As Jesus said the end times will come. We do not know the time when Jesus will return. However, Jesus did tell us the signs that will be present on His imminent return. Specifically in Matthew 24.
Jesus specifically says that signs of the end times are wars taking place and rumours of war. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Jesus goes on to further explain that there will be earthquakes, famines and pestilences. He says that many will betray one another and hate one another, false prophets will rise and deceive many.
In Matthew 7 Jesus gives clear instruction on what true and false disciples look like. Specifically in Matthew 7 v 15 as displayed:
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
Are these signs prevalent today?
Absolutely! Since Israel was formed as a state in 1948 there has been nothing but rumours of war, famines, earthquakes and plenty of false prophets. False prophets look like Christians, they smell like Christians, BUT they are not, they are FAKE!
The book of Amos
We have read through the book of Amos, and it is amazing to see how God still uses the Old Testament today to help us understand that He has seen it all before, and likens todays situations to what we are experiencing today.
Amos was a prophet and a fig tree farmer. He lived in a time where the kingdom of Israel was split in two. The northern and the southern kingdom. Jeroboam was the king of Northern Israel during AMOS’ life. Jeroboam generated lots of wealth and won many battles, however the prophets were not in his favour.
Jeroboam allowed the worship of false Gods and ignored matters of Justice and the neglect of the poor. In fact, he allowed the poor to be sold into slavery. All of this was detestable in the Lords eyes so He would go about and deal with it all.
In Amos 5 v 21 to 22 the Lord says this:
“I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.”
God is saying their faith is a SHAM! Their faith is religious! What God is saying is that Israel just went through the motions of practicing faith but with no conviction. They went to the festivals not in reverence of God, but just to go and turn up, and say well I did it and when they leave, they will go about their lives living in deceit and carrying out unjust acts and forget all about God. This was not what God intended.
For the error of their ways God says He has no regard for their offerings, they are a stench to Him. God through Amos warned Amaziah a priest of Bethel that Jeroboam king of Israel will die by the sword, and Israel will go into exile away from their native land.
Here is that passage in scripture specifically.
Amos 7 v 10 to 11
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. 11 For this is what Amos is saying:
“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,
away from their native land.’”
How was the news delivered by Amos greeted by Amaziah? It was greeted with distain. Amaziah told Amos to remove himself and go back to where he came from. Here is the scripture specifically in Amos 7 v 12 to 13 shown below:
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”
The truth was clearly a hard thing to bear, and it fell on deaf ears, why? Because instead of repenting of their ways, they continued in false humility, however God brought the exile of Israel as He promised back in Amos 5 v 27 as shown below:
“Therefore, I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,”
says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.”
Conclusion
Now this is going to be a long conclusion. How is the book of Amos speaking to us today? The book of Amos should still be heeded with respect. Yes, it is an Old Testament book. However, it confirms that there is nothing new under the sun, God has seen it all before, where so called believers are congregating together even in New Testament times that are displaying false humility. Basically, where church meetings are a sham!
Jesus was not afraid to call out the faults of churches as we know from the book of Revelation. In Revelation 3 Jesus talked of the Church of Sardis. He called them out saying that they appeared alive, but they were actually dead. Let’s take a specific look of what Gods word says in Revelation 3.
Revelation 3
3 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
How is this similar to the days of Amos. Worshippers in Amos’ day would gather, but their faith was dead. It could be said that today so-called believers are gathering but again their faith is dead. We are seeing the end time signs as Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24, for example false prophets showing themselves in plain sight.
We must be vigilant that we are following the Lord and His plan for our lives and His church, we must be careful who we are listening to because Jesus has warned us to watch out for false prophets. False prophets could be leading the church into an artificial state picking and choosing scriptures to follow and also introducing destructive heresies. A church that is manmade not Holy Spirit grown. A church where we hear from man from the pulpit and not God.
Again, God says it clearly once more about false teachers in 2 Peter 2, here is what Peter said.
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.”
The word of God mentions many times of God’s love for us, we know that! But it also speaks of scriptures in 2 Peter 2 v 1 – 3 about false teachers and how we should be wise to them. So how can you protect yourself and your church. Pray for your leaders and pray that they are good stewards of what God has entrusted them with, or if you suspect a false prophet in your mist then pray for them as well. Ask God to protect you and His church.
The good news about the churches that Jesus called out in Revelation in each case of Smyrna, Pergamum, Sardis, Thyatira and Laodicea is this, He said REPENT. Jesus gives them a chance to turn from their false humility.
Your prayers can lead churches to repentance and to a place where truth and justice matter. A place where the pulpit is where we hear from God and what He wants us to hear, not the innuendoes of man trying to protect themselves in their own strength.
Keep praying and pray some more and wait and see what happens! Things will happen BECAUSE prayer is powerful and God is listening to you.