The Increase of Wickedness

The police sketch of a dismembered child found in a Chicago lagoon

Chicago's Garfield Park has certainly seen better times. Named after James Garfield, America's 20th president, the park sits in the midst of Chicago's deteriorating Near West Side. It still retains its charm and beauty that's provided folks an oasis from Chicago's dust and stink for nearly a century and a half.

Certainly, when the park opened in 1869, you didn't find the empty muscatel bottles and the discarded needles used by drug addicts and the used condoms that contaminate its landscape today. While the Chicago Park District does its best to hide the symptoms of the relentless moral rot that's killing Chicago and America slowly, it can't erase them.

And tragically, the beautiful lagoon that sits in the middle of the park couldn't hide something hideous that someone tried to hide beneath its sparkling waters recently. Someone dumped the body parts from a dismembered child into the lagoon in the hopes that the child and his memory would vanish forever. When someone spotted the child's foot floating in the water, they became hysterical.

The police arrived and sent divers into the water to search for more parts. They found the child's other foot and both hands before they decided to drain the lagoon in hopes of finding the rest of the child. 

Forensic experts said the body was likely that of an African-American boy between 8 months and 4 years of age. But they cautioned that a “mixed race heritage” and the possibility the body is that of a girl cannot be ruled out. And the age could be closer to between two and three years old.

That child was an innocent human being created in God's image. He--or she--was at the complete mercy of someone who decided to destroy the child's life and then dispose of the body like garbage. Of course, the politicians wagged their fingers before the cameras and the clergy clowns dressed in their finest Armani pontificated about poverty and despair and violence, and the media trotted out the big-time psychologists to analyze why someone would do such a horrible thing to a young child. 

Why? Here's why. Because the world's turned away from God and has forgotten His laws. Whoever murdered and dismembered that child has no fear of God and no concern for what eternity brings to those who commit such heinous acts. Nearly 3,000 years ago, Solomon wrote this: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and understanding." (Proverbs 1:7)

While many people are still focused on the nightmare of the Garfield Park lagoon, they've conveniently forgotten about Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortion butcher who proudly displayed the dismembered parts from aborted babies in jars that sat on his clinic's shelves. Or, those Planned Parenthood officials caught on film calmly discussing selling organs from aborted babies like street vendors selling vegetables from a produce truck.

And so, what's worse; the tragic murder and dismemberment of a young child? Or, abortion industry executives and doctors who treat aborted babies like merchandise? They're all wicked.

When a society no longer fears God, it defecates on His laws. As such, human life is considered no more sacred than the life of a worm or an ant. A world that treats human beings--young, old, infirm or handicapped--as disposable goods, is a world that's deserving of God's judgment. And that judgment's coming. In fact, it's already happening in many places.

The world's descent into evil and depravity isn't an anachronism; it's prophetic. Nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ said this concerning the end times: "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 24:12-13)

The apostle Paul issued this prophetic caveat concerning the last days, and decide for yourself whether this sounds like the time we're currently living in: "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

Paul warned of a frightening end time world. If the murder and dismemberment of a young child doesn't bother you, then reread 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Because that describes you and your ilk.

The Lie That Never Dies

Homo naledi: The latest "missing link"

Remember Lucy, the apelike creature that was discovered in Ethiopia in 1974? Lucy became known as Australopithecus africanus, and she was promoted to the world as the missing link between lower primates and human beings.

Unfortunately for researchers who were determined to use Lucy to prove evolution, Australopithecus africanus turned out to be a monkey that walked upright. And it turns out that Lucy belonged to a group of monkeys that were known to walk on their hind legs long before Lucy was discovered. So much for Lucy.

There was Ramapithecus, another apelike creature that was promoted as the missing link between apes and human beings because Ramapithecus had a jaw similar to human beings. It turns out that Ramapithecus also had a jaw similar to an orangutan, and orangutans are still around and show no signs of changing into human beings.

Historians may also remember the Piltdown Man hoax that grew out of a skull that was discovered in Germany in 1907. Piltdown Man became the wishful thinking of an amateur paleontologist named Charles Dawson who, probably out of self-aggrandizement, sought fame and fortune by promoting Piltdown Man as Charles Darwin's missing link between monkeys and human beings.

How did Piltdown Man meet his end? 

From hoax.org: For over three decades the Piltdown skull was accepted by the scientific community as an authentic artifact. But as more skeletons of early man were found, it became clear that the Piltdown Man was radically unlike anything else in the fossil record. Therefore in 1953 a team of researchers at the British Museum (Kenneth Oakley, Wilfred Le Gros Clark, and Joseph Weiner) subjected the skull and jawbone to a rigorous series of tests. What they found was shocking. The skull was a fake. Using a fluorine-based test to date the skull, the researchers determined that the upper skull was approximately 50,000 years old. The jawbone, however, was only a few decades old. A second test, using nitrogen analysis, confirmed the first test. They also found that the jaw had been artificially stained with potassium dichromate to make it appear older. The British Museum researchers argued that someone must have taken the jawbone and teeth of a modern ape, probably an orangutan, and stained them in order to make them look ancient. These artifacts, the jaw and skull fragments, must then have been planted at the Piltdown site.

And now we have Homo naledi, another apelike creature that was recently discovered in a cave near Johannesburg, South Africa: Scientists from the University of the Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society and the South African Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation revealed Thursday morning (9/10/2015) that they'd found a huge trove of fossils believed to be from a previously unknown early human ancestor — one that could have used tools and may have even figured out how to bury its dead.

Like Lucy, Ramapithecus and Piltdown Man, Homo naledi is being promoted as a missing link between monkeys and human beings. And, like the other three breakthrough discoveries, Homo Naledi will prove to be another hoax. 

Why? Because evolution is a myth. It never happened and it can't happen. But don't take my word for it. Take the word of Antony Flew, a scientist and a former atheist who said this: What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the most unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce life, that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements to work together. It's the enormous complexity of the number of elements and the enormous subtlety of the ways they work together which looked to me like the work of intelligence. (Antony Flew: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind: New York: HarperOne, 2007, p75)

Lee Spetner, a biophysicist, said this about evolution: The failure to observe even one mutation that adds information is evidence against the theory. My main arguments against evolution are well illustrated by the human eye: Where would the new information come from to provide the genetic blueprint for this structure? (Lee Spetner: Not By Chance: Shattering The Modern Theory of Evolution: New York: Judaica Press, 1997)

To believe in evolution, you have to believe that life wasn't designed but rather resulted from random chemical processes that occurred over millions of years. That's so absurd that only fools believe that. For example, human DNA is made up of specific protein combinations. 

There are literally millions of protein combinations that exist, but only a specific type forms DNA which is the foundation of all life. To believe that the DNA protein combination formed by itself via unintelligent random evolutionary forces is to believe that one can fly a Cessna to the moon.  

Why does the theory of evolution continue to thrive despite the fact that it's a bald-faced lie? Because it offers people an escape from moral accountability to a Holy God and His subsequent judgment of sin. But that's a delusion that inevitably leads to eternal doom. And tragically, countless people have embraced that false hope, only to realize they were living a lie once they die and enter eternity.

Nearly 3,000 years ago, King David wrote this: "The fool says in his heart; 'there is no god.' They are corrupt, their deeds are vile, there is no one who does good." (Psalm 14:1)

Sadly, despite the evidence to the contrary, evolution will continue to be promoted as factual science. And millions of people will continue to fall for its seductive lies.

America's Doom

From a logistical standpoint, the imminent nuclear deal between the United States and Iran is a catastrophe. And from a spiritual standpoint, this deal will become the curse that ultimately brings America down for good.

Logistically, the deal opens the cash register for Iran to acquire over $100 billion that will be used to fund international terrorism. Though the deal technically calls for inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, the Iranians will control the inspections and decide what sites get inspected and when. The deal is so awful it would be laughable if it wasn't so tragic.

Why was this deal made? While the uber-mendacious Obama administration claims that it was made to prevent the Persian nation from acquiring nuclear weapons, only a fool believes that. Unfortunately, America has a significant population of fools who vote. That was evidenced in 2008 and again in 2012 when American voters chose a corrupt, dishonest, unqualified and incompetent man in Barack Obama to be their president.

In Israel, the Jews are preparing for the worst once the deal becomes official. Arlene Kushner, an American-Israeli blogger, wrote this concerning the Senate Democrats who sold out their constituencies to bow down to Obama: There was a time when there was a tradition of Scoop Jackson Democrats, of JFK Democrats, of Joe Lieberman Democrats, of Democrats who were willing to defend national security.  Sadly, that is becoming rarer and rarer in today's Congress. So to every Democratic senator, they are facing a choice: do you value the safety and security of the United States of America; do you value standing with our friend and ally, the nation of Israel; do you value the lives of millions of Americans; or do you value more party loyalty to the Obama White House? (From Israel: You Cannot Wash Your Hands of That Blood)

Certainly, that's a rhetorical question. Then Kushner really got down to business: To every Democratic senator who's said he or she will support this deal, I ask you to consider: how will you look in the eyes of the mothers and fathers of our soldiers, the hundreds of soldiers, American soldiers, who were murdered in Iraq with Iranian IEDs that came from General Soleimani. This deal lifts sanctions on General Soleimani. Tell me, if you're a Democratic senator, how you look a mom in the eye and say, "I voted to lift sanctions on the man who murdered your son when he was defending this nation."

Did the Obama administration truly negotiate this deal in order to prevent the Islamic theocracy from building nuclear weapons? Of course not. Then why did they do this deal? For one reason and one reason only: To enhance Obama's phony legacy as a great statesman of peace and a uniter of the nations. That will work with the cretins who are too lazy or stupid--or both--to find out the truth, but it won't work with those who know better.

To illustrate just how bad this deal is, Secretary of State John Kerry has promised that America will offer Israel weapons so the Jewish state can beef up its security. Against what? If the deal is supposed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, then why is the Obama administration offering Israel weapons?

And why is the Obama administration allowing a rogue nation to acquire the funds and obtain the nuclear technology that it has admitted it seeks in order to destroy the United States? That's like handing your enemy a loaded gun and then buying one for yourself in case he decides to shoot you.

From an editorial in the Iranian newspaper, the Kayhan: Let us have faith that America is incapable of any misstep [against Iran], and that it cannot even attack Iranian facilities without the White House being destroyed in under 10 minutes.  Let us have faith that the old ‘village leader’ [i.e. the US] has fallen onto his deathbed, and that even in his youth, he never made the mistake [of daring to attack Iran], and that he, like Israel, remains mired in quicksand. 

This deal brings us closer to the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy recorded by Daniel 2,600 years ago. (Daniel 8) The prophet revealed that a Middle-Eastern power he identified as Media-Persia would terrorize the world in the end times until it was destroyed by a powerful western nation. Who is Media-Persia? That's modern Iran.

Though Daniel identified the western nation as Greece, that name is a metaphor for a western power that's the United States. And Daniel revealed that once Persia (Iran) is destroyed, "Greece" (the United States) will "be cut off." What does that mean? The United States is no longer going to be a superpower.

We're truly living in prophetic times. Many of the signs that Jesus Christ revealed concerning the days preceding His return are now taking place. (Matthew 24) We're seeing an increase in earthquakes and famines; wars and rumors of wars, escalating violence and evil, and the increasing persecution of Christians all over the world.

Christ said this: "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it (Christ's return) is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." (Matthew 24:32-35)

A World Without God

A snapshot of evil: A Nazi soldier kills a young woman and her child

What does the world look like without God? Actually, we don't have to imagine that scenario because we're witnessing that world in the multiplied murders, rapes, robberies, shootings and assaults that are plaguing the planet.

Cynics will argue that religion causes much of that, and they'll point to the Middle East and Africa where ISIS savages are committing countless atrocities in the name of their god Allah. And who can argue with that?

In the western world, the atrocities are being committed by street gang savages who get their inspiration from the morally depraved elites who control the music, film and television industries. There's big lucre in sex, violence and sadism, and the elites are selling that depravity to the uneducated savages who embrace it like an alcoholic embraces a quart of Jim Beam.

And so, who was it that pointed out the myopia of self-righteous do-gooders who can't seem to look in the mirror when they pronounce judgment on the unwashed masses? It was Jesus Christ who said this: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." (Matthew 7:3-5)

In this case, the self-righteous do-gooders are those who blame religion for the woes plaguing the western world. But religion's not to blame because the Christian church in the western world has done a marvelous job of making itself irrelevant over the past 100 years. You'll notice that if you attend almost any fellowship in western Europe on most Sundays where the empty seats usually outnumber the people. In America, the pews are a bit more populated, although the numbers have been shrinking steadily since the 1950s. 

Thus, the ultimate paradox: Depravity and evil motivated by religion dominate one part of the world while depravity and evil motivated by godless secularism dominate another part of the world. How do we reconcile that? Or, can we reconcile that?

Certainly, we can. Religion compounds sin because it attempts to overcome it with a smorgasbord of man-made rituals, traditions, customs and good works. Or, it offers heavenly rewards to its adherents for persecuting and murdering those who refuse to convert. 

Godlessness (atheism, secularism etc.) compounds evil because it either denies its existence, or it blames it on exterior circumstances. In what way? By turning people into the victims of just about anything and everything. 

For example, the alcoholic is the victim of an alcoholic parent; the child-molester is the victim of a child-molester, and a violent, antisocial person is the victim of low self-esteem. The religious answer for such behavior is adherence to customs, rituals, traditions, sacraments etc. The secular answer for such behavior is psychotherapy.  

But what's the real solution for evil? We must be born again. That begins when one recognizes his or her own sinful condition that has separated them from God and condemned them to eternal damnation. It continues with repentance from the behavior that led them into depravity. And it's completed when one truly dedicates his or her life to Jesus Christ. 

Christ said this: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." (John 3:16-18)

And here's what the apostle Paul said: "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all." (Colossians 3:5-11)

True Christianity is a faith rather than a religion. Religion is nothing but man's attempt to reach God on man's terms. That always fails. Faith makes us completely dependent upon God for our salvation, spiritual growth and eternal life. And true faith forces us to become introspective and look at ourselves the way God sees us rather than the way we want to see ourselves. When we do that, it isn't a pretty sight.

That's why religion and secular ideologies such as psychology almost always fail. They either ignore the problem of sin, or they offer the wrong solution for it. Concerning the hypocritical religious leaders of ancient Israel who chose the wrong solution, Christ said this: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." (Matthew 23:27-28)

Evil emanates from within the human heart. (Jeremiah 17:9) And we can only overcome it by being born again into eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing else will ever do.

Rumors of War

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu

Only a fool would deny that relations between the United States and Russia are bad and getting worse. And only a fool would deny that the morally and intellectually bankrupt Obama administration is largely responsible for the deteriorating relations.

Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered snap checks of his military's combat readiness in Russia's central district. According to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu: We have to check the capabilities of paratroopers when they are deployed over large distances and their readiness to make landings on unknown aerodromes.

Russia's defense minister added that the latest wargames also involve civilians, including from the health and agriculture ministries, and are designed to test "their readiness to carry out their tasks in wartime conditions."

Is Putin readying Russia for war against the United States? That's extremely unlikely when you consider that Russia's economy is currently in the toilet. While the Russians possess a massive amount of firepower, including 8,000 nuclear weapons, they're not planning on getting into a military confrontation with the U.S. At least not just yet. A war with the U.S. would cripple Russia's already fragile economy.

But in the future? That may depend on who occupies the White House. The Russians are hoping that American voters make the same mistake in 2016 that they made in 2008 and again in 2012 when they elected and reelected the most unqualified, incompetent president in the history of the United States.

And considering how apathetic and clueless many American voters are, there's a strong possibility that a Hillary Clinton or (God forbid) a Bernie Sanders could become America's 45th president. If that happens, Putin and his comrades in the Kremlin will be celebrating with a lot of cognac and vodka.

Does Putin really want war with the United States? Of course not. Rather, Putin realizes that Barack Obama is an extremely weak president who's paralyzed by his leftist ideology that equates war with a deadly plague. Thus, Obama can be pushed around, as Putin demonstrated in 2008 when he threatened to destroy an anti-ballistic missile system the U.S. had planned to install in eastern Europe.

Putin also recognizes that the Obama administration appeased Iran by negotiating a terrible nuclear agreement that guarantees the Persian state will become a nuclear power within two years. That will touch off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that will also affect much of Europe, including Russia. Russia exists to the north of several Islamic states that could get weapons and nukes from Iran. Obviously, Putin isn't going to sit back and wait for a catastrophic attack to occur in Russia. That's why he's getting his military ready.

Russia's ascent towards becoming a global military superpower is prophetic. Nearly 2,600 years ago, the ancient prophet Daniel received a vision from God concerning the rise of two powerful nations in the last days. (Daniel 11) Daniel described one of these nations as a northern kingdom.

What is the identity of the northern kingdom? The northern kingdom is Russia. But how can we be sure of that? Because the Bible always places Israel at the center of its geographical map. And Russia is located directly north of Israel.

And consider that the prophet Ezekiel, who lived about 2,500 years ago, prophesied that a powerful nation he identified as Gog would launch an invasion against Israel in the last days along with a vast military coalition. (Ezekiel 38-39) 

Here's what the prophet wrote: "Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal. I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 39:1-6)

Who is Gog? Gog was one of the names for the ancient tribe of Rosh that many modern Russians are descended from. Is it any coincidence that Russia is now becoming a military power that will menace the world? Hardly.

And keep in mind that the dreaded Antichrist will also come from Russia.  Thus, when we see Russia flexing her military muscles, we know that we're getting close to the end. Extremely close.

Kim Davis: Hero or Villain?

Kim Davis

By now, most people are familiar with Kim Davis. She's the Kentucky county clerk who was recently jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

Though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that same-sex couples cannot be denied the right to marry, some legal experts claim Kentucky law doesn't specify that. Michael Peroutka, a lawyer and founder of the Institute on the Constitution, and a conservative think tank, "The Court," said this: There is no law that requires her to grant a marriage license to people of the same sex. The Court has had many opinions ... but they are not law.   

Jeff Fisher, a Stanford University law professor and expert on Supreme Court practice disagrees: A Supreme Court decision is the law. Full stop. When the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution, the Supreme Court's words become the law.

Steve Vladeck, a professor at the American University Washington College of Law specializing in federal jurisdiction and constitutional law, cited a recent Kentucky court ruling to support Davis's incarceration: But either way, the argument about the Supreme Court is irrelevant. She's being held in contempt because she's refusing to follow a district court decision in a suit to which she is a party, holding that same-sex couples have a right to obtain marriage licenses from her. It's hard to think of any way in which she could be more directly violating a judicial judgment by which she is bound. 

Since Davis was elected to her position, she can't be fired. However, she'll remain in jail until she either agrees to issue same-sex marriage licenses, or a judge or Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear exempts her from issuing same-sex marriage licenses. 

Davis is a professing Born-Again Christian who claims that she would be committing a sin by issuing same-sex marriage licenses. And indeed, she would. 

However, here's the problem. The Bible clearly tells us that we are to obey the civil laws of the nations we reside in. Here's what the apostle Peter wrote: "Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:13-17)

And here's what the apostle Paul wrote concerning obedience to civil authority: "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience." (Romans 13:1-5)

And so, should Davis shut her mouth and violate her faith? Of course not. When civil law codifies sin, then a person such as Davis should resign rather than be forced by the law to propagate sin. Some people will say that quitting is cowardice. Some people will say that we need to fight for our rights as Christians, because by quitting, we're allowing ourselves to be defeated.

To that, I say this: If the Christian church in America had done a better job of contending for the faith over the past 100 years, then we wouldn't see people such Kim Davis behind bars and Christian florists and bakers being legislated out of business. 

The Christian church has lost the culture. While the church slept, secularists took over the government, media, entertainment and educational institutions. They filled the spiritual vacuum that the church left and imposed their worldview on the nation. When the church is strong, the nation is morally strong. But when the church is weak, the nation becomes a cesspool of sin and depravity.

Kim Davis may win in the short term. Since Kentucky belongs to what remains of America's Bible Belt, Davis has thousands of supporters who've taken up her cause. Will she become the Rosa Parks of a new Christian revival that rises up against the tyrannical godlessness of secular humanists? She may, but that's doubtful.

Davis, like a lot of Christians in the western world today, is being persecuted for her faith. And that's prophetic. Concerning the end times, Christ said this: "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me." (Matthew 24:9) 

While Kim Davis certainly won't be put to death for her faith, a time is coming when many professing Christians will. When will that happen? We don't know. 

But when you consider that what happened to Davis would've been unthinkable in America even just 20 years ago, the acceleration of Christian persecution in America and the western world is rapidly increasing. And so, for all true professing Christians, here's a warning: Be prepared, because it's coming.

God as You Conceive Him to Be

The Unitarian-Universalist Logo

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the apostle Paul prophesied that the time would come "when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Certainly, Paul was speaking of the great apostasy that would plague the church in the end times. Apostasy is nothing new to the church. It's been around for 2,000 years and it's worn many different masks.

However, the apostasy that Paul warned of would have a demonic origin. In his first letter to fellow apostle Timothy, he wrote this: "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (1 Timothy 4:1)

How can we define the "later times"? The later times are the end times, or the last days preceding the return of Jesus Christ. When did they begin? They began in the 19th century when such cults as the Watchtower Society (Jehovah's Witnesses), the Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church) and Christian Science appeared. 

Why did these groups suddenly appear? Because the Christian church lost its faith and became weak and ineffectual in its propagation of the gospel. That started with the European denominations that began to doubt the Bible as the inerrant word of God. Once the Bible was marginalized, aberrant doctrines and dangerous heresies began to creep in. And when that happened, Jesus Christ was no longer considered the Son of God and "the Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6) but rather just another holy man or an ancient Gandhi. 

Not all aberrant movements sprang up in the 19th century. The Unitarian Movement, that began in Europe in the 16th century, denies the Trinity and claims that God is a single being, which is similar to Islam's definition of God. Unitarians also don't believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 

The Unitarian movement gave birth to the Unitarian-Universalist movement in the 19th century. Unitarian-Universalism is an ecumenical religious worldview that claims all paths lead to God. According to Unitarian-Universalism, animists, Buddhists, Christians, fire-worshipers, pagans, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Taoists etc. all draw from the same universal truths about God, nature and the universe.

Here's what Unitarian-Universalists believe about God: The word "God" is much abused. Far too often, the word seems to refer to a kind of granddaddy in the sky or a super magician. To avoid confusion, many Unitarian Universalists are more apt to speak of "reverence for life" (in the words of Albert Sweitzer, a Unitarian), of the spirit of love or truth, of the holy, or of the gracious. Many also prefer such language because it is inclusive; it is used with integrity by theist and non-theist members.

For Unitarian-Universalists, God is whoever or whatever you want Him to be. He can be a real being; He can be an energy force, or He can even be a she (goddess). He can be nature itself; He can be the cosmos, or, if you like, He can be an imaginary being.

Though that appeals to many folks, our imaginations don't determine who God is. Then what does? Historical, prophetic evidence declares who God is. Paul wrote this: "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." (Romans 1:18-20)

The real danger of ecumenical, kumbaya religions such as Unitarian-Universalism is that they can't save your soul. They're all about making you feel good at the expense of truth. In fact, they deny the ultimate truth of mankind's fallen nature and the need for redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Christ said this to a group of unbelieving Jews that mocked and scorned Him: "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he (Messiah), you will indeed die in your sins." (John 8:23-24)

Unitarian-Universalists denounce those who believe that Jesus Christ is the exclusive path to God and eternal life as ignorant fundamentalists. But who's really ignorant? Those who embrace the historical, prophetic evidence of Christ's life, ministry, death and resurrection? Or, those who put their faith and trust in religious movements that offer hope without any tangible evidence?

What's the evidence for Christ? Over 300 prophecies recorded in the Old Testament that point to Christ as the Messiah and Savior of the world. For example, Christ's virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14), His life, death ministry and resurrection (Isaiah 53), and His birthplace in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) were all prophesied several centuries before He appeared on earth. 

The apostle Peter, who walked with Christ, wrote this: "We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:19-21)

As a wise man once said: Evidence is the alpha and the omega of truth, but ideology is the wisdom of fools.