Pastoral Letter 28 Feb 2021

My dear readers,


Signs BEFORE the Second Coming of Christ (4)

“There Comes a Falling Away First”

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4: “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” [Emphasis added]

The word for "falling away" is "apostasy." It is a reference to the Christian church which will fall away and reject the Lord Jesus Christ and His teachings. It cannot refer to other religions as the context is about the Christian Faith. All other religions of the world are already under condemnation and in total spiritual darkness. For the church to fall away, it has to begin with being in the right relationship with God. The Christian faith is the only true faith that is right with God as it originated from God. It falls away when it turns its back on Christ and God. It denies the Bible by rejecting its doctrines such as the perfect Bible (undermining the doctrine of the perfect God). It preaches the health-and-wealth gospel (undermining the doctrine of salvation by Christianizing carnality), and believing in Christ is not enough as one has to complete one’s salvation by doing Christian good works such as attending church, be baptized, partake the Lord’s Supper, etc.

The time in which the falling away occurs is before the First Resurrection of the saints and the Rapture as verses 1 and 2 make abundantly clear. Paul taught the doctrine of the First Resurrection and the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. False teachers had infiltrated the church in Thessalonica. They taught that the First resurrection and the Rapture had already passed and the believers in the Thessalonica church had been left behind. Paul had to stop this false teaching as it meant that the believers were not actually believers if they missed the Rapture. They were devastated. To think that one is not saved will destroy the desire to serve and worship. There is no more fellowship with other believers. The Apostle Paul made it very clear to all believers that one of the signs before Rapture occurs is the falling away of Christianity. Christianity had yet to reach the rest of the world in the first century A.D. But when it did, the turn of the 20th century was the beginning of the fall.

The initial murmuring for a one-world church arose from a practical necessity in missions work. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, missionaries from different denominations served in the same cities far away from home. They were lonely as they witnessed in a foreign land, adapting to a different climate, language, and culture. These missionaries fellowshipped and encouraged one another. One of the topics that came up was expediency and cost-saving in missions work. They reasoned that if our denominations were to unite as one, since we share the same gospel, we would save a lot of money. There would not be duplication of work and resources in missions work.

This idea was mooted to their respective denominational missions organizations. It was well received. From that moment onwards, the initiative to form a world body came from the top of these organizations. It went on smoothly for a while until it was disrupted by the 1st World War (1914-1918). All communications among the Christian denominations stopped. After the war, the movement revived. Then it was interrupted again by the 2nd World War that lasted from 1939 to 1945. However, during this period the leaders of these denominations did not stop communicating even though their political leaders did. After the war, the urgency propelled the leaders of these major denominations (Anglicans and Methodists) to expedite the formation of the world body because the war ended with the explosion of two atomic bombs that killed hundreds of thousands within a split second. There must not be a 3rd World War and the one-world church could play a major role to ensure this.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) was founded in 1948. It is 73 years old this year. This movement has already garnered to her side the majority of the mainline denominations and most of the independent churches like Baptists, Pentecostalists and Charismatics. They will continue to gain ground. The purpose was to have a one-world religion. It will succeed as the Word of God has prophesied. The Ecumenical Movement is another name for the WCC. The Roman Catholics are not official members yet. They have been observers since the completion and publication of the Vatican II Council in 1966. Based upon the Vatican II Council, the heart of Roman Catholicism remains unchanged (i.e. their doctrines remain the same). But their approach toward the Protestants has "softened." The Protestants are called "separated brethren" as opposed to heretics before. People from other faiths are called "hidden brethren."

The reach of the WCC is through her national arms found in almost all major cities of the world. They are called National Council of Churches. The impact of this ecumenical movement is devastating. [The following is a quote from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Council_of_Churches]:

“The WCC arose out of the ecumenical movement and has as its basis the following statement:

The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior according to the scriptures, and therefore seek to fulfill together their common calling to the glory of the one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

It is a community of churches on the way to visible unity in one faith and one eucharistic fellowship, expressed in worship and in common life in Christ. It seeks to advance towards this unity, as Jesus prayed for his followers, "so that the world may believe". (John 17:21)

The WCC describes itself as "a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service". It has no head office as such, but its administrative centre is at the Ecumenical Centre in GenevaSwitzerland. The organization's members include denominations which claim to collectively represent over 500 million people across the world in more than 110 countries.” 

A sample of its global impact was that in 1994 more than 20 evangelical Christians and Roman Catholic leaders co-authored and co-signed a paper which states that evangelicals and Roman Catholics are brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. Two of the better known evangelical Christian leaders who signed included the late J. I. Packer and the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, the late Bill Bright. The paper was entitled “Evangelicals and Catholics Together.” Roman Catholics are not to be witnessed to. Instead, both sides are to witness together so that the world may come to know Jesus by this unity. In 1997, a follow-up paper was drafted by about the same candidates who drafted the first. This paper tried to patch up the loopholes found in the first. The paper highlights their position of what the gospel message is despite their major unresolved differences which included:

  • The church as an integral part of the Gospel (salvation by attending church - Roman Catholic-RC) or the church as a communal consequence of the Gospel (Evangelical-E).
  • The church as visible communion (E) or invisible fellowship of true believers (all who attend church are believers-RC).
  • The sole authority of Scripture (sola scriptura) (E) or Scripture as authoritatively interpreted in the church (RC).
  • The “soul freedom” of the individual Christian (E) or the Magisterium (teaching authority) of the community (RC).
  • The church as local congregation (E) or universal communion (RC).
  • Ministry ordered in apostolic succession (RC) or the priesthood of all believers (E).
  • Sacraments and ordinances as symbols of grace (E) or means of grace (salvation by baptism and taking the Lord’s Supper-RC).
  • The Lord’s Supper as eucharistic sacrifice (Bread and cup literally transforms into the actual flesh and blood of Christ-RC) or memorial meal (E).
  • Remembrance of Mary and the saints (E) or devotion to Mary and the saints (RC).
  • Baptism as sacrament of regeneration (RC) or testimony to regeneration (E).

[Taken from https://www.firstthings.com/ article/1994/05/evangelicals-catholics-together-the-christian-mission-in-the-third-millennium] – The identifications of “E” or “RC” are added.

The above differences are not minor doctrines. These are differences between a believer and an unbeliever. Take baptism as an example. The Roman Catholics believe that a person is saved by water baptism (i.e. baptism as a sacrament of regeneration). Evangelicals believe that believer’s baptism is a testimony of salvation. How can they be called brothers and sisters in Christ?! This is one of the fruits of the ecumenical movement. It is a clear evidence of the falling away of Christianity.

The ecumenical movement is getting stronger. It will evolve and when the falling away reaches its apex, it will turn into the harlot church of Revelation 17. The WCC’s 11th Assembly will take place in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022. “In a world crying out for justice and peace, the theme of the 2022 assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC), ‘Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity,’ speaks of hope for a future in which resources are shared, inequalities are addressed and all can enjoy dignity, according to a new publication reflecting on the assembly theme.”

Their members – “WCC member churches can be found in all regions of the world and include most of the world's Orthodox churches (Eastern and Oriental), as well as African Instituted, Anglican, Assyrian, Baptist, Evangelical, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Moravian, Old-Catholic, Pentecostal, Reformed, United/Uniting and Free/Independent churches, Disciples of Christ and Friends (Quakers).” [Source: https://www.oikoumene.org/news/ world-council-of-churches-assembly-theme-urges-an-ecumenism-of-the-heart]



Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service,

Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew
Advisory Pastor


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