The whole of the world is on the backside of what appears to be the first real endtime “labor pain.” I realize that the Lord’s list of prophetic contractions include wars, rumors of wars, political uprisings, racial tensions, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places; and though we’ve always had these pains flaring up and settling down throughout the world for the last 2,000 years, there has yet to be a single contraction that affected the entire world all at once. Not even World War 2 touched the entire world. This coronavirus pandemic has been different because it is the first time the pain of one of the Lord’s prophesied contractions has been felt by the entire world—simultaneously. Furthermore, not since the Tower of Babel has the entirety of the world’s population and their leaders moved together in unity and agreement. And though the unified movements and strategies of world leaders have all been done in the name of peace, safety, and health, it has, strangely enough, been the most wide-spread suppression of personal liberties in human history.

THIS HAS BEEN A TEST
If we assume that the COVID-19 pandemic is the first real labor pain, then it appears to have been a test by the spirit of the world to measure the current condition of mankind’s heart, observing how the peoples of the earth would respond to coming plans and strategies of biblically prophesied globalism. Think of it like a plumber pressure-testing a new waterline in search of possible leaks. The air test allows for any leaks to be detected and repaired before charging the system with the real deal—water. It appears that this pandemic, this international end-time contraction, has been pressurizing humanity to check for leaks in three key arenas: 1) susceptibility to fear, 2) nationalism, and 3) openness to new doctrines of discipleship. This has been a test for the righteous and the unrighteous alike.

FEAR
Perhaps just as devasting as the actual virus has been the fear-driven response. No doubt, fear is the flavor of the day being fanned and proclaimed by every form of media. People seem to even be encouraging each other to embrace fear as the only acceptable and justifiable response. To even suggest that you’re not afraid is to openly invite criticism, disgust, and ridicule. To obey the Bible and resist snuggling under the blanket of fear in the land today is to be called a selfish, science-denying, hyper-religious kook. Fear was once looked down upon, while courage was held in high regard. Behold, we live in the day when fear is embraced and promoted as noble while courage is rebuffed with calls to “love thy neighbor.”

The danger with such a promotion and acceptance of fear is simple: fearful people are easy to control. Like the clichéd action-movie line invites, “Follow me, if you want to live,” fearful people are willing to follow anybody and do anything to stay alive. Psychology has long understood that fear is the key to getting people to accept choices that would normally be deemed repugnant or immoral. When the choices presented are either A) death, or B) something disgusting and offensive, situational ethics and the desire to live kick-in and choice A is avoided, even if choice B requires apostasy. The result is a population that shifts its cultural values further away from God and deeper into pragmatic secular humanism.

If I were the antichrist, I’d be pretty pleased at how susceptible the world has proven themselves to be to a global pandemic of fear. How about you, dear reader? How have you been handling this pressure test? Have you held solid to the Bible and the promise that we’ve not been given the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a disciplined mind? Or have you been caught up in the riptide of fear pouring forth from television, internet, and that anxiety mill called social media? Remember, fearful people are easily controlled, but God has called us to peace.

NATIONALISM
If I were the antichrist and I wanted to rule the whole world, but I wasn’t sure just how open to a “one-world government” the world’s citizens were yet, I’d probably poll them just like a politician would (when considering a bid for the White House). I’d probably want to know just how much allegiance Americans still had towards America, and just how much do Germans still love Germany. I’d want to know just how Russian the Russians are, and how much patriotism there is among Chileans. Because in order to get all the nations to follow me, I’d have to position them to despise their own country enough to renounce its best interests in favor of my agenda.

Well, as it turns out, for all the talk of a one-world government, open borders, and an international currency, the world does still very much believe in their nations and the security of their borders. As we have all observed, as soon as COVID-19 began to break out, nation by nation began to shut down (not open up), expel foreign nationals (not provide refuge), and enact secure border control (not tear down walls). Although there have now been a few European voices calling for the establishment of a single international leader to oversee a unified worldwide response to similar future events, thankfully it appears as though the world still has a massive “leak” in this arena—for now. It seems the world is not as neighborly as they pretend to be.

If I were the antichrist, I would move to plug this leak by a great social and academic push for globalism. The world is still too fiercely national and independent. . . for now, at least. I believe we will see a renewed push for globalism and borderless societies all in the name of “the greater good.”

OPENNESS TO DISCIPLESHIP
At first, this concept may seem odd, but I believe it will make itself apparent. Discipleship is, at its simplest, receiving a set of teachings by which you can live your life. The spirit of this world is constantly putting forth its wicked teachings and ideologies for people to take up and live by. The god of this world, in preparation for the antichrist’s rise to power, needs his own set of disciples and he needs a population open to his way of doing things. As it stands, mankind, including many Christians, have been very resistant to God’s form of discipleship. How else do you explain Christians going to church for 20 years and still living like the world? It would almost appear that modern man can’t be discipled. However, this COVID-19 pressure test has proven something quite damning about the world’s population, and even many Christians: most people can be discipled very rapidly when it’s important to them. After all, “Follow me, if you want to live.”

Consider how many Christians, after having been fruitlessly discipled by their pastors for years and are still resistant to regular church attendance, service, tithing, evangelism, or even just clean living, have now in a matter of weeks, been effectively discipled by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), politicians, celebrities, and social media to 1) keep social distance, 2) stay at home, 3) wear a facemask, 4) don’t shake hands or hug, and 5) tattle on any neighbor who refuses to do 1-4. I believe God is taking note, and He has observed (though He knew it all along) that we can in fact be discipled and changed into a different person. We can learn new tricks, no matter how old we are, no matter who we are, no matter how set we have grown in our ways. This pressure test has proven to God that mankind is still capable of being discipled. We just may not want to be discipled after His laws.

I also see another area where the world’s behavior has manifested to their own condemnation—lawlessness. Lawlessness is the picking and choosing of what laws you will and will not obey. Lawlessness is not the total abandonment of every law; just the refusal to keep the ones that stand in your way. Paul prophesied that the hidden agenda of lawlessness was already at work in the earth. Americans can be described as very lawless. It often seems like our unofficial national motto is: Who are you to tell me what to do? From all practical observations it would appear that modern man is incapable of following the rules, but alas, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that mankind is not just capable of keeping laws but can, in fact, be very zealous of laws, especially brand news laws that guarantee their survival. What happened to our lawless society that proudly challenged the status quo, questioning the government’s wisdom, regularly marching in protest against some newly discovered injustice, and daring anyone to take away their rights? As it turns out, we do know how to follow laws, if they promise us life. Apparently, we will follow any law that can help us live.

To be clear, I’m not against anyone taking necessary measures to decrease the spread of sickness and disease. The enthusiastic practice of social distancing isn’t the problem. The real problem is that many Christians could care less about practicing God’s rules for the Godkind-of-life but prove themselves to be zealous new converts and even evangelists for social distancing. In short, the world has demonstrated to God Almighty that they are capable of both submitting to discipleship and obeying laws . . . just not His laws. How have you, dear reader, been handling this pressure test? Have you found yourself still resistant to biblical discipleship yet eager to embrace the CDC’s new norms?

YOUR SYSTEM TEST
If I am accurate and COVID-19 is the first of the real end-time contractions, then there are many more contractions to come. Don’t forget, once contractions start, they only increase in frequency and intensity. The next contraction may be a war, a national race riot, a famine, or another pandemic. These contractions promise to disrupt life as we know it. When a woman goes into labor, every fiber of her being knows it. Even her little toe knows that things are changing (and even that little toe will cringe to help push the baby out).

Where has your life been tested during this global event? Was it your marriage? Your finances? Your faith in God? Your faithfulness to practice the daily Christian disciplines of prayer and Bible study? Did old habits and addictions flare back up? Did you pass those tests, or did you notice some leaks? Those leaks won’t fix themselves. They’ll only grow larger. What will you do to fix those leaks? The next contraction is coming. We don’t know when. We don’t know what kind. We just know that Jesus prophesied it so, and therefore it must come. Is your house in order? The more biblical and disciplined your family, home, and life are, the less these labor pains will disrupt them. If you have found yourself grossly unprepared for this lesser event, what will you do when things intensify? Remember the words of Jesus Christ and follow Him, if you want to live.

Paul opens his epistle to the Philippians with a prayer that must surely sound odd to the modern Western Christian: I pray that your love would abound more and more in . . . all judgment. This prayer reveals a great heresy that has arisen within the Body of Christ. That heresy? That Christians aren’t to judge. This heresy stems from an even greater misunderstanding concerning the biblical doctrine of judgment. From the above verse, it is very clear that biblical love must include “all” forms of judgment. Unfortunately, many of today’s believers have been discipled by the world into adopting the mantra, “Who am I to judge?” (as well as its other variations, e.g., “Jesus said we’re not supposed to judge,” “Don’t be so judgy,” and “They’re so judgmental”). Until the true followers of Jesus Christ know the scriptural teachings on the subject of judgment, we will always be cowered into a corner by the pagans wondering how, if I shouldn’t judge, do I declare right from wrong? (And, by the way, who’s going to tell all the adjectives in the English language they’re no longer needed)? With this article, I intended to answer the following questions: How did the Church and the nation get to this place? How did the Western Church go from being truthful and established to being fluent in doublespeak, so weakly thin-skinned, and shamefully compromising with God’s absolute truth? Answering these questions is quite easy, but to do so we must take a brief stroll through the history of American psychology.

In the 1960’s psychology established a stronghold in American culture, forever impacting people who were sure to never visit a mental health professional. One of the most prominent psychologists of the day was Dr. Carl Rogers (1902-1987). Rogers was raised in a tight-knit, devout Pentecostal Christian family. However, in 1922, after a 6-month trip to Peking, China where he attended an international Christian conference, he began to doubt his faith. Ultimately, he rejected his Christian faith and pursued “a more modern religious viewpoint.”   He obtained his PhD from Columbia University in 1931 and began his career in psychology.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Rogers made three major contributions to psychology and American culture. His first major contribution came in the 1940’s when he, together with psychologist Abraham Maslow, developed what came to be known as humanistic or third force psychology, a therapy method that focuses on allowing the client to solve their own problems with minimal help from the therapist’s guide—also known as non-directive therapy. Rogers’ second contribution came in 1956 when he originated the wildly popular concept of “unconditional positive regard” (more on that ahead). Finally, by the 1960’s, Rogers and Maslow began promoting and experimenting with “encounter groups.” This was to be Rogers’ final culture-altering contribution.

He has been called “the most influential psychologist you’ve never heard of.” But what was his influence? What did he do to influence modern culture? And what does this have to do with modern Christianity? As we will see, his three most famous contributions to psychology—non-directive therapy, unconditional positive regard, and encounter groups—have been three of the most toxic and destructive forces ever unleashed on the American culture, the effects of which can be seen and felt in every home, classroom, and sanctuary across America.

Non-directive Therapy

Developed in the 1940’s, this form of psychotherapeutic approach refrains from giving “direction,” advice, or interpretation to the client/patient. The client is helped to identify conflicts, and to clarify and understand feelings and values. In short, Rogers’ non-directive approach rejected the notion that the therapist should act as the expert or authority, providing advice, instruction, counsel, or judgment. Rather, Rogers proposed that people should rely less on the judgment of experts and turn inward to themselves, solving their own problems. He believed people are their best expert and are prone to always producing good—if given the right environment. The therapist follows the client, allowing the client to choose the path that they (the client) feel is best for them. Non-directive therapy is based on a non-judgmental approach. The therapist cannot judge the choice the client has chosen. If the client’s chosen path or solution is right for the client, who is the therapist to judge? This form of therapy shuns any form of absolute morality. The result is an obvious reinforcement of moral relativism. This form of therapy is rooted in the belief that man knows what’s best for man. This therapy relies upon, and therefore, aims to foster an atmosphere of “unconditional positive regard.”

Unconditional Positive Regard

The philosophy of unconditional positive regard (UPR) evolved from Rogers’ view that man is inherently good, trustworthy, and noble. For these reasons he stated that man has a natural propensity to march towards growth, health, independence, and “self-actualization,” or, fulfilling one’s potential and achieving the highest level of “human-beingness.” Rogers called this “becoming your potentialities.” When this process of “becoming your potentialities” is thwarted, an individual becomes damaged and develops coping mechanisms, which then require counseling. Rogers believed mankind has an innate urge towards “socially constructive behavior,” which is always present and functioning to some degree. He also believed that mankind had a need for “self-determination,” or a strong desire to behave in healthy and effective ways. The more that individual need to “self-determine” is respected, valued, and nurtured, the more a person’s urge to be socially constructive will flourish. In essence, leave people alone and they will do what is right and become what is better. Unconditional positive regard is the attitude and lifestyle that, according to Rogers, would allow a person to become his full potentiality. Unconditional positive regard is, therefore, “the valuing of a person as doing their best to move forward in their lives constructively and respecting the person’s right to self-determine no matter what they choose to do.” According to Rogers:

The central hypothesis of this approach can be briefly stated. It is that the individual has within him or her self vast resources for self-understanding, for altering her or his self-concept, attitudes, and self-directed behavior—and that these resources can be tapped if only a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided. (1)

At first glance it would seem that this philosophy is rooted in compassion. In reality, however, Rogerian therapy brainwashes the public to accept the unacceptable. One famous story from Rogers’ past reveals his UPR philosophy in action:

One day, he was leading a therapy group for adolescents hospitalized in a psychiatric ward.  When a boy disclosed that he had raped his sister, a teenage girl expressed revulsion.  Rogers turned on the girl, chastising her for being judgmental.

Rogers’ UPR philosophy essentially taught America that judging others limited their ability to succeed. Rogers’ school of thought dared Americans to “judge” and refused to paint morals in an absolute light. In essence, what sounds like the biblical unconditional love is really just another humanistic philosophy that totally rejects any kind of absolute truth. Today, unconditional positive regard is the foundation stone of many psychotherapies.

Encounter Groups

Encounter groups were sessions of “truth-telling and ice-breaking group exercises” that broke down social inhibitions, fostered a false sense of intimacy, and opened the way for the engineering of group consent through the harnessing of small group peer pressure. These “encounter groups” were also called “training groups” or “T-groups.” Carl Rogers reportedly described encounter groups as “…the most significant social invention of the century.” The T-group was originally developed by the founder of group psychotherapy, Jacob L. Moreno, and further enhanced by the Office of Naval Research (for psychological warfare) and the National Education Association as a tool to change the behavior, morals, standards, and attitudes of the participants. The T-group evolved into “encounter groups,” but retained the same fundamental techniques commonly referred to as the “dialectic process” and more accurately called “the manipulation of small group peer pressure.” In the dialectic process, individuals engage in a group discussion, and through conversation and sharing, are subtly moved towards giving up their confidence in their fixed beliefs. Contradictions in beliefs and opinions among the group provide a mixing pot of ideas. Through the group’s innate social pressure and which is aided by the group facilitator’s oversight (read: manipulation), the individuals give up their previously accepted belief system in exchange for the new mixing pot “truth” (or consensus) the group has developed through their “dialogue and conversation.” In essence, the participant loses their individuality and identity and can only find new identity in the group. This technique inherently rejects the biblical doctrine of moral absolutism, absolute truth, and the value of the individual while replacing it with relativism, humanism, and communitarianism—the truth now being whatever you decide it to be in the moment resulting in the valuing of the group over the individual.

Though Rogers didn’t develop encounter groups, he and Abraham Maslow were instrumental in promoting and experimenting with their effects throughout the 1960’s. In the early 1960’s Rogers began circulating a paper called “The Process of the Encounter Group” to several religious organizations. Rogers famously unleashed encounter groups at Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic convent in California, which resulted in widespread lesbianism among the nuns, hundreds of nuns forsaking their vows, and the eventual disintegration of the entire convent (2). It became readily apparent by the late 1960’s that encounter groups were especially toxic to anyone adhering to strict morality and religious beliefs. Encounter groups were easily tearing down the faith and morality of the religiously pious. Abraham Maslow observed:

“I guess what I’m trying to say here,…is that these interpersonal therapeutic growth-fostering relationships [encounter groups] of all kinds which rest on intimacy, on honesty, on self-disclosure, on becoming sensitively aware of one’s self—and thereby of responsibility for feeding back one’s impression of others, etc.— that these are profoundly revolutionary devices, in the strict sense of the word—that is, of shifting the whole direction of a society in a more preferred direction. As a matter of fact, it might be revolutionary in another sense if something like this were done very widely. I think the whole culture would change within a decade and everything in it. (Journals, pp. 166-68.) (Emphasis mine)

Maslow recognized the power of peer pressure demonstrated in these groups. The “preferred direction” he envisioned moving society toward was a society less moral, less puritanical, and less dogmatic about absolute right and wrong. It is critical to understand the beliefs and doctrines of these men, for their motives, like most famed psychologists, were to radically revolutionize American culture by dissolving its puritanical values. Rogers once asserted, “Neither the Bible nor the prophets—neither Freud nor research—neither revelations of God nor man—can take precedence over my own direct experience.” Writing in the Journal of Psychology in 1949, Maslow said confidently that, “I can report empirically the healthiest persons in our culture … are most (not least) pagan, most (not least) instinctive, most (not least) accepting of their animal nature.”  These are obvious humanistic worldviews, exalting the sin nature over Christ’s righteousness, and are totally at odds with the Bible and sound Christian doctrine.

In 1966, Rogers said of his then professional obscurity, “I don’t have very much standing in the psychology itself, and I couldn’t care less. But in education and industry and group dynamics and social work and the philosophy of science and pastoral psychology and theology and other fields my ideas have penetrated and influenced in ways I never would have imagined (3).” However, in 1982, less than 16 years later, Carl Rogers had been ranked the most influential psychotherapist in history by American Psychologist, followed by Albert Ellis and Sigmund Freud.

Now, let’s look at what all of this has to do with the Body of Christ and sound Bible doctrine. My wife recently replied to one of America’s ever-frequent social-media-micro-dramas on Facebook. By my judgment, her reply was biblical and accurate. One of her Christian friends was offended by the post and quickly replied, “You can’t go around telling people they’re wrong.” (I believe the ironic hypocrisy of this statement was lost on the lady making the post.) She argued, “You have to love people. If you tell them where they’re wrong you’ll push them away from Jesus.” This non-judgmental attitude sounds sweet and Bible-riffic, but sadly, this dear Christian lady doesn’t realize she is more a disciple of Carl Rogers than Jesus Christ. We must consider what the Bible actually teaches the New Testament believer concerning judgment, rebuke, correction, and admonishment. This brief study will not cover the Greek word krino or its family of cognates such as krima, diakrino, katakrino, krisis, and anakrino (alas, this article is already way too long for the average Facebook or American reader). These words are abundantly used in the Greek New Testament to define the responsibilities and obligations of Christians. The definitions of the krino family of cognates range from inspection, interrogation, criticize, and judge to censure, approve, determine, condemn, and damn. This family of words is used well over 150 times in the Greek New Testament, thoroughly establishing the Christian’s obligation to Jesus Christ by judging everything around them.

Understand that sound doctrine is never built on one verse. Every doctrine of Christ is like a beautiful diamond—there are many facets to it. Any doctrine built on one verse will be a shallow, one-dimensional facet (a mere shard of glass) and not the entire gem it could be. So to begin, let’s deal with the sin-guilty Christian’s favorite shard of glass:

• Do not judge so that you will not be judged. Matthew 7:1 NASB

Is this verse really commanding us to never judge anything? Carl Rogers and the dirty Christian would have you to believe so. Is Jesus commanding us to use zero judgment the rest of our lives? Does this verse mean He doesn’t want us to judge the best use of our money, the best school for our kids, the best clothing for the weather; or perhaps, never judge the job we take or the friends we are to keep? Are we to never judge the fruit of a potential spouse? Can we just marry anybody? Of course not. There are too many other Bible verses commanding diligence, discretion, and righteous judgment. This passage about judgment is five verses long; yet, every pagan and backslidden Christian only quotes the first verse. That’s called taking a verse out of context. Jesus starts in verse 1 by saying, “Judge not,” but concludes four verses later by teaching us how to accurately judge.

• Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.             Matthew 7:1-5 NASB

Jesus begins this passage by forbidding judgment. Verse two also reveals that receiving judgment is unavoidable; all we can do is regulate the way and the standard by which we will receive our own judgment. Over the course of the five verses he clarifies the type of judgment He is referring to. Verse 5 of this passage reveals that the subject of this oft misused verse is actually “hypocritical judgment.”

• You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:5 NASB

Verse 5 makes it apparent he’s talking to hypocrites about hypocritical judgment. Hypocritical judgment is any judgment that doesn’t first involve self-judgment (see also 1 Corinthians 11:28,31 and Galatians 6:1). Jesus never condemned His audience for noticing the speck in their brother’s eye. Nor did He condemn them for their desire to see that same speck removed. What infuriated Jesus was the hypocrisy of their wanting to see the speck removed from the brother while they ignored or sat ignorant of their own log. Jesus does want us to be able to see the speck in our brother’s eye and He does want us to help remove that speck, but we will not be accurate in those two acts of judgment (speck-spotting and speck-removing) if we have a timber in our own eye. Furthermore, our ability to first recognize the timber in our own eye will help us to extend mercy towards our brother’s speck, and mercy rejoices against judgment (James 2:13).

Now, with this famous and oft quoted passage explained and out of the way, let us briefly look at 29 other passages illustrating the New Testament doctrine of judgment.

• Judgment is one of the weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23).
• Judgment and the love of God go hand-in-hand (Luke 11:42, Phil. 1:9).
• Jesus Christ is very judgmental (John 5:22,27,30; John 8:16,26; Rev. 3:19).
• Jesus commands and commends righteous judgment by his disciples (Luke 7:43).
• The Pharisees were commended for their ability to judge what was right (Luke 12:57).
• We are authorized to rebuke a brother if they sin against us (Luke 17:3).
• We are commanded to judge with righteous judgment (John 7:24).
• After Lydia’s conversion to Christ, she openly invited the disciples to judge her lifestyle and faithfulness to the Lord (Acts 16:15).
• Any Christian “full of goodness, filled with all knowledge” is able to admonish [warn, reprove, rebuke] others (Romans 15:14).
• To avoid divisions, Christians are to be unified in one mind and one judgment (1 Cor. 1:10).
• He that is spiritual is commanded to judge all things (1 Cor. 2:15).
• Paul declared he didn’t mind to be judged by others (1 Cor. 4:3).
• Paul judged a church member’s sinfulness without even being present (1 Cor. 5:3).
• Paul commanded the church to judge those within the church (1 Cor. 5:12).
• Paul challenged the believers to judge even “the smallest matters” (1 Cor. 6:2).
• Paul invited the Corinthian church to judge what he was saying (1 Cor. 10:15).
• We are commanded to judge ourselves so as to avoid judgment (1 Cor. 11:28,31).
• The supernatural gift of prophecy can convict and judge the unbeliever if they are present in a church service (1 Cor. 14:24).
• Prophecy must be judged (2 Cor. 14:29).
• Troublesome heretics are warned that they will bear their own judgment (Gal. 5:10).
• God wants our love to abound in knowledge and judgment (Phil. 1:9).
• Church leadership is commanded to admonish [warn, reprove, rebuke] the believers (1 Thes. 5:12).
• We are commanded to admonish [warn, reprove, rebuke] the brethren when necessary (2 Thes. 3:15).
• Those that sin openly are to be rebuked publicly (1 Tim. 5:20).
• Church leadership is commanded to reprove, rebuke, and exhort (2 Tim. 4:2, Titus 2:15).
• Church leadership is commanded to rebuke sharply any national, societal, or church culture that doesn’t line up with God’s standard (Titus 1:13).
• The law of liberty judges us (James 2:12).
• Judgment must begin in the house of God. It first begins with believers (1 Pet. 4:17).
• The Lord rebukes and chastens those He loves (Rev. 3:19).

Further confirmation that the Bible does indeed teach Christians to judge is evident by the fact that the New Testament authorizes six reasons for excommunicating a Christian from the local church. This is the ultimate demonstration of biblical judgment. The six reasons are:

1. An unrepentant trespass (Matt 18:15-17).
2. Sowing discord and division among the church (Romans 16:17, Titus 3:10).
3. Refusing to get a job (KJV calls it “being unruly”) (1 Thes. 5:14, 2 Thes. 3:6).
4. Disobedient to doctrine (2 Thes. 3:14, 1 Tim. 6:3-5).
5. Apostasy/heresy (1 Tim. 1:20, 2 Tim. 2:17,18; Titus 3:10).
6. Gross sin (1 Cor. 5:1-11). This judgment even allows for a spiritual death sentence.

If you have ever found yourself saying “Well, I don’t mean to be judgmental,” or “Who am I to judge,” you are, in fact, revealing you have been influenced and even somewhat inadvertently discipled by the Christ-denying, humanistic, existentialistic, adulterating, occultist, known as Carl Rogers (4). If, by chance, someone ever asks you the question, “Just who are you to judge?” you can confidently tell them,, “I am a born-again disciple of Jesus Christ. Authorized by the King of kings to execute righteous judgment, that is judgment in accordance with God’s holy Word.” Study God’s Word and exact accurate biblical judgment. It will keep you, your life, and your loved ones safe. Plus, you’ll get to keep using adjectives (In case you didn’t know, adjectives are descriptive words which are used to describe things that have been judged, e.g. cold water, hot metal, ugly sweater, etc.).

As a final word, executing proper New Testament judgment must be kept righteous through pure motives. We judge to glorify God. We judge to establish the Kingdom. We judge to keep the peace. We judge to deliver from death and danger. We judge to preserve. We judge to exact justice. We judge to keep things safe. We do not judge to damnation. We are not the Righteous Judge given authority to distribute eternal retributions. We must never forget that mercy rejoices against judgment (James 2:13) and blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy (Matt. 5:7).

Bibliography

(1) Rogers, Carl R. “Client-centered Approach to Therapy”, in I. L. Kutash and A. Wolf (eds.), Psychotherapist’s Casebook: Theory and Technique in Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

(2) Libido Dominandi: Sexual Liberation and Political Control, E. Michael Jones

(3) Carl Rogers, “Carl Rogers on Encounter Groups”, Harper and Row, New York, 1970, page 507 cited in Robert Frager and James Fadiman, “Personality and Personal Growth”, 2^nd edition, Harper and Row, New York, 1984, page 356.

(4) Carl Rogers, “A Way of Being”, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1980, pages 43, 83, 90, 313-314, and 344.

God gave His Church a two-fold mission, a co-mission: Go into all the world and preach the Gospel, and make disciples of all men. Everything we do as servants of God should extend from this commission. You’d think we could handle those two simple assignments. I’m not sure we are. So here are 10 characteristics of a strong local church based on the Great Commission. How many of these is your church lacking and what will you do about it?

• Evangelism- Every church must reach the lost in their Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. Every church must use every tool at their disposal to reach the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Community activism is not the same as evangelism. Picking up trash is for county inmates. If your evangelism looks more like the Rotary Club than it does the Book of Acts—some adjusting is necessary.
• World Missions- Every church must play some role in reaching the “uttermost parts of the earth.” If you can’t go, you must finance someone in your place. If you do go, make sure the Gospel is being preached. If the Gospel isn’t preached your mission trip is merely a church financed Peace Corp operation. If your mission trips look like Peace Corp work—you’re failing.
• Discipleship- Every church must ensure that those who faithfully attend their church are being given every opportunity to be discipled into a mature faith in Christ. Here’s a hint: 500 eyes staring at you one service a week isn’t discipleship. Discipleship requires one on one time and involves correction, discipleship, and practice. Discipleship trains the saints to be servants. If all you have is one service a week and no opportunity for actual discipleship—you’re failing.
• Sound Doctrine- Every church must feed and teach the saints sound doctrine. This means the whole counsel of God’s Word. Even the bitter parts. There are six principle doctrines of Christ listed in Hebrews 6:1,2 and none of them deal with love. If every sermon is about hope and love or love and hope—you’re failing.
• Eschatology- Sound doctrine must include teaching on the end times. Eschatology was taught heavily by Jesus Christ, Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and John. The Doctrine of Immanence is more critical today than ever. The very fact that 90% of those that read this article will have to google “doctrine of immanence” lets me know that most American churches—are failing.
• Reverence/Holiness- Sound doctrine coupled together with discipleship will produce an attitude of reverence toward God. Reverence toward God goes a long way in producing holy lifestyles among God’s people. The praise and worship time (or more popularly called “worship experience” now) is usually a good indicator of the level of reverence and holiness promoted in a church. If the worship team and associated production looks like an MTV Unplugged band opened for Saturday Night Live at a Rave—you’re church is probably failing.
• Praise/Worship- Praise and worship is an activity directed toward God Almighty because of His deity and majesty. We praise Him for what He has done and we worship Him for who He is. Anointed worship will even teach doctrine and admonish sin (Col. 3:16). Worship must be led by individuals who are Christians first, worshippers second, and musicians last. Too many churches hire their worship team. That means hirelings are leading the worship. Worshippers know how to honor God. Musicians know how to jam, perform, and look carnal. Needless to say . . . many are failing.
• Church Discipline- The New Testament teaches a progression of Christian behavioral accountability: teach, instruct, exhort, warn, rebuke, public rebuke, ex-communication. There are six New Testament reasons to excommunicate a believer from an assembly (Matthew 18:15-17; Romans 16:17; Titus 3:10; 1 Thes. 5:14; 2 Thes. 3:6; 2 Thes. 3:14; 1 Tim. 6:3-5; 2 Tim. 2:17-18; 1 Tim. 1:20; 1 Cor. 5). If your church violates these necessary safety measures and permits open sin to flourish in God’s House—you’re failing.
• Prayer- Jesus reminded His disciples that the House of God was to be called a house of prayer for all nations (Mark 11:17). This means a strong local church has regular prayer services, not just prayer during a service, but dedicated prayer services that involve more than just the pastor. Discipleship trains people how to pray. Holiness and reverence grows with prayer. God moves when His people pray. If the only time a church prays is at the opening and closing of a service—it’s failing.
• Giving- Jesus declared that where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21). A strong local church is a giving church. The Gospel is free, but it doesn’t preach for free. The saints of God are obligated to finance it so that others may hear (Deut. 8:18). The current statistic states that the average American Christian only gives 2.5% to the Gospel with only 10-25% of a church’s membership actually tithing. In 2000, the total Evangelical Christian income in America was $2.66 trillion. That’s a $266 billion tithe in 2000 alone, or $3.99 trillion in the last 15 years. How much Gospel could be preached? How many people reached? I think we’re all failing.
• How many of these points can a church lack and still be considered strong or successful in the eyes of God? How’d your church do? How many of these 10 points are lacking in your church? Grade it like school: 90-100 is an A. 80-90 B. 70-80 C. 60-70 D. 0-60 F. Is your church an A+ church? Is it an F- church? Somewhere in between? What letter grade constitutes a lukewarm church? At what point would the Lord begin spewing churches out of His mouth? Your Christian walk will always be a by-product of your church. If your church is a C or D church, do you think God wants you to follow in their footsteps and be a C or D level Christian? What will you do if your church is failing? Will you stay there and dry up? Are you willing to seek out a better church? Welcome to the great falling away (2 Thes. 2:3), being hosted at a church near you . . . I hope it’s not your church.

May God have mercy on the American Church.
Pastor Chris McMichael

While all three are great (and may God increase all three for the Kingdom), they are not biblical metrics by which we can declare a minister or a ministry a success or a failure. After all, Jesus Christ labored for three and a half years and started His church in an upper room, not a stadium, with no money and only 120 disciples.   If these three metrics were a true indicator of God’s hand and a pastor’s success, then every secular rock concert should be labeled an all out revival.  Though there is much to be said about money and buildings, I will only focus on the subject of attendance in this article.  The aim of this article is to address the differences between multitudes and disciples in our local churches, to encourage the “little guy” (though the little guy is often far more powerful and holy than the mega-star preacher), and to disenchant the mega-churches into a sobering call to reality, repentance if necessary, and discipleship.

The Fickle Multitudes

One of the problems with using congregation size as a metric of success is that, biblically, the multitudes have always been fickle.  Beginning with John the Baptist, multitudes were always interested in what God was doing.  All of Israel went out to be baptized by him as he prepared the way for Jesus.  Even the Pharisees came out in great numbers to watch the wild prophet preach his confrontational message of repentance.  But then John’s numbers began to dwindle.  Jesus drew the multitudes away from John and they followed Him everywhere He went.  Perhaps they left John to follow the newest rabbi on the scene or, perhaps, they left out of a sincere hunger; but nevertheless, John decreased that Jesus might increase.  These multitudes came to Jesus to hear, be healed, and to be fed a free meal. The multitudes grew as the people came to have a need supplied, but how many of them stuck around to help build God’s Kingdom after they got their touch from God?  For over three years, Jesus had the largest crowds until the messages became too hard or something more than sitting and listening was required of them.  Thus, even the Lord’s numbers began to dwindle.  How fickle.

Who else in the Bible could draw a multitude?  Well, Judas was sent with a “band” of men to arrest Jesus.  The Greek indicates that this “band” was anywhere from 500 to 1000 men.  Matthew’s Gospel confirms this great number, “And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves,” (Matthew 26:47).  I guess Christ-betrayers don’t have a problem drawing a crowd.  Who else could draw a crowd during the ministry of Jesus Christ?

It was a “whole multitude” that led Jesus unto Pilate (Luke 23:1). This multitude insisted that Jesus was guilty and that Pilate must punish Him.  Barabbas also had a multitude pulling for him.  Though this crowd was “persuaded” by the chief priests and elders, they still chose Barabbas (son of the father) over Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Father.  I wonder how many in the multitude that day, cheering for Barabbas, had been healed by Jesus, had their dead restored to them, or ate of a multiplied fish and loaf.  This is the same multitude that cried, “Crucify him!”  It may be that once they had received what they wanted out of Jesus, they no longer had need of Him.  What a fickle multitude.  But we must also ask, “Where was the multitude as Jesus carried His cross? Where was the mega-congregation at Calvary?”  Alas, nowhere.  The pro-Jesus multitude had abandoned Him.  The party was over.  The newness had worn off.  Only John the beloved followed Jesus unto His death—he and a handful of women.  And where was the multitude that waived palm branches just a few days earlier?

To further prove how unfaithful and fickle the multitudes can be, consider the disciple’s qualifications for replacing Judas, the traitor.  A season of prayer in the upper room revealed only two qualifications were necessary to become the twelfth Apostle of the Lamb: 1) Judas’ replacement had to have been with Jesus from His baptism by John, and 2) had remained with Jesus until His ascension into heaven (Acts 1:21-23).  The two qualifications amounted to basically three and a half years of faithfulness.  And how many in this small group of 120 disciples met these two qualifications? Only two—Justus and Matthias.  Only two!!  Out the great multitude at the River Jordan who heard John declare, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world,” (John 1:29) only two believed and said, “I will follow Him until the end”—Justus and Matthias.  Matthias became Judas’ replacement and the Church began with 120 faithful disciples a few days later.

Multitudes and Disciples

Real church growth is a measure of the growth of the individual believer.  Which do you suppose is the stronger church: the church with 5,000 carnal spectators, or the church with 50 discipled members?  It is evident from the Gospels that God sees a difference between disciples and multitudes.  Consider the following verses:

• “Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude,” (Matt. 15:32)
• “Then spake Jesus unto the multitude, and to his disciples,” (Matthew 23:1)
• “And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them,” (Mark 9:14)
• “And he [Jesus] came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem,” (Luke 6:17)
• “And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.” (Luke 7:11)
• “In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all,” (Luke 12:1)

It is clear that God makes a distinction between those who flock to Jesus in a multitude and those who are actually His disciples.  Even in small churches not everyone is a disciple.

Multitude Behavior

In studying the Gospels closely, you can see tremendous similarities between the multitudes following Jesus in His day and the multitudes following Jesus today.  The multitudes will be astonished at good doctrine (Matthew 22:33).  They don’t necessarily want to live good doctrine, they’re just in awe at how profound it is.  The multitudes don’t really mind being taught (Mark 2:13, 4:1, 6:34); problems only arise when you try to get them to act on what they’ve heard.  The multitudes also require simple messages.  You’ll never be able to really give them heavy meat or deep teachings; Jesus was never able to.  Jesus taught the multitudes with parables and then expounded the deeper truths in private to His disciples (Matthew 10:13-17; Mark 4:2).  In America today, a general rule of thumb seems to be “the bigger the church, the weaker the message.”  I don’t believe it has to be this way, but multitude-based churches just seem to default to this pattern.  A pastor of one of the biggest churches in America recently expressed his explanation for why small churches remain small by saying in effect, “I think emphasizing doctrine will keep a church small.”  Needless to say, he is known for his mega-multitudes and not for his doctrine. (Never mind that Paul spoke of doctrine 15 times in the three pastoral epistles alone.)

Jesus looked over the multitude as He ministered to them and had compassion toward them because “they were like sheep having no shepherd.”  Might that describe the modern church multitudes, sheep having no shepherd?  The multitudes often come to see what they can get, but not give.  They love to hear the sermon and have hands laid on them (Luke 5:15), but they won’t stick around to help clean up the nursery.

Even the revivals of the early Church (where the day of Pentecost saw 3,000 get saved, and then 5,000 more a short time later) were not immune to this multitude syndrome.  With the early Church membership at 8,000+ believers, the Church should have been unstoppable.  But, alas, 8,000 believers do not equal 8,000 disciples.  When Herod took James and beheaded him, the Church did nothing.  But when he arrested Peter, the Church began to pray.  Upon Peter’s supernatural release from prison, he made his way to the prayer meeting where the faithful were still praying at the house of John Mark’s mother.  A house might hold a few hundred at best, but it won’t hold 8,000 members.  Where were the rest of the believers?  Of the 8,000 converts to Christ, only a few hundred were faithful to

attend the prayer meeting on behalf of their apostle.  Remember, these 8,000 were Peter’s converts.  They came to Christ after hearing Peter preach.  Where were they when he needed their help?  Where was the fickle multitude?

Christ’s Requirements for Discipleship

When we study the Gospels, we can see quite readily that a bulk of any multitude will never become a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Discipleship is simply too hard and it takes too much work and sacrifice.  Remember, wide is the path that leads to destruction and many be they that enter therein, but narrow is the way that leads to eternal life and few be they that enter therein (Matthew 7:13) Throughout the Gospels, Jesus taught nine requirements to being one of His disciples.  For many of the following requirements Jesus would state, “You cannot be my disciple unless you . . .”

1. Continue in God’s Word (John 8:31).  This requirement alone would eliminate so many Christians today.  How many believers spend more time on Facebook than in God’s book?  You’ll always make time for your god.  How much of our time is Jesus Christ getting?
2. Love one another (John 13:35). This does not refer to the new post-hippie love.  This refers to the God-kind of love. The love that speaks the truth and restores one overtaken in a fault.  This is referring to the kind of love that lays down its life for its brother.  The love that doesn’t get offended.  How many church members live in offense today?  Read Psalm 119:165.
3. Bear much fruit (John 15:8).  There are nine fruit of the Spirit we must bear.  All we have to do is ask ourselves, “Do I have all nine fruit of the Spirit working in every area of my life?” No?  Time for more discipleship.
4. Hate all to follow Jesus (Luke 14:26).  Our post-hippie society doesn’t have a clue what biblical hatred even means.  But then again, we don’t have a clue what real biblical love is either.  Are we willing to walk away from absolutely everything to follow Jesus or do we establish our own lives and give God what little bit is left over, commanding God to bless the life we choose for ourselves?
5. Bear a cross daily (Luke 14:27).  A cross is a walking death sentence.  Death to our own will.  Death to our flesh.  Death to our selfish dreams and desires.  Yeah, try selling that to the average American.  You can preach this in your church, but half the congregation will be busy worrying about their cappuccino getting cold.
6. Forsake all (Luke 14:33).  This passage warns the convert to seriously weigh the cost of serving God before committing to Him.  Many Christians are determined to serve God on their own terms and conditions.  Jesus does not negotiate with us.  We come to Him on His terms and conditions and often they include things we must suffer for His name’s sake.
7. Desire to be just like Jesus (Matthew 10:24,25; Luke 6:40).  True disciples end up looking and talking just like their Master.  It is a true disciple’s greatest ambition and desire to be just like their mentor.  When you are truly a disciple of Jesus, you’re not going to look much like the world at all.
8. Be bossed around (Matthew 11:1; 21:1,6).  In this post-modern era no one likes to be told what to do.  Unfortunately for us, Jesus is still in the business of commanding His disciples.  Jesus is the Master and we are the slaves.  How many church members today still pray, “Lord, here am I, send me,” or, “Not my will, but your will be done”?
9. Make disciples (Matthew 28:19).  Like begets like.  What does it say when a church never produces a single disciple?  Is that leadership team comprised of disciples or salespeople?  You will always produce what you are.  A true disciple can’t help but produce new disciples and carnal people love carnal pastors.

We need to be reminded that the Great Commission is a commission to preach the Gospel and make disciples, not build big buildings then pack them full of lukewarm multitudes.  If you can build a mega-hot mega-church, more power to you, but the Bible teaches a pattern of remnants.  In Noah’s day, the faithful remnant was only eight people.  In Lot’s day, the faithful remnant was a mere three people (and maybe just one—Lot.  Poor Lot and those lusty daughters, sheesh!)  After David was anointed king, the multitude still followed Saul.  Only 400 men were joined to David in a lonely little cave.  In Elijah’s day, out of an entire nation, the faithful remnant was only 7,000.  On national worship Nebuchadnezzar day, the faithful remnant was only three—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  On the day of Pentecost, the faithful remnant was only 120.  Even after the Lord had appeared to more than 500 at once, still, only 120 were faithful to the upper room. After Paul’s sermon at Mars’ Hill (an amphitheater seating 17,000), only a handful of converts sought Paul afterwards for discipleship.  Where was the multitude?

In those churches of thousands, do you really believe everyone there is a disciple of Jesus Christ, capable of reproducing Christ in another believer?  Of course not, but what is being done to give those lukewarm peripheral members the opportunity and instruction to become a disciple?  What percentage of your church membership do you truly believe are disciples? Fifty percent? Twenty percent?  Ten percent?  It is impossible to make disciples catering to the “seekers.”  What will you do to make disciples out of those that are faithful to attend?  As a pastor, I’d rather lead 20 disciples to heaven than follow the whims of 5,000 seekers to hell.  Let us not be impressed by the masses nor be disheartened by the empty seats.  Rather, let us be faithful to preach the Gospel.  It’s the Lord’s job to build the Church, not the preacher’s.  We just preach the Gospel—He builds His Church.  You can’t build a ministry on the multitudes, so why build one trying to cater to them? Above all, don’t be deceived by church size, after all, this modern church growth revival may be nothing more than Christians comfortably falling away from Jesus Christ and landing in local goat pens and tare garners, replete with all the latest trendy entertainment comforts and accessories.

Though the name, Judas, is synonymous with betrayal, with even the world using the term as a pejorative, Judas did not begin his discipleship as such.  There is nothing foretelling about his name.  Judas (Ioudas) is the Greek equivalent of Judah, meaning he shall be praised.  Two of Jesus’ twelve disciples were named Judas—Judas the traitor and Judas also called Thaddeus.  The epistle of Jude, written by Jesus’ half-brother, Judas, bears the same name.  His surname, Iscariot, indicates to us that he was a man of the city, for Iscariot means men of Kerioth, or men of the city.  He would have been the odd man out among the disciples, but this does not necessarily require him to be a traitor, for the Lord calls all to Him, from every facet of life.  So what caused him to turn on the Lord?

First, we must understand that there are five Old Testament prophecies concerning the betrayal of Jesus and some of the characteristics of the man who would betray Him.

1. Psalm 41:9/John 13:18: Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
2. Psalm 55:12-14: For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
3. Psalm 69:25/Acts 1:20: Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.
4. Psalm 109:7,8/Acts 1:20: When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
5. Zechariah 11:12,13/Matthew 27:9,10: And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

These prophecies reveal many things about the Lord’s traitor: (1) he would be a close friend, (2) they would serve God together, (3) he would eat at the Lord’s table, (4) he would betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, (5) the silver would be used to buy a potter’s field, (6) the potter’s field would be desolate, being used to bury strangers, and (7) another man would take the traitor’s place in the Lord’s ministry.  For all of these prophesied facts, the name of the traitor was never revealed.  God, knowing who it would be by His foreknowledge, chose not to reveal it.  So, though the prophets foretold that the Lord would be betrayed, and though they prophesied several of the specific details surrounding the betrayal, they never revealed whom the traitor would be.

The New Testament promises this same cycle and pattern of betrayal will repeat itself.  Just as the Old Testament prophesied that Jesus would be betrayed by someone close to Him, the New Testament testifies that some shall depart from the faith (1 Timothy 4:1), that a falling away from the faith will occur (2 Thessalonians 2:3), and that the love (agape) of many shall wax cold (Greek: psycho–remorseless, past feeling, no guilt) (Matthew 24:12).  The inference here is that Judas was not going to be the last disciple to betray Jesus Christ.  In fact, the Bible predicts that great numbers of Christ-followers will become Christ-betrayers.  As 1 Timothy 4:1 predicts, some shall depart from the faith, but you can’t depart from the faith unless you were once in it.  2 Thessalonians 2:3 predicts a falling away of apostasy, but you can’t fall away from the faith unless you were once in it.  As Jesus Christ forewarned in Matthew 24:12, the agape-love of many shall become psycho, yet only Christians can have the agape, God-kind of love, working in their hearts.  Just as the Old Testament didn’t specifically name who would betray Jesus Christ, the New Testament is likewise silent on who will betray Him in this day.  We don’t know who it will be, only that it will be.  This warning should caution every Christian to take heed, lest they fall.

However, before anyone boasts themselves too strong a Christian to ever fall away or even deny Jesus Christ, we must bear in mind that Judas did not begin his walk with Jesus Christ as a traitor, but rather as a fervent disciple.  Consider his testimony: He was hand selected by Jesus Christ.  He was called to be with Jesus.  He left father and mother.  He took up his cross.  He left his city-dwelling lifestyle to serve the mass crowds, with no place to lay his head, even risking his life to run with the controversial young Rabbi (e.g., angry mobs, stormy ships, a nervous religious class, etc.). He was not only anointed to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, cast out devils, and raise the dead—he actually did all of those things.  He was the trusted treasurer.  He was active in the Lord’s ministry, helping Jesus by running security, securing transportation, and helping to feed the multitudes.  He prayed with Jesus on a regular basis.  Jesus even called him “friend” (Matthew 26:50, Psalm 41:9).  He was distraught to hear Jesus speak of His betrayal and crucifixion (Matthew 17:22,23).  We forget that Judas was a disciple of Jesus Christ and by the looks of the aforementioned resume, he was a much better disciple than many Christians are today.  So what happened?  How did Judas stay so close to Jesus and still manage to betray the Holy One of Israel?  And did it have to be Judas?

First of all, we know that Satan was going to succeed in crucifying the Son of God.  He first sought entrance into Jesus’ life by tempting Him in the wilderness only to be resisted and rebuked by the Son of God.  He departed for a season, and ultimately found no way into Christ’s personal life (John 14:30).  Satan then returned by moving upon the Lord’s enemies and by working on His disciples.  His new tactic was a twofold approach, working not just from without the Lord’s ministry, but also from within.  The devil moved upon the religious class to kill Jesus but they never found the opportunity to do so (John 7:19, 8:37).  At the same time, the devil was working amongst the disciples.  It would be presumptuous to think that Judas was the only disciple being targeted by the devil.  In fact, we know that Satan wanted to sift all of them as wheat (Luke 22:31 NIV).  Peter was even called “Satan” for rebuking Jesus and saying, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee” (Matthew 16: 22), indicating he, too, had yielded to Satan at some point.  Whether it was a quarrel about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom or who would have the Lord’s right hand seat, there always seemed to be some kind of strife being stirred up amongst the twelve disciples.  It does not appear that it had to be Judas, but it had to be somebody.  It is my conviction that it was Judas because he gave in first, even as the Lord warns us in Matthew 24:22, if the last days aren’t shortened, no flesh shall be saved.

But how did Judas manage to betray the Lord?  He began with one little act of betrayal at a time.  Here a coin, there a coin.  Perhaps he repented and replaced the coin, but only to go back and steal two coins the next time.  He simply yielded to the spirit of antichrist in the area he served Jesus.  We must understand that the spirit of antichrist will work to get us to betray Jesus Christ right where He currently trusts us.  The betrayals always start off so small and seemingly excusable.  But just as the little foxes spoil the vine (Song 2:15), these little acts of betrayal always open the hedge of our heart for the more egregious acts to follow.  These little acts of betrayal soften our convictions while subtly callousing and even searing our conscience.  This spirit of antichrist will cause us to become religious in our Christian service, maintaining the proper form but no longer having a heart for our Lord.

The spirit of antichrist is not anti-religious, just anti-Christ.  The spirit of antichrist is still working today in the children of disobedience and it will have its ultimate expression and power when it possesses the one man who will be known as the Antichrist.  Even 1 John 2:18,19 points out that currently there are many antichrists and these antichrists begin their work while among the Church, but they eventually leave the fellowship of the believers, even as Judas did.  The spirit of antichrist causes a Christian to slowly callous and then sear their conscience, grow remorseless and cold in their godly convictions, and ultimately revolt against God’s absolute truths; all this while they are able to stay in a local church and perhaps even serve there.  This is why we must allow the witness of Judas to provoke us into a very thorough self-examination of our own Christian walk.  Consider some of Judas’ many behavioral warning signs.  These symptoms can be used to diagnose the degree to which the spirit of antichrist may have already influenced your life:

• Judas constantly stole God’s money (John 12:6)—A 2012 Barna poll indicates only 5% of American Christians tithe.
• Judas skipped important prayer meetings (Luke 22:39-48)—Most churches don’t even have prayer services, even though church should be a house of prayer;
• Judas skipped important discipleship time (John 13:30-16:26)—Most Christians are Sunday morning only Christians.
• Judas was comfortable fellowshipping with the Lord’s enemies (Luke 22:3,4)—Many Christians have two sets of friends: Christian and enemy of the cross.
• Judas cared not for the poor (John 12:6), but only for himself (Matthew 26:14-16)—Many Christians care only for themselves, going to church “to get their blessing on” and to be served.
• Judas never called Jesus “Lord”, only “Rabbi” (Matthew 26:25,49; Mark 14:14)—How many Christians refuse to submit to Christ’s lordship?
• Judas was obsessed with material things (John 12:4,5)—Many Christians are only interested in their next toy or promotion, even as the great missionary Brother Andrew recently stated in an interview: “Instead of rewarding an old man who still follows Christ, you should punish all the rich people in your church who spend all their money on the bigger boat, and bigger this, that and the other. That should be the system, but don’t reward a man who is near eternity because he still follows Jesus; it is the calling of all of us.”
• Judas seemed to somewhat care for Jesus, even requesting that the soldiers handle him softly (Mark 14:44)—Many Christians still claim to care for Jesus.
• Judas did not see his actions as betrayal, even asking the Lord, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” after he had covenanted with the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 26:25 NIV)—Do you think most Christians count their selfishness as rebellion?
• Judas realized his betrayal all too late (Matthew 27:3-5)—Will Christians have time to repent once they realize their subtle betrayal?

Also of terrifying consideration is the fact that Jesus never treated Judas any differently from the other disciples, though he knew from the beginning he would betray Him (John 6:64).  Jesus still entrusted Judas with the ministry finances.  He still anointed Judas to preach, teach, heal, and cast out devils, all the while giving His disciples numerous warnings about His betrayal (Matthew 17:22,23; 20:18; 26:2).  You would think these warnings would have given His men pause and cause for self-evaluation.  Even today, the Lord is warning His disciples that there is a falling away taking place.  Is anyone judging themselves?  He is warning His Church that He will be betrayed by some of His saints.  Does anyone take pause?  And yet, He continues to treat these modern traitors-to-be the same.  The Lord’s benevolence never tells off on who will betray Him.  He still anoints them, still uses them, still blesses them, still provides for them, up until the moment their hearts depart from Him.  If you’re reading this article, you probably personally know someone you once served Christ with, and yet, they are no longer in the faith.  There may still be room for their repentance, but as of currently, they are still reprobate.  Should this not cause a fear and a dread to pass over us (Hebrews 12:21)?  It would be wise for us to judge ourselves whether we even be in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5 KJV, NIV, NAS).

Our past successes in Christ are no guarantee or prediction of our long-term fidelity.  We cannot rest on our spiritual laurels.  The book of Jude opens with the most fearsome exhortation of the entire New Testament (paraphrased here): Don’t forget, God having saved Israel from Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.  And of His angels (which He made for His purpose) that abandoned their proper place, He keeps in eternal bonds under darkness awaiting judgment.  In the same vain, Jude continues his warning and states that in these last days some believers will be like Cain, Balaam, and Korah.  Like Cain, who, having begun in right standing with God, will rebel against God and be cursed.  God spoke to Cain in an attempt to bless him and prevent judgment, but ultimately had to mark him.  Men will be like Balaam, who in one moment can prophesy about the coming Messiah, but in another, lust and greed will drive them to side with the heathen.  God used Balaam to bless Israel, warned him not to sin, but ultimately had to destroy him for his rebellion.  Men will be like Korah, who though he had a rightful place among the Levites, spoke against Moses, was warned not to rebel, and yet still went to hell alive.  All of these men walked in the same spirit as Judas.  They all began right with God, only to rebel against warnings and be destroyed for it.  Likewise, Ananias, Sapphira, Hymaneus, Philetus, and Demas of the New Testament.

It seems that in these dark days, many Christians have more in common with Judas Iscariot, Cain, Balaam, Korah, and Demas, than they do Peter, James, or John.  In the end, there will be a body of believers, former disciples, who will yield to the spirit of antichrist, betray Jesus Christ, all the while, convinced they are still the friends of God.  It will be spiritual suicide.  They will not be known as the sons and daughters of God, but like their forerunner, Judas, they will be known as sons and daughters of perdition.  Will you endure until the end or will you sell out for 30 pieces of selfish silver?

The Apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, signified that in the last days some would depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and demonic doctrines. We are watching this happen before our very eyes. Without question, this prophecy in First Timothy also affects church leaders. The questions we should ask are, “What happens when the one departing from the faith is a minister or church leader? How many will follow their lead? Why are they following them?” We have an early example of the destructiveness and perverting power of this very phenomenon in the book of Exodus.

We are all familiar with the story of the golden calf. However, closer study of this event can shed some light on the plots currently unraveling the fabric of the Church. The demise of any organization begins with leadership. We will observe from this story conditions, which can result in modern day ministers misleading the people as Aaron did.

• And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, Exodus 32:1a

First of all, we see the people readily became bored when Moses delayed in coming down from the mount.  As they sat in God’s midst at the base of the mountain, which was on fire, smoking, and quaking from His glory, they still managed to somehow get bored with His presence. Despite all the signs and wonders and miraculous demonstrations of provision they had seen, it took less than 40 days of sitting still to bore them with Jehovah God.

Secondly, we see they gathered themselves to Aaron, the number two man. They lacked loyalty to the God-ordained leader.  However, Moses had left Aaron AND Hur in charge (Exodus 24:14). Hur is nowhere to be found in the narrative and so it must be assumed he had nothing to do with this falling away. But why didn’t they approach Hur? What in Aaron drew them to him? Ministers should ask themselves the following similar question. “What is it about me that keeps drawing loose, lukewarm Christians to me and my ministry?”

In this story, a certain portion of the children of Israel were interested in committing apostasy. They wanted someone to lead them and they saw the needed qualities in Aaron. This is still happening today. Some Christians are looking to commit apostasy and they are looking for leaders who will lead in that direction. Aaron submitted to their request for leadership just as many of our modern leaders are submitting to the cry for an apostate leader.

• Up, make us gods (Elohim), which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. Exodus 32:1b

The word translated as “gods” is Elohim, the Hebrew word for God, LORD God, etc. This is one of the names by which they knew God. They understood it was Elohim who had delivered them and they wanted Him to go before them.  It appeared Israel wanted to serve Elohim. They knew they were Elohim’s people, but they wanted to serve Him in a more convenient way.  Therefore, they pursued a more palatable way to serve Elohim by finding a preacher who would cater to them by allowing them to serve Elohim on their terms. Moses was too hard and demanding.Moses was requiring them to serve Elohim on His terms. They found a softer preacher in Aaron. Aaron was a preacher who would permit and help them to serve Elohim on their terms. We have many apostate preachers today helping Christians to “serve” God on carnal, unbiblical, flesh-friendly terms.

• And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.  And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. Exodus 32:2,3

These apostates found the leader they wanted in Aaron. He complied with them, even taking charge by requesting their golden earrings, and they obeyed. Here was a man they could follow because they agreed with his vision. But notice where the gold came from: their ears. Aaron did not request golden necklaces, not golden bracelets, not golden rings but golden earrings.  Why? Look at this prophecy in Second Timothy:

• For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 2 Timothy 4:3

Aaron took their golden earrings because he had to tickle the itching ear to retrieve the golden earring. These Exodus apostates could not endure the sound doctrine of Jehovah Elohim, so their “itching ears” found a teacher who would tickle their itch and give them what they wanted—an easier, more comfortable, more user-friendly way to serve.

Aaron requested the golden earrings from every man, woman, boy, and girl. He wanted everyone’s input before he fashioned this new version of Elohim.  He wanted to make sure everyone had a say in this new Elohim; this way no one could be offended at his final creation.

Modern Aarons run their ministries the same way. They poll the people to see what they like and dislike. Modern Aarons tailor their message for the itching ears. They are careful not to offend. If preaching against adultery offends, no problem, they won’t preach against adultery. If requiring a high standard is too hard on you, no problem, they will lower the standard for you.

Aaron fashioned the calf out of gold, but what he declared the calf to be reveals the true nature of the problem. In Exodus 32:4, he declared, “These be your gods (Elohim).” Aaron presented to them multiple gods. He presented to the apostates one golden calf, but he called it “gods”, plural. I believe he realized he had to create a polytheistic god in order to please everybody who had contributed. The golden calf was to each apostate whatever they wanted it to be. To the sexual deviant, the golden calf was an Elohim who permitted sexual deviance. To the adulterer, the golden calf was an Elohim who permitted adultery.

Aaron created a personalized Elohim, much as we are watching modern Aarons change the very image of Jesus Christ into a custom-tailored god for whoever is claiming to worship Him. To the gay congregation, He is a pro-homosexuality Jesus. To the environment-worshipping congregation, He is a green Jesus. To the selfish congregation, He is an understanding Jesus. Modern Aarons are changing the incorruptible image of Jesus into something else and still have the audacity to call it Jesus. You can call your car Jesus but it doesn’t make it so.

• And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD (Jehovah). Exodus 32:5

The Living Bible adds he “….saw how happy the people were about it.” The people were not excited about the true and living God manifested on the mountain, but they were excited about this newly fabricated god in whose creation they had taken part. They would not venture up to the top of the mountain at the sound of the trumpet, but they would proffer forth gold if they could have a say in the new god. Aaron audaciously proclaims the idol to be Jehovah. This golden calf has now been called by both names of the one true and living God, Jehovah Elohim. Likewise, we are witnessing every manner of sin and filth and unscrupulous device being called Jesus Christ and the move of God. Things haven’t changed. This vile spirit is still at work in the earth.

• And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Exodus 32:6

Notice how this “new” Jehovah excited the people when the real Jehovah couldn’t. These apostates had witnessed God’s power through the water standing on heaps, bitter waters made sweet, and a river coming forth from a rock. Since they had seen the mighty hand of God time and time again, we must ask the question, “ How could they not be excited to worship and obey God, but be so excited about this golden calf falsely called Jehovah Elohim?  How?” The answer is easy.

The golden calf was the reproduction of a god they were exposed to while enslaved in Egypt for four hundred thirty years. The golden calf was an image of the Egyptian god, Apis. After four hundred years in Egypt, Israel would have been overly familiar with Apis. The Egyptians were polytheistic. They worshipped Anubis, Osiris, Isis, their Pharaohs, and the god Apis.  He was the only Egyptian god who was entirely animal. Apis was an actual living bull.

The Egyptians believed Apis was conceived by a ray of light from heaven. He was called “the renewal of life.” The qualities the Egyptians attributed to Apis were: courage, great strength, virility, a fighting spirit, healing, and kindness and mercy toward strangers. These are the very qualities they had just experienced by the hand of the true Jehovah Elohim as He delivered them from Egypt. He had fought for them. He had healed them. He had given them strength and courage. He had been merciful and kind to them as they were strangers in a foreign land.  Apis had all the qualities of Jehovah but none of the truth or saving power. Apis was what they had always known and done. To Israel, Apis was comfortable and familiar. Apis represents the world’s idolatry and lust. Israel had departed from Egypt, but Egypt had not departed from Israel. Aaron was able to excite Israel by catering to the Apis that was still in them. Many pastors are catering to the Apis that is still in their believers. To cater to the spirit of Apis is to allow him to direct your church and your services.

Israel was excited about the golden calf because it was familiar and comfortable. Moses was trying to introduce them to the Living God but that was uncomfortable, unfamiliar, and it did not go over well. He was not successful in getting Israel excited about the real God. Aaron, however, was successful in getting Israel excited. Modern Aarons have discovered their predecessor’s secret to arousing the people: get everyone’s input, make them comfortable, lower the standard, back off the truth, and cater to carnality.

It would appear this great falling away is nothing more than old-fashioned pagan idolatry.

• Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.1 Corinthians 10:7