Pharisaical Churches in the Last Days (Part One)
The first-mention of the word "hypocrite" is found in this verse:
Job 8:13 "So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish:"
So, by definition, hypocrites are “all that forget God”. That means that they used to know God, but somewhere along the way they have forgotten him. In fact, we also find a word-for-word reference in:
Psalms 9:17 "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."
This verse connects “hypocrites” in Job 8:13 to “the wicked” in Psalms 9:17 through the phrase "all that forget God", and it tells us that all the nations that forget God are hypocritical nations. More importantly, it also tells us that every hypocrite shall be turned into hell.
Luke 8:13 "They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away."
This is a verse taken from the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-9; Mark 4:2-9; Luke 8:4-8), and it goes along with the definition of what a “hypocrite” is according to Job 8:13. Jesus taught us in the Parable of the Sower that there are four types of grounds whereby the hearts of every man and woman may be represented:
Type 1: The wayside ground;
Type 2: The stony ground;
Type 3: The thorny ground; and
Type 4: The good ground.
Out of the four types of ground, only the "good ground" is capable of bringing forth fruit by the "seed", which is the word of God (Luke 8:11). According to Luke 8:15, the good ground is an "honest and good heart". This is the type of heart in every born again believer. That is also to say: the word of God cannot take root and bear fruit apart from an honest and good heart. Jesus talked about the scarcity of faith on earth when he shall come the second time.
Luke 18:7-8 "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
He asked a question in this verse: "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" The answer is an obvious 'No'. This is not only a prophecy that Christianity shall turn apostate in the last days before the Son of man comes back to earth the second time, but it also shows us the type of hearts on earth in the last days. The time will come when an honest and good heart will be very hard to find. The vast majority of the population will either have the way side heart, the stony ground heart, or the thorny ground heart. In like manner, Apostle Paul confirmed by the Spirit of God that there will be a "falling away" first, BEFORE "that day" comes:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"
The meaning of "that day" is given in verse 1 as "our gathering together unto him". That would be the second coming of the Lord and the rapture. The term “falling away” in this verse is a reference to the “fall away” in Luke 8:13, referring to the Type 2 “stony ground” heart. Therein is a prophecy from the word of God revealed unto us: The Type 2 heart ("stony ground") would be the face of Christianity on earth in the last days, just before the great and notable day of the Lord Jesus Christ when he shall come in the clouds to gather God's elects unto himself. Churches all over the world would primarily be made up of such false converts, ones that would "fall away" in time of temptation. Referring to the hypocrite (verse 13):
Job 8:16-17 "He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden. 17 His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones."
Here, the Spirit of God compares the hypocrite to a plant in the garden. He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth, but it is deceptive. In the parable of the sower:
Matthew 13:5-6 "Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away."
The seed that fell upon stony places, even though it did bring forth a plant from the ground, the plant did not endure. Because there is no deepness of earth, the roots are wrapped about the heap, and the plant cannot draw from the moisture in the earth. Eventually, when the sun was up, the plant was scorched and it died. The word of God when sown in any type of heart will generate a reaction. In the case of men with Type 2 hearts, the word of God will produce hypocrites out of those stony ground hearts.
Matthew 13:20-21 "But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended."
The hypocrite will for a while believe, but when tribulation arises for the word’s sake, he will by and by be offended at the word of God, and will fall away in the time of temptation. These are the “stony ground” heart Christians who anon with joy when they first heard the word, but as soon as tribulation arises for the word’s sake, their joy will disappear as quickly as when they had first received it. Their so-called “faith” did not last. These are the Christians who will forget God.
Matthew 23:13 "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."
Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees "hypocrites" over and over for seven times in Matthew 23. That is to say that the scribes and Pharisees also had Type 2 "stony ground" hearts. Knowing that the church in the last days will predominantly consist of Christians who will “fall away”, therefore, this in itself is prophetic of the type of Christianity on earth in the last days i.e. it will no longer be pure Bible Christianity but the religion of the scribes and the Pharisees. How do I know? Where do we see that happening in our churches today? More to come in Part Two.