The Last Days Of The Church V

 Dependence upon God in every area of life is not an option for the believer; it is a necessity. I can’t trust God in some things and not others; I have to trust Him in all things in perpetuity. If I withhold trust from Him regarding anything, I’m insinuating that there is something He cannot do when He declares there is nothing He cannot do. This is not a trivial matter; it is an existential one. It’s not just those who say, ‘I am rich and have need of nothing’ that stirs God’s righteous anger, but anyone who points to anything other than Jesus as their justification, sanctification, or salvation.

The list is long and has varied throughout the ages, but there have been countless ideas, doctrines, and teachings attempting to usurp the preeminence of Christ and replace Him with something other. There may be more than one way to skin a cat, although I couldn’t begin to piece together why someone would know that, but there is only one way to the Father, and that is through Christ Jesus. He is the way that is discovered in truth, which leads to life. Absent Christ, we have neither truth nor life, and whatever way we might be walking in, if it’s not Jesus, it is a way that will lead to destruction.

Some men trust in traditions, others in their own righteousness, and others still in their pedigree or title, but everyone falls short of the mark if Jesus is not the cornerstone of their hope and faith. For the Laodiceans, it was wealth. That was the thing they put their trust in more than Jesus, and He would have none of it.

The third, and perhaps most tragic thing of all, and something that is commonplace in the contemporary church, is that the Laodiceans were blind to their own decrepitude. They beat their chests and boasted in their possessions but did not know that they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. In their own eyes, they were righteous. In their own eyes, they were, as a 90’s prosperity preacher put it, the apple of God’s eye, yet in reality, they were far from it.

But how could this be? Jesus did not deny their claim that they were rich in material wealth, but spiritually, they were poor. He did not deny that they were finely attired since they produced tunics made of one piece of cloth, akin to what Jesus wore, but of black wool, which was all the rage in those days. But He still saw them as naked because they were not clothed in righteousness.

Although they were self-titled visionaries, with their multi-campus concept and the glorious buildings they’d erected, Jesus saw them as blind because they did not look beyond the present to the kingdom to come.

What men see and how they weigh a matter is different than what God sees and how He judges. He told us as much in Isaiah when He said, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways.” Rather than desire to see as God sees and pursue His ways, the Laodiceans had convinced themselves that they were perfectly fine in their spiritual condition, so much so that although all evidence pointed to the contrary, they were still peacocking to the rest of the world.

To think oneself rich and in need of nothing but in reality to be wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked can’t just be the result of missing a minor detail somewhere, but rather the result of a prolonged, consistent, and complete self-delusion to which they’d acquiesced. It’s akin to a porcine fellow that begins to wheeze from the three steps it takes him to traverse the distance from his couch to the kitchen, believing himself an acrobat. They believed themselves spiritually superior, yet they had a hard road to row just to get back to a minimum standard.

It’s an all-too-common malady in many contemporary churches as well. While we declare to one and all that we are spiritual super-soldiers, warriors in the truest sense, we have a hard climb just to get back to the bare minimum, the plumb line, the standard that God lays out in His word. Being born again, being renewed of mind, denying ourselves, picking up our crosses and following after Him are not things reserved for the spiritual elite but the basic requirement for the lowliest of privates fresh off the bus starting their basic training. It’s passing the physical and being accepted into God’s army, not graduating from BUDS with honors.

Upon reading the letter to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans in its entirety, one notices a point of transition wherein Christ is no longer addressing the entire body but rather individuals within that body whose underlying desire is still to follow after Him. Not only is this telling, but it also highlights the truth that our faith is not collective but rather an individual endeavor.

Revelation 3:19-22, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

The message of rebuke was for the entire church, but the message of repentance, reconciliation, and fellowship with Christ was an individual offer. If anyone hears His voice and opens the door, then He will reciprocate and establish fellowship.

No man or woman is beyond repentance. Christ Himself commands that we be zealous and repent, but repentance is something that man must initiate, having acknowledged their need to be restored and reconciled. God will not force repentance upon anyone. He stands at the door and knocks. If anyone hears His voice and opens the door, He will make their heart His home and be an ever-present help in times of trouble.

What makes a church body pleasing in the sight of God is established in His word. The way is set, it is clear, and it allows for no detours or variations. The uncomfortable question we must contend with is whether or not the modern-day church resembles something pleasing to God or something He would vomit out of His mouth. In order to understand what the spiritual condition of the last days of the church will look like, this is the question we must answer and do so honestly.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

The Last Days Of The Church IV

 This teaching hopes to answer the question of what the spiritual condition of the last-day church will be like according to Scripture. That’s the caveat, as it always is: it must be according to the Word of God and not to what we would like it to be, hope it will be, or what others have told us it surely would be. If it’s anything resembling the church of Laodicea, and by all accounts, it is, then much of what calls itself the church is in for a rude awakening and the reaction to the realization that singing God’s got an army marching through the land, and being part of God’s army are two different things.

Three things precipitated Christ’s rebuke and His warning that the Laodicean church would be vomited out of His mouth lest they repent. Whenever the word because appears in a given text, we are given to understand the why of something previously declared. Christ’s rebuke was not unwarranted, and He outlined why it was necessary. His anger, likewise, was not kindled just because. There were reasons for it, well-founded and irrefutable, even though the Laodiceans thought all was going swimmingly and everything was in order.

Revelation 3:14-18, “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ‘I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.’ Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked – I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.’”

Although few like pointing it out, a different word for saying someone is a casual Christian is superficial. Superficial Christianity is en vogue. We each have our truth, which we think supersedes God’s truth. That the customer is always right has become so ingrained in our thinking that many in the church today believe wholeheartedly that just because they think it, it must be so, and God will have to acquiesce at some point. Although we are apathetic toward the Word and will of God on our best days, we’re still willing to talk anyone’s ear off about how righteous we are given half the chance.

The first thing Jesus highlighted as unacceptable in His sight was a lukewarm believer. Casual, impermanent, and occasional Christianity is so off-putting to Him that it initiates his gag reflex. Although the word used in the English vernacular is to vomit, the root of this denotes something worse. When you need to throw up, you throw up, and that’s that. The word used in Greek is more akin to gastroesophageal reflux disease, where the stomach acid repeatedly flows back up into the esophagus, causing the individual to wretch uncontrollably.

It’s sobering to realize that what passes for Christianity in most churches is what makes Jesus vomit. It’s not hyperbole; it’s reality. This space so many are comfortable in, of having one foot in the world and one foot in the church, playing hopscotch with grace, having divided loyalties, and not fully surrendering to one master or the other, is the worst of three things you can be in His sight.

If you’re hot, you’re fully committed, and your course is established. That’s the thing few in the contemporary church understand. The men of the early church were all in, with no emergency exit, no safety net, and no life to go back to if this Jesus thing didn’t work out. Walking in the way was not something reserved for weekends, and their lives weren’t compartmentalized where a certain portion of their day was devoted to the pursuits of the flesh and the other to godly pursuits. They were true and faithful servants of Christ even when the road got hard, and what they were called upon to sacrifice wasn’t a handful of shekels but their lives. 

If you’re cold, then you’re cold, and that in itself is self-explanatory. The lukewarm, however, is something God cannot abide. Their identity is not in Christ. Because they cling to the old and refuse to be transformed, the environment in which they wallow is one of compromise, and if a better deal comes along, they’ll monkey branch to the other thing, the shiny new thing, the exciting thing, without a second thought. They want to continue living in sin without being held accountable for their sinfulness. They want to pay God lip service while their hearts are pining for the darkness and claim to serve God so long as it’s beneficial to their flesh.

Coincidentally, it’s also those who exist in the lukewarm environment God finds so offputting who decry the notion of striving or making any effort to grow in God, mature, and pursue righteousness. To such individuals, the notion of obedience is anathema because obedience presupposes submission to someone other than oneself, and that just won’t do. We’re saved, secure, and free to do as we will when we will, with no consequences for our actions or rebuke from the God we claim to serve.  

The second thing Jesus took issue with was the Laodicean church’s self-assurance in their self-sufficiency. “Because you say I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.” Somehow, the Laodicean church had convinced itself that there was nothing money couldn’t buy, and as long as they had an excess of material things, there was nothing else they needed. It’s difficult to think of a more myopic scenario than a church body believing that as long as they had money, everything else was negligible.

One of the hardest lessons we can learn as individuals is the true measure of our impotence. We may think ourselves strong and immune, able to leap over boulders and climb every mountain, only to be felled by a pebble because we trusted in ourselves rather than God.

Jeremiah 17:5-8, “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.”’

Somewhere along the way, the Laodicean church had forgotten that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. They’d lost their way, all the while insisting they were still of the way, groping about in the dark while convinced they were walking in the light.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

The Last Days Of The Church III

 Given what we know about the final iteration of the Laodicean church, we can clearly understand why Paul urged that his letter to the Colossians also be read to the Laodiceans. The big idea and overarching theme of the Epistle to the Colossians is the preeminence of Christ in all things and that a Christian’s life should reflect this undergirding truth in every area of our existence.

Whether it’s being rooted in Him, alive in Him, hidden in Him, or complete in Him, Paul makes it clear time and again that without Jesus, we have nothing, are nothing, and it is both inconsistent and impossible to claim to be in Christ, without Christ.

News had traveled that the Laodicean church had begun to prioritize things other than Jesus, focusing on the tertiary things rather than the foundational principles of faith in Christ, and so Paul requested that the epistle he penned to the Colossians also be read to the Laodiceans. Even when confronted with the truth, some people still prefer the lie because it is more appealing to the flesh.

Had the Laodicean church heeded Paul’s warning and rebuke, had they taken his counsel to heart, perhaps the message to the angel of the church of Laodicea would not have been so dire.

Materially speaking they had everything they could want or desire. They gloried in their possessions and made sure everyone knew how blessed and favored they were, yet Jesus saw the vanity of it all and warned that unless they repented, He would vomit them out of His mouth.

Even though the resemblance between the modern-day church and that of Laodicea is uncanny and undeniable, all it took for us to ignore the disquiet in our hearts regarding the things being proffered as gospel truth was having some glitter flung at our faces while being told it was gold dust. Even though it’s antithetical to scripture, it must be true because God wouldn’t perform miracles lest we were righteous! God wouldn’t, but the enemy surely would, to keep us in the lukewarm state we find ourselves in, wouldn’t he? The enemy is not without power, and our singular defense against His machinations is to be rooted in His Word, walking with Jesus by the light it provides.

It doesn’t matter what signs or wonders one performs. It does not negate the need for repentance, righteousness, and holiness unto the Lord. Admittedly, what we’ve seen thus far amounts to no more than parlor tricks and sleight of hand. Still, the day will come when there will be bonafide signs and undeniable wonders being performed by individuals whose underlying message will be that you don’t need Jesus to have miracles in your life; you just need to know the magic words or feel like you’re a spiritual person. Christianity without Christ! There is no need for you to abstain from indulging in whatever your pet sin might be, no need for you to be renewed of mind or be born again; those are just legalists trying to push their legalism on you.

If you want the numbers, you have to lower the standard. Even the United States armed forces have had to contend with this reality, and since recruitment was down, they had to tweak the requirements. Come one, come all. We need the cannon fodder. Can’t walk more than a hundred yards without getting winded? Can’t do a pushup to save your life? That’s okay; we understand and accept it. Now sign on the dotted line and go see if we can find a uniform in your size. We may have to let the pants out a bit, but those are just minor details.

The difference is that God isn’t trying to fill a quota. He’s not hard-pressed to make the numbers because otherwise, He won’t get a bonus. When Jesus said nothing that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie would enter therein, He meant it just as readily as He did when He said He came that we may have life and have it more abundantly.

The Bible is not a buffet where we can pick and choose what interests us and discard everything else. Even though many would like it to be, that's not how it works. When the beliefs we’ve fashioned are not rooted in God’s Word, and when the foundation we’ve built is not upon the Rock, all we’ve done is make an idol that suits us rather than submit to His will and purpose for our lives.

The Laodiceans found out the hard way that just because they claimed to be rich and in need of nothing didn’t make it so. You can’t identify as a Christian; you must be a Christian. You can’t identify as being born again; you must be born again. It’s not semantics; it’s a fundamental truth of the gospel, and if we deny, ignore, or otherwise downplay the imperative that we must be born again, we’re only fooling ourselves. God doesn’t get tricked by affirmations or self-aggrandizing conclusions about ourselves. Jesus saw them for what they were, not what they’d convinced themselves they were. He saw them as wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, even though they saw themselves as needing nothing.

How you see yourself is irrelevant. How God sees you is all that matters because He is the judge and final arbiter. This applies to the individual, as well as an entire church body. The modern-day church has this image of itself emblazoned in their mind’s eye, of being the pinnacle of spiritual maturity and strength, when in reality, the things we point to as evidence of our strength reveal our weaknesses.

No, God is not impressed that your pastor is a millionaire or that he drives a supercar. He is not impressed by the tailored suits, skinny jeans, multiple thousand dollar sweaters that look as though they just got fished out of a dumpster because it’s what the cool kids are wearing, or the retinue of bodyguards by those trying to project an image of a mob boss. The things that impress men don’t impress God, nor do they signify faithfulness, servanthood, or obedience. The Laodiceans found this out the hard way, and the modern-day church is about to as well.

Currently, we have the hot and the cold, bookending a majority of lukewarm Christians. These last days will compel the lukewarm to pick a side, either hot or cold, because being lukewarm will no longer be an option. Persecution will polarize the church. It is inevitable. Either men will walk away or cling to Jesus all the more. Either they will commit fully to enduring to the end or push the eject button and start scraping the fish stickers off their back bumpers.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

The Last Days Of The Church II

 It’s easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm of crowds. It’s easy to gravitate toward ideas that paint a rosy picture of the future and validate our current spiritual condition because it confirms what we hoped it would, that being rich, and wealthy and in need of nothing is God’s seal of approval and His way of validating this new Christianity absent Christ. There’s no fruit, no repentance, no mention of Jesus or the cross, but we have stuff! We’re rich, baby, and I’m not talking about upper-middle-class folk who think they’re rich; I’m talking about private jet and limousine rich.

Is there anything wrong with being rich? No, not in and of itself. But when wealth becomes a de facto god, and the having thereof is touted as a sign of God’s favor and validation of the life you choose to live, a life not in accordance with His Word and will, then it becomes a problem.

As far as human nature is concerned and how men attempt to twist the Word of God, there is nothing new under the sun. Everything one could say about justifying oneself spiritually by how much one has materially has already been said. It’s not as though this generation is the first to attempt the sleight of hand of worshipping possessions rather than God and justifying it by pointing to possessions as a means of God’s favor. I have stuff; therefore, I am righteous. I have stuff; therefore, I’m spiritual. I have stuff; therefore, I am in the will of God!

A very well-to-do church tried the same tactic, and it didn’t work then either. If possessions were a sign or evidence of sanctification, then the most hedonistic people in the world, who advocate for the most disturbing perversions, would be assumed to likewise be the most righteous walking among us.

The church of Laodicea was rich, influential, well-spoken of, and for its time, likely the first mega-church in existence. For history nerds such as myself, it was eye-opening to discover that the church of Laodicea was also the first multi-campus church in existence. If you study the ruins and the placement, the Laodicean church was comprised of three buildings and, given the context of the words Jesus addressed to it, thought very highly of itself.

The popularity of materialism among believers isn’t something new and heretofore unheard of that prosperity preachers happened upon the last few decades; it’s been around since the early church. The difference is that during the early church, there were still those among the leaders of the time to call them out and rebuke them for taking their focus off Jesus.

It’s no coincidence that thirty years before John the Revelator wrote what would become the Revelation of Jesus, Paul instructed the leadership of the church of Collosae to likewise read the epistle to the church of Laodicea and warn the leader at the time, a man named Archippus, to fulfill the ministry he received in the Lord.

Of the seven churches of Revelation, it was the only one to be sent a warning three decades before Jesus thoroughly rebuked them.

Colossians 4:16-17, “Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.’”

The road to spiritual ruination was not a short one. It did not happen instantaneously for the Laodiceans; rather, it was gradual, incremental, something that would go unnoticed by the naked eye, sort of like being around someone who lost thirty pounds over the course of six months. Because you see the person every day, you don’t notice the subtle changes, but if you run into someone you haven’t seen in six months and they’re thirty pounds lighter, you’ll notice and make mention of it.

It took time to reach the wretched state they found themselves in when Jesus rebuked them. Paul had received word of their deviations from the truth thirty years before John penned Revelation, and he instructed that the letter he sent the Colossians also be read to the Laodiceans.

Whether Laodicea never bothered to send an epistle back to the Colossians or what it contained was so antithetical to scripture that it was not worthy of mention is unknown, but there is no further mention of a reciprocal letter in the Bible. Throughout the centuries, manuscripts have sprouted up, alluding to the possibility that it may be the letter in question, but it was never proven or substantiated.

Paul saw the road the Laodicean church was headed down and lovingly warned the leadership to reassess their priorities and pay heed to the ministry he had received in the Lord. Given the rebuke Jesus offered thirty years later, it seems Paul’s warning went unheeded, and rather than course correct, the church continued its descent into apathy and indifference.

Where we are isn’t where we were as little as a decade ago. By we, I mean the church in general and anyone who’s been paying attention to all the things we’ve validated, okayed, dismissed, encouraged, co-signed, and went along with forms and undeniable pattern. We are not headed in the right direction. We are not walking the straight and narrow path, and with each passing day, we draw further away from the truth and the light, beating our chests with ever-increasing fervor, insisting that when God made us, He broke the mold, and there has never been a generation so brimming with power and authority as this.

There’s a meme floating around on the Internet that says if Paul were alive today, most churches would be getting a letter. On its face, it’s worthy of a chuckle, but when you realize the implications, it robs it of any humorous undertones. What this generation has managed to pull off is convincing the sheep that as long as enough established and well-known individuals co-sign and peer review aberrant teaching, then it makes it scriptural and biblical.

It’s easy to spot the pattern if you’re looking. The same faces glad-handing and talking each other up as being brilliant luminary minds who possess a deeper understanding of the ways of God than any of us peons can ever aspire to, guest-hosting each other’s programs or being the special speaker for another round of flock-fleecing, and because it’s men’s egos driving their ministries rather than fulfilling the ministry of rightly dividing the Word, they indulge each other and revel in baseless praise.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

The Last Days Of The Church I

 You’ll never get a true reflection staring into a funhouse mirror. Funhouse mirrors are created with the singular purpose of distorting reality and making you see something that isn’t there. The same can be said of unbiblical doctrine and teaching. If the mirror you look into is not the Word of God but things people say about the Word of God, putting their own spin on it and twisting it to fit their narrative, you will never see your true self. You will never see your true reflection.

Likewise, you will never understand how perilous the last days will be for the church because it’s been hammered into us that we will ride the white stallions of boldness victoriously through the land, participation trophies in hand, basking in the praise of our fellow man. We’ve been told time and again by various men at various times that if you get nothing else from this book, this series, this sermon, or this talk, just remember, the greatest of greatest revivals are about to sweep the world and you will be the tip of the spear! Inconsistent with the picture the Bible paints about the last days of the church? Most assuredly, but this sounds better by country mile.

It is our responsibility to reject the allure of the funhouse mirror, for the truth it reflects is no truth at all but an artifice. It’s a trick, a figment, a mirage, something not anchored or tethered to reality. Flattering as it might seem, it is an illusion.

But it’s fun looking into a mirror that reflects a tiny waist and Popeye-like arms even though, in reality, I look like an inverted lightbulb or a pear without the stem. It’s fun to see what isn’t there, what we know can’t be there, but believing the illusion rather than reality becomes a temptation that many cannot resist.

Though it may reveal our imperfections, the mirror of God's Word is a necessary tool for our spiritual growth. There is always something we can prune, always something we can surrender, always something we can do away with, and always more of us to leave to the dust so that we may be more like Him. Sanctification is incremental, and with each passing day that we deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow Him, there is less of us and more of Him. That the modern-day church has been convinced it can be perfected without the shedding of the old wineskin or that we are born again fully mature, equipped, and ready to take on the darkness is tragic and has produced an entire generation of narcissistic, overconfident toddlers with no depth, foundation, or understanding of the way.

We refuse to look into the mirror of God’s word because of what we fear it will reflect, and so we will give heed to anyone willing to show us what we want to see. The world has become increasingly averse to discomfort, being challenged, or being made to feel uncomfortable, and the church has followed suit, matching it stride for stride.

Don’t tell me I need to grow, mature, or invest time deepening my relationship with God. Rather, tell me I’m there, I made it, I’m on the mountaintop, I’ve planted my flag, and now I can sit back and wait for the great end-time revival many have promised without substantiating it biblically. It sounds too good not to be true, doesn’t it? Packed stadiums from shore to shore with millions of people hanging on our every word, flashing lights and accolades, ministries bursting at the seams, being the center of attention, and rubbing elbows with the influencers of our day.

Even though we check off every box when it comes to resembling the church of Laodicea, we’ve convinced ourselves that we are the church of Philadelphia. Anyone who dares to point out the inconsistencies, lack of commitment, confusion, gnostic pursuits, and tepid spiritual state many who claim to be believers are wallowing in is accused of being wet blankets and quenching the Spirit.

Unsurprisingly, those constantly dangling the carrot of revival never seem to mention the need for repentance, discipleship, or spiritual maturity. Their egos and God using them to usher in the last days' harvest is the singular focus, and whether those who raise a limp-wristed hand one evening or have an emotional experience that never translates to anything more substantive is none of their concern.

While many of today’s leaders paint a flattering picture of the current church and insist that this generation, above any other, is more glorious, thoroughly equipped, and sanctified, outshining their predecessors in godliness, the reality of the situation disproves their claims thoroughly.

Whether one believes that the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation were seven church ages or that you can find a reflection of each at any given time throughout history, Jesus details what He deems as faithful and true and what He deems stagnant and lukewarm.

What we think of ourselves or how we see ourselves matters little. What matters is how Jesus sees us and what He thinks of us. When we value what He values, we are in harmony with His will. When the things we value are things He deems as dung and ignore the things He deems as priceless, then though we might see ourselves in a certain light, it is self-delusion at best, if not outright self-deception.

Over the past few decades, there has been much talk, especially among Western believers, about the spiritual state of the church in the last days. To hear them tell the tale, it will be akin to a renaissance of righteousness, with billions of souls finding the light, mass revivals springing up in every place, and the children of God lauded as visionaries and trailblazers. Words like glorious, unprecedented, earth-shattering, and other such adjectives were often thrown in for good measure, and one would feel like a stick in the mud if they failed to get excited about the prospect. Who wouldn’t want a sweeping revival? Who wouldn’t want to see countless souls brought into the kingdom of God?

As the saying goes, it looks good on paper, but before we let our exuberance and excitement get the better of us, we would do well to return to the Word and see what it has to say about the last days of the church and the spiritual condition it will find itself in.

That Jesus Himself queried whether the Son of Man would find faith on the earth when He returned and left it as an open-ended question should give us a clue, but that’s too much of a downer for us to contemplate.

We ignore the cracks in the foundation, the holes in the wall, and the duplicity permeating the modern-day church, all because men who insist that the end-time revival they’ve foreseen must be fully funded before it commences have declared it to be so.

Before we commence with this study, I would like to make one thing perfectly clear: salvation, faith, and walking in the way of truth are not collective pursuits. God doesn’t grade on a curve, nor will you be held accountable for the collective failures of a spouse, a parent, a child, a congregation, denomination, or church body. The soul that sins will die. When we stand before God, it won’t be as a group or a cluster; we won’t be separated along denominational lines or other such trivialities. However, we will stand before Him as individuals, and He will judge all men individually.

The purpose of this study is not to dispirit or dishearten you but to flesh out what the Bible says about the last days of the church so that when we see things contrary to what men have said taking place, we would understand that what is happening is not contrary to what the Word of God says.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

The Last Days Of The World XXXVI

 You may have noticed that throughout this study, I did not cite modern prophecies regarding America or the world at large. This was purposeful and intentional. I wanted this study to focus specifically on what the Bible says regarding these things.

Do I believe judgment is coming upon America as a nation? I wholeheartedly do, and I also believe that all the necessary components are in place for that judgment to begin. All the alliances have now been forged, the lines have been drawn, sides have been picked, and even those we consider allies harbor a sense of resentment and bitterness toward us, the likes of which are rarely reserved for supposed friends. The thing we haven’t been able to figure out over the last few decades is that you can’t buy love or true and lasting friendship. At best, you can hope to rent someone’s allegiance, and when you’re no longer willing or able to pump legal tender into their eager hands, the worm soon turns, and their true face is revealed.

Given that we’re willing to throw supposed allies under the bus at the drop of a hat, likewise does not scream integrity or consistency. If I can’t count on those with whom I’ve allied to watch my back, then the alliance, however flowery and verbose, isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.

The reality is this: America has isolated itself and proven itself disloyal, its leaders have shown weakness and an inability to lead, and the wolves are circling. You can only play the world police for so long until someone you’re trying to police realizes it’s all talk and no fangs.  

Do I wish to witness it? No, I live here, as does my family, but our desires are inconsequential. Yes, I do believe that at some point between now and the return of Jesus, we will witness widespread destruction within the United States. It would be a grave oversight on God’s part not to detail the fate of the most powerful country the world has ever seen.

Yet, we choose to ignore it because the Bible's depiction is not flattering. For those who are open to the Word, you will come across the description of a nation that proclaims herself as a queen, is not a widow, and with whom all the merchants of the earth trade and grow rich. Then, in one hour, its destruction. The merchants will mourn, watching the smoke of its burning because there’s no one to buy their worthless baubles and trinkets any longer.

The world, however, is bigger than one country, even if that one country happens to be America. When the Bible speaks of global events that will affect everyone walking the earth, we cannot be myopic in our discussion of them. Not only will America not be spared what is to befall the world, but it will be singularly judged for having squandered all that God has blessed it with and even gone one step further in rejecting Him and embracing all that He abhors. The fact that God also hates should not be a revelation to anyone, for it is in His Word.

Proverbs 6:16-19, “These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among the brethren.”

The message of repentance fell on deaf ears, even though it was targeted toward what calls itself the Church and not those of the world. Those who deem themselves of His house must first seek repentance. It is they who must first walk in His way before they can expect those of the world to do so.

Rather than choosing repentance, we chose to assimilate with the ungodly, doing as they do, saying as they say, all the while maintaining that we were the righteousness of God, and none more holy walked the earth in all of human history. We’ve made a mockery of the sacred, demeaned Jesus to the point of feeling emboldened to tell Him what He should accept, validate, and embrace, and if He dared refuse, then we would fashion our own savior, one more to our liking, and pleasing to the flesh. All this while boasting about our secret insights and how everyone who came to our church got an angel feather and some gold dust as a door prize.

It’s not that Christians today don’t believe the world will end; it’s that they don’t want it to. We’ve got too much invested in this earth to take seriously the notion that both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Even though the dogs of war are on the march, the earth is groaning, and the foundations of once seemingly impregnable societies are collapsing in real time, many still refuse to acknowledge the times in which they are living or allow for the possibility that it will get worse; much worse.

We’ve been telling ourselves that this is as bad as it’s going to get for a good twenty years, both societally, culturally, and globally, and even though immediately after it gets worse, we renew our commitment to ignorance of God’s Word and insist that this really is as bad as it's going to get.

The question of uttermost importance for us as believers is not when Jesus is returning but what He will find us doing when He does return. When He returns, he will find both faithful and unfaithful, the former of which He calls blessed, the latter of which He will cut in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.

Will He find us ready, watchful, with oil both in our lamps and in reserve, or will He find us eating and drinking with the drunkards, having acquiesced to the pressures of abandoning righteousness and embracing evil?

Time will tell the tale, as it always does, but I fear there will be enough weeping and gnashing of teeth to go around, not because people didn’t believe one doctrine over another regarding Christ’s return, but because they were spiritually unprepared to contend for the faith when facing resistance. Intense heat and pressure come together to make diamonds, but they also burn and pulverize the dross and those elements that are unable to withstand them. What you’re made of matters, and it determines whether the heat and pressure will make you into a diamond. Are you His? Have you been transformed, reborn, and imbued with the righteousness of God, or are you paying Him lip service, hoping He doesn’t notice the duplicity of your heart?

Yes, these are hard questions but necessary ones. They are questions only you can answer honestly, and if, perchance, there are still things that need to be pruned and flesh that needs to be crucified, there is no better time than now.

The end of the world as we know it is closely approaching. A season of upheaval and all manner of catastrophe is at the door, and in light of these things, the question remains: what manner of persons ought you to be?

Titus 2:11-14, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

The Last Days Of The World XXXV

 We’re still here because Jesus said we would be. It’s not because God’s alarm didn’t go off or Jesus got sidetracked with a home renovation project. He has not appeared in the clouds because it is not yet the appointed time. When He does, every eye will see Him, so the idea that millions will vanish without an explanation is antithetical to what the Bible says regarding His appearing.

The closer we get, the closer we are, and the clearer things become. As events begin to unfold, the household of faith will be divided into two camps. There will be those who will be looking at their watches, full of angst and trepidation, and then there will be those who will be looking up, knowing that their redemption draws near. There will be those who will be blindsided by the chaos erupting in the world, and then there will be those for whom it will be an impetus to draw ever closer to Jesus and place their trust in Him.

One thing is clear: the events of the last days will be such that indifference, apathy, or superficial faith will not suffice, and the idea of being a fence rider regarding one’s commitment to Christ will die a well-deserved death. If the days of Noah are an indicator, and Jesus said they are, then those who remain faithful and endure to the end will be a small number indeed.

I believe that many who insist that we will not be here for any of this are sincere. Granted, there are some wolves and hirelings who use this issue to garner a following for themselves and eventually profit from those who follow them, but I don’t believe the average Christian who holds this position is disingenuous or harbors malintent for anyone. This is why I refuse to allow such discussions to become acrimonious or contentious. All I can do is tell you what the Bible says. Beyond that, I can pray for you, as I hope you pray for me, because although we might disagree, as long as the issue is not a salvific matter, we are still family, have the same Father, and serve the same Lord.

There are those who hold extreme views on both sides of this issue. On the one hand, you have people insisting that believing in a pre-tribulation rapture is the thing that will get you to heaven, and not faith in Christ, going so far as to say that if you don’t believe it, you’ll get left behind. Show that to me in the Bible, anywhere, and I’ll bite, but you can’t.

On the other hand, there are some who belittle those who hold to a pre-tribulation catching away, as though they were somehow less than for holding to it. My concern has always been the spiritual readiness of believers. Shock, surprise, and befuddlement do not make for a heart at peace whose singular desire is the pursuit of Christ. It’s how many will react to being blindsided, disappointed, and having to endure to the end that burdens me.

Wherever you land on this issue, it is an undeniable reality that much of the modern-day church is ill-prepared to witness the wars, pestilences, natural disasters, and cataclysms of such proportions as to shake the powers of the heavens. How will they react when their expectations of prosperity, ease, comfort, and security not only fail to materialize but the polar opposite begins to take shape? How will they contend with the prospect of having every luxury to which they’ve become accustomed and been taught they are entitled being yanked from under them, or when the wealth of the wicked doesn’t show up in their bank accounts?

Likewise, we must acknowledge that the modern-day church is ill-prepared to suffer the persecution and betrayal Jesus warns of as being one of the signs of His imminent return.

If you’ve ever driven from California into Nevada, there’s a stretch of road that goes through the Mojave Desert, where nothing but sand, sun, and cacti exist. I’m sure there are some lizards here and there, perhaps some insects, the odd jackrabbit or turtle, but as far as what we deem civilization, there is none to be had. The closer you get to the desert, the more pronounced the signs along the highway become, insisting that you should top off your gas tank and get some water because there’s nothing but bramble for the next hundred miles.

If you look at your gas gauge and see you’re under a quarter of a tank, yet conclude that you’ll make it all the same and you end up being stranded, sitting in the hot sun, waiting for some stranger to come along and take pity on you, it’s not God’s fault, the desert’s fault, or anyone else’s but your own.

What I don’t understand is why there is so much opposition to the idea that we will have to endure to the end, even though Jesus said we would. The worst thing that would happen is that you would have prepared yourself, grown closer to God, built up your faith, and focused on the eternal rather than the temporal things of this earth. In having purposed in your heart to endure to the end, you would have matured your spiritual man and learned to walk by faith. Where’s the downside in that?

The truth of it is that none of us can be certain we will see another sunrise, let alone the entirety of the last days of the world. My time may come in an hour, a day, or a month, and I will go to my reward. Believing that I will be here to witness the things Jesus said would occur before the sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven only compels me to prioritize Him, focus on Him, grow in Him, and walk with Him. That ought to be the standard for every true believer anyway, so why the animosity? It’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s about being ready and fully equipped to resist the darkness, endure, persevere, and overcome.

Revelation 3:21, To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

With love in Christ, 

Michael Boldea, Jr.