Identifying False Teachers in the Last Days of Christianity

Recognizing false teachers in the last days of Christianity is crucial.

False teachers often use deceitful tactics to manipulate people's emotions and finances.

The Bible warns against the dangers of prosperity theology and the word faith movement.

It's essential to stand firm in one's faith and be aware of the tactics used by false teachers.

I I provoke you with the question, where in the Bible does it tell us in order to fulfill biblical prophecy of restoring the promised land, you must plant an olive tree for a gift of $159 plus $5 for shipping and handling. This lie goes on to tell the reader that by planting this tree for a gift of money, it will give you a physical connection to the land of Israel that lasts for centuries. This modern-day, energetic, atheist prophet takes audiences by storm with his cohorts who scheme their twisted false doctrines and have made a ministry out of the Word of God. Their doctrines are false and their words are lies which ensnare the minds of weak-willed Christians who have no discernment or discretion of the opportunists who so cleverly deceive them. The title of this message today is called, Beware of Last Day False Teachers Among You. this false prophet also touts that he has holy anointing oil in a 16 pack that you can order from him as well he says this holy anointing oil is made exclusively by my olive tree that is a business my olive tree with oil that was harvested from this prophet's personal olive tree grove in Israel. It is made in accordance to Exodus 30. He continues, I'm always humbled and amazed at God's goodness in allowing us to participate in the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. A partner of the for a mention modern day prophet who is the pastor or rabbi to what is called the Life Church, on a particular day, he was pressing and intimidating his congregation for money. And here's what he said. The first thing you need to do is absolutely keep the first fruits of your giving and get that seed in the ground as soon as possible. So what first fruits is, it is the first fruit is tithing. You need to make sure that you tithe 10% of your income. And since I'm speaking to Life.Church, that 10% needs to go into Life.Church, okay? And I want to say this, that 10% spiritually doesn't belong to you, okay? The Lord gives that to you to sow back into the kingdom, okay? If you have financial problems, yes, prayer is good. Yes, fasting is good. But what really causes financial problems to break is giving. And so if you will follow the 10% to the Lord, don't rob. We're in Passover week right now. You can sow a seed into Life.Church for Passover, okay? That's an offering. That's a first fruit to your increase over the 10%. And whatever that amount, that's not really a percentage on it. That whatever the Lord tells you in your heart, okay? Wow, what a spiel about planting a seed. This kind of doctrine is called word faith. A definition of word faith, the word faith movement, is a loose collection of preachers, prophets, and teachers who put great emphasis on worldly success and the power of a Christian to control their own future through positive acts. Though almost always rejected by those who follow it, this concept is known as prosperity theology. In short, the word faith movement is not only unbiblical, it is completely heretical. This doctrine stands opposed to the concepts Christianity has taught throughout its history. The core claims of the word faith prosperity movement are that God desires is that all Christians to be happy, healthy, and wealthy. And these teachers often claim that God allows a person to speak their desires into reality as though they had created power similar to that of God. Sickness, poverty, and other struggles are seen as evidence as lack of faith, or at least a poor application of it. Dear listener, today in this year of 2021, we need to be very alert and knowledgeable in truly knowing God's word and sincerely living it. Not only that, we need to be full of vibrant discernment as these days are growing more evil. That is, 2 Peter chapter 2, 1 through 5, the word declares. But also in those days, there arose false prophets from among the people. From among the people, let me pause here, says from among the congregation. Amen. So it is false prophet arise from the congregation of people, from amongst the church. Just as there will be false teachers among yourselves who will subtly and stealthily introduce heretical doctrines, destructive heresies, even denying and disowning the master who brought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. Verse 2. And many will follow their immoral ways and lascivious doings. Because of them, the true way will be maligned and defamed. Verse 3. And in their covetousness, their lust and greed, they will exploit you with false cunning arguments from the old sentence of condemnation. For them has not been idle. Their destruction, eternal misery, has not been asleep. Verse 4. For God did not even spare the angels that sinned, but cast them into hell, delivering them there to be kept in the pit of gloom till the judgment and their doom. and he spared not the ancient world but preserved Noah a preacher of righteousness with seven other persons when he brought the flood upon the world of ungodly people So the warning here is that we must stand firm in the midst of the famine of the word of God in order that we do not get drawn into any kind of easy believism or apostate teaching both as Peter and Apostle Paul have warned about. Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 verse 13, Be alert and on your guard. Stand firm in your faith, your conviction, respecting man's relationship to God and the divine things, keeping the trust and fervor born of faith and a part of it. Act like men and be courageous. Grow in strength. I really like the amplified version of the Bible for really expounding on the word of God. Really appreciate it. Going back to our opening scripture in 2 Peter 2, verse 2, And many will follow their immoral ways and lascivious doings. Because of them, the true way will be maligned and defamed. Well, the interesting thing, or maybe I should say the tragic fact about many false teachers is that they are successful. Many people flock to them, listen to them, and end up following their shameful ways. We were in Myrtle Beach a couple of weeks ago and met some people near the beach and struck up a conversation with them. in talking with them a woman in the group we were talking with asked so excitedly do you know of perry stone my husband lee just nodded his head yes without saying a thing the lady gathered that lee didn't have anything more to say about it so she pressed him do you like perry stone And with that, they said, I don't like what he teaches. The sad thing about this encounter was that these people were enamored and infatuated with the person. The woman was like this man was almost on par with Jesus Christ. In our conversation with them, none of us could remember there was any conversation where they mentioned Jesus's name. Now amazing how the spirit of air captures the mind and soul of those who do not personally know their Savior Jesus Christ. They are like blind bats following their lead with human emotion instead of by the Holy Spirit, who has given two true believers to lead them into the truth and fill them with divine knowledge and discernment so they won't follow a familiar spirit. Now going back to 2 Peter, we seem to be doing this a lot, I must preface, before we go on there, that I'm really utilizing this scripture to make my point, I guess, in the message today. Because between Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul, they really are emphasizing this fact for the last days. So go with me. I don't like to even say as I belabor this. I maybe could say I belabor it in a positive way. So we're going back, amen, to 2 Peter 2, where Peter said, And many will follow their immoral ways and lascivious doings. Because of them, the true way will be maligned and defamed. Whether these abusers of the faith be charlatans or lying prophets or seducers or who take sexual advantage of their congregations or schemers who twist and pervert the doctrine of Scripture, they're all guilty of blaspheming our Lord Jesus Christ and are designated for condemnation, as the Scripture says. Peter goes on to say in verse 3 to describe their damnable heresies. Verse 3, and in their covetousness, their lust and greed, they will exploit you with false cunning arguments. From old, the sentence of condemnation for them has not been idle. Their destruction, their eternal misery has not been asleep. Verse 4, for God did not even spare the angels of sin, but cast them into hell, delivering them to be kept there in the pit of gloom till judgment and their doom. Verse 4 describes the doom of these wicked people who live in the moment and think that their lives will go on and on and on. And because of their false doctrines, they deny Christ and the purity of his truth and ways. And secondly, they lead people into hell with them by their convincing words and partial truths. The mix is not okay with God. This verse tells us that because of their lies, perverse ways of living in extravagant lifestyles and deceptive ways, their sentence of eternal misery and destruction is swift and suddenly. 2 Peter 2.2 really caught my attention when it says that, and many will follow their immoral ways, lascivious doings, and because of them the true way will be maligned and defamed. This latter part is saying that these apostles bring shame upon the word of God and especially our Lord and Savior when they act contrarily to the truth. This is one of the atrocious ways in which they deny our Lord Jesus Christ. People of the world, unbelievers or weak Christians, see this and say, well, this is not for me if this is how Christians live. The God-haters of the world and the heathens are always quick to judge those who profess to be Christians and who live immoral and lascivious lives. The way of the truth is maligned and defamed, the scripture tells us. And it seems very acceptable these days in our modern society that there is such an abuse of using the name of Jesus Christ for profit and gain. There no shame in the scandalous scheme that charlatans and spiritual imposters use as fraudulent gimmicks and clever underhanded ploys as a mean to trick the ill and unwary churchgoer with their evil motivations of sheer greed and human vanity The horror of this prosperity gospel is designed to steal money from the gullible weak, the ignorant, lazy folks who refuse to grow up and be transformed into Jesus Christ, which will yield a far better reward, and that is called eternal life. Hallelujah. The real horror here, dear ones, is that God's own Son came to this earth in agreement with his heavenly Father to die a horrible death upon the cross for all who would choose to live in him by the wonder-working power of the Holy Spirit and to be conformed into the very likeness of his Creator and Savior. God spoke out of a cloud and announced to the people in the presence of his son and the people around in the temple and said, This is my beloved son. Listen to him. There is no excuse for anyone who does not obey or listen to those who teach the truth and endeavor to lead God's elect into the knowledge of the truth. And there is no excuse for those who hear the truth and choose not to obey it. The growing apostasy in the visible church today is accelerating at warp speed, it seems. The spiritual blindness of so many professing believers and their leaders is truly astounding. The sad state of the visible church is both a product of the famine of the word and the cause of it. When the word of God is seldom heard or read or taught, then its divine purifying power is silenced and non-effective in the ears of those who sit in the pews each week. And it's very sad that the world and its ways now coexist in the visible church. Understand, true, genuine believers are new creations in Jesus Christ. They are those in whom the Word of God is bringing transformation in. And this work in the individual is called God's workmanship. Look with me, please. In 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 3 through 5. For the time is coming when people will not tolerate, endure sound and wholesome instruction, but having ears itching for something pleasing and gratifying, they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their liking and to foster the airs they hold. Verse 4. and will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions. Verse 5, as for you, be calm and cool and steady. Accept and suffer unflinchingly every hardship. Do the work of an evangelist. Fully perform all the duties of your ministry. Our chief apostle also tells us in 2 Timothy 3, verse 14, but as for you continue to hold to the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced knowing from whom you have learned them those things that you have heard being convinced of these things isn't on a physical or a natural state of mind being convinced is saying that you You see and you understand with the eyes and the ears of your spirit that are being transformed by the work of the spirit of God within you. And this, precious ones, is called godly discernment. But going back, bearing with me again to 2 Timothy 4, chapter 3, that says, For a time is coming when people will not tolerate, endure sound and wholesome doctrine, wholesome instruction, but having ears itching for something pleasing and gratifying. People will not tolerate sound and wholesome instruction, but will have itching ears for something pleasing and gratifying to their souls. And this says that they want cotton candy. They want to hear preaching that is soothing to their ears. And if you've ever eaten cotton candy, remember how when you first pop a bite into your mouth, the taste was so sweet, but it disappeared so quickly? Well, the false teacher who teaches a doctrine that is sweet or tickles or causes one's ears to itching ears is a man pleaser and cares nothing for the things of God or the people of God. Paul said, a time's coming. People are not going to endure sound doctrine. They're going to have itching ears. They're going to accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. and this kind of false teacher loves praise and being popular with even those of the world they speak much about happiness but very little about sin they teach a whole lot about heaven but nothing really about hell they preach a partial gospel and we have to know that is really not a gospel at all apostle paul said in the last days people will depart or turn away from the truth also paul talks about in second timothy 4 chapter 3 a time will come we already covered that in the scripture a time will come that's very interesting the word for time is kairos or season. And the word time in the Greek here means a set or proper time. Always, another word for it, always or opportunity, a convenient time or season, a time, a while, it's a space of time, which designates a fixed or a special occasion. For the time to come here is a moral and spiritual appointed time in society that will be as such that people will not tolerate the unchangeable and fixed gospel of Jesus Christ So Paul is saying here that the time will come that the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ which is unchangeable and fixed, people are not going to tolerate it at all. Instead, they will cling to a mix in truth and the moral values that are presently most acceptable in society as perverse and gross as they are. We see the infiltration in the church of so many abominable practices that are being allowed and okayed. What they really want to hear is the modern day things that will conform with society and the times that are relevant for today. This is what they really want to hear. And this could be called a culture or the culture of the moment. So people will progressively spiral downward in moral values. they will forsake what God's word declares regarding his righteousness and purity in our outward demeanor and mostly as well as growing in maturity and purity of our thought life and living in righteousness in these days that we are living right now because the time will come that people will continually deteriorate as our chief apostle warns in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verse 1 he says this we also know that in the last days perilous times Cairo will come so the word for perilous means fierce there are fierce times that will come as a result of the way people in the church are living. This word in the Greek is used to represent dogs and wild swine, perilous. Likewise, it is used to describe the demons in Matthew 8, 28. As Jesus was walking on the other side in the country of the Gadarenes, two men under the control of demons went to meet him, coming out of the tomb so fierce and savage that no one was able to pass by. And behold, they shrieked and screamed, What have you to do with us, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the appointed time? Very interesting, isn't it? Fierce means in the New Testament Greek, in number 54, 67, fierce means dangerous fierce or perilous jeremiah lamented in his day that religious leaders were conforming to the low morality of the people jeremiah chapter 5 verse 31 the word says the prophets prophesy falsely and the priests exercise rule at their own hands and by the means of the prophets and my people love to have it so but what will you do when the end comes you see god intended that the prophets and the priests would convey his message to the people as an eternal and unchangeable truth, but they were evil in their day too, perverting the truth just as we see in our day as well. God's word can never be changed because it is eternal truth that stands forever. When God's word convicts us by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must allow it to change our lives. And this is the beauty of the new creation. The Lord through prophet Jeremiah says, what will you do when the end comes? Though we live in a nation that has tried to make abortion of little babies legal, it cannot make it right in the eyes of our wonderful creator God. he has declared in his word that we shall not kill and many of the false teachers in the visible church have gone along with this lie and horrible atrocity and made it right even in their congregations and those who have made these decisions to enact this murderous evil law have allowed a tremendous loss of life that has also caused life to be devalued Every single aborted little baby has a soul, is made in the image and likeness of our creator God. These wicked people are putting themselves in place of God and making decisions contrary to the word of God. And because of these delusions and concepts of perversions of the truth of God's word, men and women desire to hear these that make them feel good about themselves rather than hear the truth of the precious book of life. These people do not want to hear that they are sinners and that God's judgment awaits them. They prefer the worldly way of life with all the comforts that money can by over the precious promise of eternal life that comes by faith in Jesus Christ. They do not want to hear teachers who remind them that their present life and the way they live now will determine their future place in heaven. But just as Paul and Peter have warned us today, they will search out false teachers who will tickle their ears with pleasing messages and things that they really want to hear, even though these things oppose the truth of the living God. The warning is clear for all of us who have ears to hear. I finish by repeating again the scripture in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 14. But as for you, continue to hold these things that you've learned of which you are convinced, knowing from whom you have learned them. May the Lord be merciful to us all. In the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

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