<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; font: 12pt/14pt verdana;"><img src="images/stories/f_frangipane_100px.jpg" border="0" alt="Francis Frangipane" align="left" />We live in unparalleled times. Not since the first century have more Scriptures been fulfilled in a single generation. Each unfolding Word brings down another mountain; it lifts another valley. In truth, the way is being prepared for our King's return into this world.</p>
<p class="subtitle" style="text-align: center; padding-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 30px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; font: 15pt/17pt verdana; color: #016d88; padding-top: 5px;">The Great Revolt</p>
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; font: 12pt/14pt verdana;">The Lord forewarned that, during the End Time,<span class="script_text" style="text-align: left; font-style: italic; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #016d88;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>"many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase"</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(<span class="script_ref" style="text-align: left; font-style: italic; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #016d88; font-weight: bold;">Daniel 12:4</span>). Contrast our time with any other in history: Not only are we traveling farther and more frequently, but we do so in a world inundated with increasing<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>knowledge</em>. It has been our privilege to behold the prophetic return of Israel to its land (see Jeremiah 16:14-15), and our misfortune to live when<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="script_text" style="text-align: left; font-style: italic; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #016d88;">"the earth is... polluted by its inhabitants"</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(<span class="script_ref" style="text-align: left; font-style: italic; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #016d88; font-weight: bold;">Isaiah 24:5</span>).</p>
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; font: 12pt/14pt verdana;">As though Jesus were reading a news summary of recent years, His prophecies of two thousand years ago clearly describe our times. Thus, we are compelled to discern accurately the significant era in which we live. Indeed, of the many prophetic fulfillments of our day, one in particular rises with undimmed candor. I am speaking of what the Bible calls the "apostasy." You will recall Paul's warning:</p>
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; font: 12pt/14pt verdana;"><span class="script_text" style="text-align: left; font-style: italic; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #016d88;">"Let no one in any way deceive you, for [the day of the Lord] will not come unless the apostasy comes first"</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="script_ref" style="text-align: left; font-style: italic; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #016d88; font-weight: bold;">(2 Thessalonians 2:3</span>).</p>
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; font: 12pt/14pt verdana;">The apostasy has traditionally been described as<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>a time of deception and massive falling away from authentic faith in Christ</em>. Depending upon your specific view, sometime before or after the apostasy the rapture of the Church will occur. However, the concept of apostasy as merely "a falling away" is incomplete. The original Greek word for apostasy, apostasia, when used in classical Greek literature, meant "a political revolt." From this we understand that the End Time apostasy is not just a time of sinfulness or large scale backsliding; it is actually<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>a time of open defiance and warlike aggression against divine moral foundations</em>. In other words, the apostasia is a political insurrection against the laws of God.</p>
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; font: 12pt/14pt verdana;">This interpretation of the apostasy is not an isolated view. The New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Phillips Translation, and New English Bible all render apostasia as "the rebellion." The Living Bible interprets the apostasy as the "great rebellion," while the Jerusalem Bible assigns a proper name to this era: "The Great Revolt."</p>
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; font: 12pt/14pt verdana;">As we consider the fulfillment of so many other prophecies, let us carefully observe: mankind has entered an era of open revolt and outright rebellion – an apostasy – against the moral standards of God.</p>
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; font: 12pt/14pt verdana;">Today, we are witnessing a large-scale rebellion against godliness and moral values. Indeed, this brazen attitude has had a name for itself since the 1960s: the sexual revolution. And "revolution" is exactly what it is. Our moral standards have not only been challenged, they have been replaced by a nonstandard. Indeed, the great rebellion seeks to legitimize and then mainstream every perversity known to man!</p>
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; font: 12pt/14pt verdana;">There is much to say on behalf of those trapped in perversity and who hate sin's affect on their lives. We must be compassionate toward them and not strident; many are sitting in our churches afraid to even speak of their need lest they be disowned. I am not speaking with reference to the victims of this advance, but of those who are engaged in a mutiny against the sway of God in our nation. They argue the only standard Americans have is the standard of individual freedom. In their view, freedom itself is the "god" ruling America, with self-indulgence sitting as chief counsel.</p>
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