Signs of Apostasy In The Churches In The End Times

By Sandy Simpson

EBAG March 2011


 

There are many signs of the great Apostasy, or falling away (2 Thes. 2:3) indicating we are living in the end times.  Mike Oppenheimer presented a number of things in his last sermon on what is going on in the world at large to indicate that we are living in the end times. 

 

Mt. 24: 3-14  As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus answered: "Watch out that no-one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth-pains. "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 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. (NIV)

 

I am going to go through some indications of the Apostasy in the churches as a follow up to the signs of the times in the world.  I have told you about many false prophets, false apostles, false teachers and false Christs through the years.   But who ever thought that a president of the United States would be considered by many to be the Messiah or God?

 



Is anybody else creeped out by all this talk

about Obama being "God"?
by Sandy Simpson, 11/21/10


 

Matthew 24:24
"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. (NASB)

 

Disregarding the fact that calling any man on earth today "God" is blasphemy, this tactic by the liberal media to continually attribute god-like qualities or call Obama "God" or "Messiah" should make many people, especially Christians, very uncomfortable.  The latest attempt at making Obama some kind of "god" was in the latest Newsweek of November 22, 2010.  Go here to view the cover:

 

http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-spokane/newsweek-cover-depicts-president-obama-as-god-of-all-things

 

You can also find this cover in many other places on the web.

 

Though they tried to act like they were critiquing Obama for trying to do to many things at the same time, the headline and pose they gave Obama mimicking Lord Nataraja show that they have a not-so-subtle point.  Lord Nataraja is described in Wikipedia this way:

 

Nataraja or Nataraj, The Lord (or King) of Dance; Tamil: (Kooththan)) is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the cosmic dancer who performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for god Brahma to start the process of creation. Nataraja is most often depicted through a statue. The dance of Shiva in Tillai, the traditional name for Chidambaram, forms the motif for all the depictions of Shiva as Nataraja. He is also known as "Sabesan" which splits as "Sabayil aadum eesan" in Tamil which means "The Lord who dances on the dais".The form is present in most Shiva temples in South India, and is the main deity in the famous temple at Chidambaram. (The Dance of ?iva By Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy) The sculpture is usually made in bronze, with Shiva dancing in an aureole of flames, lifting his left leg (and in rare cases, the right leg) and balancing over a demon or dwarf (Apasmara) who symbolizes ignorance. It is a well known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture. ("Shiva as Nataraja - Dance and Destruction In Indian Art") The two most common forms of Shiva's dance are the Lasya (the gentle form of dance), associated with the creation of the world, and the Tandava (the violent and dangerous dance), associated with the destruction of weary worldviews - weary perspectives & lifestyles. In essence, the Lasya and the Tandava are just two aspects of Shiva's nature; for he destroys in order to create, tearing down to build again. (Elephanta: The Cave of Shiva By Carmel Berkson, Wendy Doniger, George Michell) - (Source: Wikipedia, Lord Nataraja, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nataraja#cite_note-The_Dance_of_.C5.9Aiva-0)

 

I wondered why, in Michael Savage's book "Trickle Up Poverty", he continually refers to Obama as "Obama the Destroyer".  Savage must have somehow seen this Newsweek issue coming.  The obvious allusion to Nataraja is that Obama must destroy the old order of things in order to create a new one.  Though Newsweek apparently admits he is having trouble with this, nonetheless it is clear they still believe he can pull societal transformation off because he is the "God Of All Things".

 

This ascribing Godhood to Obama has been going on since he began to run for the presidency.  One site that still believes that Obama is the Messiah is http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/

 

On that site images of Obama are startling and creepy. 

 

There are images there of Obama on a cross

 

… one with the heading "take up your cross and follow me"

 

…one with a world tattoo on Obama's forehead, etc. 

 

On this web site: http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=77539 it was reported that Luis Farakhan called Obama the "Messiah" saying:

 

Addressing a large crowd behind a podium Feb. 24 with a Nation of Islam Saviours' Day 2008 sign, Farrakhan proclaims, "You are the instruments that God is going to use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn't care anything about. That's a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking."

 

There are many other web sites attributing Godhood to Obama. 

 

This is all ironic since in 1966 Time Magazine had as its cover article "Is God Dead?".  This article came from a quote taken by a book written by Gabriel Vahanian, a professor of theology at Syracuse University, called "The Death of God" (1961).  In is he wrote that "essentially mythological world view of Christianity has been succeeded by a scientific view of reality".  Newsweek followed in 2009 with that headline "The Death Of Christianity".  The outcry against the notion of God being dead from the churches in 1966 was loud and overwhelming.  But then in 2010 Newsweek turned around and instead of claiming that God is dead they hailed Obama as being God.  Where is the outcry from the Church on this?  One of the sins of blasphemy is when someone claims to be God or is claimed by others to be so when they are not.  Jesus was crucified for it, though He was the only one who was telling the truth then He claimed to be the "I Am".  I find this flip-flop to be very ironic and disturbing.

 

Suffice it to say, when people become sheep and mistake a person like Obama for God, then they are ready to be misled by the coming AntiChrist and False Prophet.  The fact that Obama seems to have no big problem with this kind of talk is perhaps even more troubling.

 



Harold Camping Strikes (Out) Again!
by Sandy Simpson, 12/4/10


 

Mt 25:13  "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Mr 13:32  "No-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

 

Imagine my shock when I heard that Harold Camping was up to his former tricks in predicting, using some kind of fancy numerology, that Jesus Christ will return on May 21, 2011.  I quickly thought about how I would cancel my plane reservations to speak at a discernment conference called “Learn To Discern” in Vancouver, BC in May with Caryl Matrisciana, Roger Oakland, Warren Smith & Ray Yungen.  I mean, if Jesus is coming back then there will no longer be a need to expose false teachers because they will have met their demise along with their leader.  But then I realized, Camping is himself a false teacher and so I thought I would write this article to use on my speaking trip since I will be talking about his second failed prediction then.  Camping has put up billboards all around Omaha, NE, and has sent out fliers in many places including here in Honolulu, with the following information.

 

Eight billboards going up around Omaha (NE) say Jesus will return on May 21, 2011. The billboards depict three wise men riding on camels, led by the Star of Bethlehem, and include the words, "He is coming again" and the May 21 date. The "He" is Jesus Christ, whom Christians proclaim is the Son of God and Savior of the world. And although the signs don't explicitly say that believers will gather in the air to meet Christ in five-plus months, the groups spreading the May 21 message - Family Radio (www.familyradio.com) and We Can Know (www.WeCanKnow.com) - say so on their websites. We Can Know, a group supporting the work of Family Radio, paid for the Omaha billboards, which include four large signs and four smaller ones . The main idea is that the Rapture and the Day of Judgment  will occur on May 21. "This is not a joke. We take it very seriously," said Tom Evans, a spokesman for Family Radio. Harold Camping, Family Radio's founder, came up with the date based on calculations he made using information he gleaned from the Bible, Evans said. "I've never met anyone more diligent in studying the Bible" than Camping, Evans said. In 1992, Evans said, Camping published a book called "1994?" in which he laid out his belief that Jesus would return in September 1994. "That obviously was wrong," Evans said. "The real lesson of '94 was not so much that he was wrong, but 'What is truth? Where do you find truth?'" he said. "Study the Scriptures and the Spirit of God will guide you into the truth."After Jesus' return in May, Evans said, the people remaining on Earth will have only until Oct. 21, "when the entire universe will be rolled up like a scroll and completely destroyed." The Rev. Russ McDowell, associate pastor at Rejoice Lutheran Church in Omaha, said trying to determine a specific time for Jesus' return is "a real misreading of Scripture." "Scripture really communicates that God is in control," McDowell said. "It becomes irrelevant to be focused on the time and the place. Be ready all the time." The billboards are going up in cities that have no Family Radio station, Evans said. "It wasn't like we were targeting Omaha for any particular reason," he said. All the Omaha signs should be up by Friday, said Sheila Kuehn, an account executive for Lamar Outdoor Advertising in Omaha. They are scheduled for a four-week run. "We had legal look at it and make sure it's OK," Kuehn said of the signs' message, noting that the advertisers have freedom of speech. Evans said he knows many people won't take the billboards' message seriously. "I would hope," he said, "that people would look at that and say, 'I'm going to get my Bible out. I'm going to start reading my Bible.'" Kuehn said she wouldn't comment on the End of Days message but did offer this telling statement: "We have taken long-term contracts past May 2011."  (The Rapture is near, billboards say By Bob Glissmann WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER, http://m.omaha.com/om/db_/contentdetail.htm;jsessionid=2CA5B4524590DA45621D81064B08D2E3?contentguid=3Nm692aW&full=true#display)

 

Now before I get into the reasons why I am calling Camping a false teacher, apart from the fact that he has one failed prediction of Jesus' return to his credit already, let me say this:  it would not surprise me, if Camping actually turns out to be right with this newest prediction, that God will reschedule Christ's return by at least one day in order to point out that Camping is a false teacher himself.  :)  But let's look as Camping's previous failed attempt.

 

In 1992, Camping published a book titled 1994?, in which he proclaimed that Christ's return might be on September 6, 1994. In that publication, he also mentioned that 2011 could be the end. As a result, some individuals have criticized him for "date-setting."  Camping's latest publications, We are Almost There! and To God be The Glory, refer to additional Biblical evidence which, in his opinion and that of others mentioned by him, points to May 21, 2011 as the date for the Rapture and October 21, 2011 as the date for the end of the world.  Since leaving the Christian Reformed Church in 1988, Camping has taught doctrines that may conflict with doctrines of the Christian Reformed Church and other church denominations. Examples of how Camping's teachings vary from conventional Calvinist doctrines include:

    (1) Departing from Calvinist doctrine, Camping teaches a relative free will for humanity and that humans are not totally depraved.  However, he subscribes to the idea that salvation is unmerited, cannot be achieved by good works or prayer, and is a pure act of God's grace.
    (2) Departing from the doctrine of eternal torment for the unsaved in a place called Hell, Camping teaches annihilationism; that life will end and existence will cease for the unsaved soul.[10]
    (3) Departing from doctrines stating no one can know the time of Christ's second coming, he teaches that the exact times of the Rapture and the End of the World are to be revealed sometime towards the end of time (Daniel 12:9-13 prophecy).
    (4) Camping teaches that all churches have become apostate and thus must be abandoned. In the place of church he encourages personal Bible study and listening to his Family Radio broadcasts. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Camping)

 

So we see that he was part of the Christian Reformed Church, which will give you a clue on his newest prediction.  Camping made a wise choice to get away from the hyper Calvinism of the Reformed ... only to end up teaching a false Arminianist concept that humans are not totally depraved.  Point 1 of the five points of Arminianism states:

 

Arminius believed that the fall of man was not total, maintaining that there was enough good left in man for him to will to accept Jesus Christ unto salvation.

 

What does Camping do with verses like:

 

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Ro 5:14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
Ro 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
Ro 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Ro 3:10 As it is written: "There is no-one righteous, not even one;

 

False teaching #1 refuted.  #2 is just as bad.  The Bible is clear about the judgment on the AntiChrist, False Prophet, the devil, his demons and unbelievers.

 

Re 14:11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."
Jude 1:7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
Heb 6:2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
Mt 25:46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Mt 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.

 

False teaching #2 ... oops.  #3 can be dispelled with one verse.  Speaking of the time of His return, Jesus said:

 

Mr 13:32  "No-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

 

False teaching #4 can also be dispelled by understanding that though the time of the end will be characterized by apostasy, a falling away, it does not state that EVERY Christian or every church is in apostasy.

 

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Lu 18:8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

 

The answer is yet to be seen.  It looks in Revelation like Jesus will always have his true followers all the way to the end, though a dwindling number and few who find the narrow gate and road.  It is certainly bad out there, but Camping is apparently actually trying to get followers to himself with this misinterpretation of Scripture.

 

But let's go on to deal with statements characterizing his current prediction.

 

"Jesus will return on May 21, 2011."  Again no man can know the day or hour.  We can know the signs of the times, the general time of His second coming, but we cannot know the exact day or hour.  Our business is to be ready for His return, not predict it.

 

"the Rapture and the Day of Judgment will occur on May 21." This reveals his Reformed upbringing.  He mixes the Rapture with the Great White Throne Judgment.  The Rapture occurs before, during or at the end of the Tribulation.  The Day of Judgment occurs after the Millennial reign of Christ on earth.  These events he sticks together are seperated by 1000 years.

 

Re 20:4  I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Re 20:6-13  Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.

 

How can a man who claims to be able to put an exact date on Christ's return also apparently spiritualize the exact number of 1000 in Scripture?

 

"I've never met anyone more diligent in studying the Bible" than Camping, Evans said."  He may be diligent in his study of the Bible, but he apparently has little capacity to understand it.

 

Camping published a book called "1994?" in which he laid out his belief that Jesus would return in September 1994.  He was wrong then and he will be wrong on this one as well.  Read Harold Camping: 1994? - A Summary Critique by Stephen C. Meyers, Christian Research Institute

 

"That obviously was wrong," Evans said. "The real lesson of '94 was not so much that he was wrong, but 'What is truth? Where do you find truth?'" he said. "Study the Scriptures and the Spirit of God will guide you into the truth."  What a lame excuse.  The real lesson from this failed prediction is this:

 

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
Ro 16:17  Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

You cannot be guided into truth by Camping because he is so far from it.  It is true that the Spirit is our teacher, but if you allow Camping to teach you, you will be misled.

 

After Jesus' return in May, Evans said, the people remaining on Earth will have only until Oct. 21, "when the entire universe will be rolled up like a scroll and completely destroyed."  This shows that Camping and associates have to be Preterists, believing the events talked about in Revelation have already come been fulfilled in the past, because immediately upon Jesus' return he goes straight into the end of all things when God will create a new heaven and new earth.  This would also make Camping an Amillennialist, one who does not believe in a Millennial Reign of Christ. This is in blatans disregard of numerous Scriptures that talk about the 1000 year reign of Christ on the Throne of David in Jerusalem.  Here are just a few: Rev. 15:4; 20:4-6; Rom. 15:2; Isa. 1:27; 2:3; 4:1-6; Joel 3:16; Zech. 1:16-17, 8:3-8; Rom. 11:26.

 

Failed Predictions of the end of the world

 

Camping is not the only person to have failed at predicting the second coming of Christ or the end of the world.  This has been going on since the first century.  Following is a partial list of those who have failed in their predictions.

 

About 90 CE: Saint Clement 1 predicted that the world end would occur at any moment.

2nd Century CE: Prophets and Prophetesses of the Montanist movement predicted that Jesus would return sometime during their lifetime and establish the New Jerusalem in the city of Pepuza in Asia Minor.

365 CE: A man by the name of Hilary of Poitiers, announced that the end would happen that year. It didn't.

375 to 400 CE: Saint Martin of Tours, a student of Hilary, was convinced that the end would happen sometime before 400 CE.

500 CE: This was the first year-with-a-nice-round-number-panic.   The antipope Hippolytus and an earlier Christian academic Sextus Julius Africanus had predicted Armageddon at about this year.

968 CE: An eclipse was interpreted as a prelude to the end of the world by the army of the German emperor Otto III.

992: Good Friday coincided with the Feast of the Annunciation; this had long been believed to be the event that would bring forth the Antichrist, and thus the end-times events foretold in the book of Revelation. Records from Germany report that a new sun rose in the north and that as many as 3 suns and 3 moons were fighting. There does not appear to be independent verification of this remarkable event.

1000-JAN-1: Many Christians in Europe had predicted the end of the world on this date. As the date approached, Christian armies waged war against some of the Pagan countries in Northern Europe. The motivation was to convert them all to Christianity, by force if necessary, before Christ returned in the year 1000. Meanwhile, some Christians had given their possessions to the Church in anticipation of the end. Fortunately, the level of education was so low that many citizens were unaware of the year. They did not know enough to be afraid. Otherwise, the panic might have been far worse than it was. Unfortunately, when Jesus did not appear, the church did not return the gifts. Serious criticism of the Church followed. The Church reacted by exterminating some heretics. Agitation settled down quickly, as it later did in the year 2000.

1000-MAY: The body of Charlemagne was disinterred on Pentecost. A legend had arisen that an emperor would rise from his sleep to fight the Antichrist.

1005-1006: A terrible famine throughout Europe was seen as a sign of the nearness of the end.

1033: Some believed this to be the 1000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus. His second coming was anticipated. Jesus' actual date of execution is unknown, but is believed to be in the range of 27 to 33 CE.

1147: Gerard of Poehlde decided that the millennium had actually started in 306 CE during Constantine's reign. Thus, the world end was expected in 1306 CE.

1179: John of Toledo predicted the end of the world during 1186. This estimate was based on the alignment of many planets.

1205: Joachim of Fiore predicted in 1190 that the Antichrist was already in the world, and that King Richard of England would defeat him. The Millennium would then begin, sometime before 1205.

1284: Pope Innocent III computed this date by adding 666 years onto the date the Islam was founded.

1346 and later: The black plague spread across Europe, killing one third of the population. This was seen as the prelude to an immediate end of the world. Unfortunately, the Christians had previously killed a many of the cats, fearing that they might be familiars of Witches. The fewer the cats, the more the rats. It was the rat fleas that spread the black plague.

1496: This was approximately 1500 years after the birth of Jesus. Some mystics in the 15th century predicted that the millennium would begin during this year.

1524: Many astrologers predicted the imminent end of the world due to a world wide flood. They obviously had not read the Genesis story of the rainbow.

1533: Melchior Hoffman predicted that Jesus' return would happen a millennium and a half after the nominal date of his execution, in 1533. The New Jerusalem was expected to be established in Strasbourg, Germany. He was arrested and died in a Strasbourg jail.

1669: The Old Believers in Russia believed that the end of the world would occur in this year. 20 thousand burned themselves to death between 1669 and 1690 to protect themselves from the Antichrist.

1689: Benjamin Keach, a 17th century Baptist, predicted the end of the world for this year.

1736: British theologian and mathematician William Whitson predicted a great flood similar to Noah's for OCT-13 of this year.

1792: This was the date of the end of the world calculated by some believers in the Shaker movement.

1794: Charles Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism, thought Doomsday would be in this year.

1830: Margaret McDonald, a Christian prophetess, predicted that Robert Owen would be the Antichrist. Owen helped found New Harmony, IN.

1832?: Joseph Smith (1805-1844) was the founder of the Church of Christ, which became the Restorationist movement after many schisms. It now includes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- a.k.a. the Mormons, and about a hundred other denominations and sects. He heard a voice while praying. He wrote, in Doctrines and Covenants section 130:

14: "I was once praying very earnestly to know the time of the coming of the Son of Man, when I heard a voice repeat the following:"
15: "Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man; therefore let this suffice, and trouble me no more on this matter."
16: "I was left thus, without being able to decide whether this coming referred to the beginning of the millennium or to some previous appearing, or whether I should die and thus see his face."
17: "I believe the coming of the Son of Man will not be any sooner than that time."

The year in which this event occurred is not recorded. However, one commentator suggested 1832 or earlier. Smith is later recorded as having said:  "I prophesy in the name of the Lord God, and let it be written--the Son of Man will not come in the clouds of heaven till I am eighty-five years old."

Smith would have reached the age of 85 during 1890. Unfortunately, by that year, Smith had been dead for almost a half century, having been assassinated by a mob. Note that his prophecy is ambiguous. It can be interpreted that: Jesus would return during 1890 (which did not materialize) or that 1890 would pass without Jesus' return (which did come to pass).

 Some anti-Mormon sources quote only verses 14 and 15, and draw the former conclusion -- that Smith's prophecy failed.

1843-MAR-21: William Miller, founder of the Millerite movement, predicted that Jesus would come on this date. A very large number of Christians accepted his prophecy.

1844-OCT-22: When Jesus did not return, Miller predicted this new date. In an event which is now called "The Great Disappointment," many Christians sold their property and possessions, quit their jobs and prepared themselves for the second coming. Nothing happened; the day came and went without incident.

1850: Ellen White, founder of the Seven Day Adventists movement, made many predictions of the timing of the end of the world. All failed. On 1850-JUN-27 she prophesied that only a few months remained before the end. She wrote: "My accompanying angel said, 'Time is almost finished. Get ready, get ready, get ready.' ...now time is almost finished...and what we have been years learning, they will have to learn in a few months." 10

1856 or later: At Ellen White's last prediction, she said that she was shown in a vision the fate of believers who attended the 1856 SDA conference. She wrote "I was shown the company present at the Conference. Said the angel: 'Some food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus." 11 That is, some of the attendees would die of normal diseases; some would die from plagues at the last days, others would still be alive when Jesus came. "By the early 1900s all those who attended the conference had passed away, leaving the Church with the dilemma of trying to figure out how to explain away such a prominent prophetic failure." 12

1881: Mother Shipton, (1488 - 1561), a 16th century mystic predicted the end of the world: "...The world to an end shall come; in eighteen hundred and eighty-one."

1891 or before: On 1835-FEB-14, Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church, attended a meeting of church leaders. He said that the meeting had been called because God had commanded it. He announced that Jesus would return within 56 years -- i.e. before 1891-FEB-15. (History of the Church 2:182)

1914: This was one of the more important estimates of the start of the war of Armageddon by the Jehovah's Witnesses (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society). They based their prophecy of 1914 from prophecy in the book of Daniel, Chapter 4. The writings referred to "seven times". The WTS interpreted each "time" as equal to 360 days, giving a total of 2520 days. This was further interpreted as representing 2520 years, measured from the starting date of 607 BCE. This gave 1914 as the target date. When 1914 passed, they changed their prediction; 1914 became the year that Jesus invisibly began his rule.

1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975 and 1994, etc.:  These were other dates that the Watchtower Society (WTS) or its members predicted. Since late in the 19th century, they had taught that the "battle of the Great Day of God Almighty" (Armageddon) would happen in 1914 CE. It didn't. The next major estimate was 1925. Watchtower magazine predicted: "The year 1925 is a date definitely and clearly marked in the Scriptures, even more clearly than that of 1914; but it would be presumptuous on the part of any faithful follower of the Lord to assume just what the Lord is going to do during that year." The Watchtower Society selected 1975 as its next main prediction. This was based on the estimate "according to reliable Bible chronology Adam was created in the year 4026 BCE, likely in the autumn of the year, at the end of the sixth day of creation." They believed that the year 1975 a promising date for the end of the world, as it was the 6,000th anniversary of Adam's creation. Exactly 1,000 years was to pass for each day of the creation week. This prophecy also failed.
bullet The current estimate is that the end of the world as we know it will happen precisely 6000 years after the creation of Eve. There is no way of knowing when this happened.

1919: Meteorologist Albert Porta predicted that the conjunction of 6 planets would generate a magnetic current that would cause the sun to explode and engulf the earth on DEC-17. (http://www.religioustolerance.org/end_wrl2.htm)

January 11 – 21, 1973:  David Berg (Moses David of the Children of God)  Colossal doomsday event in USA heralded by Comet Kohoutek[43][44]

1975:  Herbert W. Armstrong: 1975 in Prophecy!  A number of predictions, most of them dire, such as drought causing population of America to fall by one-third.[45]

June 21, 1982:  The followers of the New Age Theosophical guru Benjamin Creme, like Alice A. Bailey, believe the Second Coming will occur when Maitreya (the being Theosophists identify as being Christ) makes his presence on Earth publicly known—Crème believes Maitreya has been on Earth since 1977, living in secret. Creme put advertisements in many of the world’s major newspapers in early 1982 stating that the Second Coming would occur on Monday, June 21, 1982 (summer solstice in the northern hemisphere), at which time Christ (Maitreya) would announce his Second Coming on worldwide television (this is called the Emergence or Day of Declaration ; this is when, Creme's followers believe, the Maitreya will telepathically overshadow all of humanity when he appears on worldwide television)[46]. When this event did not occur, Crème claimed that the “world is not yet ready to receive Maitreya"; his followers continue to believe it will happen “soon”.

September 11– 3, 1988:  Edgar C. Whisenant, in the book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture is in 1988  Return of Christ.

1989:  Benny Hinn  A short man appears within a "few" years who will rule the world as the Antichrist.

1993:  David Berg — Children of God  Christ returns.

September 6, 1994:  Harold Camping, in the book 1994?  Second Coming of Christ may occur on September 6.. A question mark was placed at the end of 1994 to emphasize there was a strong likelihood. Harold Camping mentioned 13 times in the book "1994?" that the world could end in 2011 because it falls on the last day of the feast of tabernacles. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfulfilled_religious_predictions)

Trust me on this ... you can add Harold Camping and his prediction of May 21, 2011 to this list!

 



The Handkerchief Phenomenon
by Sandy Simpson, 2/5/10


 

2 Th 2:9  The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,

 

There is a new phenomenon especially among some island churches, that I believe made its way here from Africa, where handkerchiefs are being handed around a congregation claiming that they have an anointing that can cause people to be healed and other miraculous things happen to them.

 

The problem with this idea is especially evident in two things: (1) that this can and is being considered by many to be Christian magic and (2) that it is being taught as being something that should be a normal part of the Christian experience.  It is taught that if you have faith you will believe in touching the handkerchief that you will be healed, freed from demons, or get a special anointing.  But signs and wonders do not prove faith.  The Bible says:

 

Jude 1:20-23  But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and (1) pray in the Holy Spirit. (2) Keep yourselves in God’s love as you (3) wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. (4) Be merciful to those who doubt; (5) snatch others from the fire and save them; (6) to others show mercy, mixed with fear— (7) hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

 

So faith is shown in these things, not believing in something that isn’t even to be a normal Christian experience but was a one time event in history where God did miracles to prove that Paul and the other Apostles were genuine and foundational to the Church.  Don’t get me wrong.  God can do miraculous things especially to help the unbeliever to believe.  I have seen this in my own experience.  But we must be careful not to pull the stories of Acts out of context and still expect the Lord to bless us.

This idea of passing handkerchiefs around seems to be taken from the following verses in Acts:

 

Acts 19: 11-12  God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 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.

 

The problem with taking something that happened in Acts and applying it to the church today, assuming that it is to be a normal part of the Christian experience, is that this is an erroneous practice.  This is exactly what has caused cults to arise in Christianity.  God did some amazing things through Paul, but part of the reason was to confirm his Apostleship.  Many did not believe that Paul had the authority of the Lord to teach and do what he was doing.  They knew Paul had persecuted the Church and did not believe that he had really changed.  So God did many miraculous things through Paul.  One of those things is a good illustration of why we cannot take miraculous events from Acts and assume that they will be a normal part of the Church today.  There are no more foundational apostles that God is showing through signs and miracles that they are who He said they are.  You might remember the story of when Paul was shipwrecked, God saved them, and when Paul was on the shore of the isle of Malta.  He was eating with the islanders there when a snake crawled out of the brushwood he had gathered for the fire and bit him.

 

Acts  28:1-6 Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

 

Now the islanders did not know the Lord so when they saw that the viper did not kill Paul, which is a deadly snake, they were amazed.  The only thing then knew was to call Paul a god, but Paul was not a god but protected by the God he served.  Now a viper is a deadly snake. John Gill Commentary says:

 

… a viper is a kind of serpent, which brings forth its young living, to the number of twenty, only one in a day, which come forth wrapped up in thin skins, which break on the third day, and set them at liberty; and so is reckoned among viviparous animals, from whence it seems to have its name, whereas other serpents lay eggs and hatch them. It is said {k}, that this remarkable reptile has the biggest and flattest head of all the serpent kind; its usual length is about half an ell (an ell was about the length of a man’s arm), and its thickness an inch; its snout is not unlike that of a hog; it has sixteen small immovable teeth in each jaw, besides two other large, sharp, hooked, hollow, transparent, canine teeth, situate at each side of the upper jaw, which are those that do the mischief: these are flexible in their articulation, and are ordinarily laid flat along the jaw, the animal never raising them but when it would bite The roots or bases of these teeth, or fangs, are encompassed with a vesicle or bladder, containing the quantity of a large drop of a yellow insipid salivous juice.—It has only one row of teeth, whereas all other serpents have two; its body is not at all fetid, whereas the inner parts of the bodies of other serpents are intolerable.—It creeps very slowly, and never leaps like other serpents, though it is nimble enough to bite when provoked.—Its body is of two colours, ash coloured or yellow, and the ground speckled with longish brown spots; the scales under its belly are of the colour of well polished steel. Its bite is exceeding venomous, and its poison the most dangerous. Now when this viper here is said to come out of the heat, the meaning is, that it came out from the sticks, which were laid upon the fire, being forced from thence by the heat of it: and so the Syriac version renders it, "there came out of them" (the sticks) "a viper, because of the heat of the fire"; it lay quiet among the sticks, among which, and such like things, this creature often lies; but when the fire began to heat it, it sprung out …

 

The reason I am reminding you of this story is that it too has been used to create a type of cultic church called “Snake Handlers”.   Here is a description of their religion.

 

Snake handling or serpent handling is a religious ritual in a small number of Pentecostal churches in the U.S., usually characterized as rural and Holiness. The practice began in the early 20th century in Appalachia, spreading to mostly coal mining towns. The practice plays only a small part of the church service of churches that practice snake handling. Practitioners believe serpent-handling dates to antiquity and quote the Book of Mark and the Book of Luke to support the practice: And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mark 16:17-18) Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19)

 

Founders

 

George Went Hensley (1880–1955), a preacher who left the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) when the Church noticed him taking part in snake handling and set specific rules that made certain that that denomination would have nothing to do with those types of practices, is credited with creating the first holiness movement church dedicated to snake handling in the 1920s.

 

Note:  Holiness teaching claims that when you are born again you become completely holy and without sin.  This is a false teaching according to John.

 

1Jo 1:8  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

 

This is speaking of Christians.  This verse demolishes the arguments of holiness teachers.  Many of you do not know that not only snake handling cults but many Pentecostal denominations, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Christ's Sanctified Holy Church, Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A., Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), Church of God (Holiness), Church of the Nazarene, Church of God in Christ, Churches of Christ in Christian Union, Evangelical Methodist Church, Free Methodist Church, Salvation Army, Wesleyan Church, World Gospel Mission, Worldwide Faith Missions and many others are part of the holiness movement.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiness_movement)

 

Holiness doctrine is false and dangerous, giving people a false hope. We are made holy “in Christ” not of ourselves.

 

2Ti 1:9  who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

 

We are to live a holy life with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit, but when God looks at born again Christians He does not see their holiness but that of His Son.  We will finally reach complete holiness at the resurrection.

 

Re 20:6  Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

 

Finishing up on the snake-handling cult.

 

Sister-churches later sprang up throughout the Appalachian region, including at the Mt. Verd Holiness Church in McMinn County — Athens, Tennessee.  Many of the later followers were brought into the belief through traveling preachers in the late 19th century, attracted by charismatic preachers who boasted great miracles and demonstrated wonders. James Miller, without hearing of Hensley's ministry, claimed he received a Revelation from God to handle serpents and baptize in the Jesus Only formula of Acts 2: 38 in the King James Bible.

 

"Jesus Only" is a belief of Oneness Pentecostals who are a heretical cult of Christianity.  The reason they believe in “Jesus only” is because they do not believe in the Trinity.

 

By the beginning of the 20th Century, snake handling had spread to Canadian soil, where a handful of Canadians embraced the Mark 16 revelation.  Another key scripture they use to verify the claim that they can handle snakes without harm is Acts 28:1-6 because Paul was bitten by a venomous viper and suffered no harm.

 

Snake handlers today and practices

 

As in the early days, worshipers are still encouraged to lay hands on the sick (cf. Faith healing), speak in tongues (cf. Glossolalia), provide testimony of miracles, and occasionally consume poisons such as strychnine.[1] Gathering mainly in homes and converted buildings, they generally adhere to strict dress codes such as uncut hair, no cosmetics and ankle-length dresses for women, and short hair and long-sleeved shirts for men. Most snake handlers preach against any use of all types of tobacco and alcohol.

 

As we dealt with in our study on Galatians, snake handler cults are also legalists.  This often happens when the grace of God is not enough for them because they impose laws in order to be justified with God.

 

Most religious snake handlers are still found in the Appalachian Mountains and other parts of the southeastern United States, especially in such states as Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Ohio. However, they are gaining steady recognition from news broadcasts, movies and books about the non-denominational movement. In 2001 there were about 40 small churches that practiced snake handling, most considered to be holiness-Pentecostals or charismatics. In 2004 the practice moved across the border and there were four snake handling congregations in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Most, if not all, use the King James Version of the Bible and consider other versions to be demonic or false.

 

So most snake-handling cults are also what is called “KVJ Only” to the point where they consider any other legitimate translation of the Bible to be demonic.

 

Like their predecessors, they believe in a strict and literal interpretation of the Bible. Most Church of God with Signs Following churches are non-denominational, believing that denominations are 'man made' and carry the Mark of the Beast. Worshippers often attend services several nights a week. Services, if the Holy Spirit "intervenes", can last up to five hours, and the minimum time is usually ninety minutes.

 

Risks

 

Some of the leaders in these churches have been bitten numerous times, as indicated by their distorted extremities. For example, the founder of modern snake handling in the Appalachian Mountains died from snakebite in 1955.  In 1998, snake-handling evangelist John Wayne "Punkin" Brown died after being bitten by a timber rattler at the Rock House Holiness Church in rural northeastern Alabama.  Members of his family contend that his death was likely due to a heart attack. His wife had died three years earlier after a snake bite while in Kentucky. Another follower died in 2006 at a church in Kentucky. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_handling)

 

When you do things we are not told to do in the Bible and/or teaching heresy God will not protect you as these who were mentioned died.  Remember the seven sons of Sceva thought they would go out and cast out demons but forgot the most important aspect … that they had to have a relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ and be obeying Him.

In conclusion, this practice is a very bad example to Christians the non-believers alike.  People tend to view this as a form of “Christian” magic.  What is the difference then between this and drinking potions prepared by an island shaman for healing or using the Chuukese “Inemes Rock” or love potions or special foods or marmars to get people to have sex with you or chanting lost Chuukese words in an ancient chant to the “gods”, etc.  The difference for Christians is that we are to petition God for healing and every other thing …  not pass around objects that we claim have God’s power.  That is a form of pantheism.

 

Probably one of the prime examples against taking something out of Scriptural context and turning it into a magic formula comes from the temptation of Christ by the enemy in Luke 4:8-12.

 

Luke 4 9-12  The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: "‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’" {Psalm 91:11,12} Jesus answered, "It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’" {Deut. 6:16}

 

What we learn from this encounter is that to take Scripture out of context, as the devil did, and try to make it into a magic formula actually constitutes “putting the Lord your God to the test”.  When false teachers rip Scripture from its context and try to duplicate things that happened in the past in the Bible, they end up making it into magic, thereby testing God.  God does all kinds of miracles but when you make something that happened in the past into magic you are not only testing God but also placing yourself in danger of being deceived by the enemy.

 



The Truth Behind The Postmodern Emergent Church
by Sandy Simpson, 1/7/11


 

Ac 4:12  Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

 

This is the truth that has always been a source of persecution for Christians who proclaim it, but will be increasingly a sign of the end times when those who stand up for the exclusive claims of Christ will be persecuted and killed for it.  The woman who rides the beast, the false world religion, will be the main persecutor and killer of Christians in the end times.

 

Re 17:6  I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.

 

Those who are ashamed of Christ will join in with the beast, his world government and his false world church.  Those who patiently endure till the end will be saved.

 

Rev. 14:12  This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

Heb 3:14  We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

 

That confidence leads us to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He said:

 

Joh 14:6  …I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.

 

The Emerging Church is all about bringing together all the religions of the world into the Church and taking away our exclusive claims of the Gospel.

 

I am going to write some things in this article that will doubtless anger people who are into the Emergent Church (EC) movement.  These comments come from a careful observation of the teachings and practices of the leadership and followers of the EC.  My goal is to get Christians rethinking their involvement in this movement by pointing out some of the background behind it.  We already have ample articles on the false teachings of the EC, but I wanted to touch on what is behind their desire to subvert the Word of God.  Normal biblical Christians are happy to obey the commands of the Lord set out in His written Word because they know they prove their love of the Lord by doing so.

 

John 14:15  "If you love me, you will obey what I command.
1 Jn. 14:23  Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
1 Jn. 14:24  He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
1 Jn. 15:10  If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Fathers commands and remain in his love.
1 Jn. 5:3  This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

 

But the Bible paints a picture of those who "will not obey my teaching".  When you look at the background of the leadership of the EC, you will discover it is made up of a lot of rebellious people who have never liked the rules of a decent society or Christianity and have set out to prove they can do anything they want to under the guise of postmodern "Christianity".  They try to challenge every precept of the Bible because they have been brought up in a permissive postmodern world where "every man does what is right in their own eyes" (Jud. 17:6, 21:25; Pr. 12:15, 21:2).  They were likely disobedient to parents and disrespectful and want to drag every other Christian into their infantile delusions, being at the very least immature in the Faith.  They demonstrate a patent disregard for the authority of the Bible, as evidenced amply in their teachings and practices, as well as a disdain for morality.  They expect everyone else to jump into their deluded debauchery with them just because they can juggle some semantics and seem as though they are really hip and knowledgeable.  For proof of what I am saying read all the articles in our Emerging Church section of the site.  There are 400+ articles on the plethora of false teachings and practices being introduced into churches by this movement.

 

But this has been going on for much longer than the recent advent of the EC.

 

Gal. 5:19-21  The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Pet. 4:3-5  For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

 

Lest you think I am being too harsh in my criticism of the EC, read the following articles about their promotion of homosexuality and their holding church services in bars while, as luck would have it, drinking beer.  These are just two of the aberrations of this movement.

 

Acceptance of "Christian" Homosexuality

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=4891
http://webcommentary.com/asp/ShowArticle.asp?id=westm&date=081130%20
http://www.apprising.org/archives/2006/02/brian_mclaren_t.html
http://emerging-church.blogspot.com/
http://apprising.org/2010/08/25/doug-pagitt-and-the-emerging-church-gay-agenda/
http://apprising.org/2010/10/11/doug-pagitt-and-homosexual-sin/

 

Holding Church services in bars
http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/10/emergent-inebriates.html
http://herescope.blogspot.com/2009/10/pub-theology.html
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=1268736

 

I am quite familiar with what drives the younger generation today because it was what I had to repent of when I was a youth.  So I know the desire to try to justify yourself and what you are doing because you want to be able to continue to do those things while assuaging your conscience because so many others are doing them along with you.  I attempted some of the same tactics when I had drifted away from the Lord early in my life.  But no amount of jury-rigging the truth can change God's absolute truth.  The bottom line is that, as believers, we either have to choose to follow the foolishness of men or the wisdom of God.

 

1Co 3:19  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; {Job 5:13}

 



Immorality of those who claim to be

“anointed” Christian leaders

by Sandy Simpson, 2/23/11


 

1Th 4:3  It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;

Rev. 9: 21  Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

 

The Bible is clear that in the end times the sinfulness of mankind will increase more than ever before.  But would you expect to see the churches being led by those who practice sin and sexual immorality?

 

2 Cor. 6: 14-17  Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? {Greek Beliar, a variant of Belial} What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." {Lev. 26:12; Jer. 32:38; Ezek. 37:27} "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." {Isaiah 52:11; Ezek. 20:34,41}

 

The word “unbeliever” is apistos in Greek meaning that believe not 6, unbelieving 5, faithless 4, unbeliever 4, infidel 2, thing incredible 1, which believe not 1; 23.  Those who commit adultery are showing their lack of faith by their works and are certainly infidels before a righteous God.

 

2Pe 2:14  With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!

1 Tim. 3: 2-3  Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

 

So those who commit adultery should NOT be overseers in the church.  Yet those I will detail not only consider themselves to be leaders in the Church, but also try to prove they have a superior anointing(s) to everyone else.  If they have an anointing it is clearly not of the Holy Spirit but another spirit, proven by their infidelity, adultery and sexual immorality, which are certainly a “thing incredible”.

 

Unfortunately those I will illuminate are preceded by a whole host of adulterers claiming to be anointed Christian leaders.  Here are just a few of the names.  You can find out more info about many of them on my site.

(List of Christian Evangelists Scandals, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_evangelist_scandals#Aimee_Semple_McPherson.2C_1920s.E2.80.93)

 

This is just a partial list but the question is: why would any obedient Christian follow these people?  They were and are not only false teachers but they are also not qualified to be in ministry due to not being married to one husband or wife.

 

Benny Hinn

 

Benny Hinn is probably one of the most obvious false prophets and false teachers today.  We have detailed many of his false teachers and prophecies on the DVD series that Mike Oppenheimer, Jacob Prasch and I produced called “Spirit of Truth or Spirit of Error?”  But to make matters worse he has recently divorced his wife of over 30 years on unbiblical grounds and had an affair with Paula White.

 

Hinn married Suzanne Harthern on August 4, 1979. ("Finding His Life Partner, Suzanne Hinn" BennyHinnBiography.com Accessed 18 February 2010, http://www.bennyhinnbiography.com/meet-suzanne.htm). The couple have four children together. Harthern filed papers in Orange County (CA) Superior Court on February 1, 2010 seeking a divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences”. ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/18/benny-hinn-divorce-wife-s_n_468296.html

·  http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2010/February/Hinn-Speaks-Out-about-Divorce-Announcement/

 

I will deal with the divorces of Paula White first then get into the sexual affair they had together.

 

Paula White

Paul White has now been divorced twice and had numerous affairs.

(Paula) She had a baby out of wedlock but soon married the child’s father. At age eighteen, while living in Maryland with her newborn baby, she was introduced to the gospel and became a Christian. Her marriage ended soon after.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_White)

Having a baby out of wedlock would be forgivable according to the Bible if she did that before she became a Christian.  However getting divorced from her first husband after she allegedly became a Christian would have had to be because he was an adulterer for it to be a legitimate divorce.

At the time, White was a new mother to a baby she had out of wedlock. She had a brief marriage with the baby's father, a member of a rock band. Eventually, she wound up at a local church sweeping floors and teaching Sunday school. That's where she met a young visiting preacher. Randy White was pudgy and not her type, she says, but the two grew in love and married in 1990. (http://www.sptimes.com/2007/07/15/Hillsborough/Questions_tarnish_ris.shtml)

To make a long story short Randy and Paul started a church, which grew to be a mega-church called Church Without Walls.  But somewhere during that time while they were co-pastoring that church, they both were began fooling around with other people.

Both Randy and Paula White have been linked to other people (Paula White has been linked to Rick Hawkins and Randy White has been linked to his ex-porn star female personal trainer, which of course is an innocent relationship). I understand that both Randy and Paula White are high profile superstar ministers, but for the sake of the believers who trusted their leadership, it would have been best if neither had been linked to anyone. (Associated Content, Randy and Paula White Divorce: A Scandal in the Making - Another Christian Ministry in Trouble: Randy and Paula White by Charisse Van Horn, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/365456/randy_and_paula_white_divorce_a_scandal.html)

It soon became apparent that Paula was on the road to major stardom on TBN, which I believe was another factor in their divorce.  Paula was jetting everywhere and speaking at all manner of conferences, including financial wealth building ones.

The Whites told the Tampa Tribune no infidelity was involved in their breakup, which they described as "amicable."  (San Antonio MySA.com, Evangelist power couple is splitting up by Abe Levy, Express-News, 8/25/07, http://web.archive.org/web/20080621004656/http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/religion/stories/MYSA082407.01B.paulawhite.347acf0.html)

The word they used “amicable” implies that their divorced under the “irreconcilable difference” clause, though no one has been able to get a copy of their divorce papers so far.

 

Now on to the Hinn/White connection.

 

Hinn/White

Benny and Suzanne Hinn have been married for more than 30 years. On Feb. 1 she filed divorce papers in Orange County Superior Court in California citing irreconcilable differences. (Suzanne Hinn, wife of televangelist Benny Hinn, files for divorce, Digital Journal, 2/20/10, http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/287865)

It wasn’t long after Benny Hinn claimed he was surprised by his wife filing for divorce (what a crock!) then he was spotted and photographed exiting and entering a hotel in Rome.  At the time Hinn claimed they were both there to meet with the Pope.  Hinn has met with a number of Popes in the past.

The televangelist said the twice-divorced White had been an “encouragement” to him and “shared helpful advice” after his wife, Suzanne, filed for divorce last January. (Benny Hinn Sued by Publisher Over Alleged Relationship with Paula White Strang Communications is suing Hinn for $250,000 for breaking a morality clause in his book deal By Elena Garcia, http://www.christianpost.com/news/benny-hinn-sued-by-publisher-over-alleged-relationship-with-paula-white-49060/)

It wasn’t long before Hinn could apparently see that his excuse for an obvious romantic tryst was not working.  So he came up with his second excuse.

Evangelist Benny Hinn recently admitted at a crusade in Oakland, Calif., to having a "friendship" with fellow minister Paula White while he's still married after a tabloid pictured them holding hands in Rome on July 13. But the well-known healing minister says the relationship is over. "A friendship did develop," Hinn said of White in Oakland on July 30. "Hear this: No immorality whatsoever. These people out there are making it sound like we had an affair. That's a lie." (Benny Hinn Admits 'Friendship' With Paula White But Tells TV Audience It's Over, Tuesday, 10 August 2010 by Adrienne S. Gaines, http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news/29089-benny-hinn-admits-friendship-with-paula-white-but-tells-tv-audience-its-over)

Not immorality whatsoever.  Keep that in mind.  So two of Hinn’s book publishers, armed with apparently further evidence of a sexual affair, are suing Hinn for breach of contract since Hinn signed a “morality clause” in his contract.  So finally some of the truth comes out …

“Hinn acknowledged to his publisher “his inappropriate relationship” with White in August, according to the suit, and agreed that the publisher should get back its money, but he has yet to pay up.  Hinn’s lawyer, Miles Archer Woodlief of Mill Valley, Calif., did not return a phone call Thursday.” (Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-benny-hinn-book-suit-20110217,0,3978261.story)

Good luck getting that money!

Ted Haggard

 

As many of you know by now Ted Haggard, former pastor of a large mega-church in Colorado Springs called New Life Church where a number of ministries of the New Apostolic Reformation have their offices including George Otis Jr’s Sentinel Group and the World Prayer Center.  New Life Church often hosted NAR conferences and Haggard was always a featured speaker there, being a member of the International Coalition of Apostles under C. Peter Wagner.  Haggard, for three years during the time he was claiming a special anointing for ministry, was buying ice/meth from a drug dealer and having an affair with him. 

 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Rev. Ted Haggard, senior pastor at New Life Church, resigned Thursday as president of the 30-million-member National Association of Evangelicals, following allegations he paid a Denver man for sex over the last three years  (Leader of evangelical group resigns amid allegations by Paul Asay and DeeDee Correll, Kansas City Herald, Thu, Nov. 02, 2006, http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/15914360.htm)

 

Mike Oppenheimer and I, having had an email back and forth with Haggard, warned many of the organizations involved with NAE years ago about Ted Haggard hiding the truth. They chose to ignore it. Now the NAE and the disgrace this situation has caused will have consequences that could have been avoided. See what we warned the NAE about in a number of articles on my site.  I spoke with a man who works for the NAE and he told me that when the former director of the NAE was disgraced they were in search for a quick replacement and Ted raised his hand and volunteered.  Little did they know that he was having a illicit homosexual affair at the time, but they knew he was a liar because we gave them the fact.  Since Haggard stepped down the NAE has instituted strict guideline in electing directors in order to avoid the embarrassment we tried to save them from happening again.

 

Disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard’s former church disclosed Friday that the gay sex scandal that caused his downfall extends to a young male church volunteer who reported having a sexual relationship with Haggard — a revelation that comes as Haggard tries to repair his public image. (Ted Haggard Faces More Gay Sex Accusations by Eric Gorski, Associated Press, 23rd January 2009, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gOtUem4ZFcPt5_JdOaHQ1ePIz9ggD95T8IM01)

 

So Haggard was not only on the prowl in the world but in his church.  Here is the audio of him ordering “more” drugs from his homosexual lover of three years and drug supplier.  (Video Clip)

 

August 4, 2006 2:18 pm
“Hi Mike, this is Art. Hey, I was just calling to see if we could get any more. Either $100 or $200 supply. And I could pick it up really anytime I could get it tomorrow or we could wait till next week sometime and so I also wanted to get your address. I could send you some money for inventory but that’s probably not working, so if you have it then go ahead and get what you can and I may buzz up there later today, but I doubt your schedule would allow that unless you have some in the house. Okay, I’ll check in with you later. Thanks a lot, bye.”

 

A new church incorporation in Colorado Springs tends to pass unnoticed. After all, there are some 500 churches in the area. But an incorporation last week stands out because it was done by none other than Ted and Gayle Haggard. The Haggards give their home address on Old Ranch Road as the site of their new church, which they call St. James. The name is a nod to the passage “faith without works is dead” in the Book of James. Ted Haggard said Tuesday that St. James was incorporated “to keep the accounting in order” of the paid talks they’ve given for about a year and a half at evangelical churches across the country. The Haggards incur out-of-pocket expenses while on the road, so St. James is a way to be reimbursed for those costs in an orderly manner, he said. But Haggard doesn’t rule out the possibility that St. James will become in the future a bona fide church with a members roll and choir. “Sometime, somewhere we will do some type of ministry,” Haggard said. (He's Back! Haggards name their in-home church by Mark Barna, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, 5/13/10, http://www.gazette.com/articles/church-98503-incorporation-springs.html)

 

The first Sunday the Haggards had their “Bible study” in their house about 1/3 of his former parishioners from New Life Church attended.   Now Haggard has added to his list of appearances a reality show on TLC.

 

St. James Church is only eight weeks old but has already grown to about 350 people, according to The Gazette. Haggard, former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, moved the church out of his barn to a room at Pikes Peak Center this past Sunday. (Ted Haggard Aims for Simplicity with New Church, By Lillian Kwon|, Christian Post Reporter, http://www.christianpost.com/news/ted-haggard-aims-for-simplicity-with-new-church-46055/)

 

Finally this series of revelations from Haggard.

 

Former National Association of Evangelicals President and Pastor, the Reverend Ted Haggard emerged from three weeks of intensive counseling, convinced he is completely heterosexual, and told an oversight board that his sexual contact with men was limited to his accuser. (From Pastor To Psychologist by The Berean Call, http://www.thebereancall.org/node/2663)

 

But then this …

 

In an interview published in the February 2011 issue of GQ, Haggard came out, saying, "I think that probably, if I were 21 in this society, I would identify myself as a bisexual." "Ted Haggard Says He's Bisexual". CBS News. January 28, 2011. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20029939-10391698.html.

 

Why is this guy continuing to have a church and be followed by so many people from his former church?  You would think that they would have had enough by now.

 

Todd Bentley

 

Bentley was commissioned and sent out to be a representative of the NAR through the Lakeland and other related “revivals”.  While people like C. Peter Wagner, Chuck Pierce, Rick Joyner and other NAR leaders where laying hands on Todd (and on the video he pushes his wife away from himself) was having an affair with his intern, Jessa Hasbrook, after which Todd divorced his wife and married her.

 

Charismatic leaders C. Peter Wagner and Robert Ricciardelli, however, have reported that the affair was apparently sexual. Mr. Ricciardelli, furthermore, has indicated that this affair, whatever type it was, began in January of last year, which would place it well before Mr. Bentley announced that he was separating from his wife Shonnah. This is also well before Mr. Bentley brought Shonnah Bentley and his kids to Lakeland to show them to an international T.V. audience. (Todd Bentley marries woman he had affair with; Rick Joyner wants you to send Bentley some money, ReligionNewsBlog.com • Wednesday March 11, 2009, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23332/todd-bentley-9)

When this happened Rick Joyner jumped in and immediately began what he called a “restoration process”.  Joyner told Bentley supporters not to worry.

 

Those of you who were touched by the Lakeland Outpouring do not lose your encouragement. What happened there was from God, and Todd is a true servant of God. He has made some mistakes, and he is trying to get his life back in order, and you can be confident that he will. (MorningStar Ministries, Mar. 9, 2009 — Summarized by Religion News Blog, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23332/todd-bentley-9)

 

I hate to remind Rick about what the Bible says but as long as Todd continues with his affair wife he CANNOT be restored.  That is because he is continuing in practiced sin.

 

1 John 3:4  Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

1 John 3:7-8  Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. (NASB)

 

I did not write this, John did under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  Todd made these decisions while claiming to be a Christian and if he continues to live with this second wife he is committing adultery.

 

Mal 2:16  "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel,

Mat. 5: 31-32  "It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ {Deut. 24:1}  But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

 

Bentley’s wife had biblical cause to divorce him, but he has not cause at all to be “restored” to any ministry in the church.  He is the adulterer and he is still practicing that sin today no matter how he claims to have repented of that sin.

 

CONCLUSION

 

The end times we are living in are a time of great deception.

 

Mt 24:24  For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.

 

It is a time where sin will abound in the world and in the churches.  We are in the middle, perhaps the end, of the Great Apostasy.  See to it that you and your family do not fall away (2Th 2:3, Luke 8:13), wander away (James 5:20), shrink back, or have your faith destroyed (Heb. 10:39).

 

1Ti 4:16  Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

James 5: 19-20  My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.