The Great Falling Away?

2 Thessalonians

2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

2:2 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.

2:3 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;

2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Paul wrote the epistle of 2 Thessalonians in response to questions developed from his first letter to them. They obviously had concerns regarding Christ's second coming.

I believe that this should be understood prophetically. I believe that someone (anti-christ) will rise up and position himself in a literal place of worship. How many have set themselves up "as God" in the temple of their own hearts? Watch this YouTube video of Oprah's latest book club. I understand that some may say this is a hit-piece against her, but allow her own words to incriminate her.

Oprah

Notice at approximately 1:00 minute into the video, Oprah states that there are "many paths to what you call god; that her path might be something else. And when she gets there, she might call it the light." She goes on to say that "loving, kindness, generosity brings her...if it brings her to the same point it brings you, it doesn't matter if she called it "god" along the way or not."

She also states that "There couldn't possibly be just one way..." An audience member asks "What about Jesus?" Oprah blasts back "What about Jesus?!" From the audience member "There is one way and only one way and that's through Jesus." Then Oprah exhorts again " There couldn't possibly be just one way!" And to sum it all up...from the audience member "Because YOU say there isn't one way".

At about 3:00 minutes into the video, she tries to reconcile her hybrid of christianity to spiritualism. She flounders. When she was in her late 20's, she got hung up about God being a jealous God. This sent her on her journey to enlightenment. It's also stated that "God is a feeling experience and not a believing experience". Very interesting. How many followers does she have? How many people take what Oprah says without a doubt or consideration?

Maybe Oprah should stick to giving away cars and helping girls in Africa get an education rather than being a spiritual guide. Just a suggestion.

Here's another video of a prominent individual in our culture. George W. Bush claims that the muslim Allah and the Christian God are the same thing. And that muslims will join those of us in heaven that are saved by God.He will not say, however, that Osama bin Laden's Allah is our God. A couple of quotes from GWB:

"Well, first of all, I believe in an almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That's what I believe. I believe that Islam is a great religion that preaches peace." (Online Source)

"I have spoken clearly about my belief that -- I pray to the same God as a Muslim prays; that the freedom agenda is really aimed at liberating people, and that the hope is, is that there will be an active, real Palestinian state, so people can realize their dreams." (Online Source)

"And the best way to achieve better understanding in the world is for folks just to get together, and get to understand that we share the same God, and we share the same aspirations for children and for our futures." (Online Source)

So do all roads lead to God-Light-Allah, or just the ones that our leaders (Oprah and GWB) pick. Just curious.

Matthew 24:24 - For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.