JESUS’ PROPHECY OF DECEPTION IN AMERICA (PART 1)

In the days of Noah, God warned of a coming catastrophe. God warned Lot before He destroyed wicked Sodom. I believe God has also warned the people of America in our day. His warnings have come through various Christian leaders who have made clear that our nation is racing toward a day of judgment. However, one of God’s most significant warnings concerning spiritual deception in these last days came from His Son Jesus.

Jesus warned, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17:26-30).

Notice that there is something missing in this passage! Jesus doesn’t mention the many evils that marked those earlier days, which is what we usually hear about. Nor does He say anything about gross sins in our day. In fact, not one of the items He mentions is a sin. They are the everyday things people do in life: drink, eat, marry, buy, sell, plant and build. It is important to recognize this in order to properly understand the meaning of His prophecy.

The Old Testament states that in the days of Noah and Lot, lawlessness and permissiveness were rampant. It is given as a basic reason God destroyed both places. Yet when comparing our day to those, Jesus doesn’t make a single comment about this. His comparison is with the buying, selling, eating, drinking, marrying, planting and building. He only mentions these everyday affairs of life! WHY?

The answer takes us to the core of the spiritual deception now taking place in our country. It helps explain why our society’s moral values have deteriorated so quickly. Everyone knows about the sins of our land; we hear about them every day. Jesus did not have to mention them. David Wilkerson, Pastor of Times Square Church in New York City stated, “I was listening to a special radio program in a large eastern city, where the people on the street were being interviewed about the moral condition of America. The question was asked, ‘Do you believe America has lost its moral integrity?’ Almost all who were interviewed said basically the same thing. ‘America is going to hell in a hand basket!’ ‘We no longer care if scoundrels run our country, as long as we prosper.’ ‘Anything goes now; we are in the last days of our society—we are modern Rome going into collapse!’ ‘Morality and purity have been sold out to pleasure and prosperity.’ ‘Sodom had no porno, no Internet sex, no abortion, no filthy television polluting that society, so how can America expect to go on without being held accountable?’”

In this warning from God’s Son that compares our day to the days of Noah and Lot, I see the Lord pouring out His love to the majority of the people rather than chastising the minority who are involved in wickedness. We are the Lord’s main concern in this warning. We are those who go about doing the things most people do in the normal way of living—the buying, selling, building, marrying, and so forth.

Why are we Jesus’ main concern in His warning, rather than those who are involved in gross sins? I believe it is because He could foresee our over-commitment to everyday affairs. What we are doing is not a sin in and of itself. The problem is the commitment of our hearts to these self-serving matters over and above a commitment to live by godly standards. Our over-extended routines have become more important to us than seeking to understand and obey God’s will.

This is what happened to my brother, taking him out of God’s will for his life. You and I are the ones who can help prevent our society falling apart at the seams. We are the people who can make a difference. But Jesus knew that people in our day would become so wrapped up in their everyday lives that we would ignore the warning signs.

Our country is on the brink of a great chastening from the hand of God. America has been blessed far beyond most nations throughout history. The Bible says God will hold us accountable for the deterioration of our moral standards. Luke 12:48b reads, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” The Scriptures teach that God disciplines those He has blessed if they become careless in their way of living. It is His way of correcting those He loves. “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?” (Hebrews 12:6-7).

Just as in Noah’s day, people now are doing little to prepare themselves—to build their spiritual arks. What Jesus warned us about was a deception that produces self-centered, self-serving Christians. This condition caused the Lord more concern than the many sins the minority were involved in. He was more troubled about the heart attitude of the majority. The focus of the heart was a problem in Noah’s day, and it is a problem in our day as well. That is why Jesus lists the things that are everyday time-killers, even though not one of them is a sin as such.

We have become so preoccupied that our hearts have grown cold. The worldly media has deceived us and weakened our ability to discern right from wrong regarding our commitments.

Our preoccupation with these basic elements has caused us to lose our discernment in regard to interpreting the signs of the times. Jesus warned that even Christians would be deceived. “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. So be on guard; I have told you everything ahead of time” (Mark 13:22-23; see also Matthew 24:24).

Permissiveness and lawlessness had deteriorated to the point of being out of control in the days of Noah and Lot. But Jesus says there was a greater concern—the heart attitude of the people who put their priorities above God’s. This caused them to not pay attention to His desires. What they were doing was not sinful in the traditional sense of the word, but the commitment of their hearts was to self-serving rather than to walking according to the standards of God and His will for their lives. This, tragically, prevented them from seeing the signs of the times.

The truth of this prophecy is tough to discuss as I do not want to discount God’s blessings. However, the spirit of the good life has created a commitment to our everyday affairs over and above our commitment to seek His will and it has captured the hearts of all too many Americans. As my brother shared in his testimony, the Lord gave him a vision of a beast over our country, overcoming Christians almost at will, through the deceptive elements of materialism and pleasure.

God chose to put these words from Jesus about Noah’s day in the Bible to warn us about our day. It was important to Him that we be wise to the kind of warfare the enemy would throw at Christians in these end-times. Too many of God’s people have fallen for this deception and become victims of his attacks. The Scriptures certainly caution us about these matters—we have just failed to heed the warnings.

Watch for Part 2 of “Jesus’ Prophecy of Deception in America” on October 25^th, 2010.

Deception Illustrated (Part 3)

In my last blog, you read about my Brother, Dr. Charles Fraley, and how he was caught in Satan’s web of deception.  Today you will read the conclusion of his powerful testimony and learn how he was able to overcome his spiritual defeat!  This is the continuation of the testimony of Dr. Charles Fraley…

A Lesson To Be Learned –

I am going to digress for a moment because there is an important lesson that anyone who claims to be a Christian can learn from my experience. Although God is merciful and long-suffering, there comes a time when He expects us to clean up our lives, and the sooner the better! Otherwise, He will have to do it for us, which may require walking through some deep valleys that we will not like. 

As a physician, I often had to assist Christians, including pastors and religious leaders, with personal problems. These are usually matters they do not want to share with others. Often it is secret sins that trip us up. It takes a humble Christian to admit he has a problem and to seek help. This is partly because many are too proud to admit they have a spiritual problem. When God says we are to come out of the ways of the world and be separate, He means that and for good reason. “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ ‘Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’ Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1).

Spiritual Defeat

I had been deceived by the enemy and fallen prey to worldly attractions. To deliver me from this, the Lord opened my spiritual eyes. When He did, I realized I had been walking in disobedience since finishing medical school. I was devastated. From my youth I had always had such a strong desire to serve the Lord.

I could not believe I had gotten so far out of the Lord’s will. But it happened! I had been active in church during this time. I had studied the Word of God and spent time in prayer, but my disobedience to a direct command from the Lord allowed the enemy to deceive me. After realizing I had fallen into deception, I began to seek the Lord with all my strength and with a true heart of repentance. I sought the Lord for a new filling of the Holy Spirit and the power to walk with Him according to His will as I had once experienced. I put forth every ounce of my being seeking God for seven months, studying the Word, meditating, praying and worshiping Him in a state of repentance. I also sought the Lord in regard to why so many Christians seemed to be living such defeated lives.

At the end of this time, my family and I went on a vacation. I had decided to spend this time fasting and praying—seeking the Lord—still in a spirit of repentance. I was determined not to stop until I knew that the fullness of the Holy Spirit had once again been released in my being. Halfway through the second week of our vacation, I awoke one night and knew the presence of the Lord was in the room with me. I began to have visions similar to the one when the Lord called me to become a doctor.

The first vision was that of a large head of a “beast” hovering over America. It was devouring Christians almost at will. The Spirit of the Lord showed me that this beast represented the power of materialism and pleasure in our country. It was swallowing up Christians by spiritually deceiving and then overcoming them through the influence of the materialistic and pleasure-seeking lifestyles that had developed in our society. Those Christians who were being overcome were hardly aware of what was happening.

I was convicted that this is what the enemy used to tempt, deceive and then conquer me in my spiritual walk. It was why so many had become apathetic toward the deterioration of the biblical standards in our country. This was also why numerous Christian families were experiencing major defeats, with thousands suffering hurt and pain.

I want to make clear that the Lord did not show me that it is wrong to have material things or enjoy wholesome pleasure. Rather, what He revealed to me was how the enemy is using our society to create an abnormal desire for material things and pleasure. He knows that if Christians become over-committed to everyday affairs, we will lose our spiritual discernment. We will no longer function as the salt of the earth and the light of the world, which we are called to be. Many of us fail to see that we are in the middle of a spiritual war that has produced self-centered, self-serving people. The attitude of the heart is the focus of God’s warning through this vision. The commitment of Christians to satisfying their everyday wants has taken precedence over their commitment to obey God’s standards. This is the sin that is taking us out from under the hedge of God’s protection and is diluting the power media—television, movies, press, Internet, etc., something the Christian community has never had to contend with.

That first vision of a beast hovering over America, attacking Christians, was confirmed by the Holy Spirit giving me several other visions of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures tell us the Holy Spirit always testifies of Jesus. In these I was shown how Jesus was willing to pay a tremendous price by going to the cross for the salvation of mankind. He was a disciplined person who would let nothing deter Him from His call. I was also shown the great love Jesus has for mankind, and that He was standing at the door of my heart, knocking, wanting to come in and re-establish the Lord’s will in my life.

All of these visions had a profound impact on me. Through them the Holy Spirit was showing me what had caused my deception, and that Jesus did not deserve the kind of treatment I had given Him. I could now see how I had become neglectful, disobedient and unfaithful. Through deception the enemy had me on a path of falling away from living a biblically based Christian life. 

Since the time of these visions, I have walked with a certain holy fear that has helped me follow His commandments. I consider it a great privilege to do so. It actually resulted in my following through with the Lord’s first directive to serve the people in Africa, which has been very joyful. My wife and I first went to Tanzania for a year and then to Kenya, where we served for 29 years. I recently was required to retire from the mission field as I had reached the age of 70. 

These spiritual teachings about deception that came from the visions the Lord gave me must be taken seriously. If we are not alert and ready— if we have become slothful in our commitment—we could be in for a big surprise as the events of these last days unfold. Not only that, but we may already be caught in the web of deception. The majority of Christians in America are not prepared to stand against the spiritual attacks that are taking place daily to control the hearts and minds of American people. 

There is no greater privilege than to know and serve Jesus. He paid a tremendous price for our salvation and has every right to expect that we would seek to fulfill the directive given to us in Romans 12:1-2. It reads, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God— which is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Dr. Fraley’s Ministry 

This concludes my brother’s testimony. Before I move on, I want to add the following about how the Lord used him in Africa after his repentance and restoration. It’s a thrilling follow-up. 

Dr. Charles Fraley, M.D., and his wife, Marlene, R.N., served the Lord on the mission field in Africa for 30 years. He became the medical coordinator & executive director of a large health ministry in Kenya. His list of responsibilities was almost endless. He and his wife shared the love of Christ as he oversaw five hospitals and established more than 50 health centers and dispensaries throughout the country. 

Dr. Fraley delivered supplies, checked on patients and performed surgery. He assisted in administration, teaching of staff and encouraging each facility. His duties required him to spend many days away from home, traveling dirt, rock and sand roads. He also faced risk from African tribes and wild animals, which sometimes posed life-threatening dangers. In addition, when he went into the bush country, he lived as the natives, eating their food, and often sleeping in his vehicle or under the stars. 

He and his wife were involved in building a new hospital and establishing a nursing school on one of the largest mission stations of its kind in the world—the African Inland Mission Station in Kijabe, Kenya. It provides some of the highest-quality healthcare of any mission hospital in East Africa. The quality of training he helped develop at the nursing school is as good as any in Western civilization. All staff members in this health ministry must profess Jesus as Lord and Savior, and maintain high Christian standards. 

Dr. and Mrs. Fraley also assisted and worked with the Kenyan government in obtaining licenses for many of the long-and short-term missionary doctors and nurses entering the country. He participated with missionaries from different missions organizations in Bible study and prayer groups. He was the attending physician for missionaries of all denominations that came into the country, and sat on the Board of Mission for Essential Drugs for 10 years, an organization he helped establish to get medicines at cost for Mission Health Services. He served as board member and vice treasurer of the Christian Health Association of Kenya for 10 years. This organization was developed to serve all of the Protestant Health Services in Kenya, consisting of some 260 units. 

The president of Kenya asked the health ministries that my brother oversaw to take over a major health center in a remote area of the country among the poor. He agreed to do this, not only to meet the desperate needs of these people, but also because it would be a great opportunity to share the love and salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. All of the 57 health units under his direction minister to the poor and needy in remote areas. 

I have barely scratched the surface of all that happened over the years he spent on the mission field. God blessed them to lead a team of committed Christians to work with in developing these many ministries. Only the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit could have given a man the strength to accomplish everything he did. 

My brother and his wife are among those godly servants who forsook their family ties, material possessions, home and country to follow the call of our Lord Jesus to serve the poor and needy of the world. They labored selflessly, day in and day out, to share the love of Jesus. They stood the test of time in their obedience and faithfulness. 

Restoration and Revival 

Stories illustrating Satan’s use of deception can be counterbalanced by accounts of repentance, restoration and incredibly fruitful lives. This is not only God’s desire for individuals, but for our once-great nation as well. My constant prayer is for another moving of God’s Spirit that will touch the churches of our land, and in turn profoundly affect America for the good. As there were periodic times of revival in Old Testament Israel that saved a generation or even two, I believe this can happen in our day as well. For the sake of our children and grandchildren and countless lost souls who have yet to experience the healing touch of Jesus, I pray for a mighty spiritual reawakening that shakes our country to its core. Such a time of renewal would once again allow God’s people in this land the privilege of being salt and light as our Lord and Savior preached. 

The battle rages. What the outcome will be, I can’t rightfully say. I only know that the enemy is not going to back off in his attacks. Like it or not, we are living in a spiritual war zone. As with my brother, who came to his senses, some of you may find this to be a jarring revelation.

In the next blog, I will be discussing Jesus’ prophecy of deception in America.  These important warnings should be known by all, and especially by all Christians in America.

Watch for Part 1 of “Jesus’ Prophecy of Deception in America” on October 11^th, 2010.

You Are “The Salt Of The Earth”

God challenges His Church today to be salt and light. In Matthew 5:13-14 Jesus makes two penetrating statements about Christians: You are the salt of the earth and You are the light of the world. Jesus gave us our perfect mission statement in these two short sentences. Our Lord is saying that Christians are the only people in this world who can preserve the good (our function as salt) and have the understanding to help in those areas that matter the most (our function as light).

SALT

For Jesus to use the word salt to describe one of the key functions of a Christian is amazing. Only the wisdom of God could have known what we do today about salt. It is one of the most stable compounds on Earth. On its own, it will not lose its saltiness. Salt becomes ineffective only when it becomes contaminated. This occurs if it is mixed or diluted with some other material or chemical.

To not lose its effectiveness, salt has to remain essentially different from the medium in which it is placed. When kept in a pure condition, it only takes a small amount of salt to accomplish the purpose of adding flavor or acting as a preservative. If God’s people remain in a pure state, it will only take a few of us to make a major difference.

But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything (Matthew 5:13). There is a principle of life that Jesus is teaching. If Christians assimilate something other than the purity of God’s Word, we face a great danger of becoming contaminated. Our influence in this world will only happen if we are distinctively different. “What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ ‘Therefore come out from them and separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you’” (2 Corinthians 6:15-17). Mixing the standards of the world causes Christians to become contaminated and lose their “saltiness.” It is vital to our mission that we understand what being “the salt of the earth” entails. We must be a preserver of the good.