What is Going to Happen in the 21st Century to the Church?

Everyone is too fat right now. The stock markets is up, home prices are up. No worries! Not until the world suffers, and those in the church, will people begin to read the Bible more deeply. When they do so, they will look at Biblical locality as the solution to the problems of gluttony, spending orgies, over population, causing the commodities markets (e.g. estimates oil is going to over $100 U.S. by 2010) today to be at all time new highs.

Instead of people abiding in the truth when things are good, they will only consider the truth, when they are suffering. So be it! You might even say, because the church did not abide in the truth, this is why it is in ruin. We can't expect the world to follow suit, but the church causes its own problems.

Only when troubles set in will people look to the solution. This is the predictable behavior of man and carnal Christians. Just like the Boxer Rebellion in China, which killed tens of thousands of saints in the 19th century, brought about a deeper reading of the Word of God, and thus Biblical locality, it will be the same again in this century. There is nothing new under the sun. Note: I am certainly not saying the church caused their own martyrdom in the 19th century in China, since they would have been martyred irregardless. What I am saying is the martyrdom by the world against the church in China induced Christians in China to take a deeper look at the Word of God, which was the deepest look at the Word of God since the first century church period of Ephesus when the body of Christ lost its first love.

If anyone who says they are a believer in Christ can not see this, then you are certainly a fleshly carnal Christian.

- The Boxer Uprising or Boxer Rebellion was a violent movement against non-Chinese commercial, political, religious and technological influence in China during the final years of the 19th century, from November 1899 to September 7, 1901. By August 1900 over 230 foreigners, tens of thousands of Chinese Christians, an unknown number of rebels, their sympathizers and other Chinese had been killed in the revolt and its suppression.