Call to Worship John 8:31 “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Song: Voice Of Truth Casting Crowns
Psalm 25:5 “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 145:18 “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” John 16:13 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”
Songs: Let the Praises Ring Travis Cottrell
Days Of Elijah Robin Mark
Scripture: 2 Peter 2
Song: Be Unto Your Name Robin Mark
Scripture: John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Sermon: “What Difference Does It Make?
Song: Revival Robin Mark
Benediction:
Sermon: “What Difference Does It Make?
Last week we looked at the false teaching of the rapture, tribulation and millennium as laid out by those looking to leave this earth shortly. We saw how veering from the word of God to man-made predictions and teaching is why deception and delusion take place. Disobedience always leads to defeat. So this is a very big week and could be our last if the prophecies mount to something other than man’s own imagination. One person I looked at was Edgar C. Whisenant (September 25, 1932 – May 16, 2001), was a former NASA engineer and Bible student who predicted the Rapture would occur in 1988, sometime between Sept. 11 and Sept. 13. He published two books about this, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988 and On Borrowed Time. Eventually, 300,000 copies of 88 Reasons were mailed free of charge to ministers across America, and 4.5 million copies were sold in bookstores and elsewhere. Whisenant was quoted as saying "Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong; and I say that to every preacher in town" and "if there were a king in this country and I could gamble with my life, I would stake my life on Rosh Hashanah 88.” Well he did stake his life before Jesus Christ and lost that gamble. This week there will be an alignment of the stars (Revelation 12 Sign) to go along with the blood moons, the total eclipse and hurricanes and floods and fires. A couple I left out was the asteroid hurling towards us that no one seems to know about that will destroy or altar life as we know it on September 23, 2017 or so says David Meade a “Christian numerologist who has predicted the September date using biblical codes and signs in the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, said it would pass at around four million miles from Earth, but even at the distance the magnetic force on the Earth would cause earthquakes and volcanoes across the globe that would spark tsunamis, polar shift, and global devastation.” August 21's solar eclipse, he claims, was a sign before Nibiru appears in the sky to everyone from September 23, before passing and causing the apocalypse in October. Mr Meade said: "It is very strange indeed that both the Great Sign of Revelation 12 and the Great Pyramid of Giza both point us to one precise moment in time – September 20 to 23, 2017. The September 23 date came from codes in the Bible and also a “date marker” shown by the pyramids of Giza in Egypt.” I also did not talk about the Jonathon Cain’s Harbingers and Paradigm “As you open up The Paradigm, his most explosive book yet, you may never see your world the same way again.” This end times stuff is a great way to sell books. Too bad people don’t read the one book that will set them straight. This week you have the end of 5777 and the rapture the start of the tribulation and to boot – “From the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists : For the last two years, the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock stayed set at three minutes before the hour, the closest it had been to midnight since the early 1980s. In its two most recent annual announcements on the Clock, the Science and Security Board warned: “The probability of global catastrophe is very high, and the actions needed to reduce the risks of disaster must be taken very soon.” In 2017, we find the danger to be even greater, the need for action more urgent. It is two and a half minutes to midnight, the Clock is ticking, global danger looms. Wise public officials should act immediately, guiding humanity away from the brink. If they do not, wise citizens must step forward and lead the way.
So there you have it; everything is pointing to the rapture and tribulation or is it. Obviously it is not but people love to speculate as they have since Jesus walked on the earth. All those writings and prophecies such as Anne Lotz Graham and John Hagee and Charles Lawson and all the others come crashing down at the end of this week. I watched one video of a guy claiming this week for sure. I know they will say this points to the end and then any event that comes in the future they can say see I told you. But they can’t go on because triple 7’s means completion. I liked what one person said, “You're not the only person who doesn't know what they'll think if we're still here on the 24th. The signs are so strong that the alternative would have us all scratching our heads.” Hummm maybe repent!!! Sadly at the end of this week there will be a lot of scratching heads because too many like to have their ears scratched and reject the truth and replace it with the lunarcy of man and his celestial ideas. 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.” Well here we are again at Rosh Hashanah. On the list of failed predictions you have the likes of Harold Camping several times, Jack Van Impe, Jerry Falwell to name a few. Starting in 2008, Mark Biltz began teaching that Christ's return would correspond with the September 28, 2015 lunar eclipse. His idea, known as the Blood Moon Prophecy, attracted attention from pastor John Hagee (who stopped short of claiming Christ would return on that precise date) and mainstream media such as USA Today.” He did say there would be cataclysmic event that never happened. He is still at it by the way. One that goes with this week is a future prediction from Unsealed World News. They said, “A number of Christians believe that the Revelation 12 Sign (as popularized by the site Unsealed.org) marks the year of the Rapture, and that after a 7 year tribulation period the Second Coming of Jesus would occur. This 7 year span would also be marked by the 2017 Great American Eclipse and the subsequent 2024 American Eclipse.” On this website the writer states “I want to address an important topic that needs to be addressed regarding those who presently refuse to get on board the ark of salvation: a very great deception is coming - a lie so powerful that it will succeed in covering up even an event as momentous and undeniable as the rapture of Christ's Church. You see the great deception is the rapture.
Today you need to know that we will be meeting on September 24, 2017. These signs will fade away yet the false prophets will continue and the people will continue to follow. Jeremiah 5:31 “The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?” Having pointed out these false prophets we need to know that the end is coming and rapidly. We must ready. I don’t like when they say the early church was wrong about the return of Jesus. They were told to be ready. It doesn’t matter what generation you were born in you, will die so you only have that long to submit before God. So if you die today that is it for you. You then will stand before God 2 Peter 3:8 “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
Yes they (ignorant and unstable) keep talking about the deception that is going to come but it is already here. The church lies in desolation and its people have been taken captive. It is too late for the ones who have already died. They were deceived even though Jesus warned us not to be. Think about it for a moment. This is the sign –deception and it is severe. This mass deception has effected whole denominations like the Baptist, Pentecostals or any who believe in this lunacy called the rapture, tribulation and millennium. Amazingly if there was a great revival in the Pentecostal church there would be truth and the Holy Spirit they say that filled them would guide them to truth. This did not happen so you have to question the filling and what they were filled with. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” Many have been deceived by satan masquerading as an angel of light. 2 Timothy 3:5 “having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” The church is filled with this denial of power. Those like many Baptist and others deny the power of the Holy Spirit and many say the power has ceased.
Now we are just talking about end times and naming a few denominations. We could spend the afternoon on the doctrines and theology in other areas such as the whole church growth movement running the church like a business. You see everyone is going their own way and doing their own thing. Deuteronomy 29:19 “When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,” they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.” This deception has been going on since Jesus was here the first time. 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.” We have already been warned do not be deceived. Well guess what the elect have been deceived in a massive way and the church lies in desolation because the word of God has been set aside for man’s word 2 Thessalonians 2:7 “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”
The church lies under a cloud of deception and delusion. This is why so many believe what they are taught without question. These false teachers and prophets are everywhere. Yet there remains a remnant of truth as Ezra 9:15 “Lord, the God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence.” Ezra 9:8 “But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage.” Remember no matter how bad it gets we stand on the promise to David. Psalm 27:7 Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. 8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek. 9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. 10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. 11 Teach me your way, LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations. 13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” So we wait and believe we will see God and His church rise again and do what we were called to do in the power of the Holy Spirit, but we must be clothed with His power. God says wait, so we wait.
Until God turns his face to shine on us once again we must ask for great amounts of discernment. One person wrote “But its a hard book to understand because its largely symbolic. So interpretations vary. The symbolism in Revelations is difficult. And as its not really that relevant to salvation or worship - who cares really? What happens at the End happens, and all Believers will rejoice, whatever happens and however it happens.” This statement is ignorance at a high level but many think this way and say what difference does it make? What happens in the end affects who we are now. No where in scripture is it acceptable to be a false prophet. This is not truth. So when you have people spouting off the made up stories and calling it a vision from God, we have a serious problem. Jeremiah 23:21 “I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.” Jeremiah 23:32 “Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord.” Lamentations 2:14 “The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The prophecies they gave you were false and misleading.” Does it matter if everyone is saying something different? Is it really truth? Is it really Jesus they say they believe in? They don’t believe if they do not accept his words. We do not get to make up stuff when it comes to the word of God. So if you are attending a church not teaching the truth you have a serious problem that could lead to your eternal damnation. Why go down with them? Run!
What difference does it make? We read earlier what Peter said about false teachers. Jude said Jude 3 “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. 8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.” I think it is safe to say you don’t want to be associated with them. I was looking at a few videos and reading some material and these people are very convincing while they desecrate the scriptures to make it say what they want it to say. Remember they are changing the words that are supposed to bring life. They deny Jesus and his words. 1 John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” Moses tells us Deuteronomy 32:47 “They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Earlier Moses chapter 32 said “They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them. 29 If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be!” What difference does it make if we get the greatest day wrong. It means we are teaching false doctrines and doctrines of demons and accepting them as truth. We must believe the Father Son and Holy Spirit. There is only one way, one truth and one life. Yes it makes an eternal difference if you choose death and destruction verses life and prosperity.
Jeremiah 7:21 “‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! 22 For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.’ 27 “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. 29 “‘Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath. This describes the church today. Truth has perished from its lips. So like in the days of Ruth, Ruth 1:1 “In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land” and in the days of the judges, Judges 21:25 “Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” This is why everyone believes something different. This is the result of disobedience to God’s word. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:2 “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” Paul says to Titus 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. 12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” 13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
These men and woman keep saying I am out of here can’t wait to leave this place. Well for those teaching these lies about the rapture, tribulation and millennium, blackest darkness is reserved for them. Yes it does make a difference. Yes these men and women may appear like they speak truth but they don’t. Yes they are powerful. 2 Chronicles 12:1 “After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord. 2 Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam.” There are some very strong people who have abandoned the word of God. Yes they look like they have been blessed by God yet they teach a false gospel and are not turning their people from their sin. Isaiah 30:1 [ Woe to the Obstinate Nation ] “Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin;” We have already been warned but no one is listening. People continue to be led astray. Isaiah 9:16 “Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.” Deuteronomy 13:2 “If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in 13 that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), 14 then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, 15 you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock. 16 You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt, 17 and none of the condemned things are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger, will show you mercy, and will have compassion on you. He will increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your ancestors— 18 because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in his eyes.” Have nothing to do with them. Even have the prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah 9 Isaiah says Isaiah 9:13 “But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the Lord Almighty. 14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day; 15 the elders and dignitaries are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail. 16 Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.” Jeremiah 50:6 “My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place. Jesus said Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. 16 “Woe to you, blind guides!”
The odds are if the end is wrong the middle and the beginning are wrong but under delusion everything seems wrong. I find it humorous reading some of the response I have seen about the rapture/ tribulation. No you’re wrong it is post not pre etc. Oddly they are all wrong. There is no rapture at least the way they describe it. We have been told to be ready for the end. Paul said to the Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 1:4 “For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” James said, “ James 5:7 “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! 10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” Jesus is coming. Is the end near Yes it is. We are in the end of the end times. We must be ready just as we are taught. The end is also when we die. That could be over in a blink of an eye or 1 Corinthians 15:51 “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” Paul then says, “Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
There is a reason we have been warned by the word of God but the church has not headed the warning. You see we have already been warned ahead of time as Jesus said. These false teachers have add and subtracted to God’s word and called it exegesis. They have cut and pasted verses together and called it interpretation. We don’t get to interpret the bible according to our own whims; the Holy Spirit must lead us to truth. We can’t change scripture to make it say what we want it to say so we don't have to repent of our wicked ways. God said 2 Chronicles 7:13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. 17 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’ 19 “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’” The delusion is so bad most don't even know they are in captivity. They think they are out of here at any moment yet blackest darkness is reserved for them.
Once again we must pray that we too will join with Paul. He is told Acts 26:17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’. Many worship in vain today and everyday. They have listened to false prophets and have been deceived. Mark 7:6 “He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” 9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!” These men and woman are very convincing. Yes they believe what they teach with all their heart yet they are deceived. In 1 Kings 22 Micaiah is sent for. 5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.” 6 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” “Go,” they answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.” 7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?” 8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. So here you have 1 in 400. The four hundred said Go. The kings sat with all the prophets prophesying before them. 11 Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns and he declared, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’” That is impressive so it must be from God. 12 All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they said, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.” 13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.” Micaiah then said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’” 18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?” 19 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ “One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 “‘By what means?’ the Lord asked. “‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. “‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’ 23 “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
We must be careful not to be deceived. Just because someone say the Lord told me or manipulates the word of God does not mean it is truth. What difference does it make. Paul said 2 Corinthians 11:3 “I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.12 And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. 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.” Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” It makes an eternal difference.
