Jeremiah 7:1-15 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight.

     The history of the “Mother Church” has been a succession of miscalculations in its relationship with GOD. One wrong step usually leads to another. The infection of sin in the church today has become so pervasive that all who are brought into the church are merely baptized into a life of sin. Everything from discounting two of the Ten Commandments as the standard of Christian living to declaring immortality to little children in the fires of hell. History shows that reformation from apostasy is rarely seen.

     The theme of this commentary is simple: Today, the dominant views of Bible prophecy uphold the assertion that Catholic and Protestant churches are exempt from all association with the Bible prophecies forecasting infidelity to Jesus Christ during the modern era. This theology that excludes the church from condemnation works to remove the valuable and precious warning of Christ, “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will come to Me in that day saying, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Matt.7:21-23.

     There is obvious Scriptural and historical evidence showing that with the rise of the Christian movement in the first century Satan was countering every step of the spread of the Christian faith with his deceptive temptations into the vain imaginations of men. The great Apostle Paul said that harmful influences were entering the Christian church in his day: “The mystery of iniquity doth already work.” II Thess.2:7. Paul discerned that the roots of apostasy were already taking hold and gave clear prophetic insight into the disgrace that would become an essential part of the ruling Christian church, whose history, under the pope of Rome, bears witness to the most gruesome acts carried out under the auspices of Christianity.

     In opposition to this Biblical truth the churches corporately tell the world, “We have no part of the Bible’s list of crimes against humanity.”— Author’s paraphrase. This is the official view concerning their relationship with Bible prophecy. What you are about to read logically and ethically will prove the churches claim of innocence to be forged from a spirit of self-righteous pride: the one sin Christ openly rebuked among men (Mk.7:6-9), for repentance becomes a technical impossibility when pride is exalted above the powers of reason (Jer.50:31). And where there is no repentance, there is no separation from sin; and when there is no separation from sin, the Holy Spirit has no partnership with these individuals (Is.59:2); for GOD can have no companionship with a man whose chosen course keeps him enslaved to his sins (Deut.4:24; Rom.2:13). It is only through the power of the Spirit of GOD living in the human heart that fits a man to repent (Rom.2:4) and receive the promised inheritance of everlasting life (Rom.8:11). All others will perish and cease to exist forever—“they shall be as though they had never been” (Obadiah 16). Here are a few other texts illustrating this fate: Gen.2:17; Ps.37:10,20,36; 146:4; Eccl.9:5,6,10; Eze.18:4; Mal.4:1-3; Jn.3:16; Rev.20:9; 21:8.

     The churches are blind to recognize that their hypocrisy of defying the Holy Law of GOD is the greatest contribution to anarchy in any society. “We are no longer bound by its precepts,” declare today’s theologians. “But all men are bound by our version of religious law,” declare our leaders. This has ever been and will ever be the springboard to the final display of religious tyranny ushering the Second Coming of Christ in the clouds of glory.

     Our religious leaders are not solely responsible for the rampant sins among men. As the first king of Israel, Saul, capitulated in a spirit of cowardice to the sinful demands of the people (I Sam.15:24), so our religious leaders today succumb to a great extent the sinful demands of the common man: “Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” Is.30:8-11. You will never bring a man to salvation by trying to placate the sinfulness of his heart. All it does is embolden him against the truth “as the truth is in Jesus.” Historically, this soul-destroying compromise with sin was the very foundation of the Vatican's rise to power in the fourth century when they allowed the pagan rulers to take their corrupted gospel and legislate it into civil law.

     How do you best sabotage Biblical truth? By standing between Scripture and those who desire its knowledge, creating a detour through “the tradition of men.