Shortly after the beginning of the twentieth century (XX), the Church in the American continent experienced a revival in tongues and spiritual gifts. This revival, accompanied by a significant influx of missionaries, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, gave birth to numerous new works.
Inexperience, novelty, and a lack of connection with Christianity's historical and doctrinal past did not hinder the Holy Spirit. He infused wisdom, revelation, guidance, and power into the simple children of God, who boldly preached the Gospel of Good News. The decline in the Church's influence and progress was not due to mistakes made, but rather to human efforts proudly striving to reduce the body of Christ to an obsolete earthly institution: the corporate church. This is where the guidance of the Spirit through the Word was forsaken, replaced by new regulations, human agendas, and economic and social goals. These undermined believers' freedom, attacking their simple faith in Christ and compromising the unity and true freedom of the body of Christ.
In this "new church," pastors who faithfully preached and taught the Word were considered outdated. The corporation demanded different kinds of "professionals" to fill its coffers, for purposes such as building construction and modern advertising. A ministerial hierarchy akin to kings, disguised with biblical names, established taxes and financial burdens on council members. Their aggressive proselytizing campaigns sought to increase membership through innovative methods unrelated to sound doctrine, the Gospel of Christ, and the promise of Eternal Life—a mere earthly gospel.
The corporate church of the new millennium promotes figures of successful businessmen, numbers, and empty, false titles—profiting not from the true gospel, but from a cheap imitation sold at great cost. It values trendy worldly works, flaunting them as the world does. One might aptly apply to this corporate church the message to the Churches in Sardis and Laodicea: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God." (Revelation 3:1, 17-18)
Certainly, the corporate church, divorced from Christ, seeks earthly riches that are condemned to perish. Should the day arrive when paganism and Satanism obliterate that church completely, the Church of Christ, with its imperishable promises, will never be overcome. This scenario helps us understand the parable of the virgins in Matthew 25: "Five of them were wise, and five were foolish." The foolish ones took their lamps but brought no oil, while the wise took oil in their vessels along with their lamps. When the bridegroom came, those who were ready entered with him to the wedding, and the door was shut. The Lord told the others who came late, "Truly, I say to you, I do not know you." The Lord does not recognize the corporate church preaching a doctrine of men, whose gods are money, fame, vainglory, and false apostles. He does not acknowledge the corporate church hiding behind a false façade of Christianity, which follows worldly designs of cruelty, fantasy, idolatry, and violent arrogance.
God does not acknowledge it because this corporation depends not on the Spirit, but on numbers, appearances, money, fame, strength, and arrogance led by corrupt men masquerading as pious. The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in this new millennium faces these five foolish virgins, who rely not on the Spirit, but on the world. It confronts them because this corporate entity has wrongfully assumed the name of church on Earth. As Christ's church, we must stand firm in defending the Lord's doctrine and the Gospel of Truth, exposing the falsehoods condemned by the Word: "Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever." (Jude 11-13)
Trusting that God is on our side and that our labor in Christ is not in vain, we must confront these fierce adversaries who lack ethics and scruples to remove us. Our weapons are those of the Spirit, not of the world: prayer, proclamation, and submission to the Spirit of God. The world and its desires are passing away, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
