By Paul McGuire

I was driving on the freeway of Los Angeles when I saw a car in front of me that said "Unity and Oneness"  and there were symbols from many of the world"s religions, such as the star of David, the cross, the star and crescent moon and numerous other symbols. Obviously the owner of the car held to the hope that all of the world"s religions will one day unite. This was the dream of the late Beatle John Lennon when he wrote his famous song "Imagine"  and it is the dream of United Nations. ‚   This is the false hope of all those who do not know the true God of the Bible and His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. ‚   It reflects the "spirit of this age"  and the great apostasy that the Apostle Paul=2 0talked about when he said, "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away ( apostasy ) come first, and the man of sin is revealed the son of perdition." 

I believe that the most virulent form of apostasy will emerge from the "new"  Evangelical Church. ‚   I say "new,"  because it least the old Evangelical Church made a limited effort at Biblical orthodoxy. ‚   However, 25 years ago, the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer, of whom I had the privilege of working closely with his family, warned the Evangelical Church was already headed for theological disaster when they defined the inerrancy of Scripture with the loophole that, "we believe the Bible is true in all that it affirms"  at the Lausanne Covenant. ‚   Dr. Schaeffer exposed this term as a pretense by leaders in theEvangelical Movement to deny the inerrancy and authority of Scripture historically, scientifically, sociologically, ethically and in matters of sexuality. ‚   Schaeffer warned that the great sin of the Evangelical culture was accommodation. ‚   Accommodation to the "spirit of this age"  instead of standing for truth.

Twenty-five years after Schaeffer’s death we now have many quarters of the Evangelical Church moving into full blown apostasy. ‚   The other day a key leader in the Emergent Church openly endorsed same-sex marriage as Christian. ‚   Tony Jones in an article entitled, "How I Went From There To Here: ‚   Same Sex Marriage Blogalogue"  written on his blog, "The New Christians " “ Tony Jones On Culture, Politics, and the Emergent Church"  endorses same-sex marriage as Christian. ‚   Jones describes his transition from not taking any stand on the issue of homosexual marriage to openly endorsing it. ‚   Initially he writes, "With that in mind, I always responded, "I'm holding that issue in abeyance. ‚   I haven't made up my mind yet, and I'm in no hurry to. ‚   Homosexuality," I would say, "Is one issue that I don't want to get wrong." ‚   At this time, the Emergent Church leader simply declines to take a Biblical stand which is apostasy in and of itself. ‚   But, then Jones publicly takes a position that directly opposes God’s plan for marriage as revealed in the Bible. ‚   Jones mixes a small truth with a large lie, when he20writes, "And yet, all the time I could feel myself drifting toward acceptance that gay persons are fully human persons and should be afforded all of the cultural and ecclesial benefits that I am . ‚   ("Aha!" my critics will laugh derisively, "I knew he and his ilk were on a continuous leftward slide!")"  ‚   Jones imitating the "wiles of the devil"  states the obvious truth that "gay persons are fully human persons."  ‚   Of course they are and no one has ever said that they were not. ‚   Then when Jones writes that they should be afforded all the cultural and ecclesial benefits that I am,"  he violently twists the truth. ‚   In a postmodern culture gay persons already have all of the cultural benefits. ‚   So Jones raises a "straw man argument."  ‚   But, when he says they should be afforded all the ecclesial benefits he reveals that is an open apostate. ‚   Ecclesial means the "called out ones."  ‚   It refers to the Church of Jesus Christ or the Body of Christ on earth who have been called out of this world to be citizen’s of heave. ‚   Jones, the Emergent Church leader, is calling for the Church of Jesus Christ to completely deny Scripture, defy God and in open rebellion, promote that which the Bible calls sin as holy. ‚   He then reinforces his position, by writing, "I now believe that GLBTQ (Gay, Lesbian, Transgender persons) can live lives in accord with biblical Christianity ( at least as much as any of us can!) and that their monogamy can and should be sanctioned by church and state." 

The Emergent Church leader, Tony Jones, reveals that he is an apostate and that the Emergent Church is in full blown apostasy. ‚   He presents no Biblical argument to defend his position because there is none. ‚   His position is based upon the humanism of the surrounding culture and his personal feelings. ‚   The danger here is that this apostasy will not be contained to simply the Emergent Church. ‚   It will sweep throughout the Evangelical church. ‚   Today there are many Evangelical churches that still hold to the Biblical view that marriage is between a man and a woman. ‚   But, since these churches have no Biblical foundation, it will be a short time until they start embracing the heresy promoted by the Emergent Church. ‚   Faster than you think=2 0many Evangelical denominations, movements and churches will be swept up in the apostasy that the Apostle Paul warned would happen in the last days. This apostasy in the Evangelical movement began 30 years ago as Evangelicals no longer believed the Bible to be the inspired and inerrant Word of God. ‚   It accelerates as we see divorce commonplace in the Evangelical Church. ‚   Now we see the complete denial of what the Bible says regarding the definition of marriage. ‚   Our responsibility, as Christian who say we believe the Bible is true, will be to stand for truth faithfully until the Lord returns. Maranatha!

Paul McGuire is conference speaker, author of 15 books, commentator on the Fox News Network and CNN. ‚   Pa ul recently spoke at David Hocking’s Prophecy Conference and will be speaking on the coming one world religion at the Prophecy Conference at Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills, California. ‚   Paul lives in Los Angeles and be contacted through his website: http://www.paulmcguire.com/