Ushering In The End Times - Tickle My Ears

The events of the past few months in the middle east shows to anyone who has eyes that the end times are roaring down on us at breakneck speed, but if you listen to the world of religion anyone who has ears knows: The End Times Are Here.

Their message is so soothing, so warm so inclusive, it's no wonder why their popularity increases with leaps and bounds. Tens of thousands flock to hear their words, to see their multi media spectacular presentations, to buy their books and CDs and DVDs... However Timothy (and Peter, and Paul, and Matthew, and Mark, and Luke, and John, and Jude, and Titus, and James, and Jesus) warned us these people were coming, and guess what - they're here:

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons - 1Tim 4:1

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 2Tim 4:3-4

Since its inception the Christian Church has been plagued with fads, fashions and frivolous notions starting with Gnosticism, which seems to rear its ugly head every few decades, (I actually heard Gnostic gospels being preached in a Lutheran church once a few years ago) right into today. Remember Jesus Freaks? Superstar? "The Prayer of Jabez"? WWJD? The fads keep coming at an accelerated rate and right now it seems that everyone is jumping on some bandwagon or another. Unfortunately somewhere along the line, the bandwagons morphed into Trojan horses (to quote Phil Johnson)

Probably the most insidious fad to have ever violated the Bride of Christ is still gathering momentum and followers. I speak of the money driven steam roller: The Emergent Church. They have differing names: Purpose Driven, Seeker Sensitive, Vintage Christianity, post-modern Christianity... the bible has a name for them: Laodician. They're using biblical satires to preach their twisted version of the word of God and have traded salvation through grace for the gospel of self esteem. 

Tens of thousands of potential believers pack into those salvation factories to sip lattes and watch the latest multi-media presentation and hear polished semi-scriptural life coaches entice them away from the Bible in order to make the world a better place. Their doctrine is a flexible house of jello built on sand. Emergent guru Brian McClaren states that certainty and faith are mutually exclusive concepts but what is faith but certainty? This conflicted lie of McClaren's is the heart of the emergent movement. The sheep watch a rapper prance around the stage and bust a rhyme about the Grinch that stole Christmas while zombies dance to Michael Jackson's thriller in the background (really) and honestly think they're getting a Christian message. The sheep don't even notice the wolf's teeth at their throats.

Here's some quotes from emergent church leaders who still claim to be Christian:

“I am not sure I believe in God exclusively as a person anymore either…. I now incorporate a pantheistic view, which basically means that God is ‘in all,’ alongside my creedal view of God as Father, Son, and Spirit.” –Spencer Burke

“God is going to judge the life and repair, and restore and heal the life of everybody in the same way.” –Doug Pagitt

"This is actually about changing theology. This is about our belief that theology changes. The message of the gospel changes. It’s not just the method that changes.” –Tony Jones

“The church has been preoccupied with the question, "What happens to your soul after you die?" As if the reason for Jesus coming can be summed up in, "Jesus is trying to help get more souls into heaven, as opposed to hell, after they die." I just think a fair reading of the Gospels blows that out of the water. I don't think that the entire message and life of Jesus can be boiled down to that bottom line.” –Brian McLaren

“For Jesus, heaven and hell were present realities. Ways of living we can enter into here and now. He talked very little of the life beyond this one…” –Rob Bell

"That statement, 'The methods change, but the message stays the same' is actually a lie." –Shane Hipps

If you don't see a problem with these quotes (and this is just scratching the surface) you have some studying to do. These men are twisting the word of scripture, cherry picking the Bible until they find the exact quote they want, and if they don't find one, they write their own bible and use that. Unfortunately we westerners have become such a cult of personality that when a church leader like Tony Jones feels a need to be pragmatic about church goers who practice polyamory and open marriage we do not drive them from our presence until they re-learn the words of our savior. Jones once stated that pastors should rip Romans out of their bibles, sounds like he tore out 1 Corrinthians out too.

Heavenly Father

I come here not to condemn but to expose those who put themselves above your words and attempt to drive themselves between your loving grace and those that sincerely wish to find you. I pray that you reach out to these men and women who preach a twisted word and deceive their followers with distractions of glamour and heretical practices we once were able to correctly identify as paganism and draw them back to you. Please reach out and touch my heart as I explore this apostasy further and help me to rationally explain the inner workings of the emerging threat to your followers, in Jesus name I beg you