The Great Apostasy

The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Eve was not only deceived and seduced by that old serpent, the devil but she was also enticed and drawn away by her own lust that was operating through her carnal senses. Yes, the devil introduced the temptation of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to Eve but it was her own lust that caused her to disobey GOD's command.

The scripture describes where Eve saw the fruit to be desirable and it appealed to her fleshly taste and her latent appetite for power even over GOD. No, Eve was not merely just seduced, she was propositioned with a lie by the father of lies but it was a lie that she desired to have manifested and this where she was deceived. Eve could never have any lasting gratification from the results of her lust for the things of this world and her disobedience to GOD. This is why the scripture commands CHRISTians to: "love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world is the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life." Eve, through her carnal senses had come to love this world and the things in this world. She had become enticed and drawn away of her own lust for the desires of this world under the leading of satan and thus she abandoned the leading and direction of GOD by blatantly disobeying his word. Eve's enticement was clearly as a result of the lust of her eye, the lust of her flesh and the pride of life, which are the product of her walking after her flesh and not after the Spirit of GOD, for which she was condemned. This overview of the process from temptation, to enticement, to deception, to disobedience, to sin and then finally to condemnation is not an anomaly, nor is it unique only to Eve but this same slippery slope to condemnation has been repeated in the lives of multitudes of men throughout time.

Looking back at Eve's example, it is easy for CHRISTians to recognize such a blatantly willful delineation from GOD's word that caused both Adam and Eve to suffer immediate and eternal sep-ara-tion from daily fellowship with the presence of GOD. Today, there are many who profess to be CHRISTians who have committed the same type of abandonment of their loyalty to GOD (apostasy) in lieu of experiencing the pleasures of this world through the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Even though this act of the highest treason can apply to many areas of a professing CHRISTian's life, I can see this clandestine defection operating in great force within the area of secular entertainment. It is evident that many who profess to be CHRITians vigorously purchase, patronize, and participate in secular forms of profane and blasphemous entertainment.

Don't believe me?

Simply conduct your own investigation. Go down to your local flesh driven, sin dominant, dog kennel or what some may refer to as "church" and ask some of the most devoted regular attendees what is currently playing in their CD player, what are the radio stations that they listen to or list some of their most recent DVD movie rentals or the most recent movie they went to see at the movie theater. To go a step further, I personally saw recently a display at a national chain bookstore which promotes itself as a CHRISTian bookstore, where several professing CHRISTian music artists, such as KJ52, listed what music they were currently playing in their ipod or CD player.

To my dismay, the majority of those so called CHRISTian artists listed secular CDs as the music they were being entertained by. I have personally had encounters with well known purportedly "gospel" artists, such as Kirk Franklin who openly and brazenly declared to me that he used secular music and producers on his CDs and Fred Hammond, even boasted to me that he attends secular concerts without any shame. If these so called "gospel" artists are entertained by and use secular (without GOD) music, it is impossible for them to lead anyone into the presence of a holy GOD. By their own confessions they are enticed and drawn to music that is not only without GOD but that additionally promotes unholy and blasphemous activities.

Therefore these so called "gospel" artists are not being lead by the Holy Spirit but rather a defiled and wicked spirit. Further, these false "gospel" artists not only market their CDs under the category of "gospel" music but they actually expect CHRISTians to purchase their asinine laced mixture of the holy with the profane.

Recently, all three of my children were enrolled in a supposedly "Christian" dance school. My wife had spoken with the director (Amy) over the phone about the beliefs of the dance school prior to enrolling my children, even though with a name like "In His Steps" you would think there should not be any thing questionable as far as it being a CHRISTian dance school. The Director, Amy explained to my wife how her school was all about GOD. Never-the-less, not long after the sudden death and subsequent casting into eternal hell fire of Michael Jackson, the "Christian" dance school began to “do a tribute” to Michael Jackson by playing his songs and actually teaching the choreography for the "Thriller" video.

Yes, this took place at the "Christian" dance school.

So, you might say, what is the big deal? This is the big deal. Not only was Michael Jackson an ungodly, wicked person among a list of other perversions but the whole "Thriller" video is about the practice of necromancy for which GOD calls an abomination/hated (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) and GOD further hated Michael Jackson. I've even been present when another "Christian" dance company (Dance Revolution) while in Orlando, Florida played a myriad of secular music from such artist as Alicia Keyes, Alana Morisson, Sting and even the song "Another One Bites the Dust". According to these professing "Christians" they were being "evangelistic" by performing dance choreography to these secular songs. Never-the-less, they are not only deceived but further, GOD has sent them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, "That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (II Thessalonians 2:11-12).

You might ask, so what is so unrighteous about trying to win people to the Lord by using "Chirstian" dance to secular songs? The answer is simple, maybe even too simple for some. GOD, in his holy word, that CHRISTians call the holy Bible, said "And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean" (Leviticus 10:10). If you think that this is just some obsolete Old Testament passage, you really need to read II Corinthians 6:14-18; which is about not being unequally yoked together with unbelievers and I John 2:15-17, which is about not loving this world. Oh, so you say that you don't love the things of this world? But, if you do not hate the things of this world, you really do love them. How so? JESUS said: No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other. Also, JESUS said: "for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matthew 12:34-35). As a matter of fact, depending on who is reading this, you may only need to mentally review your own personal collection of your favorite CD's and DVD's to see if you too are one of the defectors.

Not you? because you really, really love God.

Well, let's see just how devoted you are to GOD and his kingdom compared to this world and the lust thereof. What entertains you? Most professing CHRISTians attempting to be "relevant" to their culture have become so deeply immersed into the prevailing culture of this world that they have lost all the vital elements of their once practiced CHRISTian identity. These pseudo-CHRISTians, for the sake of entertainment, have abandoned their loyalty to GOD and their belief in the infallible and incontrovertible CHRISTian doctrines that give Christianity its very identity.

If you find secular (without GOD) music enjoyable and the singers, producers and promoters of it entertaining, you are not devoted to GOD. If you are drawn to be entertained by movies that promote sinful life styles and that glorifies ungodly characters you clearly do not have any allegiance to the kingdom of GOD. Jesus said that if the world hates you, know that it hated him first. Additionally, from the teaching of Jesus Christ, you can not serve two masters, you will either love one and hate the other or you will draw close to one and despise the other. These scriptures are proof positive that you can not serve this world along with the sensual, fleshly, carnal things of this world and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you are drawn and enticed to the secular entertainment of this world it is axiomatic by your mere predisposition to secular, sinful entertainment that you must by nature and action despise the Lord Jesus Christ. You are then by nature an enemy of Christ by the mere fact that you are entertained by and participate in sensual, fleshly and carnal activities... no matter how much you say that you love GOD.

The 21st Century apostle,
Orlando Bethel
Acts 3:26