First of all, a warm greeting to all the brothers and sisters who sincerely seek to exalt and proclaim the Gospel of salvation according to the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the peace of God be with you, and may His Holy Spirit guide you today and in the days to come. I especially ask God to grant us a humble heart, inclined to receive the truth, to question the doctrines of men, and to allow the Spirit to lead us rather than our own earthly wisdom.
How wonderful is the God of the Bible who tells us: “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done” so that it may serve as a light in the midst of the vast and dark ocean of the world. For our Father does not only announce what is to come regarding events; He also does so regarding our own spiritual state. This is why the message to the church in Laodicea has never been more relevant and urgent for everyone who self-proclaims as a follower of Jesus Christ than it is today.
Brothers, I have been unable to avoid noticing the growing apostasy invading the churches. With great concern, I see how many leaders point out and condemn growing corruption yet seem incapable of seeing the degradation taking place within their own walls. On the other hand, I observe with astonishment the spiritual blindness of many brethren who frequent churches where the daily bread is dissolution and worldly enjoyment, which they gladly accept as spiritual food. When they hear doctrine, they feel that the service “did not awaken something” in them, in contrast to the days when the music is especially stimulating or when the pastor prophesies future blessings and abundance.
The Apostle Paul well announced under inspiration: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” Likewise, Scripture announces to us: “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness”.
The sad condition of modern churches teaches us something that I hope many of my brothers will meditate upon in their time of study: God has, definitively, a remnant. In all churches, there are servants who desire to serve God with all their heart, and I have the firm conviction that God will do everything so that those souls find the path that leads to the Gate.
In the same way, let us understand that there are many who, in word and deed, do all they can to astonish and make themselves appear holy and pious in the eyes of men, but in whose hearts there is nothing but a hunger for power and money. It is astonishing that so many who proclaim being slaves of Jesus Christ are so conformed to the world, to the point of including worldly practices inside the temples, becoming drunk with the love of money, sitting in ecumenical councils, and partaking in political aspects for the sole purpose of exercising power and enforcing religion—leaving aside the freedom of conscience that God has given us, expecting us to turn to Him out of love and not through coercion. Let us pray for these people and ask God that those who do these things out of ignorance may be converted, and also that a condemnatory attitude toward them does not come upon us, for we already have a just Judge.
Unfortunately, this chain of events is already in motion and is prophetic. No human hand will be able to stop the darkness that, even today, is covering the world and which, ironically, is emanating from many churches. One thing is certain, brothers: many who today call us brothers and assert love for Christ will be persecutors tomorrow. But be of good cheer; for if God announced all these things beforehand, and if they are already coming to pass, it can only mean that the outcome will be exactly as He also foretold: evil will be obliterated, and God's people will be redeemed and saved.
For this reason, I exhort you: study your Bibles personally. God is our personal Savior; let our relationship with Him and His Word be just as personal. Redemption is soul by soul, not collective. God sees the heart of His servants, not the number of those who profess to be such. Let us study our Bibles, and let it be the Word that indicates our duty toward God and toward our brethren.