The Church of Jesus Christ and the “B”-Team

An End-Times Series: A View of the Rapture and Coming World Events

Lesson I

The Ambassadors are No Longer Welcome:

Worldwide Anti-Christian Sentiment

by Jason Lovelace

Key Scripture:
John 15.18-21 – If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of this world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of this world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you. The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep your’s also. But all these things they will do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

John 16.1-3 – These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things they will do unto you because they have not known the Father, nor me.

Acts 12.1-3 – Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also.

II Timothy 3.1-7 – This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, , traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come toe the knowledge of the truth.

I John 3.18 – Little children, this is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby ye know it is the last time.

I John 4.3 – …this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is in the world.

Revelation 13.4-9 – And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and the power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain form the foundations of the world. If any man have and ear, let him hear.

In the world today, we are seeing more than ever the rise of hate, animosity, belligerence, and outright assault on anything that has to do with the name and Person of Jesus Christ. The 20th Century saw the rapid decline and slide of morals worldwide in general, and in the West and Technologically Advanced Nations of the world. The Church of Jesus Christ was once a power in Europe: in these modern times it has become largely irrelevant, and is quickly being overtaken by Islam as the major religion on the Continent and in Great Britain. In the United States, Bible believing Christians and Churches that preach the Bible are seeing their freedoms and their religious liberties quickly be curtailed in the name of Political Correctness. Worldwide, persecution of Christians in closed countries is continuing unabated, a blind eye being turned, for the most part, by the rest of the world, especially the freedom-loving West. In this, the 21st Century, professing a love for Jesus Christ, stating that one loves to read the bible, and do God’s work is almost enough to get one placed in a mental ward of a large hospital. As more and more mainline and major Church Denominations fall further and further away from Biblical truth, and closer and closer to other religions, Bible believing Christians are rapidly being pushed to the sides. More and more in today’s post-modern world, Bible believers are being given names and titles, such as “fundamentalists”, “radicals”, “fringe”, and other such titles. Could this all be a prelude to something bigger, something larger? Have people been warned through the decades and centuries that such times, events, and attitudes towards Christians were actually signs and premonitions of something larger, grander on the horizon? Does the Bible – largely marginalised, discredited, and mostly ignored – speak of things such as we are seeing in these last days? What does Jesus Christ – blasphemed, mocked, lampooned, and dethroned from being God by and in today’s world – say about these events that we see happening all over the world?

Sharpening the Sabres on the Steps of the Embassy
The Napoleonic Era was known as a time of intense wars, horrific battles, and the basic re-shaping of Europe from the Renaissance Era and the Age of the Kings to what would later be called Modern Europe. During the time of Napoleon, a regular custom of nations when dealing with each other (as well as people) was to make overt and openly humiliating acts. One of these involved a Foreign Embassy and the soldiers of the host nation. Quite often, when a nation went to war with another nation, and wanted to show it openly, the soldiers – particularly the cavalrymen – would go to the embassy of the nation that was being declared an enemy, and sharpen their sabres on the steps. Quite often, Napoleon’s and France’s enemies carried out this practice in order to humiliate and provoke France and her Emperor into war. In fact, there is a famous painting of Austrian Cuirassiers doing this very action on the steps of the Old French Embassy in Vienna. Of course, the result was a devastating war for Austria. Napoleon and his Field Marshals not only defeated the Austrian Armies decisively, but also later stripped Vienna and the Austrian Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and Roman Imperial Crown which, at that time, had been held by the Austrians for nearly 1ooo years. Could this also be happening with the church of Jesus Christ in the world today? In much the same way as 200 years ago, can we see the secular world sharpening its sabres on the steps of the Church of Jesus Christ? Could this be especially so in the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and in many other parts of the world where the church once was held in high esteem? Let’s take a closer look…

Defender of the Faith?
In 1517 in Germany, on the steps of the Wittenburg Cathedral, a Roman Catholic priest known as Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis on the doors of the Church, beginning the Protestant Reformation. At the time, Great Britain was ruled by her famous (or infamous, as opinions of him vary) monarch, King Henry VIII. When word spread of Luther’s actions, and the Protestant Reformation began in earnest, King Henry aggressively denounced the reformation, declaring it to be ungodly, and should its reach stretch to Britain, it would be heavily opposed (as it was) ,and that he would personally lead the charge (as he did). Because of his zeal, the pope gave King Henry a title that is still carried by all British Monarchs to this day: Defender of the Faith. Later, that same King Henry – primarily because he wanted to divorce his wife, Catharine of Aragon, and the Pope had refused him permission – sparked the Protestant Reformation of England with his creation of the Anglican Church, elevating the Archbishop of Canterbury to the highest clerical position under the throne itself. The result – despite the very bloody reign of Queen “Bloody” Mary I – was a transformation of Great Britain from a defender of Roman Catholicism into a nation that accomplished the following:

The Country of Origin for the first and only Government Sanctioned Translation of the Bible into common language for a national population…
The most important Missionary-sending Nation for two and a half centuries…
The nation which encouraged the spread of the Gospel by way of allowing other protestant denominations – even re-welcoming Catholicism – free establishment…
The home of the Great Awakening, a great Christian Holiness Revival that swept the Continent of Europe and North America in the 18th Century, and established Methodism as a strong belief system of Christianity in Great Britain and later the United States…
Was the primary sender of colonists abroad who, with their King James and Geneva Bibles, established the free nations of the World today, including the United States of America…
Was strongest under perhaps her greatest monarch, Queen Victoria, of whom it is said read and studied the Bible and prayed daily…
Produced some of the greatest Gospel Ministers and Missionaries of the Modern Era: John and Charles Wesley, George Whitfield, Charles H. Spurgeon, C.T. Studd, David Livingstone, Hudson Taylor, and many, many others…

For three hundred years following the separation of the Church of England from Rome, Great Britain was the most influential and greatest nation with regards tot he Gospel. In recent times, however, England has lost much of her past Christian Zeal and Godly Fervor. Since the end of 19th Century, The Anglican Church has lost membership in dramatic fashion. Same is said for most – if not all – other Christian Church Denominations in Great Britain. While the losses in England are a far cry in comparison to the major Christian Churches on the Continent, the congregational losses are still staggering to behold, and indicate a great malaise regarding Jesus Christ and Christianity in England. The resulting moral slide parallels what has already been seen in the Continent, with the break-down of the family, the rise of homosexual activism, and general moral erosion as hadn’t been seen in times past. In the further resulting spiritual vacuum created by abandonment of the Church of Jesus Christ, Great Britain has seen Islam become a very powerful force, and is the fastest-growing religion on the Isles. Bible believing Christianity is quickly being marginalized by British Society, the Bible – once the dominant book – now relegated to the sidelines as literature only, or, at best, a historical artifact. Things are looking very bleak for Great Britain and the Church of Jesus Christ in the Isles…

Enter the Eagle
In the 15th Century, two new continents were discovered and settled by Europeans. While the Spanish, French, and Portuguese established colonies and missions with the primary purpose of conquest and enrichment of each countries royal treasuries, English Settlers came for a different purpose. Disenfranchised with the Church of England, Puritan Pilgrims traveled to the New World in order to freely express their worship of God without the intrusion of the crown or state (it is interesting to note, as well, that the first permanent colony for the English in Jamestown, Virginia, while established as a trading post, later did not exert the same influence as the Plymouth Colony of Massachusetts) . what followed was an exodus from Europe to North America for primarily the same reasons. These early colonies in North America later broke away from England, and established the United States of America – a nation unlike any other in the 18th Century. Much in the same way as England before her, the United States became influential in the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Consider the following…

The USA is still the #1 sender nation of Christian Missionaries in the world today…
The USA has – like Great Britain – produced some of the greatest preachers and pastors in history: Billy Graham, Billy Sunday, Dwight L. Moody, Jonathan Edwards, David Brainerd, and many, many others…
Each of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were members of a local church.
The fact that the Laws and Constitution of the United States parallel what is written in the Bible, and that many other countries’ constitutions mirror that of the USA.
Each of the United State’s 43 Presidents are or were members of a local Christian Church.

Because of the strength of the Church of Jesus Christ in the United States, her people’s respect for God at the very least, and the freedoms which protect worship the United States has been blessed by God. However, in the last 60+ years – ever since the end of World war Two – there has also been a clearly apparent slide of moral values in the United States of America.

The Sun Never Sets on the Union Jack…
There have never been such influential nations as the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. At her height at the end of the reign and life of Queen Victoria, England and accomplished a feat that no other nation in history had ever come close to doing: the establishment of a Worldwide Empire. At her height, Great Britain boasted that the sun never set on the Union Jack. Her military prowess – especially her navy – were feared by foes and respected by friends. Her benevolence was at one time the most generous of all nations. The United States of America has basically been in a similar situation for nearly a century, with American Military Bases and US Economic Establishments circling the globe. There has been no better friend, and no worse enemy than the United States of America, and when combined with that of Great Britain over the last century, she has been unbeatable. However, just as Great Britain has gotten away from God, so has her prestige taken flight, her Empire having basically dwindled to a few islands and territories apart from the British Isles. While the British Pound Sterling is still a strong currency on the world markets, Great Britain is gradually being drawn into the European Union, giving her power and prestige to the Continent. The United States, as she has slidden further away from God, is also seeing decline in worldwide influence. The U.S. Dollar, while still used as the basis for worldwide trade and still containing some strength, has taken a severe blow in the last twenty years. The U.S. Military as well has seen defeat against enemies which, in times past, would never have even surfaced, let alone challenge American military might. Yet, the eyes that God has given us to see, and the ears that we were created with in order to hear, have, respectively, become blind and deaf to the Call of God…

The USA – The Only Nation Left…
Of all the nations that have ever existed in the world, or that are in existence now, the USA has one, sole distinction, which has set her apart from everywhere lese in the world. The United States of America is the only country in the world that has never had any kind of severe persecution of the Church of Jesus Christ. No American blood has ever been shed, no American life has ever been taken away by the government, and no American has ever been sent to stand before a judge on the basis of his or her Christian faith in side the borders of the United States. Every other nation has gone through or carried out at some point in their respective histories some form of persecution of Christians, from the terrible Caesarian Persecutions of Ancient Rome, to the Catholic Inquisitions and the Crusades in Europe and the Middle east in Medieval times, to modern times and modern nations where Christians are regularly jailed for merely holding a Bible, persecution has followed Christians to every corner of the globe, with the sole exception being the United States of America. The very reason has been the US Constitution’s guarantees for the freedom of religion and religious expression. Until it was coded in the US Constitution, no other nation on Earth had the same freedoms, and this is what has kept persecution out of the USA…at least until more recent times.

Renaming Leads to Desensitization…
One of the practices of Nazi Germany in the 1930s with regards to the Jews of Europe was to give them and all other socially, physically, and racially undesirables a new name: untermenschen, or, “sub-humans”. This desensitization and renaming of entire people groups was the basis for the Holocaust, and the extermination of 11 million people, including nearly 6 million Jews. A similar situation occurred in Japan and China, with the Chinese character for “dog” replacing one of the characters for “foreigner” at one time, the result being horrendous treatment of those for whom this new character was applied in the 1930s and `40s. In a further fashion, and unborn baby has also received a new title, fetus, which basically strips an unborn baby of its person-hood in the eyes of many in this day and age. In the same way, modern society has placed new names on Christians, especially the Bible believing kind who actually believe the Bible and stand on its principles. The new names for these kinds of Christians are really no different than untermenschen or fetus. If one listens to any mainstream media outlet, it isn’t long before Bible believers are called fundamentalists, extremists, right-wingers, militants, radicals, fringe, narrow-minded, or any other flavour of adjective, which basically marginalizes Bible believers of any stripe or denomination. Mainstream media has further sent Bible believing Christianity to the sidelines and alienated basic, Biblical Christian beliefs with TV dramas, Movies, music, and literature which has taken Jesus Christ out of the mainstream of society at large, or, if it is portrayed at all, is mocked and denigrated to the point of being the punch line of terribly bad jokes. US Laws which, at one time, guaranteed freedom of religion in a public setting, are now, in this post-modern day and age, directed at keeping Jesus Christ out of the classroom, away from the public forum, and banning any mention of him or the Bible from Government (all the while, Islam, Transcendental Meditation, Buddhism, and New Age Religions and Religious Expressions are being welcomed with open arms).

A New Pandora’s Box
The old Greek Mythological Story of Pandora’s Box has been repeated with God being cast out of School, out of public life, and his being mocked and scorned at every turn.

Homosexuality – once condemned by US Law – is now defended under Hate Crimes Legislation and Government Enactments.
Abortion – basically the murder of unborn babies for convenience – became the Law of the Land in the USA in 1973, the result more than 40 million Americans dead.
The Continual Lowering of US Entertainment Standards, resulting in more violent, more sexually graphic, more selfishness in children and teens, and less honor and respect for parents being produced by Hollywood.
Crimes once considered Capital Offenses are now often punished with no more than a slap on the wrist, resulting on higher crime rates, especially violent crime.
Inner City Schools becoming war zones thanks to the influence of gangs, drugs, and crime.
The break-up of the traditional family, with, in many instances in post-modern media, the husband and father of the family being cast as a clumsy, dim-witted buffoon, out-of-touch with is family, children, and “reality”; single mothers being portrayed as heroic where, in times past, single motherhood was deemed embarrassing.
Higher percentages of people with some sort of addiction, be it chemical or otherwise.
Higher suicide rates, especially among the youth and young adults of society.

This list is just the tip of the iceberg, especially for the United States. When God is excused, the Bible ridiculed, and society at large marginalizing Jesus Christ and those that follow him, these problems always tend to crop up. The amazing thing is who gets the blame…

Everyone’s Looking At YOU!!!!
Whenever social ills start to crop up, sooner or later, a select few, or even one, group of people usually end up getting the blame and taking the punishment for the rest of society. It happened in Rome when, under the reign of Caesar Nero, the City of Rome itself nearly burned to the ground, and three centuries later when the Roman Empire fell. It happened again in the intervening years between the First and Second World Wars. Look closely and listen clearly enough, and one can see blame being leveled once again for modern society’s social ills. Just as Jews were blamed for the Germany’s defeat in World War One by Hitler’s Germany, early Christians blamed for Rome burning (by Nero) and for the fall of the Roman Empire (be secular historical revisionists), modern, Bible Christianity is being blamed for the social ills that are taking place in the world. In the last century, Christianity has again taken the blame for the social ills that have come to dominate international society. Prior to his death in 1937, the great German General, Erich von Ludendorff blamed Christianity for the problems Europe was facing, which ultimately led to World War Two. Christians have further been blamed for the Vietnam War; the current Conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the rise of Worldwide Terrorism; the USA’s past legality of Slavery and Indian Wars; US Military Intervention following World War Two; the spread of AIDS (due to ignorance, neglect, marginalizing homosexuals, fear, and/or alleged hate speech); and any other number of current and post-modern social problems. Even when the church steps up to address some of these issues, opponents of the church usually point fingers at the problems the church or her leaders have had in the past (Jimmy Swaggert’s and Jim Bakker’s dalliances with prostitutes are popular points of reference). It seems that the Church of Jesus Christ simply cannot get away from being blamed for a host of problems, even ones that the church has actually aided in improving…

Forbid Them, and take Away Their Identity…
Even now, in the world today, many nations and countries that once stood for freedom of religion and faith are now creating new laws, or using national enactments, to curb Bible Christianity. In the USA alone, this has taken place ever since the infamous 1962 decision to forbid teacher- and administration-led prayer in public school. Since that fateful decision, the right for Christians to use or express their faith in public buildings has been challenged. Recent rulings have forbidden the decades-long practice of prayer before public school athletic events. Further rulings and court cases have challenged long-standing American National Establishments (“One Nation, Under God”, “In God We Trust”), cultural holiday season names (“Winter Holiday” instead of “Christmas Break”, “Spring Break” instead of “Easter Break”, “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”, “The Holiday Season” instead of “The Christmas Season”), the freedom to express religion tangibly (Christmas Decorations forbidden at work and school, Nativity Scenes barred from public places, Ten commandments taken down from civic walls and monuments), the freedom to gather peacefully as a Christian organization (Christian and Bible Clubs barred from public school, prayer meetings, prayer breakfasts, and Bible studies at the workplace during break time banned), even churches threatened with lawsuits because of Bible Preaching and teaching (Canada passed laws restraining Christians from denouncing homosexuality as it is described in the Bible). Just as Hitler and the Nazi Party stripped the Jews of their basic, legal rights with the Nuremberg Laws, so today Christians in the West and technologically advanced nations are seeing their freedoms stripped away, and modern mainstream media is doing all it can to help this take place.

Secular Progressivism is Sharpening its Sword on the Steps of the Church…
Just as in Napoleonic Europe 200 years ago, we are seeing secularism and secular progressivism (really, these are just two new, modern names for Atheistic Agnosticism) sharpen their sabres on the steps of Jesus Christ’s “embassy”, his Church. In such cases, where European powers would sharpen their sabres on the steps of the Embassies of their enemies, the nation being affronted would usually pull their Ambassadors out of the country, prior to the bombs falling, the rifles opening up, and the war commencing. In the same way – just as today’s world is making Bible Christianity unwelcome – Jesus Christ is preparing to pull his ambassadors out of this world. We in the Church often call this event The Rapture, and we believe it could happen at any moment. Just as today’s keys reflect, the world is becoming a more and more hostile place for Bible Christians. If the Lord Jesus tarries in his return, we believe that – as enemy ambassadors and embassies were captured and closed if they could not be removed quickly enough – Christians will begin to suffer more and more, even until the day that we are cast into prison, into concentration camps, and even executed for our very faith – and, yes, this includes the United States being a persecuting nation, as well. Many Christians believe that we are in the last days, that time of history which leads to the culmination of events as prescribed in the Bible, and that at some instance in the future, the Rapture will take place. This will be the signal from God that he has removed his embassy from the world, and, in response to the sharpening of the world’s sabres on the steps, is prepared to commence his retaliation to the attacks of his enemies.

Conclusion – Be Ready or Get Ready!!!
Reader, it won’t be long. Many may say that Jesus (if he returns at all) won’t come for decades or even centuries. The fact of the matter is that we really don’t know when, exactly, he will return. However, looking at modern and post-modern events one can clearly see that events are leading up to something great, grand, and terrible coming to pass. Won’t you turn your life to Jesus Christ today? Won’t you come and join us? Yes, you may go through persecution before it is all over. Yes, you may undergo hardship such as you have never experienced before. But rest assured in this: Jesus Christ will never leave you nor forsake you! One day, he will call us all home, and then this world will really descend into depravity. It will all get worse before it gets better. Come to Jesus Christ today!! Accept the lifeline he has for you!

Prayer – Dear Jesus, we love you, we praise you, and we thank you. Bless all that read this, and help those who know you not to come and receive you as Saviour. Even so, come quickly, Lord, in Jesus Name we pray, Amen.

Verse to Remember
In the world, ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
– John 16.33