It was foretold that in the latter days false prophets and teachers would rise to prominence and deceive many, corrupting the faith that was delivered to the saints through Jesus Christ. Even in the time of the Apostles, wolves were entering the church posing as brothers. These depraved men exhibited a form of godliness, having an outward appearance of righteousness and exalting themselves as men of God while gathering followers to themselves for personal ambitions.

In 2nd Peter 2, Peter exposes false teachers who were redeemed by Christ and washed in his blood but afterward turned from the holy vocation given them to pursue personal interests by exploiting others.

Exposing these men as deceivers, Peter recalls the false prophets in Israel, warning that there would likewise be false brothers in the church who would subtly bring in damnable heresies to draw others after them.

He writes that it had been better for them to have never known the truth than to return to their old ways after being cleansed from their sins by the blood of Christ.

“After they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome; the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after they had known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it happened unto them according to the true proverb: “The dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:22).

Likewise, Jude devoted his epistle to addressing the same infiltrators who turned back from the LORD while mingling among the congregation to feed themselves. Using similar language as Peter, Jude describes them as ungodly men who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, preaching doctrines of grace while walking after their lusts and enticing others to take part with them in their sins.

“These are they who separate themselves.” God did not fail or forsake them; they separated themselves from God, hardening their hearts to indulge in their lusts.

After providing them with a period of grace for repentance, He eventually abandoned those who would not hear and turned them over to the lust of their flesh after long refusal of His calling. Thus, it happened to them even as God warned, “My spirit will not always strive with man.”

Jude brings to remembrance examples of those who were at one time chosen to serve the LORD but were later destroyed after refusing His call.

“I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. Likewise, the angels who left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (Jude).

Jude referred to them as being “twice dead, plucked up by the roots.” They became reprobate and could not be restored.

Today, there are centuries of false doctrines and heresies that have been passed down and adopted into church doctrines. The result is the splintering of congregants into countless denominations, offshoots, and even cults that identify as Christians but reject or twist the teachings of scripture.

Each group naturally imagines its beliefs are correct. Thus, the great falling away foretold is not only those who abandon a Christian identity but also the apostate condition of individuals who accept the corruptions present in their specific version of so-called Christianity.

Elisha followed Elijah, desiring to inherit his mantle and a double portion of the Spirit; he refused to abide in a place of contentment among the sons of the prophets. He continued following Elijah, who, unlike the sons of the prophets, was a prophet. Like Elijah, Elisha desired more than a casual relationship with God that had been handed down through the teachings and traditions of men. Elisha desired a relationship with God directly that was more than a social bond of traditions passed around among others.

“The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.” (Joel 1:1-3)

Joel began his writing by urging the preservation and transmission of his words until their fulfillment in the latter days. The next time Joel is mentioned in scripture is on the day of Pentecost, when Peter, expounding on the outpouring of the Holy Ghost that day, declares, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.”

Thus, Peter announced the commencement of Joel’s prophecy, which continues until the day of the Lord. However, as the Apostles warned repeatedly, after their departure, many wolves would enter in, not sparing the flock. Taking upon themselves the name of Christ, they would teach things contrary to the truth of the gospel, and with good words and fair speeches, they would deceive the hearts of the simple.

Joel foretold of the time when people would abandon sound doctrine for false teachers and self-appointed leaders who would arise as shepherds over the flock. Like a pestilence, they would devour the truth out of the Gospel. Prophesying of these men, Joel declared, “That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.” (Joel 1:4)

Spreading throughout the land into small and large congregations, like locusts, false teachers devour the living word, making truth scarce. The sheep perish for lack of food and water. As it is written, “How do the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O Lord, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.” (Joel 1:18-20)

The current state of religious leadership is characterized by many adherents who embrace a wide range of diverse and conflicting doctrines, each believing that any doctrinal conflict with other believers reflects the failure of those others.

Thus, religion is corrupted, the truth suffers, scoffers mock, and the responsibility for the collapse of morality and culture rests upon those who come in the name of the Lord, presenting themselves as his ministers. As the Apostle Paul stated, “Such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Therefore, the latter rain is cut off, and there is enormous wrath. Still, the Lord calls for repentance, saying, “Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.” (Joel 2:12-13)

“Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people.” (Joel 2:16-18)

And the Lord will send his great army preaching the true gospel: “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you” (Joel 2:25).

The Lord has determined to raise His army to restore His truth to the world. He has returned Jacob’s children to their land as He promised and will cleanse them; they will return to Him, as it is written.

“For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” – Ezekiel 36:24-27

And in these days, the nations will gather themselves and unite against his people, but they shall be destroyed without remedy, for the end of all things regarding this present world is at hand. And all things written shall shortly be accomplished. Thus is the prophecy of Joel.

Although there are countless religions and belief systems, there is one God, one truth, and one true faith, one Creator of all, who is above all. Since not all who take the name of God as part of their identity are united under the same belief, it is evidence of the vast number of deviations from the oneness of God in the world.

The miracles, signs, dreams, and visions spoken of throughout the Bible, which also later appeared in the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ after his resurrection, evidenced the authority given to them by God to be His witnesses to the world. They were united and of one mind, diligently searching the scriptures daily to confirm everything written before by the prophets.

Over time, divisions over doctrine brought about the splintering of believers into various groups and sects with conflicting beliefs, a development that has continued to take place ever since. Thus, there are many misconceptions surrounding the character of Christianity, both in and outside of the church.

The doctrinal divisions that have evolved and increased over time among churches have made adherents competitors rather than fellow workers in the faith. Much like commercial businesses competing for their share of the pie, many churches resort to marketing methods and business models of men’s cunning to grow and maintain their congregations; often, more weight is placed on doctrinal teachings and traditions than on the eternal word of God.

Like grocery stores of theologies that sell doctrines, modern teachers remove old items that are no longer selling well and replace them with new products they believe the current culture today will buy. Investing heavily in ad campaigns disguised as the gospel, they present social constructs of self-righteous dogma, attempting to integrate the gospel into modern culture. Nonbelievers can see through their facades and find it off-putting. Thus, they are a stumbling block rather than a light to the path, and society is becoming increasingly secular because of their display.

Christ intends his church to be a salvational movement, but many have turned him into a social movement. Their objective is to grow religion rather than to preach the gospel—to make faith acceptable to the world rather than to bring the world to an acceptable place before Christ. They forsake holiness for social coexistence.

Therefore, the power presented in the scriptures is denied to them. In response, some declare God has ceased his miraculous works of old and suspended the outpouring of His power evident in past ages. Others turn to the fabrication of “miracles” to substitute for being denied the true power of God. Thus, they turn people from the faith by professing to know God but not providing a witness to the power of God.

The apostles warned that the time would come when many would no longer endure sound doctrine but would heap to themselves teachers that would speak the things they desire to hear. Even in reading these verses, they apply them to others and remain blind to the errors of their ways; therefore, the apostasy is great.

Even as religious Jews are blind to their falsehoods and Muslims to their delusions, many Christians, despite rightly declaring Christ as Messiah, are blind to their doctrinal fallacies. All religions are certain of their faith, but it cannot be that they are all right. Jesus said the greatest darkness occurs when the light within is actually darkness—when one believes that he sees while being blind.

Still, the great darkness upon the world is not absolute. There are some whose faith and hope are in the Word of God alone and not in vain traditions of the past or modern teachings of man-made religion.

Joel prophesied of the corruption of God’s word followed by a restoration in the latter days. He declared there would come false teachers who would feed upon the greenness of God’s teachings and devour the truth to feed themselves, each one consuming those things most desirable to their taste and leaving the things they judge to be unsavory, as it is written,

“That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.”

Joel foretold of the days when the Spirit would be cut off from those who corrupt the word of the Lord, saying, “Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.” He laments the destruction by an army that comes, perverting the word of God and laying waste to his harvest.

The true ministers of God mourn: “He has laid my vine waste and barked my fig tree: he has made it clean bare and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. The meat offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord; the priests, the Lord’s ministers, mourn. The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.”

Rebuking the pastors and husbandmen over his people and laying the responsibility on them for the souls they stumbled by their ill stewardship, the Lord said, “Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vine-dressers, for the wheat and for the barley, because the harvest of the field is perished.”

The Lord decries the spiritual state of humanity and his people resulting from the failure of leaders to maintain sound doctrine: “The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” And then Joel is given a prophecy of restoration.

Seeing how today there are many accusations leveled against the Apostle Paul, it is good to look back over the scriptures and remove all doubt concerning him being called by the Lord. In Paul’s letters to the churches, it is clear that even in his day he had many detractors with whom he was in constant conflict. False teachers and false brothers had entered the church feigning to be wise men, who were in reality came seeking their own gain. Peter himself testified of these men, stating that many things Paul had written were difficult to understand, and there were some who twisted things Paul had written, and as well, other scriptures to their own destruction.

From the beginning of the time the gospel was first preached, the practice of self-serving heresies has never ceased, it continues even today and has become more common with the increasing emphasis on the Jewish roots of Christianity.

While it is certainly a good thing that many Christians today are awakening to the Jewish roots of the faith and shaking off the remaining shackles of Roman doctrines to place Christianity in its original Jewish context, there are some who desire to go a step further by putting back on the old broken shackles of righteousness through works under the Mosaic law.

To do this, it has become necessary to either misinterpret Paul—which is more common—or to dismiss Paul altogether and declare him a false teacher who should not be in the Bible. It is clear that many of the very same distortions of the scriptures—which Paul himself addressed in his letters—are espoused today to support the belief that we are still subject to the Mosaic law.

Specifically, the epistle to the Galatians seems as relevant today as it was at the time when Paul wrote, “Tell me, you who desire to live under the law, do you not read the law?” (Galatians 4:21)

Paul was called by God to teach the transition from works to grace—God having given Paul a greater understanding than all of the other apostles through an abundance of revelations—for which reason, Paul was sometimes compelled to declare his credentials as an apostle and say things he otherwise would not: “I speak as a fool,” Paul says, feeling the need to boast of himself out of necessity to defend the position God had placed him in.

Seeing how the same contention continues, it is therefore necessary that the same boasting be carried out on Paul’s behalf to defend not only Paul and his teachings, but the very saving grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To begin with, Paul’s calling was not by man but by a direct personal encounter with Christ himself on the road to Damascus. His testimony is even strengthened further by the witness of Luke who tells how Ananias was sent to Paul by the Lord, who said to him, “Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel; for I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” Acts 9:15-16

The Lord’s directive to Ananias is Paul’s first endorsement. Furthermore, if you remove Paul from the scriptures, who wrote the most books in the New Testament, you must dismiss Luke, who wrote the largest volume of words that includes the book of Acts a gospel. Luke was with Paul, seemingly to the end. He recorded the miracles done at the hands of Paul, including healings and the raising of the dead. Peter also, in his second epistle, bears testimony to the wisdom given to Paul by the Lord.

Paul was instructed as a Pharisee and trained in the law. He knew the Torah and the writings of the prophets better than all of the other disciples before him, most of whom were called from being fishermen and more common men. Once Paul was saved, having the advantage of his prior knowledge of the law, God used his knowledge to open up a deeper and wider understanding of the law and of Christ. So much so, God allowed him to be afflicted, lest he become puffed up by the multitude of revelations delivered to him. For this, he sought the Lord three times, who said, “My grace is sufficient for thee,” and he accepted the burden the Lord placed upon him.

Anyone who can truly grasp even a part of the depths of Paul’s writings knows that his words are God-given. His understanding of spiritual things is deep, and his prophetic revelations of the future are so accurate and revealing that all his writings are beyond anything the carnal mind could devise and assemble.

In Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians, Paul captures the very heart of God—as much as is possible with words—and the essence of the Word of God and the fullness of the Spirit. It is one of the most powerful works of literature ever written.

Anyone who distorts or rejects Paul’s teachings, even if they proclaim the name of Jesus, does not truly comprehend the Lord in spirit and truth; they are embracing a religion of self-righteousness rather than the saving grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As great as all the Apostles of Christ are and deserving of all honor, it was Paul who was chosen by God to make those things written before by the prophets known more perfectly by bringing providing a better understanding of the mysteries of God and of his plan for salvation, past, present, and future. Anyone who rejects Paul to embrace the ordinances of works in the first covenant—fulfilled for us by Jesus—is sacrificing grace to place themselves back under the bondage of the law. Only by faith in Christ are we justified, and not by the keeping of the ordinances in the law given to Moses that Christ fulfilled.

The countless number of religions and divisions within them in the world are a reflection of the endless possibilities of deviation away from God that can be imagined. Still, there is only one God who is over all and above all, and the only way to know Him is by Him.

Therefore, the Lord, knowing the hearts of all men, chose from among them those whom he would use to reveal himself to the world. And as light excels darkness, so the word given to them by the Holy Ghost is greater than all the false doctrines and beliefs that exist.

The power of God—evidenced by miracles, signs, dreams, and visions in the days of the prophets—was manifest through His people that in due time would be made available for all men. Jeremiah foretold of a time to come when God would make a New Covenant, not written on tables of stone: “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:32-33).

Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who, when he ascended on high, led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.

As prophesied by Joel, those gifts were poured out by the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus who were gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost—and they remained in one accord, being of the same mind and spirit, searching the scriptures daily to confirm all things that were written.

Now, however, the modern era of technology and mass communication has brought with it the mass commercialization of all things, including religion. Like the money changers in the temple, many teachers of faith have adopted business models of advertising to compete in the marketplace of doctrines to grow their following.

Employing marketing techniques to grow and maintain large congregations, purveyors of false teachings give more weight to the enlargement of congregations than to the word of God. Cleaving to the doctrines of men—seminary instructions, religious traditions, and the writings of high-profile figures of antiquity—they depart from the true faith, ignoring the express word of God written in the scriptures.

Removing the older items from the shelf that are no longer selling well, they replace them with newer products that they believe today’s culture will buy. They have become little more than grocery stores of theology catering to the demands of shoppers.

Stripping the Bible of its hard sayings, false disciples speak smooth words that scratch itching ears. Investing heavily in advertisements and commercials disguised as the gospel, they present a form of godliness that lacks the power of God.

They do not know the way of the Spirit. They are unlike the wind Jesus spoke of to Nicodemus. They trust in their own wisdom, follow their own spirit, and imitate God. Therefore, the power present in the Apostles and the earlier followers of Jesus is denied them.

Responding to the obvious lack of spiritual fruit, some teach that God has ceased his miraculous works, saying that the former outpouring of the Spirit is a thing of the past. Others fabricate ‘miracles’ to substitute for being denied the true power of God.

Thus, the sum of those professing Christ today cannot give witness to the power of God evident in the early church in Jerusalem, and many are alienated from the faith. Even so, there remain those like there were in Sardis, of whom the Lord said, “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy.”

The apostles warned that the time would come when people would no longer endure sound doctrine but would heap to themselves many teachers. Even reading these verses, many are blind to the errors of their faith. Like the followers of Judaism are blind to its falsehoods and like Muslims are blind to their fabrications, so also among those who proclaim Christ—while rightly acknowledging him as Messiah and Savior—many are blind to the fallacies being embraced among an overwhelming number of practitioners of the faith.

The proliferation of confusion in the world today is a witness against the false teachings. Wherever there is an absence of truth, a void exists for every lie to fill. The greatest darkness is when the light in you is darkness, but you still believe that you see.

The great apostasy prophesied to come upon the world has come, but it is not absolute. There remain some whose faith and hope are like those who were in Sardis; they place all their trust in God alone. They are not persuaded or led astray by entrenched religious traditions or modern inventions of men. They will spread the light, and many who see will come to it. The body of Christ will come together throughout the world as in the “Valley of Dry Bones”—a great army. They will live—”He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken,” not one of them is lost.

In the letters of the Apostle Paul to the churches, he speaks of the many detractors with whom he was in constant conflict and was directed toward refuting accusations and false doctrines that had crept into the church. Peter acknowledged Paul’s writings, adding that they were hard to understand. However, he affirmed that Paul’s teachings were according to the wisdom the Lord had given him and added that those who twisted his words were doing so to their own destruction.

Even in their early years of Christianity, wolves in sheep’s clothing had entered into the churches to feed on the flock. The same self-serving manipulation tactics that the perpetrators used to gain power over their followers have continued ever since.

Today, the number of those teaching falsehoods—attempting to bring believers back under a law of works—has increased as the awareness of the Jewish roots of Christianity has become emphasized.

While it is certainly a good thing that many Christians today are awakening to the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and shaking off the remaining shackles of Roman doctrines, some desire to go a step further by putting back on the old shackles of the law that were broken by the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ; this is the essence of Paul’s letter of reproof to the Galatians.

Those who desire to be under the law reinforce their theology by pointing out that Jesus kept the law, as did his disciples afterward—and indeed it was so. However, Christ had to keep the law to perfection for the salvation of all. Jesus obeyed the written law of ordinances to free us in order to walk by the Spirit.

Nonetheless, the understanding of freedom from the law was not fully revealed at the time, and there were contentions. A more perfect understanding of the work Jesus had wrought on the cross would develop over time. This is what the Lord called and set Paul apart for. The Lord made Paul the most controversial apostle of his day by bringing clarity to the cross.

Paul was raised as a Pharisee; being more well-versed in the scriptures than the other disciples, he was chosen by God and separated so that the revelation of knowledge concerning Christ might be known.

However, even being free from the law of ordinances, Paul became all things to all men that he might save some. He would not allow his liberty from the law to become a stumbling block to those still clinging to the law. Therefore, Paul says, “Unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law.”

Rather than becoming entangled in doctrinal confrontations, Paul conformed with the customs of his brothers in the flesh who were Jews so that he would not be hindered in preaching Christ and him crucified, the Power of God unto salvation. Paul put the salvation of others and the perfecting of the faith after salvation above all things.

Contentions over keeping the law continue. This is in part because the law is often misunderstood. The Word of God states the law is fulfilled in one word—“love.”

The law given to Moses can be broken down into various parts. First, there are moral laws. Moral laws existed before they were first written in the Ten Commandments. After the Ten Commandments were given, statutes and precepts were added for more clarity and to establish principles that expounded on the law. There were also commandments given to project shadows of spiritual things and of things to come. And there were laws of redemption for transgressions against the law.

The moral law is invisible and eternal. The sacrifices, the laws of redemption, and the shadows of portrayal in the law handed down through Moses were for the time then present; later, they were nailed to the cross with Christ.

The shadows of things fulfilled by Christ and the shadows of things yet to be fulfilled with his return were given as typologies; they are temporal. Christ fulfilled all the laws of redemption, and with the fulfillment, the shadows are done away with.

The Lord chose Paul to reveal more perfectly the transition from the works required under the law to grace. Through an abundance of revelations, the Lord gave Paul a greater understanding of grace than the others before him. Nevertheless, the eternal invisible Law that was before the written law given in the wilderness never changes—the soul that sins shall surely die. Cain knew he sinned before murder was written into the law.

There is redemption and forgiveness through the Blood of Jesus. Nonetheless, when we are delivered from sin, we are no longer to continue in the sins of the past. Jesus commanded, “Go and sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee.”

“But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things that I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.” (Galatians 2:17-19). Walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.