Paul talks of the last days being times of apostasy as people love themselves more than anything else. It is also a time a great persecution, ultimately especially for Israel. Are we there now?

Paul talks of the last days being times of apostasy as people love themselves more than anything else. It is also a time a great persecution, ultimately especially for Israel. Are we there now?

Not exactly -- I firmly believe that the Rapture of the church must occur prior ot Israel's great time of persecution.  But if you read the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25 and the parallels in Mark and Luke, you come away with the position that as we draw near to the End Times and the Rapture, the attacks upon the church and upon Christians will increase greatly.

I have noted in earlier posts that this year has produces a string of events that could be viewed as attacks upon Christianity.  The most obvious, but not necessarily the most dangerous, was the release of the movie The Da Vinci Code.

Today's web news brings an article, I think from London, that suggests one of the foundations of Christian, the creation of the world, is now being attacked as never before.

The article appears in The Independent Online Edition.

Over the past seventy-eighty years creationism has been attacked as evolution and the big bang theory have invaded the culture and the schools. The latest effort on behalf of believers has been the concept of Intelligent Design. A court decision this spring against Intelligent Design as an alternative to be taught in the schools has slowed this effort.

The latest attack on creationism adds nothing new to the controversy. The current attack finds its weight in the large number of scientists and countries that are supporting removal of creationism in all forms from any setting that smacks of learning. Indeed, the emphasis is so strong, that the proponents desire it bleed into the homes of the world, not just the schools.

The world's scientific community united yesterday to launch one of the strongest attacks yet on creationism, warning that the origins of life were being "concealed, denied or confused".

The national science academies of 67 countries warned parents and teachers to ensure that they did not undermine the teaching of evolution or allow children to be taught that the world was created in six days.

These are strong statements. The article makes it clear that parents should be teaching evolution. The church lost ground during the past century as many pastors and teachers failed to accept the six days of creation at face value.  In the face of a mound of so-called scientific evidence, many Christians sought an intermediate postion that allowed evolution to sit next to the Bible. This resulted in positions such as determining that the "days" of Scripture were undefined geographical time periods rather than actual days.

The trouble is, a fair, straight forward, natural reading of the Bible shows that days means days, not just in Genesis 1 but in several other places where reference is made to the creation story.

The world does not like the church because the church is different. Unfortunately, too many Christians remain too far into the world. They do not want to be too different so they find ways of bending the "rules." This means that during the past 50 years or so, the church failed to make a strong stand on this issue of creationism.  Too many people allowed someone else to carry out the fight. With too few warriors, the battle was lost before it began.

The other factor operating against the church also stems from a desire to be like the world. As the church sought to be different, it also sought to convert people to Christ. As the 60s and 70s unfolded, the unbelievers of the world could find no practical reason to convert, because those in the church acted the same way as those outside the church. Without a storng moral difference, the benefits of following Jesus disappeared in the eyes of the world.

This is, of course, too simple of an explanation, but I cannot write a book here. The church failed to be a force in society, so society is now comfortable attacking the church. The attacks have grown more frequent, if not stronger.  This latest episode against creationism is yet another symbol of the times.  We are moving towards the end. Apostasy is growing. Attacks come more frequently. It is time to make certain you know what you believe and why you believe so you can not only defend your faith before others, but so that you have a storng foundaiton to support your own faith during these frequent attacks.

Otherwise, one of these days, you may find an attack that appeals even to you. Stay strong, don't give in, finish the race.

Jim A