The Independent Baptist
There are many Baptists in the world today. Few Baptists, however, are truly "Independent Baptists". What exactly is an "Independent Baptist"? And why are there so few Independent Baptists the world today?
Well, an Independent Baptist is first and foremost a Baptist. A Baptist is someone who believes in the immersion in water, (i.e. the "baptism"), of adult, (or non-infant), believers in Jesus. Once a Baptist trusts Jesus alone for his or her salvation, he or she is then expected to be baptized ("immersed") and also become an active member of a local New Testament Independent Baptist Church.
An Independent Baptist believes and practices "The Autonomy of the Local Church". This term means that Independent Baptist Churches are truly independent from all other churches, both Baptist and otherwise. No other church or person has any authority to tell a local Independent Baptist church what to do. Also, no "Baptist Fellowship" has control over an Independent Baptist Church or its members. An Independent Baptist Church is also financially independent from all other churches. Because of this, such an Independent Baptist Church must raise its own money and pay its own bills, without any outside help.
Independent Baptist Churches were once very plentiful in the United States and elsewhere. Nevertheless, we are now living in the seventh and last period of Church history, a time prophesied in the Bible and known as the "Laodicean Age". This Laodicean Age is characterized by "lukewarmness" within the churches and a "Great Apostasy" away from Biblical Truth. This current period of time was prophesied to come right before "The Rapture" and the emergence of the Antichrist. This Antichrist will be helped by his Great Roman Catholic Whore as described in Chapter 17 of the Book of Revelation.
As previously mentioned, this current "Great Apostasy" is a time of a general "falling away" from Biblical Truth by most of those within "Christendom". As we move deeper into this Great Apostasy, Christendom and the religions of the world will begin to dialog and interface with each other. This "joining together" of the world's religions into the Great Whore has already started, and currently goes by the name of the "Ecumenical Movement". Satan plans to use this Ecumenical Movement as preparation for the emergence of the Antichrist and his prostitute, The Great Roman Catholic Whore.
The coming Antichrist and Great Roman Catholic Whore will strongly oppose Jesus and the Bible and will therefore begin a "Final Holocaust" of all Christians and Jews, murdering them by beheading and other means. This mass murder by beheading and other methods will be similar to how many Koran-believing Muslims now murder Christians, Jews, and others in various parts of the world in strict obedience to their so-called "Holy Book", the Koran. (Koran: "Strike off their heads till ye have made a great slaughter among them" - Sura 47:4)
This diabolical plan by Satan's will start with the yoking together of "Christians" with the various pagan religions of the world under the authority of the Pope of the Great Roman Catholic Whore. Nevertheless, in order for Satan to succeed with this wicked plan, he must first get rid of those "problematic" Independent Baptists, since Independent Baptist Churches have always refused to join together with either the pagan false religions or with the Great Roman Catholic Whore of Rome.
How then can Satan accomplish such a lofty goal of getting rid of those Independent Baptists who stand in his way? Satan has many weapons in his arsenal to use in this great battle against Christ and against the People of God. One such method of Satan has been the direct frontal attack: trying to persuade Independent Baptists Churches and their members to support the Great Roman Catholic Whore directly. A good example of such a direct attack by Satan against God's People was Satan's attempt last year to get Independent Baptists to support his Great Roman Catholic Whore movie, anti-Semite Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ".
Generally, however, Satan is not so bold in his use of such direct means. Instead, the old "Serpent" generally uses more "subtle" means to try and persuade Independent Baptists to join together with non-Independent Baptists, who themselves join up in various ways with this Great Whore. Along this line of attack, organizations such as the "International Baptist Network" (IBN) have been set up to join together Independent Baptists with Non-Independent Baptists, (such as from the Southern Baptist Convention and others), who are themselves moving back towards the Great Roman Catholic Whore. That old Serpent Satan, as he did with Eve in the Garden of Eden, often uses many other "subtle" methods. Satan is determined to destroy the Independent Baptist movement, because Independent Baptists stand in the way of Satan's great plans for the Antichrist and his Whore.
Those who support Satan's plan for joining together Independent Baptists with non-Independent Baptists and the Great Roman Catholic Whore are called New-Evangelicals, Pseudo-Fundamentalists, and Bapticatholics. There are many such compromising Christians and Tares Among the Wheat, men such as James Dobson, the late Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, and Rick Warren.
Unfortunately, as we move ever deeper deeper into the Great Apostasy, those on the side of God and Jesus, (those who insist that Independent Baptists must remain truly independent), are becoming less and less vocal in their insistence. Some are joining the Great Ecumenical Movement as it slides down towards Satan and the forces of the Antichrist, the Pope, and Hell. These are certainly days of Great Apostasy! Nevertheless, as today's apostasy becomes ever darker as we approach the unveiling of the Antichrist, we should expect this Laodicean Age Great Apostasy to continue because:
"While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept." (Matt. 25:5)
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