I spent a few minutes looking at the lists of the many doctrines of the church. The word doctrine means “a belief or set of beliefs, especially political or religious ones, that are taught and accepted by a particular group.” The basic meaning is something that is taught. There will be different teaching on doctrines depending on where you look and what they believe. The bible emphasizes the importance of sound doctrine. 1 Corinthians 11:23 “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you.” When Paul was describing the elders he said, Titus 1:9 “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. 10 For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. 11 They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.” Sound doctrine is the word of God, not the words of man about the word of God. As time went by doctrines were written down in addition to what the bible said and then they became equal to the bible, and in many cases even setting aside the truths of scripture. The church has always said others like the Mormons or Jehovah’s witnesses were cults because they had additional writing to the bible, which is true, yet every church has their doctrines laid out in addition to the bible. They will say this is what we believe as opposed to what they believe. I also realize that every church does believe their own doctrines are sound biblical doctrine and their interpretation is correct of which is impossible.

    The other day I saw an article about a Pentecostal church and their efforts to help the people of Ukraine. This is commendable but I want to use this example to show you the dangers of doctrines that are not sound. Not only are they not sound, they are false teaching. This is a Pentecostal church and as far as I could see they belong to the P.A.O.C. (Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada) They have one of those vague websites that doesn’t reveal what they actually believe, at least I couldn’t find anything. I always look at belief pages but some don’t have them written on the website but that doesn’t mean they don’t have them. To be part of a denomination you adhere to their beliefs and those are written down. We have talked a lot about the end times and how there is so much false teaching out there. Like many denominations there is a broad range of views from regular Pentecostal churches to churches that bought into the Toronto Blessing like Bethel Redding California and then those even far worse. The common denominator it seems is their views on the end times. It is not just the charismatics with these views but many Baptists and others also but not everyone in the church believes these views of the end times. 

    When you look at the beliefs page of the P.A.O.C., you will see this in their Fundamental and Essential truths pdf under End Times. THE END OF TIME - 5.8.2 THE RAPTURE “The rapture, the blessed hope of the church, is the imminent coming of the Lord in the air to receive to Himself His own, both the living who shall be transformed, and the dead in Christ who shall be resurrected. This event takes place before the wrath of God is poured out during the tribulation. Believers then will appear before the judgment seat of Christ to be judged according to faithfulness in Christian service. 5.8.3 THE TRIBULATION - The tribulation will be a time of judgment on the whole earth. During this period the Antichrist will emerge to offer false hope to the nations. 5.8.4 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST - The return of Christ to earth in power and great glory will conclude the great tribulation with the victory at Armageddon, the defeat of Antichrist and the binding of Satan. Christ will introduce the millennial age, restore Israel to her own land, lift the curse which now rests upon the whole creation, and bring the whole world to the knowledge of God.” Except they left out the part where satan will rule after the millennial kingdom. Revelation 20:7 When the thousand years are over, satan will be released from his prison. This is where it all breaks down because it appears that Jesus returns again, again, obviously riding on a pogo stick!

    The church will be whisked away, then all hell breaks loose and those left behind will be deceived. How can you be deceived if you are already deceived and missed the so-called rapture? When they talk about the rapture that means no church, and that means no God, Jesus, or Holy Spirit so there is no way you can make it through the tribulation, so what’s the point of Jesus coming back to set up a kingdom on a destroyed earth with no followers. The ones who were raptured received new bodies only to have to give them back to come back to earth to reign with Christ otherwise there is no one in His kingdom. The tribulation seems to always be described as this horrible destruction where the wrath of God destroys pretty much everything and everyone. Jesus would have to recreate the world so He could build His kingdom. When the rapture occurs, people disappear, and the world is plunged into chaos. That pretty much describes our times now; the church has disappeared, and the world is in chaos. Oh, oh, did I miss the rapture? Some say it is a secret. Sadly, as it is now, most people wouldn’t even notice if the church was gone.

    This dispensational nonsense has infiltrated the church and is another gospel because it is not talking about the Jesus of scripture. Those who say the kingdom is the millennial kingdom, reject the kingdom that Jesus already established. Yes, there are those who say the early prophets saw mountain peaks and did not know there was distance between them thus meaning two kingdoms. I actually don’t know how they can talk about this stuff with a straight face; satan really does have a sense of humor. This is called the Mountain Peaks of Prophecy. Just so you know I am not making this nonsense up. One person described it this way. “The Old Testament prophet saw the future as separate peaks of one mountain. He did not see that these peaks assembled themselves groups, with a valley, the "VALLEY OF THE CHURCH," They went on to say Jeremiah and Isaiah really did not know what they were talking about. So, what they are saying is God doesn’t know what He is talking about, as God spoke through the true prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. Could it be that God does know what He is talking about, and these false teachers are just that, false teachers. They teach this drivel so that it fits their doctrines and theology and instead of turning from them, they distort scripture. Jesus made it clear that the kingdom was already here. Mary was told Luke 2:30 “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Here we also see that the kingdom of God already started. Luke 11:20 “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” It had been revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Luke 2:29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” Zechariah said Luke 2:69 “He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.”

    If you don’t believe the kingdom is not till later on, then you would also believe there is no power available now. This is where it gets confusing. The Charismatics and the Baptist and others like John MacArthur believe in this dispensational nonsense yet many Baptists and especially John MacArthur believe in a doctrine of demons called cessationism. The charismatics believe in all kinds of power not ceasing, except it is not God at work. The charismatics believe in tongues, but this is where they were deceived. The tongues they speak is not the tongues of the bible; it is just noise like a clanging cymbal. They say this is a sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit. They get that from when Peter was preaching at Cornelius’s house Acts 10:44 “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” Except the Pentecostals haven’t because it is not the same. Tongues was preaching in the language of the hearer. Acts 2:5 “Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.” Now in charismatic churches, this babble that you hear is not this. I have heard people who sound like serpents and even one guy who sounded like Barny Rubble. This same guy told a story of preaching to those who had never heard the gospel and he needed an interpreter but when he was speaking to everyone who spoke English, he started speaking gibberish. Does that make any sense at all? No, it does not! The whole charismatic movement has been deceived. 

    Is it wrong to seek after the gifts? No, but they had better be from God. 1 Corinthians 14:1 “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.” The charismatic movement was like a drug, and they needed more and more of it. The Vineyard movement came along and made the Pentecostals look tame. The Toronto Blessing came along and made Vineyard look tame. You had people falling down on their backs like animals in submission, barking, laughing and howling, drunk with the spirit of satan because it was and is still not God. Revelation 18:3 “For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” I heard one Pentecostal preacher bragging about we drunks on the hill which is how people outside the church viewed them. Many churches were opposed to the charismatic movement which is what they should have done but they should not have thrown out scripture. Both sides are wrong. Scripture is very clear there will be charisma. Matthew 10:1 “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” 1 Corinthians 12:7 “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”

    So, what difference does it make if these end times doctrines are wrong? The answer is everything. If they have the end times wrong, that means the Spirit of God is not dwelling among them. That means the gifts of the spirit are not operating which means the power they see, if they actually see any, is not God’s but satan masquerading as an angel of light. If God is not dwelling, are they actually saved or have they been deceived by other gospels? Churches are not seeing this kind of true power Paul is talking about in Corinthians. What they are seeing is this. 2 Corinthians 11:13 “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” John tells us John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” This is not even happening in the charismatic circles who say the power of the Holy Spirit is flowing like a river. The answer why is simple. John goes on to say 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth.” They have not tested the spirits and were deceived into not follow sound doctrine but false teaching. They have not followed sound doctrine and truth is not among them. Jesus also said John 14:23 “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” When we get to John 16, we see a key verse that talks about the end. John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.” Have you ever wondered why there are so many differing and opposing doctrines in the church today? The answer is the Holy Spirit is not present in power as God has turned His face from the church. The Holy Spirit will tell us what is yet to come. If you do not have the Spirit of truth, you will be deceived by false teaching. The church has rebelled against God’s word and satan has set himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. (the abomination that causes desolation) Just because someone may have been healed or fell on their backs or laughed uncontrollably or babbled out loud, angel feathers fell or someone found gold fillings, does not mean that God was dwelling among them. Most were deceived by what they thought to be manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Since they did not test the spirits, they were deceived and under delusion. I am not spending any time on those who reject the available power of God and there are many. There are even people who say they are continuationist meaning the power is still available, but they really don’t believe because they don’t seek it. Those doctrines need to be surrendered also. There are so many false teachings that have infiltrated the church, it is sickening. 

    I started off talking about a Pentecostal church helping the people of Ukraine. As I said this is commendable. What isn’t commendable is what they teach and people who listen should run away. Churches in North America are sitting in their comfy padded pews or theater seating, the air at the perfect temperature and maybe even a coffee in hand talking about how they will be raptured away from this horrible thing called the tribulation. Some say for seven years God’s wrath will come upon the earth. These cushy lukewarm Christians actually believe they will escape God’s wrath because they go to a certain church. Now turn your focus to Ukraine and look at the pictures of the devastation that is happening. The headline in the Washington Post said, “Russia’s siege of Mariupol a grim sign for other major Ukrainian cities.” The New York Times said, “As Mariupol Is Bombed and Besieged, Those Trapped Fight to Survive.” “Water is so scarce that people are melting snow. Heating, electricity and gas have disappeared. People are chopping trees for firewood to fuel outdoor cooking stoves shared by neighbors. To walk from one street to another often means passing corpses, or fresh graves dug in parks or grassy medians.” This city has been laid waste. Look at the pictures. Other cities are under bombardment also. Look what has happened in three weeks. Think about it, why would it take seven years for the tribulation. If this goes nuclear, it would be over almost instantly. Literalist get into real trouble with numbers especially in Daniel and Revelation. 

    I shared a while back about those in China who were told they would not see the tribulation they went through with communism. Picture the Christians in Ukraine who have been deceived by this dispensational teaching from satan. Death is death and it really doesn’t get worse than what we are seeing happen to this people. Every day they do not know if they will be killed, starve, or see their families again. They have nothing. Now aside from war, Christians have gone through terrible suffering with cancer, hearts issues, mental health issues, unbearable trauma and the list is too long to write down. We are in a war with eternal consequences and the church is losing. Because the church has rebelled against God, satan has been given power to decimate the church. His lies have infiltrated the church and truth is nowhere to be found. This dispensational nonsense should infuriate you as it does me. satan’s lies have ravaged the church yet people continue to accept these false teachings and doctrines of demons. 

    This church and others may be helping financially and in other ways but spiritually they are leading people astray with false teachings. There are millions of Pentecostals around the world. We are told 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” There will always be someone with itchy ears and someone to scratch them, which is why we must test the spirits. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” If we are to return to the Lord, we must surrender our doctrines. I was raised with the doctrine of entire sanctification. When I was a pastor, we were supposed to keep track of those entirely sanctified and that number was always zero. When you asked about it no one really could explain it. I myself even said I was entirely sanctified which basically meant I would try harder. I do believe it is possible to be filled with the Holy Spirit or clothed with power from on High, but it is not about trying harder. This doctrine was something that was unattainable through human effort. Like the end times it was a doctrine rarely talked about yet they wanted you to report on sanctifications. The answer as I have found out since, was these manmade doctrines were not endorsed by God’s word. If they were, Mark tells us Mark 16:20 “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” No confirmation meant that the gospel the church was preaching was not the true gospel. 

    The church has been decimated for a long time now and there is only a remnant left. Jesus warned us about this abomination that caused desolation and He said Matthew 24:22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.” There is a tribulation, and it is happened now and the gates of hell have prevailed against the church because the church rebelled against God and rejected His command. Our only hope is to seek God repent and turn from our wicked ways and yes if you do that you will make it but you must surrender your doctrines. Revelation 7:9 “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” 13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” This present tribulation is the only one you can come through but only by the grace of God as we do not deserve His love. By rejecting Gods’ word, most have already received the mark of the beast all the while thinking they were marked with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” Since they did not hear truth but false gospels, they have not been marked. People suffering around the world do not need to hear something false they need the truth.

    There is still hope to make it to eternal life. Repentance is the only way the Kingdom of God will come near so that the power from on high will flow again just as it was supposed to. Every church has turned away from God’s word to follow man and a lot of their names start with John; Calvin, Wesley, Darby, Knox, Edwards, Stott, Wimber, Piper, Maxwell, MacArthur. Just stick to the John in the bible. I was looking at a list of theologians down through the ages and it is massive. Everyone has something to say about a doctrine and some of these men have been elevated to gods but what does Jesus have to say? We need to get back to listening to God’s word and obeying. When we surrender our manmade doctrines to the sound doctrine of scripture, the kingdom of God will come near.