The Berean Call Podcast

<p>Welcome to “Apostasy Update,” a program in which our goal is to inform our viewers about those things related to the APOSTASY that are increasing in our day.<br><br>Things that attempt to undermine God’s Word…keeping the lost from turning to the Lord for salvation…and destroying the fruitful work of believers through deception and seduction.<br><br>I’m T.A. McMahon and today I’m following up on my interview with Jay Seegert and Carl Kerby.<br>The topic is creation versus evolution…which is what these gentlemen address as well as, if not better, than anyone I’ve heard on the subject.<br><br>More about apostasy: <a href="https://www.thebereancall.org/topic/apostasy" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.thebereancall.org/topic/apostasy</a><br>Jay Seegert's website: <a href="https://www.thestartingpointproject.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.thestartingpointproject.com</a><br>Carl Kerby's website: <a href="https://www.rforh.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.rforh.com</a></p>

<p>Romans 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.<br><br>Romans 14:15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.<br><br>Romans 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; <br><br>1 Corinthians 4:21 What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?<br><br>1 Corinthians 8:1-3 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of him.<br><br>1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.<br><br>1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly [shameful], seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.<br><br>1 Corinthians 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.<br><br>1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.<br><br>1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow after charity [pursue love – to seek after eagerly, earnestly endeavour to acquire], and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. <br><br>1 Corinthians 16:14 Let all your things be done with charity.<br><br>1 Corinthians 16:22-24 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema. Maranatha. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.</p>

<p>“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7<br>In this first series of “Get Biblical Understanding” we’re reviewing many of the verses that have to do with love. There is no other biblical topic more important than this one. Therefore it is imperative that we “get understanding” of this tremendous attribute of God. <br><br>It should come as no surprise then that loving God is set forth as the “first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:38). Hopefully these sessions addressing love will help us all put the emphasis on God’s love first in our lives as the Scripture commands.<br><br>TOPIC: LOVING GOD <br><br>Mark 12:28-30 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.<br><br>1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.<br><br>1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.<br><br>TOPIC: GOD LOVING US<br>John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.<br><br>John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. <br><br>John 15:9-10 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.<br><br>John 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. <br><br>John 17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.<br><br>Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.<br><br>Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.<br><br>Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.<br><br>Thanks for listening and we hope you’ll join us again as we search the Scriptures in order to “Get Biblical Understanding.”</p>

<p>“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7<br>In this first series of “Get Biblical Understanding” we’re reviewing many of the verses that have to do with love. There is no other biblical topic more important than this one. Therefore it is imperative that we “get understanding” of this tremendous attribute of God. <br>It should come as no surprise then that loving God is set forth as the “first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:38). Hopefully these sessions addressing love will help us all put the emphasis on God’s love first in our lives as the Scripture commands.<br>TOPIC: LOVING GOD <br>Mark 12:28-30 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.<br>1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.<br><br>1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.<br><br>TOPIC: GOD LOVING US<br>John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.<br>John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. <br>John 15:9-10 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.<br>John 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. <br>John 17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.<br>Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.<br>Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.<br>Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.<br><br>Thanks for listening and we hope you’ll join us again as we search the Scriptures in order to “Get Biblical Understanding.”</p>

<p>The following are excerpts from America, the Sorcerer’s New Apprentice: The Rise of New Age Shamanism. Written in 1988, the book documents America’s turning to concepts and practices that are rooted in Eastern Mysticism. There should be little doubt that the West is being overrun by the beliefs of the East, in particular that we are all God, which we have allegedly forgotten. It’s imperative therefore that we be restored to our godhood, especially through ancient and modern altered states of consciousness devices. This is sorcery, which Scripture declares will dominate in the Last Days. The unabashed shamans of this movement are today’s psychotherapists. NOTE: All references to names and organizations herein can be found in the book.</p>

<p>“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7<br>In this first series of “Get Biblical Understanding” we’re reviewing many of the verses that have to do with love. There is no other biblical topic more important than this one. Therefore it is imperative that we “get understanding” of this tremendous attribute of God. <br>It should come as no surprise then that loving God is set forth as the “first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:38). Hopefully these sessions addressing love will help us all put the emphasis on God’s love first in our lives as the Scripture commands.<br>TOPIC: LOVING GOD <br>Mark 12:28-30 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.<br>1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.<br><br>1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.<br><br>TOPIC: GOD LOVING US<br>John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.<br>John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. <br>John 15:9-10 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.<br>John 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. <br>John 17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.<br>Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.<br>Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.<br>Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.<br><br>Thanks for listening and we hope you’ll join us again as we search the Scriptures in order to “Get Biblical Understanding.”</p>

<p>“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7<br>As a writer who addresses biblical topics I’m constantly searching the Scriptures to find verses that help me understand what God’s Word says about a certain subject. That’s a life-long daily process for me and I would hope for everyone who is a believer in Jesus Christ.<br><br>I’ve been assembling verses for more than a dozen years that relate to certain biblical teachings in the belief that Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture. I’ve majored in gleaning verses from the New Testament which I’ve read and reread carefully over the years for this venture. Along the way I’ve added some Old Testament verses, and continue to do so from my additional study of God’s Word. The main focus, however, is on the New Testament.<br><br>I know there are relevant verses I’ve yet to include. Nevertheless, for me personally, it’s a joyful and incredibly edifying work in progress.<br><br>I’m blessed to share with you what I’ve found in the Scriptures that hopefully will help you get a better understanding of what God has communicated. His teachings and instructions seem all the more critical now that we are in a time when sound doctrine is not being endured (2 Timothy 4:3). My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will enable all of us through His Word and by His grace to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to Him.<br>Throughout the duration of “Get Biblical Understanding” we will select a specific topic with many of the relevant verses.</p>

<p>In 2015 I wrote about an article from the New Yorker magazine titled “The Trip Treatment,” subheading: “Research into psychedelics, shut down for decades, is now yielding exciting results.” <br><br>What drew my attention to the New Yorker article was not so much my interest in the drug scene of 2015 but rather how it relates to what the Bible has to say about the increasing use of drugs in the End Times. It’s a significant part of the prophetic picture prior to the return of Jesus. What follows is a recap of my TBC article of 2015 with an update of what’s happening in 2020.</p>

<p>It’s interesting that for many the thought of God is only brought to mind when their situation is bad news. He’s at fault. He could have done something about it, but He didn’t. He obviously didn’t care enough to get involved.</p>

<p>There are many factors that make up the growing apostasy and seduction of the church. One of the most alarming, least understood, and fastest spreading errors is the teaching that this present earth, instead of heaven, is the ultimate home for the church. Accordingly, her goal is to take over the world and establish the kingdom of God. Only then, it is said, can Christ return—not, however, to take us to His Father’s house, as He promised His disciples in John 14, but to reign over the Kingdom that we have established for Him. As we mentioned in the last chapter of The Seduction of Christianity, if the real Jesus Christ is going to catch His bride up from earth to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17), then those who are working to build a kingdom for a “Christ” whom they will meet with their feet planted on earth have been under heavy delusion indeed. In fact, they have been working for the Antichrist!</p>

<p>In 1983, I wrote a book titled Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust. The first chapter was called, “A Contrary Scenario,” which I based on my understanding of Scripture. Here was the situation as I recall it: interest rates in the US were over 20 percent; the stock market was around 700 on the DOW, and the experts were predicting a crash that would make 1929 seem like prosperity; the housing market was dead, with tens of thousands of houses unsold and apartments vacant; the most popular books in Christian bookstores were about “the death of the dollar, the imminent international financial collapse, the pending Soviet attack on Israel, etc.” Gloom and doom prevailed.</p>

<p>When I first began speaking at prophecy conferences years ago, I was intrigued by the fact that during the panel question-and-answer sessions there were always a few questions related to the Antichrist. It was a bit unsettling—probably because I knew little about that end-time biblical figure and cared even less. I therefore avoided adding my uninformed remarks and usually passed the microphone to the speaker to my right or left. Then there came a time when that wasn’t an option, and I had to say something. As I remember it, my comment was something that I now regard as astute sounding but in reality was ignorance verging on stupidity, i.e., some sort of babble about “Why should we concern ourselves with the Antichrist when we believers will be raptured before he comes on the worldwide scene?” I know people who feel that way today, but I gave up that misconception early on, and here’s why.</p>

<p>The idea that kindness seems to be vanishing in our day and in our country is not a matter of a pessimistic outlook but one of everyday observation. Political differences, as an all-too-obvious example, appear to have reached a new level of ugliness. Kindness hasn’t disappeared altogether, yet neither has it taken society by storm. For many people, an act of kindness is little more than a “nice” occurrence, even though some are aggressively promoting the action. Hence the bumper sticker: “Practice Random Acts of Kindness!” Things like holding the door open for a person or letting an individual with very few items go ahead of us in a checkout line are just a few of the countless number of acts that we can all appreciate.</p>

<p>Belief in God as Creator and in His authority as well as in our responsibility to Him is almost universal among men. The fact that our daily lives do not measure up to God’s standards is also quite generally conceded, but the solution to this evident shortcoming is the subject of many theories and religious practices: “How can a man please God and be accepted of Him?” “What does God want of me?” These are questions that have arisen in the hearts of men since the beginning of time.</p>

<p>"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves...." - 2 Timothy 3:1-2</p>

<p>Most of us fail to grasp the depths of depravity into which the United States—and the world––are rapidly sinking, provoking a merciful and patient God to judgment. The evidence is overwhelming. Yet we’re blinded to the truth like the proverbial frog in the pot that is slowly, by small degrees, being brought to a boil. Deceit is everywhere, and lies pass for truth. The major promoter of abortion calls itself Planned Parenthood. By what perverted logic can a husband and wife who deliberately murdered in the womb what would have been their baby be called its “parents”? Shouldn’t the organization that inspired and assisted in this foul deed rather be called “Planned No Parenthood”?</p>

<p>For the last couple of months I have been writing and speaking about a “Christian” gathering of nearly 50,000 young adults at a stadium on February 23, 2019, in Orlando, Florida. This is a summation of my observations made after viewing hours of video of the assembly as well as my knowledge of the producers and speakers of the 12-hour, one-day event.<br><br>It began with an enthusiastic exhortation given by mostly young dynamic speakers to the equally enthusiastic crowd to fulfill the great commission: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). That urging underscored the theme of the event, which was titled “The Send.” The goal was to motivate and send the young adults back to their neighborhoods, their high schools and universities, their workplaces, their cities and nations, and then to countries far and wide in order to share the gospel.</p>

<p>For various reasons, Christians of different sorts have tinkered with “the gospel of Christ” as though it needed adjustments. Not major alterations, most will tell you, but just some minor tweaking here and there. The changes often begin by one’s declaring that there is no real change involved, simply a shift in emphasis. Yet no matter what the rationale may be, the end result is being “ashamed of the gospel of Christ.”</p>

<p>Atheists argue that according to the “myth” of the Garden of Eden, evil had too innocent a beginning to be the root from which all the wickedness on this earth could possibly have grown. Adam and Eve merely ate some forbidden fruit—an act hardly worth getting upset about.</p>

<p>There’s a Latin saying that is similar to what it means to be a Berean. The Bereans were Jews to whom the Apostle Paul spoke in the synagogue in the Greek city of Berea. Luke commended them (Acts 17:10-11) for listening to what Paul and Silas had to say and then for searching the Scriptures to discern whether or not their words were true to what was written therein. In a secular sense, that’s what the Latin phrase caveat emptor means: “Let the buyer beware.”</p>

<p>A staff member handed me a couple of the latest magazine issues we received in order to review them. They were Christianity Today (CT) and Charisma Magazine (CM). We subscribe to them in order to keep up to date regarding teachings that are being disseminated throughout Christendom...</p>

<p>We have noted that the ecumenical movement plays a key role in forming the Antichrist’s world religion, which will be a paganized Christianity such as was developed under Constantine and became Roman Catholicism. It is therefore not surprising that behind the scenes, the Catholic Church has been pushing ecumenism for years. It is not only drawing the “separated brethren” of Protestantism back into the fold but uniting all religions under Rome, as Revelation 17 indicates.</p>

<p>This is a newsletter article taken from our archives. More newsletters area available here: <a href="https://www.thebereancall.org/newsletters" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.thebereancall.org/newsletters</a><br><br>Introduction:<br><br>The Bible declares, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." After the creation of all else, God said, "Let us make man in our <a href="http://image....So" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">image....So</a> God made man in his image." He then created Eve, a wife for Adam, and gave them the easiest command possible: of the innumerable trees of delicious fruit He had planted in the Garden paradise, there was only one of which they were not to eat: "the tree of knowledge of good and evil" (Gen 2:9). It could have borne any variety of fruit. There was no spiritual power in the fruit of this tree any more than in any other fruit just like it.</p>

<p>Most of us understand that “missing the mark” is one of the biblical definitions of sin. The Apostle Paul uses the Greek verb hamartano for sin in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” That may seem to some as a bit unfair, since rarely would we think that not measuring up to a goal or standard is sin. “Missing the mark” doesn’t seem like much of an offense, considering most sins of which we’re aware, especially the horrendous ones. An arrow that falls short of the target is sin? Seriously? To react in such a way reveals much about ourselves and the condition of our hearts in relationship to our Creator.</p>

<p>It is now nearly 500 years since October 31, 1517. We need a new Reformation—this time more biblical and thorough. We are drowning in “political correctness.” Having changed from a president who couldn’t define “is,” we have one who persists in calling Islam “peace” in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary. What the Bible clearly calls sin is whitewashed as “alternate” styles of living. Nothing is wrong, so nothing is right. The church has joined the world, the gospel has been compromised, and we think God doesn’t care. Elijah’s words come across 3,000 years of history to rebuke us as he did Israel:<br><br>How long halt ye between two opinions? If the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. (1 Kings 18:21)<br><br>More than 90 percent of Americans claim to believe in God. About 80 percent call themselves Christians. But when asked to define God, the answers range from “Mother Earth” to a “higher power.” Even many who claim to be born again deny that Jesus Christ is the “only way to God.” About 70 percent of Americans, 64 percent who call themselves born again, and 40 percent of self-proclaimed evangelicals reject the idea of absolute truth. And most of those who claim to believe in absolutes have fallen victims to a universal reluctance to speak the truth.</p>