Friday, March 27, 2026
Last week I wrote to you about the decline of Christianity identified as the smoke and mirrors church with its opulent pompous wealth, Hollywood-style productions, stage performers, fake smoke machines and glitzy lighting, sensationalizing what’s supposed to be a worship service. That kind of production costs great sums of money without which church leaders would not be able to produce such a costly entertainment event. Have you ever considered what funds those extravaganzas? It’s through mammon, “filthy lucre” (1 Peter 5:2 KJV) and lots of it. How is it acquired? Through theft of the illicit tithe in rebellion to God’s tithing commands as 2/3 of the tithe belongs to you and your family and the other 1/3 is meant for the needy, Deut. 14:22–29.
“The Shepherd and Overseer” (1 Peter 2:25) of every true Christian, and by extension the true Christian church, said “No servant [a believer] 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” (Luke 16:13), “mammon” meaning money, wealth of “filthy lucre”. It’s like Jesus said to the rich man “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. But when he [the rich man] heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’ For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:22–25). Today’s wealth driven church is just like that rich man.
If pastors and church leaders were stripped of the church’s wealth they could see clearly to care more for the transformation of souls, to care for the needy, and prepare people for these wicked end-times instead of pleasing the flesh with Hollywood-styled performances. But as it now is the two-masters church is blinded by money. She is lukewarm with one foot in faith and the other in desiring “filthy lucre” (1 Peter 5:2 KJV), of which the Holy Spirit said “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:10). Strip the churches of their illicitly acquired wealth, prosperity and Hollywood-styled showmanship, and the worldly-inspired shows will stop which is exactly what the “Shepherd and Overseer” of the church desires of leadership.
Otherwise “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see” (Rev. 3:15–18). Many church leaders today measure their success by their wealth and ability to produce sensationally charged shows that delight and satisfy the flesh. But worldly measuring and conduct like that is absolutely not of God proven by the record of Scripture itself.
Many church pastors have become so accustomed to robbing the people through the tithe that they no longer see anything wrong with it, having no conscience or guilt against pilfering pew-sitters of their hard-earned money. As a result millions of dollars of cold hard cash, tithe cash, big business cash, sit in bank accounts of many churches that can afford the world’s smoke and mirrors entertainment to stimulate the flesh as impressionable hearts and minds are deceptively led to believe that this pleases Almighty God in Christ. The truth is, however, you cannot find one example of any New Testament First Century church that conducted itself in this manner, because they experienced persecution for walking out and living the gospel of God in Christ.
Ahh, persecution. Western Christianity largely thinks itself above being persecuted and one very effective way to guard against persecution is to look, act and behave as the world: blend in, don’t stand out. Don’t even give the opportunity for ridicule from governments or the unbelieving and ungodly, spare the church as it goes along to get along. Case in point: Israel, unbelieving Christ-hating Israel has most evangelical churches wrapped around its little finger. Yet, believers go to Israel by the droves, by the thousands, but they dare not mention the name of Jesus Christ in the hearing of unbelieving Jews lest they offend those Jews while those Jews collect tens of millions of evangelical church tithe dollars! And since thousands of church leaders are provably afraid of offending unbelieving Jews with the gospel of Christ, can you imagine how fearful they also are of offending unbelievers right here in the US with the true, unfiltered gospel of God in Christ!
Indeed, “the love of money”, “mammon”, that “filthy lucre” is the common denominator that shields against persecution. The extravagantly wealthy church of our generation is clearly the Laodicean church of whom Jesus spoke at Rev. 3:14–22. Christ said “I stand at the door and knock. [notice He’s not inside but outside saying] If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 3:20–22). Today, because many ministers pursue wealth and notoriety, few have ears to hear what the Spirit says because of the worldly distraction and production of smoke and mirrors entertainment afforded those churches given to the love of money while Christ stands outside knocking on their door. Will the wealthy, 501c3, self-sufficient, culture-accommodating church awake to its poverty?
Consider: fear of the 7-year Tribulation is yet another reason churches are wealthy, making null and void the testimony of Jesus while falsely promising a pre-trib rapture. Churches have gained incredible wealth by selling book series, videos, movies and teaching seminars based on its false promise that believers won’t be on earth for the Tribulation. Fear of not being rich like the world is a catalyst to unbelief of many areas of God’s word, but collecting the corrupted tithe and great sums of wealth from the false pre-trib rapture soothes the deceived heart in its trusted unbelief.
But Jesus Christ, the returning King of kings and Lord of lords, gathers His elect (and yes, true believers are His elect) at “the resurrection of the dead” (John 5:28–29), at the rapture when “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven … with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16), “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31), “at the last day” (John 6:40), “at the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:51–52), which is the seventh trumpet, when “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Rev. 11:15), and “every eye will see Him” (Rev. 1:7). Amen!
My second book “ON EAGLES’ WINGS” explains in detail how to know Christ and find God’s Bozrah sheepfold of safety and place of provision for the last 1,260 days of the great tribulation.
Marlin J. Yoder
