3:14
Laodecea Continued
Name: means people ruling over and against the scriptures or the Bible ruling
Date: 1900 to present day
Description: Christ faithful and true over against a church neither faithful or true
Commendation: none
Condemnation: characterized by lukewarm worldliness and wealth, spiritually blind. Totally apostate - apostasy means a departure from a truth that one had professed to have had. II Thess 2:1-3; Paul taught that the Tribulation had not started for two reasons (1) there must be an apostasy preceding the trib, and (2) the identity Antichrist must first be revealed. I Tim 4:1 again in the last days an apostasy must occur. Paul characterizes (1) demonic doctrines (2) lies (3) attack on Christian liberty forbidding to marry, no eating meat. II Tim 3:5 in the last days - hold form of godliness but denying power. Leaders of apostate churches have a form of godliness, in their basic creeds and fundamentals. But hypocrisy defines them.
II Pet 2 portrayal of those leading the apostate church. One key characteristic is destructive denials. Denying the person and work of Jesus Christ. How can we define an apostate? (1) I Jn 2:22-23 they deny the Trinity, the equality of the Father and the Son. (2) I Jn 4:1,3 II Jn1:7 the denial of the incarnation a denial that Jesus is God, (3) II Pet 3 they deny the physical visible second coming. The mark of an apostate Trinity, Divinity, Return of Christ. The basis of all 3 is the denial of the authority of scripture, the denial of the inspiration of scripture by God. Jude 17:17-19 the dress of apostates. (1) mockery, poke fun at basic teachings of the Bible, and (2) they split churches, denominations, seminaries cause divisions.
History of Apostasy in the Laodicean Age: 1/20/1891 Charles Augustus Briggs gives inaugural address at NY Theological Seminary. CAB became the director of Hebrew and Old Testament at Union Seminary. He made claim that the church and reason were equal to scripture, he said all OT prophecies were reversed, he claimed Moses did not author the 1st 5 books, he taught everyone will get a second chance after death.
CAB was not the first modernest but this was the first public affirmation of modernest ideals by the church. CAB was put on trial but not convicted on the basis of trying to keep unity within the Presbyterian Church. 1/9/1893 he was tried again and case was thrown out. CAB left the Presbyterian Church and joined the Episcopal Church the Presbyterian Church continued producing pastors for the pulpits with modernest thought. After happening over and again the churches were filled with the false teachers. In 1908 an attempt to unify all churches into one super church was headed by the NY Presbytery. In 1910 3 ministers were ordained even though they publicly denied the virgin birth. But regardless they were ordained into the Presbyterian Church. As a result 5 points were issued (1) inspiration of scripture (2) virgin birth (3) substitute atonement of Christ (4) resurrection of Christ (5) miracles of Christ. Those that accepted the 5 were called fundamentals and they that rejected were called modernest. Unfortunately many additions were made to the five leading many to question fundamentalism.
Harry Emerson Forstick, a Baptist in 1922 preached a sermon at the Presbyterian Church “shall the fundamentalists win?” His answer was they will not. He claimed that the resurrection of Jesus should be seen in the establishment of churches and hospitals and do gooders. A fundamental Presbyterian J Gresham Mecham countered him in his book “Christianity and Liberalism” claimed that liberalism was a different religion altogether. In 1924 Pearson Morrow countered with his book entitled “Liberal Christianity” saying that it was a better religion than fundamentalist Christianity.
The general assembly warned Forstick to accept the five fundamentals of the faith or leave the Presbyterian Church. Forstick claimed that for him to accept the five fundamentals would go against his Baptist faith and left to return to the American Baptist Convention were he started the liberal wing of the Baptist Church.
There was an attempt to reform the churches by changing them from within. By the end of the 20’s in all four of the main denominations the Presbyterians, Baptist, Methodists and Episcopalian the liberals were in firm control and it was impossible to root them out. Therefore the decade of the 30’s was characterized by separatist movements conservatives moved out from the main denominations. In the Presbyterian Church a group pulled out followed Mecham but he died within a year and the conservative wing of the Presbyterians split into four denominations which weakened them. The Baptist started the GARB, Episcopalian conservatives started the Reform Episcopal Group and the Methodist started the Evangelical Methodists so these groups started the fight against the Christian liberal movement.
In the 50’s 60’s 70’s the ecumenical movement. In 1948 the World Counsel of Churches was started. In 1950 what was the Federal Counsel of Churches became the National Counsel of Churches also based on liberalism. The key denomination that has not given way to apostasy as a whole has been the Southern Baptist denomination but the trend towards liberal leadership has begun leading to the conservatives to eventually pull out.
Also in the 60’s COCU attempted time unite all the major churches into one super church.
Exhortation: to get saved, spiritual salvation, white garments represents salvation which they lacked. Christ is not inside this church he is outside, the invitation is for anyone inside these apostate churches to receive Christ and come out of there.
Promise: they will receive a place in the kingdom if they receive Christ and leave the apostate church.
In light of the fact that we are in the age of apostasy what is the believer’s obligation in the face of apostasy (1) do not fellowship with them as far as worship is concerned 2John 7-11, (2) casting out the apostates in the local church Gal 1:8-9, (3) suppose apostates are in control of the local church - separation 2Chor 6:14.
