The Church of the Future
Lloyd Gardner
Every generation has believed that it was the last one before the coming of Christ. This generation looks at the signs of the times and believes that it will see the coming of the Lord. Worldwide events seem to be moving quickly toward the cataclysmic ending predicted in scripture. What does the future hold for the church? In the light of the world’s spiral downward into moral oblivion, what place will the true church play in the end times? What will that church look like just before the return of its King? Much of this has been a mystery hidden and waiting for the end times to arrive, but much is beginning to be revealed, line upon line and precept upon precept. The true people of God will not be caught by surprise when the age comes to its devastating end, the church reaches its zenith of development, and Christ pierces the clouds in His glory. I have addressed this truth at length in chapter 14, "A New Wineskin" in my book Face to Face.
The prophetic books of the Bible have been sealed up until the arrival of the true time of their fulfillment. Many scholars have claimed to be able to explain these books but their efforts have been incomplete at best and total speculation at the worse. It is my belief that the full interpretation of those books has been withheld, awaiting the time of their realization, when the Holy Spirit will release their full meaning to those who have an ear to hear what He says. The purpose of this letter is to speak to the question of what the church will look like prior to the coming of the Lord. It is our belief that God is shaping that church even as Satan is forging his false church in the foundries of his earthly kingdom. The parables of Jesus and much of the rest of scripture reveal a church growing in the midst of Satan’s activity only to be fully revealed in the last days when the great harvest will take place. Could it be that we are in those days?
Apostasy will come
Scripture is clear that the last days will be characterized by a gradual but very real departure from the faith. Speaking of the day of the Lord, Paul wrote, “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first…” (2 Thess. 2:3). An apostasy is a falling away from one’s stance. It speaks of a departure from a stand that has been taken. In the last days there will be a worldwide falling away from the position revealed in the person of Christ and His word. People will succumb to the bombardment of the world’s philosophy, devised and empowered by Satan. He presents his religion of defiance as an alternative to that offered by God and structures the world system to move people in that direction. Satan is the ultimate politician, constantly checking to see what people desire and cunningly devising ways to satisfy their hunger. This is what Paul is alluding to in Romans 12:2 where he says, “And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The world system of Satan will force gradual change upon the church until it has taken on the nature of the world and its god. Those who reject God’s inner transformation by the Spirit will slowly change into the image the world forces upon them.
Some Christians have the notion that Christianity swept through the known world and remained a unified force for centuries following the death of the apostles. It may surprise many to discover that the church had begun to decay spiritually even in the time of the apostle Paul. The apostle reveals that by the time he wrote his second letter to Timothy all of Asia had turned against him (2 Tim. 1:15). Considering the fact that Paul was the primary teacher of New Testament doctrine at the time, it is astonishing to realize that the area comprising most of modern-day Turkey had turned away from Paul. By about 90 A.D. the letters to the seven churches of Asia in the book of Revelation, reveal that most of the churches had drifted into serious error (Rev. 2-3). The church was already in spiritual decline.
In 2 Timothy Paul predicts the end result of this serious decline in the spiritual condition of the church. He wrote:
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers
of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant revilers, disobedient to parents,
ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control,
brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than
lovers of God; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power;
and avoid such men as these (2Tim. 3:1-5).
We would like to think that Paul is talking about the world in these verses but the context makes it clear that he is referring to the condition of the church in the last days. He says they would be “holding a form of godliness,” indicating that these are religious people who are claiming a form of godliness. He tells Timothy to “avoid such men as these” clearly indicating that they are people in the so-called church. He had written in 1 Corinthians that he did not recommend separation from people of the world (1 Cor. 5:9, 10). His real concern was that we do not associate with “any so-called brother” who is living in sin (2 Tim. 5:11). So, it is clear that this admonition in 2 Timothy is a description of the church in the last days.
Later he says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths” (2 Tim. 4:3,4). This is a clear description of the condition of the church in America today. Sound doctrine has been pushed aside and believers are elevating those teachers who tell them what they want to hear. Gone are the days when the teachers of God’s word open the word of God under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and teach as He leads. We are inundated with storytellers, and motivational speakers who have a Bible on the lectern but seldom refer to it.
Preaching has become "seeker friendly"
And when they do refer to it, they gloss over the intricacies of the word in the name of being “seeker friendly.” The truth about true discipleship and dying to the flesh are seldom referred to because they are not popular with the crowds. Instead of listening to the Holy Spirit many of today’s preachers base their messages on the American principle of supply and demand. They supply what is demanded by the people, tickling their ears with messages designed for the path of least resistance. Many others preach a message that brings in massive amounts of money to the so-called ministries. These are not ministries but are profit-oriented businesses with a religious theme. Of course, there are many sincere teachers of God’s word, but the obvious trend is upsetting to say the least.
Christ will have a victorious church
It is discouraging to hear that the church institution will steadily grow away from Christ and become more and more corrupt as the end times approach. Christ, on the other hand, was adamant about the victorious nature of His church. When He first spoke about the church He said, “I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it” (Matt. 16:18). Those words seem to be a clear promise that Christ would have a victorious church that the power of hell could not overcome. When He prayed His intercessory prayer in the upper room, He seemed just as confident about His church. At one point He prayed, “I do not ask in behalf of these alone but for those who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one, even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me” (John 17:20,21). This is a clear prayer by Jesus in behalf of the church that all who believe in Him would be one.
How can these two things be true? How is it possible that there will be a worldwide apostasy at the same time that the true church is reaching its victorious grand finale? Jesus foretells this amazing enigma in His kingdom parables. In one parable Jesus compared the kingdom to a man who sowed good seed in his field only to be frustrated by his enemy coming at night to sow tare seeds in his field. The next day his servants offered to gather up the tares but he said, “No, lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn’” (Matt. 13:29,30). Later, Jesus interprets the parable to His disciples by explaining that in the end time “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness” (Matt. 13:41).
The tares and the wheat will be mingled
Clearly, Jesus was warning His disciples that in the end time there would be a mingling of the tares and wheat, of the righteous and the unrighteous. In another place Jesus compared the kingdom to a fishing dragnet that gathered fish of every kind. The fishermen gathered the good fish into containers and threw away the bad (Matt. 13:47-50). Again, Jesus is saying that the righteous and unrighteous will be mingled until the time of the harvest, the end time separation of judgment. Jesus knew that the nature of this world would result in a mingling instead of the pure, holy kingdom that He would eventually usher in.
In the seven letters to the churches in the book of Revelation we see clearly that spiritual impurity and rebellion had set in even in those days. But each letter ends with a promise to those who overcome in the midst of this unrighteousness. For example He told the church in Ephesus, “To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7). These overcomers existed in the church in Ephesus to which Jesus gave the admonition, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Rev. 2:4). The lukewarm, complacent church in Laodicea was told, “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne” (3:21). Laodicea was a spiritually dead church and yet there were overcomers in its midst to whom a promise was given.
Two clear trends are developing
All of these passages make it clear that a false church would be prominent in the end times but that a remnant of true overcomers would hold fast to the truth. The bad fish and tares of the parables represent the false believers who would exist alongside of the true believers, the church of Jesus Christ. No doubt some of these believers will remain in the institution of the false church, but many others will separate from it in search of real worship and fellowship, uncontrolled by men.
Today we see two things happening that appear to be an acceleration of this separation between the faithful remnant and the controlling institution. First, we see an obvious trend toward a man-centered, man-controlled institution that has little need of God. Secondly, we see a massive movement away from institutional Christianity toward home churches and other noninstitutional fellowships in which people continue to seek God.
The first of these trends has been developing from the beginning of the church’s existence and is accelerating in recent years. The main-line denominations have maintained their hierarchical control over their membership despite amazing negative developments. I was disheartened by a recent newspaper article that claimed that many people were withdrawing from the Episcopal Church because of its ordination of an openly homosexual priest. The article reported that many of these people were joining the Catholic Church. So, we have an amazing situation in which many are withdrawing from one institution because of one openly homosexual priest and joining another one wracked with controversy over the revelation that many of its priests have been involved in pedophilia and other sexual sins. This is clear evidence that these institutions will exist until the last days continuing in their obvious rebellion against God because many of their members will continue to blindly support these human-controlled organizations regardless of what they do or say.
The real surprise, though, is in regard to evangelical church institutions. In recent years we have witnessed an amazing proliferation of mega churches in the metropolitan areas of the country. These churches are gigantic corporations with a religious theme, whose purpose is to grow by means of church growth principles, utilizing the capitalist system to perfection. They are businesses in every sense of the word, with tithing as a major source of income, trustees to handle the financial and political affairs, programs oriented to the needs of the clientele, and highly paid company executives in the guise of ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
An altar of prosperity and personal success has been built
The message of Christ is presented as long as it fits into the company goals of growth and progress through membership and monetary reward. The message of death to self and true discipleship is sacrificed on the altar of prosperity and personal success. Entertainment has replaced body ministry and self-help programs have replaced the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
The key element in these ventures is strong control from the top down. Most of these churches have completely bought into the one-man pastoral form of leadership with everything flowing from the vision of this person. Most of the glory goes to this person and the institution he has produced through his clever use of American business methods. Many evangelical churches have begun to conform themselves to the massive human institution which will lead to the false church of the last days.
But many people have grown weary of the emphasis on control, entertainment, business motivation, programs, and watered-down Christianity. Many believers truly seek God and are beginning to be dissatisfied with the empty worldliness of the church institution. They seek fellowship in homes, gathering with other saints who are tired of the religious games. The institution, calling itself the church, universally condemns this massive movement away from its control.
An underground church is growing
But, I tell you by the Spirit of the Lord we have only seen the beginning of this massive departure away from the control of religious experts who stake claim to a monopoly over the members of Christ’s body. This movement is much bigger than anyone has been able to assess because these groups are meeting spontaneously, beyond the reach of human measurement. Across this land home churches are sprouting up daily as Christians grow increasingly impatient with the growing apostasy of the institutional church.
Eventually, I believe we will see the church institution grow in physical stature in a direction away from the true message of Jesus Christ. Those who remain in it will have accepted the notion that the church is a human organization controlled by men. Many of them will be true believers who simply have not sought truth but have compromised for personal reasons. Some churches that were part of the institution will abandon their human control and allow Christ to enter.
Like the situation in the church in Laodicea, Christ will knock at the church’s door but on occasion He will gain entrance because of their obedience to truly seek Him and His truth (Rev. 3:20). The trend today is away from allowing Christ to have His way in the church. Most churches simply go about their business using whatever programs and techniques work to bring in the numbers and the money. In some cases pastors are able to establish and run successful “churches” without seeking God in prayer, because they have discovered they can have a measure of business success without Him.
The end time, apostate church will be a large, successful institution functioning in its own power without the need of God. Just as the great cathedrals of Europe stand in their outward beauty without inward spiritual reality, this “church” of the last days will be a great monument to what religious people can accomplish without God.
Church is simply the people of God with Christ as the Guest of honor
The true church of the near future, on the other hand, will be an “underground church” growing by the inner working of the hand of God in the lives of true seekers of His face. We cannot tell exactly what shape it will take but we know it will grow according to certain principles. First, it will be a people who have come to know that the church is the people of God, nothing more, and nothing less. It is people allowing Christ to be the Guest of honor in His church. It is people seeking God with all their hearts, people falling in love with their Lord and serving Him to one another in fellowship. The church is not an institution of man but an organism infused with the life of God. Christ said, “I will build My church” and only what He is building is the true church. When men take over the construction, it ceases to be the church and becomes something of the flesh.
The church will be led by mature believers
Secondly, it will be a people who know that the true leaders of the church are the older more mature believers who have the wisdom and spiritual character to lead the rest. In scripture these are called elders or overseers. This church of the future will have turned aside from “rule” by one man knowing that this concept is unscriptural and leads to serious abuse of control. True shepherds will lead by example and ministry of the word and prayer. True apostles and prophets will be used by God to set things in order and lovingly guide the believers into the fullness of God’s will. The apostles will minister in the local church and between the churches to encourage unity and genuine fellowship (Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:11).
Ministry is the work of all believers, not an elite few
Thirdly, this people will know that ministry is the responsibility of all true believers, not the activity of an elite group of “controllers.” These will understand that ministry is serving Christ to others through acts of love and mature handling of the gifts of the Spirit. They will know that every believer has a responsibility to share Christ through word and deed as the Spirit directs, resulting in the building up of the church in His love (1 Cor. 12-14).
Supernatural oneness
Fourthly, these saints will have a supernatural oneness because they will have turned away from the divisions of the human-controlled institutions to the simplicity of loving one another and caring for one another in Christ. They will know that following Christ means laying down one’s self-life, taking up their cross and following Christ wherever He leads. They will know that life in Christ means accepting the discipline of the Lord and the testing of their faith, which produces the fruit of the Spirit.
They will be a people of the word but they will know that loving one another is more important than doctrines and spiritual ideas. They will not be blown about by winds of doctrine because they will be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ and will allow that love to grow and prosper in fellowship. There may be hundreds of believers in a locality but they will meet in many different homes because their oneness will not be based on institutional control but life in the Spirit. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers will help maintain contact between the groups and facilitate a flowing of Christ’s life throughout the body.
These people will come together, not out of religious duty, but because they love one another and can’t wait to gather with other saints and share Christ. They will eagerly gather because each will know that they are a unique part of the church with something to offer the other members of Christ’s body.
They will not all sit facing one direction to receive a one-way ministry from the elite “ministers,” but will look each other in the eyes, confess their sins one to another, minister love and forgiveness, and pray for one another. They will pray, fellowship, eat together, minister the word, and share the physical and monetary blessings they have been given. They will give as they have purposed in their hearts, not trying to get something in return, but simply because they love one another and want to share. They will not come together to be entertained but to reach out in loving worship to their God and loving fellowship with their brethren.
Evangelism will be Christians presenting the living Christ, not a program
Lastly, this will not be a people who need an evangelism program. They will be so in love with Christ and His children that their life will be contagious and spread like a wild fire through the hearts of fellow seekers of truth. These seekers will find what they have been looking for in the excitement of family life in the body of Christ. Since the church is simply the people of God, no one will be “selling” the agenda of an institution but all will be simply sharing the reality of a risen and living Christ who is available today to all who ask.
The church of the future will be an organic spiritual expression of Christ, not an organization of man. The church in the near future will return to its simple roots away from the large, complex, program-oriented institutions that have become ends in themselves. The emphasis will be away from buildings and programs and toward simple fellowship between simple believers with Christ as the Guest of honor. The church will not be seen as something that happens in that big building down the street, but something happening in the real lives of real people in fellowship with one another under the banner of Jesus Christ.
The church is coming home
The early church began meeting in homes and it is certain the church of the end times will return to homes for fellowship. This is not to say that no large churches will respond to this wave of spiritual restoration. Some of today’s pastors will experience repentance from the lifeless direction of the apostate church, and will abandon themselves to the life-filled awakening of the remnant of God. Usually when that happens, the institution that they were under rejects them in favor of the status quo, but it is certainly possible that entire institutional churches might experience this awakening as well.
To some of you this may be a hard word. On the other hand, most of you will probably receive it as a refreshing dose of hope for the future. The church that Christ is building will indeed be completed and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. The age of the denominations is coming to an end and the age of the underground church is upon us. Let us open our hearts to what the Spirit is saying in these days and respond as He directs. God bless you all.
Lloyd Gardner
Every generation has believed that it was the last one before the coming of Christ. This generation looks at the signs of the times and believes that it will see the coming of the Lord. Worldwide events seem to be moving quickly toward the cataclysmic ending predicted in scripture. What does the future hold for the church? In the light of the world’s spiral downward into moral oblivion, what place will the true church play in the end times? What will that church look like just before the return of its King? Much of this has been a mystery hidden and waiting for the end times to arrive, but much is beginning to be revealed, line upon line and precept upon precept. The true people of God will not be caught by surprise when the age comes to its devastating end, the church reaches its zenith of development, and Christ pierces the clouds in His glory. I have addressed this truth at length in chapter 14, "A New Wineskin" in my book Face to Face.
The prophetic books of the Bible have been sealed up until the arrival of the true time of their fulfillment. Many scholars have claimed to be able to explain these books but their efforts have been incomplete at best and total speculation at the worse. It is my belief that the full interpretation of those books has been withheld, awaiting the time of their realization, when the Holy Spirit will release their full meaning to those who have an ear to hear what He says. The purpose of this letter is to speak to the question of what the church will look like prior to the coming of the Lord. It is our belief that God is shaping that church even as Satan is forging his false church in the foundries of his earthly kingdom. The parables of Jesus and much of the rest of scripture reveal a church growing in the midst of Satan’s activity only to be fully revealed in the last days when the great harvest will take place. Could it be that we are in those days?
Apostasy will come
Scripture is clear that the last days will be characterized by a gradual but very real departure from the faith. Speaking of the day of the Lord, Paul wrote, “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first…” (2 Thess. 2:3). An apostasy is a falling away from one’s stance. It speaks of a departure from a stand that has been taken. In the last days there will be a worldwide falling away from the position revealed in the person of Christ and His word. People will succumb to the bombardment of the world’s philosophy, devised and empowered by Satan. He presents his religion of defiance as an alternative to that offered by God and structures the world system to move people in that direction. Satan is the ultimate politician, constantly checking to see what people desire and cunningly devising ways to satisfy their hunger. This is what Paul is alluding to in Romans 12:2 where he says, “And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The world system of Satan will force gradual change upon the church until it has taken on the nature of the world and its god. Those who reject God’s inner transformation by the Spirit will slowly change into the image the world forces upon them.
Some Christians have the notion that Christianity swept through the known world and remained a unified force for centuries following the death of the apostles. It may surprise many to discover that the church had begun to decay spiritually even in the time of the apostle Paul. The apostle reveals that by the time he wrote his second letter to Timothy all of Asia had turned against him (2 Tim. 1:15). Considering the fact that Paul was the primary teacher of New Testament doctrine at the time, it is astonishing to realize that the area comprising most of modern-day Turkey had turned away from Paul. By about 90 A.D. the letters to the seven churches of Asia in the book of Revelation, reveal that most of the churches had drifted into serious error (Rev. 2-3). The church was already in spiritual decline.
In 2 Timothy Paul predicts the end result of this serious decline in the spiritual condition of the church. He wrote:
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers
of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant revilers, disobedient to parents,
ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control,
brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than
lovers of God; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power;
and avoid such men as these (2Tim. 3:1-5).
We would like to think that Paul is talking about the world in these verses but the context makes it clear that he is referring to the condition of the church in the last days. He says they would be “holding a form of godliness,” indicating that these are religious people who are claiming a form of godliness. He tells Timothy to “avoid such men as these” clearly indicating that they are people in the so-called church. He had written in 1 Corinthians that he did not recommend separation from people of the world (1 Cor. 5:9, 10). His real concern was that we do not associate with “any so-called brother” who is living in sin (2 Tim. 5:11). So, it is clear that this admonition in 2 Timothy is a description of the church in the last days.
Later he says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths” (2 Tim. 4:3,4). This is a clear description of the condition of the church in America today. Sound doctrine has been pushed aside and believers are elevating those teachers who tell them what they want to hear. Gone are the days when the teachers of God’s word open the word of God under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and teach as He leads. We are inundated with storytellers, and motivational speakers who have a Bible on the lectern but seldom refer to it.
Preaching has become "seeker friendly"
And when they do refer to it, they gloss over the intricacies of the word in the name of being “seeker friendly.” The truth about true discipleship and dying to the flesh are seldom referred to because they are not popular with the crowds. Instead of listening to the Holy Spirit many of today’s preachers base their messages on the American principle of supply and demand. They supply what is demanded by the people, tickling their ears with messages designed for the path of least resistance. Many others preach a message that brings in massive amounts of money to the so-called ministries. These are not ministries but are profit-oriented businesses with a religious theme. Of course, there are many sincere teachers of God’s word, but the obvious trend is upsetting to say the least.
Christ will have a victorious church
It is discouraging to hear that the church institution will steadily grow away from Christ and become more and more corrupt as the end times approach. Christ, on the other hand, was adamant about the victorious nature of His church. When He first spoke about the church He said, “I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it” (Matt. 16:18). Those words seem to be a clear promise that Christ would have a victorious church that the power of hell could not overcome. When He prayed His intercessory prayer in the upper room, He seemed just as confident about His church. At one point He prayed, “I do not ask in behalf of these alone but for those who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one, even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me” (John 17:20,21). This is a clear prayer by Jesus in behalf of the church that all who believe in Him would be one.
How can these two things be true? How is it possible that there will be a worldwide apostasy at the same time that the true church is reaching its victorious grand finale? Jesus foretells this amazing enigma in His kingdom parables. In one parable Jesus compared the kingdom to a man who sowed good seed in his field only to be frustrated by his enemy coming at night to sow tare seeds in his field. The next day his servants offered to gather up the tares but he said, “No, lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn’” (Matt. 13:29,30). Later, Jesus interprets the parable to His disciples by explaining that in the end time “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness” (Matt. 13:41).
The tares and the wheat will be mingled
Clearly, Jesus was warning His disciples that in the end time there would be a mingling of the tares and wheat, of the righteous and the unrighteous. In another place Jesus compared the kingdom to a fishing dragnet that gathered fish of every kind. The fishermen gathered the good fish into containers and threw away the bad (Matt. 13:47-50). Again, Jesus is saying that the righteous and unrighteous will be mingled until the time of the harvest, the end time separation of judgment. Jesus knew that the nature of this world would result in a mingling instead of the pure, holy kingdom that He would eventually usher in.
In the seven letters to the churches in the book of Revelation we see clearly that spiritual impurity and rebellion had set in even in those days. But each letter ends with a promise to those who overcome in the midst of this unrighteousness. For example He told the church in Ephesus, “To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7). These overcomers existed in the church in Ephesus to which Jesus gave the admonition, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Rev. 2:4). The lukewarm, complacent church in Laodicea was told, “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne” (3:21). Laodicea was a spiritually dead church and yet there were overcomers in its midst to whom a promise was given.
Two clear trends are developing
All of these passages make it clear that a false church would be prominent in the end times but that a remnant of true overcomers would hold fast to the truth. The bad fish and tares of the parables represent the false believers who would exist alongside of the true believers, the church of Jesus Christ. No doubt some of these believers will remain in the institution of the false church, but many others will separate from it in search of real worship and fellowship, uncontrolled by men.
Today we see two things happening that appear to be an acceleration of this separation between the faithful remnant and the controlling institution. First, we see an obvious trend toward a man-centered, man-controlled institution that has little need of God. Secondly, we see a massive movement away from institutional Christianity toward home churches and other noninstitutional fellowships in which people continue to seek God.
The first of these trends has been developing from the beginning of the church’s existence and is accelerating in recent years. The main-line denominations have maintained their hierarchical control over their membership despite amazing negative developments. I was disheartened by a recent newspaper article that claimed that many people were withdrawing from the Episcopal Church because of its ordination of an openly homosexual priest. The article reported that many of these people were joining the Catholic Church. So, we have an amazing situation in which many are withdrawing from one institution because of one openly homosexual priest and joining another one wracked with controversy over the revelation that many of its priests have been involved in pedophilia and other sexual sins. This is clear evidence that these institutions will exist until the last days continuing in their obvious rebellion against God because many of their members will continue to blindly support these human-controlled organizations regardless of what they do or say.
The real surprise, though, is in regard to evangelical church institutions. In recent years we have witnessed an amazing proliferation of mega churches in the metropolitan areas of the country. These churches are gigantic corporations with a religious theme, whose purpose is to grow by means of church growth principles, utilizing the capitalist system to perfection. They are businesses in every sense of the word, with tithing as a major source of income, trustees to handle the financial and political affairs, programs oriented to the needs of the clientele, and highly paid company executives in the guise of ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
An altar of prosperity and personal success has been built
The message of Christ is presented as long as it fits into the company goals of growth and progress through membership and monetary reward. The message of death to self and true discipleship is sacrificed on the altar of prosperity and personal success. Entertainment has replaced body ministry and self-help programs have replaced the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
The key element in these ventures is strong control from the top down. Most of these churches have completely bought into the one-man pastoral form of leadership with everything flowing from the vision of this person. Most of the glory goes to this person and the institution he has produced through his clever use of American business methods. Many evangelical churches have begun to conform themselves to the massive human institution which will lead to the false church of the last days.
But many people have grown weary of the emphasis on control, entertainment, business motivation, programs, and watered-down Christianity. Many believers truly seek God and are beginning to be dissatisfied with the empty worldliness of the church institution. They seek fellowship in homes, gathering with other saints who are tired of the religious games. The institution, calling itself the church, universally condemns this massive movement away from its control.
An underground church is growing
But, I tell you by the Spirit of the Lord we have only seen the beginning of this massive departure away from the control of religious experts who stake claim to a monopoly over the members of Christ’s body. This movement is much bigger than anyone has been able to assess because these groups are meeting spontaneously, beyond the reach of human measurement. Across this land home churches are sprouting up daily as Christians grow increasingly impatient with the growing apostasy of the institutional church.
Eventually, I believe we will see the church institution grow in physical stature in a direction away from the true message of Jesus Christ. Those who remain in it will have accepted the notion that the church is a human organization controlled by men. Many of them will be true believers who simply have not sought truth but have compromised for personal reasons. Some churches that were part of the institution will abandon their human control and allow Christ to enter.
Like the situation in the church in Laodicea, Christ will knock at the church’s door but on occasion He will gain entrance because of their obedience to truly seek Him and His truth (Rev. 3:20). The trend today is away from allowing Christ to have His way in the church. Most churches simply go about their business using whatever programs and techniques work to bring in the numbers and the money. In some cases pastors are able to establish and run successful “churches” without seeking God in prayer, because they have discovered they can have a measure of business success without Him.
The end time, apostate church will be a large, successful institution functioning in its own power without the need of God. Just as the great cathedrals of Europe stand in their outward beauty without inward spiritual reality, this “church” of the last days will be a great monument to what religious people can accomplish without God.
Church is simply the people of God with Christ as the Guest of honor
The true church of the near future, on the other hand, will be an “underground church” growing by the inner working of the hand of God in the lives of true seekers of His face. We cannot tell exactly what shape it will take but we know it will grow according to certain principles. First, it will be a people who have come to know that the church is the people of God, nothing more, and nothing less. It is people allowing Christ to be the Guest of honor in His church. It is people seeking God with all their hearts, people falling in love with their Lord and serving Him to one another in fellowship. The church is not an institution of man but an organism infused with the life of God. Christ said, “I will build My church” and only what He is building is the true church. When men take over the construction, it ceases to be the church and becomes something of the flesh.
The church will be led by mature believers
Secondly, it will be a people who know that the true leaders of the church are the older more mature believers who have the wisdom and spiritual character to lead the rest. In scripture these are called elders or overseers. This church of the future will have turned aside from “rule” by one man knowing that this concept is unscriptural and leads to serious abuse of control. True shepherds will lead by example and ministry of the word and prayer. True apostles and prophets will be used by God to set things in order and lovingly guide the believers into the fullness of God’s will. The apostles will minister in the local church and between the churches to encourage unity and genuine fellowship (Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:11).
Ministry is the work of all believers, not an elite few
Thirdly, this people will know that ministry is the responsibility of all true believers, not the activity of an elite group of “controllers.” These will understand that ministry is serving Christ to others through acts of love and mature handling of the gifts of the Spirit. They will know that every believer has a responsibility to share Christ through word and deed as the Spirit directs, resulting in the building up of the church in His love (1 Cor. 12-14).
Supernatural oneness
Fourthly, these saints will have a supernatural oneness because they will have turned away from the divisions of the human-controlled institutions to the simplicity of loving one another and caring for one another in Christ. They will know that following Christ means laying down one’s self-life, taking up their cross and following Christ wherever He leads. They will know that life in Christ means accepting the discipline of the Lord and the testing of their faith, which produces the fruit of the Spirit.
They will be a people of the word but they will know that loving one another is more important than doctrines and spiritual ideas. They will not be blown about by winds of doctrine because they will be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ and will allow that love to grow and prosper in fellowship. There may be hundreds of believers in a locality but they will meet in many different homes because their oneness will not be based on institutional control but life in the Spirit. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers will help maintain contact between the groups and facilitate a flowing of Christ’s life throughout the body.
These people will come together, not out of religious duty, but because they love one another and can’t wait to gather with other saints and share Christ. They will eagerly gather because each will know that they are a unique part of the church with something to offer the other members of Christ’s body.
They will not all sit facing one direction to receive a one-way ministry from the elite “ministers,” but will look each other in the eyes, confess their sins one to another, minister love and forgiveness, and pray for one another. They will pray, fellowship, eat together, minister the word, and share the physical and monetary blessings they have been given. They will give as they have purposed in their hearts, not trying to get something in return, but simply because they love one another and want to share. They will not come together to be entertained but to reach out in loving worship to their God and loving fellowship with their brethren.
Evangelism will be Christians presenting the living Christ, not a program
Lastly, this will not be a people who need an evangelism program. They will be so in love with Christ and His children that their life will be contagious and spread like a wild fire through the hearts of fellow seekers of truth. These seekers will find what they have been looking for in the excitement of family life in the body of Christ. Since the church is simply the people of God, no one will be “selling” the agenda of an institution but all will be simply sharing the reality of a risen and living Christ who is available today to all who ask.
The church of the future will be an organic spiritual expression of Christ, not an organization of man. The church in the near future will return to its simple roots away from the large, complex, program-oriented institutions that have become ends in themselves. The emphasis will be away from buildings and programs and toward simple fellowship between simple believers with Christ as the Guest of honor. The church will not be seen as something that happens in that big building down the street, but something happening in the real lives of real people in fellowship with one another under the banner of Jesus Christ.
The church is coming home
The early church began meeting in homes and it is certain the church of the end times will return to homes for fellowship. This is not to say that no large churches will respond to this wave of spiritual restoration. Some of today’s pastors will experience repentance from the lifeless direction of the apostate church, and will abandon themselves to the life-filled awakening of the remnant of God. Usually when that happens, the institution that they were under rejects them in favor of the status quo, but it is certainly possible that entire institutional churches might experience this awakening as well.
To some of you this may be a hard word. On the other hand, most of you will probably receive it as a refreshing dose of hope for the future. The church that Christ is building will indeed be completed and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. The age of the denominations is coming to an end and the age of the underground church is upon us. Let us open our hearts to what the Spirit is saying in these days and respond as He directs. God bless you all.
