Humanism

One reason why the world is so unstable and unsettled today, though we do not easily understand it, is the influence of humanism, which is “man is the measure of all things.” That’s humanism, encapsulated. What man decides is what matters. What man calls a thing is what is real. And against this, there is the background of complete instability. Nothing is absolutely permanent, nothing is absolutely settled. There are no moral absolutes, no absolutes of any kind. The whole universe is in a state of continuing flux and in the middle of it all what man decides is what matters.

So I thought I would look up the dictionary definition of humanism. I’d always thought about humanism, if I thought about it at all, as a rather neutral influence that just expected man to work out his own problems and solve his own destiny. But when I read Collins English Dictionary definition of humanism, it shocked me. It says:

“Humanism: the denial of any power or moral value superior to that of humanity; the rejection of religion in favor of a belief in the advancement of humanity by its own efforts.”

The two words that impacted me were denial and rejection. I suddenly realized that humanism is a very strong negative force.

You see, there are different ways of rejecting people. You might meet me walking down the street one morning and say, “Shalom, Brother Prince.” I might push you away and say, “I don’t want to talk to you.” That would be rejecting you. But I think a more cutting rejection would be if I didn’t pay any attention to you, if I just walked past you as if you weren’t there.

Now, atheism pushes God away and says, “We don’t want you.” Humanism just walks past as if God wasn’t there. And really, that’s a very conspicuous feature of our contemporary culture, especially, I think, in Israel. The majority of Israelis live as if there was no God. There are great exceptions but I think basically that is the dominant thinking pattern of Israel.

Interestingly enough, just about the same time the present government was elected in Israel, a new administration came into being in the United States. And both of them are totally dominated by humanism. That’s also true of the majority of European nations, certainly Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France. I’m not able to speak in detail about every nation but the power that dominates the thinking, the culture, the values and the course of action is the power of humanism. I never realized how powerful it was until I got involved in this study, “The Sons of Zion and the Sons of Greece.”

And interestingly enough, the dramatic shift in emphasis in Israel and in the United States took place just about the same time. Administrations came into being that were really totally humanistic in their outlook. Prime Minister Rabin, the first day of his new office, said of the Jewish people, “We are a nation just like any other nation.” When I heard that statement I shuddered but I didn’t realize the implications of it until later.

I believe that humanism is the ultimate tactic of Satan to raise up the Antichrist. I’ve been interested in principalities and powers, I’ve taught about them for years. I recognize the power of Islam and I read a book by George Otis III called “The Last of the Giants” which implied that Islam was the last. I believe Islam is a giant but it’s not the last. In fact, I believe it’s going to be crushed. I believe it has to be crushed and I believe Brother Lance Lambert gave a prophecy in 1986 which predicted the overthrow of the Kremlin and the overthrow of Islamic fundamentalism. The first part has been fulfilled and I believe the second part will be fulfilled. I believe a lot of Christians, not to say other people, are planning their future as if everything was going to go on the same. In my opinion, it isn’t. We are headed for ever-increasing crises and judgments of God. It is foolish to build your life on the supposition that 10 years from now nothing much will have changed. I doubt whether we’ll be able to recognize the world if we’re still alive 10 years from now. The dominant force is not Islam but it’s humanism.

If you read in Revelation 13:18, you find chapter 13 is devoted to the Antichrist and it says at the end of the chapter:

“...here is wisdom, let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast [the Antichrist], for it is the number of a man [or the number of man].”

Essentially, the Antichrist will be the ultimate enthronement of man in the place of God. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 it says, again speaking of the Antichrist, in verse 4:

“He opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he sits in the temple of God showing himself that he is God.”

And then a little further on in verse 9:

“The coming of the lawless one [the Antichrist] is according to the working of Satan with all power, signs and lying wonders...”

And let me say to you as someone who’s been a Pentecostal more than 50 years, the problem with both Pentecostals and Charismatics is they look for signs and wonders. If you believe that everybody who performs signs and wonders is from God, you are a candidate for the Antichrist, because he will perform signs and wonders such as have seldom been seen.

So, coming back to that verse:

“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved.”

That is a thought that has been impressed upon me again and again. The only security is to receive the love of the truth. That word love, the Greek word agape, is something passionate. It’s not just reading your Bible every day or having a quiet time, it’s having a passionate commitment to the truth. An attitude that seeks out the truth and that will not buy anything that is not the truth. Solomon said, “Buy the truth and sell it not.” Truth is costly, it has to be bought. It takes time, it takes prayer, it takes commitment. It’s easy to sell truth. I don’t want to even think of any particular personality but they’re in the Charismatic movement. There are a lot of preachers that have sold truth for the sake of popularity.

Basically the gospel message is not a popular message. Jesus said, “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” You never hear that verse quoted by multitudes of preachers today. It’s never heard in many churches. People have sold the truth for popularity, for numbers. My personal desire is to hold on to the love of the truth, to cultivate it, because I believe that the greatest single weapon that Satan has against the human race, and always has been, is deception. The only protection against deception is the love of the truth.

Paul says “they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved.” That’s the way to be saved. You’re saved now, but you’ll only remain saved if you cultivate the love of the truth. Just as you’ll only remain saved if you endure to the end. Jesus said, “he who has endured to the end shall be saved.” You’re saved now but will you endure? You’re saved now but will you hold on to the truth when it’s unpopular, when it’s a very small minority that really believes the truth and obeys it? Will you hold on? That’s the cost of being saved.

And then, this is a frightening statement:

“For this reason [that is because they did not receive the love of the truth] God will send them strong delusion...”

Have you ever pondered on that? It’s an astonishing statement. This is not being deceived by Satan, this is being deceived by God.