In its simplest form, the Church can be defined as those who are separated from out of the world and assembled under the banner of Jesus Christ. Christians say we should accept anyone who calls himself a brother or trust the motives of everyone who has answered an altar call, or come forth at a convention of believers. They think that whenever church is mentioned (in Scriptures 77 times) that it is equivalent to a ticket to heaven, that whoever is part of it is automatically “saved”. But that does not conform with 1 Corinthians 5 where we are told to separate ourselves from wanton sinners in the Church. It does not consider the great criticism leveled at believers in the letters to the Churches. It ignores that receiving Jesus is tantamount to agreeing to live according to God’s strictures and allowing His Spirit to first reform us from the old ‘man’ we were, then transform us by His word and then conform us to the likeness and behavior of Christ Himself. It is God’s grandest desire that anyone who calls on Him in truth and with genuine loyalty will allow Him to Reform them, then transform them and Conform them.

Perhaps the least-read book of the Bible in these last days before Christ’s return is the book that should be the most read. It starts by telling us a direct and simple need that if adhered to will be of great good and an immense help in these troubling days in which we live.

The Last Book of the Bible – Revelation, starts with the following three verses:-

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
   Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
    Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

Just the fact that no one hardly reads the Book of Revelation says in itself a lot about the present state of the Churches.

It can be a great struggle, nearly impossible to find the right answers to the above hypothesis in the Churches these days. People who are worn and sick of the hypocrisy have thrown their hands up in the air in frustration, others have turned their back on Christianity as a whole, out of disgust. I, for one, do not blame them. We at Elisha’s Outcast Eagles can not take the “God for Sale” flea market of Churches any longer.

To find the truth, get the right answers about God’s life and His will. To do this in truth requires a supernatural visitation, a  move of the hand of God, spiritual biblical gifts such as words of knowledge, words of wisdom, epiphanies of prophecy, as well as the others enumerated in the epistle of 1 Corinthians chapter 12, to draw us to the arms of the savior.

In these last days, it is by prophecy and the on-going fulfillment of things which Jesus promised would take place at the end; which have the dynamic power to help the forsaken, the forlorn, the bruised, the confused and the life-battered ones so they may see God and be able to fall into the gracious arms of Christ Himself.

If you have wondered why the biggest problem for the Churches is the Churches themselves, you are not alone. We too, wonder why our biggest problem as Christians sometimes seems to be the Church itself. I came away from my birth church, walked by myself, alone, until I came to the Church by Christ’s invitation. My journey quickly posed the question, where to settle in while discerning the truth of my relationship with Him, and whom do I hang out with? Who should I trust? What should I be doing with my time, for the rest of my life?

In America Christians are free to roam, not confined to a tighter authority or a state-church with legal regulations as in Europe and Great Britain, or as in former days when Puritan demagoguery ruled in not a few American communities.

In this modern age we have been freed up to range away from our parent’s church, the one in which our family and fathers once had the clout to demand that we attend. The latest generation of American churchgoers, with its born-again believers and free wheeling evangelicals, have no conception of the way their parents were anchored to the pews of their ancestors. We think this is freedom – and it is – and everyone actually is and always has been free to make their own decision pertaining to life with or without God. But freedom is generally abused by us creatures, it is regularly used for selfish gain that leads nowhere in terms of eternal life and usually, if not always, to the acquiring of only transient things that will melt and evaporate when we have to depart this life.

People, and Christians, in particular, have the freedom today, to choose, wander about from church to church, until they dig up whatever tickles their fancy and conforms to what they wish to hear. Lots of the time here in America it coincides with the old buckaroos because that is what fits the current desire and hopes of their heart and soul. Some are looking for exoneration for crimes of the heart and delinquencies of love and care for wife or husband, family and children, and those who have befriended us.

If they have been found wanting by the powers in the church they attend or have not heard what suits their personal ideas about what is good for them, they merely move on to another roosting spot without repercussions. They, like children, may want a catharsis. They will accept a scolding as long as it relieves them of their wrong like a Catholic going to confession. Either way, their hands are washed like Pontius Pilate and they are freed to do the same thing again the next day. They no longer have to put up with the demands of some preacher or pastor insisting that they cut out the sinning and unrighteousness. To keep their paying flock aboard the churches and pastors are reduced to being financial advisers exonerating their paying customers by washing their hands for them. It is a way of laundering both the deeds of their sheep and the dollars of their ill-gotten gains.

Effectively speaking the Christian world has been stood on its ear since the second half of the Twentieth Century. No longer do the churches have power and influence over the spiritual condition and the life actions of their so-called adherents. Every church of every denomination sits behind a glass window lined up aside all the other churches with sales and gimmicks posted on their windows inviting the Christian shopper to come and inspect the wares that are being sold at bargain-basement prices. Each church leader from the Pope on down to the independent Pentecostal is forced to pander to the range of believers from the Baby-Boomer, the Me Generation, to the free-wheeling skeptical Millennialist.

The time of the Laodicean Church has come and it is not pretty; God, in fact, hates it. Read what Jesus said about it in Revelation 3:14-22.

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
   I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
   So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
   Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
   I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
   As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
   Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
   To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
   He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

Each “store” must have its own schtick, selling something the other does not, or at the least, a new and improved version that will make their lives in the world easier and more carnally gratifying, while giving them some makeup and soap that will help make their souls whiter and brighter than ever before. Of course, the standard beauty aids like powdered patriotism and soaps and lotions for cracked and dirtied hands are stock items in each church no matter the denomination. It is only a matter of which brand suits the shopper’s personal life best.

Competition between the variety of churches in a free society is naturally fierce. There are many varieties to choose from and church managers are required to be excellent salesmen promising the best for their members and their families. They must pander to them so they keep them as loyal subscribers to their church’s brand. Church business in these end-times is a dog-eat-dog business and there are no restraints put on the churches by the “better business bureau” that monitor lies, deceptions, and defects in the wares and product they are selling.

Though it is a buyer beware mentality, this only encourages church goers in the fact that they hold the upper hand as the consumer that has many choices of where to do business, and with whom.  As never before, the members now hold the upper hand. “Tell me something I don’t like, impose on me something that offends my sense of dignity and I will take my business elsewhere.” The pastors know, the leaders know, the bishops know, they have become nothing but glorified shopkeepers, carnival barkers crying out “Come One, Come All. A quarter to see what Jesus is behind the curtain!”

They claim they have the Jesus we need. They are selling nothing but the best, trafficking in exactly what you and your family, friends, and neighbors need. It comes with or without the entire Bible, that is at your discretion and particular needs. We will teach you about what it means to you. Trust us!

It may be promises of healing. It may come with or without prophecy or the Rapture that is up to you. We tailor salvation like buying a suit at Men’s Warehouse – all to fit your personal form and your lifestyle. It is a two for one deal because with your suit of salvation you also purchase for free, God’s unconditional love – you will look great everywhere you go in your new suit no matter what you are doing, no matter what you are underneath.

There is no requirement of righteousness, that has nothing to do with you now. Christ died so you can look great all the time. There are no payments, no catches, no obligations. Just the putting out of the hand to be on the dole of Jesus Christ, as long as we look great, look like we are loving one another with a smile. Never mind such annoyances as truth, something called the Bible, God’s promise to return to judge mankind, or prophecy which says outright that the unrighteous, and those that lie, commit adultery, false accusers etc. etc. will not be part of heaven.

But the modern church people think they still hold the winning hand. As soon as they are criticized or challenged, as soon as they are offended or bored, as soon as anything that suggests repentance, as soon as their personal needs conflict with those of others, it is no skin off their nose to simply leave and go to the next store.

Church pastors and bishops must be admen first, they are compelled by worldly wisdom and not the wisdom of God whom they are supposed to serve without regard to man, to keep their customers in their seats. They must not be unfriendly to the customers, let alone judgmental. After all, they themselves have taught the paying customers that no one can be perfect. They are keenly aware that anyone can bolt to the store next door, and there is not one salesman in that store that will chide someone for leaving their competitor, in favor of spending their bucks with them instead.

All this has made it so there is no accountability. There are no scruples in the open market. The old Arab proverb says, ‘the marketplace is the one place where it is permitted to deceive”. The Bible says just as frankly, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” Money is not laundered just because it is in the possession of a carnival barker posing as a personal representative of God. Priests rape children and businessmen posing as Christ’s stewards manipulate entire congregations with false promises, with things which God’s word never insinuated, let alone promised. They ignore those things which God has said in His Word that He hates.

God’s Word is not for sale, nor is His approval. Yet this is the state of the degeneracy of the modern Church, in general terms. In return, the paying customer makes and believes he or she has the right to make regrettable demands, to have sins washed away and forgiven, where no forgiveness is merited.

Sins have been perpetrated on children and the innocent and the pressure is on the victim to let sinners keep on sinning with impunity. Many have been sinned against with egregious sins, as a result, Christ is condemned by association. It is an evil of the end-times, one in which the victims are not only injured, but many end up hating God and thereby may deprive themselves of the love of Christ because of the sins of self- serving, faithless, false Christians. This is why Jesus said anyone who does this would be better off tying a millstone around their neck and jumping into the sea. These things have happened because of modern mismanagement by the churches. They have changed, corrupted and thrown away the operations manual called the Bible.

It can only be that people do not ask themselves the fundamental questions pertinent to the Church – Who, What, Where and Why. It is too convenient to not seek the truth about the Church. The post-modern believer is just down-right scared and lazy in regards to demanding faithfulness and truth, righteousness and honesty. Modern society will not allow the truth in the current state of the U.S of A. The days are just around the corner, if not already here, that people will lose jobs, be denied rights and threatened with legal reprisals if they do not just adhere to the new morality. Yet, Christ has never approved of lying, cheating, hypocrisy, deceit, unnatural affections, worshipping the creature rather than worshipping him, bearing false witness to ruin a person’s life, or loving money, more than loving God. He has never approved of trampling on relationships. People in the Church have been handed salvation on a silver platter; and they continue to abuse it, because they have refused to pick up their cross daily and follow after their savior. Men in the Church have taken freedom, as freedom to do what they think is right. Who died and made them the very essence of right and wrong? They say, Christ has saved them, and then act as if it were the other way ‘round. Why should they do anything to expend energy, or have any concern to do right? Why should they fear to do wrong, when they have been given license by their store keepers to procure anything they want for their own selfish aims?

We of Elisha’s Outcast Eagles have chosen to disassociate ourselves from this gaggle of churches that pick and choose and traffic in souls. But the complexities of this vast realm of Christ’s Church, in every corner of the earth, with its good and bad, wicked and righteous, thorns and fruits, idolatry and true worship is an entire world into which we are born when we come to Christ. Like it or not it swirls about us unseen, but nevertheless powerfully real, effecting our welfare in every way possible. This is why we may have, as many Christians have since the second half of the 20th Century, numerous encounters with believers, fellowships and churches, all with mixed results, before we can settle in and fellowship with that portion of the body of Christ, with which God wants us to cohabit and serve Him and righteousness, and not sin.

It can take time to find out about the vast expanses of God’s Church and where we fit into it. Along the way, we are certain to have bad teachings about the Church. In fact, wrong ideas about the Church abound from Evangelical doctrine to mainstream Christian conventions. All too often, the platitudes of accepted, popular born-again doctrine fill the believer with man’s ideas about the Church and the way man thinks God ‘ought to be’ rather than the way God and the Church actually are. The Church can all too easily feed the sheep baloney rather than the sincere milk of God’s Word, especially when it comes to the subject of itself, or teaching them the straight and clear reality which God Himself, has declared about the Church.

Those who are looking for answers about this troubling dilemma of the modern churches consider this scripture…

“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonor.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 2 Tim.2:20-22.

We are here counseled by the Word of God that we should follow Christ with “those who call on the Lord out of pure heart”. The reason for the advice is in God’s house not all believers actually believe or act as if they believe. Some are in it only for what they can get out of it. Some are very dishonorable. It is taken for granted, all too often, that every professing believer is ‘saved’. Therefore, being saved, the four questions above have all been asked and settled by our pastors and through the teachings of their denominational affiliation. Upon deep scrutiny (and sometimes not so deep) we are shocked to find out, however, that these questions have been answered with trite clichés or broad sweeping generalities, or things no longer pertinent; they sound all fine and dandy but don’t really conform to the Truth of the revealed Word of God. We find out that God is there in name only and that another spirit resides there in spite of the fang-dangles and impressive bells and whistles of pious sounding singers. Sometimes we find out that the enemy  (just as the parable depicts) has sown many weeds among the wheat and we have found that we are sitting among a field of thistles and weeds. The fools and self righteous have taken over entire churches and denominations. The pastors are drunk on money and mesmerized by the sound of their own voice. This is all part of who, what and why of the Church is, however.

Don’t get me wrong – there is a true and pure way to be a part of the Greater Church – but it isn’t by sitting among the foolish congregation and offering praises with them or worshipping with the unsavory side of the house where vessels full of obscenities which dishonor God’s righteousness are adored by false believers. It isn’t believing we can elect good men to save the world for God said he would raise up the basest of men to prove Man can not save the world from death. (Read: Dan 4 and Daniel 4:17) in particular. It is OK to purge oneself of believing or fellowship with such vessels of dishonor. It is even suggested and counseled that we do so.

Even more alarming we may discover that the fundamental questions about the Church have never even been asked by those assembled together in the name of Christ.

The Book of Revelation never read, less feared, even disdained. Let’s not listen to the salesmen and carnival barkers but rather God’s Word. Take the advice of Jesus in Revelation chapter 1.3:

“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”