The Forerunner And The Final Trumpet: Preparing For The Coming King (Parts 1 & 2) Series

The Forerunner and the Final Trumpet: Preparing for the Coming King (Parts 1 & 2)

October 18, 2025

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

Luke 1:67-80

Somewhere in the halls of our universities, in our capitol buildings, on the glow of our screens, and even inside our sanctuaries, a spiritual revolt is taking place. It isn’t loud. It doesn’t wave banners. It simply erodes truth one compromise at a time. That revolt is called apostasy. This is not a malaise that is catching God by surprise, the Apostle Paul warned this day was coming

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, (1 Timothy 4:1)

The latest research from the American Worldview Inventory shows that only 4 percent of American adults hold a truly biblical worldview—and only 6 percent of professing Christians think biblically about God, sin, salvation, and truth. Ninety-four percent of the Church now filters life through the lens of the world instead of the Word. When worldview dies, morality follows. As the biblical foundation crumbles, we see the fruit everywhere—confusion replacing conviction, entertainment replacing worship, feelings replacing faith.

If we do not know Scripture, understand doctrine, and live by the Spirit, then we are drifting into apostasy. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that in any closed system, energy naturally moves from order to disorder — from structure to decay — unless an external force acts upon it. In other words, if you leave something alone, it doesn’t evolve; it devolves. That’s why engines rust, fires burn out, and houses collapse when neglected. Without continual input of energy and maintenance, everything drifts toward entropy — chaos.

The same law applies to the human soul and to the Church. If we are not daily fed by Scripture, anchored in sound doctrine, and filled with the Spirit, then we are a closed system — slowly cooling, losing spiritual energy, and drifting toward apostasy. Truth, once neglected, always decays. Faith, once ignored, always fades. Churches, once vibrant, always grow cold when the Word of God stops fueling the flame.

That’s why Jude wrote, “Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3) And why Paul told Timothy, “Fan into flame the gift of God.” (2 Tim. 1:6)

The Second Law reminds us: the natural direction of a fallen world is down. But when the Spirit of God invades a life — when the fire of His Word and the breath of His Spirit enter the system — entropy reverses, but only through the fire of the Spirit. The Church doesn’t drift into holiness; it must be driven there by the power of God.

But we are watching the Church drift into silence, while other worldviews are anything but silent. Secularism preaches its gospel daily through media and education. Humanism and relativism demand allegiance. False religions are boldly contending for the hearts of our children. Islam is taking over the west. They are immigrating in massive numbers. In Europe Muslims are having babies 10:1 compared to Europeans. In England, Mohammad is the number one name for boys, up 700%. In Minnesota they now broadcast the Islam call to prayer. Antisemitism is on the rise in numbers not seen since WWII, except it is happening world-wide.

So while many believers hesitate to speak the name of Jesus in public, others proclaim their devotion with unapologetic zeal. Pulpits are silent on current events and issues, like abortion, sexuality, paganism, Israel, and much more. All in the name of ‘balance’ but the piety is leading to an erosion in the Church that we’ve never seen before. The ELCA has deem some Scriptures inappropriate, and scoffers in the church barrate pastors who do speak up.

knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:3–4)

We’re watching society collapse in real time—shaking our heads and blaming the inmates for running the asylum. When it was the Church that handed them the keys. We are called to be the restraining force against evil, but through silence and compromise, we empowered it. The rot is spreading because the salt lost its flavor. We were commissioned to restrain evil, not to reason with it.

So the message to the Church is clear: Wake up. The battle for truth never sleeps. If ever there were a time to recover our voice, it is now. Our pulpits must be ablaze with truth, not neutered by neutrality. The world doesn’t need more cautious sermons — it needs courageous ones. The time for appeasement is over; the time for awakening has come.