Napoleon Hill in a book written in the 1930s called “Think and Grow Richâ€Â.
I am familiar with a church in the US with over 10,000 members where the leader never speaks about Christ and never offers a salvation message.
This church takes in $70 plus million per yr between church collections and the mail. This church leader sees his ministry as being a Life Coach teaching people how to prosper in this life rather then as a Shepard of God’s flock.
This MAN TEACHES THE SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLES OF LIFE WITHOUT THE PERSON OF CHRIST BEING INVOLVED because he does not want to be negative.
This church is but one of many today which cater to the fleshly desires of their followers rather then sharing with them the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
These so called faith teachings are the fastest growing groups in today’s Christian Body and this is why our Lord spoke of them as follows.
Mat 13:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
Mar 4:18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
Mar 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Those attending these churches do not know that they do not know, they are not just ignorant of their true condition they are convinced that they are not in need of anything and thus are immune to correction. Thus our Lord describes them as follows.
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth
Being lukewarm is akin to the condition that the Pharisees found them selves in as our Lord walked and preached amongst them.
Mat 9:10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.
Mat 9:11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
Mat 9:12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
The Pharisees believed that their righteousness came from their keeping the Law of Moses and that there was no sin in them. Therefore they had no need of the righteousness that Christ was offering them for they already had their own.
The Pharisees like the Laodiceans did not know that they did not know.
While the Laodicean corruption of the Faith is much slower in growth then the Great Apostasy it is in fact the preparer of the ground for the Great Apostasy.
The Great Apostasy itself however is event driven and will begin at a specific and identifiable time. The length of the Great Apostasy is determined by how long after the Great Apostasy begins that our Lord appears too finish His work.