Religious Confusion

Why is there such religious confusion today?

The two largest religious bodies on earth are Roman Catholicism and Islam. Most "mainstream" Protestant churches are losing members by the hundreds of thousands! Meanwhile, the Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses are growing rapidly. So are the emotion-laden "Pentecostal" churches, which are gaining many members from the ranks of former Roman Catholics, especially in Central and South America.

What is going on? Where is it all leading?

How can you, personally, be sure that you understand the Truth about God, about eternal life and about the prophetic events that seem to be intensifying every year and affecting our world more and more?

I came to understand, and so can you. Like so many others, I grew up in a small mid-western city in a mainstream Protestant church. My parents, my two sisters and I lived on a tree-lined street in a nice middle-class neighborhood. Most of our neighbors were Protestant—with a few Roman Catholics and Jews mixed in. But we were all mainly alike—middle-class folks living in a pleasant city with shared values and expectations.

Until I reached adulthood and traveled abroad, I was only vaguely aware that the vast majority of people on this earth did not believe—and never have believed—in Christ, or in the teachings of "mainstream" Christianity. And only a very few are acquainted with true biblical Christian teaching.

Today, even in the professing Christian world, significant differences in belief and practice are becoming increasingly apparent to thoughtful people. Many Protestant churches are either ordaining or considering the ordination of homosexuals! Last June, the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States voted to allow its local and regional bodies to ordain homosexuals into their church's various ministries.

This would have seemed absolutely beyond belief and outlandish when I grew up. Yet our concepts of biblical Christianity have been so watered down that this becomes a "ho hum" matter to most professing Christians.

Protestants and Catholics today are increasingly unsure of what they believe. Although belief in the Trinity has long been a cornerstone of their beliefs, many of today's churches now acknowledge that doctrine in only a vague and watered-down manner. Earlier this year, Presbyterian officials "voted to allow the denomination's churches to use the phrase 'compassionate mother, beloved child, and life-giving womb' instead of 'Father, Son, and Holy Spirit' when referring to the Trinity. This was just one of the 12 phrases approved by the Assembly as permissible substitutions for the traditional names of the Godhead, another being 'rock, cornerstone, and temple.' When one California pastor was asked how he felt about the new terminology for the Trinity, he told the Los Angeles Times newspaper, 'You might as well put in Huey, Dewey, and Louie,' That minister is not alone in his sentiments—another conservative Presbyterian theologian and pastor is similarly expressing disgust at what he describes as the denomination's move to 'alter a major doctrine of the Christian faith'" (Agape Press, July 10, 2006).

Of course, most of these people fail to realize that the Trinity itself is not a part of the true Christian faith, but was added later by leaders who hoped to attract new converts by adding to "Christianity" the doctrines of earlier pagan religions.

It is also vital for you to realize that most "mainstream" churches do not acknowledge that we are in the "end times" predicted by the Bible. Mainstream preachers are totally unsure whether or not Christ will literally return to this earth—or, if He returns—whether He will return soon or perhaps a thousand years from now! Note what famous evangelist Billy Graham wrote in his own newspaper column: "Nor do we know when Christ will come back to earth—and the Bible tells us not to try setting the exact date for his coming. Yes, it could be before you finish reading this sentence—but it also could be a thousand years from now" (Charlotte Observer, Sept. 8, 2003).

Millions of professing Christians even believe that there are "many" paths to salvation—whether through Christ or through other means. Well-known pollster George Gallup says, "That high degree of religious tolerance reflects, in part, 'not only a lack of knowledge of other religions but an ignorance of one's own faith.' In some polls, he says, 'you have Christians saying, "Yes, Jesus is the only way" and also, "Yes, there are many paths to God." It's not that Americans don't believe anything; they believe everything' (US News & World Report, May 6, 2002).

However, the Bible states dogmatically that Jesus Christ and His teaching are the only way to salvation, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Jesus Himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). The obvious fact is that this world's people—even most who profess "Christianity"—are in total confusion! Remember, the Bible states that there is a very real Satan, the Devil, "who deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9).

The Apostle Paul explained that the gospel is "veiled" to most people who are perishing, "whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them" (2 Corinthians 4:4). God's word makes it very clear, in several passages, that the vast majority of human beings are not "called" at this time and are "perishing." For they are "blinded" to the Truth of God.

So, what to do?

Frankly, dear friends, the only genuine "key" that will help a person come out of all of this confusion is the willingness to take the Bible literally—letting the New Testament magnify the Old Testament—and to follow the extremely clear teachings and example of Jesus Christ, the Author of true Christianity.

"That's all? That sounds simple!" you may think.

But most of this world's "learned" preachers and theologians have confused people about what Jesus clearly taught—so thoroughly that extremely few people are actually willing to follow Him!

Christians must be willing and able to prove to themselves that the Bible was literally inspired by the God who created all that is—that it is authoritative, revealing the genuine way to eternal life, and explaining the Creator's purpose in putting us here on this earth.

This Tomorrow's World magazine is based on that premise. We are willing to clearly and conclusively prove what the Bible clearly says—to all who are willing to listen. But we do not accept interpretations based on "human tradition" apart from Scripture, or on the fact that "good men" have believed something in ages past. We are willing to believe—and hope that you will be willing to believe—that the Bible actually says what it means and means what it says! We have proved this to ourselves, and we strive to base our lives on it!

One sign of God working with us is our understanding of specific biblical prophecies that are being fulfilled. Most "mainstream" Christians do not recognize the true meaning of the ongoing fulfillment of many prophecies in your Bible. As you study the Tomorrow's World magazine and our other publications, you can perceive this fact—if you are willing. We base our beliefs on the Bible—not on other supposedly "inspired" writings of other men or women. In this magazine, our other publications and our telecast, we simply lay out for you what the Bible very clearly says, and we also help you understand the exciting prophetic events now swirling around us—leading, soon, to the literal Second Coming of Jesus Christ to this earth, as King of kings!

Finally, I would like to offer you our vitally important new booklet, The Bible: Fact or Fiction? This booklet will help you appreciate the fact that the Bible really is inspired and should be the sole guide to Christian beliefs and practices. This booklet will be sent absolutely free and without obligation upon your request. Simply contact our office nearest you and request your copy. Then, most importantly, be willing to act on the information you receive. For we truly are living at the end of an age, and our daily lives will be enormously affected by prophetic events within the next several years. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 13:9).