The Second Advent Part 3

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:1-7)

In the first two parts we looked at the Second Advent not from the “signs and wonders” aspect that so many professing Christians look for every day in the headlines but from the warning of Saint Paul about the spiritual condition leading up to the Lord’s Coming. We saw how the Protestant Revolt led those who follow it further and further away from the Truth to fables conceived by men who sought to substitute these fables for the leadership of the Church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ. These “fables” were seeds. From every seed a plant grows and eventually bears new seed and so forth. So it is with doctrines that we discussed in Part 2.

I wish that I could say that the list given by Saint Paul above was just talking about “the world”. Unfortunately, such is not the case as Protestantism has grown to more and more resemble the philosophies and outlook of the world.

Some New Thing

In my time as an Evangelical Christian I saw the Pentecostal denominations and assemblies go through new thing after new thing after new thing. Everything from the faith healers of the 1950’s and 1960’s such as Kathrine Kuhlman and Oral Roberts up through Neo Discipleship (which sought the authority of the priesthood without the actual priesthood) to the present snake oil salesmen that populate the airwaves of networks like Trinity Broadcasting. Movement after movement after movement seeking “the Presence of the Lord” …while denying the true Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist.

The history of Trinitarian Pentecostalism has been one of always seeking some new exciting happening. It began with a “revival” that focused on emotionalism and that has been the focus of it ever since. It’s all about “me”:

Does the music entertain (bless) ME?
Does the preaching bless ME?
Do I FEEL like I am being fed?

As Paul warns the people have become “lovers of self” and, as a result “lovers of money” as well. The most popular preachers in Evangelical Christian preach what is called the “Prosperity Message”. To sum it up: “God wants us in perfect health and in perfect wealth and if we aren’t then we are not in God’s Will.” They equate spiritual wealth with physical wealth. More and more they fill the mega-churches…stadium sized churches where as many as several thousand may attend services long on entertainment but short on content. They are fed catch phrase, bumper sticker speeches but little true preaching. Sin, hell and judgment are dirty words in these congregations. After all those words make people “feel bad”.

Salt and Light of the World

Jesus said that those who name His Name are to be “salt” in this world. He also called us “the light of the world”. Because most of Evangelical Christianity has become a “feel good religion” and because we as Catholics have not done our job either the world has “gone to hell in a handbasket”. The balance of Saint Paul’s warning to Timothy details the spiritual condition of the world that we see around us and every day on the news.

The bad news is: Evangelical Christianity because of its roots and its history isn’t going to get better. They will continue to conform themselves to the world’s value system. The good news is: we as Catholics have an opportunity to provide the world with a contrast. We must not offer them just another denomination blown about by every wind of doctrine always seeking “some new thing” but the true “faith once for all delivered to the Saints”…the Church not founded by men in revolt but by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. A Church that can be a solid rock and a foundation upon which to build a life pleasing to God.

Finally, I’d like to recommend a couple of resources along these same lines. The first is a video by Michael Voris of Church Militant called “Catholics and Protestants” which I think is an important message for us as Catholics to hear. The second is an article by Father Dwight Longnecker entitled “What Every Catholic Should Know About Prophecy of the End Times”. I believe that Catholics will be edified and challenged by both.