Does the Church Require Another Reformation? Part 2 – Glen Iverson

Does the Church Require Another Reformation?  Part 2
“Characteristics of the Laodicean Church”

There have been false teaching and false teachers and false prophets that preach “another Gospel” since Yeshua was here, so what makes our generation so special?  There are a number of warnings about false teachers and false prophets throughout the New Testament that were relevant to the early readers of these epistles, so why is it that these warnings need to be heeded more today than in the past?  A quick answer is the peace and freedom that we have today.  The letter to Laodicea is the final epistle to the “Church” in the Bible prior to God’s judgment on the earth.  This begs the question of whether this represents the “enterprise” of the evangelical church that we see today.  Before looking at the various evangelical trends today, let’s look at how the Bible describes the final apostate church.

1. Charismatic Leader.

   In the Gospel of Matthew (24) and Mark (13), Yeshua describes the end of the age.  He states:

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”

A key word is deceive.  We need to be on guard as this is descriptive of charismatic leaders coming in the name of Yeshua with an intent to deceive.  Over the last 2000 years since Yeshua spoke these words, there have been many charismatic leaders coming in His name with an intent to deceive, so this is not the only characteristic of a church at the End of the Age.  It wouldn’t be difficult to collect many names of known false prophets and cult leaders who have seen “visions” and gathered a great following.  Some of these may include the Papacy, Muhammad, Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy among many others.

2. People will crave false teachers.

   Paul states to Timothy the characteristics of a future time when the “church” will surround themselves with teachers who cater to their desires.

   2 Timothy 4:3  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;

   If we’re looking back on the past 2000 years of church history, this description seems to fit best in more recent history.  During the Papacy to the Reformation, “Christendom” was ruled by an elite theocracy with an iron fist which wouldn’t allow for Christians to surround themselves with teachers that cater to their desires.  Compliance to the Theocracy wasn’t optional if one decides to review the history of the Catholic Church.  After the Reformation, there were a series of “counter-reformation” wars that one can research including the 30 Years War, the 80 Years War, persecution against the Anabaptists and Feudal society in Europe.  War changes one’s focus to survival from simply debating theology and philosophy.  It wasn’t until the 19^th century that popularity of “cult” leaders developed.  Although there were cults such as Mormonism developing in the 19^th century, this was a minority.  Many believers in the UK and America were Protestant and the Bible was still taught.  The 19^th Century was also a very missional time period for the church with the expansion of the British Empire.  Despite the atrocities committed during European and British colonialism, missionaries were also able to go to places that were previously not accessible.  People had a desire for spreading the Gospel in the 19^th century as observed by the popularity of C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), history’s most widely read pastor.  Spurgeon certainly didn’t “tickle the ears”.  It wasn’t until after WWII that peace afforded Believers to stray from the Gospel in large numbers.

3. It is wealthy.

   A third characteristic is wealth.  In the letter to Laodicea, Yeshua states:

   “You say, “I am rich. I have become wealthy. I don’t need anything.” Yet you don’t realize that you are miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.”

   While there is always a desire for wealth as nobody desires to be poor, we need to take a closer look at what the Bible says about money.  Paul states to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:10

   “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.”

   Yeshua states in Matthew 6:19

   “Stop storing up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.”

   The writer to Hebrews states in 13:5

   “Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for God has said, “I will never leave you or abandon you.”

   Solomon states in Ecclesiastes 5:10

   “  Whoever loves money will never have enough money. Whoever loves luxury will not be content with abundance. This also is pointless.”

   Finally Satan tempts Yeshua with wealth and power in Matthew 4:10

   “ Once more the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, along with their splendor.  (9)  He told Jesus, “I will give you all these things if you will bow down and worship me!”

   Is it logical for God to bless His church with the very thing He warns against?

We will have a closer look at these three characteristics of the end times church to see how it matches what we see today in popular evangelical Christianity in part 3.