How to Get Joy When Your Spouse is Dying (An Answer to Pat Robertson) True Worldview from Dr. Paul Dean

Perhaps no recent statement has better captured so glaringly the bent of our culture than Pat Robertson’s advice to a man whose wife has Alzheimer’s: “he should divorce her and start all over again.” This counsel has generated great outrage and much scrutiny to be sure. But it’s that same cruel sentiment of self-centeredness that underlies most of the decisions we make and attitudes we take in this culture as a whole and in our everyday lives as individuals. All Robertson has done is to reveal just how much we’ve bought into the spirit of the age without realizing it. If you stand in the rain long enough, you’ll get soaked. And what’s worse, not only have we bought into the self-centered spirit of the age, even if we’re appalled by Robertson’s statement as we should be, it’s our captivity to that spirit that robs us of real joy when we are  going through a tragic time in our lives.

It was a man seeing another woman because his wife has Alzheimer’s that prompted the question Robertson was answering. Such self-centeredness is not unusual when dealing with an ailing or dying spouse. In twenty years of pastoral ministry, I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, and there’s a lot of ugly in these kinds of circumstances. This man has abandoned his wife through adultery and Robertson has advised him to abandon her through divorce. But I’ve seen others abandon their spouses by sticking them in nursing homes and forgetting about them, by ignoring them in their greatest moments of need, by getting on with their lives and leaving the care of their life-partners to others, by refusing to spend time with them or visit them if they have to be in a health-care facility of some kind, by expressing anger and frustration at them for things beyond their control, by not seeking to understand what’s going on with their ailing loved ones or how to deal with it in a caring way, and so much more.

I had a woman tell me some time back she couldn’t give her husband his much needed medication during the night because she needed her sleep. How much sleep does a new mother get? A man told me he didn’t want his wife coming home from the hospital for some recuperation before an upcoming surgery because he didn’t want to have to physically help her out of bed two or three times a day. Inability is one thing but unwillingness is something else. And these sentiments are not that uncommon; that’s the cultural air we breathe.

We’re told in the Scriptures that “in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves” (2 Tim. 3:1-2). When a Christian minister tells a man to forsake his vows before God and abandon his wife in her greatest hour of need, we do indeed live in perilous times; we do indeed love ourselves more than God and others. And that is exactly the wrong way to find peace and joy: to focus on self and abandon God and others.

Such focus is the complete opposite of the gospel. Robertson said this man’s wife with Alzheimer’s was dead to him. The gospel tells us that God loved us when we were unlovable. He demonstrated His great love for us by dying for us while we were dead to Him (Rom. 5:8). And marriage is a picture of the gospel and Christ’s love for His bride, the church; He will never leave us or forsake us. To forsake your spouse is to deny the very thing marriage is to display: God’s unfailing love for His people. It is to deny the reality of God Himself.

Think about this: what puts God’s character and power on display more: abandoning one’s wife because he’s not happy (for obviously God wants us to be happy); or giving all you have to care for your wife because she can’t care for herself? But here’s an equally significant question: from where does real joy come? Doesn’t it come from glorifying God; from putting His character on display and finding your satisfaction in Him? Jesus is the true water that satisfies (Jn. 4:10); the true bread that alleviates your hunger (Jn. 6:51); and the true treasure in the field (Matt. 13:44). In Him is pleasure forever (Ps. 16:11).

Does joy come in chasing personal pleasures at the expense of others? Is there ultimate peace in that? Does one lay up treasure in heaven by chasing after a new woman because he’s tired of the old one? Ponder carefully these words: “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Heb. 11:24-26). That’s (how you find joy when your spouse is dying: you trust the promises and God and live them out; you know and believe that chasing personal pleasure at the expense of God and others brings only a momentary happiness; you know and believe that even suffering under the providential care of Christ is better than the temporary pleasure of sin; and you keep your eyes on the reward which is Christ Himself and l ife (joy) in Him long after your momentary suffering is over.

Our culture has sold us a lie. Is it really all about me? Isn’t this self-focus rooted in evolutionary thought; in survival of the fittest (me)? Isn’t abandoning your spouse with Alzheimer’s because, as Robertson says, “she’s gone” the same logic as the promoters of abortion use? They argue an unborn, and depending upon whose making the argument, even a live-born baby isn’t able to operate at the same mental level as you or me and is therefore not a fully-functioning person and is therefore able to be discarded without any moral consequences. If inconvenient babies can be aborted, why can’t inconvenient spouses be abandoned? Such is the lie Satan is selling in clever disguise in the thousand ways we are selfish every day. God says the way to find joy is to do nothing “through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, consider others better than yourself. Look out not only for your own interests, but also fo r the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:3-5).

My wife told me the other day if I was stricken by something catastrophic that she would not abandon me. If she had to help me out of bed she would do her best. She said we might hit the floor together but she would be there for me. I would do the same for her. Not caring for her would never enter my mind. None of us want to have to go through these things, but if my wife and I have to for one reason or another, and we end up hitting the floor together, what a day of joy that will be – because we’ll be living out the gospel – together.

You can read more by Dr. Paul Dean at  http://www.trueworldview.com

 

God’s Desire, and a Warning and a Plea to Mankind By Ray Yungen

Just what exactly is God’s desire for mankind? Does He want to send people to Hell? Does He want anyone to live eternally without Him? Scripture is very clear about this when it says:

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (II Peter 3:9)
God makes a strong plea to all people, giving them every opportunity to receive Him. It is God’s desire that none should perish eternally. That’s why he offered His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ—the only perfect sacrifice for mankind’s sin:

Therefore as by the offence of one [Adam] judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [Jesus] the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. (Romans 5:18)

What it comes down to is the preaching of the higher self versus the preaching of the Cross. The New Age is saying that God is the higher self in man—that God is just a meditation away.

Many people are turned off when they think Christian teaching says we are bad and worthless. But this is not so. It may teach that man is bad (which is evident) but certainly not worthless. The fact that Christ died for the “ungodly” to “reconcile” them to God shows God’s love toward man. In contrast to karma, the Gospel of grace is better in that if you accept its provision, you are complete (perfect) in Christ Jesus.

This is why Christianity is so steadfast on these issues. If a belief system is not preaching the Cross, then it is not “the power of God” (I Corinthians 1:18). If other ways are correct, then Christ died in vain, His blood shed unnecessarily.

It is very true that God loves mankind, so much so He sent His Son to save all who receive Him by faith. The Lord is very patient with man, and as “the day of the Lord” draws nearer and nearer, He continues beckoning humanity to Himself.

However, while God’s love, mercy, and patience are very enduring, His warnings about a great judgment coming upon the earth are to be taken very seriously. Those who refuse to bow their knee to Jesus Christ will suffer severe and eternal consequences—make no mistake, that day will come:
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. (II Peter 3:7)

Jesus said, in referring to His return “of that day and hour knoweth no man” (Matthew 24:36). But He also said that while we will not know the exact hour and day of His return, we should be watching for the signs of the coming tribulation period. Throughout the centuries, Christians generally thought they were living in a time when Christ’s return was imminent based on natural disasters, wars, upheaval, and prominent military leaders (e.g., Napoleon). But never in the history of humanity has occultism and mysticism been unleashed as it has now. The apostle Paul, in making reference to this time period, said:

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. (I Thessalonians 5:2-6)

Many think that the New Age movement is only a recent manifestation. But I believe that the words of the prophet Isaiah reveal that New Age spirituality was even around back then, although not called that. And he links this Ancient Wisdom in with the end of the age period. Isaiah issues a stern and fearsome warning:

Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth, if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. (Isaiah 47:12-13)

The next verse describes the judgment that these will be subjected to:
Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame. (Isaiah 47:14)

And in Revelation 9:20-21, it discloses:
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries.

The Book of Revelation explains that there are those who in the latter times “blasphemed the name of God” and “repented not to give him [God] glory” (Revelation 16:9) and again, “repented not of their deeds” (vs. 11).

These verses that speak of sorceries portray the “mystery of iniquity” (II Thessalonians 2:7) that is being judged during the tribulation period because its adherents are claiming to be God, and they refuse to give Him the glory but rather take it upon themselves. This will be the ultimate test revealing who the real God is.

This word “sorceries” used in Revelation comes from the greek word pharmakaia. The word is translated into four meanings:

1) the use or the administering of drugs
2) poisoning
3) sorcery, magical arts, often found in connection with idolatry and fostered by it
4) metaphorically the deceptions and seductions of idolatry

I want you to realize the significance of this. The Bible is clear that sorcery will be a pervasive practice, to the point of being epidemic during “the day of the Lord.” And this is what is now called the Ancient Wisdom by its proponents! Alice Bailey said that the Ancient Wisdom would be at the very root of her new vital world religion, which she proudly proclaimed would be universal.

Scripture is very clear that sorceries are practices that will be judged by God. And I have shown in this book, sorcery traditionally throughout the centuries has been practiced by a very small number of persons (i.e., occult or kept secret). But now we have a virtual explosion of sorcery through the various practices and pronouncements as you have now read. What I am talking about is a whole world like the psychic slave girl in Acts (see page 145). From Genesis to Revelation, the pages are filled with God’s warning to mankind when he refuses to acknowledge that the Lord is God and man is not. And throughout these pages are stories of those who mocked and scorned the warnings brought by God’s messengers. The apostle Peter referred to this scenario:

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (II Peter 3: 3-4)

Many people today believe that it is wrong to talk about and warn of an endtime, apocalyptic time period. Rather, they say, we should spend time meditating and employing our higher powers to reach happiness and enlightenment in life. We each have a choice to make. Do we seek after this consciousness, or do we humbly call upon the living God and accept His free gift of salvation and eternal life?

If you don’t already, I pray you will come to know the true Christ (Jesus Christ) before it is too late. I cannot emphasize enough the vital importance of understanding and believing the following verse:
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)

By saying this, Jesus made clear that it was by Him and not a mystical consciousness that we are saved.  Compare these four views below. I pray you will see the difference as I did so many years ago!

I AM GOD! This is THE most basic tenant of metaphysical spiritual understanding.3
—A metaphysical teacher

You are God in a physical body.. . .You are all power.. . . You are all intelligence.. . . You are the creator.4—The Secret

[T]here is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:21-22)
He that hath the Son [not higher consciousness] hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (I John 5:12)

(from For Many Shall Come in My Name

by Ray Yungen, chapter 12)

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletters/2011/newsletter20110913.htm

For more from Lighthouse Trails Research go to http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/

Muslim Extremists in Sudan Threaten to Target Christians

Pastors in north fear increased persecution from local and foreign Islamic extremists.

KHARTOUM, Sudan, September 13 (CDN) — Muslim extremists have sent text messages to at least 10 church leaders in Khartoum saying they are planning to target Christian leaders, buildings and institutions, Christian sources in Khartoum said.


“We want this country to be purely an Islamic state, so we must kill the infidels and destroy their churches all over Sudan,” said one text message circulating in Khartoum last month. The text messages were sent in July and August.


Church leaders here said they fear more persecution as they and their flocks become targets of local Islamists. In addition, Muslim extremists from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh arrive in Sudan every two weeks to undergo training in secret camps in Khartoum before they are sent to various parts of Sudan to preach Islam and demolish church buildings, according to a Christian source in Khartoum.


On July 18 a group of Muslim extremists attacked the home of Anglican Church of Sudan Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail in an attempt to kill him and two other pastors, Luka Bulus and Thomas Youhana, who all happened to be out of the house at the time, sources said. No one was hurt, but the assailants left a threatening letter warning them of similar attacks.


Bulus is a supporter of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement, a southern Sudan militant group long locked in battle with northern government forces, further making him a target of Islamic extremists. Bishop Elnail, whose church building the Sudanese military burned in June in war-torn Kadugli of South Kordofan region, oversees Nuba Mountain Episcopal churches as head of the Kadugli Episcopal Diocese.


Bulus confirmed the July 18 house attack, which took place in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, at around 7 p.m., by telephone from his hiding place. Muslim extremists are still searching for him, the sources said.


“We are aware of your anti-Islamic activities,” the letter left in Bishop Elnail’s home states. “We have been monitoring the evangelization that you carry out these days, and therefore we declare Jihad against you.”


The letter left on the gate of the bishop’s house asserts that Sudan is an Islamic land, and that the authors secretly plan to carry out a series of attacks to destroy church buildings across “Sudan,” which denotes the north following the secession of South Sudan on July 9.


“We declare Jihad against you in order to protect Muslims from your infidel influence, because you are the enemy of Islam,” it states.


Christian sources in Khartoum said they take the threats seriously.


“These people are not joking – they can kill any Christian,” said a church leader who requested anonymity for security reasons.


Elnail of the Kadugli Episcopal Diocese told a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on Africa on Aug. 4 that he was not sure he would be alive if he had not been called to Washington, D.C. to testify.


“I am told that armed men went house to house, searching for me, calling my name,” Elnail reportedly told the congressional representatives.


In an incident on June 28, Muslim extremists burned down a church building belonging to the Lutheran Evangelical Church of the Sudan at 7:38 p.m. in Omdurman. Christian sources said two people were seen running out of the church building as it went up in flames.


“The Muslims are targeting our church in fear that many Muslims will leave Islam for Christianity,” says a Lutheran Evangelical Church of the Sudan letter, written in Arabic, that was circulated to churches in Khartoum.


The destroyed Evangelical Lutheran Church building was opposite the Ansar Al Suna Mosque, where preachers publicly insult Christianity every Friday, a Christian source said.


Hostilities toward Christians by the Islamic government in Khartoum began to increase last year following a statement by President Omar al-Bashir, when he asserted that his second republic would be based on sharia (Islamic law) and Islamic culture, with Arabic as the official language.


The Rev. Ramadan Chan Liol, general secretary of the Sudan Council of Churches, told Ecumenical News International last month that threats have caused Christians to stay away from some church services, and some government leaders have ordered pastors to close down churches without proper documentation. 

www.compassdirect.org

Somali Convert to Christianity Kidnapped, Beheaded

Islamic extremists from al Shabaab suspected of murdering Christian.

NAIROBI, Kenya, September 12 (CDN) — A kidnapped Christian convert from Islam was found decapitated on Sept. 2 on the outskirts of Hudur City in Bakool region, in southwestern Somalia.


Juma Nuradin Kamil was forced into a car by three suspected Islamic extremists from the al Shabaab terrorist group on Aug. 21, area sources said. After members of his community thoroughly combed the area looking for him, at 2 p.m. on Sept. 2 one of them found Kamil’s body dumped on a street.


The kidnapping and subsequent manner of murder suggests that al Shabaab militants had been monitoring him, Christian leaders said. Muslim extremists from al Shabaab, a militant group with ties to al Qaeda, have vowed to rid Somalia of Christianity, and they control the area some 400 kilometers from Mogadishu.


A Christian who saw Kamil’s body said it bore the marks of an al Shabaab killing, according to a leader in Somalia’s underground church who lives in another city.


“It is usual for the al Shabaab to decapitate those they suspect to have embraced the Christian faith, or sympathizers of western ideals,” the leader said. “Our brother accepted the Christian faith three years ago and was determined in his faith in God. We greatly miss him.”


An area resident said he was on his way to his house when he saw a crowd of stunned people gazing at the corpse.


“I could not immediately comprehend what might have gone wrong, only to learn that someone had been decapitated,” the resident said. “His head was put on his chest.”


A Christian said the area community initially did not bury the body out of fear of al Shabaab extremists seeing them associated with a newly discovered convert to Christianity.


“The community feared burying him, and his body lay in the open for two days before unknown people buried him secretly,” he said.


Another Christian convert who lives in another city said Kamil had become a Christian three years ago.


“This is very sad news for the community,” he said.


A source in Mogadishu with ties to Somalia’s underground church confirmed the murder of Kamil.


With estimates of al Shabaab’s size ranging from 3,000 to 7,000, the insurgents seek to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law), but the transitional government in Mogadishu fighting to retain control of the country treats Christians little better than the al Shabaab extremists do. While proclaiming himself a moderate, President Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed has embraced a version of sharia that mandates the death penalty for those who leave Islam.


Al Shabaab was among several splinter groups that emerged after Ethiopian forces removed the Islamic Courts Union, a group of sharia courts, from power in Somalia in 2006. Al Shabaab has been designated a terrorist organization by several western governments.


In the Lower Shabele region of Somalia earlier this year, two Muslim extremists murdered a member of a secret Christian community, sources said. An area source told Compass two al Shabaab militants shot 21-year-old Hassan Adawe Adan in Shalambod town after entering his house on April 18.


In Warbhigly village on the outskirts of Mogadishu, a mother of four was killed for her Christian faith on Jan. 7 by Islamic extremists from al Shabaab, a relative said. The relative, who requested anonymity, said Asha Mberwa, 36, was killed when the Islamic extremists cut her throat in front of villagers who came out of their homes as witnesses.

Courtesy of www.compassdirect.org

 

RESTING IN HIM by LaTawnia Kintz

“I will rest in You

 I will rest in You

 Not just when this race is over

 but in these earthly moments too

I will rest in You”*

These are the words in a song that I listen to frequently, especially when I am feeling hectic and stressed out. They remind me of the words spoken by Paul in his second letter to Timothy.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” [2 Timothy 2:7 NKJV]

How do we find rest in Jesus when everything seems out of control? It’s easy for us to say we’ll finally have rest when this race is over, but having that rest now is another thing. Or is it?

Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” [John 16:33 NKJV]

When I find myself actually trusting and believing in all that my Savior has said to me in His Word and in my heart, I am at rest in Him. When I start to doubt Him or focus on my circumstances instead of Him then I am no longer resting in Him or His promises.

I think of my brothers and sisters being persecuted for their faith in Christ Jesus. Are they resting in Him today?

One Vietnam pastor, after spending three months in solitary confinement said, “I would not trade this time for the world. It was the sweetest time I have ever had with Jesus.”

“Daniel,” a Chinese Christian said, “We always say, ‘Follow in the steps of the apostles.’ Where are their steps? In difficulties, in persecution.”

And a dear Christian in Bangladesh says, “They can burn down my house, but they can’t burn Jesus from my heart.”

How do we enter His rest that is exemplified by these dear saints of God? We enter it by ceasing from our own works. Does that mean we stop providing for our family and quit our jobs? No! Does it mean we stop showing the love of Christ to those around us? Or does it mean we try to figure out how to fix our problems in our own strength and wisdom? Again, no!

What it does mean is we stop striving to win the love of God by our works and instead believe that He loved us enough to die for our sins so we could have a right relationship with Him. We can then rest in the promise that no one can snatch us out of His hand. [John 10:28] It means we trust in Him with all our heart, mind and soul and don't lean on our own wisdom. If we will allow Him to be Lord of our whole life (that means in every area) He will direct our paths. [Proverbs 3:5-6]

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” [Matthew 11: 28-29 NKJV]

Jesus wasn’t telling those who do hard, physical work to stop. He wasn’t talking about the type of work that keeps a roof over the head of our families. Rather, He is referring to our struggle in trying to earn our way into heaven. There are those who tell us the only way to heaven is to do so much penance here. Or repeat certain phrases for a number of times, or perform so many tasks and even “give” so much money.

Those things will not give anyone rest but they will increase the heavy load that we already carry due to our own sinful nature.

Therefore, when we lay those rituals and rites down at the feet of Jesus, along with all of the sins we carry, and we pick up His yoke [cross] and follow Him, we will find rest for our souls.

King David had a clear picture of resting in Jesus when he wrote the 23rd Psalm. He knew the Lord was not just a shepherd but his Great Shepherd. He knew by following the Lord he would be lead to green pastures and still waters and the Lord would restore him. He knew what it was to rest in Him in the presence of his enemies. He knew the Lord would sustain him.

Christian history is filled with brothers and sisters of Christ who laid down their earthly cares and carried the cross of Christ to all who would receive it. Currently dear saints of Jesus are choosing between their personal lives and a life filled with Christ and resting in His promises.

How do they do that? They do it by believing in the promises of the Lord. He tells us that He is preparing a place for us and that He is going to return for us. We can believe that because He has fulfilled every other promise.

So we can have rest in Him as long as we hold onto His promises and trust Him. We can have peace and be of good cheer; because our Savior has overcome the world. Amen.

*Celtic Cry The Heart of A Martyr CD 

Open Doors SAVE THE DATE!

Save the Date!

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

 
This summer Open Doors is preparing churches for one of the greatest efforts in our country to unite the body of Christ. 

On Sunday, November 13, International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, believers will unite in prayer for Christians who share our faith but not our freedom.

Churches, small groups and families will be given access to a free ONE WITH THEM online experience. It will include videos, touching and sometimes shocking testimonies, extraordinary facts about believers around the world, and guidelines for dynamic group interaction.

This ONE WITH THEM online experience will intensify your walk with God, draw you closer to your friends and family, and connect you with the struggling but courageous worldwide body of Christ. 

Tell your pastors, friends and family to update their calendars for Sunday, November 13. 

Standing in prayer with you,


Dr. Carl A. Moeller



President/CEO Open Doors USA

Open Letter To Evangelical and Protestant Pastors Worldwide Now is the Day to Turn Back to God’s Word

I am posting this commentary for the purpose of warning you, my dear brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church is in danger and our pastors, leaders and teachers are in danger of leading the sheep of God straight to hell. This dear brother in the Lord, Roger Oakland, speaks clearly about the apostasy in the Church. Please take the time to prayerfully read this commentary. May your eyes be open to see clearly how the enemy of our Lord would deceive the elect, if possible.

Because Jesus Christ is returning at anytime!

Commentary by Roger Oakland

www.understandthetimes.org 

 

From: Roger Oakland, Understand The Times

The following letter is to all Bible-believing pastors throughout the world who have been or are being influenced by current trends that are attacking the Word of God through the postmodern humanistic mystical belief system. I have witnessed this deception firsthand on a worldwide basis but am most familiar with what has been happening in the two fellowships I have been part of for the past thirty years - one in Canada and one based in southern California. 

It is with a heavy heart I write this open letter to those who consider themselves evangelical or Protestant pastors. While my desire is to do this respectfully and with the love of the Lord, I am compelled with a strong sense of responsibility to write this warning.

The fact is we are living in a time in history where there is great spiritual apostasy (a falling away), and sadly, many pastors don’t even realize it is happening. Others realize it but don’t know what to do about it, while still others see it but promote it anyway. The purpose of this letter is to shine light on the darkness that has crept into so many churches today.

For many years, I have documented my concerns about this apostasy and presented the evidence to the body of Christ. An article I wrote a few years ago called “Ichabod” described the departing of God’s Spirit from many churches. That article was later followed by the commentary “Is Your Denomination a Sinking Titanic?.” I believe we are witnessing the sinking of the Titanic at the present time. While most are still dancing around in the ballroom, a few have chosen to get off the boat. How many get off in time is the question that remains to be answered.

While I recognize that I am “marked” by some as someone who has caused division within the church, please understand I do not fear any man. I look to Jesus Christ and am committed to tell the truth whatever the cost. I know I have enemies among the “brethren” who insist that I remain silent. I have also been falsely accused and slandered by gossip as a means of discrediting me. 

The Bible teaches that we should never fear man or follow man’s ways. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). We should fear God and His Word alone. Based upon what God revealed to Ezekiel (Chapter 3: 17-20), there is a biblical principal that cannot be overlooked. When God reveals deception and darkness, a watchman must speak out and tell the truth regardless of the circumstances and the consequences.

What I find very alarming is that many pastors who gave warnings in the past about End Times deception seem to have now ceased and become silent. Taking the place of the warnings are teachings or promotion on everything from church-growth, seeker-friendly, contemplative spirituality, Purpose Driven, postmodern/emerging spirituality to even a Catholic/Jesuit agenda. 

These various teachings are not biblical Christianity, and for many pastors who once taught the Bible faithfully, these seductive teachings have pulled these pastors in a direction that negates so much of what they once stood for. It is not uncommon now to hear these pastors espousing those such as Mark Driscoll, Rob Bell, Richard Foster, and Rick Warren, all of whom de-emphasize Bible prophecy of the last days and emphasize the “Kingdom of God on earth” now. 

Some pastors recognize that their own denominations or fellowships have turned or are turning away from the teachings of the Bible, yet so many have remained active participants of these denominations. As the years go by, these pastors do not speak up – they are silent. Is this silence an indication that they have bought into a sensual, carnal, three-legged stool plan that links hands with those such as Rick Warren and Tony Blair and is on the road to Rome for a One World Religion? I fear that for many that is the case. What may have begun as “looking the other way” has become outright rebellion in many cases. This is the way deception often happens.

We are living in the time of strong delusion that Paul wrote about (2 Thessalonians 2:11). If you are a Bible-believing pastor, shouldn’t you be helping to lead the way in warning about deception, not promoting the apostate agenda in any fashion? 

Ecumenism within the church has been allowed to develop for years.

When a pastor does not warn his flock about ecumenical apostasy, it sends the message that exposing apostasy is just not that important. When a church, organization, or denomination starts down the Road to Rome, there is very little chance of turning back – the pull is just too great. Nowhere in the Bible is it acceptable to join hands with those who promote another Jesus and another gospel like that of the Roman Catholic Church.

This is why John warned: come out of her (the harlot) and be set free (Revelation 18:4).

Some Personal Ministry History:

In June 1981, Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary Chapel movement, invited me to fly down from my farm in Saskatchewan, Canada to speak at Costa Mesa at a four-night conference called “The Bible: Key to Understanding Science, History and the Future.” Seven years later, in the fall of 1988, Chuck Smith asked me to join the staff at Costa Mesa. My family moved to Orange County, California from Saskatchewan, Canada.

My position at Costa Mesa involved being an outreach from CCCM as an apologist in the area of creation and evolution. I also showed the association of the New Age Movement and its relationship to Bible Prophecy. 

In 1991, after being on staff for three years, Understand The Times was founded as an independent ministry, separate from CCCM. However, UTT was still closely associated with CCCM and was given missionary support. The UTT association with Calvary Chapel pastors and missionaries encompassed the world for about twenty years.

During a fifteen year time period, UTT had an office on church property at CCCM from time to time. Understand The Times had a five-minute radio program that aired on KWAVE and CSN for over ten years. I also had close relationships with members of the Smith family including Chuck’s brother Paul and his son Jeff. 

While many of my experiences and associations with those in Calvary Chapel had been good over the years, I observed many serious problems in the Calvary Chapel movement, especially in the last five years. Many Calvary Chapel pastors I know have admitted they also see these same warning signs, but most have not felt they could speak out. 

The reason I am writing this letter as an open letter to all pastors is because I believe that many of the problems I witnessed while part of the Calvary Chapel movement are the same problems that many other Christian organizations and denominations are experiencing today. And many of these kinds of problems lead to deception and apostasy. 

Common Problems in the Churches:

Today many evangelical and Protestant pastors are operating on the principal or idea that if their churches are small, there is something wrong with them. The “doctrine of big” has replaced the doctrine of being faithful to the Word of God. Along with this doctrine of big comes the subtle attitude that any “offensiveness” must be removed from the church. Thus, a watered-down gospel takes effect; and thus, people in the churches are not hearing the true  Gospel. Crosses are removed, Bibles are left at home, hymns are stopped, and talk about the blood of Jesus and His atonement for our sin ceases.

As Bible-believing Christians, we should be able to discern that there is a flaw in this doctrine of big. As churches get bigger, more funds are required to accommodate bigger budgets. The bigger the budget the bigger the offering is needed to meet the budget, and big donors become more and more important. Now you have a situation where the pastor preaches carefully so as not to create controversy. Controversy can cause powerful donors to leave. Pastors who once feared God now become man-fearing where doctrine is determined by men and their motives, and not by God’s Spirit and His Word.

 

Over the past two decades, I believe the Lord led me to author or co-author six books warning about the ecumenical one world religion movement and how it is impacting Evangelical Protestant Christianity. These were: (1) New Wine or Old Deception (2) When New Wine Makes a Man Divine (3) New Wine and the Babylonian Vine (4) How Marian Apparitions Plan to Unite the World’s Religions (5) Another Jesus: The Eucharistic Christ and the New Evangelization (6) Faith Undone: The Emerging Church - a New Reformation or an End Time Deception. God has put in my heart all these years a passion to warn of impending spiritual danger.

On March 6, 2011, I attended the Peace in a Globalized Society Forum that was held at Saddleback. Rick Warren and Tony Blair both explained what they are doing to set up a one-world religious program for peace. Yet even though it has become most apparent to many discerning Christians what is taking place with Rick Warren and his “new” reformation, very few pastors are publically denouncing the Purpose Driven Peace Plan. In fact, prominent pastors like John Piper are embracing Rick Warren and his teachings.

The Jesuit Connection

As I have written in some of my books, Ignatius Loyola was the founder of the Order of the Jesuits in the Catholic Church. The Jesuit goal is to turn the inerrant Word of God into the word of man while at the same time promoting the word of the pope as the word of God. In addition, the Jesuit ambition is to bring the “lost brethren” back to the “Mother” church (read Another Jesus). This is no minor thing. I have been to the city of Rome. I have seen the multitudes worship and adore a man (the Pope) who carries a wafer and a vial of juice that is supposed to be Jesus. Martyrs in earlier centuries were murdered for rejecting the papacy and the Eucharist. And yet today, I am horrified to watch once Bible-believing pastors turn their hearts and their congregations toward Rome, often through a Jesuit influence. Instances of this are occurring more every day.

Now that Rick Warren and Tony Blair (who converted to Catholicism) have announced they will be working together to set up a One World Religion as they did on March 6, 2011 in southern California, how will Christian pastors respond to this? Or will they at all? History shows, most probably won’t.

What is known as fact is this: the emerging/postmodern, Purpose Driven ecumenical, contemplative mindset in the Evangelical or Protestant Christian church has not gone away. And it is not popular to speak against this growing apostasy. It is a lot easier to go down stream than upstream. The Bible foretells we are in the Last Days. What do you as Christian pastors want to be: dead salmon washed out to sea or true fishers of men?

Check out the Bible! There will be a One World Religion. Do you want to be part of the problem, or do you want to be standing up for truth? The latter is not easy and carries with it a high price.

A Wake Up Call to Pastors

Teaching and preaching the Word of God is a high calling. You should always be true to your calling and remain true to the Word. And yet, many know that something is seriously wrong, but they say nothing.

 

Saying nothing can be as detrimental as outrightly supporting the lie. It is time to wake up! We are in the last days, and many sheep are being deceived, and pastors have a huge role in that deception taking place. When the sheep have the wool pulled over their eyes, they cannot see. This is not acceptable. What about the wolves who are among the flock? Good shepherds should never allow that to happen.

While there still remain faithful Christian pastors who look to Jesus Christ as their Good Shepherd and still believe in the inerrant Word of God, the fact that so many pastors have moved away from the basics of biblical Christianity toward a man-made apostate church will result in much of the flock drifting with them.

And may I say this to any believer who now realizes his or her own pastor is compromising the Word of God and embracing apostate teachings: If you have done what you can to warn and exhort your pastor(s) to turn back to the truth, and if your warnings and exhortations are rejected, perhaps it is time to get out of that church. Paul addressed this when he said:  “A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject” Titus 3:10.

Deception has crept in, unnoticed to many, and even at times been purposely covered up. Jude warned this was happening in his day (Jude 4). The same is true in the perilous days in which we live (2 Timothy 3: 1-5).

As of last fall, I am no longer affiliated with the Calvary Chapel movement, although I am still friends with and associate with some of the pastors, ones who have sought to remain faithful to the Lord and His Word.


As do many leaders in the body of Christ, Calvary Chapel pastors who have veered need to get right, and they need to do it quickly. According to the Word, our redemption draweth nigh, and He could return for those who are ready at any moment.

If you are a pastor who has succumbed to the present-day spiritual apostasy, get back to the Word of God, and preach it, and teach it! If your congregation shrinks, so what! Better to have a few who are solid and can go out and be fruitful for the Lord than have a mega church full of participants of a social gospel that is being prepared for the coming One World Religion.


While the large-scale move toward apostasy has been taking place for some time, and postmodern/emerging, Purpose-Driven ideas are widely accepted, there still may be time if pastors will repent and return to the purity of the Gospel and God’s Word.

Many pastors reading this open letter who belong to an organization or denomination may feel fearful about leaving the security of such a “covering.” Perhaps you have never been out from under that umbrella. But at some point, you are going to have to ask yourself the question, Am I really “counting all things but loss” in order to gain Christ (Philippians 3:8)? Am I taking up my cross and following Him, no matter the cost (Matthew 16:24)? I have heard stories now of pastors (both in the Calvary Chapel movement and in other groups and denominations) who finally did make that decision to separate themselves from any apostate associations. If you are one of those, continue on with the ministry God has given you and follow Jesus Christ alone. You can never go wrong by being obedient to Jesus and His Word.

The Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon. May we be found ready and waiting. 

Sincerely in Christ,

Roger Oakland

Understand The Times

P.S.

Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion...Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD. Isaiah 52:8, 11 

But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Matthew 15:13-14