Blazing fire. Darkness and gloom. Violent storm. Surely these words must describe a time of judgment in Israel’s history. But this is exactly the picture the writer of Hebrews paints when describing God giving the 10 Commandments to Moses.
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Yet David would later declare that the law of God rejoices the heart and tastes sweeter than honey.
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Modern Christians have a complicated relationship with the law of God. Some view any adherence to God’s law as legalism that upends the Gospel of Grace. Others see it as an outdated set of rules for a time and a nation long ago.
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But what if the blessings we are searching for start with a love for God’s law? What if drawing near to such a terrifying scene is the way into true freedom?
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This episode:
• What perspective should we have towards God’s law?
• The tragic nature of the human condition
• The blessings that come from obedience to the law (not legalism)

Timeless Truths: The greatest threat to the church of the Last Days is not the antichrist, but rather the spirit of antichrist that is already powerfully at work in the world.

Host: Steve, we want to talk today as we continue our discussions on your book, Intoxicated with Babylon. This week we are going to be talking about the spirit of Antichrist. There's a lot of speculation in the Church today, of course, about who is going to be the Antichrist and where he is going to come from. You know, there are people who have all their charts laid out of how everything's going to unfold in the end times when it comes to the Antichrist, but you made a comment in this section about how that really ought not to be our primary focus. Why did you say that?

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Steve: Well, it kind of lends to the mentality that has grown increasingly in the Church over the last 20-30 years, where the big focus is on the Antichrist and his government. But who the man is who becomes the figurehead for the rebellion against God's authority really is not the issue. Much more important is the spirit who will be possessing the man, because it is the spirit of Antichrist that will be providing the momentum in the unseen realm around us that is going to be paving the way for this major assault against God's authority. This man can do nothing outside of the power of the devil. So really, it's this spirit that's going to possess this man who is already working feverishly, not only in the world but much more importantly, in the Church.

Host: And this spirit that you say is going to be the real power behind the Antichrist, you have written that you believe that this spirit is already at work in the world. Is there something that has happened in recent history where you believe that the impact of this spirit has grown significantly?

Steve: Yeah, I believe that something happened in the decade of the ‘60s that kind of took this nation over a line. Think about what life was like in the early ‘60s. People typically did what they were told to do. The kids went to school, they had crew cuts and they just lived a very simple life. Of course, there were always kids that were rebellious, but generally speaking, kids in school or people at work just did what they were told. But something happened during the decade of the ‘60s that changed all of that. And now we look back and we can see that that's when the Vietnam war got underway, the whole sexual revolution burst on the scene, the hippie movement started in San Francisco, and drugs started becoming available. All of these dynamics started working together to create a momentum of rebellion against authority.

Host: I was going to say, they called it the “anti-establishment movement,” but it really was against authority of any kind.

Steve: Yeah, that's a good point. That's exactly what it was. And now, the people who run this country and so on, we're the ones who were kids growing up under that back in those days. So now we're the ones in control and the whole mindset has completely changed.

Host: And at the core of it is just quite simply, rebellion.

Steve: It is rebellion. You know, the bumper sticker that sums up the last 40 years in America is “question authority.” It just says it all. Don't do what you're told unless they can tell you why you should do it.

Host: It's really the “I want” generation. “What I want is what I ought to have.”

Steve: Yeah. And I don't want anyone to tell me differently.

Host: And it's in all of us. Our flesh loves that. Our flesh doesn't want to be told what to do, so really the enemy is dangling the carrot before what is already natural to us as human beings in our fallen state.

Steve: Yeah. Rebellion, especially to God's authority, is nothing new. It's been here since the garden. But the Bible says that in the end times things are going to accelerate. Things are going to be different. It's going to be the way it has been, but in a much more intense fashion.

Host: You talk about the mystery of lawlessness in this chapter. Talk to us about what you mean by that.

Steve: Well, that's a biblical term that is used in 2 Thessalonians 2 when referencing the coming of the Antichrist. The Greek term for law is “nomos.” It's the same meaning as the word “torah” in the Hebrew. It's the law. And the word for lawlessness in the Greek is, “anomos.” And “ah” is used like “un” in our terminology. Like when we say unbeliever or ungodly. Well, this is unlawful. That's what the word actually means. So, the mystery of lawlessness revolving around the end times is that something is going to break forth when it comes to this unwillingness to obey what you're told to do. That's really what it boils down to.

Host: What you're saying is that has to happen in order for the Antichrist to be able to have the kind of power he's going to need to have?

Steve: Yes. And right now, there is an undergirding, a foundation being laid by Satan in this country and around the world of this lawless spirit that is paving the way for something greater in the days to come.

Host: What I found interesting is that you mentioned that even David saw this coming.

Steve: Yeah, it's very interesting. Psalm 2 is a very profound chapter. It's just a short little Psalm, maybe 12 verses or so. But in that chapter, he describes a coming together of world leaders against the authority of God. Now we saw this manifest itself with Herod and Pilot against Jesus, and that is certainly one fulfillment of that prophecy. But there's a greater prophecy or a secondary prophecy, at least for the end times, and you see it come to fruition in the book of Revelation, especially in chapters 17-19. You see where the kings of the earth become one-minded. They form a unified resistance to God's authority and that is also laid out right there in Psalm 2, thousands of years ago.

Host: You know, as you talk about that, as we look at what's happening in the world today, do you have the sense that it's going to be an outright spoken denial of God's authority? Or is it just going to be the way that the nations and leaders are operating, that the way that they're thinking and trying to act and trying to control things is just in and of itself in opposition to what God has said is going to happen?

Steve: I would say it's going to be both. It will definitely be what you just described as far as the direction that things will go. People can say they believe in Jesus Christ, that they believe in God, and that they’re religious. World leaders can say whatever words they want, but the reality is found in how they live their lives. And there is a movement into a greater and greater global unity against God's authority, and I'm convinced that 99% of these people have no idea what they're involved in. But it is moving in that direction, and the enemy is behind the whole thing.

Host: Well, the reason I ask, so I'm glad you answered it that way, is that I'm leading you into this next part of our conversation. You wrote in this chapter in your book that there is lawlessness that is found in the Church. There are many in the Church today who may not be outwardly denying God. In fact, they may be professing to be a believer in God, and yet they are in this lawless spirit of the Antichrist.

Steve: Well, they've grown up in a culture that is saturated with rebellion. It's in their blood, so to speak and they have often brought that mentality into the Church. But it's not just against spiritual leadership, like in your pastor’s authority and so on. Much more importantly is the way that we have allowed one corruption after another to come into the Church and the breaking down of the moral fiber within the Church of Jesus Christ to the point that where we are now. Today, practically no sin is looked down upon even in the Church.
         We have gotten so far on the side emphasizing grace in the wrong way to the point that we have lost the passion for righteousness. The hunger and thirst for righteousness. The awareness that our God is a holy God, who hates sin. All of that is gone. What has been left in its place is this experiential type of Christianity where everything is built around how we feel and it becomes man centered instead of God centered.

Host: Yeah, that is absolutely true. And Steve, unfortunately that is where we're going to have to leave this conversation for now. We will continue this discussion next week on the spirit of Antichrist, and we'll pick up on this theme of how it is manifesting itself in the modern church.

Yahweh wanted a unique and exclusive relationship with Israel. He wanted to reveal Himself to her and use her to call the nations to Himself. But Israel was so used to serving sin and self that she didn't know the first thing about embodying the humility, selflessness and purity of a God like Yahweh. In this episode, we’ll look at the momentous day when God came down in fire on Mt. Sinai to give Israel His law, and we’ll talk about why that event is still relevant for us today.

Resources

• The Holy One of Israel | Rediscovering the Gift of Repentance (Short Video)

Satan has always been at work undermining God’s authority. It was that way in Heaven; it was that way in Eden; and it’s that way today—nearly everywhere we turn.
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All of us want to find freedom from our problems. We all want peace, joy, and a meaningful life—but in a day filled with unrest, those things feel out of reach.
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The solution isn’t changing our outward circumstances or even changing the world around us. It is to submit to the authority of the God who promises to give us all those things, and more, when we are in right relationship with Him.
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This is the first episode in our series, Resisting the Rise of Lawlessness, where Pure Life Ministries founder and president, Steve Gallagher, unpacks what it means to truly live as part of the Kingdom of God.
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This episode:
• The cultural chaos unfolding in today’s culture
• A biblical look at the roots and rise of lawlessness
• Why many believers will be shocked on Judgment Day

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In the 28th message of our “Unveiling Yahweh” series, we will be looking at God’s probationary system.

God has set up earth-life as a testing ground to prepare us for eternity. To many, this concept may seem strange or unfamiliar, but a thorough examination of Scripture confirms this idea. In today’s message, Steve Gallagher explains three aspects of God’s probationary system to help us see the significance of our daily decisions.

At the dawn of creation, sun and moon, stars and planets, birds, beasts, fish and man freely submitted to the authority of God. And then a rebel creature invited mankind to choose their own will above the will of God. And with that, the spirit of lawlessness began to work in this world.

Welcome to our series, “Resisting the Rise of Lawlessness.” In this series, Steve Gallagher and the staff of PLM will offer both scriptural and practical truth aimed at helping each one of us discern whose authority we are under. The authority of Yahweh, or the spirit of lawlessness?

Resources

• The Serpent of Pornography and How to Crush it (Article) By Steve Gallagher

When Nolan and Kendra said “I do,” their future was as bright as could be. But their desire for the things of this world and the darkness from their past soon eroded that hope. Things quickly spiraled into detachment, addictions, adultery, and attempted suicide.

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Feeling a sense of complete hopelessness, this young couple entered the Overcomers-At-Home Program. It was here that God began His redemptive work!

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Watch the beauty that only God can bring in a marriage that was smoldering with ash. Nolan and Kendra stand as a testimony of incredible hope for any husband and wife that are willing to allow God to work.

In the 27th message of our “Unveiling Yahweh” series, we will be looking at the Discipline of God.

When a sinner begins following the Lord, he will quickly discover much within him that needs to change. While we may expect that to happen instantaneously, God’s normal process is to sanctify us slowly for the rest of our lives. This is His process of discipline. Our progress in the spiritual life is largely dependent upon how we respond to this discipline. We can choose to submit to it, or we can disregard it. Today’s message unpacks Hebrews 12 and the love of God at work through the difficulty in our lives.

In the midst of trials, we need a place to turn to for comfort, help and answers. And when we turn to the Word of God, we find a source of eternal truth. But more than that, we find something that can go inside of us and make us into new creations. In Episode 8 of the Hope for Hurting Wives series, Kathy Gallagher talks about the incredible power of the Word of God, and why hurting wives should cherish it as their very life.

Resources

• Hope for Hurting Wives (Podcast Series) By Pure Life Ministries

Timeless Truths: Every sincere Christian has made a decision to submit to the will of God. But that decision is going to be tested—especially in America. We’re surrounded by so much prosperity that, if we’re not careful, we can easily be drawn away from devotion to Christ and into a spirit of covetousness.

Host: Steve, as we continue our discussions in “Intoxicated with Babylon,” I want to start off by reading a quote by Henry Drummond. Henry Drummond was an evangelist during the 1800’s and a contemporary of Dwight L Moody. He wrote, “There is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Half the world is on the wrong scent in pursuit of happiness.” When you consider that was written in the 1800s, think about what could be written today about the kind of path that people are on in America and what they are pursuing for happiness. And there is no doubt that we have become a nation that is consumer driven, but America really didn't start out that way. How did we get to this level of a consumer driven life?

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Steve: Well, as in the case of practically everything, things happen in stages. America was mostly founded by the Puritans, and they had a very strong work ethic, which was in their minds tied directly to godliness. That was good and that started things in a certain direction. But when the industrial revolution hit in the mid-19th century, a shift began to happen in not only the minds of the great manufacturers, but also in the minds of Americans. Basically what happened was that manufacturers discovered a very powerful concept and that was selling on credit.
       They discovered that if they could change the mindset that people had always had, which was to save their pennies, and change that mindset into one where they could buy it now on credit, it would make consumerism explode. And that's exactly what happened. So, advertisers and marketers took over the whole process and created a desire driven economy rather than a need driven economy.

Host: It was interesting too that you wrote about the fact that advertisers really changed the way that we even looked at a product.

Steve: Yeah, because in the old days we had “Sears and Roebuck” catalogs with these little ink drawings of the product. But when the marketers stepped in, they discovered another profound concept and that was creating an atmosphere. Selling the sizzle instead of the steak, as they say. For instance, if they were selling a car, the billboards would show a picture of a happy family driving down a winding country road. It wasn't so much focused on the actual car as much as it was the experience, and people flocked in to buy products that they wouldn't have purchased before simply because of the process the advertisers were using in capturing their hearts.

Host: You know, Steve, as you describe it, it almost sounds like they were setting up a scenario for addiction in a way.

Steve: Well, that's basically what has happened on a wholesale level. The American public has become addicted to consumerism. And I believe the enemy is behind that because people are going deeper and deeper into debt. Most Americans have pretty big credit card debt, car debt, mortgages, and other things. It's a lot like the company store back in the 19th century when a mining company wanted to get workers to work in the mines. They had their own grocery store and the miners would purchase their products there against their paychecks, but what happened was they never made enough to pay for the goods. So, their credit grew deeper and deeper, and they couldn't leave the mines because they owed the company money. So, they became enslaved by the system and there was no way to get out.

Host: I would suspect that most Americans, maybe even most Christians, would listen to what you're talking about and would say, “Well, yeah, I see that. I see how advertisers are on my television every night. I see how magazines are trying to sell me all of this stuff.” But I would venture to say most Christians probably don't see anything wrong with this. But you see a spiritual problem at work here.

Steve: Well, according to Scripture there is. The Bible is very clear about the sinfulness of coveting things. In fact, we don't like to even consider such a thing, but Paul lists it in Ephesians 5 as one of the characteristics of someone going to hell. So, it is a serious matter, even though we don't hear about it preached on the radio and we don't hear it from pulpit sermons very often. I mean, how many pastors are railing on the sin of covetousness in their sermons? But the Bible sees it as a serious issue. So therefore, since the Bible does, so should we. And I think the real issue here is that covetousness can become a very powerful passion in a person's heart that will dominate them and dictate the way they live their lives.

Host: What is the real power of covetousness? What is the impact that it has on our life?

Steve: Well, it's just another form of lust. When we think of lust, we tie it immediately to sexual sin. It can be that, but it's the lust of the eyes in general. That's what the Apostle John described as one of the three lusts that are very affiliated with worldliness. And Jesus understood that this appetite could drive people in the way they think, the way they live, the way they spend their money, the way they go after money and the way they view life. He understood that once covetousness gets a hold of your heart, it dictates your lifestyle.

Host: Steve, we talked just a minute ago about covetousness in the sense of addiction. How do we fall into an addictive mode when it comes to covetousness?

Steve: Well, Solomon said that he who loves money will not be satisfied with money and there is a lot of truth to that. The plain truth of it is, the more a person has, the more a person wants. Materialism is very addictive, and the more stuff you get, the more it drives you into a lifestyle where you want more and more. Any kind of sin or lust operates that way, the more you give over to it, the more you feel you must have. So, the person who gets caught up in that kind of a mindset, they just go from one thing to the next. Nothing ever satisfies. And before you know it, your life has been spent and you're in the grave and it's all been for nothing.

Host: Yeah. Well, we sure see that with sexual sin. We absolutely see it with drug use, but how many Christians have stopped to think how much that is true about the materialism that's in their lives?

Steve: Well, I think that the problem is that it's all they've ever known. This is part and parcel for American Christianity. It's one of those ways that our culture has more to do with the way we live our lives than Scripture.

Host: You make maybe the most important point on this topic in your book where you essentially say that if we are living in covetousness, then despite what we may believe, we cannot also be living for God.

Steve: Yeah, because again, Jesus said it very clearly, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24, NKJV) And I don't mean to be a spoil sport or negative or whatever, it's just the reality that 90 some percent of professing Christians are living for mammon. They can tell themselves all day long they're not, but the reality is shown in their lives.

Host: Paul warned Timothy to flee from these things. There was an urgency about a need to turn from these things.

Steve: Yeah, that urgency is very reminiscent of the angels warning Lot, “Escape for your life. Don't look behind you lest you be swept away.” And there is an urgency here that we are being deceived by riches and that we need to do something drastic to protect ourselves from being swept away with this delusion.

Host: Well Steve, for those who may be sensitive to what God may be saying to them about their own life in this world as a Christian, is there a way out? What should a Christian do if they see that their life is being overcome by covetousness?

Steve: Well, I put in the book three simple steps. First is just to repent. Go to the Lord and study the subject of covetousness and get brutally honest with yourself. And then two, whatever you need to repent over, get that straight with the Lord and then change your perspective about your life with God and your whole mentality about purchasing things. We don't have to have everything we want and we don't have to have everything we want right now.

Host: And probably shouldn't.

Steve: Yeah. So we just need to change our attitude. And the third thing is that if you have credit card debts, then you should establish a plan to pay them off. The bottom line is that we just need to simplify our lives. Jesus said do not lay up our treasures upon earth. And He went on to say we must lay up our treasures in heaven. And you know that's the real issue here. If we are believers, if we are living with an eternal mindset, then there is a payoff here. This isn't just a negative message of don't do this and don't do that. What the Lord is saying is, listen, there are untold riches waiting for you. And that's what Jesus is saying. Don't live for the temporal trinkets that the enemy offers but live your life for God and then you'll have riches awaiting you when you get to heaven.

One of the worst parts about addiction is the sinking feeling that you’ll never break free from the horrible cycle of sin. You start to wonder if there’s any way out at all. But many of the men who come through our Residential Program can point to a defining moment when God broke through the darkness and they knew they’d never be the same. These breakthrough moments happen regularly for men at Pure Life Ministries, and it’s the fifth reason our Residential Program works.

Resources

• Check Out Our Residential Program

The culture we live in can easily shape our attitudes and values. But if we are going to be true followers of Christ, all other allegiances must be renounced, and we must become assimilated into the Kingdom of God.

Host: Steve Gallagher has joined me in the studio. Steve is the president and founder of Pure Life Ministries. Steve, thanks for taking the time to talk with us today.

Steve: I'm happy to be here.

Host: Steve, we want to talk today, as we continue our discussions in your book, “Intoxicated with Babylon,” about the chapter entitled “Indoctrination.” I want to read just a short statement that you made in this chapter. You said,

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“It should be no surprise that when a person comes to Christ after years of listening to these affirmations of self-interest, he needs the Word of God to reshape his thinking and reorder his values.”

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       Host: What are these affirmations that you're talking about?

Steve: Well, you're referring to this chapter where I begin to deal with the influences that the spirit of the world has on believers. Basically, what I'm saying is that we have been raised in this American culture that our minds, attitudes, values and perspectives have all been shaped by. And when you come to Christ, you become a citizen of a new culture. It's the Kingdom of God, and if you've truly been converted, then there's going to be an overthrow of the old allegiance and in its place, there's going to be a new allegiance to a new kingdom. And the way that the mind gets adjusted to this new kingdom is through a saturation of the Word of God and to some degree, a separation from the voice of the spirit of this world.

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Host: You went on to say that the genuineness of our conversion really can be measured by how serious we take this need.

Steve: Well, certainly I think it's one of the standards of measurement we can look at in our lives. We need to ask ourselves, “How much has my life really changed?” And you shouldn’t take that question lightly. You may go to church, you may say all the Christian things, but how much is your daily life shaped by God's perspectives versus how much is your daily life shaped by the culture in which you live?

Host: You also went on to say that not only is there this general American kind of way of looking at life that has an influence on us, but really you pinpointed the whole area of entertainment. In general, in what ways has entertainment impacted us?

Steve: Well, let me just quote from my book, because this really just lays out the enormity of entertainment in the typical Christians life.

“America has become so addicted to entertainment that we cannot conceive of life without it. Americans play cards, board games, golf, baseball, soccer and football. They go swimming, biking, bowling, boating and fishing. They go to the movies, the beach, amusement parks, shopping malls and outlet centers. They read newspapers, magazines, romance novels and tabloids. They surf the internet, visit chat rooms, rent movies, play video games and spend endless hours sitting in front of a television screen. In short, there is no end to our indulgences when it comes to entertainment.”

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Host: Now, what you've just described is the typical American, and might I add, Christian life.

Steve: Yeah, and that's my point for mentioning that is because it shows you how little room God has in our daily life and how obsessed we have become with basically indulging our flesh.

Host: So that really is the issue, isn't it? Not necessarily that each of these things is wicked in and of themselves, but it is to the extent that it excludes God from our life.

Steve: That's the point. The issue is that we have this addiction to entertainment and we have to constantly be gratifying our senses. And what that lifestyle does is, it diminishes a sense of hunger for God and His kingdom because the more your flesh is agitated by entertainment, the harder it is to quiet yourself and get into a spirit of devotion to God.

Host: Well, I can just use an example in my own life and make this very simple. If after a hard day at work, I had the option to sit down and turn the television set on and flip through the channels, or if I had the option to go spend some time in the Word of God, my flesh is going to want to choose the television. And we don’t have cable television here at Pure Life for good reason.

Steve: I agree. Occasionally, when I'm in a hotel room, I can turn on the television. Kathy and I can watch The History Channel or something, but I know for myself that if I had cable at home, it would not end at one show. I would watch one and then I’d want to watch another. That’s why I don’t have cable television.

Host: Yeah. Well, let's park on this for a minute. I hope people will listen with an open heart because there really are some things about television that you talk about and I think are very helpful for us to understand in really being more discerning about the impact that television has on us. You mentioned in your book that there is a decisive message coming out of the medium of television.

Steve: Well, there definitely is a message and the message is: you can have life without God. I mentioned in the book that this message is even in shows as innocuous as “The Andy Griffith Show,” and it doesn't get much more innocent than that. Even in that show, you're going through a plot, whatever the corny little plot is, but I guarantee you God is not in that plot. And so, when you sit in front of a television set and you're going from show to show to show, from storyline to storyline, every one of these storylines are people living out their lives without God. God has no input. They're not seeking His will. They're not looking to Him for help. They're not depending on Him. It's life without God. What happens when you spend two or three hours every single night having that message pumped into your mind and into your heart? Well, you're affecting your spiritual life when you do that.

Host: Yes. And we're really naive to think otherwise.

Steve: There is a reason why advertisers spend millions of dollars for 60 seconds of precious airtime. Because they understand what Christians don't seem to want to face up to, and that is that television is a very powerful medium to affect people's thinking. We don't want to face up to it because we don't want to let our beloved little darling go and that's just the truth of it.

Host: Yeah. Another good point that I felt like you made is that television changes our view about our own sin.

Steve: Yes, it definitely does that. I mean, think about the different programs, whether it's CSI or comedies or whatever. They are all the enactment and the glorification of the deeds of the flesh. That's what television is all about. So, number one, we love television because our flesh loves television and it loves what's on that television. And number two, the more that we are focusing our minds and opening our hearts to that kind of message of sin, the smaller we will view our struggles with lust, with coveting, with lying and with all the other sins that we can think of as “minor sins.” It will cause us to minimize the evil nature of the sins we commit.

Host: Another point that you made about the impact of television is that it leads to a passivity and an apathy regarding spiritual life.

Steve: Yeah, you know, Peter said, “Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary, the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, KJV) Now, let's be honest, how many Christians really take any of that seriously? The word sober and vigilant refer to a spiritual alertness. It's like the soldiers in Vietnam. When they were on guard duty, they understood that the Viet Cong would wait until the early morning hours while they were sound asleep, when no one was expecting an attack and that's when they would stage their surprise assaults on the camp. So, they were very alert for every sound they heard in the jungle. Well, it's also true of us and when the enemy plans his attack and television tends to put us in a state of passivity.  You're sitting in a recliner, a lazy boy chair, and your heart is wide open, your mind is open and you're just allowing the spirit of the world to infuse your inner man with his thinking, his perspectives and his mindset.

Host: You know, until you said it, I don't think I'd ever thought about the fact that it's called a lazy boy chair.

Steve: And that says it all, doesn’t it.

Host: It really does. And you mentioned Vietnam. I like what Tozer said, “Men think of the world not as a battleground, but as a playground.” And it's just true that the American Church is not grasping the idea that we are in a spiritual War.

Steve: Well, that's because most of them are not in a spiritual war. They are just floating downstream with everything else.

Host: Or have already been captured by the enemy.

Steve: Yeah. Basically, I have come to believe that most American Christians have never really gone through the conversion experience that would give them the kind of discernment you need to spot the voice of the enemy. That's why they just fall right in line with the culture that we live in and this whole television culture is a big part of that phenomenon.