In light of what appears to be the start of another heavy round of so-called out pourings and revivals, I wanted to post this from the online book, Strange Fire, the Rise of Gnosticism in the Church. The title may sound familiar, owing to the fact its been quoted here a few times–or perhaps you’ve read it. Even if you have, it does no harm to remind ourselves of a few points concerning false Prophets.
Strange Fire is an older book, so you might not be familiar with a couple terms (passing under the Shepherds rod, etc), but you know what? The terms and phrases may change, but its the same-o same-o deception. Passing under the Shepherds rod, ‘fire tunnels’, or new “mantels”, it’s all the work of satan.
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10)
I may include a few scattered links through out the message–links to previous posts concerning Lakeland, Todd Bentley, or anything else which might be relevant.
Chapter 9: False Prophets
The ministry of a “Gnostic prophet” is always characterised by mystic experiences said to be of God, with the focus on self. It is difficult for him to exercise a ministry within the confines of Scriptural revelations. The Gnostic Revelator has a freedom to minister whatever he likes, whether or not it is Scriptural. As we hear their words we shake our heads in bewilderment and disbelief wondering how it is possible to get away with such statements as
. . . we had the odour of incense fill a meeting for about fifteen minutes. It was so intense that you couldn’t help but smell it. I mean, it was not one of those instances where you ‘think you get a whiff,’ but He gave it as a witness that He was receiving the intercession from these people – the prayers and their intercession. He had said He would come with a sign: that we would smell the incense. It came so powerfully faith was hardly needed. [Fullness, The Unfolding of a Prophet, Rick Joyner, p.13]
God can fill a place with sweet smelling incense. Nothing is impossible with God. However, the presumption to say that faith was hardly needed shows that these “new” dimensions are indeed in “another realm”. A realm of deception. The Bible says, Without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God. Nevertheless, this prophet and others like him are applauded and their messages carried in leading Christian periodicals. (Todd Bentley’s Encounter with Heaven)
Quite a number of Gnostic ministers are masquerading as true prophets of God and assuming to have a special anointing and relationship with the Spirit; (Todd Bentley’s ‘Emma’: Angel or Demon?). Their ministries are widely recognised, respected and feared. Personal prophecies and prediction of future events are given with some measure of accuracy. They get people to believe they have great power with God and that in them dwells a quality that makes them “god-like”. Control of minds and lives is gained by their feigning spirituality and assuming a “god-like” authority. To gain power, twisting Scriptures and abusing authority is of no consequence.
One cruel method used is to instill fear in the hearts of those who dare to criticise or question their ministries by making harsh judgments against them; (Rick Joyner’s Angry Response to Lee Grady’s Column). Sometimes those judgments even contain a death threat! They definitely are not prophets of the Word, nor can they be, because they put no confidence in the Written Word and its judgments.
The New Breed of arrogant apostles and prophets are known to usurp and abuse judgment over God’s people. They are reported to make the Church pass under what they call the “Shepherd’s Rod” of judgment. It is another divisive technique to control God’s people. They say the “Shepherd Rod” is the judgment seat of Christ on the Earth by which the so-called prophets judge the Church. The idea is borrowed from Old Testament Scripture where reference is made to “The Shepherd’s Rod” and “Judgments”. However, the way the test is applied to the church is false. It cries out against the true interpretation of God’s precious Word. This is one of the bizarre directions that Gnosticism is taking the church. The following unedited quote from one of the so-called “fallen” national prophets speaks for itself:
So when he [the prophet] went under that Shepherd Rod, we saw more people leave here than we saw anointed. They were rejected from leadership ’cause they had flaws in them. See that which is going to be holy unto the Lord must not have any flaw in it . . . It’s all in Scripture. When you go under it He just turns you upside down and He looks every place on your body. And if you be found all right, He marks you to be sacrificed as a living, holy sacrifice unto Him. One out of ten is marked totally unto the Lord. That’s a Shepherd Rod . . . He evaluates everyone that knows the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour . . . when I went under at this time He said, ‘There’s a couple of things that’s still wrong in you. There’s going to be a seven month delay in your anointing.’ [The Shepherd's Rod, Bob Jones tape from Grace Ministries, October 1989]
We must challenge the false prophets
(Ezekiel 13) Son of man, PROPHESY AGAINST THE PROPHETS . . . that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord. (v.3)
Woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit and have seen nothing . . . Mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of my people . . . (v.9)
Set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them . . . (v.17)
Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations; for I will deliver my people out of your hand; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (v.23)
Jeremiah 23, Jeremiah speaks for the Lord:
In the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied . . . (vv 20,21)
I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed . . . (v.25)
Behold, I am against them the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, HE SAITH. Behold I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and DO TELL THEM . . . ‘YE HAVE PERVERTED THE WORDS OF THE LIVING GOD.’ (vv 31,32,36)
The inspiration and test of a prophet
A false prophet usually draws his inspiration from intuition, imagination and psychic thoughts; (Chuck Pierce, “The Sound”). Sometimes the inspiration comes from Apocryphal or Gnostic writings. Unlike the musicians, artists and writers who take inspiration from natural innate qualities (not to be confused with the inspiration of God), the false prophet derives inspiration from demonic sources or a corrupt nature.
It is a gross error to attribute God’s inspiration to a subjective experience (be it passive or emotional) or to writings outside of Holy Scripture.
Divine authority or inspiration does not emanate from (a) the natural or unnatural, (b) the higher self or lower self, (c) the conscious or unconscious. It comes from the infallible Word of God.
“The Word” remains God’s eternal inspiration. God-given inspiration must have as its source the Word of God. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit comes through the Holy Sclriptures - “The Sword of the Spirit”. The true message and inspiration of a prophet of God is always undergirded with, “Thus saith the Lord”, for “it is written”.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (2 Tim. 3:16).
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2 Peter 1:20,21)
Some of the so-called “prophets” promoted by national Christian magazines and the broadcasting media are being acclaimed Prophets of God. They cite their extraordinary gifts to foretell events, reveal situations, perform signs and wonders, (Todd Bentley and his “DARK ANGELS”) and blameless lives as proof of their God-ordained prophetic ministries.
Because these prophets claim to have heard angels singing, smell the odour of incense fill a meeting and see the wind of the Spirit blow so that they could see people’s hair blowing, many have taken it to mean God has approved their ministries with signs and wonders, and that God is speaking a message and trying to say something to the church.
Another practice seen by many church leaders as a sign of a “true” modern prophet is his ability to allegorise current events and thereby determine what God is specifically saying to the church today; (Kim Clement’s latest, the “spirit of Al-Qaeda”). This new trend is both demonic and a delusion to seduce people away from God and His Word.
The prophets’ wave of signs and wonders
There will also be some new wonders coming to the church. We had some of these just recently, where Bob Jones and I [Rick Joyner] heard angels singing twice in a meeting. This didn’t even take any faith, it was so loud and so clear; it was like the choir singing.
Another time we had the odour of incense fill a meeting for about fifteen minutes. It was so intense that you couldn’t help but smell it. It mean, it was not one of those instances where you ‘think you get a whiff’, but He gave it as a witness that He was receiving the intercession from these people – the prayers and their intercession. He had said He would come with a sign; that we would smell the incense. It came so powerfully faith was hardly needed.
And we saw the wind of the Spirit blow so hard at a meeting you could see people’s hair blowing!
So He is coming a whole lot more dramatically. As one brother said, ‘This hardly takes any faith, it is so obvious.’ But when He comes in ways like that, it is always to give a message. He is not just trying to tickle our curiosity or our interest in supernatural things, He is trying to say something to us.
For example, the sign of being slain in the Spirit is to get us to totally rest in Him. And the miracle of leg lengthenings that went through the body for so many years defined our imbalanced stand upon the two legs of grace and truth. There needed to be a readjustment in the body. [Fullness, Jan-Feb 1990, The Unfolding of a Prophet, Rick Joyner, page 13]
From the above quotes two messages come clear and loud:
(a) The Church hardly needs the Holy Scriptures to perfect a man of God and thoroughly furnish him unto good works,
(b) Christians hardly need faith in this new day and age.
The position taken by the prophets as well as by their followers is that a prophet must not be judged by what he says, but rather by his fruit. In other words, what a prophet says doesn’t really matter. This position is both incomprehensible and satanic to say the least.
What if the prophet denies that Jesus is come in the flesh (His incarnation at birth)? What if he does not speak according to God’s written Word? Does that qualify him as a false prophet or a true prophet? God’s answer is clearly written, “He is Anti-Christ!” Notwithstanding the ostensibly godly life of a prophet, or the signs and wonders wrought by him, the Word of God sternly warns that when the hearts of people are influenced away from God and His written Word to the voice of another god, he is a false prophet in the sight of God.
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. (1 John 5:2 & 3)
False prophets have a subtle way of catching sincere ignorant Christians in the web of their religious thoughts about God. They use the same ploy Satan used on Eve in the garden of Eden – the BIG LIE, “Ye shall be as gods”. The essence of their appeal, although ostensibly to glorify Christ, is always self-centred. The gist of their Gnostic-spirited ministries contains the following New Wave seed thoughts plaguing the church:
Some of the suggestions made to the believer by deceiving spirits at this time may be:
(i) ‘You are a special instrument for God’, working to feed self-love;
(ii) ‘You are more advanced than others’, working to blind the soul to sober knowledge of itself;
(iii) ‘You are different from others’, working to make him think he needs special dealing by God;
(iv) ‘You must take a separate path’, a suggestion made to feed the independent spirit;
(v) ‘You must give up your occupation, and live by faith’, aiming at causing the believer to launch out on false guidance, which may result in the ruin of his home, and sometimes the work for God in which he is engaged. [War on the Saints, Jessie Penn-Lewis, The Christian Literature Crusade, 1977, p.73]
God help the church to expose these false prophets before innocent souls and good Christian assemblies of God’s people are further caught in the web of deception of the beguiling foe.
Strange Fire, by Travers and Jewel van der Merwe, Chapter 9: False Prophets
(*A personal note: After the commissioning fiasco at Lakeland and the following blow-up of the outpouring and Todd’s Marriage, some of us here discussed how we believed if Todd did not get away from Joyner and other members of the NAR, he would be back doing the same thing one day. Well we know he didn’t, but was instead taken under their wing with Joyner being the active upfront face the last 12 months.
The list above, especially the first lie, “‘You are a special instrument for God”, is what I believe Todd hears from Joyner and company, and what he “needs” to hear. Satan knows our character weaknesses, and he has pegged Todd’s as having a larger than normal need to feel ‘special’, unique, different, etc. I’m not trying to psychoanalyze Todd, but only going by what I’ve sensed the last 2 years. Perhaps I’m 100% wrong, but it would explain a lot of his behavior.)
Here is a short list of words (amongst hundreds) that were spoken over me in my first year as a Christian, all except the last two – which came shortly before I got out of charismania..
1) “There is a special favour from God on you”
2) “God is going to powerfully use you”
3) “I was reading how king David was a warrior and thought: Wow, that’s Dave Green that is”
4) “God has you on an accelerated learning path”
5) “You are a marked man – God has you marked” Not sure if that was supposed to be a good thing!
6) “When I pray for you I keep getting the word PROPHET” – sigh!
It is of little wonder that I lurched from disaster to disaster, often trying to fulfill ‘prophetic’ words in a strength not given to me by God as the words were not from Him in the first instance. There really is no peace in that place.
I asked God to let me not despise prophecy – something Satan would love all God’s people to do. I also asked Him to give me the gift of discernment, lest I ever give heed again to lying spirits or the vain imagination of men (including my own). As I pointed out to a Christian on another forum, despising prophecy can also apply to those who attribute a word from a demon to being from God.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the following words: “And we saw the wind of the Spirit BLOW SO HARD at a meeting you could see people’s hair blowing”.
When the breath of their god “blows so hard” the hair on people’s heads move. When the breath of our God just simply blows, life comes to the dead.
Talking of the breath of God, in the context of deluded souls, counterfeit miracles and those who refuse to love truth:
“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the splendour of His coming.” (2 Thess 2:8)
The most destructive heresy being sown in the body of Christ is not by Pentecostals or Charismatics but by those teaching the gifts of God have passed away. Certainly anyone denying Jesus as the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God, the only way to salvation, is not saved. Yet, the most deceptive heresy is once saved always saved. There are literally hundreds of passages in the NT warning believers not to fall away from their faith. The warnings not to be deceived by Jesus (Mat. 24:4-5), by Paul (2 Thes 2:3), by Peter (1 Pet 2:1), and by John (1 John 2:26) are to the saved not the unsaved. How can an unsaved person depart or fall away from a faith they never had? (2 Pet. 2:20-22, 1 Tim 4:1) Clearly we are edging toward the greatest apostasy in the history of the church. (2 Thes. 2:3) For those who think they can never lose their salvation, no matter what unconfessed sins they are doing, please read Gal 5:19-21.
Paul, having belonged to a number of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, I can tell you I have seen a lot of destructive heresies. And the teaching that the gifts of God have passed away was not one of them. I myself, to this day, DO NOT believe that the gifts of God have passed away. But I also believe that they have be very much abused and that much of what passes for the gifts of God are actually from some other power. I will not go so far as to say that that is the most destructive deceit in the church today, but it certainly ranks high. I was in an Assemblies of God church where a visiting evangelist was holding meetings night after night and supposed miracles where taking place. My wife questioned him directly as to where he derived his power. He boldly told my wife that he had acquired his powers from his birth through a weird occult process. He was later exposed by the Assemblies of God as a witch. The spiritual damage he had accomplished in the mean time was incalculable. I witnessed it. So I would humbly disagree with your opinion on the rankings of destructive heresies. Indeed all heresies are destructive and deceptive and to be avoided, but trying to promote one as more destructive or deceptive than the others is not really helpful.
As for unconfessed sins, the problem is not WHICH sins, but rather the deliberateness of the sinning that condemns a man. It is true that some sins are more destructive in a temporal sense. But in a spiritual sense, the problem is not the sin itself, since all sins but one are forgiven through the cross. The problem is that deliberate and calculated sinning is an indication of an inner rejection of Christ. John tells us that if we claim to have no sin we are a lier. We all have sin and all need to cry out “Lord have mercy”. The problem comes when our sin no longer bothers us as our consciences become seared. But the solution to all of this is to remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit and hear the council of scripture and the historic church, not to follow after false teachers who hide their sins behind dramatic manifestations of power. Apostasy has been around since the beginning of time, but the church has survived and it will continue to survive until Christ returns for it.
Hi Paul,
I’m sorry my friend, but you are completely mistaken. The doctrine of being once saved, always saved is perfectly correct, and not a heresy at all. The teaching of the New Testament makes it perfectly clear that when a true believer sincerely puts his faith in Christ, it is because God has chosen that person, and has given that person the faith to believe in the first place. And from that moment onwards, the Lord gives assurance that He will complete the work that He has begun, and gives the Holy Spirit as a guarantee.
Philippians 1:3-6
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,
5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
I realise that this epistle was addressed to the saints in Philippi, but the emphasis is not on the individual, but upon the ability of God to complete that which He has begun.
Ephesians 1:13-14
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Here as well as other places, we are instructed that the Holy Spirit is the actual guarantee given by God Himself, as to the completion of His work. God does not lie or deceive us in this, and is most certainly able to do as He promises.
I agree that the New Testament epistles are filled with warnings against falling away, doubting, and being deceived. And it is the faithful preaching of those warnings, as written by the apostles under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that will ensure that the elect do no perish.
What we must never forget is that not every professing Christian is saved, but every Christian that is saved, is saved for all eternity!
God bless,
John Dunning.
George,
We are heading toward the greatest apostasy in the history of the church. (2 Thes. 2:3) Pastors like Charles Stanley, David Jeremiah, and John MacArthur have deceived many believers with the heresy of eternal security (once saved always saved). (1 Tim. 4:1, 2 Pet 2:20-22) This lie from Satan has deceived more than you ever dreamed. Yes, the church will overcome during the Great Tribulation. (Mat. 24:21-22, Rev 7:9-14; 15:2) But the saints overcome by the Beast for eternity would have given anything in the end to grasp the truth. (Rev. 13:7)
I heard the Spirit of the Lord speak to me this morning — “Beware the Carnival Jesus” ~ Let us take heed to the carnival atmosphere these false teachers/prophets invoke…much like barkers on the streets of North Beach in San Francisco, they lure the unsuspecting…those who are forever learning, but fail to come to the Truth…Beware the Carnival Jesus~
I disagree John.
But instead of turning this thread into a discussion on the OSAS doctrine, i’ll start a new post on the topic.
Anyone who’d like to discuss it is more then welcome to jump in.
We are edging toward the Great Tribulation of the saints by the Beast and his evil world agenda. (Mat. 24:21-22, Dan. 12:1) This will be the most severe persecution the church will ever experience in its 2000 year history. The saints that get the victory over the Beast will be caught up to heaven at the coming of the Son of Man. (Rev. 7:9-14; 15:2) The saints overcome by the Beast will have their names blotted out of the Book of Life for eternity (Rev. 13:7; 3:5) Is understanding the eternal consequences a salvation issue? It will be for those overcome by the Antichrist and his mark. (Rev. 13:1-18)
Jesus gives us free will to love Him and believe in His Word. (John 3:16) Anyone who once bought by the blood of the Lamb, and then denies the Lord by teaching or believing in destructive heresies denying the Lord (2 Pet 2:1) cannot continue to abide in the doctrine of Christ. There are hundreds of passages warning believers can to fall away and deny their faith. (2 Pet. 2:20-22, Heb 3:12, 1 Tim. 4:1, Heb. 10:29, Heb. 6:4-6) Once saved always saved is the most deceptive heresy being sown in the church by deceiving spirits. (1 Tim. 4:1) Your saved as long as you abide in the doctrine of Christ. (2 John 1:9)
Paul
i started a new post on the topic of eternal security..
see, http://pjmiller.wordpress.com/2010/01/10/conditional-eternal-security/
Lets allow this thread to stay on topic of false fire and false prophets.
Hi John Dunning,
In the NT, where is a professing Christian mentioned? Saints, brethren, sons of the light, sons of the day, elect, brothers and sisters in Christ, are all mentioned. Where do you see professing believers that are not saved? The warnings to fall away are only to believers, never unbelievers. How can an unsaved person fall away from a faith they never had? Seek the Holy Spirit for the truth, John, such twisting is not a false interpretation, its heretical!
Are those who say to the Jesus..”Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles”…saved?
Not according to Jesus, in mathew 7:22. So..does that mean we should not prophesy, drive out demons in His name or do miracles? of course not..it is not what you say or do alone that makes you evil or holy..but the motive.
Satan is a murderer and he stands condemned. Saul was also a murderer, and now he stands glorified. See how listening to Jesus immediately answers ‘tricky’ questions and controversies. If these preachers are working for the honor of the one who sent them, they are men of truth as Jesus said..but if they are only seeking their own honor..they are not men of truth..they may be men of faith, but until you are a man of truth,then and only then is there nothing false about you.
When Jesus said ..’Follow me”..he was not inviting disciples to follow a man of Faith..but the man of Truth that He is, for He came and worked for the honor and glory of the One who sent Him.If you are a man of truth, than you have fellowship with the Spirit of Truth..if you are a man of faith..God knows what spirit you are fellowshipping with..yes, faith pleases God..but truth is what God wants from his worshippers..not faith..didn’t Jesus say that too? So listen to Jesus and you will know the truth and the freedom that comes from that truth, as you hold on to His teachings even when you are denounced as a false prophet, like me. Dr.Ed