The New Denominations!

from The Patmos Paper E-magazine

God recently woke me up from an afternoon nap and as I lay there he spoke to me the words “Come out from among them and be separate”. I know that Paul was talking about God’s people coming out of idolatry but as I lay there I asked the Lord to explain what He was saying. He said “Denominations are dying because they have left my precepts and squelched my Spirit.” I remember having recently read how thousands of people had left the Presbyterian Church denomination since the 1970”s because they slowly compromised the Word by embracing abortion, homosexuality, and abandoned the doctrine of the deity of Christ and had ruled against many cardinal foundational biblical truths. The problem with denominations is that they have a central headquarters that often speak for or control the local church.

The Lord then shocked me as he continued to speak to my heart. “The time has come when many so called non-denomination churches are going to become denominations.” I thought to myself “How is that possible?” and the Lord began to tell me that it will be worse because now one church will control many churches and many churches would give up their autonomy so they could have the look and feel of big churches.

Then he simply said the word “campuses”. I had recently heard that word and knew that this was becoming the new pattern in many churches. In our area it started with a local mega church called 12 Stones. They got so big that they started opening up other churches but instead of setting up a local pastor to preach and lead the services they bought expensive lighting and screens and remotely patched in the pastor of the main church so that members basically came to church and watched the sermon of the main pastor on a screen.

I thought this was crazy but soon many mega churches followed suit and now instead of local independent churches there were large churches in one city with “campuses” in others. They streamed the same sermon and often insisted that all the campuses play the exact list of worship songs. Now I am aware of at least four mega churches that are following this pattern in my city.

As I lay in bed with all this going through my head, suddenly my iPad on my night stand dings and it’s a notification. When I look at it I see it is a video notification from a world renown TV prophet and teacher announcing that the following day in his church it would be historic for they were officially setting up his multi-million dollar church and youth ministry to be more than a church but an organization with plans to set up “campuses” in other cities later all across the nation. Wow! Talk about confirmation.

This led me to do some research online. I was shocked to see how many non-denomination churches are doing this. From Free Chapel in Georgia to Rick Warren’s Saddleback church you see the trend of campuses being set up rather than churches. Now there are a lot of variations and different levels of autonomy but clearly the pattern is as the Lord told me. Non denominations have become denominations. I went to one of their websites and was surprised to see the heading: “The same church, many locations”. Many are even making “online campuses” as well for those who can’t make it to their services (although their money sure can).

It saddens me to see this trend because it eventually is going to make it harder for the Spirit of God to work. I see the youth flocking to these with all the hype, show and entertainment. Though today you may see the hands lifted up and the name of Jesus often spoken it will only eventually lead in the way of the Presbyterian and Methodist and other denominations. Many started from great revivals by Finney and Wesley and were sparked by great moves of God but sadly often in time spontaneous revival turns into organized religion.

Paul and Barnabas were called by God to go preach the gospel and raise up churches (initially in homes) so they could be led by the spirit and godly men not organizations. They were never intended to be controlled by the church in Jerusalem or Rome or anywhere else. This is a time when we need more small churches to get involved in and less big churches to get lost in. We need to tone down the music and tune in the Spirit. We need revelations not sermons. In other words we need to hear from God more and man less. The gifts of the spirit have given way to plays and production and concert like entertainment.

We tickle the ear rather than prick the heart. We mingle with the masses at the foot of the mount worshiping the golden calf as we play rather then climb the lonely mount to hear His voice and tremble at his holiness.

The Jesus movement took three letters off and it became the us movement. The charismatic movement left the gifts and power and became the charisma pastor and all star band. Perhaps we should consider that much of church has become and idol and heed Paul’s words to “come out from among them and be ye separate.”

Mega Churches, Mega Problems

from The Patmos Paper E-magazine

Are churches getting too big! All around me I see churches growing but not in number, just in congregation size. In the past 10 year three mega churches have sprung up in my area! In the last few years they have gotten so large that they have opened up several “campuses” which are nothing more than other churches that follow them on wide screens.

I can see the reason unfortunately for the formation of so many Mega churches. A lot of small charismatic and non denomination churches have had splits or have dissolved over petty as well as some legitimate reasons. These have left many of the sheep shocked, wounded and wandering. Some have just given up on church and no longer attend. Others have joined these large churches to just sit awhile and not get involved. Some have put years of personal work and commitment to their old church and now are afraid to get involved so they just want to go to a large stadium atmosphere where they can be entertained and just get lost in the vastness of a huge congregation. After awhile, unfortunately many get too comfortable and fall into a luke warm routine.

Advantages And Disadvantage

There are of course some advantages as well as disadvantages of going to a Mega church! Many churches have every kind of program going on for the youth and kids of every age. I have heard many times people said they left their church because there was no Sunday school or youth program or nursery or what ever. Mega churches have the power of personnel! They can often draw from hundreds of people to fill in slots and create programs for every age group and gender. The disadvantage is that they can’t often vet or qualify these people. In a small church you can get to know everyone pretty well. You can see their character and have effective oversight over them in their ministry. In a large church it is much more difficult to get to know everyone, so volunteers often get placed in positions without proper vetting. Recently two churches merged near me and thus grew to a large congregation overnight. They were immersed in a new vision and the task of melding too different congregations and different church styles. As they were beginning to effect the community one of the youth pastors was caught up in a sex scandal that made its way to the local papers and TV stations. It was quite an embarrassment to the Pastors and leadership of the church as they had to deal with this issue.

Mega churches are like cruise ships. My wife and I love to take cruises for vacations (money permitting!) I always told people that cruises are great because you can be as busy as you want or as relaxed as you want. There is so much going on cruise ships with tons of food and dining and movies and shows and casinos and excursions, you can keep occupied as much as you want. But at the same time you can sit in your room and watch TV or sit on the balcony and listen to the ocean waves or stroll on deck and enjoy the sights or lounge in a chair by the pool and get some rays. When you want to be active you can and when you want to relax you can. That’s a mega church. You can be as involved as you want with dozens of programs and home groups and prayer meetings and bible studies and social events, etc or you can just sit back and find a soft chair and watch the show. Heck you can even be a member and watch most the sermons at home on TV or stream the messages to your iPad or phone!

Control, Control, Control

I know it isn’t always so but in most cases you can see that Mega churches are all about control! They don’t like to give up power readily otherwise you would see that when they get to a certain size they should divide and plant themselves in other places. More about that later. Even in small churches you have people with pastoral experience or at least a pastoral calling that could use cultivation. Pastors of mega churches often get caught up in the power. Look what I built. God has really blessed me and made me successful so I need to control everything. That’s why many of mega pastors live in mega houses (or mansions) and drive mega cars. The leadership often are nothing more than yes men or others that are reaping benefits at the expense of the sheep. Mega churches take in mega bucks. I was a Pastor of a very small church and lived fairly well so I can imagine these churches that are Ten times larger are overflowing with the people’s tithes and offerings and the Pastors are living like kings.

It is also no coincidence that many of these mega churches have been influenced by hyper-faith, prosperity gospel and kingdom dominion theology that all lend themselves to person prosperity wealth and abundance (but that is a topic for another discussion). Jesus said that we are to feed and lead the sheep but its sad that many Shepherds shear the sheep and eat mutton for dinner. When one gets use to a larger than life living than control is the key to self maintenance. Hierarchy sets in and the congregation is the means to success so they place only their likeness on the screens of their satellite churches and make sure only their worship lists are played exactly the same in all the worship teams. I was a part of the church where the youth pastor had to get the pastors sermon before Sunday and teach the youth the same thing. Sure he could do it in his own manner but what happen to the holy spirit leading.

I taught drums for many years and once went to put an ad on Craigslist for students. While I was browsing the musician area I was shocked to discover so many ads from churches looking to hire and pay professional musicians to lead or play in their worship groups. Further investigation found that it was quite common for many large churches to hire professional musicians regardless of faith to be apart of their worship teams so they could sound as professional as possible and be able to follow the direction of the worship elder or pastor. Control!

History Is Against You!

The reality is that mega churches have been around for along time and they simply do not work. If you think of the Catholic Church and British Anglican church you have two great examples. Ken Johnson, an expert on early church documents made an interesting discovery. He found out that prior to the age of Constantine and the emerging of the universal or Catholic church, the churches in the major cities of the middle east and Asia were actually almost all unified in belief and doctrine. Each city state had prominent church Bishops that taught the same doctrines that the reformed churches teach today. They taught against the same cults and fringe groups but the early church though often persecuted by Roman emperors held similar services, functioned similarly and held to the same doctrines and practices. They were Christ centered, biblically based (though having different cannons but nearly the same as today) and Spirit lead. In the new testament from the upper room we see Christianity spreading as they met in homes and small churches. With Constantine and his Church councils, though it seemed like it was do bring greater unity to the churches it brought greater control.

Up to then churches were autonomous but united. Constantine gathered the bishops to influence them, control doctrine and ultimately set what was to be accepted and discarded in the church. From there the Church in Rome grew in power until it lorded over all the other churches and ultimately fell into corruption and hypocrisy. It was a force of fear not faith and then the reformation came. At this time The catholic church was the ultimate mega church and it controlled thousands of other mega churches called cathedrals all across Europe and Asia. Martin Luther was not trying to change the church but was trying to simply reform it, that is bring it back to the first tenets of the faith. Because they refused he and others formed small groups which soon turned into many reformed churches and the Spirit of God was able to move again away from man made traditions and back to the simplicity of Christ and His word. The Reformation brought us out of the dark ages. Now thousands gathered in small groups and churches again and the power of God was moving.

But even some protestant church became mega churches and fell into the same trap. The Church in England in defiance against Catholicism became the State church and got so powerful they started persecuting their own counterpart protestant brethren. The pattern has occurred in many places and in many countries. Yes churches can get to0 big. There may be some exceptions but for the most part, large congregations tend to become self absorbed and spiritually blighted. They go from being spiritual to being simply religious.

The Lesson Of The Two Churches In Revelations

I recently had a discussion with a friend of mine on this subject and he brought out a great point. In the book of revelations it talks about Jesus and the seven churches. He stands in the middle of 7 candlesticks which represent the 7 churches and both commends then and rebukes them and threatens to take away their candlestick from his presence if they do not repent. Some had grown luke warm, others had compromised while others had grown wealthy and famous.

Yet there were two churches that Jesus had nothing to speak bad about. One of the churches was Smyrna. It was a very poor church. Jesus said He knew their affliction and poverty. He called them rich spiritually but said they would be persecuted but honored if faithful. The other was the church of Philadelphia in Asia minor. Jesus said to them “I know that you have no strength!” They obviously were not a mega church. They were probably small and not very powerful or influential. It was to them that He said they had an open door. They had kept his word and were faithful. God was so pleased with them He said He would keep and preserve them from terrible things that were to come.

These two churches stand out against the large corrupt churches who were indicted for leaving their first love, compromising with false teachers and doctrine, becoming luke warm and being deceived into thinking they are not in need of anything. The analogies of these two small faithful churches are quite thought provoking. Mega churches can too easily fall into the category of the five churches but Jesus said that even in these there were a few that were doing right but they need to repent or the candlestick would be removed from their presence.

Following The Bread And Fish

Unfortunately this is what has happened to many mega churches. They have lost the presence of the Lord. The have replaced it with programs and great worship and even insightful sermons but ultimately they are bringing people to themselves and not Jesus. The sad thing is that many Christians have come for the church meal and not the spiritual manna. Jesus sat on a hill and multitudes of people gathered as he taught them about His Father and the kingdom of God. The hour had grown late and Jesus saw that they were hungry and he had compassion on them so he had them sit down and took a boys lunch and multiplied fish and loaves of bread till they were all full. He performed a miracle to confirm his words with signs following and displayed the loving heart of God in providing for them. Many people are quite familiar with the story. What many are not aware of is the story that follows. Jesus sent his disciple across the sea of Galilee and went up too the mountain to pray. Later we read the story of Jesus walking on the water and they arrived at the other side of the lake. The next day many of the multitude saw Jesus wasn’t there so they crossed over and found Him but Jesus said an interesting thing. He said:

“Very truly I tell you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” John 6:26

They were no longer seeking Jesus but the free hand out. They wanted more free food. They just wanted bread and fish not the one who breaks bread and makes fisher of men. It is sad that many Christians are after what they can get from Jesus rather than after the Savior himself.

When pastoring a small church I remember people knocking on the church doors with wife and kids in hand with a sob story about Christian husband loosing his job and being evicted and children starving and if I would give them enough money for them to get on their feet they would be so grateful. When I told them initially I would not give them money but would go with them to buy them groceries they acted all excited But when I told them to follow me in their car to the grocery store they would follow for a bit then high-tail out of there never to be seen. I would find out later from other pastors that con artist pretending to be Christians were hitting them up too.

In a mega church you certainly have sincere, dedicated Christians but you also have nominal and fake Christians as well as wolves who come in to infiltrate and disrupt. Even in the bad churches of Revelations Jesus said there were some among them that had kept their garments clean, yet they were guilty of letting in false doctrines and teachers (Nicolaitans, Balaam and Jezabel). Certain people must of come in and began teaching this stuff and it took root in these churches. I have seen so many times where an elder, guest speaker or church member began getting the ear of the pastor an sway them in a certain direction. This is what happened to these mega churches in revelation. Because of the hierarchy power and control issues it is nearly impossible to uproot!

The Temple And The Synagogue

Mega churches can cause mega problems. Small churches have their own but they also can be more conducive to more intimacy, greater sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, better oversight and better receptivity to the Lords direction than mans. Jesus dealt with the Mega church and the small church in a sense. He taught in the temple often and usually encountered resistance from the Priests, Pharisees and Sadducees and religious leaders. It was the temple that had become so corrupt that He had to drive out the money changers and greedy peddlers trying to take advantage of the people. Jesus mostly preoccupied himself by going into small villages and entering the synagogues to preach.

Often it was here that he did miracles and was more effective in teaching and demonstrating the power of God. The apostle Paul also was effective in spreading the gospel by going into synagogues and sharing the messiah. It was when he later went into the temple that they nearly rioted and had him arrested. The temple had become more “religious” and thus less tolerant and opened to Jesus and his disciples. Mega churches can easily become more religious that Christian. Tradition had replaced the power of Gods word in the temple and the parallel today is just as true.

The synagogues had mainly come about after Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the Jews were scattered to all the nations as predicted by the prophets. Since the Temple was now destroyed the Jews gathered first in homes and then started meeting in small buildings like many of our small churches. To keep their faith alive they built these small synagogues in towns and set in “Rabbis” or teachers to keep the people schooled in their faith. Synagog means “ Assembly” in greek or ‘house of Assembly” in Hebrew and the early church was patterned after it.

Biblical Expansion And Growth

The great commission of Jesus was to go to the world and preach the gospel thus small churches sprung up in towns across Asia and Europe. The church was never intended to be centralized. It was never intended to have a central headquarters like the Vatican or most our denominations. Churches were to be independent and autonomous adhering to the word of God yet collaborating and supporting one another. This is why Paul traveled back and forth from these churches. This is why each church was unique from each other and yet unified in the mutual edification of one another. God wants church growth but not centralized growth. This is where the mega church really fails.

Grass covers a lot of area not because it bundles itself in one area but because it sends out shoots that take root nearby. Than that root sends out shoots and so forth until a large are is covered. Often after it sends out shoots and forms a base interestingly called crowns from which the grass grows after it takes root. It is fascinating that even after it sends out its shoots and that shoot grows, it keeps its connection to that new grass with a branch called a stolen. Churches need to operate this way. Instead of growing upwardly and centrally, when they get to a moderate size, they should grow outwardly and plant themselves in other places while connecting (not controlling) the new congregation till it gets on its feet. It is sad that Mega churches just want to get bigger in one place and even if they make campus churches they are still one church controlled by one man or group of elders.

Remember the tower of Babel? Noah was told to go and replenish the earth not to stay in one place but Nimrod defied God and built a city and tried to centralize his power. Gods answer was to confuse their language so they could no longer work together and the bible says from there the people and their descendants migrated to different parts of the earth. Many believe that God allowed persecution in the early church because they were forgetting their mandate to go spread the gospel to all the world. The Jerusalem church was starting to centralize with James and the Apostles becoming so popular and Peter’s fame growing (raising the dead and shadow healing people). We do know that right after Stephen was stoned and persecution began, many of the disciple and followers were forced to leave town and carry the message to other cities.

Come Follow Then Go Preach

Jesus first told his disciples to come. He said come follow me. They were disciples, that is apprentices. The greek word means learner or pupil. Jesus had them observe his life and he taught them and when they were ready he gave them some practice runs. He sent them out to heal the sick and cast out demons. They came back amazed. This was all preparation for his resurrection and ascension when they would continue his work on earth.

After His resurrection they were no longer disciples, but Apostles. Apostle means one sent forth or messenger. Now they were no longer to come follow but go preach and take the message of the gospel to the world. No doubt there may be many large churches that do focus on Jesus and preach His word. But there are also many that neglect the great commission or the spiritual discipline of Gods people and are no longer going out but are staying in and having a good time. Many Mega churches have often become clubs or inbred communities that make church exciting or fun. They preoccupy the people with events and programs and worship has often become entertainment with plays and skits and gimmicks, etc. They preach a social gospel or worse a false gospel. Some preach a cursory message of Christ, and make some efforts to feed the poor but in all their structure, religious liturgy and pomp, they have failed to make room for the Holy Spirit to move, the prophetic to come forth, and the giftings to be utilized.

People are looking for a revival. God in times past shook the great foundations of powerful church structures and megalithic religious strongholds and often decimated the embodiment of so called Christian system. Cathedrals have their beauty but are often empty of spiritual power. Christian love often has been replaced by Christian lifestyle and Christian labor by outward works. Paul said :

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Cor. 13 :1-3

Perhaps we don’t need revival. Perhaps we need another reformation. When Catholicism held sway and controlled empires and a religious institution had become so corrupt and had drifted so far from its moorings it seemed like there was no hope of breaking its control or getting free from its power. But a priest named Luther read the word of God and his eyes were opened and he defiantly walked over to the cathedral door and nailed his 95 theses of indictment to it. From there a movement broke a return to the New testament standards ensued. Mega churches have become the cathedrals of our day.

Not all are corrupt or religious or spiritually lacking, but there is a danger that lurks in the kind of system it breeds. It is not contentment for the masses through tickled ears or external excitement by Christian entertainment that will build up and edify the saint. It is when the simplicity of the gospel prevails, the word of God takes forefront, the focus on Christ shifts and the release of the Holy spirit begins … then we will see the heart of God in our midst not the hand of man. Saints… pray!

The Prophetic Ministry Of Jesus

from The Patmos Paper E-magazine

Jesus is Prophet, Priest and King. Much has been written about the Priesthood ministry of Jesus. He was Our high priest and became our sacrifice. He came to save that which was lost and His death, burial and resurrection are the central redemptive theme of the work of Christ. The priesthood aspect involves sacrifice and intercession. He is our mediator who prayed for us on earth (John 17:20) but even in heaven... “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come to God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them.” Heb. 7:25

Much has been written about the Kingship ministry of Christ. We worship Him as King. We preach the kingdom of God is at hand. We call him King of Kings and laud him above all rulers, principalities and dominions. Jesus when asked by Pilate if he was a King replied: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world”.

But little has been written about the Prophetic Ministry of Jesus. Jesus operated as a prophet under the old testament and until his resurrection it was under this mantle that most people saw him. Yes he was a great teacher and thus called Rabbi or Raboni by many but Jesus miracles don’t fall under his teaching ministry.

Miracles, a Sign of a Prophet

Jesus was a doer not just a teacher and he went about doing good and healing those who were oppressed by the devil. Many of his signs and wonders attested to the prophetic ministry of Jesus. Just as many signs, wonders and miracles were done by the old testament prophets so we see Jesus doing the same. Elijah rased the dead as Jesus did. Elisha defies the law of nature and causes an axe head to float on water. Jesus defies nature and walks on water. Moses turned poisonous waters to drinkable waters. Jesus turns water into wine. Jeroboam”s hand becomes withered when he tries to seize a prophet. Jesus heals the withered hand of a man and makes him whole. Elijah causes oil and meal to multiply for a widow and Jesus multiplies fish and bread. Elisha healed Naaman from leprosy and Jesus healed the leper. The point is that a prophet often demonstrated the power and presence of God by performing miracle and Jesus did the same to confirm his prophetic ministry

Moses called Jesus a Prophet :

Moses spoke of the Prophet to come referring to Jesus.

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly [when the law was given], when you said, "Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die. And the LORD said to me, "They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, [God said] and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:15–118).

Moses appeared with Jesus at the The Mount of Transfiguration where God’s voice spoke from heaven the same commands of Moses :

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matt. 17:5).

“Listen to Him!”; the same words spoken in Deuteronomy 18 by Moses confirming by God himself that this was the Prophet that was to come.

He would be the ultimate Prophet through whom God would make Himself known to His people through prophetic word and deeds!

After Pentecost, in the book of Acts. Peter is preaching, and he quotes Deuteronomy 18. You’ll find this in Acts 3:18 he says, in essence: “Moses was talking about Jesus!”

The People called Jesus a Prophet:

After the feeding of the 5,000, The people knew it was a sign that Jesus was a prophet sent from God.

“When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, ‘This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!’” John 6:14

When Jesus raised the dead son of the widow of Nain the bible says,

“And they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has arisen among us!’ and ‘God has visited his people!’” (Luke 7:16)

When Jesus came riding on a colt into the city of Jerusalem which is often called the triumphal entry as the multitude where crying out Hosanna, they recognized him as the great prophet and many knew he was Messiah:

“When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “ My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’ John 21:10-13

Jesus displayed his prophetic authority as one who drives out wickedness from his temple as a prophet often rebukes sin and calls his people into holiness.

On one occasion after speaking in the temple:

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them... ...On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Messiah.” John 7:37-41

The woman at the well obviously saw Jesus not only as a prophet but The Prophet as Jesus told her about her adulterous life and yet offered grace.

“Sir I perceive thou art a prophet.” John 4:19)

She said! Jesus did not deny it. Then she left and went to tell all the men of the city.

“Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”

The religious leaders also were looking for “The Prophet “ and thought that John the Baptist was him but John denied being the messiah or prophet but pointed later to Jesus as the Messiah.

“Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levities to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

What is the Work of a Prophet

On the road to Emmaus, when Jesus met the two disciples who at first did not recognize Him, they asked Him if He was only a stranger since He did not seem to know of the things that had been happening in the city. When He said, “What things?” they said,

“Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.” Lk. 24:19

A prophet’s work is action and utterance. “In word and deed means he speaks for God and displays the works of God. We have spoken of signs, wonders and miracles. This is the Work of God. But a prophet also speaks for God. Often we think this is foretelling and indeed that is part of it bur mostly it is forth telling, speaking Gods word forth whether it applies to the past present or future. Jesus who was and is and is to come (past, present and future) knows all things so often spoke prophetically to all three realms. We already mentioned the woman at the well and how Jesus knew her past.

One of the first prophetic words of Jesus was in the calling of Nathaniel.

“Philip found Nathaniel and told him, “We have found the man that Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” But Nathaniel said to Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip answered, “Come and see.” As Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him, he said, “Here is truly an Israelite. There is nothing false in him.” Nathaniel asked, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you when you were under the fig tree, before Philip told you about me.” Then Nathaniel said to Jesus, “Teacher, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Jesus said to Nathaniel, “Do you believe simply because I told you I saw you under the fig tree?“

Nathaniel was a bit skeptic when Philip told him of Jesus. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth? But when Jesus saw him and complimented him on his character Nathaniel was puzzled and said “Do you know me?” Jesus had an interesting answer and said:

“I saw you when you were under the fig tree, before Philip told you about me.”

Often an old testament prophet saw things as they were occurring or soon after. Nathan saw the sin of David and Bathsheeba. Elisha saw the plans of the King of Aram against the king of Israel. When he wondered How the King of Israel knew his troop movements one of his men said:

“The prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” (See 2 Kings 6:8-23)

Jesus knew the Samaritan woman’s past and Nathaniel present but he also knows the future.

Jesus prophecies Peter and Johns fate. (John 21:18- 23)

Jesus prophesied the persecution and martyrdom of saints. (John 16:2 Matt 10:17)

Jesus prophecies end times and last days. (Matt. 24,Mark 13, Luke 21)

Jesus predicts the destruction of Jerusalem and temple (Mark 13:1-4)

The Book of revelation is full of the prophetic revelations of Christ. The prophetic spirit is actually the spirit of Christ.

“...for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Rev. 9:10

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son . Heb 1:-2

Jesus was more than a prophet but was Messiah. Messiah comes from the Hebrew word mashiach and means “anointed one” or “chosen one.” The Greek equivalent is the word Christos or, in English, Christ.)

The threefold office of Prophet priest and King is the depiction of the Messianic office. The very first thing Jesus did was claim this Messianic anointing when he started his ministry and read from the scroll of Isaiah 61:1–3

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

The prophetic Spirit of Christ still speaks today; still preaches good news, still heals, still does wonders and miracles and is still mighty in word and in deed!

Deception in the Last Days

from The Patmos Paper E-magazine

The disciples asked Jesus about the end times and Jesus gave a list of social, physical and spiritual conditions of the end times. Interestingly, the very first thing he mentioned on that list was deception. He warned in Matthew 24:4

“Watch out that no one deceives you.”

We are warned by Jesus and other New Testament writers to watch out for false Messiahs, (false Christs), false prophets and false teachers. The condition of the end-times is a time of great deception which entails believing in things that are false. Not surprising that deception was the key to the beginning of man as it is the end of man. Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan because they believed something that was false. The serpent deceived the duo because he contradicted God and got them to believe a lie. Satan questioned God by saying “Hath God said?” or as some versions put it: “Did God really say that?” God told them that in the day they eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil they would surely die. But Satan blatantly said “You shall NOT DIE But your eyes will be opened to know good from evil and you shall be like God.” The first couple quit believing the truth and choose rather to believe a lie and mankind has done the same. Jesus came to expose the lie and bring us out of deception by revealing the truth!

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

What is Deception

Deception is one of two things: not believing God’s word and or believing something false. In other words deception is either believing a lie or not believing the Truth! How does this fit into the Last day scenario. Well first we see a departing of the faith. Not just Christians but society as it is, has become less religious and more atheistic. It no longer listens to sound judgment or biblical perspectives. In other words it no longer believes the truth but believes a lie. Society no longer believes that the Bible is truth. Colleges teach that it is just myths and fairy tales and science views it as archaic non historical banter from times past with no relevance to today! So they have supplanted Gods truth with their own lies and now many people have been deceived into following their lies. Two examples of these lies are Evolution and same sexual orientation!

The Deception of Evolution!

The Bible clearly tells us where man came from. The first book of the bible tells of mans origin and it had nothing to do with monkeys, or primordial goo. God made man from the dust of the earth (that He created) and breathed in him and gave him life. He didn’t want him to be alone so from his side he took a rib and made him a wife to be a helpmate and to make a way of producing children and populating the planet. The beginning of the Bible tells the origin of all things. We know from scriptures that God simply spoke and he formed everything from His words; that is His very breath brought forth the properties of all things.

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:3

Our existence consists of time, space and matter. The very first sentence of the bible says that “ In the beginning (God is eternal so he create time by making a beginning) God created the heavens (space) and the earth (matter). The intent was to create man but he started by creating an environment for him so in 6 days he made the heavens, stars, sun, moon, seas, earth, plant life, and animals and finally man and woman to populate the earth.

Though the evidence is all around them, so called scientists and teachers would rather believe that everything evolved from nothing slowly over billions of years. They mock at the idea of intelligent design and foolishly cling to a concept of random chance being their God! The Bible says:

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:19,20

Evolution was a fanciful theory made popular by Charles Darwin who had no scientific degrees. Matter a fact ironically the only degree he had was a Theology degree. His dad had hoped he would be a parsons.

Darwin was basically a naturalist but discarded his biblical teachings for a humanistic approach to nature and his theory of evolution has now supplanted the Christian roots of education so now in these last days many have been deceived by discarding God’s truth for mans lie!

The Deception of Sexual Orientation!

The sexual revolution of the sixties not only brought in loose morals, free love, fornication and unbridled sex but also great perversions such as swinging couples (adultery), homosexuality and pedophilia. Though these things certainly weren’t new, they were mostly hidden and discrete and scorned publicly. Since the sixties the seed of these practices have grown from secret sin to acceptable normal lifestyles.

The gay lifestyle for centuries was considered abhorrent and a perversion but now homosexuality is not only proudly displayed in parades and on many TV shows but the pressure for Christians to take a biblical stand against it is becoming more and more difficult. The social stigma of being called homophobic and intolerant makes biblical Christians the target of these groups.

Not only has same sex marriage become legalized but there are many gay churches and lesbian ministers who twist the scriptures to justify their lifestyle. Companies have to deal with transgender bathrooms and colleges now teach gender neutrality or personal gender identification (You are not what you were born as physically but you are whatever gender you identify with.) This deception of homosexuality and transgenderism is so wide spread that society delights when someone comes out and celebrates when Bruce Jenner becomes Caitlyn Jenner!

Deception is refusing to believe the truth and instead choosing to believe a lie. The Bible has much to say about homosexuality. We have the example of the destruction Sodom and Gomorrah, The bible calls it an abomination in Gods eyes. It is referred to as unnatural and the bible concludes with the warning that homosexuals will not enter the kingdom of God and yet people who have no fear of God are militantly antagonistic toward Christians who try to show grace and love to them without acceptance of their lifestyle.

In so many cases the false supplants the truth in order to deceive. Today we are bombarded by a liberal media that peddles “fake news” to persuade people politically. Colleges no longer teach historical truth but rewrite it to fit their agenda. Education is less about facts and more about sensitivity and social safe places.

The Deception of Christians and the Church!

Even the church is not immune to deception. Mega churches have left the simplicity of the gospel to drive high tech entertainment services filled with seeker friendly programs that make church “fun” and not relevant, excitingly and not anointed, The padded chairs are filled but the starving hearts are left unimpacted.

Jesus was talking to the disciples therefore to the church when he said 

“Take heed that ye be not deceived,” Luke 21:8.

He warned that even the very elect would be deceived “ Matt. 24:24

Even Paul saw and warned the church of his day of deception. He even told them that after his death they would fall into deception (Acts 20: 29).

The Deception of the World

The ultimate deception is about to come upon mankind. Jesus, Daniel, Paul and others warned about an Antichrist, the lawless one; the man of perdition who would come and deceive many. He will turn many away from serving the true God and will seek to be worshiped by the world. Much of what is going on is in preparation for this endtime deception. The changes in society; the political corruption and lies and the cold deception of the church will undoubtedly prepare the way for one who serves the father of lies! God himself will allow such a deception because they choose not to follow the truth. Paul said:

“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” 2 Thess. 2:9-12

The only antidote for deception is Truth. Jesus said He is the Way, the TRUTH and the Life and that no man comes to the Father but by Him (John 14:6). We must know God’s word and it will cleanse us and keep us in the truth.

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17

The eyes of many are being blinded daily as people depart from the truth and believe a lie. We must speak the truth even though many refuse to believe it. This is what Jesus did to Pilate:

“Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” John 18:37-38

We are instructed by Paul to

“Speak the truth in love” Eph. 4:15

Jesus said that the time would come when:

“...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 the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matt. 24:9-14

We are to stand fast in our faith and hold true to the Lord even though the whole world lay in deception we must be God pleasers, not men pleasers. When men call you homophobic you say no you are Theophobic, That is you fear God not men. When they scoff at you for not believing in evolution you say you would rather believe in intelligent design than in a unintelligent random, and purposeless existence. When the church compromises with the world and becomes indistinguishable from it you seek out the few like-minded believers that cling to the Spirits moving rather then the pumped up music and performance based religion of the day! Deception is something you decide to fall into or not. Eve made a decision to not listen to God and follow the advise of Satan and her husband followed suit. Things will only get worse in the world. Jesus warned us of false Christs, prophets and teachers. He said the heart would grow cold and many would depart from the faith (a falling away). But he also said:

“Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:36

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28