In reviewing this post, it came to my attention that I never did say what Moses would have done. Well, we know what Moses would have done, it would have had the false prophets stoned. Can we do that today? Should we do that today?

No; that is literally out of the question. We, unlike some conservative Christian leaders who like to pretend, do not live in ancient Israel or even in a modern theocracy. We are under a new law, a law of grace and a spiritual law. They are already spiritually dead anyway.

Can we still search out the things that people are saying? Yes, indeed we must. Should we still stand against such vile speech? Of course.

We must sound the trumpet and warn those around us. In the end, we must cast those out from amongst us that would believe such false prophets. First, instruction from the true minister. Second, warning from the trumpeter. Third, dismissal from the congregation of the Lord.

We have so many out there, some that have even commented on this here blog, that says we need to strive for unity in the Body of Christ. That is so very true, but Todd Bentley and his cast of heretics, and others like HInn, Copeland, Dollar, etc… are not the Body of Christ. They are cancerous tumors, growing and eating the flesh away where it can.

Of of the simplest things to do is to ban, completely, no write letters or pray, but ban God TV. What happens when we let a little bit of evil in, is that evil spreads. That is why this cancer must be cut out of our consciousness and thrown into the the trash heap that holds the rest of the heresies.

What would Moses do? Well, he wouldn’t have let it get this far. Tells you a lot about the state of ‘Christianity’, doesn’t it?

Yesterday morning, our Pastor preached concerning some of those false prophets, like Todd Bentley and the others, and the duty of every Saint to stand against them. I rather enjoyed it and I hope that I will be able to put some of his sermons on here for world to hear.

I cannot exactly reproduce his text, but I am going to use of of the scriptures and go from there. For those just reading the first few lines, this covers the Lakeland Revival and indeed all prosperity preachers.

What has to be remembered that is that the God of the Old Testament was a very merciful God while taking a very hardline against Sin, but He was a God that sought to protect Israel from the outside at all costs. (It has to be remembered that God only allowed invasion when Israel had sinned and sinned again, after many warnings). One of the first protections that God gave to Israel was the right to police her own borders, religiously speaking. (And, except for the stoning part, I believe that the Church has the same right today.)

In Deuteronomy chapter 13, we read that God had set out certain boundries for who a prophet of God actually was. (I have used the KJV because, frankly, it sounds more authoritative.)

If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them[1];

And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in.[2]

If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities[3], which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently[4]; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword[5]. And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again. And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers; When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.
(Deu 13:1-18 KJVA)

I have included my commentary for that passage at the bottom. Dr. Jim West today made mention of Jeremiah 28 in response to Todd B. It is a battle scene between the prophet of God, Jeremiah, and one who wishes to profit from God, Hananiah. The false prophet would go on to prophecy that within two years, God would restore the goods stolen by the King of Babylon to the house of Judah.

Jeremiah’s response shows much poise, more than I would have in the face of someone like Todd Bentley. When Hananiah finishes his ‘prophecy’ what what is coming (think John Hagee), the rightful prophet simply says,

Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD’S house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place. (v6)

Sure, the Church wants people healed and brought to life and blessed (spiritually). Surely the Church wants people drawn to God. But the Church wants it done biblically. Todd B. and his ilk preach a smooth gospel, and thus a perverted gospel. When the Church preaches about blessings, she speaks about spiritual blessings, not that of a new car. When she speaks about seeds being planted, she speaks about the gospel story being told to someone new. When we speak about healings and miracles, we speak about the resurrection from the life of sin. Granted, we do not dismiss the power of God and His ability perform these things again, but we know that since the beginning of the Church, these things were not the focus. As a matter of fact, how many that saw these miracles endured to the end. Judas, a witness to things greater than what is recorded failed in the end to find his faith.

Jeremiah then goes on to issue a sort of a warning by saying,

The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.
(Jer 28:8-9 KJVA)

We see the stark picture of a false prophet standing before the rightful prophet of God Almighty with the Lord plainly speaking: I have prophets and I have given them messages already and I have given Israel a way to know them. Yet, the false prophet goes on to issue another false prophecy. It brings to my mind that one who will stand in the temple of God and declare himself God, knowing full well the prophecies that proceed him doing this.

In the end, the LORD sends to Jeremiah another message. Hananiah recieved no more warnings. No more calls to heed to the Truth. Instead, Jeremiah leveled this:

Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD. So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
(Jer 28:15-17 KJVA)

Returning to my pastor’s text from yesterday morning,

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
(1Jn 4:1-6 KJVA)

John tells us to try this spirits that attempt to attach themselves to the name of Christ and thus the Church. Even in John’s day the false prophets abounded. Whether the Gnostics or Alexander, the Church was assailed. What we know is that the Church managed to survive. The Church, as many will agree, is the keeper of the Truth and thus is the measuring tool against those things and those people that are heretical. Billy Graham, Todd Bentley, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Patricia King, Paula White, Joyce Meyer and the many others are following in the footsteps of those in John’s day, in Paul’s day, in the days of Ingatius and Polycarp, Theophilius and Marcellus and others. Granted they have such things as God TV and TBN, etc…, but their message is still the same – anything but God.

The false prophets always sought to deviate from the doctrine that God had laid down, and whether it was a mere change in a minute part of the Temple service or bad prophecies, such as Hananiah, these all had taught rebellion against the LORD God.

False prophets will never preach the true doctrine.

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[1] Even the devil can perform ‘miracles’. Pharaoh’s priests were able to match, for the most part, Moses’ actions. Todd Bentley and his ilk reportedly perform miracles constantly (no matter that there is no identifiable proof); however, they are attempting to lead people into worshipping a very false god.

[2] Granted, it is not advisable to start stone false prophets today, but we can cast them out of the Church and stand against them with all spiritual weapons available to us.

[3] One of the cities can be something like Lakeland, Florida or perhaps even a congregation. There have been times, throughout history, where congregations of the Church have been led astray by false prophets, so again, perhaps we can understand cities to be congregations.

[4] The Lord tells his people through Moses, the very symbol of a prophet, that if they hear of such people arising, then they should make a search and seek out the truth most diligently. (I will not mention that this is a very Messianic passage where Christ responds by telling the Pharisees to search the Scriptures concerning Him) We are to search out whether there be false prophets in the land/Church and make sure we stand against them.

[5] What a graphic picture. If a false prophet was to infect a city of ancient Israel, that entire city was to be treated as leprous and cast out into destruction. Why? Because as Saul would come to understand, if you leave a bit of the infection around, then the entire body will be consumed. Look at the ancient heresies that was not completely stamped out and their resurgence.

And, what would Monday be without some nice videos