The Harvest and the great falling away. A warning.

"The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels."
Matthew 13:38-40 (in Context) Matthew 13 (Whole Chapter)

These times are somewhat surreal to me, as the days pass. I have seen men, ministers of the gospel, that I respected, prove to be of the devil; false and lying apostles. Why didn't I see this before, when I could have warned others?, and why did not others see this coming in their lives? I have been astonished, and cried out, "This cannot be!"; "Not Him!"..but it was true. They were apostate.

The thing that I am beginning to grasp now, after some time at this business of discerning Truth and Deception, is that these men, these great leaders of American Christianity who have turned aside, have always been crooked. Many or most of them never did belong to Jesus. They have always been tares...and they must be exposed by the Lord alone, and this was only possible at a

[b]TIME[/b]...the end of the age.

I believe with all of my heart that we as a church, have entered into this era now. We have entered into the End of the Age. I do not know the length of this time, or it's relation to the Return of Jesus, and the preceding great tribulation; but brothers and sisters; we are in it.

One of the major signs is that we recognize the tares; the counterfeit WHEAT. They must grow up among us, and in a way, be hidden among the good fruit of the field. This is something that God has done, something that He has engineered, for the sake of purity. Yes, the devil has sowed the tares, but God allowed it as the test that All of the Harvest is about. [b]Worship[/b]

Who do you love, and what are you devoted to? As I ponder the attributes of these men, I see a pattern about them, in their preaching, teaching and deeds. The lack of;

1.] The preaching and teaching of the Cross of Jesus, and His blood alone, as the only and sole way to the Father.

2.] The truth that; "[b]You must be born again!"[/b]..regenerated by the Holy Spirit Himself within your self, creating a new man; a child of God Himself.

3.] The teaching and preaching of the Cross that the Christian must bear, to gain Christ. The submission inwardly to that Holy Spirit that will put us to death. This is the only thing that will transform us to the end that we will be as Jesus, and learn how to Love.

4.] The drawing away from the Word alone, as literally written in the Bible, to an EXPERIENCE or humanistic feeling, as a fruit of God's will or presence. This is compromise, full and complete, and the odd thing about it, is that it grows, it spreads, and the trickle of heresy becomes a flood...every time, if you wait.

5.] The "ministry" mentality, versus the "Brother" mentality. Clergy / Laity thinking, and the adherence to the "Priest Class" type of living. Separate...and this is the prominent thing that has destroyed the body life of the church, and there-by the Body. We are one body, and the Apostles all called themselves brethren FIRST, and esteemed the least of the Brethren as much as any of the prominent ones.

6.] They see the church as an event, that they mostly lead, rather than an organism. The meeting is the Church to them, and the reality is that it is NOT! The meeting should never precede the community, the love of one another in practical ways in daily life. To admit this, however, would place these nicolaitan types right out of power, and they will not descend to the common, which brings ...

7.] They are all professional preachers, paid itinerants often. Jesus had a word for them.[b]Hirelings.[/b] After a while, you perform, you ACT. You play the role, and the entertainment and oratorical value of the impression you make, becomes ascendant over the Word of God. That is how they stay popular, after all. "and my people love it so."

We must learn to walk with God alone, for this is the very heart of what Faith is. The secret place, where we Know Him, and strive to please Him, to die to us, to live to Him...and THEN as a member of the Body, and then the Church is real; Love is real. This is where we are heading, and soon Jesus will take His rightful place as Head of the body...as Lord, all over the Earth.

The Elders of this Church will do three things.

1.] They will feed the Church.

2.] They will protect the Church.

3.] They will manifest the Lordship of Jesus alone wherever they go and in whatever they do to All.

Your thoughts on this time ?

Hey ginnyrose: It's like "Oprah" Christianity out there! Everyone is saved, Hindu or Muslim, god is good to all, and mercy for everyone. All you need is love...

That feels good to the soul, but the fire afterward will not, for the Father is jealous over the sacrifice of His Son, and must punish all who reject Him, for they are unclean.

The end to following someone like that, {I think of Rick Warren now..] is there end. Hell. thanks for the insight.

Wayneman said: " I have seen two spontaneous moves of the Spirit. One was a Friday night Bible study, the other was a Saturday night jail ministry. Both occurred outside the institutionalized church. Both were suppressed and shut down by the professional clergy. From the days of Jesus till now, the vanguard of resistance to God's purpose on earth has been salaried clergy with professional interests to protect."

Very clear discernment, Wayneman. I think of the Pharisee's final and logical justification to assassinate Jesus of Nazareth, [ and poor resurrected Lazarus too...]. "If we allow Him to continue, the Romans will come, and remove our Nation, and our place!" "..and from that moment on, they counseled on how they might kill Him." This is what I was referring to when I said that it seemed surreal. Who could imagine that a real move of God would be quenched, willingly, by professing Christian leaders?

The sad truth, is that it happens, and it happens quite frequently, for when the Lord the Spirit declares His dominion over HIS body, Man must be dethroned. They are out of power and a job, and they will fight to the death to retain it. It is a small thing to them to sacrifice the church to do it. To them, it seems perfectly natural, and they deem themselves even responsible to do it. They will attack anything and anybody that may even hint that the church does not belong to them, and they are not needed. This is at the heart and soul of the Pharisee spirit, the professional ministry, and it alive and well in most of Churchianity in America today...but Hallelujah! ...not for long.

We will be one body with one Spirit and one Lord over all, before it is all over, and the Harvest has begun!

What is this added word "Great" when it is said of the falling away? It doesn't say it's great, why put emphasis on something that has not emphasis? Great Tribulation yes, but not Great Falling Away. Where words are set are very important.

Some could say that I was being nit picky, but when you have thousands of English translations of the Bible and the wording becomes weaker and weaker, we should stand up against these added wordings. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Carry on with the discussion, this is a side note.

I believe with all of my heart that we as a church, have entered into this era now. We have entered into the End of the Age. I do not know the length of this time, or it's relation to the Return of Jesus, and the preceding great tribulation; but brothers and sisters; we are in it.

There is nothing going on today that is not notable. It has happened before. It's like a cycle that continues to go around. The Church gets worldly, the world gets worse because of it, and then the young people get fed up and they rebel, and then they want truth, so they seek God and in time a revival is birthed, after that persecution, which goes on for several years, as people pray for the nation they are living in, the government passes laws for Christians to practise their faith without harassment. Then the government adopts the Christian principles into their judicial system even in governmental offices, and their is a sense of righteous living even amongst the world because the Church is doing what it's supposed to be doing, standing for the truth of Gods word. When those days come, people don't have to lock their doors. Schools will be a place where you'll want to send your kids to learn. Sex education is left up to the parents, and guns will not be seen in schools. Those times will be called "the good old days".

The wicked will moan and do everything under the cover of darkness to match their heart.

Nothing is new under the sun. This will all come around again. And in some country, God is grooming a nation that will see righteousness flow down like a river and will bless that nation.

"This concurrent latter rain revival and great falling away constitute the final harvest, the separation of the wheat and the tares. It will also entail a final separation of the saints from the Babylonic religious system. "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins." Rev. 18:4"

"I believe that the latter rain revival will bypass the professional clergy. How could it be otherwise? It is almost irreverent to contemplate what would happen if the Holy Spirit were poured out on the American Gospel Enterprise:"

Wayneman.

I couldn't agree with you more. A revival in their back yard would only serve to validate their insincerity and encourage their avarice; but in the long run, I think it impossible. Jesus prophecies of a pure and spotless bride, and the wife of the Lamb, who has; "Made herself ready." This does not speak of the unrepentant proud and the Nicolaitan, nor repugnant Babylon; man's system and control of worship.

The bible also prophecies that the glory of the latter house, shall exceed the glory of the former, and in Amos speaks of a time when the plowman should be overtaken by the treader of grapes....INSTANT FRUIT! This is the church flowering in full maturity, and there is no doubt though, that suffering and tribulation will accompany this company as the DAY draws near.

This is how I see it. There are more leaving the church systems today than ever before, and more organic moves and churches than ever before, as the Lord prepares His bride. The wise virgins had oil. Could this be symbolic of true Holy Spirit relationship?
Tom.

I might add that many men in the clergy/ laity system are sincere, and doctrinally sound, but in the long run, via the quenching of the Holy Spirit, create barrenness in spite of their noble intentions, and set the flame of Apostasy by virtue of His Absence. They create the FORM of Godliness, with hollow cores; their is no life!

Jesus exhorted of the Pharisee's, "Do as they say, [..because they sat in the seat of Moses; they were doctrinally and clinically correct ], "but do not DO as they do." So it often is today, even with good men in the pulpit. Because the body is separated from the Head, by virtue of a single man dominating the entire functions of the church, [ and the Church is NOT the meeting..]we are left with a lifeless, religious void, that we have been sold as REALITY; the way it ought to be.

It is a far cry from the vibrant life of the early church that created "Great Joy", as they met from house to house, and sadly, a part of religious Babylon; the dead church, or at least the "Dying church."

Let us never forget that the Church was always and is always the Church of "THE LEAST OF THE BRETHREN," and this notion of an anointed "PRIEST CLASS"....[ "the Pastor!" ] did not exist. Yes, their were shepherds, but always plural, and always equal and equally submitted to one another. By allowing this order, the Headship of Jesus as Lord of the assembly and Body is destroyed, as He is rejected and quenched.

Yes, even good men can be a part of the problem, and to survive, not just the common, but the Pastors too, must "COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE!" to see Jesus as Lord and King over that which He redeemed.

TracyinMD said;

"Wow, i have so many thoughts on this, especially that we can DISTINGUISH the tares being a sign, as you said. There is a conversation going on among some of us where I am of these very things. Hope to write more later, but if not, here's an interesting scripture and my theory of what may be happening. Spoken of in Dan 11, 12, the "people of insight" (NASB) Especially Dan 12:3.

"Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever."

Brothertom says:

This must be the end of the Age. Paul spoke of his revelation that the ELECT could not be deceived, inferring it's impossibility, and the fact that the body has "made herself ready..", and is clothed in White; "pure and spotless".

If she was stained or deceived by the "Tare deceivers", this could not be so. She had to have had the discernment and understanding to know the difference."They will be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him."

Malachi 3:18

18."So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him."

Malachi spoke of the special treasure of the Lord that he would possess in the last days; the day of the Lord. he promises this very discernment of the tares, and also His holy ones. Here He speaks of the essence of the harvest, the great separation culminating in eternal dwelling places.

Very edifying input..Tom

Christ alone can save you, but beware of church!

Pretty well the only noticeable key for discernment today is to recognize "if a preacher is famous, he is false".

Old Joe

7.] They are all professional preachers, paid itinerants often. Jesus had a word for them.Hirelings. After a while, you perform, you ACT. You play the role, and the entertainment and oratorical value of the impression you make, becomes ascendant over the Word of God. That is how they stay popular, after all. "and my people love it so."

Our home church we left about a couple of yrs ago, just last Sunday...the pastor rode a motorcycle into service to promote the new "ministry", motorcycles for Jesus. :-(