*There is a special message at the end of this article.*

Before the global flood that wiped out all land dwellers excluded from the Ark, man had become godless. In fact, God saw that wickedness abounded and every imagination and thought of man was continually evil (Gen 6:5). This godlessness was so complete that Noah alone was found perfect in his generation because he walked with God (Gen 6:9). This caused God to bring severe judgment upon man and earth, which brought about a new beginning on a reshaped earth. From then until now, man has walked in differing degrees of godlessness. Soon, Jesus will remove from the earth the dead in Christ and the last of those living godly at the rapture, making room for a world condition that could be named The Return of the Godless. Incredibly, this return to godlessness is already underway. How can this be?

To answer this question, one might begin by asking how the whole world is returning to such godlessness, even though the church, which is considered the salt that holds putrification at bay, is still here on earth. The simple answer is the true remnant church, which will soon be raptured, is shrinking at an alarming rate, and this diminishment is beginning to show in that the world is now becoming more godless as each day passes. Unfortunately, this process will continue and even accelerate until the rapture, after which only the godless remain. The obvious question then is why is the true church receding? There are actually several reasons this is happening:

First, once the lie of evolution gained a foothold, the Bible was relegated to the status of a great book on par with other well-known works of fiction. This is because you cannot have two diametrically opposed beliefs be true at the same time. After all, the proponents of evolution challenged the validity of God’s Holy Word by providing an alternative that wicked men craved. This new paradigm allowed men to reject the idea that their wayward lifestyles would bring them into condemnation before a Holy God. Therefore, through deception, the fable (evolution) has become the taught law of the land, and the truth (the Bible) has become a book of stories (fables). This is why the generations which were taught evolution from grade schools to institutes of higher learning have begun to leave the church in droves.

Second, the many false prophets Jesus warned about have arisen, and they are misleading those in the church away from the absolutes of the Bible, as well (Matt 24). ^[1] These are they who pervert the gospel of Christ (Gal 1:7). They secretly bring in damnable heresies which even deny Christ who paid the price for all who believe (2 Pet 2:1). Peter goes on to say these false prophets and teachers will, for greed’s sake, exploit many with deceptive words (2 Pet 2:2-3). Paul told us they did this in order to draw men unto themselves (Acts 20:30).

The third reason for the return of the godless is a side effect of the first two reasons. As faith in the Christ of the Bible diminishes because of the acceptance of fables and false prophets, the true salt and light ebbs. This recession results in mankind becoming increasingly selfish. We can glean from Scripture exactly why this is happening. We know that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom 10:17). Therefore, with fewer available to preach the true gospel, fewer hear it, and fewer obtain saving faith in Christ.

The antidote to each of these causes is a good dose of the truth. The problem is that the airwaves are full of hyper-sensationalized messages presented by false prophets and teachers. Where, seemingly, each new message is more important than the last. This fuels the need for the next secret message or mystery these prognosticators will present. Incredibly, some of the false ministers are authors who sell out books even before they are released. Because of this, the false have gained such a foothold in the church that the true remnant barely gets a word in edgewise.

At this point, you may be asking yourself, if this is truly the case, how do I know what is true? Ah, the quickest way to discern who is true and who is false is who they leave you seeking. Paul told us these liars would be known because they will draw disciples unto themselves. Therefore, those true to God will herald Jesus Christ, and the false will trumpet themselves.

Two additional points about what causes people to become godless should be considered here: Why do people believe the lies, and what approach do the liars take?

Believing Lies

The Apostle Paul had much to say about the fact that people will believe in the false. In fact, in his last correspondence to the church, he encouraged Timothy to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 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; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Tim 4:2-4). emphasis mine

This means people will, of their own free will, turn away from the truth proclaimed by the faithful toward a multitude of teachers who preach a message they desire to hear. The prophet Isaiah said these kinds of people are they “Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (Is 30:10). Simply put, many do not want to hear the truth, and they willingly turn from it and believe whatever lie/s makes them feel better about their sinful lifestyle.

Elsewhere, Paul identifies why people turn from the truth and accept lies as their portion. First, they change the truth of God into a lie and worship the creature more than the Creator (Rom 1:25). Second, they do not like to retain God in their knowledge (Rom 1:28). Because of this, God turns those who reject Him over to reprobate minds which causes them to do things that are not convenient or, said another way, these will do things that are improper. This brings us to the next question, what approach do the creatures that are worshipped take in order to deceive?

Crafters of Deception

The reason why deceivers deceive has already been established; they desire to draw others to themselves (Acts 20:30). Precisely, these are the kind of people who desire that other people worship them; therefore, they practice deceit. The question at hand is, how do they accomplish this? How do they turn people away from worshipping God toward worshipping them? The answer is simple.

As noted by Peter, those who practice deception will privily bring in damnable heresies (2 Pet 2:1). In modern English, this same phrase could read, ‘They will introduce, by way of revealing secrets, opinions that bring forth destruction.’ This statement may give rise to another question, what destruction is brought forth by these secret revelations? The answer is one that has been seen since the very first deception in the Garden of Eden: Secret knowledge gives rise to turning away from worship of the creator toward desire for secret messages and the ones who bear them. The first such deception is a great example:

The most subtle (cunning) creature that God made, the serpent, beguiled Eve by first planting a seed of doubt about what God said by uttering this statement, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Gen 3:1). This is exactly what evolutionists and false prophets and teachers do; they first create doubt about the truth, which has already been revealed by God, by introducing their secret message/s by which they intend to deceive the hearer.

After getting her attention, the serpent revealed a secret to Eve, “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:4-5). The express purpose of this lie was to cause rejection of God’s sovereignty. In fact, believing this lie caused man to no longer consider God as supreme. This lie fostered the belief that men were gods, which resulted in bringing God down to man’s level and elevating man to God’s level. ^[2]

Many false prophets and teachers have echoed this particular damnable heresy. I will not name names here; however, a simple internet search with the search line ‘little gods – doctrine‘ will reveal those who further this deception. ^[3] Interestingly, many of the false prophets and teachers involved in the particular heresy are also responsible for countless other false doctrines that have plagued the church for decades. This is because they have a simple misunderstanding of who God is. Therefore, they approach Bible study from the perspective that they are god, and they twist Scripture to say what they want it to say, often by ripping scriptures out of context and adhering them to others they have done the same thing to. The result is a Frankenstein doctrine that looks nothing like what the ‘Creator of the Universe’ actually intended.

Unfortunately, this particular lie (secret message) has brought more destruction than one can ever imagine. Countless souls have passed on thinking they were no longer accountable to a Holy God who controls what happens to their soul after death. Sadly, absent repentance and belief in Christ’s atoning work on the cross, they will not only die in body, but they will also suffer the second death (Rev 2:11; 20:14).

This is just one example of how secret messages can bring about destruction on a massive scale. This is why it is so important to understand that the Bible is an instruction manual for all believers. Therefore, each and every person has a responsibility to understand what God has passed on to us, and the best way to recognize a counterfeit message is to know the authentic. After all, if each of us studies God’s Word with the intent to show ourselves approved unto God (2 Tim 2:15), we will not quickly fall for secret messages that are intended to draw men unto men. Paul said it this way:

1 Timothy 6:20-21a

“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith.”

Unfortunately, the profane and vain have become commonplace, and it shows in the recession of the church and the return of the godless. Many believe this will change for the better through a worldwide revival. However, thorough examination of Scripture depicts just the opposite. In fact, God’s Word tells us that the church will be in great decline at the end of the age, which is upon us. ^[4] Jan Markell recently wrote a very concise article about this topic that should be read and shared. Here is a link: The Slippery Slope: Harbingers of Total Tyranny. ^[5]

Ironically, it is this very message that should cause us to look up. The sad part is much of the professing church is believing and praying for the opposite of God’s will for this moment in history. They are praying that God comes in the form of revival when they should be praying, ‘Jesus, come quickly for the bride’ (Rev 22:17). ^[6]

Conclusion

Sadly, the return of the godless started long ago as men rejected the truth for fables. The most unfortunate part is the rise of those who lead others to godlessness, especially within the church. You see, when you examine the text about men being godless before the flood, you see that they were still doing the things that make society what it is; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage (Matt 24:37). This means, when God testified that men’s thoughts were continually evil (Gen 6:5), He was actually saying their thoughts were all about self and not about Him at all. This is what believing in fables and the secrets and mysteries of false prophets and teachers lead to — self-centeredness or, put another way, godlessness. Thus, “The Return of the Godless.”

Special message…

**Please allow me to reiterate what I consider a most important tool for deciding whether to listen to someone or not: When they share, who and what do they leave you thinking about?

If, after hearing their message, you desire to know more about the messenger and their secret messages or mysteries, they should be considered very dangerous. This is because listening to them will draw you onto a path they are creating which is often bereft of the truth of Scripture. Following the false on this broad path leads to destruction (Matt 7:13). Think about evolution in this context. Had those who knew the Bible taken a stand, this errant message and resulting belief system would not have achieved the success it has in deceiving the masses.

On the other hand, if, after hearing their message, you desire to know more about Jesus and the written (revealed) Word of God, they are probably ok. At the moment, they are following Christ along the narrow way, and they are safe to follow. However, the reason I include the qualifier ‘probably’ is their message must ‘continually’ be examined against the absolute truth of the Bible in order to be considered trustworthy. The Bereans excelled at this (Acts 17:11). This is because some may have started out very well and ended up bankrupt, like Judas, who betrayed Christ, and those who forsook the Apostle Paul (2 Tim 4:10, 16).

Think about this for a second. It was not until he penned his last letter to Timothy that Paul said this: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7). Therefore, even the godliest are in a fight for the faith until their last breath. This means the message of each minister must be examined until they finish the race.

May the Lord grant each of us eyes to see and ears to hear in this time of great deception which Jesus warned us about:

Matthew 24:4-5

“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.” emphasis mine

Website: In His Commission

[1] For greater understanding, see the article, “The Rise of Many.”

[2] For greater understanding, see the article, “The Greatest Lie Ever Told: The Origin of All Lies.”

[3] For greater understanding, explore this, “Little gods – doctrine.”

[4] For greater understanding, see the article, “While We Wait.”

[5] For more information about Jan Markell, visit her website: “Olivetreeviews.org.”

[6] For greater understanding, see the article, “The Great Awakening – The Grand Deception.”

Introduction

Recently, I had an email exchange with an individual that began with them saying that dispensationalism isn’t Biblical. I showed them what true dispensationalism was and how and why it was Biblical.

Next, they referenced Mark 16:16 and stated that baptism was essential for salvation and that they had never seen anyone from Rapture Ready ever take on this verse because they obviously didn’t know how to handle it. I took the time to demonstrate to them the error of their thinking and presented them with many Scriptures that present what is truly essential for salvation.

Lastly, they mentioned the seventh-day Sabbath, the essentialness of worshiping on this day, and that the Roman Catholic Church changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. I explained that the seventh-day Sabbath was a covenant between God and Israel (Exodus 31:13-17), and that Christians have been worshiping on what’s known as The Lord’s Day in celebration of Christ’s resurrection, and I gave a sample passage for them to consider.

Needless to say, it sounds like I may have been dealing with a Seventh Day Adventist who believes that baptism is essential for salvation and does not believe in or understand dispensationalism.

In regard to dispensationalism and what day to worship on, I really don’t find myself too concerned with someone’s particular belief system on these two topics unless, of course, it leads to legalism, which the SDA’s certainly indulge themselves in.

But believing that baptism is essential for salvation, well, that doctrine I certainly take issue with – or better, the Scriptures have an issue with that doctrine!

So, not being one to shy away from a challenge, I decided to address Mark 16:16 on behalf of the writers and readers of Rapture Ready!

Mark 16:16

“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).

In relation to Mark 16:16, we can obviously see that the word “baptized” is not included in “he that believeth not.” In other words, someone may have a case (though severely lacking still) of salvation being necessary for salvation if the verse were to read, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not and is not baptized shall be damned,” but, clearly, it does not.

When we take out the phrase, “and is baptized,” we see the continuity in the message of the passage.

“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).

This continuity of the polar opposites of belief and unbelief, as we will see at the end of this article, is prevalent throughout the Scriptures.

But when it comes to the addition of baptism in Mark 16:16, we should recognize an important fact:  Ideally, baptism should follow salvation through faith in Messiah Yeshua as soon as one can. It’s the preferred order of things, and this is why it is included in this verse. But baptism is not essential for salvation – only belief and faith are!

Baptism is principally an outward, public declaration of one’s newfound faith in Jesus Christ. The symbolism of baptism signifies our identifying with our Lord in His death, burial, and resurrection.

Matthew 28:18-20

The other passage that false teachers and cults will use, in addition to Mark 16:16, to support their insistence that baptism is essential for salvation, is Matthew 28:18-20.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Let’s examine the order of Christ’s Great Commission:

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and [1] teach all nations, [2] baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [3] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:18-19).

[1] They are first commanded to teach all nations. This teaching is the preaching of the gospel. Whether they accept the teaching of the gospel is entirely dependent on those individuals.

[2] If the person accepts the gospel and genuinely comes to Christ for salvation, then the ideal process is for them to be baptized in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

[3] Once this has occurred – and even if the person doesn’t immediately get baptized for whatever reason – then the disciple who brought them to Christ must continue to teach them to observe all things that Christ has taught us through the Word of God.

In Mark’s account of the Great Commission, which includes our study verse, Christ emphasizes #1 and #2:

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16).

As we noted, ideally, baptism should follow salvation through faith in Messiah Yeshua as soon as one can.

Regrettably, I wasn’t baptized until 20 years or so after my conversion. Obviously, had I died before I was baptized, I still would have been saved, but I would have missed out on a very important Christian ceremony – partaken of by Christ Himself – that would have shown my professed faith publicly and symbolically united myself with the death, burial, and resurrection of my Lord which He did on my behalf.

Is there a Biblical link between Mark 16:16 and his statement of baptism following salvation? I believe there is!

Mark’s Gospel and the Apostle Peter

Tradition has it that the Apostle Peter was very close friends with John-Mark’s family. John-Mark, of course, is also known as just Mark and is the writer of the gospel of Mark.

Because of this – and I concur – it seems more than reasonable that the gospel of Mark is actually a gospel of Peter’s that had either been dictated to Mark by Peter or Mark penned the gospel after Peter had spoken to him and his family about the many events that he participated in as a disciple of Messiah Yeshua. Either way, though, the gospel of Mark, just like the other three gospels and the rest of the Bible, is truly and only the Words of the Holy Spirit as He moved holy men of God as they wrote the Scriptures! (2 Peter 1:21).

When one understands that the gospel of Mark is essentially a gospel of Peter – though every book of the Bible is truly the Word of God – we might expect to see that Peter himself thought very highly of baptism for the new believer. And this is exactly what we find!

Peter’s Sermon on Pentecost

Peter, as he was finishing up his sermon on Pentecost to the people in Jerusalem, after the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples, implored those whose hearts were pricked (Acts 2:37) to…

“… Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

Again, notice the order: [1] Repent and [2] be baptized. This fits perfectly with Mark 16:16 and is another confirmation that Peter indeed was very influential in Mark’s gospel.

What About the Rest of the Scriptures?

If baptism was, in fact, a necessity of salvation, wouldn’t one expect that baptism would be mentioned in all of the many other passages of Scripture declaring how mankind is to be saved? Indeed, we should. But is this what we find?

To conclude this short article, I wanted to present the reader with a list of passages found in the Brit Chadashah (New Testament) in which we can clearly see what is required for salvation.

Note that not one time is baptism ever mentioned in any of these passages (emphasis mine), but only belief and faith in Messiah Jesus!

“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15).

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12).

“That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:15).

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

“Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:28-29).

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” (John 7:37-39).

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26).

“And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:7-9).

“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31).

The following people were disciples who had already believed, then they were baptized.

“Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:4-5).

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17).

“Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:22-28).

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4).

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,” (Ephesians 1:13-15).

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works [this includes baptism], lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

“Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham” (Galatians 3:6-9).

“But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Galatians 3:22).

“Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting” (1 Timothy 1:16).

“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5).

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13).

May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”

Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!

➢   Email: mab10666@yahoo.com

➢   If you have not given your life to Jesus Christ and are seeking answers about God, Jesus Christ, the gospel, and salvation, please email me at mab10666@yahoo.com for information.

➢   I am still taking questions for the Questions from the Body of Christ series. If you or someone you know has a question pertaining to the Word of God – theology, difficult passages, eschatology, etc. – I would really like to hear from you.

➢   A listing of past articles may be found at my Article Listings on Rapture Ready or my Home Page on FaithWriters.