Beauty and the Beast
…the Beast State is
Turning on the Church
By Dene McGriff
Page-Flip version
Today we are witnessing the acquiescence
of the church as society and the state impinge upon her. We have two
examples. One is national, showing the gradual caving of the church to the
modern age as it tries to make herself more accommodating to the State and now
experiencing the State’s uncompromising attack on the church. The other has to
do with supporting an evangelist who is going to be doing a “season of service”
here in Sacramento, California, as an evangelistic outreach – here, the Church
attempts to make herself more attractive to the world, less offensive, more in
“tune with today’s culture.”
The first is an out and out attack by the Obama administration
on the church as it endeavors to impose its morality on the church in the guise
of human rights, i.e., all religious hospitals and clinics must provide
contraceptives and abortion-inducing medications. Yes, there is a bit of hue
and cry from some church leaders who recognize the significance of what the
Obama administration is trying to do. But the average rank and file could care
less. The second is the concerted effort of the church to fit into society by
placing the pure preaching of the gospel on the same plane as a corporate endeavor
in meeting the needs of society---everything from HIV prevention to painting
houses (a sort of “gospel in deed” not just in word…so they claim).
Revelation 17 pictures the woman (the apostate church
– those “falling away from the faith once delivered”) trying to ride a beast
(the state). Go along. Get along. Don’t rock the boat. Compromise and reap
the benefits. That Old Time Religion just won’t do – especially that bloody
Cross – and preaching about sin, forget it, you might offend someone. The only
problem is, the beast turns on the woman. “The beast and the ten horns you
saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked;
they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.” (Revelation
17:16).
The picture given here is profound – this is NOT my
metaphor – it’s the Bible’s…and make no mistake here, this woman, this
“apostate church” is described as both a “golden cup in the hand of the Lord”
as well as “gilded in gold and precious jewels” – i.e., there are many precious
believers (gold) about her – but at her core she is “full of putridity” – an
awful disclosure indeed! It’s when she rides the State – where the State seeks
her “moral covering” and where she “seeks the support of the State” – that a
very tenuous relationship ensues; eventually, the Scriptures are altogether too
clear: The Beast will turn on the Woman who rides it and devour her!
Over the past 20 years the religious right began to
achieve a greater and greater foothold with the Federal Government culminating
in the evangelical-anointed presidency of George W. Bush. It seemed like the
church had finally found someone who understood them and vice versa.
Then along comes the attorney and community leader,
Barak Obama, who sat at the feet of Jeremiah
Wright, the pastor who preached class warfare (something
Obama was already involved in at the ground level as a “community organizer”)
and the shame of America for supporting terrorism around the world (e.g. terrorism
against the Palestinians and in South Africa) and suppressing the poor in
America and around the world. Obama sat under his ministry for 20 years and never
once objected to his “damn America and the
rich”
position. This is a matter of record. Look it up.
There was such a hue and cry by Church and political
leaders against the Administration’s latest attempts to implement Planned
Parenthood’s agenda, that today (February 10, 2012) he changed his mind and
said that all insurance companies must cover birth control (same result but a
different way of going about it – bishops still haven’t replied to this
“compromise”). Yet, by what authority can the President tell a private company
what to do or not to do? Or a church? Or anyone else? This is the mark of a
dictator, in this case the President who recognizes no bounds to what he can or
cannot do. Unbelievable chutzpah and a total abridgement of the US
Constitution – a Constitution that Supreme Court Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsberg claims is outdated and one that should
give way to the likes of the constitution adopted by today’s South Africa!
Here Little Doggie – Does
Little Doggie Want to Kiss Me?
Over the past three decades the Church has developed
a cozy relationship with the Federal government, but this one is going to turn
on it and bite its head off. Any time a church accepts a 501-c-3 non-profit
status they become an entity of the government – whether they say they are or
not! Some pastors view themselves as officers of the State – agents of the
State…and we’re speaking here far and beyond teachers in education who are
under State mandate to report certain behavior…and, if they don’t, they can be
held libel themselves!
But this time the Obama administration stepped way
over the line and they know it. It’s not about birth control but the
dismantling of the US Constitution.
Senator Marco
Rubio said:
“The president must
reverse course and that compromise is not really possible.”
"First of all, I think compromise is always good,” Rubio said. “The
problem is this has to do with a fundamental right. What are you going to
compromise on, having half of your fundamental constitutional rights?"
Rubio asked.
"You either have your constitutional protections or you don’t. You can’t
give someone half of their First Amendment rights. And that’s what this issue
is about.
“This is not about contraception; this is not about the Catholic Church. This
is about whether the federal government of the United States should have the
power to go in and require a religious organization to pay for something that
the religious organization teaches against. I don’t think the framers thought
the government should have that power and in fact I know they didn’t. I think
it violates the Constitution and the best thing that could happen here is the
president to . . . change his mind.”
So he kinda-sorta changed his mind for now. But beware!
Obama is leading a movement – a veritable crusade – to completely transform
American society. The Church is naively walking right into a trap. The
Catholic hierarchy and the Obama Administration are playing for keeps here –
the one trying to outfox the other . . . the “game” is not over by a long shot
. . . just ask Barbara Boxer and those crafting the New World Order agenda,
again, under the guise of “health care for all.”
The church has transformed herself from a simple
organic fellowship into an organization controlled and sanctioned by the
government. The institutional church has made itself big, even “mega”—a mega
entertainment and marketing machine that panders to society and the world to
make herself attractive and desirable. Following the example of the purpose-driven
and emergent churches, it is making herself relevant by
supporting 
social justice, watering down the unpopular gospel
of sin and salvation. As I told a brother yesterday, this shouldn’t be a surprise
to any of us since the Church has been sliding further and further away from
the simple truth of the gospel for many years. Why preach repentance from sin
and salvation through the bloody cross – I mean, how offensive is that!
Listen up, Church, ridin’ high on the Beast is like
that reporter this week (Feb., 2012) who peered into the face of a little
doggie who she was interviewing for helping humanity who, when she peered into
his face, suddenly bit her in the face … proving once again that the beastly
nature may appear cute and even friendly and supportive of humanity, but the
same dog who licks you in the face, and saves a fireman,
is the same cutesy doggie who’ll bite you in the face!
Can’t We All Just Get
Along?
To further illustrate this, a controversy has erupted
right here in Sacramento over an evangelistic crusade that is coming to town by
Luis Palau (June, 2012), who at one time was heralded as the heir apparent to
Billy Graham. A church we once attended is jumping in to help. Here’s some of
the correspondence – rather “heated” at times, but demonstrates how intense the
“battle over the gospel” is getting…this is difficult reading…but the Tribnet
feels this real-life exchange is necessary to know what’s a stake in this time
of prophetic fulfillment where the “Great falling away from the faith” takes
place – and, incidentally, this “great falling away from the faith” is not the
rapture, it is what it says it is!
First – a response by a
former pastor to an advertisement announcing the Church engaged in a new
“social gospel”…sent to a Brother J. by Pastor D.
Dear J….
What the h--l is this? Painting schools? Literacy programs? Working
with gays and lesbians to warn against the dangers of HIV? What the h--l is
happening to us?
This is exactly what the church was up
to just before the last great revival - trying to "legitimize" the
gospel by dressing it up in a "social justice" garb and appealing to
the Old Testament for justification.
The evangelical church needs to be
cleansed - either that or set aside. And that's precisely what will happen
before very long. Coming soon, outside the church of course, a new Jesus
Movement will arise that preaches a straight-on gospel of repentance and
judgment - and the need to call sin a sin.
I can't believe Luis Palau is behind
this. D, was a schoolmate of Luis back in the early 1960s in Bible School. He
can’t believe that this is what Luis is doing now. Can you believe it? Look
at this headline:
Sacramento-area churches gear up for 'Season of Service'
Published in the Sacrament Bee: Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
by Jennifer Garza
Some
churches will paint schools. Others will offer literacy programs. And others will feed and house the homeless.
Organizers
are calling it "A Season of Service," a community outreach effort
likely to affect every part of the region over the next few months.
Pastor
D.
************************
Response to Pastor D.’s blatant conern….by Brother J.
I
have to disagree with you. You have not attended one meeting concerning Luis
Palau Festival or Season of Service and yet you sit in judgment over it? You
have no idea what is in the hearts of hundred of churches banning together for
this project. I listened to Louis Palau at two meetings and whether you believe
it or not his heart is to preach the gospel. How can you sit in judgment over
the entire church anyway? All I get from your emails is how the church is
failing. Yes, it's failing to live up to your expectations. You think that you
know how the church should carry out her mission and everyone that does it
different is wrong (at least that is the impression you give). You tear down
and tear down and don't build up. Yet you say you love the church. Is it right
to say you love your wife and then continue to bash her in public over and over
again? So you have removed yourself and set up your own "church" your
own way. Yes, there are deficiencies in the church. We all agree. Just stop
bashing her. You know the scriptures. Jesus spent much of His time serving the
social and physical needs and was more than able to share the gospel with them.
Now you can lump me in with the others if you want. You've already expressed
your disappointment in me. Just be careful in judging me. I'm not here to
please you and you will not judge me on that day.
Brother
J.
******************************
Response to Brother J.
from Brother D.
We are not judging Luis Palau's heart. There
is nothing wrong with good works. The question is what else is mixed in
with the gospel? The fact is Palau is in close collaboration with many in
the emergent church and contemplative prayer movement. It isn't just
"guilt by association." Here is one example. Endorsing a
book is quite a bit more than responsible or even casual "association."
Popular
Evangelist Luis Palau Joins Brian McLaren in Book Project
InterVarsity
Press will be releasing a book this summer called 
Reimagining Evangelism: Inviting Friends on a
Spiritual Journey. The author, Rick
Richardson is a professor at Wheaton Graduate School and an associate director
for evangelism for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. According to
InterVarsity, his book "Evangelism Outside the Box: New Ways to Help
People Experience the Good News” has been widely used by campus ministries, by
Emergent churches and in seminary classes on evangelism.
Popular
evangelist Luis Palau has written a foreword for the book as has Brian McLaren. In view of the fact that Palau also endorsed emerging leader Dan Kimball's book, The Emerging Church, there is reason to be concerned.
These are all linked to the "contemplative
prayer movement" where we find people channeling Jesus, Moses and other
luminaries. There is undoubtedly a move away from the simplicity of the
gospel as the church moves away from the simplicity of the gospel.
As Paul Proctor said in a recent article,:
"The social
gospel and its increasingly popular ‘social justice’ campaign is not an
acceptable substitute for preaching repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Its
promoters all too often set aside the vertical, spiritual and eternal issues of
sin, rebellion, obedience, holiness and reverence toward God in order to redirect
the focus toward more horizontal, physical and temporal values. In the end, the
flesh is, for a time, fed and comforted, but the souls of sinners are left
abandoned to biblical ignorance because disobedient do-gooders have spiritually
sidetracked the Church and its mission." (February 6, 2012,
Lighthouse Trails - www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com).
The question isn't if this type of evangelism is
good or bad, but where is it headed? Is it the means or the end? If
you study these trends, you have to ask yourself, are they really preaching the
truth or the kind of pop evangelism people have come to expect.
Many of these brothers are working closely together
and in an age of falling away (and there can be little doubt that most of
today's "Christians" are increasingly illiterate to the point that
they don't even know what the real gospel is - and there is tons of research to
support this point).
It is not church bashing and being negative to state
the obvious. The Bible clearly declares that in the last days the church
will fall away. So are we in the "last days" or not?.... and if
we are, it should be no surprise to see this happening. Unfortunately there
are many dear brothers slip sliding away. So will this trend
suddenly reverse or will we see the church continue to slide into the world of
relativism, the deification of man, and designer religions that end in full
scale apostasy?
Brother D.
*****************************************
Response to Brother J.
from Pastor D.
Hi J,
What I'm saying is no different from what I was
preaching from the pulpit a full year or so before I retired. Come on, J.,
don't you remember? The church has lapsed into a Laodicean mind-set? Remember
how passionately I preached that message - an end-times’ message? At the time,
J., you were 100% in agreement. I preached my heart out - warning the church to
return to a biblical mind-set. All that's changed is that I'm no longer
preaching that message from the pulpit; I'm preaching it away from the pulpit.
I have spent close to fifty years building up the
church - with a special emphasis on relationships - what we called a relational
church. So, please, J., don't tell me I "hate" the church or that I'm
"tearing her down." But if what the church has indeed lapsed into is
a Laodicean mind-set - and, once again, you once agreed with me that indeed
that's the case - am I to be censored for pointing that out? You didn't censor
me back then; so why now?
My way and my expectations? If my expectations don't
line up with the expectations delineated in scripture, then, yes, I'm wrong and
blameworthy. On the other hand, J…, if the church isn't living up to the
expectations outlined in the scriptures - and you are aligning yourself with
that failure, then, you, not me, are to be blamed.
Who's changed? I think you're the one who has
changed, not me.
Sorry, I don't think we need ploys to preach the
gospel - nor do we need to paint a house or tutor the poor to win the right to
preach the gospel. I haven't painted anyone's house recently, but I'm still
leading souls to Christ. How about you?
I'm not against Luis Palau. That's not my point at
all. Try recalling exactly what real revival feels and looks like. A real
revival doesn't need ploys. Can you imagine putting together a "season of
service" back during the Jesus Movement? No, we were simply excited about
Christ - and we told everyone we knew just how excited we were. And we didn't
give a hoot about what the world thought of us. We certainly weren't searching
desperately for the world's approval - nor trying to legitimize the gospel. We
just preached it. There's power in the gospel - and in the gospel alone. Or
have you forgotten that?
Wait and see. Just like the Convoy of Hope, this too
will sweep through Sacramento - and then pass into oblivion. Is that being
cynical? Or is that being realistic? I think what the church needs is a heavy
dose of realism.
Below is a letter that
Pastor D. sent to R… (he too had problems with the e-mail Pastor D. sent out). It
spells out what Pastor D.’s warning is all about.
**********************************************
Hi R…,
The evangelistic models the church has
embraced over the last twenty years or so is geared primarily toward
"stealing sheep" from other churches; i.e., "transfer
growth." Why? It's because, I believe, the church has developed a siege
mentality and is no longer willing to "confront the world" in a
genuinely biblical way. We're desperately searching for an evangelistic
methodology that will somehow enable us to engage the lost without running the
risk of being ridiculed and persecuted. And that's flat-out impossible. Matthew
10 is emphatic. The gospel and persecution go hand in hand. If the church is
unwilling to embrace persecution and ridicule, the gospel won't be preached -
at least not with any real conviction and power. Exactly what's been
happening here in America for the last few decades!
We've bought into the very stereotypes the unsaved
use against us - and are willing to do almost anything to escape the kinds of
niches into which they want to force us. Trying to avoid those
stereotypes has become an obsession with too many of us - most
especially church leaders. It's a clever ploy the devil has concocted - and
we've fallen right into the trap.
We're spending too much time trying to
apologize for the gospel instead of preaching it. We've
bought into a lie - that the unsaved are no longer open to discussing the
gospel - of examining its claims.
Personally, I've never encountered so much openness
to the gospel on the part of the unsaved. Last 2nd Saturday, out on the
streets, three persons prayed on the spot to be saved. Over the course of the
next week, scores of persons called asking for more information. Two persons
began to actually attend the Sunday Bible class we hold at my house.
Not only that, but my wife and I are starting a
couples gathering on Wednesday nights with six couples - five unsaved - three
actual Mormons. My wife meets with one of them every morning at 7:00 AM right
here in the neighborhood.
To h--l with clever evangelistic methodologies.
Forget about the niches they want to force us into and the clown garb they want
us to wear. The gospel has always been an affront and an offense - and the
unsaved have always managed to deploy ruses and machinations that make us out
to be hayseed ignoramuses from Appalachia or judgmental hypocrites. Yes, there
are abuses - and just enough idiots out there to lend a modicum of credibility
to those ruses; but the more we try to defend ourselves from the charges they
levy against us, the less the gospel is actually preached. I just don't have
the time to defend the gospel (that way). I only want to preach it. Lives are
at stake. Or do we really believe anymore the sober warning of John 3:16?
I'm sick and tired of evangelistic strategies that
make Christians out to be better tree huggers, better whale watchers, better
therapists, more friendly, more compassionate, etc. than the unsaved. What do
we have to do? Paint five houses before we can preach the gospel to one unsaved
person? Yea, I think I read that in the Book of Acts.
The whole "friendship evangelism" idea
sprang from a book Joe Aldrich wrote almost thirty years ago. And Joe would be
appalled at how his idea has been high jacked and perverted. Joe was a close
friend of XXX. He preached the gospel with Joe on the streets in Portland.
What passes for "friendship evangelism" today is not at all what Joe
had in mind; it's a flat-out caricature of the idea he was trying to get across.
And concerning the need for relational churches, no
one has more pressed this matter than I - no one.
Looking forward to meeting with you today.
Pastor D.
*************************
Dene Again:
Well, that’s part of the on-going saga. The old
guard wants to stay focused on the basics. The new generation wants to be
relevant and cool. People aren’t being added to the church because they
haven’t been truly been born again. The church with the biggest and best
programs steals sheep from the more traditional, boring, less relevant church.
Being “relevant” has become synonymous with being “relative!”
The danger is that today’s modern church will look
like the Church
in Laodicea. “I know your works,
that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So
then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,[g] I will vomit you
out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become
wealthy, and have need of nothing’. Yes, a church with works and social
justice, a mega church which is rich and needs nothing! The very same church
that rides the political Beast (Revelation 17), the church that so terribly
wants to be accepted by the world, only to have the Beast turn against it and
be devoured. Truly, the Beauty should beware of the Beast!
