Chapter 7 God's Call to Evangelism
Many Christians think they are waiting for the revelation of anti-Christ. He has already been revealed (Gr. apokalupto - to take the cover off). Every discerning Christian should know what is entailed in that final Satanic manifestation, although it is not yet fully known to the world. The anti-Christ is the sum total of Satanic counterfeits and denials of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Christ completed the work for our salvation; Satan offers a salvation for which man can work. Christ is the epitome of God's righteousness; Satan's followers are noted in verse 12 as having pleasure in unrighteousness, the opposite of God's justice. God's justice is fully satisfied in Christ, and the most unjust suggestion in the world is that man may merit salvation. This anti-Christian force (the Wicked of verse 8) will be destroyed.
Before the destruction, however, the Bible tells us this system will be consumed. In II Thes 2:8 there is a difference between the definitions of the two words that are used to describe the action taken against this Wicked, which is the sum total and personification of all that is wicked, the amalgamation of all the harlots and abominations that were spawned from the Mystery Babylon of Rev. 17:5.
God will eventually destroy this system, but before that, it says "he will consume it with the spirit of his mouth." If you cross-reference this with Rev 1:16 and Heb 4:12, you will see He is talking about the Word of God. Consuming always entails the gradual removal of the object consumed, but that object is being assimilated into the consumer. When you consume a sandwich, the sandwich gets smaller and smaller, while you are getting bigger and bigger. This consuming of this system started when, after the falling away in the second to fourth centuries, the Wicked was revealed. Before that, evangelism was entirely thrusted toward the Jewish and pagan people. Now a religious force emerges on the scene, and many of the martyrs down the centuries faced this dreaded foe. The Reformers saw the system for what it really is, and the system has not only remained, it has consolidated its forces and is now starting to develop through ecumenical compromise. Yet today few see the tremendous importance of confronting the system and evangelizing those within it. While Jewish and pagan evangelism are still authorized, for Jesus said "all the world" and "every creature," this is the primary confrontation that all Christians should face, but is being addressed only by a very small minority.
All evangelistic endeavor are worthy causes but God's emphasis is not where His Church's emphasis is. All one has to do is compare the personnel and finances available to Jewish evangelism and that available in Roman Catholic evangelism. Yet in spite of the lack of biblical definition of Romanism as a cult and the weak-kneed approach of some pastors who will not even mention the works "Roman Catholic" from their pulpits for fear of antagonizing their community. God is saving Roman Catholics. What He wants you to do is to enter more fully into this program which is His top priority today.
"To the Jew first" (Romans 1:16) was written during the time that God, in His abundant mercy, was still extending mercy to Israel as a nation. This generation of Divine forbearance, in response to Jesus' prayer, "Father, forgive them" continued through the time period of the Book of Acts. Paul, specifically named Apostle to the Gentiles, still went into the synagogue to preach at every available opportunity.
In Acts 28:24-27 we have the third rejection of Christ by a group of Jewish elders. God's Word states that in the mouth of two or three witnesses let everything be established. Paul therefore could state that he would now turn to the Gentiles (verse 28), and while his message was the same (verse 31), God has now ceased to deal with Israel as a nation. He still deals with individual Jewish people, and we rejoice when one of the sons of Abraham comes to true faith in Jesus Christ. But the preponderance of Jewish evangelism, far out of proportion to their numbers and response, has been promoted by Christians who think that they are cashing into the promises of Genesis 12:3 by supporting Jewish ministries. In actual fact, the emphasis has now changed. The whole wicked system (which includes present day Apostate Judaism) must be evangelized, and the most ready mission field most of us can address in our local situations is that of Roman Catholicism, which, because of its squeaky clean pope and humanitarian Mother Teresa has attained an aura of respectability not given her by God, who still calls false religion harlotry and concludes that any theology that supports man-earned salvation is not only grossly humanistic, it is an abomination in God's sight.
Therefore we lovingly and biblically evangelize our Catholic friends, not because theirs is a wicked system, or even because we are burdened for their lost condition. We go forth because He bade us go, and as the believing Church of Jesus Christ goes forth to evangelize, it always uses the Word of God. When people are saved (consumed), they are assimilated into the body of the evangelizer, i.e., into the Body of Christ and the body of the local church, the only scriptural manifestation of His Body here on earth. Evangelism that does not consist in consuming, but in merely achieving some profession of belief from an unknowing sinner and then does not care if he is brought into a local church fellowship is unbiblical and cruel.