Posted in theology

There is a reason to be wary of flatterers with smooth speech: ‘Bad company ruins good morals’

By Elizabeth Prata

In 1 Corinthians 15:33, we read Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

Source

Every translation of this verse begins with the warning not to be deceived.

In context, Paul had been “addressing problems regarding their worship practices (11:2–14:40), Paul continues by addressing reports about the Corinthians’ beliefs. In this chapter, he focuses on the issue of resurrection.” Source Faithlife Study Bible

Paul sends them a strong warning about their beliefs, which had been and could continue to be corrupted by smooth talkers. Barnes’ Notes explains so clearly:

Be not deceived – By your false teachers, and by their smooth and plausible arguments. This is an exhortation. He had thus far been engaged in an argument on the subject. He now entreats them to beware lest they be deceived – a danger to which they were very liable from their circumstances.

Evil communications – The word rendered “communications” means, properly, a being together; companionship; close contact; converse. It refers not to discourse only, but to contact, or companionship. Paul quotes these words from Menander, a Greek poet.

It is implied in this, that there were some persons who were endeavoring to corrupt their minds from the simplicity of the gospel. The sentiment of the passage is, that the contact of evil-minded men, or that the close friendship and conversation of those who hold erroneous opinions, or who are impure in their lives, tends to corrupt the morals, the heart, the sentiments of others.

It is always true that such contact has a pernicious effect on the mind and the heart. It is done:
(1) By their direct effort to corrupt the opinions, and to lead others into sin.
(2) by the secret, silent influence of their words, and conversation, and example.

We have less horror at vice by becoming familiar with it; we look with less alarm on error when we hear it often expressed; we become less watchful and cautious when we are constantly with the frivolous, the worldly, the unprincipled, and the vicious. Hence, Christ sought that there should be a pure society, and that his people should principally seek the friendship and conversation of each other.

It is in the way that Paul here refers to, that Christians embrace false doctrines; that they lose their spirituality, love of prayer, fervor of piety, and devotion to God. It is in this way that the simple are beguiled, the young corrupted, and that vice, and crime, and infidelity spread over the world. –End Barnes Notes

This is why we do not ‘eat the meat and spit out the bones’. We avoid false teachers altogether. We avoid close continual contact with those who are morally corrupt, unsaved. You see the processes Barnes outlined: the secret silent influence of a corrupt person’s words will infiltrate and dampen our horror of sin, make us less watchful, and then we begin to think and act impurely.

It’s why Jude 1:23 says And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh

Jude is saying we should be careful if we choose to help a doubter or one that’s involved with false teaching.

even the garment—do not let pity degenerate into connivance at their error. Your compassion is to be accompanied “with fear” of being at all defiled by them. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

It’s because the risk is so great. Our society has fallen into a tolerance of sin. Many have no horror of it. Worse, we believe that if sin comes in soft words and flattering or charming packages, is is to be accepted. When you look up flattery in Nave’s dictionary, the entry says –

DECEIT : See FLATTERY
FALSEHOOD : See FLATTERY
DECEPTION » SELF » See FLATTERY
SPEAKING » EVIL » See FLATTERY

God considers flattery to be an evil deceit! Yet we think of it as a ‘respectable sin‘ as Jerry Bridges would call it. This should not be so. But it works because the false teachers use words of flattery to deceive the simple. (Romans 16:18)

Flattery is defined as: “Insincere and undeserved praise or words of encouragement, used with the intention of gaining favour with others.”

Flattery is deceitful
Ps 12:2-3 See also Ps 5:9; 55:20-21; 62:4; Pr 27:6; Jer 9:8

The results of flattery are ruinous
Pr 26:28 See also Pr 29:5

Flattery is rejected by godly people
Job 32:21-22 See also Gal 1:10; 1Th 2:5-6

Honesty is preferable to flattery
Pr 28:23 See also Pr 16:13; 27:9

False teachers use flattery
Ro 16:17-18 See also 2Ti 4:3-4; Jude 16-19. Source: Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies. Martin Manser.

Hanging around worldly people, flatterers, gossips, charmers with twisted doctrine is bad for your soul. Commune with the believers who are pure, strive for holiness, and enjoy refreshing, Godly conversations. You will be the better for it!

Posted in theology

The End Time Ministry: What do I do here?

By Elizabeth Prata

I love writing. I love Jesus. I love that after salvation at around age 42, after a lifetime of writing, He gave me the knowledge of His word, the ministry of writing that I’d then honed, and the gifts of discernment and encouragement. This ministry is one of writing encouragement, discernment, and pointing women to credible and edifying ministries (part of discernment is not only “what’s bad” but also “what’s good” and helping women to detect the difference).

What do I do specifically? For newcomers who might not know the breadth of the ministry at The End Time, here it is:

Every morning I post a scripture picture on three social media platforms: Twitter under the name @elizabethprata, my Facebook page under the name The End Time Blog (The End Time was taken), and on Instagram under the account @eprata7777. I take the photos myself and I create the scripture picture myself. So far I’ve created 1,319 of these.

I then post a devotional on three separate social media platforms from someone from history, such as Octavius Winslow, Charles Spurgeon, AW Tozer etc. I post those also. I get them from GraceGems.org. The devotional is accompanied also by one of my photos, a picture I’ve taken, or a portrait of the author I’ve obtained from a creative commons page. I’ve been doing the morning devotional for four years now, so I’ve posted 1,460 of those.

On Saturdays I spend the entire day writing/preparing, editing the 7 blogs for the week. I post a blog essay a day on the topics of prophecy, encouragement, doctrine, or discernment. I also enjoy writing about biblical natural history, such as the plants, trees, flowers, animals or geography of the Bible lands.

I’ve been doing this daily since January 2009, for almost 14 years, sixteen years if we begin back when I was writing religious topics on my personal blog since 2006. I’ve written over 7000 posts. I started on Blogspot then moved to WordPress in 2016. Some of the earliest blogs didn’t transfer from Blogger to WordPress, so the count isn’t specific. There are 6,024 essays at WordPress with few repeats.

After I post the day’s essay on Twitter, Facebook page, and Instagram, I record it for my podcast. The podcast is fairly new. I realized that women are busy, sometimes too busy to sit and read, but would listen as they drive, or do house chores, etc. So in my ever-present desire to get good material in front of women to teach them, (Titus 2), I record the podcast, write the summary, prepare the show notes, and manually post it on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast is called The End Time Blog Podcast and it’s found on all the normal social media podcasting sites, including Spotify, iTunes, etc. It’s just me reading the day’s essay at the blog. No interviews or celebrity guests or music. Just me, reading, lol.

I also answer queries from women who contact me, pointing them to credible ministries or resources, and of course I do the same for the women in my own church. I do background research for my own elders and for certain people online.

All the above, I do every day, 365 days a year. When Paul says single people should devote their time to the Lord, I take seriously. Jesus is worth it. He is ultimately the only worthy One. A life of service is a pleasure to the One who saved me, a terrible sinner!

Some examples of blog and podcast topics this past week have been:

  • I will not drown in shallow water (what song or verses get you through a hard time?)
  • Attributes of God: Aseity, Beauty, Blessedness
  • When it’s right to be dogmatic: Rejecting ‘What does this verse mean to me?’ (Hermeneutics)
  • Sin is no longer an ugly thing…
  • Little known prophets of the Bible
  • God’s amazing love
  • What is the Almug Tree?

I work hard and constantly on a variety of items for the Lord. This is a refutation the notion that all I do is sit around and watch Beth Moore and post about her. The bulk of edifying material I produce at the Spirit’s help in service to Christ is vast and I think, diverse, as you see in the topics above.

When I was in journalism classes, I was told that the news-consuming public will always fill in a blank with a negative, and they will always remember the negative much more than the positive. Since Moore is such an incendiary celebrity, and her followers so rabid, the commotion when remarking negatively over her antics always comes to a fever pitch. And that’s what people remember.

I’m happy to be write about Beth Moore when it seems right to do so. Why? The Lord gave me a burden for her and about her and regarding her effect on women. Her effect has been devastating for a long time and it continues to be so. Why wouldn’t we push back against a woman who has been allowed to prance, rebel, and twist God’s word for so long?

As long as she continues deceiving, I will continue posting. We oppose evil, we reject falsity, we mark those who cause dissensions. This includes Moore, among others I’ve written about negatively, critiquing their ministries.

I’ve written discernment essays about people, some more than once, such as Rick Warren, Ravi Zacharias (before the stuff came out), Jen Wilkin, Rachel Held Evans, Lysa TerKeurst, Francis Chan, Joanna Gaines, Christine Caine, and others, including Beth Moore. I’ve critiqued movements such as direct revelation, Gnosticism, romanticizing Jesus, the merchandising of women, and so on. But people remember my Moore critiques above any other. That’s OK. It’s normal in journalism to remember the negative and that is what looms large on people’s minds. I do more than write about Beth Moore, but she is a large and menacing presence of evil in the church that must be addressed, and I will continue to do so whenever it seems right.

I was writing back and forth with a reader this week and she was unaware I had a Facebook page called The End Time Blog. Another woman online said she didn’t know I had a podcast. I obviously don’t do a great job of marketing myself. I’ll try harder. I usually get up around 4:30 and after making the coffee and putting my lunch together, at 5:00am I settle in to post the blog, scripture pictures, devotionals, and record and post the podcast. I try to get this done within an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, because I leave for work at 6:30am.

When I get home I read my Bible and devotionals, pray, and then answer online direct questions and comment back on social media (we are not allowed on social media at work, hence the black hole of activity between 6:30 am and 3:30 pm).

So that is The End Time ministry. I call it ‘the end time’ because we are in the end time, and time is short. The end time period is between the ascension of Jesus and His return, and we are 2000 years closer to the day He returns! It could be any time. He could return any day, or the number of our individual days may be at its end, and we’d have no more time to serve Jesus. Serving Him is utmost priority for the Christian women, no matter where He has stationed us.

Have a wonderful day and thank you for subscribing to the blog, listening to the podcast, reading the devotionals, or sending me your questions. I deeply appreciate it!

Posted in theology

Attributes of God: Aseity, Beauty, Blessedness

By Elizabeth Prata

Sundays are a good time to ponder who God is. He is worthy of service and worship.

Tim Challies has written a visual theology of God’s attributes. Remember, God’s attributes are not parts that make up a whole. Everything good that there is, is 100% contained in God. He is 100% beauty, 100% aseity, 100% omniscient, etc. He is complete in Himself.

The paragraph on the left side explains how to view these attributes, explains what summary attributes are, and why some are in blue and others are in red. Right-click to open larger in new tab.

The first three are:

ASEITY: God is self-existent and self-sufficient and has no need of human beings or the rest of creation.

BEAUTY: Summary Attributes. God is the possessor and the sum of all desirable qualities.

BLESSEDNESS: Summary Attributes. God delights fully in himself and in all that reflects his character.

SOURCE

We worship a holy God who is Good, Perfect, True, and Beautiful! Praise Him today.

Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)

Previous weeks-

1. Aseity, Beauty, Blessedness
2. Eternity, Freedom, Glory
3. Goodness, Holiness, Immutability
4. Invisibility, Jealousy, Knowledge
5. Love
6. Mercy, Omnipotence, Omnipresence
7. Peace, Righteousness, Perfection
8. Will, Wisdom, Wrath

Posted in theology

Sin is no longer an ugly thing…

By Elizabeth Prata

Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 6:15).

Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no spring rain. Yet you had a prostitute’s forehead; You refused to be ashamed. (Jeremiah 3:3).

What is a prostitute’s forehead? When we are ashamed, we blush. The blush shows on the forehead. Those who are deep in unrepentant sin will not blush, like a prostitute, as the Bible asserts. When conscience is seared, sin makes no impression on the heart. Conviction is absent. So is blushing.

The absence of conviction and the pursuit of sin is a concern to God. Forehead occurs many times in the Bible. Revelation mentions forehead 8 times. Believers’ new names will be written on our forehead, says Revelation. Tribulation believers will be marked on their forehead. Tribulation betrayers will be marked by the beast on the hand or forehead. The Great Whore of Babylon will be marked with a name on her forehead. (Revelation 7:3, Revelation 9:4, Revelation 13:16, Revelation 14:1, Revelation 14:9, Revelation 17:5, Revelation 20:4, Revelation 22:4).

Here is an excerpted entry for Forehead from Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary:

Part of the face above the eyes. Because it is so prominent, the appearance of the forehead often determines our opinion of the person. The Bible indicates that a person’s character can be determined by observing the forehead. A set forehead indicates opposition, defiance, and rebellion (Jer. 3:3). Hardness of the forehead indicates determination to persevere (Isa. 48:4Ezek. 3:8–9). It has been used as a representation of Satan (Rev. 13:16–17). The forehead is used as a very dishonorable word when read of the harlot’s forehead (Jer. 3:3), indicating utter shamelessness.

Like Cain whose countenance fell, or like the prostitutes and other deep sinners who don’t know how to blush, the face shows its sin. Isaiah 3:9 says,

The expression on their face testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves. (Isaiah 3:9).

Puritan Thomas Brooks wrote,

“You have a whore’s forehead — you refuse to be  ashamed!” Jeremiah 3:3. Most sinners in these days have brows of brass, and whores’ foreheads — which cannot blush. They are so far from being ashamed of their sins, that they think it a shame and disgrace not to sin, not to swear, and whore, and curse, and be drunk! Yes, there are many who are so far from being ashamed of their abominations — that they even glory in them. They flaunt their sins as Sodom, and make a sport of sinning!  “Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No,  they have no shame at all; they do not even know  how to blush!” Jeremiah 6:15. (Thomas Brooks, “A Cabinet of Choice Jewels” 1669).

The following is from an author I do not recommend, but I thought the statement was concise and thought-provoking. When a society doesn’t even blush over sin anymore, it’s doomed. When a society actively pursues sin, it’s a marker of their lostness. When a society is actually proud of its sin, it will be near collapse, or worse- judgment.

These passages [in Jeremiah above] all have a similar context: They were written just prior to the fall and scattering of either Israel to the north or Judah to the south. Each shows a wealthy people unblinkingly focused on their pleasure. Giving no thought to God, they are casually uninterested in the moral welfare of their nation that is crashing into utter depravity. Shame for sin has disappeared. The Interpreter’s Commentary of the Bible states that the Bible shows that, in the period before these nations fell, their societies show significant breakdowns in two vital areas: in political and business leadership and in family life, with specific blame falling on women.

In these passages, the following characteristics are either directly named or strongly implied: rebellion, obstinacy, betrayal, distrust, shamelessness, and greed, comprising an audacious self-centeredness against God and fellow man. These are not the characteristics of a nation that would bring honor to God. At one time in the history of this nation, the overwhelming majority of people expressed a strong sense of shame when they sinned. Sin was an ugly thing, and due to this sense of shame, they did whatever they could to hide their moral flaws from others.

I look around today and I have to veritably peek between hands over my eyes, the sin is so rampant. It’s utterly amazing to me the pride that non-believers have in the sins they enjoy and promote. I am grieved, but then I think of HOW grieved Jesus must be!

We read the question in the Bible, ‘how long, O Lord?’ and it has passed from many lips. The Psalmist, the martyrs in Revelation, Abel’s blood, Moses…ask when will you avenge for sin, for death, for persecutors, for bloodshed? The state of America now, and also in many other countries like Canada, New Zealand, Australia, many countries, is one that deserves judgment. Sodom…Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim all were judged for as much, or even less.

As Ruth Graham said to her husband Billy, “If God doesn’t come soon and bring judgment upon the United States, He’s going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!”

The Unrepenting Cities
20 Then He began to reprimand the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that occurred in you had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that occurred in you had occurred in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.” (Matthew 11:20-24).

Our God is longsuffering, patient, and measured in timing His judgment. He waited 400 years to judge the Amorites.

At the same time, Genesis 15:16 demonstrates God’s love, mercy, and above all His longsuffering and patience with sinful man. Rather than immediately wipe out the Amorites, God chose to wait for over four hundred years to bring judgment upon them. The enemies of God would be displaced as God settled His chosen people in the land He had promised them. Yet God’s enemies did not need to remain enemies. They were given ample time to turn from their wickedness, turn to God, and be forgiven. The Amorites had a chance to repent and be saved, just as the Assyrians in Nineveh did during in the time of Jonah. (GotQuestions).

Will God judge America tomorrow for her sins? Will it be another 200 years? 400? Will He wait till Judgment Day and the Judgment of Nations? (Matthew 25:32). Only God knows when the clock started ticking the countdown to our own judgment. But when a nation wholesale and wholeheartedly begins to perversely absorb, instruct and co-opt young children into terrible sin, we know the time must be near. Matthew 18:6-7 says

but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea. “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes!

EPrata photo
Posted in theology

Little known prophets of the Bible

By Elizabeth Prata

I love prophecy. I love studying the Prophets. In fact, when I became a believer, I had not gone to church or owned a Bible or was familiar with the Bible or Christian Culture. I started studying the Bible after salvation and I went straight to the Major Prophets. I read Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, etc, first, not knowing the common way was to read the Gospels first. But then I went right on to the Minor Prophets and enjoyed Zephaniah, Obadiah, and Nahum. It took about 8 years of Old Testament reading intensively and then I turned to the NT. I mean, I heard New Testament preaching when I listened to my pastor on Sundays and the preachers I liked online, but my absorption and focus was prophets.

Continue reading “Little known prophets of the Bible”
Posted in theology

The Bible is clear: Women cannot be pastors or teach men. This even includes Beth Moore

By Elizabeth Prata

Sunday Beth Moore preached again, this time at a Baptist Church in Houston. She described her attendance as not preaching but “serving,” which is disingenuous. It is also a sin. (1 Timothy 2:12, 1 Corinthians 14:34)

Secondly, she chose to embarrass her husband in front of her million-plus followers by calling him out for falling asleep during her sermon. This is a disgrace. (Titus 2:5, 1 Peter 3:2).

Third, she chose to boast that the invitation to (sinfully) preach was from a “prestigious” church. We can plainly see where her heart is.

She is receiving flack for her rebellion on social media and on Youtube. I myself denounced this behavior, saying “she belittled her husband for falling asleep during her message. Ladies, this should not be so. Bible is clear women are not to preach. They’re also to respect their husbands, not publicly embarrass them for a social media anecdote. Moore is a scourge & an embarrassment to us all.”

Image

Of the pushback Moore is receiving, she wrote a reply. She cannot resist. Below is her posted reply to the pushback. I’ll insert my comments in at certain points. Below that is an EXCELLENT video. At the end I’ll write why I am so concerned. Do not be deceived by her seemingly soft words.

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. (Romans 16:17-18 KJV)

BETH MOORE:

This is a cheerfully-written, good-will word to my beloved kin in Christ who deeply disapprove of my accepting a handful of invitations a year from pastors

The frequency of her preaching is not at issue. The sin itself, is.

who graciously ask if I would speak on a Sunday to their congregations.

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY is fooled by her use of the word “speaking.” It’s preaching. And she can call it whatever you want, but God isn’t fooled either.

I need you to know that I hear you. I see your deep commitment to your stand on women’s roles & I admire that you never tire of the subject.

I will never tire of warning women about false teachers. Jude says to. (Jude 1:23)

I acknowledge that, at the end of your open-minded & extensive exegesis of all the NT has to say about women, you hang your hat on the verses telling women to be silent in church. I get it.

But she continues to speak in churches.

I’ve read them once or twice or 500X myself. I too love the Bible. I too have studied it & value it so highly,

A person who spits on the gift and tramples it doesn’t value the gift highly.

I’ll spend my life, God willing, calling people into its pages.

And that is an issue, Moore calls people to its pages but by her ignoring verses that don’t suit her, and by her life, shows women that the Bible does not have to be heeded.

And after my own extensive study of women in the NT, I hang my head covering on verses like Acts 2:17-18,

It’s not a matter of ‘hanging our hat’ on one verse or another. It’s that the untaught and the unstable twist and distort verses, to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:16).

& on those where the same Paul who wrote your final word on women references hosts of women who were obviously colaborers in the gospel work

Co-laboring is not preaching or pastoring.

& among the leaders in their churches.

No woman was ever a leader in the churches.

I also burn alive inside with the call of Christ to the great commission.

I pray she repents before she truly learns what burning is.

I could know more stop than you could. All of this is to this point: if my story about Keith Moore falling fast asleep on the front row of a church in full view of the choir while I was bringing a message does not—at the very least—make you grin at my expense,

It was as Keith’s expense. Not hers.

consider hanging up your sheriff’s badge for a few weeks and taking a vacation. Everybody, including me, knows how you feel about women in church. You’ve done your job. We get it. We hear it. We see your commitment to the cause. But take a break.

No. I will never tire of helping women see that Beth Moore and others like her are a danger to their walk, their spiritual life, and to their souls. She wishes we’d stop. But we won’t.

These are sorrowful times. Have a hearty laugh on me. It’s good medicine.

They are sorrowful times because of the influx of preaching, rebellious women like Beth Moore who continue to pollute the church. It is a grief and a pain to me to see it and to help young women overcome the normalization of sin women like Moore have put on them like a millstone.

Now, is the problem of women preaching really that big of a deal? YES.

In 1962, 2% of clergy were women. Now, in 2022, 27% of pastors across the country are women. Fifty percent of students in Master of Divinity programs (a seminary program preparing the student for pastoral ministry), are women. (Source from video below).

It’s been an explosion. What happened? The Second Wave Feminist Movement, that’s what happened.

Culture has bowed the knee to the power of women as promoted by the feminist philosophy, but God’s word has not changed. Women are increasingly intruding into roles God has not designed for them in the church. So much so, that according to a survey in 2017, 80% of Americans are comfortable with the idea of a female pastor.

Women are not to preach to men and they are not to become pastors or elders. The Bible is crystal clear on this.

John Henry at The Gospel of Christ Youtube channel presents the following video. It is well-done. It contains refutations to the ‘what abouts’ such as “What about Deborah?” “What about Sarah Palin or Kamala Harris?” “What about the gifts of the Spirit, aren’t they given to everyone?” “What if I feel the call of God to teach and preach?”

All those questions are answered from scripture, which is clear. Once again, women are not to teach or preach to men.

Women’s roles in the church are valued and important for the health of the local church and the global church. There is no doubt that God used women for His glory. There is no doubt that God used women in all sorts of ways to advance the church – just not a teachers of men or preachers.

The video is 21 minutes long. John Henry at The Gospel of Christ Youtube Channel did a great job of editing, showing the truth is undeniably clear. Every women striding a stage with a Bible in her hand preaching in church or teaching at a conference to men, every women ‘feeling like’ she has a call from God to teach while her husband sits passively by, every women who insists to be ordained and assumes a position not meant for her, is a rebel. Every. Single. One.

We know they are false teachers because they have been told they are rebelling against God’s word. Joyce Meyer has been told. Beth Moore has been told. I know others have been told. They ignore the scriptures they claim to love. Their continued rebellion in the face of correction is a clear signal these women are desirous of personal glory, filling a lust, or otherwise casting aside the Savior in order to errantly continue in their pursuit of sin.

Please take a few minutes to listen.

I have prayed for Beth Moore to repent. I have prayed for many of these rebels. I pray the Lord gives them grace before they die. I have also prayed over women who have contacted me, confused, upset, unsure, thanks to ‘Bible Studies” like Moore’s and others that distort the scriptures, or present a lifestyle unsuitable for their demographic.

I have prayed to Jesus to stop them.

For there are many rebellious people, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain. (Titus 1:10-11).

A women preacher is a woman upsetting whole families. They are empty talkers and deceivers, teaching what they ought not. They confuse the unwary. They draw people away so as to diminish their effectiveness for the kingdom. We cannot ignore these evil people, we must stand opposed to them. We mark them, avoid them, snatch the doubters from the fire, and urge discernment.

PS- Beth Moore is preaching again this Sunday, at Transformation Church.
PPS: Her speaking fees range from $20,000 – $30,000 per.

Posted in theology

The Bible is clear: Women cannot be pastors or teach men. This even includes Beth Moore

By Elizabeth Prata

Sunday Beth Moore preached again, this time at a Baptist Church in Houston. She described her attendance as not preaching but “serving,” which is disingenuous. It is also a sin. (1 Timothy 2:12, 1 Corinthians 14:34)

Secondly, she chose to embarrass her husband in front of her million-plus followers by calling him out for falling asleep during her sermon. This is a disgrace. (Titus 2:5, 1 Peter 3:2).

Third, she chose to boast that the invitation to (sinfully) preach was from a “prestigious” church. We can plainly see where her heart is.

She is receiving flack for her rebellion on social media and on Youtube. I myself denounced this behavior, saying “she belittled her husband for falling asleep during her message. Ladies, this should not be so. Bible is clear women are not to preach. They’re also to respect their husbands, not publicly embarrass them for a social media anecdote. Moore is a scourge & an embarrassment to us all.”

Image

Of the pushback Moore is receiving, she wrote a reply. She cannot resist. Below is her posted reply to the pushback. I’ll insert my comments in at certain points. Below that is an EXCELLENT video. At the end I’ll write why I am so concerned. Do not be deceived by her seemingly soft words.

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. (Romans 16:17-18 KJV)

BETH MOORE:

This is a cheerfully-written, good-will word to my beloved kin in Christ who deeply disapprove of my accepting a handful of invitations a year from pastors

The frequency of her preaching is not at issue. The sin itself, is.

who graciously ask if I would speak on a Sunday to their congregations.

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY is fooled by her use of the word “speaking.” It’s preaching. And she can call it whatever you want, but God isn’t fooled either.

I need you to know that I hear you. I see your deep commitment to your stand on women’s roles & I admire that you never tire of the subject.

I will never tire of warning women about false teachers. Jude says to. (Jude 1:23)

I acknowledge that, at the end of your open-minded & extensive exegesis of all the NT has to say about women, you hang your hat on the verses telling women to be silent in church. I get it.

But she continues to speak in churches.

I’ve read them once or twice or 500X myself. I too love the Bible. I too have studied it & value it so highly,

A person who spits on the gift and tramples it doesn’t value the gift highly.

I’ll spend my life, God willing, calling people into its pages.

And that is an issue, Moore calls people to its pages but by her ignoring verses that don’t suit her, and by her life, shows women that the Bible does not have to be heeded.

And after my own extensive study of women in the NT, I hang my head covering on verses like Acts 2:17-18,

It’s not a matter of ‘hanging our hat’ on one verse or another. It’s that the untaught and the unstable twist and distort verses, to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:16).

& on those where the same Paul who wrote your final word on women references hosts of women who were obviously colaborers in the gospel work

Co-laboring is not preaching or pastoring.

& among the leaders in their churches.

No woman was ever a leader in the churches.

I also burn alive inside with the call of Christ to the great commission.

I pray she repents before she truly learns what burning is.

I could know more stop than you could. All of this is to this point: if my story about Keith Moore falling fast asleep on the front row of a church in full view of the choir while I was bringing a message does not—at the very least—make you grin at my expense,

It was as Keith’s expense. Not hers.

consider hanging up your sheriff’s badge for a few weeks and taking a vacation. Everybody, including me, knows how you feel about women in church. You’ve done your job. We get it. We hear it. We see your commitment to the cause. But take a break.

No. I will never tire of helping women see that Beth Moore and others like her are a danger to their walk, their spiritual life, and to their souls. She wishes we’d stop. But we won’t.

These are sorrowful times. Have a hearty laugh on me. It’s good medicine.

They are sorrowful times because of the influx of preaching, rebellious women like Beth Moore who continue to pollute the church. It is a grief and a pain to me to see it and to help young women overcome the normalization of sin women like Moore have put on them like a millstone.

Now, is the problem of women preaching really that big of a deal? YES.

In 1962, 2% of clergy were women. Now, in 2022, 27% of pastors across the country are women. Fifty percent of students in Master of Divinity programs (a seminary program preparing the student for pastoral ministry), are women. (Source from video below).

It’s been an explosion. What happened? The Second Wave Feminist Movement, that’s what happened.

Culture has bowed the knee to the power of women as promoted by the feminist philosophy, but God’s word has not changed. Women are increasingly intruding into roles God has not designed for them in the church. So much so, that according to a survey in 2017, 80% of Americans are comfortable with the idea of a female pastor.

Women are not to preach to men and they are not to become pastors or elders. The Bible is crystal clear on this.

John Henry at The Gospel of Christ Youtube channel presents the following video. It is well-done. It contains refutations to the ‘what abouts’ such as “What about Deborah?” “What about Sarah Palin or Kamala Harris?” “What about the gifts of the Spirit, aren’t they given to everyone?” “What if I feel the call of God to teach and preach?”

All those questions are answered from scripture, which is clear. Once again, women are not to teach or preach to men.

Women’s roles in the church are valued and important for the health of the local church and the global church. There is no doubt that God used women for His glory. There is no doubt that God used women in all sorts of ways to advance the church – just not a teachers of men or preachers.

The video is 21 minutes long. John Henry at The Gospel of Christ Youtube Channel did a great job of editing, showing the truth is undeniably clear. Every women striding a stage with a Bible in her hand preaching in church or teaching at a conference to men, every women ‘feeling like’ she has a call from God to teach while her husband sits passively by, every women who insists to be ordained and assumes a position not meant for her, is a rebel. Every. Single. One.

We know they are false teachers because they have been told they are rebelling against God’s word. Joyce Meyer has been told. Beth Moore has been told. I know others have been told. They ignore the scriptures they claim to love. Their continued rebellion in the face of correction is a clear signal these women are desirous of personal glory, filling a lust, or otherwise casting aside the Savior in order to errantly continue in their pursuit of sin.

Please take a few minutes to listen.

I have prayed for Beth Moore to repent. I have prayed for many of these rebels. I pray the Lord gives them grace before they die. I have also prayed over women who have contacted me, confused, upset, unsure, thanks to ‘Bible Studies” like Moore’s and others that distort the scriptures, or present a lifestyle unsuitable for their demographic.

I have prayed to Jesus to stop them.

For there are many rebellious people, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain. (Titus 1:10-11).

A women preacher is a woman upsetting whole families. They are empty talkers and deceivers, teaching what they ought not. They confuse the unwary. They draw people away so as to diminish their effectiveness for the kingdom. We cannot ignore these evil people, we must stand opposed to them. We mark them, avoid them, snatch the doubters from the fire, and urge discernment.

PS- Beth Moore is preaching again this Sunday, at Transformation Church.
PPS: Her speaking fees range from $20,000 – $30,000 per.

Posted in theology

God’s amazing love

By Elizabeth Prata

There is no point at which God began. Before God ever made a world, He already existed. And the Scriptures make clear that as He existed from all eternity, there was already in His nature from all eternity the attribute of love. God didn’t become loving at the time of creation, for He has always been a God of love.” ~RC Sproul, The Eternal Love of God

I think of the moving story in the Bible about the Prodigal Son. His arrogance in asking for his inheritance before the Father had died, demonstrating where his heart was…leaving to pursue sin with glee and abandon. His realization that he was in fact worse off than the pigs without the Father, his coming back, resolved to be a lowly servant…the Father running toward His son, who He loves!

It’s me. I wandered in the muck of sin for 4 decades before in His timing, the Father plucked me up. He loved me through all that time, my sin and rebellion he loved me through the ages before I was born. He loved me in infinity before the foundation of the world.

His love is tremendous, expansive, unplumbable to the ends.

Would you love a pig of a person who spit on you and hated your guts? Would you wash him, invite him to your home, a mansion, feed you and take care of your every need? Of course we would not. We don’t. But God does. BUT GOD.

The Nature of God’s Love by AW Pink

It is eternal. This [is] of necessity. God Himself is eternal, and God is love; therefore, as God Himself had no beginning, His love had none. Granted that such a concept far transcends the grasp of our finite minds, nevertheless, where we cannot comprehend, we can bow in adoring worship. How clear is the testimony of Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

How blessed to know that the great and holy God loved His people before heaven and earth were called into existence, that He had set His heart upon them from all eternity. This is clear proof that His love is spontaneous, for He loved them endless ages before they had any being.

The same precious truth is set forth in Ephesians 1:4-5, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us.” What praise should this evoke from each of His children! How quieting for the heart. Since God’s love toward me had no beginning, it can have no ending! Since it is true that “from everlasting to everlasting” He is God, and since God is love, then it is equally true that “from everlasting to everlasting” He loves His people.

LOVE ETERNAL AND UNCHANGEABLE

By Thomas Reade (1776-1841)
GOD is love (1Jo 4:8)! Sweet truth! O my soul, rejoice daily in this blessed revelation, “God is love.” Before all worlds, before any being was formed, “God is love”—love eternal and unchangeable. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is love. How inconceivably great is the love of God! All worlds rolling in the infinite expanse, all beings inhabiting those innumerable spheres, which extend far beyond the boundaries of the most excursive imagination, all the myriads of angelic spirits which dwell forever in the bright effulgence of uncreated light, are only the overflowings of that love, which is inexhaustible. The immense fountain loses not one drop, though countless millions are filled by its streams. It is ever flowing, ever full. “Lord, Thou art love. Oh, fill my soul with Thy love! Thou canst not be diminished, and I shall be made everlastingly blessed.”

By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:9-11).

That is just one of many verses in the Bible about the deep and eternal love God has for His people. No matter where you are or what us happening to you, know that if you are a believer, you are loved by God, deeply, thoroughly, eternally.

and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand (John 10:28).

EPrata photo