You're absolutely right about legalists. They like to put people between a rock and a hard place, finding fault no matter which way you turn. If you're being persecuted it must be due to hidden sin in your life; if you're not, it's because you won't take a stand. Jesus did say "Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline", but that only happens if we need it!  The legalists don't seem to understand that God will only do what is necessary to cause growth, not to be mean. Some people learn their lessens without much help, but others need what we call "2 by 4 counselling". (If you don't know, that means the only way God can get some people's attention is to hit them with a 2x4.)

But there's also persecution God allows just so we can earn rewards. And this earning of rewards is not some lust for gold but an opportunity to put our words into action and see how much we really love God. People today throw the word 'love' around so much they don't remember what it means. It's not lust or a fragile emotion, but an act of will, a pledge of loyalty and honor.

I'm pretty sure I've got a blog post around here where I tried to present what I think is the most likely way God intended his Word to be understood, the literal/historical/grammatical hermeneutic. But even among those who use this approach, there are many disagreements due to our weakness for seeing what we want to see and trying to make the scriptures fit what our theological system demands (a.k.a. Systematic Theology). Some see that as a fault of Christianity, but I see it as us being the "body" we were designed to be.

A long time ago I posted something in a forum here on the idea that we believers all look out different windows in the same building. There are some things we all see, but other things only some can see, due to their vantage point. So we should not be expected to all see the same things, but on the other hand, we must not criticize other believers for not seeing what we see. We need, as a church, to start trusting each other's visiion and gifts, which are not all given to one person. Only by learning from other believers and telling them what we know too can the body function as it should. But it rarely works that way. We have domineering types effectively saying "I have no need of you!", control freaks who demand everyone look out one window.

Good point also about the globalization and depersonalization going on now. The goal of all non-Biblical meditation is to meld into a giant blob of cosmic consciousness (or really, unconsciousness), and it's the theme of the juggernaught known as Purpose Driven. The masses are being homogenized. And we can't have national sovereignty in this brave new world, that's too dangerous. One of the symbols of the world government that's been forming since WWII and is now going public, is a picture of the Tower of Babel being rebuilt and expanded. The message is unmistakeable: defy God!.

I agree, Satan is the intelligence that drives and pushes behind the scenes, knowing exactly how to get people to do his bidding, much like what politicians call "useful idiots". He has raged against God putting puny man over him since we were created, and he longs to enslave us all. Free, independent thinking must die in that kingdom. He'll push any and every religion but the True one, any god but YHWH, any christ but Jesus, any meditation but rational study of the Bible.

I've re-written my website article on Church, in which I rant about the institution of Churchianity. Don't know if you've seen it, but here's the link: Church

Also, there's a blog entry here somewhere called Domination that goes along with what you said. And that lack of understanding the gospel is why I wrote the one about what we should be telling the lost, since most churches don't have a clue. I only hope that people who need to see it will, and that it happens soon.