Category: false teachers

Posted in beth moore, discernment, false teachers, idol

An editorial about Beth Moore’s teaching, and her followers

Posted on by elizabethprata

This is an opinion editorial.

Pam Terrell runs the blog “The Secret Life of a Pastor’s Wife“. Mrs Terrell recently published a critique of Beth Moore, here. The same thing happened to her as happens with anyone who says anything negative about Mrs Moore. Her next post was titled “The Day My Blog Blew Up.”

Wikipedia CC

Mrs Terrell explained what happened, and how many comments she had received. Some were positive, along the lines of ‘thank you for posting this discerning information about a false teacher.’ Others were rabidly angry that their idol had been poked.

I sympathized with her. I had previously quoted Mrs Terrell in one of my many, many, MANY essays about Beth Moore but I had not seen the follow up. Every other blogger that I’ve read who posted something negative about Beth Moore (and they were few & far between for a long while, whistling in the wind) ALL got the same reactions, the same content in the comments, even. One thing I read recently that hit me is “to see if something is an idol, poke it and see how the followers react.”

One comment that people who try to defend Moore’s teaching say a lot is that “you’re jealous.” The ‘you’re jealous’ comment perplexes me the most. Commenters reacting to my pieces on Moore also say that I’m inhibiting people from delving into the word, it’s just my opinion, and I need to stop being critical. Not one ever comes up with a biblical reason to rebut my biblical reason for taking issue with Moore’s teachings. That’s because there aren’t any.

Saying ANYTHING negative about Beth Moore provokes a rabid-push back. Lately though, and thankfully too, some men have been speaking out against her methods and her false theology. Todd Friel, Mike Abendroth, Justin Peters, Jim Murphy, Tim Challies and Matt Slick at Christian Research and Apologetics Ministry (all pastors) have all recently said negative things about Moore in one aspect or another, based on her handling of the bible and what/how she teaches. I wonder if these female commenters would say that the men are “jealous” too!

Moore makes weak disciples because her teachings promote straying from from sola scriptura, providing a poor model for the new Christians coming up. She makes doubters, offers legalism, and puts in lots of conditions to faith. As a result, people wander from Jesus-the-rock and becoming scared of their doubts (i.e ‘am I doing faith right?’) they go back to Moore. It’s why she has so many groupies.

It’s hard, as a discernment person, to see so vividly how the false ones are damaging the faith and striking the sheep. I worry deeply and almost every day for women in my own congregation. So my fears are not just for the women ‘out there’ but also ‘in here’.

Moore, Rick Warren and formerly Billy Graham have been the 20th century’s worst wolves, and I am sad to say I have to put Osteen in that category too now. I say ‘sad’ because it’s so OBVIOUS Osteen is false, but increasingly, people don’t see it. At least Moore, Graham and Warren hid their apostasy for so long that it took a keen eye and a God-delivered wisdom to detect it. In other words, props for subtle cunning. Osteen is just blatantly blasphemous. However the bible does say that apostasy will increase, and Osteen certainly is evidence of that.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables”
(2 Timothy 4:3-4).My sadness with Moore is now she is passing into the grandma stage, an elder woman of the faith, meaning she has been around so long she has birthed spiritual daughters…just like Revelation 2:20-23 says of the false prophetess-type Jezebel.

This is a subject near to my heart. I just want to run around to every woman and put my arms around them to protect them. But my arms are too short. The way to do that is prayer. Jesus’s arms are long enough.

Posted in discernment, false teachers, holy living

How do you confront a brother or sister who follows a false teacher?

Posted on by elizabethprata

This blog is about prophecy, discernment and encouragement. In the discernment department, I write a lot about false teachers and show from the bible how and why the particular ones mentioned are false. I do the same with false doctrines.

However it is harder to know how to approach a person in your church who is under the sway of some of these teachings. You know that so-and-so is false. They don’t. There is no question that the issue shouldn’t be raised, because after all, the gifts are to be used for the building up of the saints to the ultimate glory of His name. Jesus wants a pure church. The Spirit works hard to ensure it, so that we can point to Jesus in holiness. But HOW do you approach someone you see involved in a Beth Moore study, or going to a Bethel Redding or IHOP conference, or using a curriculum by Henry Blackaby?

It reminds us that faith cannot be removed or detached from the realm of real life.
~John MacArthurIt’s one thing to know about false teachers in the academic sense, but quite another to put the information to edifying use inside a church teaching situation. Both theological knowledge and deeds are important in a Christian. I’ve had the opportunity to approach some various church leaders and some brethren in various churches regarding different false teachings or teachers. With that in mind here is what I did when approaching a person about a false teacher.

Please understand that this is not a template or a method to be mindlessly copied. I’m just a forgiven sinner, a woman in Georgia working out my salvation with fear and trembling. There may be other ways to bring up the subject in a church or with a person. There are undoubtedly other scriptures to rely on as the basis for the action. Please share your method and your thoughts on scriptures that apply to the issue.

Painting by echo feng, cc license

First of all, if you desire to approach someone about a false teacher or false doctrine in your church, it demonstrates the love you have of Jesus to care for His name so much that you want to protect your sisters from the dangers and poison that false teaching brings! “And many will follow their [false teachers] sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed,” (2 Peter 2:2). False teachers bring these heresies in and it always leads to destruction of those who follow- if they don’t repent. (Revelation 2:22-23). Therefore, remaining silent about the poison false teaching brings is actually hate. Helping brethren avoid the predators is helping them to abide in Him (1 John 2:27) and is love.

Though it is for the glory of the name of Jesus, it’s hard to share even with a wise and trainable sister, one who wants to know and asked to know, about a favored false teacher, only to then see her saddened over the truth. Thankfully, these kind of hard feelings are fleeting and ultimately relationship building and not relationship-destroying.

On the other end of the spectrum, some people become very angry when told that a false teacher isn’t worth pursuing. These people are usually bound up in pride, and they cling to the teacher because they have invested their ego and pride in making the decision to follow them in the first place. It is called “Deception by Investment”, and these people remain angry, but at you, for bringing it to light. They would rather continue investing in the false teacher instead of looking it up like a Berean, so as not to puncture their pride. This kind of anger can be relationship destroying because you become the object of their ire rather than the false teacher who is blaspheming Jesus.

The first step is always prayer. The first pass in the process is always pray for your pastor, teachers, and

By Chris Yarzab, cc license

Sunday School Director (who makes the decisions about which books to buy) or brother or sister you’ve developed a burden for.

Second, because it is a leader who makes the decisions on what curriculum to bring forward, I usually make an appointment with the leader and sit down in private and discuss my concerns. Even if it is a church member and not a leader who you want to talk with, still, make an appointment, maybe for coffee. Ask to stay after Wednesday night prayer meeting for a few minutes. Go to brunch after church.

I’d let the leader know that in the upcoming meeting you’re going to share concerns about such and such a teacher, so they will know what the meeting will be about- and so they can pray more specifically too. I’ve done this with the Pastor, Sunday School Superintendent, Teacher, and Ladies Ministry Leader. I don’t want to sandbag them or embarrass them publicly so I always ask to meet.

Most importantly and scripturally, meeting in private is also an acknowledgement of their office as leader, Hebrews 13:17 says,

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Pray before the meeting. A lot.

Molly Sabourin
Original was in color

Third, when you meet: if they are a leader worth their salt, they will appreciate your humble approach and also appreciate the opportunity you’ve given them to personally research the issue you’re putting before them, and to pray. Even if you’re speaking with a sister, and even if they are confused or angry with the subject of the talk, they will see the lengths you’ve gone to reach them in love. If you were in error and didn’t know it, wouldn’t you want someone to come alongside and put their arm around you and take time and speak to you in love? (Mark 12:31).

In my opinion another benefit of doing it this way is that if my interpretation of the verses and the scriptures leading me to a conclusion that a teacher is false is actually  incorrect, the leader can then have an opportunity to instruct me.

This woman’s short essay on how she chose to bring up a Beth Moore teaching to a sister who was about to enter a BM study was really good. I find it instructive and encourage you to read it, too. Loving sisters who love Beth Moore.

Fourth, in the meeting, (if you get a chance to meet in privately or one-on-one), I’d have put together some notes about why you feel so and so is an unprofitable teacher. I use notes when I speak to the leader or person because I’m very shy socially and I refer to notes because I get really tangled up and I forget the points I’d wanted to make. I give it to them when we’re done. This helps because it gives someone a chance to later read over what you’ve said.

I’d keep it short and choose the worst offenses from the teacher’s cadre of false indicators. For example, though I’ve written about Beth Moore’s falsity many times, I am especially aggravated at the vision she says she had where Jesus spoke to her like she was a prophet and told her the church was paralyzed by unbelief. To me, it is the clearest example of her falsity. The link for that essay explaining why it is a false vision, with scriptures, is here: “Examining Beth Moore’s Statement ‘My Bride is Paralyzed by Unbelief’

Here is a good web page from Rev Matt Slick (who runs CARM.org) outlining succinctly Beth Moore’s many aberrations, you could pick and choose which ones the Spirit seems to be leading you to. The site has similar summaries for other false teachers, as well.

FMI: Is Beth Moore a false teacher?When you meet, the main idea is not to make an airtight legal case, but to share solid information particular to your heart and the church’s situation, and then to step back and let the Spirit apply these truths to their hearts.

I’d also include some verses which support your right and duty to point these things out, a few are above in the beginning of this post, a few are below. Just in case you get the old chestnut “Judge Not!” verse or “Touch not God’s anointed!”

  • Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
  • 2 Timothy 3:5 Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people
  • Romans 16:17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.

5. When it comes time for the ladies study to begin, and the leader has dismissed your concerns or hasn’t had time to work through it yet, or the Sunday School class is about to start, have your prayerful decision ready. I hope it is that you will choose not to attend. If you’re asked by the other ladies or men why you’re not attending, have a short statement ready in your mind to reply. Not as detailed as you give the leader, but enough to say in a sound bite which conclusively states your opinion.

Something like “I have researched Beth Moore’s doctrine and her teaching methods and have come to the conclusion that since she confesses hearing from Jesus and having visions, she twists scripture from its historical context and allegories it too often, as she did in her Strongholds book with misapplying Galatians 5:1, so it seems she is a false teacher and I decided not to partake of the study. I’d be more than happy to talk about this later with anyone who has concerns with my (and my husband’s?) decision.”

Salem (MA) Public Library, cc photo

Or you might say, “Joel Osteen is a word-faith preacher who refuses to preach the whole counsel of God and since Ephesians 4:14 says to preach the whole counsel of God, Osteen demonstrates a lack of discernment and a rebellion against the Spirit inspired word, so I humbly decline to attend the study.” And then your absence from it will be the continuing statement.

Use scripture in all cases, with the leader and with the brethren and in all discussions. It is the power of God to apply truth to hearts. Always use scripture. I can’t say it enough, it is of extreme importance. Use scripture. It is not our earnestness or our fervor or our zeal which will win them over. It is not a carefully constructed argument. It is not the power of our intellect which will pierce the spell they are under with a false teacher. It is the Word!

“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 2:12-13).

The Spirit will resonate the verses you use in minds and hearts, and if I was a betting woman, at least one of them will seek you out later to say, “I had concerns too, but couldn’t put my finger on them. Can you tell me more?” And by golly you can hand them the same paper you gave the Leader you chose to speak with previously.

6. At all times keep praying. And keep loving the sisters and brothers who are under the teacher’s spell, by all means. Some of them might be false converts but some of them will be truly brethren in the faith, standing on the same blood soaked ground you’re standing on.

‘Under A Spell” rjg329, cc license

The spell of the false teacher is always powerful. Picture a doctrine-whisperer seducing the brethren.

I was reading up on Beth Moore the other night. I read one woman’s blog where she had written that she had attended a Living Proof conference and really wanted to talk with Moore, because two of her children had died and she knew Moore could share the grief of child-loss, since Moore had given her adopted son back to his mother after raising him for 7 years. This blogger said she approached a counselor at the back of the arena when the conference was over. The following is an excerpt from her narrative. While I understand the woman was in the throes of grief, it is still a startling example of how deeply people get wrapped up in false teachers:

“As we were walking and I was crying, I realized that Beth Moore was standing right beside me with her back to me. I looked at the woman leading me out of the room and held up my hand as if to say, “Just one minute.” With my other hand, I reached out and literally took a hold of Beth’s arm as if it were my only chance to ever be that close to her and feel her love. I couldn’t help but think of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ robe……not implying that Beth has this same power, but simply saying that I truly wanted a blessing from Beth and in touching her hoped that I would receive it.”

These women are truly ensnared! Those who follow false teachers are caught up on something satanic. We can’t beat satan but the Spirit of God can. I say satanic because the false teacher always tries to shift your gaze from Jesus to themselves. So many of them have elevated the teacher to a status they certainly don’t deserve but if they are so emotionally (or financially) invested, they will balk at the notion that they have misplaced their trust. Just be sensitive.

On the other hand sometimes the Spirit helps by moving a person out off range of the predator. Distance helps clear the vision and they see the false teacher in a new light.

This is the narrative of a pastor’s wife who moved from Alabama to Wisconsin to plant a church with her husband. She used to love Beth Moore but found out after the move that her love affair was drying out. Her writing is clear and down to earth funny. “Secret Life of a Pastor’s wife: Breaking Up with Beth Moore“

Josh Mishell, cc license

“Even though I am a native Southerner, born and bred in Alabama and having lived in the south all of my life, when I look through my Midwestern lenses, Beth Moore is not relevant. Her homey humor, “beloved,” and “bless your heart” sayings don’t translate. I would watch the faces of native Wisconsinites as they watched her DVD. They thought she was cheesy and as much of an over-the-top caricature as Jeff Foxworthy. “You girls, know what I’m sayin’, right? We wouldn’t be caught dead without our face on and our hair did.” Hah! Most of the Wisconsin women I know can shovel snow, chop wood, and milk a cow without batting an eye. So many of my students grew up on dairy farms and were out milking cows by 5 am, shared a room with 4 other siblings, and didn’t have a car until they graduated from college and bought their own. Concern about curling their hair in Africa would not rank in their list of concerns. And quite frankly, she’s very patronizing to women and holds very, very strict gender stereotypes.”

Nick Sherman, cc license

If a teacher doesn’t translate it is because they are embedded in the world and using the world’s language- the wrong language. God’s word always translates because He transcends distance and time.

The upshot is that even if initially your message about a false teacher is not received, the Spirit is always working. He perhaps had prepared the person you’re going to speak with by sending other people prior to you. Or subsequent to your talk, His work might continue in physically moving the person from the location of false teacher’s sphere…or cause financial hardship to prevent cable subscription so TBN won’t come into their house anymore, or to simply illuminate the scriptures when that person is reading the bible, or continue the work in a zillion ways we can’t anticipate. Though we get emotionally wrapped up in the conversation, it is not the only thing the Spirit is doing and His work extends far beyond our little participation in it.

“so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)

That’s why we use the Word and not our opinion in these talks. Our opinion is just a puff of wind, but His word is always working!

7. Not to say that it always works out. Sometimes the person you speak with doesn’t see the light but your exhortation might entrench them further into their snare. This, too, is the work of God. His glory is always the highest outcome of everything we do. He is working for the glory of His name. This is where I found Ezekiel 2:3-7 especially helpful-

Flickr marsmet533, cc license

“And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.”

NOT that we’re prophets but on His day the person will have no excuse. In Revelation 2:20-22 Jesus is describing a false prophetess and commanding John to tell the church at Thyatira to leave off her and repent, and He gave them time to repent. He is always reaching for His sheep. But not all repent and leave off the false teacher, but His glory is such that they will know they were told. Ultimately, it is not up to us and it is not about us, but about Him and His glory, now and on His Day.

In conclusion, those are my thoughts on how to approach a person involved with a false teacher.

  1. Pray, (Philippians 4:6)
  2. Research with biblical accuracy to the best of your ability, (2 Timothy 2:15)
  3. Respect your leaders, (1 Thessalonians 5:12-14 )
  4. Meet and talk humbly of the issue, (Galatians 6:1)
  5. Share notes, (1 John 2:1)
  6. Be open to correction, (Hebrews 12:11)
  7. Pray some more, (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Ephesians 6:18)
  8. Separate from the false teacher, doctrine, curriculum, or teaching (Romans 16:17)
  9. Remain reliant on the Spirit no matter the perceived, observed, temporal outcome, (John 14:26)
  10. Pray (Romans 8:26).

Often, I’ve discovered that there are more people in the church who feel the way we do but simply don’t

Yenkassa, cc license

speak up because they don’t know HOW to go about bringing difficult topics up. And for others, the notion of challenging a current popular teacher’s doctrine on a biblical basis will be a new thing to them, because many churches or church members never do it at all. They are watching what we do, which is pursuing holiness and building each other up. (Ephesians 4:11-32; Philippians 2:1-18). There are always wider lessons in everything the Spirit in involved in. Just make sure the Spirit IS involved by being gentle, prayerful and biblically accurate.

This is what I came up with after prayer and research. What do you think? What has been your experience?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Further Reading

Is It Right for a Christian to Expose False Prophets and False Teaching ? (by Damon Whitsell)

Speaking out against false teachers

Why we must pursue holiness

Posted in charismatic, false doctrine, false teachers

The story of Lucy Nduta: of ravenous false prophets and dead sheep

Posted on by elizabethprata

Readers of this blog are aware that I enjoyed the good biblical preaching at the recent Strange Fire conference. That was a conference that sought to refute the claims of the Charismatic movement, to rebuke the leaders of it, and to urge the brethren to pray for discernment so they will be able to detect falsity if it creeps in to their church (or heart).

The Charismatic movement is a movement which is based on the unbiblical notion that personally delivered prophecies, babbling tongues, and healing by men laying hands on the sick (sign gifts) are still going strong as they were at Pentecost and during the Apostolic era.

These sign gifts have ceased, and the preaching at the conference showed this. One of the speakers was Pastor Conrad Mbewe. Pastor Mbewe is pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church in Zambia, Africa. He spoke at John MacArthur’s Strange Fire conference in Sun Valley, Calif., on Oct. 18, 2013. His first sermon was titled,  The African Import of Charismatic Chaos. He has been observing the growth of the Charismatic movement in his nation and beyond, for over thirty years. He has personally been impacted by it, as he said, not just from books but in every day life.

His second message was titled “Are We Preachers or Witch Doctors?” In this sermon, Pastor Mbewe related how the African mindset of the lost person, having been drenched in witch doctor superstition, will readily accept the unbiblical precepts inherent in the Charismatic movement because the two are extremely similar.

The lost person is desperate. It is the default condition of the lost person. They are wandering, empty, their lives are void of meaning. They also have life issues that may be very difficult to deal with and because they don’t have Christ, they do not have a lasting coping mechanism.

The sick, particularly, look for cures from any quarter: medicines, homeopathic, psychology, or spiritual remedies. The sick are often all too vulnerable and willing to grasp any person who claims to have a way, a cure, a method.

This is where Lucy Nduta comes in.

This woman is from Kenya. She calls herself Prophetess Lucy Nduta, and she preaches. In 2007, Worldwide Religious News printed the following, originally printed in the East African Standard

Churches Sow Miracles
“Nairobi, Kenya – The sprouting of countless charismatic churches in the country has heralded a new breed of church leaders and worshippers with strong faith in the power of miracles. An increasing number of Kenyans are turning to ‘sowing the seed’ (giving huge sums of money for offering and tithe) at the prompting of church ministers who promise them to expect prosperity. However, it appears there are ‘men and women of God’ who are out to take advantage of the unwavering faith and ignorance of worshippers. These are people who hide self-interest under the cloak of religion. They quote biblical verses to suit their intentions and convince the congregation of the need to give more in order to receive more.”

What Lucy Nduta did was, in the name of Jesus, take sick people’s money, supposedly pray for them, and lie to them they were healed. But it gets worse, because it gets more diabolical.

Nduta preyed on people with HIV/AIDS, a scourge that particularly affects the people of the African continent. Nduta would claim that she had the power to heal people suffering from HIV/AIDS through her miracle working prayers, and then herd them to a clinic/lab she had built near her church. The sick people would get tested there, and because Nduta owned the lab, she would have the workers give clean bills of health to these unfortunately trusting people, lab reports that were totally bogus. The people really thought they were cured, and sought no further treatment. And of course in gratitude they tithed heavily to Nduta. Then, they died.

The Africa Report stated, “The police later found out that the clinics were her own creation to lure people. She was consequently sentenced to two years in prison. Despite these revelations, thousands still fill churches each Sunday waiting for miracles to happen in their lives.”

Nduta was sentenced in 2008 and got out of prison in 2010.

False pastors who shred the sheep are a scourge. When the verse says-

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”(Matthew 7:15)

Ravenous means, ‘Extremely hungry; voracious, Rapacious; predatory, Greedy for gratification’. Ravenous predators never stop. They eat and kill and eat and kill. That is what they do.

Nduta and now her son, are at it again. This report is from last week, Nov 4, 2013-

“Self-styled prophetess Lucy Nduta Mwangi has called in to defend her activities and that of her son, another self-declared prophet Victor Kanyari. Nduta says there is nothing wrong with what she and her son have been doing adding that they will continue asking for what is called seed money.

The report above ends with the announcer stating that the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya will convene to discus and strategize how to deal with the sudden rise of fake preachers in Kenya.

Ravenous is what wolves are. So if you believe that opening yourself just a tiny bit to doctrines which false prophets bring, you are very, very wrong.

An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?  (Jeremiah 5:30-31)

Posted in bible, discernment, false teachers, peter

Ongoing prophetic fulfillment of Peter’s prediction of false teachers

Posted on by elizabethprata

I have studied the last days prophecies since almost the moment I was born-again. It was obviously and most certainly the niche the Holy Spirit placed me in. I have an earnest and never-quenching desire to learn the word of God, and especially to learn the prophecies in the word of God.

Often when people hear about prophecy, they think of the prominent ones, like the rapture, the Tribulation (AKA Time of Jacob’s Trouble), or the antichrist.

We are in the midst of a last days prophecy being fulfilled. Before I continue explaining which one, I want to make clear that the last days began with the ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit. This opened the Age of Grace. However, the Age of Grace is a period which is foretold to be like birth pangs and to hurtle toward its climactic and chaotic conclusion at Armageddon and the coming of Jesus Christ the second time. As a pregnancy gestates and then concludes, the water breaks and the pains come, at first far apart but then closer together and in more painful and bloody form until the new birth arrives. The new birth is the Kingdom on earth AKA the Millennium Era.

So we have been in the last days for 2000 years. However the prophecies foretold of events occurring at the last 7 years necessitate Israel being reformed, globally instant telecommunications, technologies which support the mark of the beast, Damascus being destroyed, the rise of Russia, etc. and we see infrastructure that align with those prophecies now. Therefore we know that the rapture is even closer and the other prophecies which are not as prominent are being readied to be fulfilled and are being fulfilled in the present day and moment.

The prophecies I’m speaking of today which I see being fulfilled, are 2 Peter 2:1-2 and 2 Peter 2:3. Here they are

GA pastor Creflo Dollar’s house

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.” (2 Peter 2:1-2)

“And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 2:3)

Please note that Peter makes a distinction between the times of old when false prophets trampled the way of God, and today when Peter says false teachers are the ones to watch out for.

Secondly, note that Peter says false teachers will be “among you.” Jesus warned they will wear sheep’s clothing. (Matthew 7:15). When you put on clothes in the morning, you’re hiding the flesh, hiding who you are, covering up. These prophesied false teachers will not be immediately evident as false. They will be among the believers, and they will not be teaching not spouting easily identifiable false teachings at first. They are double agents, infiltrating inside to do their deathly work.

Third, note that Peter said they will secretly bring destructive heresies. They will hold secret blasphemies in their heart, and these heresies and blasphemies will slowly and gradually filter out and permeate the faithful. The false teachers spout poison gas. They don’t spout cyanide or sarin gas, because in using the metaphor, those odorless and colorless gasses kill instantly. No, these false teachers spout carbon monoxide, which takes a while to do its deadly work, lulls the unwary to sleep, and then death comes. “Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide (CO). Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect. Symptoms of mild acute poisoning include lightheadedness, confusion, headaches, vertigo, and flu-like effects; larger exposures can lead to significant toxicity of the central nervous system and heart, and even death.” (source)

See? It takes a while to build up in the bloodstream, but all the while the poison is in your blood it is warping your mind and causing you to not be able to think straight. And note that carbon monoxide poison is “initially” non-irritating. This is exactly how false teachers operate. Eventually the poison’s buildup reaches its critical mass and you fall spiritually.

Beth Moore (and others) at Passion 2012
performing the Catholic mystical Lectio Divina (source)

Fourth, the verse says that followers of the false teachers are in fact following their sensuality. The prosperity gospel false teachers promote the original sin that satan offered Eve, which was lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh. (Genesis 3:6).

My contention is that false teachers and acceptance of their teachings are becoming so common that it’s obvious the prophecy is being fulfilled now, today.
There are so many false teachers who are obvious and rank heretics, but masses and multitudes of ‘Christians’ follow them. Have they all gone mad? Yes. The carbon monoxide buildup in the blood has almost reached its death point. Let’s look at some real examples.

Joseph Smith was the founder of Mormonism (Latter Day Saints). He lived from 1805 to 1844. In his day, he was seen as a madman, a heretic, and a false teacher. From the beginning, Joseph Smith and his followers provoked ridicule for Mormonism’s seemingly magical if not superstitious origins, and opposition as a heresy that dared to claim itself “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth.” (source)

Though he had gained a few thousand converts, once a newspaper article was published exposing his promotion of polygamy and other aberrant “Christian” doctrines, this caused him to be jailed and even then, an angry mob stormed the jail and killed him outright. The men of the area were outraged at Smith’s corruption of marriage, sullying of women by seducing them into polygamy, and exaltation doctrine (humans become gods). Of course I don’t advocate lynching, but it is interesting to note that false prophet Joseph Smith’s blasphemies caused outrage and action. Today we are told to tolerate them.

The United States Congress opposed Mormonism in the form of vigorous opposition to their main tenet at that time: plural marriage. This battle squelched Mormonism’s growth for a long time. By the 1890s the Latter Day Saints movement banned plural marriage so as to escape this opposition in political and secular quarters.

So how does a ridiculed and obviously ridiculous religion in the 1840s, with a disgraced and dead founder, grow in size to 14 million members today?

Joseph Smith,
1st Pres. of Latter Day Saints

After Smith’s death, the cult selected Brigham Young as its leader, and they regrouped, trekked out to Utah’s desert, and became insular and economically self-sufficient. When they finally relinquished its stance on polygamy in the late 1800s, they became poised to grow. Even at that, “Throughout the nineteenth century and most of the twentieth, Mormonism has been viewed as an aberrant, bizarre, isolated, and largely self-contained religious movement cut off from the mainstream of American society.”

Until recently. How is it that a hundred and fifty years ago, an aberrant cult poised to die in the desert, can become the fastest growing faith sector in the United States today?

This 2012 study states there are “reported 2 million new adherents and new congregations in 295 counties where they didn’t exist a decade ago, making them the fastest-growing group in the U.S.”

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” (Hosea 4:6)

In the 1800s, people knew their bible. They could not be fooled. And they not only knew their bible, they lived it, so they could not be drawn away into spiritual lusts like exaltation and fleshly lusts like polygamy. Not so today.

Joyce Meyer used to travel in this Canadair Challenger 600S;
seen here in Sydney, when she was speaker at Hillsong, ’05.
Since then she’s gotten a Gulfstream G-IV. Source Wiki

Today, people are so foolish they are exploited at every turn. The Charismatics are bursting on the scene so fast that they make the Mormon’s growth over a hundred years look like a turtle’s.

For example, Charismatic preacher and heaven tourist Jesse Duplantis has fooled his congregation so well they built him a 34,000 s.f. parsonage. Joyce Meyer fools the deceived so well they give her a jet and multiple homes. Jentezen Franklin supposedly pastors two churches, one in GA and one in CA. In order to get from one to the other on Sundays, his congregation gave him a jet.

“And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 2:3)

And now the people will believe almost anything. They believe Beth Moore when she says Jesus spoke to her in a vision and told her to teach that the bride is doesn’t believe in Jesus. They believe that barking like a dog in worship is holy. They believe Sarah Young has Jesus Calling on the phone line. They believe Don Piper spent 90 minutes in a heaven where he ‘saw’ people in actual bodies (Remember, no one in heaven has a glorified body yet!). They believe four-year-old Colton Burpo when he (or his father) say that everyone in heaven has wings and Jesus rides a rainbow horse. They believe that drawing a circle on the ground and sitting in it makes you spiritual. They believe “worshiping” to songs like Highway to Hell and Michael Jackson’s Thriller is, well, worship. They believe they are living their best life now. For most of them, they are right. Things will only get worse for them after death.

“The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense.” (Proverbs 10:21)

Most don’t even look for truth anymore,
but just for “encounters”, most of which are unbiblical

Lack of discernment is the biggest problem in the church today. Personally, I believe we have passed a tipping point. Now that satan knows how many lack discernment, he is flooding the church buildings, the bookstores, and the television with false teachers and the gullible who don’t know better are building up carbon monoxide by the bucketfuls. To cement his position, satan is teaching that “doctrine” and “theology” are dirty words and all you need is an “encounter” with God. Satan has sifted the wheat and planted enough tares so that that today’s Christian church looks exactly like the chaotic and ridiculous church at Corinth that Paul rebuked.

“They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.“ (Ezekiel 44:23)

Pastors no longer fulfill their duties as overseers. Pulpit Commentary explains the Ezekiel verse above where there were four fundamental duties of the OT priests, three of them relevant to pastors today.

Education: “The education of the people in the fundamental principles of their religion, viz. that a distinction existed between the “holy” and “profane,” or “common,” 

False teachers today deliberately blur that line, teaching that it is ‘tolerant’ and ‘loving’ to accept all teachers and doctrines, and thus they blur the theological lines and Christian distinctives.

Discernment: “and in the practical application of that principle, the art of discerning between the “unclean” and the “clean.” 

In promoting that dreams and visions should be expected of the “sincere” Charismatic person, that extra-biblical revelation via audible encounters or tongues should be common to their faith, they in effect teach that the bible is not sufficient and the word can and should be added to. Without the word, no one knows what is true and what is not. There is little discernment any more.

Church Discipline: “The administration of justice in all disputes arising out of and connected with the practices of their religion.”  

Some true sheep are no longer willing to do the hard work of protecting the body by confronting false ones in the congregation. Or, Pharisee overseers use church discipline as an excuse to rid themselves of the faithful discerning sheep, leaving them space to operate among the goats they attract. (John 7:13, John 9:22)

In other words, pastors abandoned their duties, and the sensuous people, all too willing to follow their lusts, accept false teaching readily. 

Jentezen Franklin has mastered the trick of being in two places at once.

All you need is a jet and a rich congregation to pay for the jet, pilot, and fuel.
Every Sunday.

“For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:4)

The very fact that a Strange Fire conference rebuking the Charismatic movement was necessary in the first place is indicative of the prophecy’s continuing and rapidly advancing fulfillment.

The antidote to carbon monoxide poisoning is to wear a filter that keeps your head clear of the poison. That mask is the bible. Breathing the holy air of truth will always fill your brain and your lungs and your body with a freshness that keeps your mind clear and heart pure.

Meanwhile, know that even as these false teachers are coming on like a flood, Jesus was kind and gracious to tell us in advance. (Matthew 24:25). As we see the flood of falsity and the tragedy of so many who fall, cling to Him who is our faith (Hebrews 12:2)… and soon will be sight. (Luke 21:28)

___________________

Further reading

Watchdog group investigates Jesse Duplantis’ lifestyle

Who Are the Megachurch Leaders Who Decide Elevation Church Pastor Steven Furtick’s ‘Secret’ Salary and Influence His Ministry?

6 Outrageously Wealthy Preachers Under Federal Investigation

Income fit for a King: Joseph Prince and the Pastor’s Pay

The Charismatic Movement in itself offers nothing to enrich true worship (written summary)
The Charismatic Movement in itself offers nothing to enrich true worship (entire audio)

The Devilish Puppet Master of the Word-Faith Movement (part 1, entire audio)
Spiritual Shipwreck of the Word-Faith Movement (part 2, entire audio)

Many Americans claim ‘God told me’

Posted in billy graham, false teachers, john macarthur, my hope america

"My Hope America" with Billy Graham, and a look at Graham’s teachings (Part 1/2)

Posted on by elizabethprata

Billy Graham is about to turn 95-years-old. He is often called “the world’s most admired man” or “the greatest living American.” He is said to have personally presented the Gospel to 215 million people, and to millions more via programs on the web, tv, radio and film.

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.” (Matthew 24:4)

Given Mr Graham’s extensive-lasting impact on the world, his long life, and the flurry of interest around his upcoming movie, “My Hope America with Billy Graham”, I am writing these things so that we can all be reminded that deception can come in any form and at any time.

If you have not been aware of the various aberrant and doctrines Mr Graham believes, then you might be shocked and upset that I am daring even to say these things about such a person of stature. However, as Cecil Andrews laid out the case against Graham carefully out in his 2001 speech, “Billy Graham: The Man and His Message,” (link at end)

“We need to do that [test the spirits] not just with Billy Graham, but with many others who are up on pedestals in the evangelical world. They’ve built a reputation early in their life, but where are they today? I’ll tell you, they are in the forefront of the compromising, ecumenical world that you and I are being challenged with.”

When the Apostle Paul was tested by the Bereans, and his words and teaching compared with scripture, and the Bereans were lauded for it.

“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

Note that they were said to be of noble character because of two things: they received the word with eagerness, and they examined them against Scripture to see if what was being taught was true. Mr Graham, despite his popularity, or perhaps because of it, should no more escape scrutiny than any other teacher of our faith.

Graham, Osteen, Warren

I have long thought personally, that the three seemingly-Christian men most impacting the faith in negative ways in the 20th and 21st century are Billy Graham, Joel Osteen, and Rick Warren. For the women, I personally believe Beth Moore has done the most damage. I’ve written about or mentioned most of those on my list, but not Mr Graham, because he is no longer active. However with his new film being produced and promoted, to be released next month, I felt it necessary to lay out the case for caution, for your scrutiny and edification. Take heed.

Born November 7, 1918, according to the website NNDB, which offers profiles of noteworthy individuals, “Graham’s “big break” came in the 1940s, when publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst got wind of Graham’s then-recurring theme that the Cold War was a showdown between good and evil, and that communists were Satan-worshippers. “Either communism must die or Christianity must die,” Graham famously preached, and Hearst sent a memo to all of his papers’ editors, ordering them to “puff Graham”. Prior to that, Graham had been just another traveling evangelist, holding meetings in half-empty tents. After that and for the rest of his life, he has been America’s most prominent Christian leader.”

Please note that the man came to prominence expounding on political, worldly matters. His statement equates an eternal, heavenly faith structure with a man-made worldly political structure. Secondly, anyone who reads the bible knows that Christianity will not die, no matter how many political or governmental structures have existed or will come to existence. However, in 1949, communism was a very big problem, consuming the interest and attention of those in power.

Yet in 60AD, Apostle Paul did not say that “Either Rome’s Emperor system must die or Christianity must die.” It is written, 

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1)

Since then, Mr Graham has appeared on Gallup’s list of most admired men of the 20th century, appearing 55 times since 1955 (including 49 consecutive years), more frequently than any other individual in the world.

“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.” 
(Luke 6:26)

But let’s go back to his beginnings. In his youth, Graham was rejected for membership in youth group because he was “too worldly”. After graduating high school in 1936, Graham attended Bob Jones College but he felt constrained by the restrictions and called it too legalistic (likely because Graham had earned a stack of demerits for disobedience). In addition, he was almost expelled, and wound up having a long sit-down with Bob Jones, Sr. about Graham’s future. Graham transferred to another college. After attending three total colleges, Graham eventually graduated from Wheaton in 1943 with a degree in anthropology. His college sojourn lasted 7 years, and please note his degree was not in religious or biblical studies. (Source, and source)

When he burst upon the scene in 1948 Graham did not seem to compromise on the basics, at least overtly, but over time he retreated on all fronts. David Frost said that in the beginning Graham used to say “the bible says” but as time went on he would more often say ‘what Billy Graham thinks’.

The basics, or essential doctrines to which one must adhere or the truth is not in them, according to CARM.org are:

“The Bible itself reveals those doctrines that are essential to the Christian faith. They are 1) the Deity of Christ, 2) Salvation by Grace, and 3) Resurrection of Christ, 4) the gospel, and 5) monotheism. These are the doctrines the Bible says are necessary. Though there are many other important doctrines, these five are the ones that are declared by Scripture to be essential (I call them primary essentials since the Bible declares them as essential). A non-regenerate person (i.e., Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness, atheist, Muslim), will deny one or more of these essential doctrines. Please note that there are other derivative doctrines of scripture that become necessary also, the Trinity being one.“

Though there are many troubling statements Mr Graham has made which gives one pause for thought, (I’ll list them below and also provide links) the essential doctrine Mr Graham denies is the Gospel. Let’s take a closer look. CARM.org again:

“The Gospel:

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (Gal. 1:8-9). Verses 8 and 9 here in Galatians are a self declarative statement that you must believe the gospel. The gospel message which in its entirety is that Jesus is God in flesh, who died for sins, rose from the dead, and freely gives the gift of eternal life to those who believe.”

He gives the gift of life to those who believe. Mr Graham has on many occasions, years and decades apart, denied the exclusivity of the Gospel, denied who are truly believers, and denied what they must believe. Here are specifics:

Graham & Schuller

In his interview with Robert Schuller in May 1997 on The Hour of Power, Billy Graham opened up the family of faith to Buddhists, Muslims, and non-believers. Here in a sermon from 2000, John MacArthur repeats the interview and expounds in between each of Graham’s statements with biblical truth:

——————-begin MacArthur———————–

John MacArthur: “Those of us who teach the Bible, those of us who uphold sound doctrine have to rise up and speak the truth. I’ve tried to show you the breadth of this problem and I want to conclude comments on people and issues with a particular focus this morning.”

“Through the years we have all become influenced by Billy Graham. One way or another he has, for us, been the spokesman for evangelical Christianity. He has become the symbol of gospel preachers to the world and even to the church. He, more than anyone else, has influenced evangelicalism through his preaching, through his cooperative evangelism, through his influence on Wheaton College, Fuller Seminary, Christianity Today and many other agencies.”

“There is an article in a journal that comments and reviews his autobiography, Just As I Am. And I think it’s worth giving you some insight into that because I think it points out the breadth of this problem. The editor of the journal says, “While Graham has become the very symbol of gentle, compassionate and loving evangelicalism, he has also become the symbol for evangelicalism that speaks cautiously, politically and non-theologically. He was never able to escape the fuzzy a-theological pragmatism of modern evangelicalism. It is Billy Graham more than any other figure in this century who helped to create by his overwhelming persona the present evangelical crisis which threatens to destroy the very institutions and causes in which Graham invested his life and energy for over 55 years,” end quote.”

“That is a sad statement, but it is an appropriate one in view of the facts. A recent public interview with Billy Graham and Robert Schuller underscores this. Graham has uncritically praised Schuller’s ministry, which is a ministry of what is called neo-orthodoxy combined with psychology, not a true historic Christianity. But in the discussion, and here it is verbatim, I’ll just share some things that will open to you the understanding.”

“Dr. Schuller speaks, speaking to Billy Graham. “Tell me, what is the future of Christianity?”

Dr. Graham: “Well, Christianity and being a true believer, you know, I think there’s the body of Christ which comes from all the Christian groups around the world, or outside the Christian groups. I think everybody that loves Christ or knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the body of Christ. And I don’t think that we’re going to see a great sweeping revival that will turn the whole world to Christ at any time.”

“Now let me stop there. He said that non-Christian groups are members of the body of Christ, that people can love Christ and know Christ whether they’re conscious of it or not and be members of the body of Christ. And therefore we’re not going to see a sweeping revival that will turn the whole world to Christ at any time, ostensibly because it isn’t necessary.”

“He [Graham] goes on to say. “What God is doing today is calling people out of the world for His name. Whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the body of Christ because they’ve been called by God. They may not…he says…even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don’t have and they turn to the only light they have and I think they’re saved and they’re going to be with us in heaven.”

Dr. Schuller: “What I hear you saying is that it’s possible for Jesus Christ to come into a human heart and soul and life even if they’ve been born in darkness and have never had exposure to the Bible. Is that a correct interpretation of what you’re saying?”

Dr. Graham: “Yes it is because I believe that. I’ve met people in various parts of the world in tribal situations that they have never seen a Bible or heard about a Bible, have never heard of Jesus but they’ve believed in their hearts that there is a God and they tried to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding community in which they lived.”

Dr. Schuller: “This is fantastic. I’m so thrilled to hear you say that. There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, Dr. Graham, there is…there definitely is.”

“In response to that interview, the editor of this journal wrote the Billy Graham Organization and received a reply that said, “Dr. Graham’s views were the same as they have always been.” Apparently his views have always been that Muslims are part of the body of Christ, Buddhists are part of the body of Christ, non-believers are part of the body of Christ, people who have never heard of a Bible are part of the body of Christ if they’re trying to be better than the people around them. People who never heard of Jesus are part of the body of Christ.”

——————-end MacArthur———————–

(Television interview of Billy Graham by Robert Schuller, broadcast in southern California on Saturday, May 31, 1997).

Graham refused to speak the Gospel to Larry King in 2005, and in fact refused to declare Jews or Mormons were lost souls

KING: But what about those faiths — the Mormons and the others that you mentioned — believe in Christ. They believe they will meet Christ. What about those like the Jews, the Muslims, who don’t believe they …

GRAHAM: That’s in God’s hands. I can’t be the judge.

KING: You don’t judge them?

GRAHAM: No.

KING: How do you feel when you see a lot of these strong Christian leaders go on television and say, you are condemned, you will live in hell if you do not accept Jesus Christ, and they are forceful and judgmental?

GRAHAM: Well, they have a right to say that, and they are true to a certain extent, but I don’t — that’s not my calling. My calling is to preach the love of God and the forgiveness of God and the fact that he does forgive us. That’s what the cross is all about, what the resurrection is all about, that’s the gospel. And you can get off on all kinds of different side trends, and in my earlier ministry, I did the same, but as I got older, I guess I became more mellow and more forgiving and more loving.”

Is it loving to refuse to use the worldwide media opportunity such as the then-popular Larry King show to expound on what Jews and Muslims need to do to be saved? No, it is not.

In each decade from the 1950s onward, since Graham burst upon the scene, Christians have been presented clear indications of Graham’s aberrant beliefs. He praised Catholicism in the 1950s, in fact in In 1967, he was the first Protestant to receive an honorary degree from Belmont Abbey College, a Roman Catholic school. He has included rabbis and priests as counselors to inquirers at each crusade, effectively handing over little children seeking Jesus to a devastating cycle of apostasy and hopelessness. As mentioned in the Decision Magazine inquiry, Graham has believed since at least 1960 that most people will go to heaven. He believes in baptismal regeneration, the inclusion of old earth and evolution as part of God’s works, that Mary the mother of Jesus should receive higher due, that there is life on other planets who worship God … and so on.

His aberrant beliefs cannot be attributed to recent old age, infirmity, confusion, or anything else except that he was and is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

I am sorry to say that and it gives me no pleasure, but in testing his beliefs against the bible, one must conclude that Mr Graham does not know the true, biblical Jesus, and is in fact a liberal compromiser in pursuit of earthly rewards, fame, and celebrity.

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20)

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:1-6)

In part 2 I’ll look at Mr Graham’s movie, the movie’s designated evangelistic strategy of ‘friendship evangelism’, discuss ‘decisional regeneration’, and conclude with some general remarks. Below are many links to writings, quotes, and videos of Mr Graham’s apostasy. Please check them out yourself and as with everything test the spirits and use only the bible as your benchmark of truth. And stay away from Graham’s “My Hope America” movie.

Part 2/2 here
————————–

Links

Tim Challies: Billy Graham and Ecumenicism (essay)

John MacArthur clip, A Wideness in God’s Mercy? (video)

Cecil Andrews: Billy Graham: The Man and His Message (video)

World View Weekend: Billy Graham (article)

David Cloud: Billy Graham’s Sad Disobedience To The Word Of God (note: I disagree with a lot of Mr Cloud’s teaching but the article I’ve linked to is mostly Graham quotes and discussion of same, with sources)

John MacArthur: Deliverance: From the Temporal World to the Eternal Kingdom (sermon)

Midwest Today: A Conversation with Billy Graham, 1997 (news article, printed interview)

CARM.org: Billy Graham

Posted in false doctrine, false teachers

20 Characteristics of false teachers

Posted on by elizabethprata

In Brannon House’s this week’s Worldview Weekend Hour TV Program Topic he covered 20 Characteristics of False Teachers. The teaching was one hour. I wrote down the points and their attendant verses which support the point he was making. Here is the link to the video but the WVW videos are only live for a few days and then they go behind a paywall. He put up half the teaching to the public, and that’s why if you count them, there are only 13 and not 20.

The bible says, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” (Romans 16:17). The KJV says to “mark them.” To those who claim we are unloving to point out false teachers, or that a true Christian is not supposed to do that, I refer you to the Romans verse. Also we read another instruction from the Apostle John, found in 2 John 1:10-11, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” And again, Paul instructs in Ephesians 5:11, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”

20 characteristics of false teachers, Here are Mr Howse’s points:

–False teachers are insincere and use the Word for personal gain. 2 Corinthians 2:17 says, “For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.”

–False teachers appeal to the flesh and the sin-nature of people in order to build their following. 2 Peter 2:18 says, “For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error.” Acts 20:30 says “and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

–False teachers deliberately take verses out of context to attract a following.

–False teachers have a form of Godliness but deny God. 2 Timothy 3:5 says, “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”

–False teachers openly reject truth. 2 Timothy 4:4 says, “and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

–False teachers willingly embrace unbiblical philosophies. 2 Timothy 4:4 says, “and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (philosophies).” Colossians 2:8 says “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

–False teachers are arrogant and self-righteous. 2 Timothy 3:2-5, “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

–False teachers embrace mysticism. (Mysticism is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on practices intended to nurture those experiences. The seek after experiences by Contemplative Prayer, soaking prayer, visions, dreams, labyrinth, yoga etc…) Colossians 2:18, “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind.”

Note that the people promoting mysticism often speak of their regular angel visits (Todd Bentley’s ‘Angel Emma’, Rick Joyner & his ‘talking eagle of wisdom’, William Branham and his supposed visit from an ‘angel of the lord’…). Angel visits figure very prominently in many false visions/dreams. This attachment to angels easily veers to worship of angels. Satan is satisfied whenever our object of worship becomes anything except Jesus.

–False teachers sound educated and speak with persuasive words. Colossians 2:4 says “I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.”

–False teachers are flippant in their attitude and dealings with demons. 2 Peter 2:9-12 says “then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.”

“Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction.”

 Jude 1:8 says “Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.”

These false teachers go on about how they have power to capture or bind satan and his demons, crowing about how they are going to banish demons, or re-take territory from them, or make rants against them. Yet Archangel Michael only said to his foe, “The Lord rebuke you.” (Jude 1:9) and dared not make an accusation against him.

–False teachers promise liberty and freedom from spiritual bondage but they are themselves in bondage as children and servants of satan. 2 Peter 2:19 says, “They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves.” There are only two camps, the children whose Father is Jesus (John 8:42) and the children of corruption whose father is satan (John 8:44). 

–False teachers have heard the Gospel, but reject it. 2 Peter 2:21 says “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope that this list will be a starting point for you to delve further into the Word. Compare what is said here through Mr Howse and see if these things are so. False teaching can be powerful, plausible, smooth, and easily ensnaring. Please be wise and always cling to Him who has prevailed against every lie (Colossians 2:15), in whom deceit was not found in His mouth!  (1 Peter 2:22).

Posted in examine yourself, faith, false doctrine, false teachers

Why I get so upset at false teachers and false teaching, why I focus on the end time

Posted on by elizabethprata

Someone asked me this week why I focus on the end time. I answered that the end time is the time between Jesus’ ascension and His return, the Age of Grace. I focus on encouragement, discernment and the end time. With Jesus’s return as backdrop, I employ Spiritual gifts to exhort for a higher standard of witness and adherence to doctrine.

The point is, He could return at any time, and those left behind will face Tribulation such as no man has ever seen, no nor will ever again. (Matthew 24:21). This haunts me.

Alternately, lost people could die at any moment, their end time coming instantly and unexpectedly, and the spiritual things they put off will be forever sealed off to them. Their lost state will be the state they remain in for all eternity. This haunts me. Why wouldn’t a person want to continually remind people that this Age will not last forever and the Day prophesied will arrive?

Worse, there are many people who believe they are Christians and are going to heaven. They professed Jesus. They worked in His name. They sang hymns and proclaimed Him and prophesied (preached) in His name. But they fooled themselves. They weren’t saved.

“I Never Knew You: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Mathew 7:21-23)

This haunts me greatly.

The Lord sends His Spirit to deliver gifts to believers as He sees fit. (1 Corinthians 12:4). For me, he saw fit to give faith, prophecy, teaching and discernment. I’m extra-sensitive to false doctrines and teaching. I have a super-sensitivity to those who come under its sway. It is like I can see them falling off the cliff as they apostatize. I can see it. It is like this picture, which I haven’t been able to get off my mind since I came across it.

Art by Borislav Sajtinac

I hate false doctrine. I hate with with a holy, righteous passion. False doctrine is from hell. It kills. It destroys. It is a blasphemy against the precious person of Jesus, Savior and King. I hate it every day. I hate it because it sends people to hell. I hate it worst of all when it is tolerated in a false church, making false converts who bring up second generation daughters of hell twice as worse as them. (Matthew 23:15,  Revelation 2:22-23).

When we are glorified and the time comes for Jesus to line up the goats, and the dramatic scene from Matthew plays out, I will hear so many cry out, “Lord, Lord…” Many people will be shocked that they are in the goats line and not the narrow road to heaven following the sheep to eternal glory and rest. They’ll try to convince the Lord to let them in. But He will say “Depart from me, I never knew you…”.

If the moment when Jesus cried out to the “Father, Father, why have You forsaken me?” is the loneliest moment in the universe for all time…then the moment when the Lord tells those who cry and plead, “Depart from Me, I never knew you” has to be the most devastating.

I will be grateful that by then I’ll be glorified and completely in tune with the mind of Christ and understanding His holiness and justice, otherwise I would explode from grief. As it is at that moment I know I’ll praise Him.

For now on earth in the flesh, I feel grief. Exploding with grief that false teachers entice false converts to believe false doctrines, and they are all on the broad road. I want to cry out, shake them, “No, NO! Come back!” I feel their apostasy acutely. I feel it and I see it. It’s not just an intellectual exercise with me but a heart ministry.

Won’t it be great to be able to discuss true doctrine in the age of eternity.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (Hab 2:14)

“They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:9)

For a prophetic-doctrine lady like me this will be heaven! And if anyone has any questions, they can walk up to Jesus and ask Him! Looking forward to being free from satan’s lies is right up there in my list of ‘things that will be great about heaven.’

“and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. ” (Revelation 20:10)

Good. Torment the bugger.

Back here on earth in this time of grace mixed with apostasy, so many are going away from us. John told us that would happen.

“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” (1 John 2:19).

I praise the Lord for telling us ahead of time. It doesn’t make it any easier when I spot one who is going, though. It’s worse when they reject advances and sharing of truth. How devastating knowing that moment is fast approaching for millions who thought they were saved but were not, and will be rejected by Christ. They thought they had accepted Him but they had not! O, false doctrine, you deceiver! There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“While the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:12)

“behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit.” (Isaiah 65:14)

I know that the ones who will be rejected by Christ are not victims. It was because they chose to follow their lusts that they fell into the snare. (2 Timothy 4:3). Still, I feel for them, now and in their moment of shocking eternal condemnation.

People, examine yourselves to make sure of your faith.

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Examine Yourselves Whether You Be in the Faith, Part 1
Examine Yourselves Whether You Be in the Faith, Part 2
Examine Yourself

 How do we examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith?

What Kind of a Christian Are You?

Posted in discernment, don green, false teachers, touch not the Lord's anointed

Oh no, I touched the Lord’s anointed!: Developing Biblical Discernment

Posted on by elizabethprata

I enjoy listening or watching an array of mature preachers. John MacArthur, Steve Lawson, Phil Johnson, Jim McClarty, Steve Hadley, Paul Washer (and here) and Don Green are my most frequently visited go-to men. In his latest sermon, Pastor Don Green of Truth Community Fellowship is preaching through 1st John. In this sermon titled Developing Biblical Discernment, he used the following verses:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:1-6)

In this day and age, (as it has always been) there are competing claims to spiritual authority. There are new philosophies of ministries that come and go with each passing year. There are ongoing claims of charismatic phenomena as the proof of anointing, Pastor Green explained.

It would be a travesty if our God of truth would have in His creation people who lyingly speak in His name when they are actually giving voice to demons- and give us no way to discern them. But, get this- just because there is confusion and deception, does not mean we cannot find truth. We can. We are each commanded to test spirits and discern the truth, and in the verses Pastor Green preaches on, it becomes evident that the Lord provides a way to do so.

Of interest to me, because it happened to me, lol, is the part where Pastor Green states directly, that when you hear someone tell you, “Touch not the Lord’s anointed,” run. He said,

One of the first things that mark a false teacher: they claim to be the Lord’s anointed. Then they are going to tell you, “Don’t touch the Lord’s anointed.” As soon as someone says that to you, get away from them. Because they are trying to exempt themselves from the tests of discernment. No one has a right to tell you ‘don’t examine my teaching’, ‘don’t examine my life’, because Christ himself tells us to do exactly that. As soon as you hear that, warning bells should start in your mind. Something is not right here … When a man says “don’t touch the Lord’s anointed”, figuratively speaking, that is exactly when you should most smack him with the test of biblical discernment.

False teachers are not simply people who are making a mistake. False teachers give voice to demonic teachings. They are a mouthpiece for satan. The verse says “this is the spirit is antichrist.” Green said, “This is the same spirit that will rise up at the end of the end of days in the Tribulation and oppose Christ.”

I say to us all, we become so inured to some of the passages in the bible, familiarity breeding over-familiarity, that we lose the import of the warning. This is the spirit of antichrist. Therefore think of this: every time you encounter a false teacher you are entering a mini-tribulation.

Green said, truth is absolute. There is no such thing as relative truth. It’s an utter fallacy to believe we can have “your truth” and “my truth” all the while each are saying completely contradictory things. Truth belongs to God- he has revealed it in scripture. He has called His people to discern truth from error. He has called us to test the spirits, test the prophets, and not try to accommodate those who lie and reject that which is false. So, how do we do this, the biblical way?

Don Green explains it in his sermon “Developing Biblical Discernment” (1 John 4:1-6), giving three tests for discernment in his hour-long sermon. The three tests for us to perform of all those who claim to speak for God are–

–examine their manner of life,
–examine their confession of Jesus through their teaching,
–examine their view of scripture.

We arrive at the end of the sermon with confidence, not worried about false teachers, because as the verse says, “we have overcome them.” We still have to practice discernment, but we do so from a position of strength, not weakness. The Lord Jesus gives us so many magnificent gifts! Discernment is one. Please give a listen.

Posted in false doctrine, false teachers

Here is one of the ten bazillion reasons Jesus is altogether lovely

Posted on by elizabethprata

Our glorious Jesus is such a prize that satan tries constantly to snatch Him away from us. He is glorious, perfect, beautiful and wondrous. Our most excellent Holy Spirit always points to Him. (John 15:26). The Spirit dwelling inside believers will guide us into all truth. Not just some truth. All truth. (John 14:26.

However, satan and his minions hate the truth. They try to confuse the brethren, cause division, add false teachings, preach a different Jesus, and divert the people from the narrow road of Jesus. (Romans 15:16-18; Matthew 15:9; 2 Corinthians 11:4; Colossians 2:4; 1 Timothy 1:3; Galatians 5:10…and so on.) The number of verses in the New Testament regarding false teachers and false doctrines abound.

Yet many Christians today don’t heed the warning. If they do, they allow the warnings to remain abstract and never diligently be a Berean to check if what they are learning on the ground is consistent with what the bible says.

Think about it this way. Jesus spent much of His time cleansing the Land from demons, puncturing false teachings, condemning false teachers (from the Pharisees) and instructing the people in truth. When He ascended, the land was clean spiritually and physically.

Yet right away, satan came back in. Paul, Peter, Timothy, James, Titus, Paul, well, most of the Apostles mentioned some kind of false teaching or teacher to watch out for. (Judaizers, Nicolaitans, Legalism). False teachers were named (Hymenaeus, Alexander). If the vacuum of the Presence of Jesus on earth allowed all the falsity to return within months to a few years, what do we think the level of falsity 2000 years later is like? Satan is having a field day.

“It is possible for real Christians to be taken in by false prophets. When believers are careless about study of and obedience to the Word, lazy about prayer, and uncritical about the things of God, it is easy for them to be deceived by someone who pretends to be orthodox-especially if he is pleasant, positive, and permissive. … Judging the fruit of false prophets, of course, is not nearly so easy as judging fruit in an orchard. But from Scripture we discover at least three primary tests we can apply in order to know. They are in the areas of character, creed, and converts.” (source). I recommend the source material to learn further how to spot false teachers.

He is so wonderful. He teaches us about falsity and gives us the bible and the holy spirit to help us so we won’t be taken in by them. “After warning about false prophets, Jesus tells us what to watch for in identifying them. Because they are so extremely deceptive and dangerous ravenous spiritual and moral wolves in sheep’s clothing-the Lord would hardly have left us without means of determining who they are. Jesus assures us that we will know them by their fruits.” (source)

We usually focus on the fruits part of the verse, but look at the assurance. “You will know them.” You will.

The best way to spot false teachers is to keep your eyes on the ONLY real teacher, God/Jesus/Holy Spirit. I hope you think He is altogether lovely, too:

Posted in false teachers, merchandise, priscilla shirer, prophecy, rob bell

Peter’s prophecy fulfilled: False teachers who make merchandise of you

Posted on by elizabethprata

Here is a prophecy in 2 Peter 2:3 that has recently come to my attention. Read it in different translations:

“In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” (NIV)

“And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (ESV)

And my favorite translation of the verse;

“And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” (KJV)

Looking at the verse in context, Peter is warning about false teachers to come. The ESV’s heading for the entire chapter is called “False Prophets and Teachers” and the chapter goes on to describe all the qualities of false teachers and prophets who are prophesied to come. Peter opens with chapter 1 in reminding the brethren that our salvation is sure, and that Christ’s word in the prophetic is glorious. He tells us in chapter 2 about those prophecies, namely focusing on the false teachers and prophets, and then continues the thought in chapter 3, reminding the brethren to think on these things and be duly warned. He then reassures the church that the Day of the Lord will come, and all the false teachers and prophets will be dealt with in due time.

We are told in His word that what will happen is that false teachers will make the Word a merchandise and they will exploit the believers. They do this because they are greedy. When it happens it will not be because they made a mistake, or briefly had a period of a wayward interpretations, or due to Christian immaturity. The bible says they do it on purpose and they do because they want money.

So back to the verse. Are the brethren exploited? Is the word being merchandised? Yes.

The consumerism in current Christianity bothered me when I attended the Beth Moore live weekend “bible study” at the Time Warner Arena. The slickness of the extravaganza was shocking, and the prices of food the vendors were charging really made me think of the moneylenders in the temple.

When the Fireproof movie came out I was struck by the push to buy the DVD, the books, the “Love Dare” diary. I mentioned that in another blog post, that fads in Christianity seem to come with their own cottage industry or marketing and merchandising of trinkets.

Same with the Courageous merchandise. You can buy a pack, complete with The Resolution For Men Book, the Resolution Certificate print (as seen in the movie) and the FREE Bonus I Resolve/I Will wristband. Hurry while supplies last.

Then I read of all these mega-church pastors who quit their post at a church to go on book tours.

There is nothing wrong with a pastor writing a book. Nothing. What the prophecy says is that they will be false, they will write false things, and make merchandise out of the false words and they will exploit the people who support them. And that, my brethren, is exactly what is happening today.

Rob Bell, founder of Mars Hill Bible Church in MI, recently released the heretical book, Love Wins. Love Wins impugns the character of God by saying that hell is not real.

After the book was a runaway success, Bell resigned the ministry and went on a tour. An article in Crosswalk noted, “Bell’s resignation makes him the latest in a string a celebrity pastors who have said goodbye to weekly sermons, potluck dinners and other staples of church life. “A New Kind of Christianity” author Brian McLaren, “Crazy Love” author Francis Chan, “Deep Church” author Jim Belcher and the popular British Bible scholar N.T. Wright have all left their church leadership positions in recent years.”

Bell left his church “to pursue a growing number of strategic opportunities.”

The article states, “For pastors with ambitions to reach huge audiences, there’s often no better platform than the megachurch, which has given rise to powerhouse media empires from T.D. Jakes to Max Lucado to Joel Osteen and many others. But some high-profile pastors are opting to leave congregational ministry altogether to pursue publishing and other media ventures full time.”

Media empires is right. And the article correctly noted that the mega-church has become a ‘platform’ from which to launch that media empire, make a lot of money, and go on tour, leaving the picked-over flock behind.

Speaking of cottage industry, never mind the packets, kits, trinkets, and books, there are new businesses springing up to support the business of Christianity. For example, Alive Communications is a Colorado Springs, Colo., literary agency that represents megachurch pastors. Now pastors need agents? Apparently so.

Even the woman are getting in on it. Priscilla Shirer, daughter of popular preacher Tony Evans, is also her own cottage industry. “Conservative Bible teachers like Shirer have built a new paradigm for feminine preaching, an ingenious blend of traditional revivalism, modern therapeutic culture and the gabby intimacy of Oprah. … This theology has spawned a subculture of Bible studies, conferences, ministries, religious retreats and literature ranging from Christian fitness books to Christian romance novels, all produced by and for evangelical women.” (source)

Above, Priscilla Shirer, source

For the women who go on tour, this cottage industry is at the expense of biblical womanhood. The article notes that Mr Shirer spends much of the day negotiating Priscilla’s speaking invitations and her book contracts. In the afternoon it’s often Mr Shirer who collects the boys from school. Back home, Priscilla and Jerry divide chores and child care equally. “Jerry quit his job to run his wife’s ministry. Priscilla now accepts about 20 out of some 300 speaking invitations each year, and she publishes a stream of Bible studies, workbooks and corresponding DVDs intended for women to read and watch with their girlfriends from church. Jerry does his share of housework and child care so that Priscilla can study and write. He travels with his wife everywhere. Whenever possible, they take their sons along on her speaking trips, but they often deposit the boys with Jerry’s mother.”

And don’t forget to pick up your Shirer “I Am Resolved” tee shirt on your way out.

After Rob Bell left in a cloud of dust for his book and speaking tour, the remaining pastor at Mars Hill shortly decided to leave also. Shane Hipps said he enjoys “serving the broader church” by speaking and writing. The ‘broader church’ is code for, well, the world. Hipps worried that if he accepted the new role as main teacher after Rob Bell’s departure to serve the world, (they don’t call them preachers at Mars Hill), “I would have to dramatically reduce my service to the broader church which is an integral part of my sense of call.” Translation: I will have to be accountable to the elders and I’d have to curtail my book tours. Ix-nay on the teaching-ay. Who wants to be stuck at a podium preaching week after week when you can be a media darling and start an empire? Good bye Mars Hill, hello new book, “Selling Water by the River: A book about the Life Jesus Promised and the Religion that Gets in the Way.”

This writer below in the next article asks a good question, many good questions as a matter of fact. Who decided that these particular teachers speak for the local church?

None dare Call It Marketing: Lifeway, Beth Moore and the conspiracy to take over your church

“The idea of a celebrity Bible teacher, a teacher who teaches thousands and thousands of people through media, isn’t antithetical to the Bible’s presentation of discipleship, but it certainly isn’t normative. It’s not what the Bible has in mind. And one of the reasons is this: The ministry of the “celebrity” Bible teacher tends to undermine the ministry of the local church pastor.” … “What I will ask, however, is whether my fellow Christians have the courage to admit that Beth Moore and Rick Warren and the next publishing superstars are, in large part, promoted by Lifeway for profits? Not chosen by God, but chosen by Lifeway and other publishers for potential book sales? Lifeway would say chosen and promoted for the good of my church. Well, if it’s profitable. If you can’t see that, you’re naive.” … I’m distressed that Christian media’s capitalistic agenda has become the source of an unquestioned spiritual authority in so many churches.”

Me too.

John MacArthur exposits the Peter verse, “The operating motive, the underlying cause. Verse 3, “And in greed they will exploit you with false words.” Here’s another component that you need to know about. What drives them on the inside to do what they do? Listen very carefully. They’re not driven by immorality. They’re not driven by aselgeia, sexual immorality. You can do that by yourself. That’s not going to make you a false teacher. You can be immoral all alone in your own little world with just the people you choose to be immoral with, you don’t need to be a false teacher to be immoral. And if all they wanted to do was fulfill their sensual desire, they wouldn’t need to be a false teacher. But there’s another component. What is it? Greed…greed.”

“The driving force of their enterprise to be teachers is not the love of the truth, it’s not submission to the Lord, it’s not even sexual immorality, they can do that in the pew. The driving force is money. The word pleonexiameans uncontrolled greed. They’re expert at it. They’re in it to accumulate money. And watch them, they do. Verse 14 of the same chapter, “Their eyes are full of adultery…obviously…they never cease from sin, they never submit to lordship, they entice unstable souls…why do they do that?…because their hearts…boy, this is really graphic..are trained in…what?…greed.” They’re experts at it. They can con money out of anybody. They want money. They want money. They want your money. They want anybody’s money.’ … “They exploit you, they get rich off you with false words.”

Now you might deduce that I am offended at Christian merchandising of God’s word. That I am concerned with women who have their own cottage industries of tours of ‘bible studies” and products at the expense of their children, their husbands and their husbands’ jobs. But this next bit really gets me.

“Bell’s 2009 project, Drops Like Stars, explores the links between creativity and suffering. Drops Like Stars was an international tour and a book, initially handwritten by Bell, with photographs. The title of the project comes from a young child’s view of raindrops on a window at night. Rather than focusing on the conundrum of why an all-powerful God would allow suffering, Bell instead looks at the creativity, empathy, new connections, and growth that can spring from suffering. When asked in an interview how he had become interested in suffering, Bell replied that as a pastor he had been given a front row seat in the most poignant moment’s of people’s lives. At the same time he was doing lectures on creativity and realized, “There was a connection between these two halves of my life – all these connections between suffering and art-making.” (source)

He had a ‘front row seat’ to people’s spiritual and emotional pain, and decided to make money off it. This right there is a fulfillment of the worst kind of the prophecy Peter warned us about.

Though Bell’s book is a sad instance of the merchandising of God’s word and exploitation of His people, this one is just plain silly and ridiculous:

Pastors, at a loss for how to lead your church? Call Will Mancini, Clarity Evangelist. He will help you discover a unique vision for your church, and sell you a Unique Vision Kit, to boot.

Your church’s Unique Vision Kit
CHURCH UNIQUE BOOK: (1) Written to help you find your Church Unique and live a vision that creates a stunningly unique, movement-oriented church. (The Church Unique Vision Kit includes one copy of the book.)
LEADERS GUIDE: (1) Step by step instructions for the leader of the Church Unique Vision Pathway process. Everything you need to lead 8 vision clarifying team sessions.
DVD: (1) Video teaching from Will Mancini provides insight, encouragement, and inspiration.
PARTICIPANT GUIDE: (9) Map, journal, and sketch book to help each team member participate effectively in the vision clarification process. (Pick up your own 3 ring binders at your favorite office supply retailer.)
VISION DECK: (1) 52 optional exercises to inspire visionary teams.
JOE GROW: (9) Bendable figure empowers teams to explore the impact of vision on real people.
COMPASS KEY CHAIN: (9) Take home object lesson for team members.
COLLABORATION CUBES: (9) Table top team interaction style reminders for team members.
VISION FRAMES: (9) Customizable frame for team participants to record the vision outcomes.
ALIGNMENT RING: (1) Illustrates the power of a unified vision and momentum.
ROLE CARDS: (9) One laminated role card with key responsibilities for each team member.
MISSION CARDS: (9) One wallet sized card for each person to record your unique mission.
WALL CHARTS: (18) Posters that illustrate key concepts in the Vision Pathway Process as well as charts to capture your unique vision. (Pick up additional flip charts or blank sheets of newsprint to record ideas at your favorite office supply retailer.)

The 2 Peter 2:3 verse says “they will exploit you” or “they will make merchandise of you” and the Greek word for exploit is emporeusontai, from which we get the English word emporium. Emporium is a term used for a store selling a wide variety of goods, and for marketplaces or trading centers.

Making money is no problem. Writing a book is no problem. Having money is no problem. Being a megachurch pastor is not a problem (usually). But false teachers will come in, and not sparing the flock, they will exploit the Word and the people for their greedy purposes. I believe it is clear that it is happening to a high degree today. All I can say is,

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)