There is a very sobering portion of the Bible that should be read by every person who believes they are a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. Following are the words Jesus proclaimed on Judgment Day to those who stood before Him. They had been deceived in the Name of Jesus:

Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name have done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.[1]

Jesus also spoke to the masses simply so there was no excuse for those who he was teaching to misunderstand His teachings. These messages are known as the parables.

I had a very close friend of mine who was on the Board of Understand The Times from the beginning. UTT would not have come into existence if it was not for him. He was always a great encouragement to me.

He was diagnosed with a very fast type if spreading prostate cancer that destroyed his body from the inside out. The last time I spent time with him was holding his hand as I sat next to his hospital bed. He shared with me a vision the Lord had given him while he was in the process of dying.

I have been reminded of what he said over the past few days as events are unfolding that indicate the demise of a well-known fellowship of churches that will shock the world and the church when the news get out. John related to me a particular story and then compared this with what he saw in his vision.

John had a lovely wife and three daughters that he loved dearly. While God had never given him a son, he had a friend how had a boy who later grew into a man. This young man wanted to be a police officer but was rejected by the cites that were near his home. Finally, he was able to enter the police academy in a city in another state.

This young man, I will give him the name of Fred, excelled at the academy and graduated in record time. He was given his uniform and even a squad car before the graduation. The day he was to attend his own graduation he was late leaving his place to get to the graduation location. As he had a police car for transportation, he sped off with flashing lights and headed down the road, passing several cars in front of him.

When he arrived at the parking lot, a car pulled up and a hostile man jumped out his car and attempted to perform a citizen’ s arrest. When Fred was asked for his name he gave a fictiious name. The man took down the plate number of the squad car and reported the incident.

You may have already figured this out. Fred did not graduate from the Police Academy. He had gone through the training and had done very well. He may well have gone to the top of the ranks. While the head of the Police Department in that city loved Fred and wanted him to be successful, the one act was all that was needed in order to disqualify him from the Police Force.

After John told me this, he had tears in his eyes, and so did I. I will never forget what he said. I quote: “Many that you and I know, some who are well known pastors in well-known pastors will be just like Fred. They are driving down the road, everything is great and their churches have never been bigger or better. The problem is, while they believe they are following Jesus, instead they are driven by their own pride.”

Pride has been the downfall for many:

According to the scriptures: Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16-18).

Or another way of saying the same thing is found in the Old Testament:

Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD (Ezekiel 30:6).

Very soon, our readers will understand why this commentary is being written. The Lord revealed to John before he died what was going to happen. He showed me in the Bible the confirmation. God will not be mocked, will he?

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7).