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I have studied the last days prophecies since almost the moment I was born-again. It was obviously and most certainly the niche the Holy Spirit placed me in. I have an earnest and never-quenching desire to learn the word of God, and especially to learn the prophecies in the word of God.
Often when people hear about prophecy, they think of the prominent ones, like the rapture, the Tribulation (AKA Time of Jacob's Trouble), or the antichrist.
We are in the midst of a last days prophecy being fulfilled. Before I continue explaining which one, I want to make clear that the last days began with the ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit. This opened the Age of Grace. However, the Age of Grace is a period which is foretold to be like birth pangs and to hurtle toward its climactic and chaotic conclusion at Armageddon and the coming of Jesus Christ the second time. As a pregnancy gestates and then concludes, the water breaks and the pains come, at first far apart but then closer together and in more painful and bloody form until the new birth arrives. The new birth is the Kingdom on earth AKA the Millennium Era.
So we have been in the last days for 2000 years. However the prophecies foretold of events occurring at the last 7 years necessitate Israel being reformed, globally instant telecommunications, technologies which support the mark of the beast, Damascus being destroyed, the rise of Russia, etc. and we see infrastructure that align with those prophecies now. Therefore we know that the rapture is even closer and the other prophecies which are not as prominent are being readied to be fulfilled and are being fulfilled in the present day and moment.
The prophecies I'm speaking of today which I see being fulfilled, are 2 Peter 2:1-2 and 2 Peter 2:3. Here they are
"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed." (2 Peter 2:1-2)
"And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." (2 Peter 2:3)
Please note that Peter makes a distinction between the times of old when false prophets trampled the way of God, and today when Peter says false teachers are the ones to watch out for.
Secondly, note that Peter says false teachers will be "among you." Jesus warned they will wear sheep's clothing. (Matthew 7:15). When you put on clothes in the morning, you're hiding the flesh, hiding who you are, covering up. These prophesied false teachers will not be immediately evident as false. They will be among the believers, and they will not be teaching not spouting easily identifiable false teachings at first. They are double agents, infiltrating inside to do their deathly work.
Third, note that Peter said they will secretly bring destructive heresies. They will hold secret blasphemies in their heart, and these heresies and blasphemies will slowly and gradually filter out and permeate the faithful. The false teachers spout poison gas. They don't spout cyanide or sarin gas, because in using the metaphor, those odorless and colorless gasses kill instantly. No, these false teachers spout carbon monoxide, which takes a while to do its deadly work, lulls the unwary to sleep, and then death comes. "Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide (CO). Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect. Symptoms of mild acute poisoning include lightheadedness, confusion, headaches, vertigo, and flu-like effects; larger exposures can lead to significant toxicity of the central nervous system and heart, and even death." (source)
See? It takes a while to build up in the bloodstream, but all the while the poison is in your blood it is warping your mind and causing you to not be able to think straight. And note that carbon monoxide poison is "initially" non-irritating. This is exactly how false teachers operate. Eventually the poison's buildup reaches its critical mass and you fall spiritually.
Fourth, the verse says that followers of the false teachers are in fact following their sensuality. The prosperity gospel false teachers promote the original sin that satan offered Eve, which was lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh. (Genesis 3:6).
My contention is that false teachers and acceptance of their teachings are becoming so common that it's obvious the prophecy is being fulfilled now, today.
There are so many false teachers who are obvious and rank heretics, but masses and multitudes of 'Christians' follow them. Have they all gone mad? Yes. The carbon monoxide buildup in the blood has almost reached its death point. Let's look at some real examples.
Joseph Smith was the founder of Mormonism (Latter Day Saints). He lived from 1805 to 1844. In his day, he was seen as a madman, a heretic, and a false teacher. From the beginning, Joseph Smith and his followers provoked ridicule for Mormonism's seemingly magical if not superstitious origins, and opposition as a heresy that dared to claim itself "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth." (source)
Though he had gained a few thousand converts, once a newspaper article was published exposing his promotion of polygamy and other aberrant "Christian" doctrines, this caused him to be jailed and even then, an angry mob stormed the jail and killed him outright. The men of the area were outraged at Smith's corruption of marriage, sullying of women by seducing them into polygamy, and exaltation doctrine (humans become gods). Of course I don't advocate lynching, but it is interesting to note that false prophet Joseph Smith's blasphemies caused outrage and action. Today we are told to tolerate them.
The United States Congress opposed Mormonism in the form of vigorous opposition to their main tenet at that time: plural marriage. This battle squelched Mormonism's growth for a long time. By the 1890s the Latter Day Saints movement banned plural marriage so as to escape this opposition in political and secular quarters.
So how does a ridiculed and obviously ridiculous religion in the 1840s, with a disgraced and dead founder, grow in size to 14 million members today?
After Smith's death, the cult selected Brigham Young as its leader, and they regrouped, trekked out to Utah's desert, and became insular and economically self-sufficient. When they finally relinquished its stance on polygamy in the late 1800s, they became poised to grow. Even at that, "Throughout the nineteenth century and most of the twentieth, Mormonism has been viewed as an aberrant, bizarre, isolated, and largely self-contained religious movement cut off from the mainstream of American society."
Until recently. How is it that a hundred and fifty years ago, an aberrant cult poised to die in the desert, can become the fastest growing faith sector in the United States today?
This 2012 study states there are "reported 2 million new adherents and new congregations in 295 counties where they didn't exist a decade ago, making them the fastest-growing group in the U.S."
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." (Hosea 4:6)
In the 1800s, people knew their bible. They could not be fooled. And they not only knew their bible, they lived it, so they could not be drawn away into spiritual lusts like exaltation and fleshly lusts like polygamy. Not so today.
Today, people are so foolish they are exploited at every turn. The Charismatics are bursting on the scene so fast that they make the Mormon's growth over a hundred years look like a turtle's.
For example, Charismatic preacher and heaven tourist Jesse Duplantis has fooled his congregation so well they built him a 34,000 s.f. parsonage. Joyce Meyer fools the deceived so well they give her a jet and multiple homes. Jentezen Franklin supposedly pastors two churches, one in GA and one in CA. In order to get from one to the other on Sundays, his congregation gave him a jet.
"And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." (2 Peter 2:3)
And now the people will believe almost anything. They believe Beth Moore when she says Jesus spoke to her in a vision and told her to teach that the bride is doesn't believe in Jesus. They believe that barking like a dog in worship is holy. They believe Sarah Young has Jesus Calling on the phone line. They believe Don Piper spent 90 minutes in a heaven where he 'saw' people in actual bodies (Remember, no one in heaven has a glorified body yet!). They believe four-year-old Colton Burpo when he (or his father) say that everyone in heaven has wings and Jesus rides a rainbow horse. They believe that drawing a circle on the ground and sitting in it makes you spiritual. They believe "worshiping" to songs like Highway to Hell and Michael Jackson's Thriller is, well, worship. They believe they are living their best life now. For most of them, they are right. Things will only get worse for them after death.
"The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense." (Proverbs 10:21)
Lack of discernment is the biggest problem in the church today. Personally, I believe we have passed a tipping point. Now that satan knows how many lack discernment, he is flooding the church buildings, the bookstores, and the television with false teachers and the gullible who don't know better are building up carbon monoxide by the bucketfuls. To cement his position, satan is teaching that "doctrine" and "theology" are dirty words and all you need is an "encounter" with God. Satan has sifted the wheat and planted enough tares so that that today's Christian church looks exactly like the chaotic and ridiculous church at Corinth that Paul rebuked.
"They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean." (Ezekiel 44:23)
Pastors no longer fulfill their duties as overseers. Pulpit Commentary explains the Ezekiel verse above where there were four fundamental duties of the OT priests, three of them relevant to pastors today.
Education: "The education of the people in the fundamental principles of their religion, viz. that a distinction existed between the "holy" and "profane," or "common,"
False teachers today deliberately blur that line, teaching that it is 'tolerant' and 'loving' to accept all teachers and doctrines, and thus they blur the theological lines and Christian distinctives.
Discernment: "and in the practical application of that principle, the art of discerning between the "unclean" and the "clean."
In promoting that dreams and visions should be expected of the "sincere" Charismatic person, that extra-biblical revelation via audible encounters or tongues should be common to their faith, they in effect teach that the bible is not sufficient and the word can and should be added to. Without the word, no one knows what is true and what is not. There is little discernment any more.
Church Discipline: "The administration of justice in all disputes arising out of and connected with the practices of their religion."
Some true sheep are no longer willing to do the hard work of protecting the body by confronting false ones in the congregation. Or, Pharisee overseers use church discipline as an excuse to rid themselves of the faithful discerning sheep, leaving them space to operate among the goats they attract. (John 7:13, John 9:22)
In other words, pastors abandoned their duties, and the sensuous people, all too willing to follow their lusts, accept false teaching readily.
"For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough." (2 Corinthians 11:4)
The very fact that a Strange Fire conference rebuking the Charismatic movement was necessary in the first place is indicative of the prophecy's continuing and rapidly advancing fulfillment.
The antidote to carbon monoxide poisoning is to wear a filter that keeps your head clear of the poison. That mask is the bible. Breathing the holy air of truth will always fill your brain and your lungs and your body with a freshness that keeps your mind clear and heart pure.
Meanwhile, know that even as these false teachers are coming on like a flood, Jesus was kind and gracious to tell us in advance. (Matthew 24:25). As we see the flood of falsity and the tragedy of so many who fall, cling to Him who is our faith (Hebrews 12:2)... and soon will be sight. (Luke 21:28)
___________________
Further reading
Watchdog group investigates Jesse Duplantis’ lifestyle
Who Are the Megachurch Leaders Who Decide Elevation Church Pastor Steven Furtick's 'Secret' Salary and Influence His Ministry?
6 Outrageously Wealthy Preachers Under Federal Investigation
Income fit for a King: Joseph Prince and the Pastor’s Pay
The Charismatic Movement in itself offers nothing to enrich true worship (written summary)
The Charismatic Movement in itself offers nothing to enrich true worship (entire audio)
The Devilish Puppet Master of the Word-Faith Movement (part 1, entire audio)
Spiritual Shipwreck of the Word-Faith Movement (part 2, entire audio)
Many Americans claim 'God told me'
Often when people hear about prophecy, they think of the prominent ones, like the rapture, the Tribulation (AKA Time of Jacob's Trouble), or the antichrist.
We are in the midst of a last days prophecy being fulfilled. Before I continue explaining which one, I want to make clear that the last days began with the ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit. This opened the Age of Grace. However, the Age of Grace is a period which is foretold to be like birth pangs and to hurtle toward its climactic and chaotic conclusion at Armageddon and the coming of Jesus Christ the second time. As a pregnancy gestates and then concludes, the water breaks and the pains come, at first far apart but then closer together and in more painful and bloody form until the new birth arrives. The new birth is the Kingdom on earth AKA the Millennium Era.
So we have been in the last days for 2000 years. However the prophecies foretold of events occurring at the last 7 years necessitate Israel being reformed, globally instant telecommunications, technologies which support the mark of the beast, Damascus being destroyed, the rise of Russia, etc. and we see infrastructure that align with those prophecies now. Therefore we know that the rapture is even closer and the other prophecies which are not as prominent are being readied to be fulfilled and are being fulfilled in the present day and moment.
The prophecies I'm speaking of today which I see being fulfilled, are 2 Peter 2:1-2 and 2 Peter 2:3. Here they are
 |
| GA pastor Creflo Dollar's house |
"And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." (2 Peter 2:3)
Please note that Peter makes a distinction between the times of old when false prophets trampled the way of God, and today when Peter says false teachers are the ones to watch out for.
Secondly, note that Peter says false teachers will be "among you." Jesus warned they will wear sheep's clothing. (Matthew 7:15). When you put on clothes in the morning, you're hiding the flesh, hiding who you are, covering up. These prophesied false teachers will not be immediately evident as false. They will be among the believers, and they will not be teaching not spouting easily identifiable false teachings at first. They are double agents, infiltrating inside to do their deathly work.
Third, note that Peter said they will secretly bring destructive heresies. They will hold secret blasphemies in their heart, and these heresies and blasphemies will slowly and gradually filter out and permeate the faithful. The false teachers spout poison gas. They don't spout cyanide or sarin gas, because in using the metaphor, those odorless and colorless gasses kill instantly. No, these false teachers spout carbon monoxide, which takes a while to do its deadly work, lulls the unwary to sleep, and then death comes. "Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide (CO). Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect. Symptoms of mild acute poisoning include lightheadedness, confusion, headaches, vertigo, and flu-like effects; larger exposures can lead to significant toxicity of the central nervous system and heart, and even death." (source)
See? It takes a while to build up in the bloodstream, but all the while the poison is in your blood it is warping your mind and causing you to not be able to think straight. And note that carbon monoxide poison is "initially" non-irritating. This is exactly how false teachers operate. Eventually the poison's buildup reaches its critical mass and you fall spiritually.
 |
| Beth Moore (and others) at Passion 2012 performing the Catholic mystical Lectio Divina (source) |
Fourth, the verse says that followers of the false teachers are in fact following their sensuality. The prosperity gospel false teachers promote the original sin that satan offered Eve, which was lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh. (Genesis 3:6).
My contention is that false teachers and acceptance of their teachings are becoming so common that it's obvious the prophecy is being fulfilled now, today.
There are so many false teachers who are obvious and rank heretics, but masses and multitudes of 'Christians' follow them. Have they all gone mad? Yes. The carbon monoxide buildup in the blood has almost reached its death point. Let's look at some real examples.
Joseph Smith was the founder of Mormonism (Latter Day Saints). He lived from 1805 to 1844. In his day, he was seen as a madman, a heretic, and a false teacher. From the beginning, Joseph Smith and his followers provoked ridicule for Mormonism's seemingly magical if not superstitious origins, and opposition as a heresy that dared to claim itself "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth." (source)
Though he had gained a few thousand converts, once a newspaper article was published exposing his promotion of polygamy and other aberrant "Christian" doctrines, this caused him to be jailed and even then, an angry mob stormed the jail and killed him outright. The men of the area were outraged at Smith's corruption of marriage, sullying of women by seducing them into polygamy, and exaltation doctrine (humans become gods). Of course I don't advocate lynching, but it is interesting to note that false prophet Joseph Smith's blasphemies caused outrage and action. Today we are told to tolerate them.
The United States Congress opposed Mormonism in the form of vigorous opposition to their main tenet at that time: plural marriage. This battle squelched Mormonism's growth for a long time. By the 1890s the Latter Day Saints movement banned plural marriage so as to escape this opposition in political and secular quarters.
So how does a ridiculed and obviously ridiculous religion in the 1840s, with a disgraced and dead founder, grow in size to 14 million members today?
 |
| Joseph Smith, 1st Pres. of Latter Day Saints |
Until recently. How is it that a hundred and fifty years ago, an aberrant cult poised to die in the desert, can become the fastest growing faith sector in the United States today?
This 2012 study states there are "reported 2 million new adherents and new congregations in 295 counties where they didn't exist a decade ago, making them the fastest-growing group in the U.S."
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." (Hosea 4:6)
In the 1800s, people knew their bible. They could not be fooled. And they not only knew their bible, they lived it, so they could not be drawn away into spiritual lusts like exaltation and fleshly lusts like polygamy. Not so today.
 |
| Joyce Meyer used to travel in this Canadair Challenger 600S; seen here in Sydney, when she was speaker at Hillsong, '05. Since then she's gotten a Gulfstream G-IV. Source Wiki |
For example, Charismatic preacher and heaven tourist Jesse Duplantis has fooled his congregation so well they built him a 34,000 s.f. parsonage. Joyce Meyer fools the deceived so well they give her a jet and multiple homes. Jentezen Franklin supposedly pastors two churches, one in GA and one in CA. In order to get from one to the other on Sundays, his congregation gave him a jet.
"And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." (2 Peter 2:3)
And now the people will believe almost anything. They believe Beth Moore when she says Jesus spoke to her in a vision and told her to teach that the bride is doesn't believe in Jesus. They believe that barking like a dog in worship is holy. They believe Sarah Young has Jesus Calling on the phone line. They believe Don Piper spent 90 minutes in a heaven where he 'saw' people in actual bodies (Remember, no one in heaven has a glorified body yet!). They believe four-year-old Colton Burpo when he (or his father) say that everyone in heaven has wings and Jesus rides a rainbow horse. They believe that drawing a circle on the ground and sitting in it makes you spiritual. They believe "worshiping" to songs like Highway to Hell and Michael Jackson's Thriller is, well, worship. They believe they are living their best life now. For most of them, they are right. Things will only get worse for them after death.
"The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense." (Proverbs 10:21)
 |
| Most don't even look for truth anymore, but just for "encounters", most of which are unbiblical |
"They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean." (Ezekiel 44:23)
Pastors no longer fulfill their duties as overseers. Pulpit Commentary explains the Ezekiel verse above where there were four fundamental duties of the OT priests, three of them relevant to pastors today.
Education: "The education of the people in the fundamental principles of their religion, viz. that a distinction existed between the "holy" and "profane," or "common,"
False teachers today deliberately blur that line, teaching that it is 'tolerant' and 'loving' to accept all teachers and doctrines, and thus they blur the theological lines and Christian distinctives.
Discernment: "and in the practical application of that principle, the art of discerning between the "unclean" and the "clean."
In promoting that dreams and visions should be expected of the "sincere" Charismatic person, that extra-biblical revelation via audible encounters or tongues should be common to their faith, they in effect teach that the bible is not sufficient and the word can and should be added to. Without the word, no one knows what is true and what is not. There is little discernment any more.
Church Discipline: "The administration of justice in all disputes arising out of and connected with the practices of their religion."
Some true sheep are no longer willing to do the hard work of protecting the body by confronting false ones in the congregation. Or, Pharisee overseers use church discipline as an excuse to rid themselves of the faithful discerning sheep, leaving them space to operate among the goats they attract. (John 7:13, John 9:22)
In other words, pastors abandoned their duties, and the sensuous people, all too willing to follow their lusts, accept false teaching readily.
 |
| Jentezen Franklin has mastered the trick of being in two places at once. |
 |
| All you need is a jet and a rich congregation to pay for the jet, pilot, and fuel. Every Sunday. |
"For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough." (2 Corinthians 11:4)
The very fact that a Strange Fire conference rebuking the Charismatic movement was necessary in the first place is indicative of the prophecy's continuing and rapidly advancing fulfillment.
The antidote to carbon monoxide poisoning is to wear a filter that keeps your head clear of the poison. That mask is the bible. Breathing the holy air of truth will always fill your brain and your lungs and your body with a freshness that keeps your mind clear and heart pure.
Meanwhile, know that even as these false teachers are coming on like a flood, Jesus was kind and gracious to tell us in advance. (Matthew 24:25). As we see the flood of falsity and the tragedy of so many who fall, cling to Him who is our faith (Hebrews 12:2)... and soon will be sight. (Luke 21:28)
___________________
Further reading
Watchdog group investigates Jesse Duplantis’ lifestyle
Who Are the Megachurch Leaders Who Decide Elevation Church Pastor Steven Furtick's 'Secret' Salary and Influence His Ministry?
6 Outrageously Wealthy Preachers Under Federal Investigation
Income fit for a King: Joseph Prince and the Pastor’s Pay
The Charismatic Movement in itself offers nothing to enrich true worship (written summary)
The Charismatic Movement in itself offers nothing to enrich true worship (entire audio)
The Devilish Puppet Master of the Word-Faith Movement (part 1, entire audio)
Spiritual Shipwreck of the Word-Faith Movement (part 2, entire audio)
Many Americans claim 'God told me'
That was superb! You took all of those words right out of my mouth.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elizabeth, You hit many nails on the head.
Your comments on Mormonism made me think of something I read over at Do Not Be Surprised about Albert Mohler speaking at Brigham Young. I can't see that his speech to them accomplished anything. It was more about the social ills of today. I would like to know what you think.
Thanks,
Pam
If I understand it correctly (I just read his speech) he was there to discuss the current societal attack on marriage by the sexual collapse in today's society. He was clear that Mormonism and Christianity as spiritual constructs/religions were incompatible, as seen in his quote here
Delete"This is what brings me to Brigham Young University today. I am not here because I believe we are going to heaven together. I do not believe that. I believe that salvation comes only to those who believe and trust only in Christ and in his substitutionary atonement for salvation. I believe in justification by faith alone, in Christ alone. I love and respect you as friends, and as friends we would speak only what we believe to be true, especially on matters of eternal significance. We inhabit separate and irreconcilable theological worlds, made clear with respect to the doctrine of the Trinity. And yet here I am, and gladly so. We will speak to one another of what we most sincerely believe to be true, precisely because we love and respect one another."
But rather, he was equally clear that he was not there as a person speaking theologically, but socially. He said he sees Mormons this way, and I quote again: "Your faith has held high the importance of marriage and family. Your theology requires such an affirmation"
which is ironic and disingenuous because LDS was founded on polygamy, something which the man the university is *named* himself promoted.
Dr Mohler goes on to say "I am honored to come among those who, though of a different faith, share common concerns and urgencies."
I object to calling Mormonism a faith. The bible says not to partner with unbelievers.(2 Corinthians 6:14-18). There are people in the world who strive to be moral, but ultimately if they do not have Christ they are enemies of Jesus and their works are like filthy rags. Why partner with filthy rags? 1 Cor 5:33 says 'Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
Yet Dr Mohler says at the end of his speech,
"That is why only those with the deepest beliefs, and even the deepest differences, can help each other against encroaching threats to religious liberty, marriage, and the family."
How can people who do not believe in Jesus help the people who DO believe in Jesus to combat threats to religious liberty? Especially when those on the other side are in bondage? His statement doesn't make sense.
However, his proposal, that LDS and Baptists partner to combat a social ill, is no different than a few years ago the Catholics and Evangelicals affirming their social unity in a document "Catholics and Evangelicals Together" or Rick Warren signing the Yale document with Muslims and other evangelicals affirming their common faith streams BOTH stem from a love of the same God (Document is titled "Loving God and Neighbor Together:A Christian Response to A Common Word Between Us and You", 2007). In my opinion is is pointless and unbiblical to partner with pagans under the guise of even an acknowledged flimsy shared belief ('Yeah, we believe different stuff but we can still work together on a common goal...but we have to set aside Jesus to do it')
The reason the bible says not to partner with those of other faiths (pagans) is that when they unite to combat a social ill, the Gospel becomes secondary. Jesus told us to go into the world ("into" because we are 'out of it') and preach the Gospel. Jesus didn't say to partner with Zeus lovers to combat polygamy, or to partner with Emperor worshipers to combat homosexual pedophilia common at the time.
As John MacArthur said at Strange Fire, "We ought to divide over truth rather than unite by error."
In 1995 thru 1997 there was an approach made by Mormons to John MacArthur, by Dr Millett, and Phil Johnson posted about it in 2009. (http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2009/12/final-notes-on-mainstreaming-of.html)
DeleteHere is what MacArthur said about uniting with Mormons for any reason
When I met with Robert Millet I expressed my conviction as clearly as possible that the God of the Bible is a completely different God from the god of Mormonism, that the Christ of Scripture is a wholly different Christ from the christ of Mormonism, and the true gospel is a radically different gospel from the gospel of Mormonism."
"I have maintained a cordial relationship with Dr. Millet for the sake of the truth, and am happy to provide him with as much of my material as he wishes to read. But my concern is for the truth; I'm not interested in artificial harmony between two contradictory faiths. For that reason I have consistently made clear in all my dialogue with Dr. Millet that there is no spiritual common ground between biblical Christianity and Mormonism."
"I would never deliberately equivocate on the truth or do anything that might lend credence to Mormonism. I'm convinced (as are all who understand Scripture accurately) that Mormonism is a false religion, generated by Satan. It is a d-amnable heresy, and in the words of Paul, "a different gospel," under God's anathema."
My personal opinion is that the above opinion is a more biblical stance than Dr Mohler's, who is no doubt a brilliant leader of our faith and a talented theologian. I happen to differ from Dr Mohler's opinion on this one point, that it is acceptable to partner with people who serve satan to combat social ills, because these are the very ills that satan promotes. It is a circle the drain, pointless endeavor.
Excellent post and excellent responses to pam. Again, thanks for using your gift of clarification for our benefit. And praise God for always putting Him first.
DeleteJennifer
Thanks, Elizabeth. We are definitely of the same mind. And everything you wrote here I have thought and agree with you completely. You just wrote it down much better than I ever could.
Deletepam
I agree with cessationism, but how do we respond to folks who use acts 2:17 to legitimize charismatic movement?
ReplyDeleteI know, that is a familiar go-to verse, isn't it. First, I'd say, have them read thru to verse 21, lol.
Delete"even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Then tell them that this passage is a connection to Joel's passage in Joel 2:28. In context, Joel was talking about the time of judgment, the great day of te Lord as Peter says in v 20. The beginning of the fulfillment was then, at Pentecost. The first thing that was a fulfillment was that non-Jews would receive the Spirit (pour out on all flesh).
But then the rest has not been fulfilled yet, has it. If they balk, ask if it is ONLY old men seeing dreaming dreams, and ONLY young men having visions.
And is the LORD showing signs from heaven? Has the moon been turned to blood, and the day of darkness arrived? No? That is because the passage had a pre-fulfillment with the spirit on all flesh, and a minute number of Apostles allowed to prophesy and a minute number of women (Philips' daughters). Then prophecy went away as did the other sign gifts.
And the rest will take place on the day of the Lord (v. 20, cf Joel 2) and thru the millennium.
Of course, continuationists and Charismatics don't like to use context, several passages, and to infer. they always say "show me THE verse." Simplistic. I say, "show me one verse that says God is Trinity." Study takes time, and if they continue to balk at proper exegesis and an extended discussion laying it out as per above, then they do not love the word with all their heart and only use it to make a preferred point. So then you know to stop discussing.