A WATERSHED HOUR
The Church America is in a “watershed” hour.

The spiritual atmosphere is shifting. Thought patterns, narratives and paradigms are being sealed into whole networks of Christians; where pastors, pundits, prophets and intercessors not only believe false storylines, but care little for cautionary scriptures, and heartily draw each other into the destructive spirits attached to the lies. There is no argument, no amount of reason, no logical presentation of the facts that can budge individuals from the realities that so many are clothing themselves with.

When a full web of deceit has been allowed to infiltrate the minds of any collection of humanity, (ie. married couple, family, small group, church fellowship, or denomination) the perverted world-view then determines the truth. The deceived bend the scriptures to reenforce the perverted truth, and scriptures that militate against the perverted truth are marginalized and ignored altogether.

This is where the household of God finds ourselves in 2025 – entranced by the myths of a gilded delusion.

False, collective mind-sets have overtaken the people of God throughout history. From the tower of Babel, the days of Noah, the Children of Israel, to the days of the prophets, to the church in Corinth, Sardis and Laodicea, to the crusades, to the civil war Southern Baptists in our own United States, and the Lutherans, and Catholics in 1930’s Germany, and Italy – whole elements of the people of God have repeatedly veered into degenerate beliefs about the ways of the Lord.

FALLING AWAY
The Bible often refers to this phenomenon as “falling away” from faith in God.

“These ones have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they fall away.” (Mark 4:17) (See also Luke 8:13)

“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to FALL AWAY.” (John 16:1)

“Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never FALL AWAY.” (Matthew 26:33) (See also Mark 14:27)

“Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men and FALL from your firm grasp on the truth.“ (2 Peter 3:17)

“Then many will FALL AWAY into sin, and they will betray one another, and hate one another.” (Matthew 24:10)

“Blessed is everyone who does not FALL AWAY on account of Me.” (Matthew 11:6)

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for (the Day of the Lord) will not come unless the FALLING AWAY comes first…” (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never FALL AWAY…” (2 Peter 1:10)

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1)

“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:11)

We can be easily deceived by our uncrucified mind. The ability to see when one is falling away is a supernatural work of the Spirit. Our flesh will distort our reality, and the nature of the faithlessness that’s truly in our hearts. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)

PSALM 20 • SOME TRUST IN HORSES
In Psalm 20, David notes that many in his day “put their boast in chariots, and horses” (v.7), and had “bowed down” (to another) and “fallen away” from “trusting in the Name of the Lord” v.8. This erosion of faith; whereby the covenant people of God are seduced by lies, and place their ultimate trust in another power of provision other than YHWH is routinely identified as “IDOLATRY” in both the Old, and New Testaments.

THE IMAGE OF GOLD
One of the most prominent pictures of idolatry is vividly detailed in the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s “image of gold”, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

After years of hearing of the Lord’s judgments upon the nation of Judah, the Jews had finally been deported to Babylon. There, the covenant people of God would spend the next generation, outside of the land of promise, under the unrighteous reign of a series of pagan kings. In Daniel chapter 3, we learn that the first king, Nebuchadnezzar, has erected a towering statue on an open plain near the city. Furthermore, the king is demanding that all of the inhabitants of his realm “bow down” to this image upon his command. Undoubtably, many Jews in Babylon heard this decree, and, in varying states of faith and unbelief, were faced with a choice: “In light of YHWH’s first commandment, how do we respond to this summons to extol the glory of Nebuchadnezzar?”

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.” (Exodus 30:4-6)

Apparently, many “bowed down” (Exodus 30:5; Psalm 20:7; Daniel 3:6) to the king’s demand to worship his image. Perhaps they rationalized that they were simply showing proper respect for their new ruling authority. Or maybe, many had already begun to embrace the Babylonian cult-legends, ultimately believed the lie that by submitting to the false glory of the king of Babylon, they would be sufficiently provided for, and protected… (who knows?) What they didn’t perceive was that they were actually taking the next step in their long process of “falling away” from their God; the One Who had been pleading with them, and their father’s fathers through the prophets. Undoubtably, many of these Jews had a correct belief in Who YHWH was, but in the heat of self-preservation their theology was exposed as a rhetorical construct and not a practical reality that shaped how they lived their day to day lives. With meager faith in YHWH, many children of Judah capitulated to Nebuchadnezzar’s orders, perhaps even donning fashionable golden-image jewelry, or chanting popular, emotional phrases, and prostrated themselves before a demonic entity.

Though many tragically bowed down to the image on the plain in those days, Daniel records that three would not. There were three who saw the moment for what it was. In spite of the pervasive cult beliefs, the peer pressure, the Facebook memes, and perhaps even arguments from their own teachers – these three saw Nebuchadnezzar’s executive order as an affront to the power and glory that belonged to their God.

Of the thousands who were on the plain in that day, only three passed the test in the courts of heaven.

FALLING AWAY HAS CONSEQUENCES
The story of the “golden image” is much more than a quaint Bible story about three noble young men who made a wise choice. It was a significant day of judgment upon the people of God. One that would lead to potential reward and blessing for some, and consequence and additional curse for others.

Over the last several weeks, as our authoritarian President has dictated that our nation honor the birthday of the flag, the army, and his own life, (a demand that would have sounded familiar to Nebuchadnezzar, and many other self-exalting supremacists throughout human history including Mao, PW Botha, Pinochet, Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi, Kim Jung Un, Stalin etc. – all who held military parades on their own birthday) the Lord has brought the American Church into an hour of judgment no less pointed than what Shadrach, Meschac and Abednego were faced with. The Lord is looking us in the eye, and confronting us with our own idolatry. In a very troubled, and tumultuous cultural context, He’s issuing the pointed question to our souls: “Who will you honor? Will you put your nimble, daily trust in Me? Or will you ‘bow down’ and hail another carnal king who promises to provide for you, protect you, and make you a great people?”

Simply put, the Lord is bringing us to a moment when He is testing the nature, and strength of our faith.

PROFESSED FAITH vs. CRUCIFIED FAITH
The faith we want, and need to have in this hour, must be more than a correct propositional statement. It needs to be more than orthodox dogma about Jesus. In Matthew 16, Peter declared what was true about Who Jesus was, truth that Jesus even affirmed as being “revealed by the Father” (Matthew 16:17). But in the minutes after this inspired assertion, as Jesus described what was about to happen to the Messiah, “doctrinally correct Peter”, is found rebuking Jesus! He openly opposed the way that Jesus was describing – the way of humility, crucifixion, death, and abject faith in the will of the Father. Peter let the prominent cultural legend about the mission of the Messiah to determine his belief, and even override the expressed Words of the Messiah, Himself! His narrative had the Messiah violently overthrowing pagan oppression. Jesus was indicating that both pagan oppression and religious orthodoxy were about to put Him on a cross. It was oil and water in Peter’s mind. He had no template for what Jesus was talking about. Death meant failure and loss. Victory looked like spiritual, moral, and governmental domination.

Peter’s ideologies toppled all the more as Jesus underscored the way of true anointing: Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)

This was Jesus’ vision of robust, living faith: to lay down one’s life, without complaint, and to trust that the Father would receive the complete offering of self, along with all of one’s hopes for self-glory, self-sustenance, self-determination, self-justification, and self-gratification, and raise us up in the same Spirit of Christ, so that we share in the same glory; the same authority; and the same character as Jesus, Himself. Jesus was saying that He was about to offer His Father “obedience to the point of death” (Philippians 2:6-8) and by it, the Father would see to it that Jesus’ covenant love, mercy, and leadership would be extended to the whole world. Complete surrender of the impulse of self to the Father, even to the point of death, was the way Jesus was going to extend His Kingdom, from Jerusalem, to Galilee, to Syria, to Turkey, to Rome, to Europe, to the Americas, to all of Africa, China, the Islands – in person after person, and ekklesia after ekklesia.

It takes a lot of real faith to believe this – both, from a global / missions perspective, as well as from a daily, personal perspective. The way seems small, too slow, and too dangerous. It takes faith to believe that there is a Father in heaven Who sees and rewards every little extension of kindness, forgiveness and sacrifice with His favor, and His “dunamis” power.

It takes faith to believe that poverty of spirit, meekness, mourning, and asking for forgiveness is going to extend Jesus’ reign on the earth. In a dog-eat-dog (X, formerly TWITTER) world, it takes trust to display love when everyone around you is hating; to rejoice while everyone else is raging; to walk in peace while everyone is declaring war; to be patient while everyone is seizing the moment; to extend kindness after you’ve been vilified; to operate in goodness while those around you are compromising with holiness; to be gentle when everyone else is taking up the sword; and to surrender self, when everyone is urging you to take what’s rightfully yours.

But this is the real, moment-by-moment world the Lord calls us to manifest faith within… And what I’ve just outlined above, is what true faith looks like to Jesus. To not possess this type of faith is to either not have faith, or to have FALLEN AWAY from real faith.

“When the Son of Man comes, will He find real faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

This is also the type of faith that Paul describes that many will fall away from in (2 Thessalonians 2:3); a faith that both believes the true things about Jesus, and willingly lays down our selfish lives down unto the increase of His glory within the context of a hostile world.

And this is where, in this crucible of faith-analysis, that we, as a people find ourselves. For ten years our family has been challenged by one man to assert self, rather than deny self. He has openly, and daily challenged the Body of Christ to cheer words and ways that are antithetical to Christ. He’s goaded us to “fight like hell!” Seize your rights Curse! Revile! Push! Shove! Demand your own way! Condemn! Never forgive! Never admit your mistakes! Murder! Abuse! Justify your fleshly impulses! Crave! Take! Lust some more! Rage! Deceive! Alienate! Divide! Conquer! Exalt self! And, especially, at every opportunity, “exalt me!”

The followers of Christ have been selectively targeted to compromise the integrity of their wholehearted allegiance to the Father. Their trust has been assailed with temptations that are as real as Jesus’ temptations in the desert. (See Luke 4) It’s been a decade-long barrage on the Church. Every day our collective group-speak about what is evil, and what isn’t moves a centimeter – until one day, the voice of murder, lust, pride and impatience can wait no longer and openly makes us an offer: “All this power and glory I will give You… if You will bow down before me.” (Luke 4:6-7)

This is the day that is upon us – a day when the devil’s barter is seen for what it is. “Worship me! Worship my power and might! Worship my authority to not only rule the nation, but rule the earth! Hail my way of hostility, pride, self-assertion and covetousness. Acknowledge that my way – the abusive way of might – the way of Peter in (Matthew 16) – is the right way – and even God’s way.”

You’ll notice that Jesus’ answer to the devil in (Luke 4) is the same as it was to Peter in (Matthew 16). “Get behind Me, Satan!”

Selah

Selah, some more…

Would that this had been our family’s response to our President’s latest appeal to “bow down” and honor him, and his display of might and power. Would that our family would learn that Jesus’ response in both of these instances is the “real faith” that the “Son of Man” (Luke 18:8) will be looking for at the end of the age. “No. I won’t bow down to you and your contra-Kingdom definition of power, your false promises of glory, and your hostile way of self-determination. Get thee behind me, satan!”

There was a day when many children of Israel, who had celebrated the first Passover, put their trust in the familiarity, pomp, and empty promises of a deity represented by a golden calf. (Exodus 32:28) Even after being threatened by Moses, 3000 would not repent, and instead laid down their lives for their idol.

There was a day when 10 children of Israel put their trust in their own ability to win the day, and would not go into the land because of the giants (Numbers 14). All ten of them, and their families died outside of the land promised to them by YHWH.

The Lord has been giving us such a choice in these days. Will we continue to extol and vaunt the way of one who is promising us greatness through carnal strength and self-determination? Or will we humble ourselves, put self in the grave, and walk in the noble, incorruptibility of our faith, daily being made into the image of the One we long for?

This is the ultimatum that the Lord has put before us.

Allow me to be straightforward.

It’s 2025. If you’re hailing Trump, defending his arguments of carnal selfism, casually offering him displays of adoration, you have taken the devil’s bait; you are bowing to Nebuchadnezzar’s image of gold; you have fallen away from faith in God.

It’s vital that you know what your approbation is communicating to the Son of Man:

A. Your “boast” in the Lord (Psalm 20:7) is more rhetoric, than daily, practical, Biblical reality.

B. You’ve compromised your allegiance to the way of Christ. In fact, you’re “bowing down” (Psalm 20:8) to a king who is contraChrist.

C. You’ve “fallen away” (Psalm 20:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:) from heaven’s definition of faith in God.

D. You need to return to pure, and sufficient faith in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:20) The Lord knows there are grim consequences to “bowing down and falling away”…

“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief FALL AWAY from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12-13)

“They have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they FALL AWAY, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” (Hebrews 6:5-6)

1. Your adulation will cause you to side-step the faith-cultivating process that Holy Spirit is working in the Bride through the Sermon on the Mount. Consequently, you will not have a breathing, adroit faith that will be sufficient for the “troubled” day in which we’re living. You will lack the humble responsiveness to the Lord that will keep you safe from losing your obedient love for the Lord.

2. The spirit of delusion (2 Thessalonians 2:11) is a bonafide threat to your Christlikeness, and to your salvation. In apologizing for this man’s demonic spirit, you are being beguiled by greater and more self-satisfying lies. You will defend the indefensible. Truth-be-told, if you’re reading this with an argument in your spirit, you already are. And ultimately, you will encourage others deeply into these contra-Christ thoughts and behaviors. This is the sure, scriptural, mathematical pathway to destruction traversed by the envious, those filled with strife, deceit, malice, insolent, arrogant, unfeeling, and unmerciful.

“Just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil… without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling, and unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve, and encourage others to practice them.” (Romans 1:28-32)

“Consequently GOD SENDS ON THEM A DELUDING INFLUENCE so that they will believe what is false.” (2 Thessalonians 2:11)

“For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that THEY ARE THE ENEMIES OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19)

“They are pure vanity, the work of delusion and error. When the day of their visitation comes, they will be destroyed.” (Jeremiah 51:18)

What does being given over to a spirit of delusion look like in a soul, a community, and/or a culture?

12 Signs and Consequences of a Christian Being Given Over to a sPirit of Delusion:

1. You cannot also be filled with the Holy Spirit

2. You will not crave the fruit of the Spirit – you will crave and justify the fruit of the flesh

3. You will (increasingly?) suffer (literally) the natural, compounding consequences of unrighteousness

4. You will not be able to rightly bear a cross; you will have no means of true discipleship in Christ, and will therefore have no means to cultivate increased living faith in Christ Jesus

5. You will be found testifying to things that actually harm the reputation of God, and harm others.

6. You will seek out greater and greater religious zeal to make up for the lack of Spirit power in your life

7. You will listen to the destructive and divisive arguments/doctrines of demons

8. You will increasingly NOT walk in the light of honestly, vulnerability, poverty of spirit, humility, meekness etc., but instead walk in darkness, shame, isolation, and evil suspicion

9. You will fill your self with more and more of a “curse” – that will actually often manifest itself as “cursing”

10. “Prophetic” words (charismatic), and Biblical teaching (dispensational) are more and more about “saving self”, and less and less about exalting Jesus, or even mentioning Jesus at all.

11. Daily intimate fellowship with Jesus and His Word, and prayer (watching and praying) becomes more and more burdensome, and the invitation to political, social, ethical, religious zealotry becomes more and more appealing.

12. Ultimately, the terms of your own covenant with Jesus are on the table, and you find yourself questioning key elements of the gospel for yourself, and others.

CONCLUSION
After ten years of this man’s vanity, deceit, lust and malicious words, the Lord is saying to our 21c blind, Laodicean spirit: “If you’re celebrating this man with no alarm about the (1 John 2:16) antiChrist spirit that’s in his soul, you’re giving him what he wants – ‘worship’; worship that only belongs to Me. This is idolatry in My eyes. The many in My household who continue to bow before this man, and his blasphemous pride and carnal hostility, ‘I am giving over’ (Romans 1:28) to a (2 Thessalonians 2:11) “strong delusion” – a spirit that has the power to cause all who elevate this man to “fall away” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) from the cross-bearing faith that will be necessary to stand with first-commandment love for Me at the end of the age.”

Today is a good day to weep. Truth be told, our tears over the compromised state of the church in America have far more glorious might than all the firepower in our military arsenal. 

Shame upon a people who have lost their vision to see this… 

There are a few across the land who are heralding this warning unto repentance with love, prayers, and the anticipation of redemption. And on the open plain where the false prophets bid the people of God to bow down to nationalist glory, there are a handful who dare to stand and boast in nothing but the Name of the Lord, our God. 

And this is the message of those who stand. This is the invitation that we cry on the slippery slope of our culture: “Come! Repent of our idolatry! The Lord is bidding us to get up from bowing down, and come to His threshing floor, together. The hour is late. Let’s put away our spots, wrinkles and blemishes! Let us engage the fire that Jesus first offered to our Laodicean sisters and brothers: “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’, and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” (Revelation 3:17-18)

____________________
JSB • June, 2025

POSTSCRIPT: The only way to break the curse of the unrighteous delusion that clings to us is for believers, churches and ministries to come to the Lord’s threshing floor, and engage the Lord in brutal personal truth over His Word. It’s only as we dialogue with the Spirit about the destructive contra-Christ thought-patterns and narratives, and give ourselves to weeping, repentance and contrition that we will find power to extricate ourselves from their invasive affects on our hearts, ways and relationships.

This was the type of engagement that Ezra gave to the Lord when his people were found to infected with the virulent strain of rebellious adultery in their day:

“O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God! For our iniquities have climbed higher than our heads, and our guilt extends to the heavens. ⁷ From the days of our fathers until this very day our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities we, along with our kings and priests, have been delivered over to captivity, plunder, and embarrassment—right up to the present time. ⁸ “But now briefly we have received mercy from the Lord our God, in that he has left us a remnant and has given us a secure position in his holy place. Thus our God has enlightened our eyes and has given us a little relief in our time of servitude. ⁹ Although we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude. He has extended kindness to us… “And now what are we able to say after this, our God? For we have forsaken your commandments ¹¹ which you commanded us through your servants the prophets with these words: ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents! With their abominations they have filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness. ¹² Therefore do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, and do not take their daughters in marriage for your sons. Do not ever seek their peace or welfare, so that you may be strong and may eat the good of the land and may leave it as an inheritance for your children forever.’ ¹³ “Everything that has happened to us has come about because of our wicked actions and our great guilt. Even so, our God, you have exercised restraint toward our iniquities and have given us a remnant such as this. ¹⁴ Shall we once again break your commandments…? Would you not be so angered by us that you would wipe us out, with no survivor or remnant? ¹⁵ O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt. However, because of this guilt no one can really stand before you.”

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites—men, women, and children alike—gathered around him. The people wept loudly. ² Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God…” (Ezra 9:6-15 and 10:1-3)

Friends. This hasn’t been our way. We don’t value this kind of prayer in our evangelical circles. Nor have we “learned Christ” in this manner. Our prideful theology demands that it all be settled in a moment. Our hearts and minds are “dead set” on dominion, even if it means waving our paper swords in make-believe worlds to manifest it.

The tragic tragic truth of the matter is, MANY who believe that they are sons and daughters of the most High God will be lost under the power of the strong delusion simply because they refuse to let the Holy Spirit make them real through the fires of weeping, conviction of sin, lament and repentance. It’s so vital that we allow the Lord to begin to do this work within us today.