“Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared” (1 Timothy 4:1 HCSB).
“But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5 HCSB).
Brethren, we will be very brief in this week’s article as we are sharing a warning from the Lord about confusing times ahead. Therefore, messages with prophetic overtones do not need human input in terms of interpretation, except that we are just commanded to convey God’s message. In my experience, the Lord would give me the interpretation of a message in a vision by what I sense or discern is being impressed on me. The Bible reminds us: “First of all, you should know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (1 Peter 1:21 HCSB).
Short Vision of Confusing Times
On Friday, October 30, 2015, I (Brother Glenn) was shown in a vision by the Lord four sentences, of which I was only allowed to read and understand the meaning of only the first sentence and the last one.
The first sentence read as follows: “People must not be taught about Heaven anymore because it does not exist.”
The last sentence read: “We must not teach the people about the Lord Jesus Christ anymore, but about Lord … christ”. The three dots replaces the name that was written there but I was not permitted to remember it.
As an interpretation, what I was meant to understand after reading, was that the enemy, Satan, was working to spread a false message among people in an attempt to discredit the Bible and the actual existence of Heaven. Also, new teachings about another “Lord” will be welcomed as a “Christ” would be introduced to the world. In the vision, I could feel how real this message seemed and how confused I was as to what the truth really was. I could also discern that many people believed and followed this ‘new’ teaching.
I also understood this ‘Lord’ was a reference to the Antichrist. While still stunned by this message, I heard the Lord say: “You know the truth about Me, Lord Jesus Christ” (John 14:6). It was after the Lord said this that I came out of that confusing state. In support of this vision, we cited the Scriptures above and the apostle Paul also briefly mentioned the power and influence that the lawless man would have (2 Thessalonians 2:4-10). People should not marvel at this vision because there are false churches like the Mormons, Jehovah witnesses and others which have a large and faithful following (We hope and plan to write a brief summary on the characteristics of false Churches in the next few weeks). Biblically, this spirit has been around since even during the times of the apostles (1 John 4:1-3).
In conclusion to this vision, I cannot say whether this was before or after the rapture. I only share what I saw, heard and felt in the vision. Personally, I am not comfortable speaking or writing about a message if I don’t understand it, and that is why I choose to only share what the Lord gives. In many prayers I asked the Lord never to send me with a message that I don’t understand or can identify with.
The Mistaken Approach to Bible Prophecy Interpretation
As Christians, most of us have fallen into the temptation of giving a narrow-minded interpretation to some end-time related prophetic utterances in the Bible. As a result, we find that there are countless books written on the subject with various interpretations. There are also very many failed predictions that some people have made over the years regarding the doctrine of eschatology, especially in relation to the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Undoubtedly, the message of the end times is a great message of hope and every discerning Christian is eagerly waiting for this event to happen. However, throughout the Bible, we witness how God gave His servants (the prophets) messages and awesome, but highly symbolic, prophetic visions of future things and yet none of them lived to see them fulfilled (Daniel 12:1-13). These men, and in their fear for God, did not make an attempt to give their own interpretations to God’s hidden messages, unlike the trend today where almost everyone claims prophetic authority. While it is commendable to desire the higher gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:31), we are cautioned that these prophetic utterances are to be as the Spirit determines (1 Corinthians 12:11).
In conclusion, the enemy is multiplying widely accepted lies in these last days (John 8:44; Isaiah 5:20) even regarding what Jesus Christ looks like as we pointed out in the Being Respectful article. However, the Lord will keep us in perfect peace as we keep trusting Him and keep focusing on Him (Isaiah 26:3). God is not the author of confusion, but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV). He "is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy"(Jude 1:24). Let us therefore trust in the Lord to give proper prophecy interpretation and also set all our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). Watch and pray that you may not fall into Satan's temptation (Mark 14:38, Matthew 26:41 ESV) and may we remain in God's word that we may discern His voice as His sheep and follow Him to the end (John 10:27).
If you would like to repent of your sins, begin a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and prepare for His soon return, please begin by praying this
Blessed Grace in Christ,
Brother Glenn.
