My Reasonings

Testing of God's people
"If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass of which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods which you have not known, and let us serve them.' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deut. 13:1-3)

The "other gods"
With the onslaught of man's philosophies and false teachings and prophecies overwhelming the church, I have been grieved in my spirit over the deceived souls who claim Christ, but may not really be His (Matt. 7:21). They have been deceived by false prophets and teachers, therefore they may not truly know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. They seem to not understand God's divine favor, and appear to be blinded to the cross' true power. They have 'a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.' (2 Tim. 3:5) "Because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;" (2 Tim.4:3b).

We are seeing men and women traveling great distances and lining up in droves to hear those who teach doctrines of self, emotionalism, and financial gain (2 Tim. 3:2; 1 Tim. 6:5). But have turned away from the teachings of self-denial, true charity, and esteeming others better than themselves. These false teachers and prophets are more interested in being "seeker-friendly," always willing to give "chills and thrills," than committed to the truth of the Word. Their millions of followers have believed their "pie in the sky" teachings and have forgotten the simple truth of the Word. The gospel has become imbalanced, and, in many cases, degraded and counted as unnecessary for our spiritual growth. It has been perverted by many teachers on TBN, CBN, and by other popular preachers and authors. We have made 'gods' of these people, their teachings, and the 'emotional rushes,' or even 'holy reverence' we "feel" when we go to their meetings. It's all based in "sensationalism"--itching flesh. We have been blinded to their arrogance, believing the "love" they show is the "glory of God" upon them, instead of the 'glorying in men,' that they covet so much.

"'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord God, 'That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it. In that day the fair virgins and strong young men shall faint from thirst. Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, who say, "As your god lives, O Dan!" and "As the way of Beersheba lives!" They shall fall and never rise again.'" (Amos 8:11-14).

Primary Scriptural References

Deut. 18:21-22, "And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?'-- when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him."

Micah 3:9-12, "Now here this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert equity, Who build up Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity: Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, 'Is not the Lord among us?' Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the temple like the bare hills of the forest."

Jeremian 14:10-22, God proclaims that the very plagues the prophets say will not happen, will happen to them and their families, and all their followers. God also says that these false prophets and teachers are believing the "delusions of their own minds."

Jeremiah 15:6-8, "'You have forsaken Me,' says the Lord, 'You have gone backward. Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am weary of relenting! And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children' I will destroy My people, Since they do not return from their ways. Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas; I will bring against them, against the mother of the young men, a plunder at noonday; I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them suddenly.'"

Jeremiah 23:19-21, "Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury-- A violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you will understand it perfectly. 'I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.'"

Obadiah 3-4 '"The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart 'Who will bring me down to the ground?' Though you exalt yourself as high as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down," says the Lord."'

2 Peter 2, the whole chapter describes the false prophets and their demise.

[All bold and underlined lettering is my emphasis]

From our Midst

The apostle Paul in the book of Acts warned the church, "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." (20:29-30).

The Lord "shook" the church when Jim and Tammy Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, and other ministers of that era, were exposed. Their true natures came out for all the world to see. God "proclaimed their secrets from the housetops." (Luke 12:3) That was a cleansing to wake up the sleeping church; to make us aware that our "Christian heroes" were fallible men and women, who could be and were deceived. It was to reveal the deception "and every evil work" that was in the house of God, and clean it out (1 Pet. 4:17). It appears we did not heed the warning.

Just as the disciples in the garden, we could not 'stay awake' for even one hour. We continued to allow the same type of teachings of prosperity, positive confession, and self-exaltation to remain (and even increase) in the church. As you read the articles on this site and the others on the "Ministry Links" page, you will discover that the teachings of those, who claim to "have the anointing" or be "people of faith," and even the "educated psychologists," are based in greed, and selfishness. They are the vain, deceitful philosophies of men cheating us out of the power in the person, and cross of Jesus Christ. (Col. 2:8) They are also "additions" (labeled as "new revelation") to the already sufficient, complete Word of God.

A Tsunami?

Because of our lack of diligence in rightly dividing the Word of Truth, we allowed a great many deceivers to continue preaching "another gospel," (Gal. 1:8) for the purpose of financial gain and the glory of men (1 Tim. 6:5; 1 Cor. 3:18-21). We did not listen to the Lord when He was declaring that we should be a holy (set apart) people--trusting and serving Him and serving others. Therefore, based upon the past "shaking," the nature of a holy, righteous God, and God's history of destroying false prophets and teachers, why shouldn't the Lord send a "Tsunami" to wipe out the false prophets and teachers of today? He would be just and right in doing so. They are "bearing false witness," and

The Wave Arising?

Their Accountability
Large ministries have been plagued with immorality, and have preached these false teachings for so many years (since Azuza Street in the early 1900s). Right now, the large ministries such as TBN, Joyce Meyer, and Benny Hinn have been under fire for their misuses of donor funds and their lack of willingness to be transparent (see reports at Wall Watchers.org). God will not only judge them for their immorality, and false teachings, but their financial indiscretions.

I don't know if these leaders realize the responsibility that is placed upon their shoulders. "To whom much is given, much is required." (Luke 12:48) And as the Word declares to the false prophets and teachers, in Micah "...because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field..." These preachers must realize they have to be accountable to God, keeping His Word in tact, thus not adding to the Word by creating their own doctrines. Their beliefs must be conformed to the Scriptures, not the Scriptures conformed to their beliefs.

Our Accountability
We have let these false teachers and prophets continue, instead of standing up and declaring the truth of the Word. We've pressured our pastors to "follow the trends" and "go with the flow" without any discernment. When any pastors do try to stand up against it, we vote or push them out. We, like the "sheep" that we are, let this happen, because we cannot "endure sound doctrine" we have to have the "thrills and chills" of sensationalism. How much more harshly will God judge us for believing and supporting those lies, when we were given His Word, but chose to follow the philosophies of men? When we support these false prophets and teachers, we become an accessory to their sin.

Consequences
Because of our disobedience, and lack of discernment, and their lies, and extortion of God's people, I believe the anger of the Lord is kindled against us. I have no doubt of that. If these false prophets and teachers are found guilty of misusing donor funds, it will bring a cry, from those 'jilted' by these fallen false leaders, to the government's ears, and they will hear it. (When money is involved, the government takes action.) The government will bring swift justice upon these people, and will place more restrictions on the churches in the process. (Read "IRS Initiative Will Scrutinize EO Compensation Practices".) They could restrict our freedom of speech even more; they could restrict our giving even more, and who knows what else?

The prideful false teachers and prophets, who teach their own philosophies and refuse to hear correction, will be the cause of these things. If these people who preach these heresies do not repent, God will wipe them out, and I believe the remnant of true believers in America may see, in our generation, what the Bible prophesies about in the last days--betrayal and death of true believers (Matt. 24:9). There will be no laws to protect true Christians against "hate crimes"; ministries fighting for Christian liberties, will not be heard in the courts. We will be declared "dangerous outlaws," "security risks," and even "terrorists," because we will have to disobey man's laws to follow God's laws. In the end, believers will have to refuse the "mark of the beast" (in whatever form it comes--computer chip, tattoo, etc.), which will be the ultimate crime.

Ecumenical Delusion

When these false teachers start falling, those who are on the fence, or who are pretending to be the Lord's, will either completely fall away and hate the things of God, or will be deceived even more by the "ecumenical church" already in place. (2 Thess. 2:3) Because of their ties to the "ecumenical church," I'm speculating that the false prophets and teachers, whom God permits to remain, will find some way to blame the demise of their fellow false teachers, on the true believers, who defend the Word of God. Their hatred for these true Christians will continue to increase (Matt. 24:10, 12). They will kick true defenders of the faith out of their churches (as prophesied by Jesus- John 16:2a), more than likely, labeling them rebellious, "Pharisees," or mentally unstable. They will betray the true believers and turn them over to the authorities, or kill them, thinking they will be doing it for God (John 16:2b). Some false prophets and teachers have already declared a "civil war" upon those who oppose them, or their teachings, claiming it's from God. But the Word of God says, "And the eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you'; nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'...that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another." (1 Cor. 12:21, 24). So any declarations of "civil war" are founded in greed and selfishness, not in the Word of God.

The Watchman

I believe that God has set His "watchmen" at their posts, and they are declaring these warnings of the perversion of the Word of God, but many scoff at them, and laugh at their "old-fashioned ideas." Those scoffers frustrate the grace of God, and tempt God by their unbelief. They label these watchmen as "nay-sayers" or foolish. But God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise (1 Cor. 1:27). Most of the true prophets were labeled with those same terms, and thrown in prison for preaching against the popular false prophets and teachers of their day--but the true prophets had the Word of the Lord. So, "nay-sayers" are needed to bring balance and power. An earthly analogy of this, is in the way batteries power a radio. If you place both positive ends together, the radio won't work, and the same for the two negative ends of the battery. But if the positive and the negative are joined together, the power flows, and the radio works. So, by rejecting the "watchmen" you're rejecting an equal part of the power, and a necessary part of the body. (1 Cor. 12:22-23)

My Hope

I pray that I am wrong about the outcome, because I don't want to see anyone get hurt, or be "swept away" in this wave. I don't want to see people's faith dashed to pieces, like when Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart fell. I don't relish the idea of persecution, either. I'm just like many other Americans--spoiled. I don't want to see people deceived, as I was, because of the "strong delusion" of these false prophets and teachers. But God has a history of destroying false prophets and teachers, and usually, because of those false leaders (and their followers who "glorify" them), the "faithful remnant" have to suffer. (Read Jeremiah.)

God's Grace and Mercy

Many of us who have experienced a tremendously powerful work of grace in our lives, understand that God can do anything. He can reach these people who have gone astray, and even those lost in the "delusions of their own minds." We know that no false prophet, or teacher, or any spirit of anti-christ can separate us from the love of God. Our strength, our hope, and our esteem, flows from Him and not ourselves. Nothing done in the flesh comes from God, all things are done by His mighty Holy Spirit. Therefore, we need to pray that God will reveal His life-transforming grace to these people teaching "another gospel." Pray that the those who scoff will have "ears to hear." And pray that we may draw closer to Him and heed His warning signs.

The Rapture

I know that many of you believe that the "rapture" will happen before all this, but if the prophets and apostles endured persecution, why are we more privileged than they were? The Bible doesn't guarantee that we will escape persecution. I've personally had some doubts about the "pre-trib" theology, although I won't argue if God does come beforehand to take His church out. But that theology only states that we won't go through the Great Tribulation; it says nothing of escaping the persecution leading up to that point in time.

"Yes, and all those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus, will suffer persecution." (2 Tim. 3:12) [Emphasis added].

Small revisions have been made due to newly acquired knowledge in the word and my personal life. But for the most part this is still the same.