"If you cannot be positive, then at least be quiet"- Christian, before you press share on that Facebook quote...

"If you cannot be positive, then at least be quiet"- Christian, before you press share on that Facebook quote...

There is a quote going around among Facebook that I'd like to address. Here it is:

On the surface, it seems like a good goal, right? In the vein of making New Year resolutions, it seems like a pretty good thing to resolve. I'll press re-share! After all, Ephesians 4:29 says let no unwholesome talk come out of our mouths and speak only what builds up. I'm on board with this.

Wait just a second. I'd like to plea for Christians to stop and think for a moment before sharing or posting. Think of what the quote really says when you consider the source. It is actually a chocloate wrapped cockroach. This quote is exactly the kind of subtle lie that satan spoke in the garden.

When we first meet the devil, we are told off the bat that he is the most subtle creature of all. (Genesis 3:1). He is crafty. Shortly after we were introduced to satan, satan became the god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4). He is actually in charge of the world system (as far as God lets him). Since satan is a liar and the father of lies, (John 8:44), and he is in charge of the world system, then the world system is a lie. (HT to Todd Friel for that syllogism).

So what could be harmful or deceptive about such a positive statement as quoted above? It goes like this:

Joel Osteen says it is not positive to speak of sin or judgment- so he doesn't. Even though as a preacher he is supposed to give the whole counsel of God, he decided that speaking of the unsavory things in the bible is "not his calling." He would also disagree on marking and avoiding false teachers as Romans 16:17-18 says to do. Osteen starves his followers of the spiritual bread they need by refusing to speak what he defines as negative, and therefore unnecessary, and only speaks what he deems as positive.

In this subtle way, Osteen gets Christians to remain quiet about confronting sin.

Another way the quote is deceptively harmful to our witness is that Osteen is a Word-Faith preacher.

He says that what we proclaim can impact and even create our reality. Osteen really believes that saying positive declarations aloud will make them come true. This is a false doctrine called positive confession.

"Positive confession is the practice of saying aloud what you want to happen with the expectation that God will make it a reality." (source)

Osteen says negative speech demonstrates that we lack the kind of faith God requires us to show Him if He is going to fulfill the promises He is 'duty bound' to fulfill- but only if we stay positive. However,

"[T]the Bible is very clear that 'negative confession' does not negate God’s blessings." (source)

So in this vein I disagree with Osteen's statement "If you cannot be positive, then at least be quiet," because I know what he means by it- and it is not biblical. Alternately, if a person chooses to remain quiet according to the bible's definition (and the two are NOT the same) then I agree.

• Ephesians 4:29 says let no unwholesome talk come out of our mouths and speak only what builds up.
• Ecclesiastes 10:12 says words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips.
• Colossians 3:8 says But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips,
• Colossians 4:6 says in part, Let your speech be always with grace,

There is no such thing as a good statement from a false teacher. The bible says, "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:17-20.)

(Source)

Even in a case where the statement seems good and wholesome, coming from an evil and devilish source, it means the quote is evil also. It's tainted by its unseen evil agenda. The bible says, “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”(Romans 3:13).

Throat, tongue, lips; you see that no part of where an evil person speaks from is safe from the venom that permeates their speech before it escapes their body.

Because satan is so deceptive, he packages deception in pleasant-looking bundles. In this way, even a "positive" quote is poison.

The bible is full of admonitions regarding a Christian's speech. And, it has the ultimate advantage of being the most impeccable source. There are many good preachers of the past and present to quote, and it is good to do so. However, if you are unsure of a the quoted person's Christian credibility, you can't go wrong quoting the word of God.

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

Further Reading

Got Questions: Is there power in positive confession?

Al Mohler: ‘Staying in His Lane’ — Joel Osteen’s Gospel of Affirmation Without Salvation

The End Time: The worst thing I've ever heard a husband say about his wife: plus, Mark Driscoll and the evangelical industrial complex

The End Time: The worst thing I've ever heard a husband say about his wife: plus, Mark Driscoll and the evangelical industrial complex

False teachers and contending instead of tolerating

Reblogged from Elizabeth Prata the-end-time.blogspot.com   

Jesus said that one way we will be able to tell it is the end times is that false teachers will come. It has been the end time since He ascended and the latter days will end when He returns, but nonetheless, He also said that the end will come like a flood, and will be like birth pains. In other words, from the beginning of the period to the end, things will get worse and worse:
"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." (2 Timothy 3:13)
Actually, when the disciples asked about the signs of the end of the age, the first sign Jesus gave was that there will be deception:

photo credit: delete08 via photopin cc

"As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray." (Matthew 24:3-5).

When Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1, Paul said that 'dangerous times will come'. That was a prophecy. John MacArthur expounds on the verses:

"The word "times" is the word "seasons" or epochs. And the picture here is the idea that during the period of the church age there will be seasons when the church is under great danger in perilous perilous condition. This is primarily due to the encroachment on the church of false teachers and false doctrine. Verse 13 says, "Evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived."
Evil men, impostors who come into the church rising from within become a tremendous danger to the church. False teachers and their product, false doctrine, and their converts, false Christians, are inevitable in the life of the church and exceedingly dangerous. We look at the church today and we know we're in dangerous times. The church as we speak of it in the largest sense, Christianity or Christendom, is mixed up with all kinds of things. It is literally filled with false teachers propagating false doctrine being believed by false converts or false Christians. The church is filled with men and women who deny Scripture in their theology, who deny Scripture in their living.
The church tolerates that false teaching, tolerates that ungodly living. Even in some cases justifies it quite as it did in Ephesus where Timothy was when he received this letter from Paul. Only today it's far worse than it was then because evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse and worse as you come closer to the coming of Christ.
We are 2,000 years nearer the coming of our Lord than the church at Ephesus and we then have to suffer the accumulation of deceit and false teaching through all of those centuries that is now encroaching upon the church today."

The word 'accumulation' is a great way to put it. Not only has false teaching accumulated, more is coming in every day, in greater force and in greater number.

photo credit: PhotKing ♛ via photopin cc

Therefore, we know by the word of God that we are living in dangerous times and what is causing the danger is false doctrine. It is causing persecution from without and contentions from within. We usually think of danger as things like machine guns or unbalanced madmen, but in reality false teaching is a machine gun that kills just as surely as bullets do, and it is brought by unbalanced madmen who can't think straight (Ephesians 4:17 and Romans 1:21).

With the fact of coming flood of false doctrine established, let's turn to Jude for a moment. Jude 1:3 says says what to do about it,

"Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3)

Jude wrote that though he had other plans for his letter's content, something had arisen which changed his mind. He used very strong language to indicate that his intent had been changed and he must now address a different topic. Various translations use the word

--necessary
--compelled
--must
--needful

When Jude uses the word compelled or necessary, or must, he is using the Greek word anankēn, a root of anagke. This word means literally to "compress or to press tight. In human terms it indicates a compelling need requiring immediate action, i.e. in a pressing situation. The definition also means it calls for timely help, i.e. strong force needed to accomplish something compulsory or absolutely required." (Strong's)

Gills Exposition says of the verse, "by the "faith" is meant the doctrine of faith, in which sense it is used whenever faith is said to be preached, obeyed, departed, or erred from, or denied, or made shipwreck of, or when exhortations are made to stand fast, and continue in it

Jude found it necessary to warn the brethren to take action regarding the existing evils in the Church. Jude used the strongest terms possible to urge them to fight for the faith. By faith, Jude means doctrine.

photo credit: Icky Pic via photopin cc

Yet we are living in strange times. Just as false doctrine is permeating everywhere, we are told to tolerate it. Just as people of the faith are littering the sea of the church in shipwrecks, we are told to step over them as they lay gasping and dying, so as not to offend them.

Jude did not say, "I planned to write to you about our common salvation but I see that false doctrine is coming in. If you think of it, would you address this? If you get a chance? Either way. But if someone makes a charge of intolerance or says that you are not loving by doing this, back off immediately and pray for forgiveness for your offense."

Jude did not say, "There may be a false thing we need to take care of, but that's for later. First, witness to the people by your actions, not your words, so they will see you're not a hypocrite. Then after a few years when you've established a relationship based on common interests and mutual trust, mention to them delicately, without naming names! that sometimes false doctrine comes in. If you feel led. Or not."

Brethren, it is obvious that addressing false doctrine is a must. Jude said to contend. Contending is contentious. That's a fact. I'm not saying to BE contentious. But there is emotional and spiritual turmoil associated with combating false doctrine.

This is because people who gravitate to false doctrine are deceived, and no one likes to be told they are being deceived. There is intellectual pride there which must be dealt with by the person, and sometimes they get angry at you for exposing this to them. People who follow false teachers do so because the teacher's teaching is comforting them in their flesh, and excising the flesh is always painful. (2 Timothy 2:17, Mark 9:47). People cling to false teaching because they like it. No one enjoys being told that something they like is bad for them. They have already invested too much, and their pride, comfort, personal reputation etc.  is now tied into it.

photo credit: remuz [Jack The Ripper] via photopin cc

What does contending look like in practical terms? If you have a conversation with someone and they mention they enjoy watching Joyce Meyer, the person should be told that Joyce Meyer is a false teacher preaching heresy. If you have all the facts at your disposal, perhaps you can tell them this immediately. But more likely it is better to draw back, pray, gather the facts of why she is false and also why it is important to tell the person she is false, and take her aside at another time. This is what Priscilla and Aquila did for Apollos. (Acts 18:24-28). He was a brother, he just had some facts wrong.

John Ed Mathison writes,

They took him aside!
"How do you deal with people when they have made a mistake and obviously you know how to help them? Knowing what to do is sometimes not as important as how we do it. In Acts 18:24 there was an interesting man by the name of Apollos who had become a convert to the Christian faith. He became a fervent disciple. He desired to teach and share his faith. His enthusiasm seemed to outrun the grounding of his intellectual understanding of God’s truth. He began to make a few errors. How do you handle somebody who is in error? It is easy to confront the person in front of a lot of people and make yourself look good by showing them their faults. Sometimes the practice is to go to somebody and tell them what someone else is doing wrong, without confronting the person who is actually making the mistake. Some people simply “pray about it.” Some people criticize the errors in an indirect manner. Priscilla and Aquila did the right thing. The Bible says “They took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately.” (Acts 18:26) They didn’t embarrass him. They didn’t pull rank on him. They took him aside in order to be helpful to him."

Paul took another tack. When Peter was engaged in false doctrine and had done nothing to refute it, Paul opposed Peter to his face. (Galatians 2:11-14). Paul waded into the fray, willing to take the pain of conflict in contending with Peter, in order to defend the truth of the gospel. You see the emergency portion of the verse, "even Barnabas was led astray." (Galatians 2:13). Failure to confront false doctrine means others get hurt! In the Galatians situation, Jews and Gentiles were split! Peter was passive, not leading in the authority of his office! Confusion, not unity, reined! And poor Barnabas was being led away by satan.

Roger R. Nicole said of contending for the faith in his article "How to deal with those who differ from me" (.pdf here), "We are called upon by the Lord to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 3). That does not necessarily involve being contentious; but it does involve avoiding compromise, standing forth for what we believe, standing forth for the truth of God—without welching at any particular moment."

Ultimately, it is up to you to do your part. This means:

--reading the bible so you know when false doctrine comes in the first place
--staying prayed up so your relationship with Jesus is fresh and alive
--loving others enough to risk emotional turmoil when contending for the faith
--honoring Jesus by being a good soldier and fighting the good fight

It's up to you also to decide whether to confront privately or publicly. I've done both as different cases arose. The bible shows us several ways to contend and therefore all are correct, but not all are equally applicable to each situation. How you contend is between you and the Holy Spirit, but it must be done. Paul and Jude made no bones about that.

Dan Rocha photo

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

Further reading:

How to contend for the faith (2-min video)

The Berean Call: What does it mean to earnestly contend for the faith? 

The Christian Courier advises in their article, "Contend Earnestly for the Faith"
"Contending Is Not Contentiousness. There are some who have yet to learn the difference between contending for the faith and being contentious for the faith. Contending for the faith is a balanced proclamation and defense of the fundamental elements of gospel truth, whereas contentiousness is a wrangling disposition that generates ill will over inconsequential matters." More at the link

Jesus said that one way we will be able to tell it is the end times is that false teachers will come. It has been the end time since He ascended and the latter days will end when He returns, but nonetheless, He also said that the end will come like a flood, and will be like birth pains. In other words, from the beginning of the period to the end, things will get worse and worse:

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." (2 Timothy 3:13)

Actually, when the disciples asked about the signs of the end of the age, the first sign Jesus gave was that there will be deception:

photo credit: delete08 via photopin cc

"As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray." (Matthew 24:3-5).

When Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1, Paul said that 'dangerous times will come'. That was a prophecy. John MacArthur expounds on the verses:

"The word "times" is the word "seasons" or epochs. And the picture here is the idea that during the period of the church age there will be seasons when the church is under great danger in perilous perilous condition. This is primarily due to the encroachment on the church of false teachers and false doctrine. Verse 13 says, "Evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived."
Evil men, impostors who come into the church rising from within become a tremendous danger to the church. False teachers and their product, false doctrine, and their converts, false Christians, are inevitable in the life of the church and exceedingly dangerous. We look at the church today and we know we're in dangerous times. The church as we speak of it in the largest sense, Christianity or Christendom, is mixed up with all kinds of things. It is literally filled with false teachers propagating false doctrine being believed by false converts or false Christians. The church is filled with men and women who deny Scripture in their theology, who deny Scripture in their living.
The church tolerates that false teaching, tolerates that ungodly living. Even in some cases justifies it quite as it did in Ephesus where Timothy was when he received this letter from Paul. Only today it's far worse than it was then because evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse and worse as you come closer to the coming of Christ.
We are 2,000 years nearer the coming of our Lord than the church at Ephesus and we then have to suffer the accumulation of deceit and false teaching through all of those centuries that is now encroaching upon the church today."

The word 'accumulation' is a great way to put it. Not only has false teaching accumulated, more is coming in every day, in greater force and in greater number.

photo credit: PhotKing ♛ via photopin cc

Therefore, we know by the word of God that we are living in dangerous times and what is causing the danger is false doctrine. It is causing persecution from without and contentions from within. We usually think of danger as things like machine guns or unbalanced madmen, but in reality false teaching is a machine gun that kills just as surely as bullets do, and it is brought by unbalanced madmen who can't think straight (Ephesians 4:17 and Romans 1:21).

With the fact of coming flood of false doctrine established, let's turn to Jude for a moment. Jude 1:3 says says what to do about it,

"Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3)

Jude wrote that though he had other plans for his letter's content, something had arisen which changed his mind. He used very strong language to indicate that his intent had been changed and he must now address a different topic. Various translations use the word

--necessary
--compelled
--must
--needful

When Jude uses the word compelled or necessary, or must, he is using the Greek word anankēn, a root of anagke. This word means literally to "compress or to press tight. In human terms it indicates a compelling need requiring immediate action, i.e. in a pressing situation. The definition also means it calls for timely help, i.e. strong force needed to accomplish something compulsory or absolutely required." (Strong's)

Gills Exposition says of the verse, "by the "faith" is meant the doctrine of faith, in which sense it is used whenever faith is said to be preached, obeyed, departed, or erred from, or denied, or made shipwreck of, or when exhortations are made to stand fast, and continue in it

Jude found it necessary to warn the brethren to take action regarding the existing evils in the Church. Jude used the strongest terms possible to urge them to fight for the faith. By faith, Jude means doctrine.

photo credit: Icky Pic via photopin cc

Yet we are living in strange times. Just as false doctrine is permeating everywhere, we are told to tolerate it. Just as people of the faith are littering the sea of the church in shipwrecks, we are told to step over them as they lay gasping and dying, so as not to offend them.

Jude did not say, "I planned to write to you about our common salvation but I see that false doctrine is coming in. If you think of it, would you address this? If you get a chance? Either way. But if someone makes a charge of intolerance or says that you are not loving by doing this, back off immediately and pray for forgiveness for your offense."

Jude did not say, "There may be a false thing we need to take care of, but that's for later. First, witness to the people by your actions, not your words, so they will see you're not a hypocrite. Then after a few years when you've established a relationship based on common interests and mutual trust, mention to them delicately, without naming names! that sometimes false doctrine comes in. If you feel led. Or not."

Brethren, it is obvious that addressing false doctrine is a must. Jude said to contend. Contending is contentious. That's a fact. I'm not saying to BE contentious. But there is emotional and spiritual turmoil associated with combating false doctrine.

This is because people who gravitate to false doctrine are deceived, and no one likes to be told they are being deceived. There is intellectual pride there which must be dealt with by the person, and sometimes they get angry at you for exposing this to them. People who follow false teachers do so because the teacher's teaching is comforting them in their flesh, and excising the flesh is always painful. (2 Timothy 2:17, Mark 9:47). People cling to false teaching because they like it. No one enjoys being told that something they like is bad for them. They have already invested too much, and their pride, comfort, personal reputation etc.  is now tied into it.

photo credit: remuz [Jack The Ripper] via photopin cc

What does contending look like in practical terms? If you have a conversation with someone and they mention they enjoy watching Joyce Meyer, the person should be told that Joyce Meyer is a false teacher preaching heresy. If you have all the facts at your disposal, perhaps you can tell them this immediately. But more likely it is better to draw back, pray, gather the facts of why she is false and also why it is important to tell the person she is false, and take her aside at another time. This is what Priscilla and Aquila did for Apollos. (Acts 18:24-28). He was a brother, he just had some facts wrong.

John Ed Mathison writes,

They took him aside!
"How do you deal with people when they have made a mistake and obviously you know how to help them? Knowing what to do is sometimes not as important as how we do it. In Acts 18:24 there was an interesting man by the name of Apollos who had become a convert to the Christian faith. He became a fervent disciple. He desired to teach and share his faith. His enthusiasm seemed to outrun the grounding of his intellectual understanding of God’s truth. He began to make a few errors. How do you handle somebody who is in error? It is easy to confront the person in front of a lot of people and make yourself look good by showing them their faults. Sometimes the practice is to go to somebody and tell them what someone else is doing wrong, without confronting the person who is actually making the mistake. Some people simply “pray about it.” Some people criticize the errors in an indirect manner. Priscilla and Aquila did the right thing. The Bible says “They took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately.” (Acts 18:26) They didn’t embarrass him. They didn’t pull rank on him. They took him aside in order to be helpful to him."

Paul took another tack. When Peter was engaged in false doctrine and had done nothing to refute it, Paul opposed Peter to his face. (Galatians 2:11-14). Paul waded into the fray, willing to take the pain of conflict in contending with Peter, in order to defend the truth of the gospel. You see the emergency portion of the verse, "even Barnabas was led astray." (Galatians 2:13). Failure to confront false doctrine means others get hurt! In the Galatians situation, Jews and Gentiles were split! Peter was passive, not leading in the authority of his office! Confusion, not unity, reined! And poor Barnabas was being led away by satan.

Roger R. Nicole said of contending for the faith in his article "How to deal with those who differ from me" (.pdf here), "We are called upon by the Lord to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 3). That does not necessarily involve being contentious; but it does involve avoiding compromise, standing forth for what we believe, standing forth for the truth of God—without welching at any particular moment."

Ultimately, it is up to you to do your part. This means:

--reading the bible so you know when false doctrine comes in the first place
--staying prayed up so your relationship with Jesus is fresh and alive
--loving others enough to risk emotional turmoil when contending for the faith
--honoring Jesus by being a good soldier and fighting the good fight

It's up to you also to decide whether to confront privately or publicly. I've done both as different cases arose. The bible shows us several ways to contend and therefore all are correct, but not all are equally applicable to each situation. How you contend is between you and the Holy Spirit, but it must be done. Paul and Jude made no bones about that.

Dan Rocha photo

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

Further reading:

How to contend for the faith (2-min video)

The Berean Call: What does it mean to earnestly contend for the faith? 

The Christian Courier advises in their article, "Contend Earnestly for the Faith"
"Contending Is Not Contentiousness. There are some who have yet to learn the difference between contending for the faith and being contentious for the faith. Contending for the faith is a balanced proclamation and defense of the fundamental elements of gospel truth, whereas contentiousness is a wrangling disposition that generates ill will over inconsequential matters." More at the link

They Claim to Speak for God (Part 2)

Reblogged from www.bibleprophecyblog.com

By T. A. McMahon The Berean Call

Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart (Jeremiah 14:14).

In the first part of this series we addressed a movement within Christendom that is undermining the faith of multitudes of Christians, especially those who consider themselves to be Bible-believing Christians. Whether done intentionally or unintentionally by the leaders of the movement, their teaching and methods seriously deprive their followers of a true basis for biblical discernment. The primary means that they employ involves disparaging the objective nature of the Scriptures. When a believer buys into that teaching, he is being led into the arena of subjectivity, meaning that he cannot objectively determine what is truly from God versus what is nothing more than content from the imagination of man.
In his excellent book Wandering Stars: Contending for the Faith with the New Apostles and Prophets (see TBC 03/13), which has been a chief resource in this series, Keith Gibson summarizes the foundational errors of the movement regarding the Bible:

"So what can we conclude after this brief survey of the attitudes and words of the modern apostles and prophets concerning the Scripture? One would have to conclude that the Bible alone is an insufficient guide for the end-time church. New doctrines, not found in the Bible, are needed to perfect the church. Scripture is generally inspiring but basically unreliable. It is insufficient to convince the world of God's truth…. It does not provide the parameters to faith and practice and does not give us the norms for the activity of the Holy Spirit. The Canon of Scripture is not closed, and in fact, many of the words of today's prophets carry a higher level of revelation, anointing, and authority than some of the words of Scripture. And lastly, the Bible cannot be understood by any normal means. Grammar, history, and context are completely irrelevant. The words of Scripture can be redefined and ripped out of context to discover the 'deeper' meaning for today's church. There is no objective interpretation or understanding of Scripture. The Bible means whatever one wants it to mean" (pp. 105-6).

This flagrant assault on the Scriptures is clearly a reflection of Satan's grand scheme to undermine the Word of God, which he demonstrated first in turning Eve away from obeying what God had commanded. God declared:

"Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17).

That was God’s word to Adam and Eve.
Satan's first words to mankind were aimed at undercutting God’s instructions:

"And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Genesis 3:1).

After leading her to reconsider what God had commanded, God's adversary follows up with a flat denial of the consequences of her disobedience:

"…ye shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:4).

This undermining of God’s Word was successful with Eve, and it has been Satan’s main strategy throughout history. As previously noted, the obstruction of the Scriptures is at the heart of the teaching from those who claim to hear from God, and it opens the doors for the acceptance of their outrageous practices and manifestations, including their goal of taking dominion over the world for Christ.

For a true believer in Christ to accept manifestations such as falling and writhing on the floor, uncontrollable shaking, hysterical laughing, and making various animal sounds as though they were the work of the Holy Spirit would seem to indicate that the person has taken leave of his senses. It is more reasonable to conclude, however, that they have taken leave of the Scriptures. 

Although there may be power from the adversary involved in some of this ("We wrestle not against flesh and blood"), we can be sure that the victim of those manifestations is devoid of the full armor of God, which is available for every believer's protection (Ephesians 6:10-18), especially the "sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." When that is missing in a believer's life, he or she is terribly vulnerable to the "wiles of the devil" and his minions, who sometimes present themselves as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).

Restoring the Apostles and Prophets

Many Christians are aware of the bizarre manifestations and some of the outlandish personalities involved, such as Todd Bentley, the tattooed preacher given to head butting and kneeing followers in the groin (followers who number in the thousands and came to his meetings from all over the world) in order to supposedly impart the power of the Holy Spirit for their healing. Yet few are aware of the organization, agendas, and networking of those who claim to speak for God. There are countless numbers of ministries, websites, blog sites, and the like, that advance the false doctrines and manifestations of the movement. 

To name but a few, there is the Elijah List, The International House of Prayer (IHOP), Bethel Church (Redding, CA), Identity Network, Morning Star Ministries, Streams Ministries International, Glory of Zion, City Bible Church (Portland, OR), and the Christian International Apostolic Network. C. Peter Wagner's International Coalition of Apostles has a membership of hundreds who profess to be apostles manifesting apostolic authority.
Although not all such ministries agree on every fine point, they all believe that God is restoring to the church things that have been lost over the centuries, which they believe have rendered it ineffective. Gibson sums up their goal:

"The end-time body of Christ must go on to maturity and restore the apostles and prophets, and these restored ministries must lead the church to a new and final dimension of power and authority not only bringing in the final harvest but establishing the Kingdom of God upon the earth" (p. 28).

According to one of their "modern" prophets,

"Ever since the dark ages, God has been restoring Truth to the Church in order to get us back to the place of fullness where we can actually rule and reign in the world rather than be dominated by the very things we are to have victory over" (p.29).

Another adds,

"Jesus, having won back authority on earth, could now mediate and rule in the affairs of earth. However, Jesus did not stay on the earth to rule it. He ascended to the Father and is seated at His right hand. So who now is responsible to rule and reign in the earth? Believe it or not, the church, which is the body of Christ" (p. 160).

More specifically, they mean that it is to be the new apostles and prophets who are to run the show, and since there is little concern for doctrine learned from the objective Word of God, their rule will major in shooting from the lip, i.e., speaking forth whatever these leaders believe they have heard from God. They see themselves leading an end-time army.

Joel's Army

Nearly all of the leaders in this movement teach some form of "Joel's Army" doctrine, which states that the hope of the church in transforming the world rests solely on today's youth. These young people will be instrumental because they will receive a super-anointing for setting up a theocracy, which they will rule under God. According to John Crowder, author of The New Mystics: How to Become Part of the Supernatural Generation, "Everyone born after abortion's legalization can consider their birth a personal invitation to take part in this great army." Gibson gives an example of how this is being implemented:

"One young man who spent a significant part of his upbringing in a church steeped in these messages told of a service in which the older members of the congregation gathered to wash the feet of the teens of the church—not to teach them about Christ-like humility and service [John 13:1-15] but to pay homage to them because they were the anointed generation. His heart was broken as he recounted seeing elderly saints who he knew had spent their lives serving Jesus bowing in servitude before young people who were being told that it was their birthright to be the greatest believers in the history of the church" (p. 274).

How seductive might this be for young Christians today? Consider the popularity of Mike Bickle's International House of Prayer (IHOP), which has drawn tens of thousands of young people to its 24-hour prayer hall and many as well to its university. Lou Engle, an "apostle" in residence at IHOP, draws similar numbers of youth to "The Call," an annual prayer and fasting event held at major US cities and aimed at bringing about national repentance and revival. Sadly, the zeal exhibited by the young people is misdirected because they lack the discernment necessary to recognize that what they are being taught is either without biblical support or is contrary to Scripture. 

Much of it seems right to them but as we are told twice in Proverbs, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (14:12; 16:25). Heartbreakingly, this is the experiential environment into which their leaders are directing them.

The Bridal Paradigm

One emotionally seductive doctrine they are taught is called the Bridal Paradigm, which Gibson notes reflects most of IHOP’s programs:

"All of the Scripture is seen as the relentless pursuit of the heavenly lovesick groom for the bride of His heart's desire, or the search of the Father for a bride for His Son, who will be equally yoked to Him in love. This message truly stands the gospel on its ear. No longer is the emphasis on a God who is working for His own glory and displaying His majesty in redeeming a lost and unworthy humanity. Now the story of redemption is about God seeking a suitable mate for His Son. No longer is the cross seen primarily as the place where Jesus makes propitiation for our sin and satisfies the justice, holiness, and wrath of God, or the place of redemption, where the price is paid for our ransom, which are the pictures the Bible uses. Now the cross is the dowry that is paid for the bride, [p. 193] a statement that the Bible never makes. Dowries (or, more accurately, bride prices) are paid because of the worth of the bride. But according to the Scriptures we had no worth. We had nothing to commend us to God. It was all grace" (pp. 166-67).

What young adult who has a heart for Jesus but lacks maturity in the Word can resist these erroneous romantic notions applied to Christ?

65% Accuracy Rate Is Good Enough

The false doctrines that are coming forth from those who claim to hear from God range from the foolish to the fraudulent, from the bogus to the blasphemous. This two-part series could touch upon only a few such teachings, but thankfully Keith Gibson’s Wandering Stars is available to shine a light upon much of this darkness. Too often when an absurd teaching raises its seemingly silly head, it is dismissed as so much nonsense and not to be taken seriously. In most cases, the relationship to a major heresy is missed altogether.

For example, the so-called prophecies by the new prophets are nearly always wrong when they can be checked out. Nevertheless, we're told that a 65-percent accuracy rate is acceptable among the new prophets as determined by the new prophets themselves. The absurdity in this is that the new prophets claim to be working at a higher level of anointing than the prophets of old, yet those supposedly inferior old prophets were to be stoned if their accuracy dropped below 100 percent!

Diminishing God's Attributes

The even more critical issue is the new prophets' rationale to cover their lack of accuracy: it is the heresy of open theism. This is a doctrine that declares that "God can't foreknow the good or bad decisions of the people He creates until He creates these people and they, in turn, create their decisions." So now, prophecy for the modern prophets is little more than a godly guess, and the omniscience of God has been trashed along with some of His other attributes. Gibson underscores the result of these erroneous beliefs:

"God does not possess exhaustive foreknowledge of the actions of His creatures because these actions have not been performed; therefore, there is nothing for God to know. Thus God is not omniscient in the sense that the church has historically defined omniscience. God is not immutable because He grows in His knowledge of His creatures as they act out their free choice and as He adapts to these choices. God is more omnicompetent than omnipotent. God is not completely beyond time. He learns by watching the actions of His creation" (p. 134).

That is not the God of the Bible.

The AntiChrist Agenda

The false teachings of those who claim to hear from God, the so-called new apostles and prophets, have attracted millions into unwittingly contributing to their anti-biblical and therefore antichrist agendas. All of it turns biblical spiritual warfare upside down. Their methods for achieving dominion and rule over the world include Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare (see The New Spiritual Warfare Strategies Parts 1 & 2 TBC 5/97, 6/97) using techniques of "taking cities for Christ" through spirit mapping, binding territorial spirits, prayer-walking, prayer journeys, prayer expeditions, national repentance, deliverance from generational sins, mysticism, and contemplative prayer, to name but a few.

The number of those Christians who believe and practice such things is alarming. For the most part they are among the Pentecostals and Charismatics. But in their goals they are certainly not alone. The agenda of turning the world into the Kingdom of Christ before His return—or in order for Him to return and rule—is compatible in many ways with more conservative branches of Christianity that hold to amillennialism, or Christian reconstructionism, or post-millennialism, or national restorationism, or those who subscribe to a form of "good-works salvation" by solving the world’s problems of hunger, disease, poverty, injustice, and environmental problems using ecumenical cooperation (see "Is Your Eschatology Showing?" TBC 10/11). The numbers then become staggering. 

These variations of "kingdom building" prior to the return of Jesus will add to the development of the next kingdom to come, according to the timeline presented clearly in Scripture: the kingdom of the Antichrist.

The bad news in all of this is that many who have been seduced into this deception are our brothers and sisters in Christ; the good news is that their eyes can be opened to the temporal delusion that has taken them captive. Scripture declares that the apostasy will increase in the last days and gives no indication of worldwide revival. Nevertheless, God’s Word does give us our marching orders for a continuing rescue operation:

"And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will" (2 Timothy 2:24-26).