“God looked… it was corrupt”
There has been a news feeding frenzy over the scandal of the evil conduct of some priests in the Catholic church. The practice of shuffling problem priests from parish to parish while pressuring victims to keep quiet seems to have gone on for many years. In all this trouble, I have not heard or read of a single appeal to Scripture. Christendom in large measure has turned away from the Word of God. This is the meaning of apostasy.
Even though our expectations of the recovery of this vast system are at zero, we still feel shame that a system that professes to be the “catholic (all-embracing) church of Christ” in the world has for so many years covered up criminal activity. There is another danger in this exposure. Satan can use it to turn people away from God and the Bible. The reasoning runs like this: “If the largest organization in Christendom is so unreal, then there is no reason to believe in God or Christ.” How easy in this to hear, “Yea, hath God said?” Satan will exploit to the limit whatever dishonors the name of the Lord.
There never has been an age when a life lived for God in purity and righteousness was more distinct from the ungodly. What a challenge to us to dare to be different and to bring honor to the precious “name that has been called upon us!”
The Middle East
In the light of current events, it is amazing to trace the unanswerable problems in the Middle East all the way back to the rejection of Ishmael and the first-born privilege being transferred to Isaac. Added to this is the deep-rooted animosity between Isaacs twin sons, Jacob and Esau. This fanatical hatred between Israel and Edom fills the front pages of todays newspapers. In their efforts to bring peace to this region, do the leaders of the world have any understanding of the depth of the problem? There will be no solution until the Lord Himself descends to stand again on Mount Olivet (Zech 14:4). “Yet a little while, how short!”
Mohammad claimed descent from Ishmael. The vast world of Islam is threatening the very existence of Israel. In their great efforts to bring the religions of the world together, prominent leaders in Christendom are telling us that we need to better understand all of the great world religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, and Mohammadism. “After all,” we are told, “so long as there is belief in God, does it matter by what name He is called, or what method of worship is practiced?” This is the final apostasy. It is called Ecumenicalism.
