Thursday, March 17, 2011

False Prophets 101 - Preparation

This is a picture of my parents pantry. It is usually about this full of food. My parents grew up during the years following the Great Depression and know how to prepare for a "rainy" day. Many a snow storm and electrical outage has been waited out by the food in this pantry.

I want to clarify that the reason I am writing this series of posts on False Prophets is that I completely believe in true prophecies and true prophets. I believe in true dreams and visions and true doctrine. One rule of thumb as far as our adversary is - the closer to the true doctrine the stronger the lie becomes. I also want to say that this post on preparation in no way invalidates what the Lord Himself may be speaking to you as an individual. If the Lord is telling you to stock up on food and water, etc. then you absolutely need to obey. This post is on false prophets and misunderstandings. What the Lord tells you may be different then what He is telling someone else.

Zac Poonen in his series on false prophets states that one way you can tell if someone is a false prophet is that they don't preach repentance. I disagree. There are alot of believers out there who would not trust a teacher or preacher that does not talk about repentance. The devil knows this. If the adversary can talk about repentance and get someone to quit drunkenness and adultery, but get that person involved with heresies and counterfeit spiritual gifts, then that believer is really not yet repented. But NOW that believer thinks they have repented. They will self-righteously cling to their gold dust encounter with an angel and their counterfeit third heaven experience and brag about their fasting and on their face "humility" all the while being completely OUT of the will of God. These are very dangerous times indeed.

A good portion of the "prophets" of doom out there are trying to sell you their products. Most of the people screaming the loudest about the collapse of the dollar and the economy are also trying to get you to buy gold and silver. Funny, the word says that they will be throwing their silver in the street in Eze 7:19. It doesn't say they will be throwing their fiat currency in the street.

Almost immediately after the Japan quake I got an email telling me there was a need for Potassium Iodide pills in Japan due to the radiation poisoning and the possibility of radiation poisoning, and a run on iodide pills here in the states. But if I wanted to get some I could get it at their site and here is a link. It would have been more honest if they had written. "Iodide! Get your iodide here! Be the first on your block to have a stash of iodide! Iodide! Get your iodide here!"

I truly believe that the Lord is calling people to prepare. But bear with me for a moment as I make my next point. If when A.A. Allen first gave his prophecies back in the day, a person went out and bought a bunch of boxes of freeze dried food and even water, that stuff would all be bad by now. If when Dimitry Dutiman, (who I absolutely love and adore and believe was a true prophet) in 1984 spoke his prophecies about this country, people stocked up on protein bars and peanut butter, that food would all be yucky now since that was almost 30 years ago. I don't believe that the preparation they were talking about was about stocking up on food and water. But in the story about the boy who cried wolf, the wolf did eventually come. I believe the "wolf" is coming and I believe that true prophets have been warning of this. But the false prophets are trying to make a buck off of it, or even just get some notoriety and fame for themselves and their "prophecies."

I hate to use this as an example but look at this picture of the devastation of Japan: here. Where do you think their guns and ammo are now? Their canned goods? It is horrifying. But so is a life away from Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. I believe the most important preparation is spiritual.

Jesus Christ taught that we should give no thought for tomorrow. That we should not worry about what we would eat, drink or wear. We all know about Matthew 24, and the false prophets love to talk about earthquakes and nation rising up against nation, but they conveniently leave out this part:
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matt 24:9-13
What kind of love will wax cold? I think it is the LOVE of the TRUTH that will wax cold and IS waxing cold. But there was something else Jesus taught not to think about:
But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. Matt 10:19

But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Matt 13:11
Dark days are TRULY upon us. There will be more earthquakes and more devastation because the bible says so. These are the 'last days' because the bible says so. Evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse and false prophets will arise and deceive many because that is what the bible says.

Should we be humble? Yes. Should we be fasting and praying? Yes. Should we be stocking up on food and buying gold? Only if the Lord Himself is telling you to. There is only one time that the bible talks about preparing beforehand (except for talking about preparing for the sabbath day) and it is this verse:
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Eph 6:15
Our preparation should be obedience to God and His Word, putting on the whole armor of God from Eph 6, and seeking His Will for our lives. If the Lord is saying stock food and other things - Excellent, do it. But don't do it because some false prophet is shouting in your ears to buy their stuff.

Here are some other blogs that have something to say about this subject:

Hyperbole It Is Not!

SUCCUMBING TO FEAR: THE OLD PAGANISM

Although this is not quite on topic I feel it is a good read

Grant Me Justice Against Mine Adversaries

Dear Heavenly Father, we humble ourselves before you and pray that you will wash us from any false doctrines and false prophecies. We repent of the sins in our lives that may cloud our judgement and separate us from You and Your perfect Will. Tell us what you would have us do to prepare Lord and protect us from the things to come. We ask for your mercy on our lives Lord, that we may be counted worthy to escape and that our trust in You will grow and that we will trust your ability to feed us and cloth us and fill us with your Holy Spirit in the day it is needed. In the name of your wonderful son, Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

1 comment:

Mena said...

WE are living in the time that the bible call..The Beginning of Sorrow