End of the Church Age?

Today, on TheologyOnline.com, someone was talking about Harold Camping, and asked if we could help him understand.


Quote:

Originally Posted by aenoch This end of the church age information is difficult to find, so i was hoping that maybe someone here at TOL may have some insight into it, or be able to point to a URL or two about this grave matter. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

This is a beautiful example how Satan has setup a straw-man, and then proceeds to tear it apart in order to convince Christians not to follow God's Word.

1. Churches are setup and established that refuse to follow God's Word.

• They have female pastors, support popular social trends, and mock God's true church in order to gain popularity with the masses of unregenerate.
• They promote unScriptural dogmas such as infant baptism, Calvinism, Speaking in Tongues, Barking in the Spirit, etc.
• They refuse to take a stand for Jesus Christ by separating themselves from ungodly influences (rock music, CCM, promiscuitous attire, entertainment that promotes worldliness over Godliness).

2. Once these churches grow and are filled with carnal believers (or worse yet, unregenerate who think they are saved), they believe that numbers profits, popularity, and emotions are signs of God's blessings. God's Word calls them poor, blind, and naked.

3. In the end, they collapse because a true New Testament Bible-believing church's strength is not in numbers, not in wealth, not in popularity, but in the Holy Spirit of God Almighty.

4. People look at the failure of these "churches" (*Note: I am using this term loosely) and conclude that God is no longer working in the church today.

If this were not so heinous a crime that Satan is doing against the lost, and carnal christian, I would laugh them to scorn!!!

Is God still using the real New Testament Church? Sure is!
Are they successful? As long as we remain under God's Word and obey Him.
(BTW - Success is not based on what man defines as success, but rather what God's Word defines as success [Joshuah 1:8-9]

Joshuah 1:8-9
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Is it wrong to start up home-based church? not really, as long as the motives are in the right direction. The church is where fellow-believers can come together, worship God together, and strengthen each other. If there are no Bible-believing churches near you, sometimes this is the best course of action. Yet, if you decide to start one because of bad reasons (refusal to submit to Godly authority, uncomfortable around believers, etc.), then God will not bless it.