God’s word has a lot to say about false teachers, there are warnings upon warnings about them throughout scripture. There have always been false teachers and there will continue to be false teachers until Jesus returns. That means there are false teachers in our day too, do you know how to recognize them and tell them apart from true teachers of the word? This really should be Christianity 101 stuff because every believer needs to know how to differentiate between the true and the false and sometimes it can be very difficult. These false teachers pervert, which means twist God’s word, they bring in damnable heresies, a perverted gospel is a damnable heresy. We are told in Galations 1:8 “But though we or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” This warning is repeated in verse 9, that if they preach any other gospel to you let them be accursed. Accursed, Anathema, damned, that is no soft rebuke, this is the worst punishment to be damned. God takes his gospel seriously and so should we.
1 Corinthians 1:1-5 Now I would remind you, brothers,[a] of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. 3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
So what actually is another gospel, one that did not come from Jesus and his disciples? It is any gospel message that adds to salvation anything other than Christ alone. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, you can’t add baptism, circumcision, works or any other thing to salvation or it becomes a damnable heresy. If you are trusting in your baptism to save you, then you are trusting in water that doesn’t wash away sin, only the blood of Christ can wash away sins. If you are trusting in your works then you are trusting in yourself and no amount of good works will save you or keep you saved, it has to be all Christ’s work on the cross. Christians do good works because they are filled with the love of Christ, they not only want to please him but they are driven to do these things because of his spirit that is in them. But if you are doing works out of some requirement that man has taught must be done for you to be saved, stay saved or be under some sort of covering your doing them in vain. We have to put all our trust in Christ, he is our salvation and nothing else.
Here is a really good sermon from Pastor Jeff Arthur of Elizabeth Baptist Church, just click on the link below.
I am starting to understand why folks are so easily deceived (misled) by false teachers. It seems there are so many people out there that are convinced they are believing and following the God of the bible but when you talk with them you realize they couldn’t be. Here are some things I am noticing when talking to people about God and God’s word.
1. They refer to their own feelings and experiences most of the time and rarely do you hear the phrase (God’s word says, the bible says or Jesus said).
2. They don’t back up their theology with scripture, they can explain away what they believe at length using again feelings and experiences but rarely do they use a scripture to back up what they are saying and when they do it is almost always taken out of context. One of my favorites is (Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. ) Most of the time people will quote this and leave off the conditions at the end of the verse, and people love to quote this verse to make others think no matter what God is going to work all your stuff out for good,” you just wait and see, he keeps his promises this is a right now word for you.” Lets take a look at that again, who does God do this for? Those who love God, those who are called according to His purposes. So that didn’t say to those who are called according to their own purposes, No it’s His purposes and sometimes what God decides is good for his people that Love Him we don’t like it very much, sometimes it hurts, sometimes it breaks our hearts but God knows it is for our own good, He always has a reason. It also say’s those who love God, Jesus tells us in the following scripture how we are to Love the Lord our God.
Luke 10:25-27 (New King James Version) 25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” 27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’[a] and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”[b]
3. They mostly refer to their pastor or themselves, when having a theological conversation you will hear many times over, me, me, me, I, I, I and Pastor said. They should be referencing what Jesus said! I have also heard this “my pastor is an anointed man of God, I trust him to preach us the truth, how dare you speak against him?” How dare your pastor pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ,where is his fear of the Lord, he should know better? Folks your pastor is a man, sure all God’s children are anointed but if your pastor is preaching things that are contrary to God’s word and twisting and perverting God’s word then he is no more anointed than my Thanksgiving turkey, he is a puffed up false teacher!
4. They don’t understand or think they need discernment, not sure why that is but I am hearing more and more people say they don’t pray for it, it’s not their thing and they aren’t concerned about it. They want all the wisdom and knowledge they can get but discernment is unimportant to them. We need all three, we have to be able to discern sound biblical teaching and discern what spirit is at work. Especially in these days that are growing darker, if you want to persevere until the end you could use some discernment because some of these wolves are quite good at deceiving people. The scripture below even mentions false signs and wonders that these false christs and false prophets will perform, so how do you know your experiences are real or false without discernment? Better be careful folks that you know what God you are worshiping!
Matthew 24:23-25 (New King James Version)
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
5.They don’t understand what taking scripture out of context means or rightly dividing the word of truth. When you mention this to them they assure you that they don’t take the word out of context and they do rightly divide the word of truth. However when they use scripture you can clearly see they don’t.
6.They don’t adhere to Sola Scriptura, scripture alone. This one seems to be rampant these days because when you show someone biblically that something they believe isn’t in the bible and it is contrary to God’s word they don’t care because they don’t believe God’s word is the final authority, that it is our plumb line, our Christian owner’s manual on living as a Christian. It is merely to them, a back up story book, but their experiences, feelings, prophecies and sermons from their pastor are the final authority. We can’t rely on our feelings, experiences or men, we have to rely on God’s word, keep your eyes on Jesus.
I know these folks are deceived because God is allowing them to be deceived but I also know that God and God alone can bring them out of deception, after all he brought me out. I also want to say that I don’t claim to know everything, not even a little bit, the more I learn the more I realize I don’t know. I struggle and make mistakes every day just like everyone else, I have been deceived and sat under false teaching and I put out this blog to help others who are still there, coming out of deception or have already come out of deception and need others to talk to. It is very scary to realize that so much of what you have been taught is false, it is scary to leave your church and be called a divider, back slider, critical spirit etc. It is also very lonely at first but there are many of us out here that are experiencing and have experienced the same things. Don’t sit under these false teachers and don’t rely on your own understanding and experiences because they will all lead you in the wrong direction.
Oh boy I don’t even know where to start with this one! There is so much wrong with this so I will just say if it looks like a duck, smells like a duck, quacks like a duck and waddles like a duck, it’s a duck! So if it looks like the world, smells like the world, sounds like the world and acts like the world, it’s the world. Why do people think the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ doesn’t have the power to save and change lives. The gospel stands alone, Jesus doesn’t need gimmicks to save people.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone” (Ephesians 2:19, 20).
This article explores the idea of apostles in the church throughout church history. In it I will show that the restoration/Latter Rain idea that fuels the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is unbiblical and dangerous to the well-being of Christians who become part of it.
First we will review how the early church understood apostles in church history. Then we will examine the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching about apostolic authority. From there we will examine the ideas of a 17th-century mystic given new life in the Latter Rain movement, and now the NAR.
At a 1996 Fuller Seminary conference hosted by C. Peter Wagner, a movement that Wagner previously labeled “post-denominational” became the New Apostolic Reformation.1 Besides Wagner himself is another person prominent in the movement—Bill Hamon—who is strongly endorsed by Wagner. Hamon is important, as we will see, because his ministry goes all the way back to the early 1950’s and began on the heels of the Latter Rain Movement.
How the Early Church Understood Apostles
In 97 AD, Clement of Rome wrote an epistle to the church at Corinth. The epistle provides solid evidence that the early church did not believe that the apostles had successors or that new apostles were needed in order to provide direction to the church. At issue was the fact that certain individuals in Corinth challenged the duly constituted elders’ authority; Clement wrote to correct them. Clement’s testimony is remarkable because he likely was the Clement mentioned in Philippians 4:3, whom Paul called a “fellow worker.” Clement mentions the apostles in this passage:
The apostles have preached the Gospel to us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ [has done so] from God. Christ therefore was sent forth by God, and the apostles by Christ. Both these appointments, then, were made in an orderly way, according to the will of God. Having therefore received their orders, and being fully assured by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and established in the word of God, with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went forth proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand. And thus preaching through countries and cities, they appointed the first-fruits [of their labours], having first proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons of those who should afterwards believe.2
Although the Roman Catholic Church claims that Clement himself was an apostle of Christ in succession from Peter, Clement claimed no such title and neither did he acknowledge any apostles but the true apostles—the ones Christ appointed personally. What we will see from Clement is that the apostles appointed overseers and elders (the same group), and these were the authorities in the local church. The apostle Paul had given instructions on the qualifications and roles of elders (Acts 20:28 – 31; Titus 1:5-9; 1Timothy 3:1 – 7) and provided for their continuation (2Timothy 2:2). Clement goes on to discuss this:
Our apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and there would be strife on account of the office of the episcopate. For this reason, therefore, inasmuch as they had obtained a perfect fore-knowledge of this, they appointed those [ministers] already mentioned, and afterwards gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry. We are of opinion, therefore, that those appointed by them, or afterwards by other eminent men, with the consent of the whole Church, and who have blamelessly served the flock of Christ in a humble, peaceable, and disinterested spirit, and have for a long time possessed the good opinion of all, cannot be justly dismissed from the ministry. For our sin will not be small, if we eject from the episcopate those who have blamelessly and holily fulfilled its duties. Blessed are those presbyters who, having finished their course before now, have obtained a fruitful and perfect departure [from this world]; for they have no fear lest any one deprive them of the place now appointed them.3
Clement did not claim the apostolic authority to intervene, but rather pointed to elders who were appointed according to the standards of the Biblical apostles. It is noteworthy that he used the terms “episcopate” and “presbyters” interchangeably for the same people. Soon the church would develop “bishops” over cities (the “monepiscopate” or single bishop over a city), which was an innovation not endorsed by the Biblical apostles. However, Clement, who had been an associate of Paul, used episkopos (overseers or bishops – KJV) and presbuteros (elders) to describe the same group of people. This is precisely what Paul did in Acts 20:17, 28 when he called the elders together and described them as “overseers.”
By 97 AD, the authorities in the church were not apostles and prophets, but elders who had been appointed according to the standards lain down by the apostles. Those who claim that God always intended there to be authoritative apostles in the church who give binding revelation ignore the fact that the apostles themselves never anticipated that they would have successors and gave no instructions for the qualifications of any such successors…
The Roman Catholic Church’s Apostles
As church history progressed, the understanding of church authority as seen in the days of Clement of Rome disappeared very quickly in favor of the monepiscopate and progressed from that unbiblical innovation to the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. This idea eventually led to the Papacy. Later in church history, and in amazing irony, the Roman Catholic Church claimed that Clement was a successor of Peter and had apostolic status. This travesty dishonors the very teachings of Clement himself who taught no such thing….
17th Century Mystic Jane Leade Prophesies of a Coming Elite Church
One of the problems that attended the Reformation was the presence of “enthusiasts” who claimed direct revelation from God. The Reformers universally condemned such persons and movements, but that did not deter them from gaining followers. One who arose a century after the Reformation and who continues to have followers was an English mystic named Jane Leade. Her writings are posted on the Internet by persons who have affiliations with latter day apostles and prophets. She held to a theory of church history that claimed that the seven churches in Revelation stood for seven successive stages of church history. There are some today who still teach this theory. The problem with it is that there is nothing in Revelation itself that indicates John expected his readers to understand it that way. This is a classic case of the reader determining the meaning of the Bible rather than the Spirit-inspired author.
Leade was particularly interested in the church at Philadelphia because Christ found no fault in it. She was involved in a movement called “The Philadelphian Society,” named after that church. In 1679, the Philadelphian Society and the Theosophists published a document containing a 60-point prophecy by Jane Leade (the document has her name as Lead).8 The document proposes ideas that resurfaced in 1948 in the Latter Rain movement, and, as we shall see, are still being promoted by a key Apostle-prophet of the New Apostolic Reformation.
The first several points of the prophecy are about sealed mysteries that would be revealed only to “worthy searchers.” She claimed that there was an Ark of the Testimony in heaven containing new revelations to be opened during the church age. She wrote under point 8, “The presence of this divine ark, will constitute the Philadelphian Church, and wherever that is, there must the ark of necessity be.” Thus the group was called the “Philadelphian Society” which published “Theosophical Transactions.”9 She goes on to prophesy of an elite church that would be beyond anything previously known. In fact this church would be a “virgin” that would give birth to the “son” mentioned in Revelation 12:5:
14. Of the stem of DAVID, a virgin church, which hath known nothing of man or of human constitution, is yet to be born. 15. And if it be yet to be born, then it will require some considerable time before it gets out of its minority, and arrives to the full and mature age. 16. The birth of this virgin church was visionally typified to St. JOHN by the great wonder in Heaven bringing forth her first born, that was caught up to the throne of GOD 17. FOR — As a virgin woman brought forth CHRIST after the flesh, so likewise a virgin woman is designed by God, to bring forth the FIRST BORN after the Spirit, who shall be filled with the Holy Ghost and with power. 18. The VIRGIN that is hereto designed, must be as of a pure spirit, so also of a CLARIFIED body, and all over impregnated with the Holy Ghost. 19. This church so brought forth and signed with the mark of the divine name, shall be adorned with MIRACULOUS GIFTS AND POWERS beyond whatever yet hath been. . . . 23. This Catholic and anointed church must be perfectly holy, as CHRIST himself is holy; so that it may worthily bear the name of the Lord our Holiness, and the Lord our Righteousness. 24. Until there be such a church made ready upon the earth, so holy, so catholic, and so anointed, that is without all spot or wrinkle, and that is adorned as a bride to meet her bridegroom, CHRIST will not personally descend to solemnize this marriage, and present the same to his Father.
This prophecy of a perfected church (later called the “many-membered man-child”10 ) that will be the incarnation of Christ on the earth while Christ remains in heaven sets the stage for the Latter Rain movement in the 20th Century that would make the same claims. Whether that movement got its ideas from Leade or came up with the same heresy independently I cannot say at this time. But the ideas are identical. The church must be perfected on earth before Christ can return, and this shall be accompanied with miracles and power greater that at any time in church history—including Pentecost.
The Latter Rain Movement: Five Fold Ministry Elitism
In the 1930s, a man by the name of William Branham began to preach and exhibit supernatural manifestations. George Hawtin and P. G. Hunt heard Branham speak in Vancouver and brought his ideas to North Battleford, Saskatchewan where the “Latter Rain” revival that became the New Order of the Later Rain (NOLR) actually began. A key book that was circulated at that time was Atomic Power with God Through Prayer and Fasting by Franklin Hall. A key idea that still persists is that God is continually desiring to do great and powerful miracles through the church but is unable to do so because the church has not become holy enough, desired it badly enough, has failed in numerous other ways, or lacks the faith that is necessary to precipitate these miracles. The Latter Rain has always been predicated on elitist ideas such as those of Jane Leade previously cited. They consider ordinary churches to be miserable failures that God cannot use.
In 1951, George Warnock wrote a book that became one of the most important statements of the ideas of the NOLR, The Feast of Tabernacles. The book is based on an allegorical interpretation of the feasts of Israel that has the Feast of Tabernacles standing for a glorious end-times church that would arise before Christ can return. The entire book can be read online, as it is posted by current advocates of Latter Rain theology.
Warnock, like Myland, allegorized the rains in Israel to make them create a scheme of church history:
Joel’s prophecy, therefore, speaks of Pentecost–but it goes on to embrace the fullness of Pentecost, even the Feast of Tabernacles. God did give the former rain moderately–in the Pentecostal Age extending from the early Church until now. But here is something very unusual. Right here in the “first month” of the Agricultural Year . . . God has promised to do something most unusual; for He would give, not only the former rain which belongs to that month, but He would give the former rain and the latter rain combined!”11
This he interpreted to mean that the Latter Rain would be characterized by far greater power and glory than what was seen in the Book of Acts. Warnock thereby set the stage for the grandiose claims that are made by the apostles and prophets of our day. It is not inaccurate to say that there is no claim so grandiose that the latter day apostles will not make it. We shall demonstrate that when we examine the writings of one of their top leaders.
Warnock also claimed, like Jane Leade, that Jesus would remain in heaven until after the church achieved elite status never before seen in church history, including that of the Biblical days:
O the immensity of these words! And what is more, Christ is going to remain right where He is at God’s right hand until there shall arise a group of overcomers who shall conquer over all God’s enemies. . . . And yet the majority of Christians are looking for a rapture any moment, when Christ is supposed to catch away a miserable, defeated, disease-ridden Church.
Notice that ordinary Christians, in this elitist thinking, are “miserable, defeated, and disease ridden.”
One of the most heretical teachings associated with the NOLR was called “the manifested sons of God” that claimed that certain elite Christians would obtain the promise of immortality (as promised in Romans 8:19) now rather than at the parousia. Warnock taught that all enemies, in which he included death, the “last enemy,” had to be conquered by the church before Christ could return: “God says Christ is going to stay right where He is until all His enemies are under His feet. And His enemies include the “last enemy,” which is Death. There must arise a group of overcomers who shall conquer and become absolutely victorious over all the opposing forces of the world, the flesh, and the Devil–before this dispensation draws to a close.” 12 The “overcomers” is another term used by the Latter Rain to describe elitist Christians who are to be distinguished from the rest of us. This is in spite of the fact that the following verse applies to all Christians: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world– our faith” (1John 5:4).
One of the ironies of the Latter Rain and New Apostolic Reformation movements (the latter is merely the current version of the former as I will demonstrate) is that they hold to a “restoration” scenario in which God is supposedly progressively restoring truths lost during church history and now are being restored starting with the Reformation..
But ironically, NOLR and NAR teachers constantly contradict and reject important Reformation doctrines. They want to claim the Reformation as theirs and reject it at the same time.
Hamon became involved with C. Peter Wagner’s New Apostolic Reformation at its very inception:
The National Symposium on the Post-Denominational Church convened by Dr. C. Peter Wagner at Fuller Seminary, May 21-23, 1996, was a historical occasion in God’s annals of Church history. It was prophetically orchestrated by the Holy Spirit to fulfill God’s progressive purpose of bringing His Church to its ultimate destiny. . . . The consensus of the panelists was that there are still apostles and prophets in the Church, and that there is an emerging Apostolic Movement that will revolutionize the 21st-century Church. The last-generation Church will have an Apostolic Reformation that will be as great as the first-generation Apostolic Movement.16
With Wagner’s endorsement, Hamon brought the teachings of the Latter Rain movement into the NAR.
Latter Rain Heresy is Renamed and Reintroduced
The differences between the Latter Rain Movement and the New Apostolic Reformation mostly have to do with terminology, not doctrine. In the 1980s, a teaching circulated amongst those who attend conferences put on by those in the prophetic movement called “a new breed of man.” The basic idea is that ordinary Christians throughout church history had been colossal failures and that God was going to fall upon certain persons by His Holy Spirit and “impregnate” them so that they could “give birth” to something entirely new. The “new breed of man” would be exalted saints with holiness and power never known before. I remember debating people at the time who were following this teaching.
Bill Hamon includes the “new breed” idea in his teachings:
“The new breed of Joshua Generation apostles will move in the miraculous and definitely manifest the signs of the apostle.”23
The “Joshua Generation” is another allegory popular in this movement. The crossing of the Jordan into the promised land by Israel is allegorized to mean the triumph of the church over all enemies so as to take the land, “every place your sole treads” they claim. The “new breed” means that they are not of the same order of humans as other Christians who have ever existed.
Hamon further states: “Let it suffice to say here that the new breed of apostles will be motivated by the Spirit of Wisdom.”24
The NAR claims that Christ is coming IN the church not FOR the church. Hamon claims that he himself is one of God’s “new breed” of last-days apostles.25
The Joel’s Army Heresy Reintroduced
One of the discredited teachings of the NOLR was called “Joel’s Army.” The claim was that Joel 2:1-11 predicts that the end time church will be “Joel’s Army” that will execute God’s judgments on the earth. This is another false Latter Rain teaching that Bill Hamon still propagates. Here is his claim:
The saints are being trained now in the military bases of international training centers and their local church armories. The goal is to have them taught, equipped and field trained to be the officers that lead God’s army of prophetic evangelist saints during the coming Saints Movement. They will minister under the covering and leadership of fivefold apostolic and prophetic generals who trained them. These saints will function like God’s army prophetically described by Prophet Joel (Joel 2:1-11).29
The “Kingdom Now” Heresy Reintroduced
Another “movement” that Hamon predicts he calls “The Kingdom Establishing Movement.”31 Here he makes even more grandiose claims:
The movement will not cease until all knees bow and every tongue confesses that Jesus is the true Lord God over all the earth. That does not imply that everyone who makes that confession or acknowledgement is saved. However, there will be such worldwide demonstration of God’s power over the elements, people raised from the dead, miraculous control of natural catastrophes, miraculous prophetic words and endless supernatural manifestations, signs and wonders, until everyone will have to acknowledge that there is no god like Jesus Christ, the God of gods and Lord of lords.32
The Bible Prophesies End Times Delusion
Having seen the consistent claims spanning several centuries right up to the present that elite Christians shall arise and overcome death before the rapture, do greater miracles than those of the Biblical accounts, defeat all of God’s enemies while Christ remains “held in the heavens,” and become the virgin born, new breed of man, manifested sons, the very incarnation of God on earth, etc., let us consider what the Bible predicts about the end time. The Bible teaches none of these heretical doctrines uniformly based on allegorized Scripture, but rather teaches that massive deception through false signs and wonders would characterize the end of the age.
Jesus said: “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. . . . For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:11, 24). He did not tell us to look for a “new breed” of “anointed ones” (christs) but warned us to avoid their deceptions.
Paul predicted perilous times of sin and evil at the end of the age where men will oppose the truth by doing false signs and wonders like Pharaoh’s magicians opposed Moses (2Timothy 3:1-8). Peter predicted that false teachers would arise and seek to seduce the church by exploiting us with “false words” (2Peter 2:1-3). John warned us that in the last hour there are false “anointed ones” (antichrists). Paul tells us where this is all headed: “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it [the day of the Lord] will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,” (2Thessalonians 2:3).
Furthermore, the passages in Revelation that the elitist, NAR and NOLR apostles appropriate for themselves, do not teach the church triumphs over the world through her own efforts while Jesus is “held in the heavens.” Their interpretations are fanciful and not based on any sound hermeneutic. They allegorize the Bible because there is no way to find their ideas in the Bible if taken literally. We need to decide whether to believe what Jesus, Paul, John and Peter said in the inerrant Scripture or the prophecies of people who claim to be new apostles and prophets while simultaneously contradicting the teachings of the true apostles and prophets.
Conclusion
Church history has shown that whenever new claimants to the office of apostle have arisen, so have false teachings. The teachings of many such persons today, as we have seen, are shocking in the extremity of their error. Yet C. Peter Wagner claims that churches that he terms “apostolic” in this new sense are part of the fastest growing segment of the church in the world today.34 Perhaps he is right; but if he is, this is proof of massive end time apostasy and not the revival he claims it to be.
The only binding authority in the church is that of Scripture. God does not bind us to mixture, error, or the musings of men. The false apostles and prophets of the NOLR and NAR have no power over the true, blood-bought church of God.
Prophets that are less than inerrant have nothing to sell but fear: “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy 18:22).
The grandiose claims that span from Leade, to Warnock, to Branham, to Paulk, and to Hamon have never come to pass, and they never will. There will be no virgin born, many-membered man-child, Elijah company, new breed of man, new incarnation of the Christ on earth or any other such blasphemy.
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*Some portions were omitted because of length, but you can read it all HERE.
Every year billions of dollars are spent on Christian books, but how many of them can live up to that label? How many of them could be measured by God’s word?
Walk into any Christian book store today and you will find anything from self help, Christian romance, mysticism and new age philosophy and religion all written by supposed Christian authors. You would be hard pressed to find but just a few Christian books in the Christian book store that actually line up with God’s word. However look no further than the best seller section for a whole plethora of heresy, false gospel, new age teachings and all the psycho-babble you can read. You actually have to go searching and sometimes on the internet for Christian book’s that line up with the God of the bible. Although you can always just skip all the Christian books written by men and head straight to the bible section, but who wants to read the bible these days? It’s too hard to read, too depressing, too much judgment and talk of our sins and it just makes us selfish Christians feel worse about ourselves and the bible just doesn’t really pertain to us and our more modern lives and problems.
We would rather read the nice gospels these authors talk about in their books. Sadly that’s the attitude Christians have toward God’s holy word, and it is clear that they don’t read what it says or they wouldn’t be reading all this Christian labeled garbage they find in the book stores because they would know by reading God’s word that it is just that, Garbage.
I myself have been guilty of blindly purchasing Christian labeled materials without bothering to find out more about the author and what they believe. I mean after all it’s a Christian author, with a Christian book in a Christian book store where could I go wrong? However when I go to the grocery store I don’t take for granted that my whole wheat bread is actually what the label says it is, no I know better than that. I know I have to flip it over and read the ingredients to determine if it is whole wheat or white bread masquerading as wheat bread. I surely don’t want to purchase false wheat bread because you know my stomach is more important than my eternal soul. You would think I would take more time to find out what I am actually reading to see if it is the real thing or something false. Well I learned my lesson the hard way, straight down the path of deception and thanks be to God that he opened my eyes to the truth of his word.
I have since learned that everything must line up with God’s word and that we are to test every spirit. 1 John 4 1 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. Yes contrary to the teachings of many pastor’s that warn you to “touch not God’s anointed” or to be careful not to speak against the man of God, God’s word really does tell us to check to see if it is of Him or not. Acts 17:10-11
10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea . When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
The teachings and writings of authors and pastors are to be measured by God’s word to see if the things they teach are so. The “touch not God’s anointed” phrase that we hear so much when speaking out against a bad or heretical teaching doesn’t even apply to them. We are all anointed if we are saved. Touch not God’s anointed is a reference to the King’s of the nation of Israel and is used exclusively in the Old Testament. I’m not going to go into a detailed explanation of this but you can read about it at the link or research it for yourself. http://www.letusreason.org/Pent47.htm
So many times authors, teachers and pastors use scriptures that they have taken out of context to get a point across that they are trying to make. Just because they use scripture and preach about Jesus doesn’t mean that their teachings line up with God’s word. There are a lot of different movements out there in the Christian world right now that do that very thing. On the surface they might look alright until you start searching the scriptures to see if what they are saying is so. There are some today that are all about the cotton candy messages, no sin or repentance of sin is to be found in their messages. Others that are so mystical and fruity they are stuck in the third heaven somewhere astral projecting and manifesting strange signs and wonders. Others who are all about church growth and oneness with other religions and I could go on and on. We have to be good Berean’s and read God’s word and search the scriptures daily. If we don’t study God’s word we can’t expect to know Jesus, His truth’s or His gospel and we surely won’t avoid deception. Psalm 119:11 11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. That word you are to hide in your heart doesn’t get there magically; you have to put it there by reading and studying it.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! One would think this scripture is talking about unregenerate sinners but it says they have a form of godliness, this is talking about supposed Christians. This description of these men in perilous times looks a lot like what we are seeing in the church today and on the bookshelves of the Christian book stores. People are heaping up for themselves teachers that appeal to their own fleshly desires, self help guru’s, prosperity preacher’s, shaman’s and mystic’s all in sheep’s clothing.
2 Timothy 3:16-4:4 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at[a] His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
My intention with writing this article is to hopefully encourage others to investigate the books, teachers and preachers that they are influenced by. IT is not wrong to examine the writings and teachings of author’s, preachers and teachers, quite the contrary it is biblical and we are supposed to do it. When we discover their teachings don’t line up biblically we have to stay away from them. I myself have liked many teachers and preachers that I later found to be following a wrong path and it was difficult for me to admit they were wrong and move on but we are here to serve Jesus and not men. If my foundation is built on Christ then I won’t be moved or shaken when I find out my favorite author, teacher or pastor is heretical or consistently in error. If I am spitting out more bones than there is meat then there is a problem. If the gospel of Jesus Christ is an after thought then there is a problem. If there is nary a mention of sin and repentance there is a problem. If you are in a church that you are not growing and maturing in because the sermons are watered down to reach the lost and there is no discipleship, bible study, more meaty teaching for maturing there is a problem. If your pastor doesn’t have watchmen and warn you about apostasy and deception he isn’t doing his job as your shepherd. Pastor’s should be warning their congregations about these things but instead they promote them and even adopt the principles and visions of false prophets.
If I have offended anyone with this article I am sorry but I would rather offend you now while there is still time. I could have specifically named the books and people that I am referring to in this article but it would take me a year to compile the list. I ask God daily to give me wisdom and discernment and to open my eyes to things that aren’t of him. I pray that you would do the same and ask God to open your eyes and ears to these things we should stay away from.
Matthew 7:13-18 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. 15″Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
