In
the Postmodern Vernacular--Isaiah Was Bang On!
Click to go to our Home PageThe following article by Professor Johan Malan, depicts exactly
what Isaiah 4:1 describes, regarding seven women (seven being God’s all
inclusive number and women designating all formally organized churches) at
the end time doing their own thing. They wear their own apparel, their own
robes of Laodicean, rich, increased with goods, in need of nothing,
self-righteousness. They eat their own bread, the commandments and philosophy
of man. All Bible Commentarians agree that Isaiah,
chapters 1-4, refer to the end-time in context. Here is the article: http://www.bibleguidance.co.za/Weekly/53%20Characteristics.htm Characteristics of Our Time Prof.
Johan Malan, Middelburg,
South Africa (January 2007) We
live in a disorderly and confused world without clear moral principles and
strong leadership in society. More than ever before clarity is needed on
basic matters such as cultural identity (who am I?), moral standards (how
should I live?), political ideology (which policy is the right one, e.g.
capitalism, socialism or pragmatism?) and religious values (should I adhere
to one of the traditional religions, be agnostic, or seek mystical
experiences after Oriental traditions?). Everyone
does as he or she pleases, which renders members of society like wandering
sheep without a shepherd (Isa. 53:6). Solomon justly says: “There is a way
that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 16:25).
The Living Bible says: “Before every man there lies a wide and
pleasant road he thinks is right, but it ends in death.” Most people will
discover too late that they have been on the wrong road. The
following are a number of important characteristics of our time: Postmodernism The
last decade of the previous century saw the rapid advance of postmodernism as
a philosophy and way of life in many parts of the world. The direct
consequences of this ideology are a lack of clear objectives in life,
egocentric lifestyles derived from personal taste, and diverse spiritual
practices due to a pragmatic and subjective assessment of religion. All fixed
structures and clear ideologies that were part of the modern era, including
the Christian civilisation’s adherence to the Bible – which accounted for
Christian constitutions, Christian education and the promotion of Christian
principles in society – were abandoned and thrown overboard. They were
substituted by new cultural expressions in which every person chooses his or
her own lifestyle that does not necessarily conform to the Bible, to social
standards or to family traditions. A key
concept in postmodernism is “deconstruction.” That means that the old order
of society should be dismantled as it is no longer acceptable to postmodern humanity. The
problem is, however, that the old order is not replaced by any clear-cut
system. Every person is completely free to determine his/her own lifestyle.
That usually leads to an eclectic pattern in which each one chooses his/her
own combination of institutions and customs. The
new way of thinking promotes a very liberal form of Christianity in which
everything revolves around people and their secular interests. Man and his
interests is the central focus of their religion. Then there are those people
who choose to be agnostic by not believing in any supernatural phenomena.
Still others adopt multireligious
thinking and come up with their own mix of ideas. They try to reconcile
aspects of Eastern and African religions with the Bible on the premise that
all of them worship the same God. Other
areas of life also adapt to this confused style of thinking. Cultural
boundaries are not respected, neither are Christian marriages or even the
basic realities of biological identity (male and female). The result of the
latter is that homosexuality is rife in postmodern society. The
new world order A new
world order of global unity is arising from the ruins of the old order which
is in the process of being completely demolished. It has the following
important implications: · Nationalism
is replaced by globalism. It is
regarded as old-fashioned, narrow-minded and divisive to associate yourself
with obsolete cultural or national groups. We must have wider horizons.
National identity should first be replaced by a larger, regional identity.
People in Europe should refer to themselves as Europeans rather than
Englishmen, Frenchmen or Germans, etc. They should transfer more power to the
European Parliament and also give preference to the European currency and
European passport. The boundaries between countries should gradually vanish
as they merge into the new super state. In the same way, a transition should
be made to greater African unity, American unity, Asian unity, and Middle
Eastern unity. The final objective with this process is the merging of all
regions into a world state which will unite all countries and regions under
the authority of a global government. No country should have the power to
deviate from the principles and objectives of the emerging world government
on the local level. · The world economy
should be centrally controlled. To be able to do this, there must
first be a world government with executive powers. For the sake of more
effective control there should be a cashless system of funds transfer which
can be controlled from a central point. Such a system can be used to monitor
the financial transactions and movements of all economically active people.
In this way, the freedom of people will be severely restricted. Computer
technology has already been developed for the implementation of such a system. · Boundaries
between various religions should be softened. Supporters of
the new world order generally argue that a mystical, religious brotherhood
should be established among all people to serve as a basis for other kinds of
unity. The interfaith movement is based upon this idea. Their premise is that
all religions worship the same God, so they can learn much from one another
to better know and understand God. · Cosmic unity as the ultimate
objective. Various New Age groups entertain the idea that
cosmic unity is the ultimate objective of the new world order. According to
them, the reason for humanity’s group consciousness and narrow-mindedness is
the fact that they are not yet attuned to the larger, cosmic sphere. The New
Age Movement teaches people to practise transcendental meditation and other
forms of contemplation in order to cultivate a new spirituality which is multireligious and mystical.
That will, according to them, foster feelings of unity and peace among all
people. · Culture
should be determined eclectically. The new world
order accepts cultural diversity in the world but is against its rigid
observance. They favour a gradual merging of all cultures. People in the West
are encouraged to supplement their materialism, cold, logical thinking and
busy lifestyles with Eastern meditation. That is done for relaxation and a
mystical self-realisation. In postmodern
thinking it is common practice to add elements from Buddhism, Hinduism,
African religions and other mystical traditions to a capitalist life-style –
all according to your own taste. The
days of Noah and Lot The
Bible clearly says that the end-time will be like the days of Noah and Lot
(Luke 17:26-30). What were the characteristics of these times? “The
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually... And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come
before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I
will destroy them with the earth” (Gen. 6:6,13). In the time of Lot, the major evil in
people’s lives was sodomy: “And they called to Lot and said to him, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out
to us that we may know them carnally. So Lot went out to them... and
said, Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly”
(Gen. 19:5-7). The Living Bible says: “The men of the city – yes,
Sodomites, young and old from all over the city – surrounded the house and
shouted to Lot: Bring out those men to us so we can rape them. Lot stepped
outside to talk to them: Please fellows, he begged, don’t do such a wicked
thing.” Are
the times of Noah and Lot not absolutely typical of our time? The great
majority of people are exceedingly evil and they only contemplate bad things.
They fill the world with violence and all conceivable forms of crime – to
such an extent that one can describe it as a global culture of sin.
Aggressive and shameless homosexuality is part of the morally depraved
humanity of the end-time. That is fully-fledged humanism. The perpetrators of
violence and immorality also gain control over governments, they openly allow
evil and defend the rights of dangerous criminals by abolishing capital
punishment. They even allow sodomites to marry, thereby making a mockery of
God’s institution of marriage. In
evil societies of this nature there is no regard for God and His Word. That
is why the supreme authority of God is not recognised in the constitutions of
most countries. South Africa is one of many countries that do not officially
recognise and observe Christianity in government structures. For obvious
reasons, countries and communities like this will not heed God’s warnings on
judgement. Divine wrath will therefore befall them unexpectedly. In the days
of Noah they “did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so
also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matt. 24:39). The present world
is in a similar situation – not only because of people’s wickedness but also
because of their ignorance on God’s impending judgements. An
aggravating circumstance among end-time humanity is the fact that they have
the Bible which does not only explain the way of salvation but also the full
implications of persisting wickedness by spiritually hardened people. Because
of the latter, humanity will bring about their own near-extinction. The Lord
Jesus said: “Then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since
the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And if
those days had not been shortened, no flesh would be saved” (Matt. 24:21-22). Many
years before Christ, Isaiah prophesied about the same judgements that will
come upon the evil-doers of the end-time and cause great destruction:
“Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste, distorts its
surface and scatters abroad its inhabitants... The land shall be entirely
emptied and utterly plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word... The earth
is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the
laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the
curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate.
Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left”
(Isa. 24:1,3,5-6). A
further comparison between our time and that of Noah and Lot is the fact that
the Lord first ensures the safety of the righteous before pouring out His
judgements upon the wicked. Noah, Lot and their families were not appointed
to the wrath of their time, and for the same reason believers of other times
are also not appointed to divine wrath. We are indeed persecuted by a world
that lies in the sway of the devil, but we are never judged by God. For that
reason the Lord Jesus said: “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be
counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son
of Man” (Luke 21:36). Are you worthy to escape the coming judgements? Weak
and arrogant leadership The
end-time is not only characterised by leaders who are weak and incompetent
but they are also arrogant because of not observing the Word of God and
acting accordingly. Sin and unrighteousness proliferates under their reign
and they do as they please. In course of time they become dictators who think
they are untouchable – like little gods. That is exactly what the Antichrist
will do. Paul says that he is “the man of sin... the son of perdition, who
opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is
worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that
he is God” (2 Thess. 2:3-4). He is “the lawless one” who will arrogantly
break all God’s laws (2 Thess. 2:8). These
tyrants and their evil followers will be pulled down and dethroned by God
during the coming tribulation: “Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel,
with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will
destroy its sinners from it... I will punish the world for its evil, and the
wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will
lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold” (Isa.
13:9-12). The
times of Noah and Lot, as well as the end-time, are not only times of great
moral depravity and spiritual apostatising, but also times in which God
directly intervenes in the lives of humanity to save the righteous and punish
the wicked. In such times the filthy become more filthy and those who are
holy become more holy (Rev. 22:11). As followers of the Lord Jesus it is our
duty to go out from among the backsliders and compromisers. The
church of Laodicea A very
common characteristic of our time is that of self-deception within
apostatised churches. People generally take a strong stand on their own
views, whether they are deceived or not,
and adamantly justify themselves. The consequence is that fewer people have a
teachable spirit and can therefore not easily be induced to change their
minds. Most people justify themselves spiritually, or join churches with low
spiritual and moral standards where preachers declare the members to be saved
without a clear testimony of being born again. The
end-time church of Laodicea thrives on this watered-down gospel of
self-righteousness. They boast in their own achievements by saying: “I am
rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” (Rev. 3:17). Their
wealth is evident in their high income, large, cathedral-like churches,
highly educated preachers, thousands of members, the high esteem that they
enjoy in society and in the great significance that they attach to the clergy
and the special rituals of the church. All these things are taken as proof of
their salvation and the favour that they think they enjoy with God. The
church, rather than Christ alone, is regarded as the gateway to heaven. “Laodicea”
means “Human rights” and is an indication that the major focus of this church
is on people and their rights, rather than the glory of God and a living
relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit. Their dedication to the
promotion of human rights is so extreme and unconditional that they even
refuse to regard homosexuality as a sin and abomination in the sight of God.
The political rights and socio-economics needs of people are considered so
important that this church easily becomes involved with humanitarian
programmes for the uplifting of people’s secular lives. Little or no emphasis
is placed upon the spiritual needs of people. What
does the Lord Jesus say about this deceived church? “You do
not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked” (Rev.
3:17). There is only one solution to this problem of a dead form of
godliness which deceives people into thinking they are saved – they should
repent by opening the doors of their hearts to the Lord Jesus. He says,
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens
the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20). Kingdom-now Deceived
believers do not have a strong expectation of our future life in heaven and
the revelation of Christ’s kingdom during His second coming. They prefer a
kingdom here and now, in which they can enjoy all the blessings of wealth,
dominion, peace on earth and the immediate solving of all their problems.
That is why they have transformation rallies to establish the kingdom, and
also practise strategic spiritual warfare to pull down Satan’s strongholds on
earth. They do not accept the reality of being sojourners and pilgrims in a
world that lies under the sway of the Wicked One, and also fail to accept the
clearly stated fact that Christians are destined to be persecuted during this
dispensation (John 15:18-20; 16:33; Acts 14:22; 2 Tim. 2:3; 2 Tim.
3:12; 1 Pet. 4:12-13). Dominionists
believe that the world will, as a result of their faith and efforts, become a
better place until the kingdom is fully established. They do not accept
biblical prophecies which warn that the world will deteriorate in the
end-time and is heading for the revelation of the Antichrist as the man of sin
(2 Thess. 2:3; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5). They reject the fact
that there will be a great tribulation at the end of this dispensation (cf.
Matt. 24:21-30; Luke 21:25-27), and consequently also deny the promise of the
rapture as an escape for true believers from the coming tribulation (Luke
21:36; 1 Thess. 4:16-17). In dominion theology, humanity and their
interests such as peace and prosperity are major considerations. The Word of
the Lord is distorted to fit this expectation. Another
Jesus It is
characteristic of the end-time that the deity of the Lord Jesus is
increasingly denied. Many people do not believe that He is eternal,
self-existing and one with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the holy
Trinity. His virgin birth is also denied, thus presenting Him as a mere man
who was only a great prophet. In this way He does not only become more
acceptable to sinners, but also to other religions. Such a “Jesus” can even
fulfil the role as the universal Jesus of all faiths, but that can only happen
after He has been so severely degraded in status that He can be depicted as a
follower of Mohammed and a personification of Buddha. Sinners represent Him
in blasphemous Hollywood films such as Jesus Christ Superstar, The Last Temptation of Christ and Jesus
of Montreal as a typical human sinner. There
are even many Christian theologians who deny the deity and virgin birth of
Jesus Christ. They only refer to Him as Jesus as if He is their equal,
and not Lord Jesus as the apostles mostly described Him after the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit when His deity was fully revealed to them. To
many people Jesus is only the son of Joseph and Mary; they cannot, under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, address Him as “My Lord and my God!” like Thomas
and others did (John 20:28). The
Jewish leaders had the same misgivings and refused to recognise Jesus as God.
They wanted to stone Him for making Himself equal with God: “The Jews
answered Him, saying, For a good work we do not
stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a man, make Yourself
God” (John 10:33). They rejected the heavenly origin of Jesus and stubbornly
refused to accept Him as Son of God or God Himself who is one with the Father
(John 10:30; 14:8-9). They only saw Him as a human being who was born in Bethlehem.
But the Lord Jesus introduced Himself as the eternal I AM to them: “Most
assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John. 8:58). It was
vitally important to confess His deity as no one can be saved without
believing this great truth. Christ said to them: “If you do not believe that
I am he, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). The Modern King
James Version renders this verse, “If you do not believe that I AM, you
shall die in your sins.” The
strong motivation behind the end-time campaign against the deity of the Lord
Jesus is a postmodern
process of deconstruction in which He is deprived of His biblical identity
and divine attributes in an effort to replace Him with another “Jesus” also
referred to as “the Christ” or “the World Teacher.” The Jews were long ago
warned against this kind of deception, when the Lord Jesus said: “I have come
in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if
another comes in his own name, him you will receive” (John 5:43). The
millions of deceived people among the Gentiles will do the same. They will
also conclude a covenant with the false messiah (Dan. 9:27), follow him in
awe and worship him (Rev. 13:3-4). They will fully accept the great impostor
of Satan, thinking that he is the true Christ. The image of Jesus must first
be changed and a brotherly relationship between the various religions falsely
be established before people can be deceived to receive somebody else in the
place of Christ as the cosmic christ
of all religions. In the process, uninformed people will receive strong
delusion to believe the lie (2 Thess. 2:11) and will conclude a covenant
wit the counterfeit christ. What
we experience in the world today is an intensive process of deconstruction to
change the image of the Lord to such an extent that He can, in a uniting
sense, be portrayed as the Messiah of all faiths. He is also increasingly
dissociated from His cross and the shedding of His blood for the atoning of
sin. He is considered within the context of “positive thinking,” which
results in all “negative” connotations such as His cross and God’s judgements
upon sin being excluded as if they are not important. Jesus is only depicted
as a peacemaker who came to save humanity from problems such as poverty,
discrimination, rejection by others and political divisions among them. To
these people, He came to introduce a new social order in which everybody will
live happily and peacefully. The
shocking fact is that there are various churches and Christian groups which
are, under the instigation of the devil, proclaiming “another Jesus,”
“another gospel” and “another spirit” (2 Cor. 11:2-4). Without realising
it, they have become forerunners to the “other Jesus” of the end-time – the
Antichrist. When this impostor appears on a white horse of peace to bless and
unite the world and temporarily save them from an impending world war (Rev.
6:2), virtually all people will accept him as “the Christ” and follow him in
awe: “All the world marvelled and followed the beast... and they worshipped
the beast” (Rev. 13:3-4). People
who have changed the image of the Lord Jesus to conform to that of the
Antichrist do not believe that a personal Antichrist will appear on the
scene. Their prophetic perspective is completely distorted and they are
looking for an earthly kingdom under the leadership of the global messiah of
all faiths – not realising that he will be the Antichrist. True
Christians can have no part in the false presentation of the Lord Jesus by
depriving Him of His deity and virgin birth, as that would rob them of a
Saviour from heaven. Paul says He is “our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ”
(Tit. 2:13). Peter says that Jesus Christ is “our God and Saviour”
(2 Pet. 1:1) while John refers to Him as “the true God and eternal life”
(1 John 5:20). Furthermore, we cannot be silent on the great
significance of His crucifixion. We join Paul in saying: “I determined not to
know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Sober
thinking and singleness of purpose If we
want to avoid being deceived we should know the Bible well. All claims must
be tested in the Light of God’s Word. “Therefore gird up the loins of your
mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought
to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:13). Biblical
prophecies on the end-time help us to understand what is happening in the
world, so we don’t need to walk in darkness and be led astray by Satan: “We
also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as to
a light that shines in a dark place” (2 Pet. 1:19). If we walk in the
light of God’s Word we will not turn to the right hand or to the left from
the narrow way, and prosper wherever we go (cf. Josh. 1:7). Do not
put your trust in princes or try to please family, friends or colleagues but
be a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus: “Do not be conformed to this [evil]
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2). Remember
that we have a heavenly destination and that we must give account of lives
before the judgement seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10-12). If we have a strong
expectation on Christ’s second coming we will live holy lives (1 John
3:2-3). If our prophetic expectation dwindles or becomes extinct we run the
risk of forgetting who the Lord of our lives is. Such people become arrogant
and lapse into carnal lifestyles: “If that evil servant says in his heart, My
master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to
eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a
day when he is not looking for him... and will cut him in two and appoint him
his portion with the hypocrites” (Matt. 24:48-51). We are
living in a world where the majority of people still reject the Lord Jesus
and His Word by preferring to do things their way (John 3:19). The big
challenge ahead of us is not only to strive to enter through the narrow gate
(Luke 13:23-24) but also to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so
easily ensnares us [and to] run with endurance the race that is set before
us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:1-2). The
evil characteristics of our time are no excuse to Christians to lower their
standards and conform to the world. Unfortunately, some believers wilfully
expose themselves to evil, thereby undermining their own faith. The Lord
Jesus said: “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow
cold” (Matt. 24:12). The Living Bible says: “Sin will be rampant
everywhere and will cool the love of many.” Do not allow that to happen. |