We just spent a few weeks talking about dates (Rash Hashanah – Yom Kippur) on the Jewish calendar that we can learn from. Sadly, what we learn is that God’s own people refuse to obey God’s word and have rebelled against Him by going their own way. It really is hard to comprehend that the Jews to this day continue to reject their own Messiah Jesus just as they did when He walked, talked, taught, healed the sick, raised the dead and cast out demons, died and rose from the dead in their midst. As John said John 1:11 “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him,” and they still refuse to receive Him. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem the people were reminded of the words of Zechariah. Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Matthew 21:8 “A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” 4 “This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet.” Those same people would later shout Matthew 27:22 “Crucify him!” And then 25 “All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
What happened to cause such a turnaround from shouting Hosanna to shouting crucify Him? The answer lies with the leaders. People have an innate desire to worship something. The problem is only God can fill that desire but for most they follow men and woman as if they were gods. You see that with musicians like Taylor Swift and sports stars and others who command a following like Donald Trump. Trump recently talked about the enemy within but what he was talking about is anyone who does not agree (democrats / American citizens) with him is the enemy within. The vast majority of people tend to follow these people, even the likes of Trump blindly. If people followed God the way they do the celebrities, the world would be changed very quickly. Even in the church people have replaced God with the gurus who say they are leading the masses to God but in reality, they are only leading them unto themselves and usually it is for power, fame and riches. When some of these celebrities speak, their followers listen and do what they say. Today we are going to look at the power of the false teacher / prophet, the enemy within if you will. This enemy is much worse than anything human. Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Daniel 9:27 “And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” 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.” Not only are their demons but there are those who will gladly do satan’s work for personal gain. Most don’t seem to know it, thus the deception. You can also include apostle, preacher, evangelist in the category of false. They are supposed to be teachers of truth. Malachi 2:6 “True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. 7 “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.” Ephesians 4:11 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Sadly, Malachi goes on to say Malachi 2:8 “But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty.”
These five categories of leaders can be very powerful and persuasive for both good and evil. When speaking truth, as Paul said people can become mature and not be tossed about by deceitful scheming. When speaking what is false the body is no longer held together and the enemy prevails. This is why 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.” Again, it is not just the prophets going out into the world but the apostles, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers. Usually there are far less prophets who speak truth than there are prophets who speak what is false. 1 Kings 18:22 “Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.” The reality was there were other prophets who had been hidden. 1 Kings 18:4 “While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.)” But at this point, it was Elijah against the four-hundred and fifty. We also saw this with the prophet Micaiah. 1 Kings 22:6 “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. He is Micaiah son of Imlah. “The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.” Usually, the false prophets are saying the same thing which is usually opposite to what the true prophet is saying. Micaiah was told 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.” It was usually what the people or in this case the king wanted to hear. It can also come with lots of fanfare. 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.’” Impressive but wrong.
The bottom line is that God would send His prophets to His children to warn them whether they listened or not. Ezekiel 3:17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.” Ezekiel 2:4 “The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ 5 And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them.” As we see later in Ezekiel, Ezekiel 13:1 “The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord. 6 Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words. 7 Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken? 8 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign Lord.” We also saw that with Jeremiah. Jeremiah 1:9 “Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant. 17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:16 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’ 18 But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? In days to come you will understand it clearly. 21 I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.”
Ezekiel was told Ezekiel 3:11 “Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.” But we also know that the false prophets would say the same. Ezekiel 22:28 “Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’—when the Lord has not spoken.” Again, this is why it is so important to test the spirits. Sometimes it is easy to see what is false like many in the charismatic movement, but falseness doesn’t just prevail in the charismatic, it is across all the doctrines. Other times the falseness can be hidden like cyanide in water but though it looks innocent, death (right amount) is imminent and in the spiritual world will have eternal consequences. Just as we saw in the Old Testament, false prophets were everywhere. We also know they were present in the New Testament because we were warned about them. Jesus said Matthew 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” He also said Matthew 24:4 “Watch out that no one deceives you.” Paul said Acts 20:29 “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” And Peter said 2 Peter 2:1 “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.”
These false teachers are in all denominations, as is their teaching. 1 Timothy 4:1 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” Sadly, to their own demise, many will follow them. Jeremiah 5:30 “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: 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?” Lamentation 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.” 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. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” Instead of seeking truth, most will seek what is false and be content with it, even though that path leads to death and destruction. In the end most did not listen to the prophets. Jeremiah 25:4 “And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.” Jeremiah 37:2 “Neither he (king Zedekiah) nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.” King Zedekiah would be the last king of Judah, that is until Jesus the King of kings. As we have talked about, the Jews refused to listen to Jesus Himself who stood in their midst.
False teachers teach a different Jesus and other gospels, and they are powerful. Because the church has rebelled against God’s word, God has allowed satan to decimate the church. Jeremiah 9:11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.” 12 Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross? 13 The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. 14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” 15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.” Assyria and Babylon destroyed Israel and Judah and now the abomination that causes desolation has destroyed the church. 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. 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.” Not only is the church filled with false prophets teaching false doctrines, God Himself has allowed the church to be deluded. Paul continues and says, 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.”
You can see this just by looking at what most churches teach. You test the spirits by comparing what they teach to scripture. For example, John MacArthur has a huge following, yet he is a false teacher. Why? He teaches other gospels and doctrines of demons like cessationism. He teaches people that the powerless church is how God designed the church to be, hence a doctrine of demons because his teaching is not found in scripture. 2 Timothy 3:1 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” Yet people act as if he speaks the words of God. Another would be Billy Graham. Yes, he was careful not to teach everything he believed but he believed other gospels. The list could go on and on. Just with those two names millions of people have been deceived. With someone like MacArthur who teaches ministers to teach what he teaches; you can see how false teaching is perpetuated. Just to show how widespread influence can be, during covid a pastor from Edmonton Alberta James Coates made the news for bucking the rules. In the end the charges were dismissed because of improperly imposed health orders. He is a graduate of John MacArthur’s Master’s Seminary who praised him for breaking the rules. They said they stood for Jesus yet where was the power. Power wasn’t standing against the government who were trying to protect people, not stop people from worshipping God. Covid exposed the powerless church from the non-charismatic to the charismatic. It appears that God blessed them by getting the charges dismissed, but he is a student of a false prophet, so is not being blessed. The church really was nonessential which is sad to say. Again, you test the spirits and put a stop to it. Just a reminder that false teachers do not believe themselves to be false, but they are false because the bible states that they are.
Today the church is filled with false teachers teaching a different Jesus and other gospels. Just do this one test. James 5:4 “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” Covid was a real litmus test and exposed the powerless church. James is a power test and will show there is no power. If there is a power failure, an electrician will test to see what is wrong and then fix it. What is wrong in the church is the church looks nothing like the gospel and the church Jesus is the head of but no one wants to fix it. The good news is that the church will be fixed. Amos 9:11 “I will restore David’s fallen shelter— I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins— and will rebuild it as it used to be.” This is what the church was supposed to look like. Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.” Jesus told Peter, Matthew 16:18 “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” The church has taken the keys to the wrong kingdom. Luke 4:5 “The devil led him (Jesus) up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Taking those keys has destroyed the church, and created the enemy within. If the church took the right keys, power to do as Jesus did would have continued. Acts 5:12 “The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.” And no, it wasn’t just those first Apostles who had power. Acts 6:3 “Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Acts 8:5 “Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.” This power was not supposed to stop. Acts 19:11 “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.” So ask the question; is anyone sick among you? Just look at all the physical and mental illnesses there are, even in the church.
This was supposed to be the church. Jesus said Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 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.” Jesus had told the disciples Luke 24:48 “You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” That power was already demonstrated. 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. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.” Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” That power was supposed to continue because that power , the same power that raised Him from the dead (Ephesians 1:18 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.”), is how Jesus builds His church. 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.” Just pause for a moment and think about what a church would look like with all these gifts in use. Now think about most churches and the lack of power.
But most in the church today do not believe what you just read and have become content with a powerless church that has been taken into captivity. They think this is how it was supposed to be. How has this happened? The answer is false leaders leading people astray by distorting the word of God and replacing it with their own. Jeremiah 23:36 “But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God.” False teachers, prophets, evangelists, apostles and preachers are very powerful and persuasive and with the guidance of satan have destroyed the church. Don’t be deceived by the false prophet who has power or the appearance of power. Paul would still say, 1 Corinthians 4:18 “Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. 20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” We are told 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.” Jesus said, Matthew 24:24 “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.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9 “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.”
There is a dark power that is not to be taken lightly and many in the church have tapped into it, yet they say it is the Holy Spirit. 1 Samuel 28:5 “When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. 6 He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. 7 Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.” “There is one in Endor,” they said. 8 So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name. 11 Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” “Bring up Samuel,” he said.” We also saw power when Moses was sent to save the people in Egypt. Exodus 7:22 “But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart.” But there is a point that they cannot do as God’s servants did. Daniel 4:7 “When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me.” 2 Chronicles 33:6 “He (king Manasseh) sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.” Acts 16:16 “Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.” Many in the church especially in charismatic circles have tapped into this same power thinking it is God so be very careful and test the spirits. For example, people being slain in the spirit and falling backwards, babbling in tongues, signs and wonders that look nothing like scripture such as gold dust or filling, drunk and laughing like a hyena etc. Be very careful not to be enticed by the occult – “relating to magical powers and activities, such as those of witchcraft and astrology.” Revelation 22:14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” This is not God but satan masquerading.
The false teacher is not always easy to see. They will preach, quote scripture and they know their bibles well to make it say what they want it to say. They may have lots of books and even their own bible with commentary as they want you to see it. Always remember the words that have been added to the bottom of the page are not the word of God. When you look at the church today, everything seems as it should be. People go every week, worship and listen to a sermon but they leave unchanged and everyone who attends church thinks they will see eternal life. The prayer list is a mile long and people die of their diseases. Then they rejoice that that person is now in heaven and completely healed yet they do not seek or even believe there is healing power available to the church. Statistically the church looks just like the world, as there is not the power to make a difference. Paul said 1 Corinthians 6:9 “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” Many speak out against homosexuality but do not have the power to heal nor do they seek it. Those words Paul spoke “that is what some of you were” is the power we need in the church today but unfortunately the church continues to rebel and refuse to repent and turn from wicked ways. Instead of seeking the power to heal, the church changes scripture.
This is mostly because most who call themselves Christians have no idea what the bible actually states, other than what they have been told and they do not check and verify what is being taught to them. When they do ask questions, they are easily manipulated into believing what is being taught is truth even though it is not. These teachers do not like to be questioned. Most in the church today do not believe that what we read in scripture is supposed to be still happening in the church. While the cessationists believe this doctrine of demons wholeheartedly, others who do not call themselves cessationists are not seeing power either and are not seeking for that power to return. Instead, they are content with the church just as it. They say if God so desires to heal, He would. The bible tells us God does desire to heal which is why as we read earlier, 1 Corinthians 12:9 “to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers.” Meanwhile millions are dying without ever knowing the truth and that is just the ones dying who think they are saved. Because the church has rebelled, false teachers have been given a lot of power just as Babylon and Assyria were allowed to defeat Israel and Judah. satan said to Jesus, I will give you power. Can you imagine his arrogance? You can because it is written down. As we read earlier, Luke 4:5 “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus responded, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” Most have not answered correctly and the power they think they have is not from God. The gurus who find themselves successful is not a success given by God since they teach other gospels. Their success comes from satan, not God. I need to clarify that not all false teachers have sold millions of copies or have mega churches. They could be in a little church and in a small town, but they still have influence. Those little churches far surpass the mega churches. A couple of research results I looked at had the average attendance between 65 and 90. Just in the small town I live in, there are many churches all teaching other gospels. This means that the true message of the word of God is not being taught across the country.
To see how powerful a false leader / prophet can be, we see an example in Jeremiah. Jeremiah had already prophesied about the destruction that would happen because of their rebellion. He said Jeremiah 25:8 “Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” But then the prophet Hananiah said something completely different from Jeremiah. Jeremiah 28:2 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’” 10 “Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, 11 and he said before all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’” But then the true prophet of God said, Jeremiah 28:15 “Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. 16 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.’” 17 In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.” There were others who would prophesy something different than what Jeremiah said, but Jeremiah would be proven to be a true prophet of God.
Notice that these prophets were so powerful that they “persuaded this nation to trust in lies.” Before Jerusalem was finally destroyed by the king of Babylon, Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, Jeremiah 37:19 “Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’?” In the end the words of Jeremiah would be fulfilled, not only Jerusalem falling to Babylon, but the captives returning to the promised land. Daniel 9:2 “I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.” 2 Chronicles 36:22 “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: 23 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’” Isaiah had prophesied about this, Isaiah 44:24 “This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, 25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, 26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’ 27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,’ 28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’
Then we look at the Jews. Earlier we talked about the masses changing from shouting Hosanna to shouting crucify Him, crucify Him. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees and other leaders did this. The teachers of the law thought Jesus was possessed. Mark 3:22 “And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” Jesus said, Luke 11:20 “If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” He drove out demons, yet they refused to listen. Their leadership not only influence the masses, but they also influenced even the family of Jesus. Mark 3:20 “Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Thankfully Acts 1:14 “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” Except for a few that believed, the Jewish nation would believe in the lies taught to them by their leaders. These leaders have causes millions to die who will not see eternal life. Just like Israel and Judah, the Jews also became lost sheep. 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. 7 Whoever found them devoured them; their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture, the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.” Jeremiah 50:17 “Israel is a scattered flock that lions have chased away. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria; the last to crush their bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
The people were so deceived that they refused to hear the truth. Isaiah 30:9 “For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. 10 They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. 11 Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!” Zechariah 7:11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry. 13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’” When Stephen spoke, Acts 7:57 “At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.”
But there is hope. Isaiah goes on to say, Isaiah 30:15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! 19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!” Jeremiah 50:18 “Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.” Jeremiah 51:6 “Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the Lord’s vengeance; he will repay her what she deserves. The Lord will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple. 24 “Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord. For the Lord is a God of retribution; he will repay in full. 31 “See, I am against you, you arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty, “for your day has come, the time for you to be punished. 32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall and no one will help her up.”
God would avenge his people and pay back Babylon and Assyria what they deserved. The false teachers will be paid back also. Jeremiah 23:10 “The prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly. 11 “Both prophet and priest are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness,” declares the Lord. 12 “Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,” declares the Lord.” Jude 1:12 “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. 2 Peter 2:17 “These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.”
There is hope that these teachers will be replaced with teachers after God’s own heart. Jeremiah said Jeremiah 3:14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” Once more truth will go out into the world. Isaiah 42:1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. 5 This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” Later Jesus would say to the apostle Paul, 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.’” Isaiah 35:5 “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 8 And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. 9 But only the redeemed will walk there, 10 and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
Jesus came to give us eternal life. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” He also came to destroy the work of the satan. 1 John 3:8 “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” Revelation 11:15 “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” Jesus showed the church what to do and gave power and authority to do just as He did. Matthew 28:18 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 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.” The church was to continue doing as Jesus did, but then leaders came along who set aside the word of God, changed the word of God and made it more to their liking, and elevated their own reason, experiences and traditions above God’s word, starting with the Catholic church and the Orthodox. Then came the Reformation and the church exploded with leaders distorting the word of God and taking people in many directions and that continues to this day. The Reformation was detrimental to the church. This explosion of man’s ways and ideas did not take the church back to the beginning to do as Jesus commanded. Instead of turning away from the wicked ways of the Catholic church and returning to the true gospel, the church created other gospels to follow. New leaders emerged and continue to emerge to this day. This shouldn’t be a surprise, as this started happening when Paul was alive, thus the lack of power and desolation in the church. Galatians 1:6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!” 2 Corinthians 11:4 “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.” The church has put up with it ever since. The church is not blessed as it thinks it is. This lack of power was not because it ceased but because the church rebelled against the word of God and followed a different Jesus with its leaders teaching different gospels, thus the abomination that causes desolation was released to destroy the third temple just as the first and second were destroyed but god’s promise to David gives us hope.
The church has not followed the right way, but instead has followed the ways of man and like the Jews and Israel and Judah before them, the church has rejected God’s word and refuses to turn from wicked ways. 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.” The church as we see it is not the church Jesus started to build and who gave power to the disciples to continue to build. What we have is a powerless group of stubborn and obstinate people who refuse to turn from wicked ways, meanwhile satan remains in the church and the church remains in captivity.
The good news is the church does not need to stay this way. Jeremiah 3:12 “Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt— you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods (other gospels) under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’” declares the Lord.” Isaiah said Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah goes on to say, Isaiah 2:2 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. 3 Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
There is still hope for the remnant as this decimation brought on by the abomination that causes desolation will come to an end. Daniel 7:26 “But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.” Daniel 8:25 “He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.” Repentance and the mercy of God changes everything. Isaiah 59:20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord.” Jesus 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.” Daniel said Daniel 7:21 “As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.” Micah 2:12 “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.” Jeremiah 31:7 “This is what the Lord says: “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, ‘Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’ 8 See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth.” Jeremiah 51:10 “‘The Lord has vindicated us; come, let us tell in Zion what the Lord our God has done.’” Jeremiah 33:10 “This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more 11 the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.”
We just had another amazing supermoon. “This month's full moon, called the Hunter's Moon, is also a supermoon and happens to be the brightest of the year. It is the third of four supermoons in 2024.” The words of Jeremiah still ring true as the sun and moon are still doing what they were assigned by God to do, so there is still hope. Jeremiah 33:20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’” Matthew 24:13 “The one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Make sure you are standing firm on the word of God and not on the words of man. Test the spirits because you do not want to find out which words you were following when it is too late.
