One thing about the entire end times teaching since Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth is that we have heard so much of it, we tend to ignore it. I suppose the main reason for this is our lack of patience. It has been 43 years since his book was released, and I’ll grant you, that is a long time. From another perspective however, it isn’t long at all.

My son was born in 1967 and my daughter was born in 1970. It seems like yesterday to me. So much has transpired over those years it is mind-boggling. In that time consider how far air travel, including space travel, has progressed. Consider the advances in medical knowledge. What about computers and the Internet? The weather seems to have gone berserk since those days. Any thoughts on the changes in our government? What about communication? Has anyone considered the decline in morality and the increase in crime? These are just a few things to think about.

Probably the number one place to keep our eyes fixed is Israel and the Middle East. The cork could blow from that bottle at any time.

Take a moment and consider the prophecies in the Bible that have been fulfilled, to the letter. One of those many prophecies I pay close attention to is the apostasy of the last days that is prophesied.

Living all my life in the Bible belt, I suppose I have been somewhat sheltered to the lifestyles in other parts of the country. Even yet, I never dreamed that Satan would get such a foothold in so many local churches. False teachers have saturated the local churches and airwaves like roaches coming out when the lights are turned off.

Many churches want nothing to do with any teaching on prophecy. How can that be? At least a third of the Bible concerns prophecy. Do we just pick and choose what we want to hear or teach? Obviously so.

Children look forward to Christmas with great anticipation. I’ll give you three guesses why and the first two don’t count. Christmas time to children is about presents. Face it. That’s the way it is, and that’s fine. They’re children.

The Rapture to the church is our Christmas time. Our one present we’re waiting to receive is the return of our Savior to take us home. He says is so wonderful that it is beyond our imagination. Why are so many, who say they are His, not interested? Why have others shown much interest in the beginning, but now have lost interest?

Those who say that Jesus lives in their hearts, but are not excited about His return, may need to re-consider their salvation issue with God.

Those who have lost interest may be “fair-weather friends.” They’re there for the exciting beginning, but can’t last for the long haul. They too may need to re-consider their salvation issue with God.

How can either group be so nonchalant about Jesus? Whether we finally get to meet Him in death or the Rapture is an exciting thought.

And then there are those who, as the turtle, just keep looking for Him while working for Him, not wavering to the left or the right.

Is Jesus coming back or not? Does a politician lie? We all know the answer to that. Here’s the real news. Jesus does not lie. He said He will return, and return He will. He has been very gracious to us by giving us signs to look for. These signs are all around us.

Folks, I don’t know when, and neither do you, but we both know that time is running out for this world. Based on the information Jesus has provided, His return must be close. How close? I don’t know, but I’m willing to wait and keep looking, because each day is one day closer than the last. In the meantime, we need to be warning those who will listen. There may not be many, who will listen, but someone eventually will, and that someone is important.

The return of Christ in the air for His church, the Rapture, is the next major event to happen on God’s calendar. Following that are the final seven years promised Israel, which we commonly call the Tribulation. Following the Tribulation is Christ’s second return to the earth and then His thousand-year reign upon this earth, which we call the Millennium. Following the Millennium is eternity with Him.

You’ll notice that I haven’t really gone into very many signs in this article. I have done so in the past, and many others have too. The signs are there. Just open your Bible and look around. They’re very plentiful. Only the spiritually blind could miss them.

The important thing to remember is “What did Jesus say?” He said He would return. I repeat again that He has said basically, “Look for this and that to happen.” They’re happening. He said they would be more plentiful and more severe the closer it gets to His coming. Now get this. There are no signs for the Rapture. All the signs are for the Tribulation, which follows the Rapture. If we are seeing the signs now that pertain to the Tribulation, how close is the Rapture?

Will that day ever come? He said it would. Will it be today, tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year? I don’t know, but He’ll probably come when we least expect it.

“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2)

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2 Peter 3:10)

These two verses are referring to Christ’s Second Coming, at least seven years after the church is removed from the earth in the Rapture. The world at that time will not expect it.

By the same token, it is my opinion, that when Jesus comes earlier for His church (Rapture) many will not expect it, but it is going to happen. It is my opinion that it will be soon, but that is just my opinion. He will come when He is ready, but yes, that day will come.

Grant Phillips

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-7, emphasis mine)

Sometimes the King James Version (KJV) doesn’t make the point clear, so let’s read this again in the New International Version (NIV).

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-7 NIV, emphasis mine)

The authentic Gospel of God, which includes the entirety of His Word─the Bible–is quickly being diluted to a cultic message straight from the lying tongue of Satan. What we are hearing today from the “faith” movement teachers is 180 degrees from the Truth of God’s Word. Sadly, multiplied thousands are soaking up this false gospel like a dry sponge soaking in a bucket of water.

The blasphemy from these hoards of false teachers is so obvious one wonders how thousands, if not millions, of people can be so naïve, but nevertheless that is the case.

“You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.” (2 Corinthians 11:4, NLT)

If you gave me two $100 dollar bills and asked me to tell you which was real and which was counterfeit I could not tell you, unless the counterfeit currency is blatantly showing its flaws. On the other hand, my wife, who has worked in the banking industry for many years, could probably tell you in short order which of the bills is counterfeit and which one is the real McCoy.

How does someone in banking or any other industry spot a counterfeit? They study the original until they know it well. Then when the counterfeit comes along, it is usually quickly spotted.

No man knows everything there is to know about the Bible and never will. If we could do that, we would be in God’s league. However, God didn’t write the Bible to confuse us. He wrote it to be understood. What is the point of writing anything if no one can understand it? He expects His children to know what He is saying, but He isn’t going to spoon-feed us. We are expected to spend much time in His Word and really dig. The nuggets are there; we just have to dig for them. As a Christian we grow in Christ by being stewards of His Word. God provides the tools. We provide the work, and obey what we learn.

When it comes to God’s Word─the Bible, many Christians are taken in by gross error, the counterfeit; the big lie. That should not be. Every Christian and I mean EVERY Christian should be like the Bereans (Acts 17:10-11), and verify what they read and hear with the Scriptures.

“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:10-11, emphasis mine)

Consider verse eleven in the NIV translation. “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 7:11, emphasis mine)

I can understand why those who do not know Jesus as their personal Savior can be mislead by these slick-tongued false teachers, but there is simply no excuse for a true Christian to be taken in by another gospel.

Some of the blasphemies these scoundrels spew from their venomous mouths strive to elevate themselves over God. For example they teach: Jesus is not God; We are gods; Jesus suffered in hell and battled Satan; God can do nothing without our permission; God lost His right to rule; We can speak into existence anything we want; God wants us to be rich; Jesus was rich; If we are sick or poor, it is because we lack faith; Our money to their ministry is “seed” faith, We can order Satan around; There are three gods; and on and on and on they go. This is just a sampling! It seems they each try to top their buddies by coming out with something even more ludicrous than what has been said beforehand by another of their kind.

These folks, and there are many of them, strip God of His power and place it upon themselves. There is no respect and no fear shown to the one and only Almighty God who created us.

The Lord says that the time will come when people will reject the pure Word of God, and be drawn instead to teachers who will satisfy their carnal desires.

“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.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4, NASB)

We live in an age that relies more on opinion than fact. We actually think our opinion is worth something. Sometimes it is, but many times it isn’t. The government and scientists, for example, love to stretch the facts to match up with their opinions of how things should be. We Christians also have many opinions and have arrived at the point in the Church Age of allowing our opinions to override the facts of God’s Word. That gets us in trouble. Well, here is a fact. God isn’t concerned with our opinions. He is concerned with our listening to what He has to say, because He is the only one who has an “opinion” that counts.

Here is the issue: Get in the Bible! The Bible is the ONLY place you will find the Truth!

Any time you read what a person writes, or listen to what they say, check it against the Truth, the Bible. That includes what I write! The Spirit of God will guide you to the Truth if you really want to know it.

“I just can’t understand the Bible.” If I only had a quarter for every time someone said that. I didn’t know how to read until I started with Dick and Jane in the first grade either, but now I can read much more complicated material and understand it. If I had skipped school, I would not be able to read anything today. Many of you have skipped school. You can’t understand the Bible, because you won’t start reading it. Read it. If you are a child of God, you have the greatest teacher there is, His Spirit. Allow Him to teach you.

The so-called “faith” movement is taking over this country like wild fire because of ignorance. God, whether as Father, Son or Spirit, is being mocked, and it is horrifying to think of the judgment that will come upon those who are doing so. Humanism is the god of today, and is leading many away from the real gospel. It is another gospel, which is not THE gospel. It is nothing new. Satan has always played on pride and greed to further his gospel. Pride and greed was his downfall, and it is ours.

“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.” (Genesis 3:4-5, emphasis mine)

This is exactly what false teachers are saying and practicing today.

While writing this article, I came across a book on this very subject that I would recommend. It is called Christianity in Crisis 21st Century written by Hank Hanegraaff. He goes into the specifics of what I have been warning about for a long time now and examines the false teachings of many of these false teachers with another gospel. In his book, many quotes from these false teachers are discussed.

Folks there are still many fine Christian teachers among us, but unfortunately there are tons more who are nothing but wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are out for one thing, and that is to increase the size of their bank account. Sometimes, I’m not sure which is greater, their bank account or their ego. For the protection of your own soul and those you witness to, know the Truth. Check everything against God’s Word. You will find many times that what man says just doesn’t measure up to what God says.

Get in the Bible now. Read it every day and pray for guidance. Don’t be another one of Satan’s statistics.

You don’t need a ThD (Doctor of Theology) to understand the Truth. Actually, many of them do not have the Truth because they refuse to accept it. The Holy Spirit of God is more than capable of teaching us what we need to know. It’s great to have that educational background, but it is not a prerogative for knowing God’s Word. Again, the best teachers are not in the seminaries. The best Teacher is God Himself.

As long as you rely on others to tickle your ears, you will continue to be swept along with another gospel, which is contrary to the real Gospel. If you will just get into God’s Word, daily, with the right attitude, your eyes will be opened and you will begin to realize that you are being snookered by people who do not represent the God they say they serve. It isn’t God they serve. It is Satan.

There is no doubt in my mind that we are in the last days of the Church Age. Time is quickly running out and Satan is fighting with all he has to deceive as many as possible. The majority of this world and even the church are following another gospel. I prefer to be in the minority and follow Christ who provides THE gospel. How about you?

Grant Phillips