What would you do if you could no longer attend church? What if church was against the law? Or, what if churches were no longer allowed to preach repentance, mention sin, or proclaim Jehovah as the One True God? I know it sounds like something out of early Church History when it was against the law to say there was only one God. What if you couldn’t teach morality and ethics as a godly way of life? In the world of the early Church promiscuity and sexual deviancy was even part of some types of legal ceremonial worship. Unless you’ve had your head in the sand, that’s where we are headed today… faster than you might realize!

We were led to believe that liberals only wanted fair treatment. But the truth is they want our faith eradicated from the face of the Earth. They want no mention of God. They want to establish their own definitions of righteousness, ethics, and morality. The Bible calls it iniquity! The lie that was sold to us that it was discrimination for there to be prayer in school is now making it against the law for there to be prayer in almost any public place. Political correctness is rapidly taking us to a place where we can’t say certain things from the pulpit. In California it is against the law to counsel a child that is conflicted about gender issues. Muslims now have more rights in our country than Christians.

When I first began a radio program in 1973 I was warned that if I mentioned anything about Muslims or anything that conflicted with another religion the radio station would have to give them free equal time to express their point of view. But today the former vice president, Al Gore, invested in a Muslim news channel that constantly promotes their propaganda against Israel and Christianity. It is even being promoted by Hillary Clinton as a reliable news source. But there is no mention of Christian rights! I could go on down the list of rights and freedoms we have lost but it would be more shocking than you could imagine.

Even now the government is fighting to gain control of the Church. There have already been legal battles fought by our government seeking to give the federal government the right to define what an ordained minister is. It will only be a matter of time before the State will control the churches in America. Much of it will be done through the IRS… yes, the same corrupt organization that is targeting conservatives and the overseers of Obamacare. 50 years ago conservatives warned that the IRS would one day be the equivalent to the SS in Nazi Germany. That prophetic forecast is not that far from being fulfilled!

For decades churches have been slowly seduced to become 501c3 organizations even though the IRS tax code says that all churches are tax exempt. Unwittingly, churches that become 501c3 organizations do not realize they are actually no longer legally churches. They are now non-profits, which means legally they can’t declare the Bible to be their guiding foundation. The legal precedence has been established. Now any law that is passed for non- profits must override what the Bible says. To put it in the words of a state official that I squared off against back in the 70’s, “The right to teach belongs to the State, we just allow you Christians to teach the Bible out of the goodness of our heart!”

We are living in the age of iniquity: the total rejection of God’s commands as the standards of morality, honesty, and character. Iniquity is the most insidious of all enemies of God, the Church, and mankind! Iniquity is abounding in the Church and is taking over the governments of the world!

On the economic front it is inevitable that tax laws will change. In time the only churches that can receive tax exempt donations are going to be government-approved churches that preach a politically correct message. What will the Church do?

You can only answer that question based on how you define “church!” If you’re talking about the organization, then they’ll either give in or be closed down. But if you’re talking about the body of Christ, we will thrive! It just won’t look like it does today! The greatest revival in the world right now is happening in China. It isn’t happening in the public church, it’s happening in the underground church! There was a recent leaders meeting in Hawaii with a group that represented over eighty million believers in the underground church. They have been thriving in a hostile environment for decades! Why? They meet secretly in homes. The greatest and most long-lasting revivals in the world were started and sustained in home meetings.

If you are a pastor I urge you to support your public meeting with home meetings. Build a network of ministry that can thrive no matter what happens. The early Church met publicly and from house to house (Acts 20:20). The late, great soul winner, T.L. Osborne called that “20/20 vision!” Whether it’s a natural disaster or a national disaster, when there is a network of small groups you can always sustain your people and provide help for the body when it is in need. To help you in this area you can receive my book, Effective Small Group Ministry in the New Millennium as a free download.

All over the world people are using our weekly broadcast, books, CDs, and DVDs for their small group meetings. In fact, some churches are using them for Wednesday or Sunday night meetings. This is an excellent way to get this message into your community. You can use it to supplement what you are doing in your local church. If you aren’t part of a church you can use this to build a local body of believers who are making the same journey you’re making!

There will always be an institutional church that functions more like an organization than a living organism. And there will always be carnal-minded, shallow people who think God only moves at the altar of a carpeted building when the organ is playing softly in the background and a man speaking Christian-eze is standing behind a pulpit. But there are those who know THEY ARE THE BODY of Christ, the “called out ones” as the Greek New Testament says. They are taking God into their real world and allowing Him to touch their daily life. They will always meet anywhere and make any place holy because of what is happening in their own heart. The Church of the future will be people connected to people, not people connected to organizations.

To understand more about what is happening in our nations and in the Church get the powerful and enlightening series, The Mystery of Iniquity: The Enemy of Grace.