The Wide Gate Is Booming—Part Two

December 1, 2023

T. A. McMahon

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

—Matthew:7:13-14

As we pointed out in Part One, those who have chosen to enter through the "strait gate" are those who are born again, which can only take place by putting their faith in Jesus Christ, who paid the full penalty for their sin. Furthermore, "strait is the gate, and narrow is the [only] way which leads unto life." That life, of course, is eternal life.

Nevertheless, "many" choose the wide gate and broad way "that leadeth to destruction," which is basically a prelude to spending eternity in the Lake of Fire. There they shall be "tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Revelation:20:10). It was also noted in Part One that Satan has an End Times game plan for the destruction of humanity. That again is indicated in the “wide gate” of Matthew:7:13 and underscored in Revelation:12:12: “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” There's little doubt that this short time period will involve an overwhelming and incredibly diverse flood of the Adversary's wicked devices (2 Corinthians 11).

Having been, by God's grace, involved in biblical apologetics for more than four decades, I can confirm Solomon's teaching that there's nothing new under the sun. That's especially true when it comes to Satan's devices and deceptions. They increase exponentially by modifications, adaptations, revised definitions, corruptions, and straight-out lies, albeit issuing forth nothing new. Psychological counseling is just one of hundreds of examples. It is the antithesis of counseling from the Scriptures, and the chief opposition to the sufficiency of God's Word. It includes thousands of therapies and techniques, all of which are based on the same lie—whether they are promoted through so-called Christian psychology or some other humanistic pseudo-social science. They are all variations of the "man is as God" lie: the belief that he can fix his mental, emotional, and spiritual problems. Just as a leopard cannot change its spots, neither can man change his sinful nature.

We offer a book (see the back cover of this NL) written more than 120 years ago titled Christianity and Anti-Christianity in Their Final Conflict (CATFC). The author, Samuel Andrews, simply searched the prophecies of the Scriptures to see if any of those verses were being fulfilled when he lived. The "Anti-Christianity" that abounded in his day came primarily through the many philosophers such as Kant, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Emerson, Thoreau, and the like. It took decades for their beliefs in their own deity to slither down from academia and worm their way throughout society, leaving no facet of our lives unaffected by their self-deifying delusions.

CATFC spells out the basis for what we're observing today and shows clearly where it's all headed: godhood is the claimed destiny for humanity, and it's reinforced by the lying signs and wonders of the man of lawlessness, the Antichrist. This belief won't have its greatest acceptance until after the Antichrist himself is revealed—which takes place when the body of Christ is Raptured and the Holy Spirit ceases to restrain the evil in the world as He has historically through the church (2 Thessalonians:2:7). Although the lie of godhood has seduced multitudes through lying signs and wonders which have taken place over thousands of years, they are mostly pitiful wannabes of what's coming. That's going to change. Matthew:24:24 declares that what's coming will be bolstered by great signs and wonders. That's hardly an adjective that comes to mind when describing the spiritual embarrassment of the Toronto Airport Vineyard (rolling on the floor and producing animal-like sounds). Or more recently, we have seen the “signs and wonders” of Bill Johnson’s Bethel Church of Redding, CA featuring “Glory Clouds” (glitter and gold-colored smoke), readings from Christianized Tarot Cards, “spiritual” fire tunnels with participants convulsing, shaking, falling down, and screaming, all credited as a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

We can see that Satan has been incrementally preparing the world from the time he deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden regarding her own potential "deity" (Genesis:3:5). "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe [the] lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thessalonians:2:9-12, emphasis added).

Not having a love for the truth of God's Word is the determining factor that keeps humanity from Jesus. Satan has no truth. "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it" (John:8:44). As humans opt for the "broad way," they willingly "receive not the love of the truth" and are held accountable. They choose their father the Devil. Those are just a few of the more sobering, even alarming, statements found in God's Word regarding what's ahead as the return of Jesus draws near.

Taking a closer look at God's Word concerning the future, I believe it involves good news and some not-so-good news. The good news is the Lord will return soon for His church. Nothing could be better than our being with Him! One of its additional blessings is that the Lord will remove His saints from the earth prior to His pouring out His wrath upon the world for its wickedness. "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians:5:9). The not-so-good news is that prior to the Rapture, the body of Christ will likely undergo spiritual warfare as never before in its history.

What makes me think so? The Scriptures! The response of Jesus to the questions asked by His disciples regarding the time of His return indicates it will be characterized by widespread deception. He said, "Take heed that no man deceives you" (Matthew:24:4; Mark:13:5; Luke:21:8). It will include false prophets, false Christs, and, again, great signs and wonders. In reading Jude's Epistle, one gets the sense that the Holy Spirit had him shift away from discussing the glory of our salvation to a more "needful" exhortation regarding contending for the faith: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude:1:3). Contending for the faith surely indicates a spiritual battle that God enables his saints to wage. Jude further makes a point of the enormity of the sins of homosexuality and lesbianism, noting that God judged and destroyed those who perverted His natural order. "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude:1:7).

Is today's church dealing with such issues? It seems more in line with the "could-not-care-less attitude" of the Laodicean church in Revelation:3:15-18: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.... I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see."

To what is the "Laodicean" church blinded? How about the consequences of "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire"—as in forever? The utter depravity of the sin of homosexuality notwithstanding, the thought of eternal consequences seems no longer a primary concern to the church. Rarely does evangelizing today go beyond the temporal blessings that are promoted to attract one to Jesus (which in actuality leads to drifting away from one's first love, a believers' true love of Jesus [Revelation:2:4]).

Let me summarize what's been presented above by putting it in an eschatological framework. Scripture makes it clear that the days we are in are those of apostasy, underscoring the infiltration of apostates entering the church (Acts:20:29-31; Jude:1:4). Furthermore, we see a host of the church's influential leaders being seduced by the apostasy's compromising heresies. Examples abound, such as the many evangelical pastors/shepherds who are feeding God's sheep from the Mormon-produced pasture known as The Chosen.

This is taking place now—before the Rapture and the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior. Also, prior to the Rapture, true believers in the Lord will face a tsunami of deceptions and heresies as Satan pours out his wickedness upon the earth, knowing that his time is near its end (Revelation:12:12). At the Rapture, the church will be removed from the earth, followed by God pouring out His wrath among those who practice and glory in wickedness. Varying degrees of tribulation will then take place until our Lord returns from heaven with His saints to destroy the Antichrist.

Again, there will be a historic spiritual battle believers have not thus far experienced, yet they (those who have a love of the truth) will be more than able by the power of the Holy Spirit to be fruitful as well as victorious. Even so, there are professing Christians who take the position that the prevailing condition of the church in the end times will be one of worldwide revival. To that they add that Christians must rule over the world in order for Jesus to return and set up His millennial reign on earth. That is one of the major false doctrines of the New Apostolic Reformation, Bethel Church and College of Redding, CA, The Send (a stadium conference of 50,000 young people), and multitudes of others, particularly among hyper-Charismatics. However, that teaching does not have one jot or tittle of biblical support.

I was told of a pastor who explained his eschatological position to his fellowship this way: "I'm pre-Trib...but I'm not pre-trouble!" In other words, the purpose of the Rapture for him is not an "escape from trouble" doctrine. I would concur with his position. Avoiding troublesome issues does nothing to strengthen a believer in the faith. Rather, it's why Christianity is in a seriously weakened state in our day. Again, until the Lord returns for His church, Satan will galvanize his followers who have entered through the "wide gate/broad way." Seemingly, that is the next level of spiritual warfare which is already upon us. Even so, God's grace will cover us. "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man…" (Ephesians:3:16). Better yet, we're told, "Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them" (Luke:12:37, emphasis added). So, we are to watch and wait for our Savior who will strengthen us and "direct [our] hearts into the love of God…" (2 Thessalonians:3:5).

All of that takes us to what the Lord has put on our hearts here at The Berean Call regarding how we are to continue ministering as we wait for His return from heaven. It's a more simplified approach to discernment as we minister to those who claim to be Christians. On the one hand, we at TBC have archives going back 40 years that include a host of apologetics addressing just about every notable false doctrine and practice that the Adversary has used to bewitch both the professing and confessing church in the last two generations. The Lord willing, our archives will be available as He makes them accessible. Researching apologetics archives, especially delving deeply into doctrinal errors, is not popular today. Nevertheless, our archives are available as a resource.

However, our more simplified approach has to do with simply establishing whether or not the person being addressed considers himself or herself to be a biblical Christian. The answer to that question is critical for recognizing by what authority the one who's answering the question is basing his response. If the reader claims to be a biblical Christian, his response must be supported by Scripture. All the questions asked should be able to be answered clearly from a specific chapter and verse of the Bible.

For example, let's say you're talking to a person who thinks that Catholics believe in the same Jesus that you do. You ask the person if he or she is a biblical Christian. A "yes" answer is followed by "Is the Jesus as taught in Roman Catholicism the Jesus of the Bible?" The response would be “yes,” or the person believes so. The questioner then gives a definitive Bible verse that makes it clear that the Jesus that Catholics worship is not the biblical Jesus. For instance, Scripture states that Jesus was sacrificed once:^"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Or, "Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself” (Hebrews:10:10; 7:27, emphasis added). A following question could be: "Is the Jesus who is sacrificed continually on Catholic altars throughout the world the same as the biblical Jesus?"

An objective of this simplified apologetic approach is to challenge a person's presuppositions, especially if they claim to be biblical Christians. It's also meant to stimulate conversation that centers on the authority of God's Word. Few people realize that most who call themselves Christians are not biblical Christians. To name a few, the followers of Christian Science or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are not biblical Christians. The Roman Catholic Church has 1.378 billion members, yet it has an unbiblical gospel and myriad of dogmas, and that's just the tip of the iceberg of the false Christianities. The "wide gate/broad way" entrants with their false beliefs and practices are so numerous that they are practically beyond addressing each error with a comprehensive biblical apologetic. This is becoming increasingly apparent at a time in which the church seems to have little time or interest in enduring "sound doctrine" (2 Timothy:4:3-4). Even fewer seem to care to discern biblical errors whether they be of Calvinism, or hyper-dispensationalism, or Christian psychology, or some other human-induced false teaching.

According to God's Word, the closer we get to the return of Jesus for His church, the more spiritually demanding life on earth will become. On the other hand, Satan's assault on the church will greatly expand and intensify, though nothing of his wickedness will be new. As has been noted, it's all simply revised, adjusted, amended, and updated for each new generation.

Part three of this series will include numerous examples of questions that challenge the presuppositions of those who profess to be biblical Christians.

[To Be Continued]

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