Apostasy of the Church in the Last Days

The river is morality... flowing from righteousness downstream to depravity.  The rock with the cross represents Jesus and His sacrifice for sinners. Note that the rock and cross are at the most upstream part of the river, because there is none more righteous than Jesus.

The rubber raft with the boat anchor attached to the rock represents discipled believers. Those are Christians who are in genuine fellowship with other believers, submitting to one another, encouraging one another (and the 40+ "one anothers" of the New Testament), studying Scripture, submitting themselves to what Scripture commands, worshipping the Lord in spirit and truth, and actively pursuing righteousness as their role in the process of Sanctification.  They are anchored to Christ and are not pulled away by the current of the river.

The tugboat represents the unbelieving world. It is not only going with the flow down the river toward increasing depravity, it's motor is moving it downstream even faster than the current carries it.  Tugboats are powerful vessels capable of pulling things much larger and heavier than themselves.

The rubber lifeboat that has a rope attached to the tugboat represents undiscipled believers. These are Christians who compare themselves to the world and see that they are separate from the world. They're not on the tugboat, they're in a rubber raft just like the disciples are, but their raft is not anchored to Christ. They are in churches that have brought the edginess and interests of the world into the church... in a pragmatic attempt to share the Gospel with unbelievers. These churches are social gatherings rather than opportunities for genuine fellowship, growth, and discipleship.

One the surface, both rubber rafts look the same.  But as the tugboat continues its journey downstream, the raft tied to it is pulled further downstream. From the perspective of those on that raft, they still see themselves as "separate from the world" (which they are)... but from the perspective of the cross and what the Lord has commanded for His people, they are drifting further and further away.

From the perspective of those in the raft anchored to Christ, they see themselves feeling more and more distant from those other Christians and yet they see that they're still close to Christ.  This is where the confusion comes in. "I haven't drifted from the Lord yet I'm feeling more distant from other Christians".   While it is possible that we might be fooling ourselves, for one who is abiding in Christ, the answer is, "you haven't drifted... they have."

So what should we do?  If we are ones in the rubber raft tied to the tugboat, find a discipling church that truly teaches the Word, offers opportunities for genuine fellowship, where God is honored and worshiped, and is anchored to Christ.

If we are already in the raft anchored to Christ, if we have an opportunity to minister to a brother or sister who is in the other rubber raft, encourage them to compare themselves to what Scripture commands all believers, offer to come alongside and seek the Lord together, invite them to join you in that raft anchored to Christ.

This isn't a matter of self-righteousness, arrogance, or pride... but the humility to know that but for God's grace, we could be in a raft tied to the world... a world that grows darker and more anti-christ by the moment.