Mockers and Scoffers in the end times

2 Peter 3:3-4 states

3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”

Jude 18-19 states

18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit

Jer 15:17 gives us this word we should take as a warning 

17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, 

      Nor did I rejoice; 
      I sat alone because of Your hand, 

My Comments-

I see that someone has let Warren apologist and little pit bull Richard Abanes out from where ever it is that this guy goes when someone pulls his chain back.

Richard had these comments on the pro emergent/mystic website Phoenix Preacher.

“RA: Wait, wait, wait! You can’t start yet — you need your hooded black cape, secret Vatican password for access to the tribulation weapons vault, and your pack of “666″ stick-on tattoos (water-soluble, of course). Just send $6.66 to me, c/o Saddleback Church, 666 Coven Way, Lake Forest, CA, 92666.   

I have addressed these kind of comments Abanes makes on a regular basis before but you have to wonder why a guy who claims to be a apologist would joke around like this.

I’ve always chalked it up to Richards immaturity as a adult let alone a Christian but could there be more to this?

Not so famous cussing preacher Michael Newnham lord of Phoenix Preacher also had these wonderful words of wisdom( being sarcastic here folks) for us all on the same post that Abanes responded to. Speaking about Steve Camp and Ingrid Schulter

“have taken turns over the last week ripping up John Piper for his “support” of Mark Driscoll and because Paul Tripp used a profanity in making the best apologetic I’ve ever heard against using profanity.”

Folks I dont know about you but read what Michael had to say again. This kind of stuff should make your head hurt and mourn for any of those still in Michaels congregation.

If you have not heard Tripps video yet check it out. Come on we dont have to use bad language to make a point about not using bad language.

And I tell you what if I had been sitting at a table in the restaurant Tripp and his family would have been sitting at and that kind of language would have been used while me and my family would have been sitting in voice range I would have politely asked them to stop using that kind of language. And yes I have done this before in places and have had 100% compliance.

And certainly if my kids would ever use this kind of language and I hear it they will still get rebuked and soap in their mouths. And they are all teenagers and young adults.

Its a no brainer that pastors like Trip have no place being near a pulpit.

For another pastor to try to make excuses for any kind of use of profanity shows that Michael is very immature in the Lord. God help his congregation.

As for Abanes comments they were in Abanes defence of mystic Brother Lawrence. Richard has to defend Brother Lawrence of course because his boss Rick Warren promotes him.

Brother Lawrence was a Carmelite monk. I know a lot about the Carmelites because I on ocassion as a youth (I grew up Catholic) I attended a place called the Francisian Renewal Center which had Carmelitte nuns and Cursillo etc..

In writing this article I went to their website to check and see if they are still around. They are and they now have their own labrintyh 

Here is the link http://www.thecasa.org/

I spent a lot of time at this place with my family when I was little and I know what was promoted here.

Brother Lawrence was in the Carmelite order which was reformed by Theresa of Avila. Theresa of Avila was influenced by Jewish Kabbalistic mysticism.

This stuff was all required reading for me in my 12 years of Catholic school.

These kind of comments from Abanes should not surprise us because Abanes already endorses the new age form of prayer known as contemplative and centering prayer.

On page 137 of Richards book titled “Rick Warren and the Purpose That Drives Him” Abanes states

“Contemplative prayer (also known as “centering prayer”) is controversial but does not necessarily border on occultism and Eastern meditation (though some of its proponents have drawn from non-Christian forms of meditation. end quote

Folks dont believe this Abanes shows that either his research is flawed, he is purposely lying or he is just plain deceived.

(pick any combination from the above you decide)

Contemplative is new age and is part of the new spirituality there is no Christian form for pagan practices.

I said all this to lead back into scripture.

Could it be that there are those among us who perhaps are plants of the enemy?

Surely something to think about these days.

Could be that these knuckleheads are either direct plants of our enemy satan or are deceived and used of satan?

You will need to decide that for yourselves.

Acts 20:29-30 states

“29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.

Matt 15:13-14 states

“13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” 

Matt 7:21-23 states

“21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Something else is to be taken into consideration here lets look at Matt 16:16-18

“16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” 18 And this she did for many days. 

But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. 

Lets look at what Matthew Henry’s commentary has to say about the scripture I just quoted.

The testimony which this damsel gave to Paul and his companions: She met them in the street, as they were going to prayer, to the house of prayer, or rather to the work of prayer there, Acts 16:16. They went thither publicly, every body knew whither they were going, and what they were going to do. If what she did was likely to be any distraction to them, or a hindrance in their work, it is observable how subtle Satan is, that great tempter, in taking the opportunity to give us diversion when we are going about any religious exercises, to ruffle us and to put us out of temper when we need to be most composed. When she met with them she followed them, crying, “These men, how contemptible soever they look and are looked upon, are great men, for they are the servants of the most high God, and men that should be very welcome to us, for they show unto us the way of salvation, both the salvation that will be our happiness, and the way to it that will be our holiness.”

 But, (2.) How came this testimony from the mouth of one that had a spirit of divination? Is Satan divided against himself? Will he cry up those whose business it is to pull him down? We may take it either, [1.] As extorted from this spirit of divination for the honour of the gospel by the power of God; as the devil was forced to say of Christ (Mark 1:24): I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. The truth is sometimes magnified by the confession of its adversaries, in which they are witnesses against themselves. Christ would have this testimony of the damsel to rise up in judgment against those at Philippi who slighted and persecuted the apostles; though the gospel needed no such testimony, yet it shall serve to add to their commendation that the damsel whom they looked upon as an oracle in other things proclaimed the apostles God’s servants. Or, [2.] As designed by the evil spirit, that subtle serpent, to the dishonour of the gospel; some think she designed hereby to gain credit to herself and her prophecies, and so to increase her master’s profit by pretending to be in the interest of the apostles, who, she thought, had a growing reputation, or to curry favour with Paul, that he might not separate her and her familiar. Others think that Satan, who can transform himself into an angel of light, and can say anything to serve a turn, designed hereby to disgrace the apostles; as if these divines were of the same fraternity with their diviners, because they were witnessed to by them, and then the people might as well adhere to those they had been used to. Those that were most likely to receive the apostles’ doctrine were such as were prejudiced against these spirits of divination, and therefore would, by this testimony, be prejudiced against the gospel; and, as for those who regarded these diviners, the devil thought himself sure of them. end of commentary

Ultimately folks it will have to be you under the conviction of the Holy Spirit to decide who is telling the truth and who are tools of our enemy satan.

You need to check your walk daily and read your bibles.

If you think I am not telling the truth here I urge you to reject it totally.

With guys like Michael and Richard I would ask you to consider a couple more more passage’s of scripture.

Romans 1:28-30

“28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

2 Thess 2:7-12

7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Has Michael and Richard reached this point yet?

I hope not.

Lets remember to pray for those who are deceived and whose own ego’s hinder the work of the Holy Spirit in their own lives.

Peace and Blessings

Tim Wirth