Tne New Exodus - 2006 article reprint by popular demand

The New Exodus

As trends take a hold of churches, attracting the lukewarm uncommitted professing Christians, the real believers are fleeing and being pushed out by the scores. Here’s how it might go. Let’s start with an imaginary couple, John and Jane.

♥♥♥

John and Jane Logan are both born-again believers. They love the Lord. They love each other. They love their two children. They love people and are gracious and hospitable. They study their Bibles together and are both very discerning since John was saved out of Catholicism and Jane was rescued from a cult. They don’t want to be led astray again.

When John’s company transferred him to another state, they had to find a new place to fellowship. A thriving Methodist church was the closest church to home so they decided to go there. However, the co-pastor turned out to be a lesbian and when they asked the senior pastor about it, he told them they were intolerant, and they were asked to leave.

They found a conservative church a little further away where the homosexual agenda never entered in. They were making friends and their children loved the Sunday School, but then the church brought in the Alpha Course and didn’t appreciate the Logans handing them a packet of information about it. The Logans overlooked that, but then the pastor wanted the men to go with him to the prayer breakfasts with all the other area churches, including the one they just left. John stayed home. The pastor’s teaching went downhill and he started proclaiming that God is through with Israel and the church has replaced her. He would ridicule those who read the book of Daniel or Revelation saying that it can’t be understood anyway and it is just allegory about the Christian life and not to be taken literally. When the pastor started promoting ecumenism with Catholicism and looked at John like he was crazy when he objected, they made the decision to leave.

These committed believers fled to the other side of town to a contemporary non-denominational church. The Logans, now a little more cautious, began making friends and entertaining them in their home. Then one day the pastor announced they are going to go through Rick Warren’s "40-Days of Purpose" and these believers expressed their displeasure. The pastor was not convinced by any of John’s objections and refused to read the packet of information John handed him about Rick Warren – calling it gossip. The Logans felt as though there was no place else to go and stayed on until the church grew so big and the sermons became so watered down that they started hunting for a place that shared their zeal for the Lord.

Another church down the street from that one seemed to be more on fire for the Lord so they tried there. They had a very good worship team. Jane was thrilled to be able to worship the Lord again since the last two churches had such dry and unfeeling music, it put her to sleep. But now she could really get into the worship, lifting up her hands in praise and getting so caught up in her adoration of Jesus. She prayed in her heart, "Oh Lord, please let this place be one that is true to Your Word." It didn’t take long for the Logans to pick up certain phrases the pastor used that put their antennae up. He would say things like, "plant a seed for your need," or "we’re the head and not the tail." But Jane was so happy with the worship time that she pleaded with John to let it go. John complied since Jane was finally happy with a church and was getting close to the women there. One Sunday a guest speaker was introduced. The pastor introduced him as an apostle and a prophet. The guest told the congregation that their pastor was their prophet and he told the congregation to "obey the prophet and live" or they would not be right with the Lord. He told them the pastor was their covering and that he would prophesy over their lives. From that time on the pastor became much more controlling and the joy in the worship music began to fade and was replaced with songs about taking dominion and stepping on the devil. When they expressed their concerns to the pastor, he responded, "If you don’t like it, leave. But you will be out of God’s will until you repent and submit." So they left and their friends from the church avoided their calls.

The Logans finally found a thriving Calvary Chapel in the next town over. They would just have to commute to find a church that put the Bible front-and-center. The pastor taught verse-by-verse and the worship team was musically very talented. The only problem is that some of the song selections were not biblical. Good songs were mixed in with bad ones that addressed  the Holy Spirit to come in more power and the Jesus songs took a back seat. The female vocalist couldn’t be followed because she sang in five octaves and held her high notes for 30 seconds or more. The songs were more about us and less about Him. The Logans spoke kindly to the worship leader about some of the song selections that came from the Vineyard songbook and he didn’t take kindly to being informed. He accused them of being "church hoppers" and judgmental and not filled with the spirit. Though they sought to use their gifts to help out teaching in Children’s Church and the Youth Group, they were never allowed to. Though very grounded in the Word they were looked at suspiciously and not allowed to be in any sort of leadership function but could only help out caring for infants or handing out bulletins.

They met another couple at Calvary Chapel, the Bakers, who shared their concerns and decided to come together with their two families every Saturday night and study the word together. Jane brushed up on her guitar skills and sang her favorite worship songs and John and Bob brought the teaching. Betty cooked and taught the smaller children their Bible lessons. Both families still went to their church on Sundays, but they got so much more out of their little home fellowship and it was beginning to grow with other like-minded outcasts from local churches.

♥♥♥

This testimony can be heard from born-again believers all over the world. They are beginning to feel like outcasts from their churches, even though the Bible gives us the imperative: "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25).

The Day of the Lord is certainly approaching. The biggest sign is the rise of the church of the Laodiceans to whom Jesus said, "because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth" (Rev. 3:16).

The virgins with the oil in their lamps certainly don’t want to assemble with the ones targeted for that destiny. But they have a dilemma – where are the others who are not marked out for this condemnation? They are being forced out of the churches by the droves. And all the marketing ideas that man can create in his efforts to fill the pews won’t bring them back.

95 Specious Lies of Rome

Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the door of the Wittenburg church, thus launching the great Reformation of Protestantism. Much of what the Reformers fought and died for is being tossed out the window by voices in New Evangelicalism calling for ecumenism with Rome. In honor of Luther I've updated his complaints to reflect the de-evolution of the Church of Rome today. She (the Mother Church) no longer has the power to torture and kill her opponents, so I can safely lay it all out here. Would welcome comments of those who think it needs to be tweaked - better examples of lies can replace any of these.

95 Specious Lies of Rome

1. The Roman Catholic Church was founded by Jesus.

2. Mary is the mother of God.

3. There is a place sinners go after death called Purgatory.

4. The RCC has the Melchizedek priesthood.

5. Catholic priests are Christ as they offer mass.

6. The pope’s authority is from apostolic succession.

7. Bones, hair and fingernails of dead saints are worthy of veneration.

8. The pope is the Vicar of Christ and the head of Christ’s church.

9. The pope is infallible in matters of faith and morals.

10 Priests turn bread and wine into the body, blood, soul & divinity of Christ.

11 The communion elements are to be worshipped as God.

12 The RCC has the authority to determine what dead people are saints.

13 Saints are to be prayed to & sought after for miracles.

14 Access to Jesus is thru Mary.

15 Sins must be confessed to a priest for absolution.

16 Penance, not repentance, is required for forgiveness.

17 Indulgences to get dead ones a reduced sentence in Purgatory is still taught.

18 No person can know for sure they are saved; that’s the sin of presumption.

19 The higher the clerical position, the closer to God.

20 Making the sign of the cross has spiritual benefits.

21 Clerical vestments are holy.

22 Kissing the pope’s feet shows honor to Christ.

23 Priests should be addressed as Father.

24 The pope is the Holy Father.

25 The Commandment not to make any graven image is not in the RCC’s list.

26 Holy water is beneficial in sanctifying people and objects.

27 Statues of saints can be bowed to.

28 Self-flagellation is accepted by God for penance.

30 The host is to be adored as it passes in a bejeweled monstrance.

31 Priests must take a vow of celibacy and not to marry.

32 Some sins send you to hell, some to Purgatory - mortal & venial.

33 Catholics must refrain from eating meats during Fridays in Lent.

34 Mass cards can be bought to help spring loved ones from Purgatory.

35 Some hosts have miraculously turned into actual human flesh.

36 Some chalices of wine have miraculously turned into human blood.

37 Chanting the Rosary is a form of legitimate prayer.

38 Reciting the Hail Mary gives one grace with Mary.

39 Mary can hear all prayers just as God can.

40 Meditation by making a mind blank brings one closer to God.

41 Keeping the RCC sacraments is necessary to get to heaven.

42 All other Christian denominations are inferior and the separated brethren.

43 Ex-Catholics are lost until they come back to Rome

44 The scapular gives spiritual protection to the one who wears it.

45 The miraculous medal of Mary will spring the dead person out of purgatory.

46 Mary never died, but was transported to heaven alive in the Assumption.

47 Mary’s apparition has appeared and is appearing with miraculous signs.

48 Seminarians must obey those above them even if they ask them to sin.

49 Mary stayed perpetually a virgin and had no other children.

50 Joseph never consummated his marriage to Mary.

51 Mary was born without original sin and never sinned.

52 Dead saints, like pagan gods, rule over a particular life’s need or position.

53 The Roman Catholic Church is Christian.

54 The Reformers are heretics, worthy of the executions the RCC put on them.

55 The unity of all religions under Rome is a Catholic goal, i.e. Assisi.

56 The RCC has replaced Israel.

57 Rome has replaced Jerusalem as God’s holy city.

58 The RCC is the Mother Church.

59 God recognizes all annulled marriages as if they were never joined.

60 The RCC can change truth with the authority to bind on earth as it is in heaven.

61 The RCC has the right to cover up the sins of their pedophile priests.

62 Baptizing babies makes them part of Christ’s Church.

63 Drinking blood during the mass is A-OK.

64 The faithful received Christ into their stomachs, not their hearts.

65 Rats can eat God.

66 Unbaptized babies do not enter into heaven.

67 Church tradition is equal to the Bible in faith and practice.

68 Peter, a married man, was the first pope.

69 Levitation is a miracle that many saints have engaged in.

70 Grace is not unearned favor, but a special blessing one can earn thru works.

71 The archangel Michael is a saint.

72 To be a saint, miracles have to be attributed to the person after death.

73 Dead loved ones can be present among their families.

74 Exorcisms are performed with the use of the crucifix and holy water.

75 Eucharist adoration keeps Jesus company while he’s stranded in the tabernacle.

76 Jews have no biblical right to the Holy Land.

77 Communion cup forbidden to laity.

78 Jesus’ sacrifice needs to be reoffered daily in a bloodless manner.

79 Vows of silence earns grace with God.

80 The Magisterium holds the mysteries of Christ.

81 The Catholic Church gave us the Bible.

82 Mary is a co-mediatrix between God and man.

83 Jesus died so we can all become gods.

84 Incense and candles create a holy atmosphere.

85 Icons and religious art can be venerated.

86 Mary statues that cry or bleed are holy signs.

87 The stigmata wounds cause saints to suffer like Christ for the sins of others.

88 The infant Jesus is an entity that can be addressed in prayer.

89 Stoicism and deprivation of the needs of the body are acts of holiness.

90 Jesus cannot turn down requests from his mother.

91 OK to pray to body parts such as the sacred heart or immaculate heart.

92 The RCC is the guardian of salvation - they hold the keys to the kingdom.

93 Doctrine and truth evolve.

94 Christ’s payment for sin is insufficient; we must suffer for our own sins.

95 The Roman Catholic Church is the one true Church.

July 30th Show: DO YOU REALLY WANT TO JOIN THE RALLY?

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO JOIN THE RALLY?

Christians around the world reacted in such shock that the media would dare to label the Norway terrorist a “fundamentalist Christian,” when in fact he was a hate-filled degenerate with no connections to the Christian faith whatsoever. But these allegations did not come out of a vacuum.

There are voices in the “Christian” media chanting slogans all over the public airwaves calling for Christians to rise up and take dominion over the entire world. There are groups that gather in large numbers at political prayer gatherings chanting affirmations such as: “We’re taking back the world for Christ” “We’re the head and not the tail”- and the world takes notice. Preachers in mega-churches are telling their congregations to “take back what the devil stole” in the marketplace, economics, entertainment, politics, and everywhere in society.

This chatter that permeates social media is bringing persecution upon all professing Christians who get labeled as one of them - especially when all streams in this polluted river join together for a show of force and unity. But where did this cocky collective Christian attitude originate that appears to the onlooking public as a threat to their freedoms? Besides from the prince of the power of the air, it comes from his agents who have wormed themselves into the professing church and seek to climb to the top of the heap.

Unbelievers cannot differentiate between Islam’s professed aim to dominate the planet and the boastings of professing Christians who are boldly proclaiming that they’re the ones who will rule the world and create Christ’s kingdom on earth before He returns.

Hitching their star to a presidential candidate, such as Texas Governor Rick Perry, the Joel’s Army visionaries are trying to position themselves to expand their power base. The Response (name of the prayer rally in Houston for America on behalf of Perry’s potential presidential bid) is an attempt of the Mother Harlot to ride the Beast of secular power. The new “Holy Roman Empire” is to rise again!

JOEL’S ARMY ON THE MARCH

There have been many efforts over the past couple of decades by Joel’s Army leaders to capture a critical mass of people and rally the troops behind them. A leading “prophet” in the movement is Bill Hamon, founder of Christian International Ministries in Florida. He calls the current effort to bring people together “the Saints Movement” in an ongoing effort to achieve what he calls “the restoration process” of the Church - the idea of restoring secular authority back to the Church that was once held by the Roman Catholic Church.

In an interview with The Voice Magazine, he describes where he believes we are now in the restoration process.

“We are at the prophetic-apostolic. The prophetic movement of the 80s brought in the prophet. And in the 90s it was the apostle. Now we have all five ascension gifts fully restored. Now we can get busy, working, training, equipping, and activating the saints to demonstrate the Kingdom of God...Now it’s the whole Body of Christ arising and demonstrating the supernatural. We will see the Body of Christ coming forth in the Saints Movement. We’ve crossed over the Jordan. The moment you cross over Jordan you’re going into warfare. As fanatical as it may sound to fundamental evangelical Christians, the Church is destined to subdue all things and put all things under Christ’s feet before He actually literally returns from heaven...The Church is being prepared now for the next moves of God. After the Saints Movement will be the Army of the Lord Movement. The next movement after that will be the Kingdom Establishment Movement.”

[Source: http://www.thevoicemagazine.com/ApoMoments_BillHamon.htm ]

The only thing holding them back, according to Hamon, is the belief in the Rapture.

“Rapture teaching is one of the most faith deadening teachings ever preached. It has the most neutralizing affect on a Christian's aggressive growth process...If you don't have a big comprehensive vision, both restorationally and eternally, then what motivation is there to do much except try to win a few souls to get a big reward in heaven?”

At the same time “The Response” is taking place in Houston, the Roman Catholic Church is holding a prayer rally in Maryland. Called “The Summer of Mercy,” sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington and the Archdiocese of Baltimore, this Catholic event also includes Protestants coming together with them under the pro-life cause. 
http://summerofmercy.com/ 

The website announcing the Summer of Mercy event, shares the testimony of a person who attended the last one a decade ago:



“We (Catholics and Protestants) prayed together... rallied together... sang together... processed together... attended church services together. It was peaceful and it was prayerful unity. In response to what the Holy Spirit is doing in this hour, we are inviting Christians and people of good will from all across America to come to Germantown, Maryland and be involved in the Summer of Mercy 2.0. Our desire is to see a sovereign God powerfully move, shift history, bring awakening to our nation and end abortion. Join us July 30 though August 7, for this historic season of prayerful and prophetic witness in Maryland.  We will be having; 24/7 prayer and worship, inspiring evening rallies with national political and Christian leaders and cutting edge public events.”

Protestants and Catholics together, united in prayer and power to “shift history” - Is that the purpose of the body of Christ today? Jesus told His disciples, “they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.” [Matt. 24:9] and the Apostle Paul wrote, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,” [Phil. 3:20]

POO-POO PROPHET

So-called prophet Bob Jones is one referred to in the circles of dominion-seeking “Protestants.” Leaders like Rick Joyner of MorningStar and Mike Bickle of IHOP point to him as the one who gave them their marching orders. Jones blatantly teaches the Joel’s Army idea that the end-times church will go to war with the world and come out on top before the Lord’s return. How odd that Jones is still admired when he was exposed as the pervert he is years ago when he used his “prophetic office” to molest women.

Jones claims to be taken up to heaven on a regular basis. On one occasion, he described his heavenly garments as diapers. “I had a pamper on,” Jones told Mike Bickle who was interviewing him. “And I really messed it good. It was running down both my legs. And the Lord had ahold of my hand and I was a bawlin and a squallin...And so it was like the angels come and changed my pamper and washed me up and the next thing I knew I was back in bed.”

Jones revealed where he gets his marching orders in the 2008 Shepherd’s Rod publication. He wrote, “In our own ministry, we have been emphasizing the importance of honoring healing revivalists such as A. A. Allen, John Alexander Dowie, John G. Lake, William Branham and others. Some of these have been the most dishonored individuals of the 20th century Church, yet used most notably in soul winning and the miraculous. Our adversary has effectively attempted to neutralize the testimony of these individuals as forerunners by overly emphasizing their shortcomings and weaknesses. Even so, the Lord is allowing a body of people to recognize the pioneering influence these individuals conveyed in order to position us to carry forward the unfinished commissions.”

[For background on these “healing revivalists,” see my article on “God’s Generals” at: http://www.apostasyalert.org/generals.htm.]

These men did indeed have dishonored lives that included homosexuality, alcoholism, false doctrine, denial of the deity of Christ, and unverified claims of healings. Before joining with these groups in their prayer/political rallies, a Christian needs to pay heed to the warnings of the discernment ministries against associating with errant brothers. 

Mike Bickle may put disclaimers on his website, denying that he believes in the Joel’s Army teachings, but that would carry more weight if he would apologize to the church for promoting them in the past. After all he published the writings promoting Joel’s Army by men like Bob Jones and Paul Cain in his newsletters when he was their pastor overseeing the “Kansas City Prophets.” 

But he and Joyner and the other associates of the New Apostolic Reformation have picked up the mantles of the “unfinished commissions” and are vying for the top positions in the end-times army. Their slogan to take back America has caught on with the apostate lukewarm church with the help of the “Christian” TV networks and the compromising broadcasters who have joined hands with them by appearing on their networks without pointing out their errors. 

The war has begun, and the persecution of the true saints is at hand.

July 15th Show: "Christian" Psychic-Medium

(Since I have written so much on my first topic of the show, I'll not elaborate except to give a link to one of my previous articles):
http://www.apostasyalert.org/REFLECTIONS/Seeds%20&%20Tares.htm

The following is an email from a lady in Australia trying to set me straight on my views of mediumship. My comments in red:

“Hi Jackie-
“I have just read your website, and I am surprised how adamant you are that all prophets outside of your immediate beliefs are corrupt....what a lot you have to learn! I am a Gran, and a Christian, and yes I was born with gifts to see spirit and prophesy. In Romans it says "The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable". 11:29. God does not take away spiritual gifts on the grounds of religious politics.”

Hi Heather– My immediate beliefs are that the Word of God, the Bible, is as it says it is, God-breathed. And as such, my beliefs are all subject to what the Lord has revealed in His Word. So they are not corrupt. We always have a lot to learn and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I too am a grandmother and a Christian as defined by the Word. I too was born with gifts, certain human talents, as were we all. Those are not to be confused with spiritual gifts as described in 1 Corinthians 12 that are bestowed upon the believer by the Holy Spirit when they are baptized in Christ Jesus. If you have a natural-born sensitivity to spiritual things, you all the more need the gifts of the Holy Spirit to discern the voices you’re tuned in to. Remember, it was Eve, not Adam, who first tuned in to the voice of the devil and was thereby deceived. We women tend to be more tuned in to the spirit realm, which is why we’re also more susceptible to deception – especially if we are not grounded in God’s Word and trust His revelation to us. We’re instructed to test every spirit to see if they are of Christ – we test them by His Word.

 
“I was aware at a very early age of my gifts, and was condemned for them by my own church, a very strict fundamentalist church called the Exclusive Plymouth Brethren. You could not find a this 'phenomena' should have been bestowed on me. Once upon a time, the intollerance was palpable, and now that I have overcome the damage caused by it, I now work for God's glory.....as a Psychic, Reader and Medium. It is very easy for a 'tidy' Christian like yourself to condemn others. You have not been given the gifts, obviously, or you would be a lot wiser.”

I would venture to guess that you have people in your family line who also manifested what you consider gifts from an early age.  Those are not gifts of the Holy Spirit as poured out upon the born-again believer, but familiar spirits handed down in your family. If a valid church condemned them, they must have tested how your "gifts” were manifesting and discerned they were not trustworthy. I think there’s a lot left out of your story here. You call yourself a “Medium” and yet the Bible clearly instructs God’s people not to turn to mediums, but to turn to the living God. Read the 16th chapter of the book of Acts, starting at verse 16. You remind me of that damsel who followed the Apostle Paul around who practiced soothsaying for money for her masters yet at the same time proclaimed Paul as a servant of God. Paul responded to her as I’m sure the Plymouth Brethren responded to you. They did not want to see a young girl remain in spiritual bondage. Before I came to repentance and received the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour, I had encounters with deceiving spirits and just thought of them as benevolent ghosts looking out for me. Then after my born-again experience, they turned on me and their true nature was revealed. Oh yeah – I had those “gifts” – I praise my glorious Saviour for rescuing me from their games. They went from being little pranksters to downright bullies overnight. It took the new outpoured gift of the discerning of spirits for me to see them for what they really were.

“As for the scriptures ...... do your homework and accept that they are very contradictory and can be quoted to suit any advantage.”

How sad is that? You have no foundation for testing the spirits you’re hearing from since you reject God’s revelation to mankind. They are NOT contradictory – if there is an apparent contradiction, it is because you do not know Scripture well enough to understand how it all fits together. You are not even capable of coming to that understanding until you are given spiritual eyes to see. You must be born again by the Spirit of Christ for that to happen. And that will only happen when you lay it all before Him, die to yourself, and live your life in submission to the Lord Jesus. Lay down all your opinions, beliefs, possessions, biases, etc., and submit them to Him, repenting that you have been going your own way, calling your own shots and commit your way to Him from now on.

 
“There are as many verses supporting 'divination' as not. The ancient Jewish Urim and Thumin were divination articles, as was the light reading done from the stones on the breast plates of the priests, and the ancient Jewish Kabbalah is in fact the roots of the Tarot: Palmistry. "God seals up the hand of man so that every man may know his work."-Job. ""Length of days is on the right hand, honour and riches on the left"....Proverbs. Fate...."And in your book they were written. The days fashioned for me when as yet there were none of them"- Romans. The Lord Jesus Christ was the greatest metaphysician of all......preached to the people in hades…did remote healing and discerned spirit, and taught others to do the same. He started many of his prophesies with ‘verily I say unto you ’Where is the cut off point for others doing the same? Where does acceptable prophecy and divination begin and when exactly does it become evil?”

Heather, I have news for you – the Kabbalah is not Scripture. You will find divination promoted in it, but not in the Bible. The high priests during the Temple period in the Old Testament served the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept in the Inner Sanctuary. Their breastplates with the stones were modeled after a heavenly vision. God’s Shekinah glory was in that Temple and so they had access to God then in a way that does not exist today. After the life, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus of Nazareth, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, those filled with the Holy Spirit are the temples. The veil in the Temple at Jerusalem was torn asunder when Jesus proclaimed from the cross, “It is finished.” He paid the ransom for our sins by His blood. And you must be cleansed by that blood in order to enter into His glory. I find it odd that you would condemn the Bible in one sentence, and use it to justify yourself in another. Jesus was not a metaphysician, He was God manifested in human flesh - the ONLY begotten Son of God. (With the emphasis on "only.")
                                 
“Jackie, I think it is political!!!!!   Every faith believes that they alone are true, and that everyone else is imitation. If you truly want to walk in truth, make no statements publicly to attack others. For as surely as you do, God will give you a lesson in humility to prove you wrong. Many of the people you have spoken about come from Christian homes. I lovingly hope you gain some experience through tests and heart felt personal conflict of your own, costly though it might be. It is the only way you will grow past your pre potted perspective.”

I’m not into politics. I have no particular denomination to promote. So you are mistaken in your rash judgment of me. I only speak of Jesus. I don’t tell anyone how to vote, what church to attend, or anything that can be construed political in any way. The Word of God is Truth. Jesus is the Word (See the 1st chapter of John). The Word of God is living and sharper than a two-edged sword (look that one up in a concordance). The wise (wo)man will test all things by those things that proceed from the mouth of God. My trials and tribulations in my life have taught me that Jesus is closer to me when I’m in the fire – just like He was there with the three friends of Daniel who were thrown in the flames for not bowing down to the Babylonian king. My trials prove to me that the Holy Spirit lives in me and gives me peace in the midst of turmoil. I don’t receive your curse on me for more trials. I do however pray for you that the nature of those spirits to whom you give ear will be revealed for who they really are. Read the book, “The Beautiful Side of Evil,” by Johanna Michaelsen and you will see that not all that glitters in the spirit realm is benevolent. Satan and his cohorts disguise themselves as messengers of righteousness and without the full armour of God as described in the 6th chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, you are at their mercy and they are merciless. You’ll see that breastplate there – you’ll need it.

 
“Please be honest and add this to your web page.”

Don’t mind if I do

 
“Yours sincerely, Heather Grace. Adelaide, South Australia.”

Sincerity never saved anyone. You happen to be sincerely wrong. I will continue to intervene on your behalf. I look forward to reading your testimony after you have been set free. Until then-

 
Yours truly, in Jesus,
Jackie Alnor

Apil 29, 2011 Show: Legalism vs. License - The Fine Line in Between

There are two extremes that saints can fall prey to in their walk with the Lord: legalism or license. Both are killers to our witness and our fellowship with Jesus.

It seems like the overall condition of the church flits between those two sides of the pendulum. One occurs in reaction - or should I say overreaction - to the other. It’s a fine line to walk in the balance of the two.

Back in the 1970s/1980s, what was known as the Discipleship movement became popular. Those who recognized its error termed it Shepherding - and rightly so. Shepherding groups sprang up all over the place, led by strong oppressive leaders who demanded submission of the sheep to the control of the shepherd and his elders.

Groups that used this heavy-handed legalistic rule over the people included groups such as The Walk, The Church of Bible Understanding,The Boston Church of Christ, and Faith Tabernacle, among many others. However, the origin of the Shepherding Movement falls upon what was known as the “Florida Five,” of whom were Derek Prince, Bob Mumford, Don Basham, Charles Simpson, and Ern Baxter. Mumford and Baxter reportedly denounced their involvement years later, but the toll their teachings took upon the church was immeasurable.

The book, Shepherds & Sheep: A Biblical View of Leading & Following, came out in 1983 to equip the saints with the biblical view of leadership and expose the errors of shepherding. Written by Jerram Barrs, a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary and co-director of L’Abri Fellowship in England, it remains today the best tool to use when confronting legalistic leaders.

Barrs defines legalism on page 21 as: “the establishment of a rigid set of evangelical dos and don’ts. On the one hand are the don’ts: you must not drink, smoke, dance, go to movies, play cards...On the other hand are the dos: you must wear particular kinds of dress, attend certain meetings, give the outward appearance of spirituality. The problem here is that we can become genuinely confused about our spirituality: we may feel that because we are fulfilling these regulations we are truly spiritual. This, however, is the very mistake the Pharisees made.”

The Shepherding movement took things even further. Some Shepherding groups told people who to marry; when to fast; to break ties with unsaved family; not to carry insurance (lack of faith); and not to use modern medicine. The laity were told they had to have a spiritual “covering” consisting of an elder to whom they would submit all major decisions in their life.

In reaction to such legalist extremes, the notion of license came into popularity. Also called “cheap grace,” this idea says that since there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, it doesn’t matter how you live as long as you believe in Jesus. The “you can do all things” verse was taken to mean you could “sin all the more that grace may abound.”

The license crowd loves the teachings of people like Robert Schuler who popularized the “gospel of self-esteem” that teaches we should stop preaching against sin but to build up people’s self-esteem. When the Crystal Cathedral sings “Amazing Grace,” they change the word “wretch” to “soul” so as not to offend anyone.

Joel Osteen is the pastor of the biggest church in America because “sin” isn’t even in his vocabulary. He teaches sinner and saint alike how to manipulate principals to be the best and achieve your dreams to become a better you.

Sadly, the predominant view in the visible church today is license. Tolerance of sin and sinful lifestyles is seen as showing grace. Those who preach obedience to Christ are now falsely tagged “legalists.”

A case in point: At a church I used to attend, I sat next to a young lady at the church potluck who I had seen many times but had never met. She began venting against our pastor. She was angry at him because he refused to perform her wedding ceremony because she wanted to marry an unbeliever she was shacking up with and with whom she had a baby. I of course sided with the pastor much to her chagrin. But I had to wonder what she was doing at our church when she was flagrantly living in open sin.

The Bible tell us - “not to keep company with sexually immoral people” [1 Cor 5:9]. And to remove such people from the church to give them space for repentance.  “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves” [2 Cor 5:12-13].

Such admonitions fall on deaf ears today as the goats appear to be at the helm of most pulpits in America. The most popular teachers are the ones who wink at sin or certainly don’t bring the subject of sin up in their messages. The day of the holiness preachers appears to be over, now that the last of that dying breed, David Wilkerson, has gone on to glory.

We need to strike the right balance in our church fellowships today, so that we don’t fall into either error of license or legalism. We need to be accountable to one another, confess our faults one to another, bear up one another’s burdens and not be high-minded one against another. We need to hear messages that encourage us to obey Christ and forsake sin, while at the same time not pay attention to messages that take away our freedom in Christ to make our own decisions in life as the Spirit leads us.

Walk the line!

March 11, 2011 Apostasy Alert Show: Walter Martin's Last Stand on TBN

In light of another Calvary Chapel pastor making an appearance on TBN's Praise-the-Lord program, I thought it apropos to share a tape in my collection of how a Bible believer should behave when invited onto TBN or any of the other errant "Christian" network. What sort of message is communicated when a solid Bible teacher shares the platform with heretics and does not bring reproof? Certainly it gives the impression that the guest endorses the teaching of the hosts and /or founder of the Christian network.


Some argue that if they can't go on TBN due to its corruption, then they couldn't show up on ABC, NBC or CBS either. They don't understand the distinction between being salt and light to the unsaved world and practicing biblical separation from so-called Christians who are spreading false teaching against Jesus Christ. To the unsaved, we can use their media to spread the Gospel, but to the errant brother we are to bring correction and divide if they do not stop their false teaching. For a proof-text consider 1 Corinthians 5:11:


"But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person."

When Calvary Chapel Albuquerque's pastor Skip Heitzig went on TBN last week acting like he and his host Phil Munsey were old friends, it was a shame to the spirit of that passage. Phil Munsey and his brother Steve Munsey are two of the most infamous extortioners in the field of Christian television. Munsey has used new age ideas of paradigm shifts and panentheism to spread his unbiblical dominionist views. 

In contrast to the compromisers, the late Walter Martin tried to bring correction the last time he made an appearance on TBN. This video tape has never circulated and has not been available anywhere until now that I have posted it to YouTube.

Back in 1985 my younger sister was Martin's secretary. She and my older sister and I all regularly attended his weekly Bible study. I used to share my research with him and also with my friend author Dave Hunt. Walter and Dave disagreed on many things regarding their styles of apologetics and discernment. Whenever there was a difference of opinion between the two of them, I usually agreed with Dave. 


I had had some discussion with Dr. Martin over Dave's book, The Seduction of Christianity. Walter had been critical about it on the radio having never read it but based his criticisms upon what his personal editor had told him. 


One day my older sister was watching Praise-the-Lord when Hal Lindsey was a guest. He was her pastor at that time. Back then Hal used to challenge the teaching of other TBN regulars and Paul Crouch put up with it. However, that got old with the Crouches and when Hal wouldn't stop criticizing the Kingdom Now doctrine, he was put on the shelf until he learned to kow-tow to them. When my sister heard Hal bring up Walter's name in the show, Paul and Jan agreed that he was a brilliant man and Hal said you should have him on some time. They both responded - oh sure we will.


So she informed our little sister who told Walter and Walter told her to call TBN and arrange it which she did. However, the Crouches wouldn't host him so they got prophecy teacher Doug Clark to do so. My younger sister called me on the day of the taping saying that Walter wanted me to go through Dave Hunt's book, The Seduction of Christianity and highlight things he would be in agreement with. I was happy to do so for him. He used that information to challenge TBN's blackballing of Dave Hunt and other whistle-blowers. 

I stayed home to work the VCR I didn't know how to program, while my two sisters attended, one in the green room and one in the audience we had stacked with many friends. Walter gave it to them with both barrels. Not only was the program not replayed at its regular slot, but the tapes were not available when people followed up to request one. Back in those days any Praise-the-Lord program could be bought on audio cassette for a small fee. And both Walter Martin and Doug Clark were never invited back. We had heard years later from Doug Clark that during the interview he kept receiving notes via the stage manager from Jan Crouch calling in telling Doug to "shut that guy up" and other nasty comments.

I found a way to post the interview in its entirety to YouTube - so look at it before it gets cut. I had to put it into several parts due to space restrictions, but I completed the task. I honestly think this is the very best tape of Walter Martin that is in existence. When he talks about the things he disagrees with Hunt on, keep in mind Hunt was right. 


Here are the links:


Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4-DFSFBeT8
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0h0ya1DlD4
Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeAzrRcjFXA
Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAs-Ypxdpxk
Part 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7AAvNhOvT4  - a surprise addendum


I actually went on a program on TBN back in 1986 called Joy in the Morning. I used to call the host whenever I saw any of his guests spreading error. He would thank me graciously and so I kept monitoring his show and called him when an infiltrator would slip in. We all had some hope for TBN back in that day, but at some time the Crouches went over the line, never to return to orthodoxy. I posted that interview on YouTube as well. Here's the link:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w22d1pXjh4M


Enjoy the memories and spread the links.

February 25 Show: Desperate 'Christian' Housewives

A girl I'll call Veronica showed up on my facebook singing the praises of prosperity teacher Paula White. She was posting some of Ms. White's shameful Youtube clips of her preaching. I warned Veronica and her other friends who commented favorably toward the clips not to listen to her as she is a false teacher. Several of these Pauliannas responded with hostility to my efforts to steer them away from danger.

They said that people like me who scoff at God's spokespersons were in danger of touching God's anointed - the usual spiritualized pat response. Veronica defended the prosperity gospel using Psalm 23 saying, "my cup overflows. What better prosperity gospel then that?"

After she defriended me, I looked at her facebook info page to see if this woman with over 2,000 friends in her social network was in some sort of ministry. Seems she attends Paula's church but it is unclear if she is on staff. What really surprised me was her listing of her favorite TV shows which included "Desperate Housewives." That is known to be one of the most immoral series on television. Why would this woman who seems to have a personality other women follow list an obscene program as a fave?

So I checked out the other women who stood up for "Pastor Paula" in that facebook thread, and though they each identified themselves as Christians on their info pages, they too linked to the strangest movies and television shows as their own personal favorites.

Kathy likes Psychic Kids, a program I've since found out is one that finds children who get visited by ghosts or have psychic abilities and tries to encourage them to engage the very things that haunt them, telling them they're special. This is spiritual child abuse and yet this 'Christian,' Kathy, recommends it to all her friends. She also likes the shows, Paranormal State, Twilight Movie, The Bad Girls Club, Ghost Hunters, Ellen Degeneres and Sid Roth's "It's Supernatural."

Wow! Can a person be committed to Jesus Christ and embrace the demonic like that? What a horrible contradiction.

Another girl, Jo (none are real names), posted to her info page that she is a "real Christian with a relinquished spirit, not a Sunday Church Faux with a religious spirit." Ok - that's impressive. So what are her favorite forms of entertainment? She loves Joel Osteen, Malcom X, Tyra Banks and Oprah Winfrey. You know, the sort of role models Christian women should have - not!  Her favorite movies include one about a high-class prostitute, Pretty Woman. Other films she loves are Obsessed, Dirty Dancing, and The Hangover.

After looking through many of these cultural Christian women's facebook info pages, it dawned on me that this is the typical modern woman claiming the name of Christ if they discovered their "faith" on Christian television. This is the fruit of what the televangelists produce. This is the church of Laodicea in the flesh. 

When today's churches have fashion shows instead of Bible studies for their women, or bring in cosmetic surgery consultants to speak to the ladies, you know we've entered the new era leading to the formation of the Great Harlot. I mean why not? Nothing like a whore on a horse to represent today's modern 'Christian' imitator of the likes of Paula White, Juanita Bynum and Jan Crouch.


As a woman, this grieves my spirit because I know the Holy Spirit grieves over this compromised carnal church. The teaching of holiness and sanctification in these circles is met with scorn and ridicule. One who brings the Bible message of holiness is told they have a religious spirit. These Pauliannas are the ones doing the mocking and stepping on what's holy. 


Jesus wept.

 

February 18 Show: Teachers I've Treasured

A Tribute to my Teachers

In the past thirty years since the Lord called me out of the darkness, He has utilized several Christian leaders to help me along. I want to honor them today and summarize the important lessons I learned from each of them. Keep in mind, though, that they are all mere men with clay feet. Perfection is found only in Christ. Here they are in chronological order:

Chuck Smith, pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. 
 
Chuck’s love for Jesus and the expectancy of His soon return is contagious. The last major revival in America known as the Jesus Movement can be traced back to Chuck’s gifting as a teacher of the whole counsel of God.  His enthusiasm for teaching the signs of the times heralding the return of Christ struck a chord with the young generation of baby-boomers who were rebelling against the war strategy of Nixon and Johnson. God was pouring out His Spirit on those hippies who were crying out to Him and gave them new songs of love for Jesus on acoustic guitars. I was part of that lost generation singing along with songs like The Eve of Destruction and For What It’s Worth. We all knew something significant was up - that the world could not survive long on the course it was taking. Chuck told us there was hope in spite of the doom and gloom we couldn't ignore. That is the Blessed Hope of the Lord’s soon return. I was a bit late behind my contemporaries, but that was the Lord’s timing. CCCM was there to respond to me when I quit running from God.


Hal Lindsey, author of The Late Great Planet Earth.

As a new believer, I read everyone of Hal’s books. The Late Great Planet Earth gave me a good understanding of Bible prophecy and dispensationalism and the scriptures that backed it up. Hal’s writings helped me to take the Bible literally knowing it could be trusted. I learned how the first coming of Christ was prophesied and fulfilled and how His second coming would happen in the same way. I had the fortune to go on a tour to the Holyland led by Hal and hear him teach at all the sites, bringing the Bible alive in a powerful way. Hal also watched Israel in the news and helped me to see how the signs of the end times focused on the return of the Jews to Israel. In spite of Hal’s faults, and his compromise with TBN, he still interprets the news through the prism of Bible prophecy - he keeps on the alert.


David Hocking, Bible teacher and radio host.
  
In the early 80s our local Christian radio station had a line-up of good teaching programs one right after another. The Biola Hour with David Hocking was one of my favorites. Hocking still has a radio show called Hope for Today, and I have learned much from him over the decades. David is dogmatic. That bothers some people, but where God’s word speaks clearly, it’s right to be dogmatic. When teachers hem and haw about a passage and think up many ways in which it could be taken, it’s refreshing for a voice like Hocking’s to say it like it is. He taught me that saying, “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it whether you believe it or not.” No wishy-washy spineless teaching from him.


John MacArthur, Pastor/teacher/educator/Spokesman for the Faith.

Grace to You is the name of MacArthur’s radio program. He may be famous for founding a seminary, pastoring a mega-church, or being seen on television, but it was his radio outreach that has blessed me over the years. His radio show would be in the line-up along with Hocking and the original Bible-Answerman Walter Martin, and I absolutely loved MacArthur’s gift of exhortation. He believes in the Lordship of Christ - you can’t say Christ is your Savior if He isn’t your Lord. MacArthur reflects the spirit of the Apostle James in his epistle. I learned from John the principles of godly living and being a doer of the Word and not a hearer only. He taught me how to apply God’s word to every area of life and have Scripture interpret my view of the world. I respect him so much for not being afraid of saying it like it is when a guest on Larry King Live or any other secular program. He isn’t afraid to be unpopular and he is a good example of speaking the truth and letting the chips fall where they may. I learned from him that it’s okay not to be a people-pleaser but an ambassador of Christ.


Walter R. Martin, Christian Apologist, the late Bible-Answerman.

I attended Dr. Martin’s Bible studies at both Melodyland and Newport-Mesa Christian Center. He taught us how to defend all the major doctrines of the faith. I learned from him that evangelism is a two-sided coin: proclaim the faith and defend the faith and you can’t witness to people without doing both. He showed from Scripture that the baptism in boldness is an essential part of the born-again experience and the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life. I learned from Dr. Martin the teachings of the major cults and even some of the lesser ones and how to refute their main errors. He also taught me that the errors in the cults show up within the church dressed up in Christianeze. He demonstrated in his life and ministry how to do one’s best to reach the brother teaching error before exposing him/her to the rest of the church. He was a good example of doing apologetics with love and correction.


Dave Hunt, Author, Defender of the Faith, Conference speaker.

What a tireless worker in the Kingdom Dave Hunt is! I consider him one of my dearest friends in the ministry. He is such an encouragement for me to set my hand to the plow and not look back. He taught me to love the Truth - God’s word is Truth. Throughout the decades Dave has exposed the workings of the enemy in the attack against God’s word from many quarters. His book The Seduction of Christianity should be read by every Christian because he uncovers the M.O. of the devil’s work of deception in the highest places. A Woman Rides the Beast was another one of Dave’s masterpieces in showing the place of the Roman Catholic Church in history and prophecy. A backpacking trip I went on that he led back in 1985 showed me a man passionate for the Truth, deeply in love with Jesus, and dedicated to help others keep on the narrow track. He taught us little group of young people the great old hymns around the campfire and inspired us to be fully committed to the Lord and warned us of the coming apostasy of the church.


Gene Scott, the late pastor/teacher of Faith Center  

I attended the late Dr Gene Scott’s Faith Center in Glendale for most of 1983 before he went off the deep-end in his battle with the FCC. I learned about the grace of God, according to Scripture, from a man who presumed upon God’s grace routinely. He taught outside the box, that’s for sure. He touched on things that most respectable Christians don’t dare examine, such as God’s promises to the ten tribes of Israel and His promises to the southern tribes of Judah. He shows there is a distinction, something others simply gloss over. He was an expert on conspiracy theories, and even if he went overboard on some of that, I learned who’s who. I was familiarized with the Illuminati, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the Bilderbergers, and the Trilateral Commission, to name just a few. Jesse Ventura is a boyscout in comparison.


Joe Focht, pastor of Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia.

My pastor from 1987 to circa 1997 under whose study through the Bible every Sunday morning and Wednesday night built me up in my knowledge of the Word. I also listened “religiously” to his Straight from the Heart radio broadcast. His voice was comforting because I knew I could sit back and listen to him teach without my heresy-detector antennae up. I also learned some sad lessons about church politics from Joe, but God uses the good and the bad in one’s life experiences - or as they say - “iron sharpens iron.”


J. Jacob Prasch, Hebrew scholar, founder of Moriel Ministries.

Jacob has a better knowledge of the Old Testament than any teacher I know. His understanding of Jewish Midrash as taught by Jesus and the apostles in their use of biblical symbols and analogy is often scoffed at yet no one can refute it. Jacob always makes it clear that one cannot get their doctrine from Bible typology, but it is useful for a deeper understanding of the clear doctrine taught in Scripture. When Jacob preaches, no one’s head is bobbing from falling asleep. When the unction from the Holy Spirit comes upon him, the insights from his Bible studies blow people’s minds. It’s common to hear collective oohs and aahs in the congregation when Jacob takes the pulpit. One thing Jacob has taught me is how to see things from God’s perspective. When righteous indignation comes up in Jacob, it is a small picture of God’s wrath toward rebellion and spiritual adultery. One just has to discern the difference between the wrath of God and the wrath of Jacob. I love the analogy of the Bible as a loaf of bread he uses. They look the same on either end; Genesis and Revelation clearly display the end from the beginning with many similarities. Jacob digs deeper.

February 11 Show: UFOs - Supreme Being or Superior Beings

Recently an episode of the UFO Sci-Fi series, "V", featured Vatican City. The "visitors" in the story are from another galaxy and their leader, Anna, says they are here to help Earth and bring in an era of peace. However, secretly she is a sinister reptilian who intends to use human women to breed with their own species. Her alien crew has divided loyalties. Those who have contact with humanity develop man's emotions and with their newly found compassion are trying to overturn Anna's control.

Her opponents, the Fifth Column, are in collusion with discerning humans who see through Anna's facade and are trying to warn others not to trust her. Most earthlings believe her promises and are agreeing to board the alien ship, not knowing they won't come back alive. One of the human conspirators is a priest who preaches against trusting the "visitors" from the pulpit. Anna wants him silenced, thus her purpose in going to the Vatican.

When the college of cardinals welcome Anna, she requests that they order all their clergy around the world to refrain from speaking out against the visitors. They told Anna they could not do that to which she responded, "Our gifts to the people of Earth, the healing centers, blue energy, red rain - are merely products of highly advanced science, but also viewed as miracles by many. It would be tragic for centuries of faith to suddenly turn from you to me, all because I can be mistaken as someone with answers...How many more miracles do you think it would take for your followers to look to me?" 


Then she demonstrated her powers by rubbing two crystals together and out came streaks of blue energy swirling around the room and around a white statue of Mary who then cries blue shiny tears. The cardinals then capitulate to her demands and censure all priests threatening violators with expulsion.


This scenario is not as far-fetched as some might think. Many books have been written speculating that the coming Antichrist may indeed step off the deck of a UFO and perform great signs in wonders so that the entire world "wonders after the beast." Certainly nothing that has been seen thus far in the lying signs and wonders movement of charlatans like Benny Hinn or Todd Bentley has impressed many people. No one wonders after those beasts. But the Antichrist and false prophet will certainly amaze the world - today's religious illusionists merely pave the way for acceptance.

The blue ball of energy demonstrated by Anna reminds me of something written in my husband Bill's 1993 book, UFOs in the New Age: Extraterrestrial Messages & the Truth of Scripture. "Many UFOlogists speculate that the famous apparition of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917 could have been an alien, and the three children...contactees. The apparition bears no resemblance to Bible accounts of angelic messengers. The entity was described as a 'celestial being' that came from the sky in a globe of light. One witness was quoted as saying that 'it looked like a disc, of a very definite contour...it possessed a clear, changing brightness, which one could compare to a pearl. The globe of light in these accounts is reminiscent of the way the good witch Glenda looked in the movie, The Wizard of Oz."  


There seems to be a history of the Roman Catholic Church being contacted by these  alien (demonic) entities masquerading as Marian apparitions. Their messages always affirm the errors of Rome and the false worship of idols and the eucharist - both traits of the Mother Harlot in the book of Revelation.


Are people being conditioned to welcome the space brothers? The trend in religion to look within to find the inner self, AA's exhortation to find the higher self, and even Glenn Beck's encouragement to find your inner power all point to the acceptance of a "superior being." The idea of a Supreme Being seems to be archaic to those who have not a love for the Truth.


When the problems on this planet increase to where distress of nations with perplexity hits its zenith, the space brothers may seem to be man's only way out of the mess they've created. What is happening today is in advance of the landing. Then they will be ready for the one with all the answers.

 

 

January 28th Show: Family Ties

FAMILY TIES

 A recent blog article caught my attention the other day. It is called "The Monarchy of the Church" by an unknown author at pimppreacher.com. The writer took issue at the abuse of nepotism in the church. He wrote in part:

"In a church that was built by the financial support of its members, a disturbing development of leadership or dictatorship has risen and taken over like that of an old Egyptian Pharaoh who has the power to pass on the throne to his heirs....In a church organization which promotes high standards of ethics and morality, is the practice of nepotism beneficial or used as means of protecting ones legacy.  Nepotism is not new in the church, in fact it gained its name in the Middle Ages when some Catholic Popes and Bishops who had taken vows of chastity and therefore usually had no children of their own would give their nephews positions of preference, as a father would a son...

The issue of passing on the Throne / Pastoral Leadership to a son of a pastor rather than considering more qualified associate pastors has been a practice that has gone unchallenged in congregations across this country.  The main question that has arisen is simply this; just because he is your son does that mean that God called him to pastor this congregation?

We have witnessed the passing of a church to “ Junior” on several other occasions and some have gone off without a hitch. Others have proven disastrous as the son has tried to continue the legacy of the father, but lacked the anointing that was vital to building that congregation. Such was the case with Pastor Robert H. Schuller.

Pastor Schuller attempted to pass on the Crystal Cathedral to his son Schuller Jr. and it sparked the beginning of a series of issues that has landed the church into bankruptcy. Despite the families attempt to downplay the decline of the ministry during the reign of Pastor Schuller’s son, it has become very apparent that the drop in membership and donations was accelerated once the torch was passed to Schuller Jr."

 For pastors to place their sons in the pulpit when God has called another member of the leadership into that position is arrogant and speaks volumes against the senior pastor. It is a sign of possible ego problem. it is symptomatic of a wrong view of church in the modern world, A pastorship is a calling and a trust. A pastor should be accountable to his congregation. When any pastor is replaced in a church without the approval of the members and board of elders, it has lost its way.

That doesn’t mean that the son of a pastor is disqualified just because he is related to the pastor either. There needs to be balance. For instance, Donnie Swaggart has proven to be a powerful preacher. Much as I do not care for Joel Osteen, since he took over after the death of his dad John Osteen, his church has exploded with goats - not sure what sort of professing Christians his father attracted.

God has no grandchildren. And it is wrong to look at an Old Testament patriarchal model of leadership for a pattern. Some point to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to say nepotism is biblical - but that was for the generational promises - not the priesthood. If you want to go back to the OT to justify nepotism, a better example would be Moses and Joshua. The choosing was up to God who did choose Moses’ brother Aaron for priestly duties - but that was God’s choice.

One messianic church in Philadelphia had a practice of only allowing those with Jewish blood to be in positions of leadership. If a gentile believer showed God’s call he was not acceptable, Certainly this does not please God.

What about in the case of para-church ministry? Christian television networks have become dynasties that are family owned and operated even though they have a Christian public trust since it was the millions donated by believers that paid for them. TBN and CBN are both family owned and operated. Time will tell if they survive after the demise of their founders when the sons take over the dynasty.

January 21st Show: Prayers to John Paul II for miracles

The late Pope John Paul II is on the fast-track to sainthood. His successor, Pope Benedict XVI has authenticated a miracle, one of two required in order to complete the canonization process. JP will be beatified on May 1st. That ceremony will confer upon him the title, “Blessed.”

The testimony of a miracle came from a nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, an ailment that JP also suffered from. Two months after his death, she and her friends began praying to the dead pope for a miracle and then he appeared to her in a dream and a voice in her head told her to grab a pen and write. She woke up without having the usual shaking.

ABC News reported the story. “Sister Marie prayed that Pope John Paul intercede in her life,” said ABC reporter Miguel Marquez . “The Church now believes he did, proving both God’s existence and that John Paul is in heaven.”

This brings up the question: if it is valid to pray to a saint one knows made it to heaven, how can the Catholic Church instruct Catholics to pray to someone whose final destination is uncertain? What if no miracles ensued, does that mean they were praying to someone in hell? You see it is Roman Catholic teaching that no one can be assured of making it into heaven; for that is the sin of presumption. Catholics cannot sing the old Fanny Crosby hymn, Blessed Assurance.

Now Catholics everywhere are encouraged to direct their petitions to JP so that the other needed miracle can be achieved. The ABC News report said that the pope’s body will be exhumed when he is beatified in May and moved into the chapel of St. Sebastian in the Vatican. What they failed to mention is that exhumation of the targets for canonization is standard procedure to determine if the body or any body parts have remained intact. If so, that in and of itself would be the second miracle they’re seeking -- what they call “incorrupt bodies” that miraculously failed to decay.

Cathedrals in Europe are filled with these so-called incorrupt body parts of the saints for the veneration of “the faithful.” They are considered relics and are placed into bejeweled reliquaries behind glass where they are venerated and become the focal point of prayers to the saints - a ghoulish idea to the modern un-Catholic mind.

And if that isn’t morbid enough, the late pope’s blood specimen taken in a hospital before he died is about to be placed in a Catholic church in Poland, JP’s homeland, after the beatification. Published reports say “the vial would be encased in crystal and built into the altar of a church in the southern city of Krakow that is opening in May.”

The spokesman for the John Paul II Centre, Piotr Sionko, said this was the idea of Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the Archbishop of Krakow, an old friend of JP’s.

“'It was the cardinal's proposal,'' Mr Sionko said. ''He is of the opinion that this is the most precious relic of John Paul II and should be the focal point of the church.''

If the blood specimen is to be the focal point of the church, it will have a lot of competition with the statues in the alcoves, the crucifix over the altar, and the host within the tabernacle. All these church-approved items of veneration and worship must make it a difficult choice for the miracle-seeker to focus upon.

The Catholic Church has totally twisted the biblical teaching on prayer. Every time we pray, do we ask for a miracle? Where is that in the model prayer known as the Lord’s Prayer? Prayer is a devotion to God that includes petition, but also praise and confession and seeking of His will. To try and take that spiritual practice and direct it to a dead person, even one who made it into heaven, is nothing short of blasphemy and idolatry.

January 14th Show: Atheism: “The Fastest Growing Religion”

One of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes starred the late character actor Burgess Meredith. No, I’m not referring to the one where he survived the atom bomb and broke his glasses before he could sit down to read his piles of books from the devastated library. I’m talking about the 1961 episode called “The Obsolete Man” in which he stands trial for his life as a librarian since the totalitarian State considers it a useless occupation. He is sentenced to death for being “obsolete” because he loves books, owns a Bible, and believes in God Whom the State has declared does not exist. [See Wikipedia synopsis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Obsolete_Man ]

Back in the early ‘60s, it was unthinkable that a government could declare that there is no God. We thought only a communist country like Russia or China could dare to outlaw religion and persecute believers. After all, the United States has “In God we trust” on their dollar bills.

Sadly, it looks like forces of God-haters are rising up in power in our country to lobby for their collective belief in atheism. They have a public relations campaign to win others to their views and even have celebrity endorsements to spread their message of the supremacy of man in the universe. Now they have a well-attended annual convention (next one in April in Des Moines, Iowa) to help them galvanize the godless masses into a powerful special interest group who can campaign for change in Washington. [ http://atheists.org/ ] They want to remove “one nation under God” from our Pledge of Allegiance and ban prayer in any public place. Instead of trusting God, they only have themselves to trust in. What a miserable position to take.

These atheists have the zeal of evangelists in spreading their message that God is a bad invention of man and responsible for all the wars and hardships throughout history. They have especially targeted the Evangelical Church as public enemy number one.

Since atheism is indeed a negative and hopeless ideology, their PR machine is putting a positive spin on their message. Comedian/magician Penn Jillette, for example, has been interviewed all over television testifying that his acceptance of atheism has brought joy and hope to his world.

Other celebrities that inspired him to come out of the atheist closet were Martin Mull, Randy Newman, and Frank Zappa. Jillette says they are just behind the Gay Lobby in coming into prominence and influence. The YouTube clip of his testimony can be seen here: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFdOGQbP1i0]  At the end of his tape, Jillette rejoices in the fact that if atheism were a religion, he is part of the fastest growing religion in America.

Former Saturday Day Night Live not-ready-for-prime-time-player, Julia Sweeney, has taken her atheist one-woman-show on the road to packed audiences. Her “Letting God of God” routine is now on film and is also popular on YouTube. One clip shows the audience response and the people sound as if they’re talking about an inspirational gospel message in how much it meant to them. [see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_FLLzbRVT8 ]

Could the atheist lobby be a portent of things to come and a rise in persecution of Christians in America? Certainly this movement is not surprising when we consider it as just another sign of the times. The Bible tells us that before Jesus returns iniquity would abound. So this should not surprise us. However, it does sadden us to see how the Creator of all is being lampooned by His creatures. One day these very people may be the ones of whom it is written prophetically that will shake their fists at God when judgment falls.

January 7th Show: Pat Robertson does not hear from God & other false prophets

Every January prognosticators and forecasters in the world, the church, and the occult publish their predictions for the coming year. When we look back at their track record, we're not very impressed. Some are hit & miss; others are downright off target; none are 100% accurate.

Recently the economic experts have most people's attention. They base their predictions on their understanding of the financial market. Meteorologists forecast weather patterns to expect in the coming year. Astrologers supposedly see into the future via the study of the constellations and superstitious beliefs in their influences. And self-appointed prophets in the visible church prophesy according to a supposed dream, vision, or audible voice from God.

All these voices have a common appeal: worldliness. They attract people who are afraid of the future and want to know that their comfort in this life is secure for another year. Yet that focus is contrary to the Bible. Jesus told us not to concern ourselves with those needs but to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and leave the rest to Him. 

"I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ...Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." - Matt. 6:24b-25;34

Yet every year we are bombarded with so-called prophecies of how we need to do certain things in order to prosper and get through the year. CBN founder/president Pat Robertson hears from God, he says, every year. God just happens to keep the same calendar as the former presidential candidate. But his record for accuracy is abysmal. 

Back in 1999, for instance, he said that God told him that those who do not double their giving that year would not survive the year 2000. Benny Hinn quoted him on TBN's Praise-a-Thon in order to twist people's arms to give more than they could afford. When 2000 came and went, there was no apology from the 700 Club or TBN.

According to the Bible, that makes Pat Robertson a false prophet. And we certainly should not listen to him. 

"When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him."  - Deut 18:22

This year, according to Robertson, God is again worried about His people's bank accounts. Pat prefaced his prophecy he gave to the 700 Club audience with a warning: "this is what I'm writing and what I'm saying this is what the Lord said." Then he pontificated about his favorite subject: the economy.

"Your country is in grave peril. The leaders have hearkened to the demands of interest groups and have led your nation into bankruptcy. In two years will come a time of reckoning - it's not now, but it's gonna be two years from now. Your creditors will demand payment and there will not be enough to satisfy their claims. Your currency will shrink in value, your bonds will lose value, people on fixed incomes will suffer, unemployment will escalate, and there will be turmoil." 

The economic forecasters could have said as much and they didn't require some audible voice from God. Since Robertson has already demonstrated his propensity to say "thus saith the Lord" when the Lord hasn't spoken to him, why should we listen to him now? And besides, he didn't say anything important at all anyway.

Elijah List, the umbrella group of false prophets, published a transcript of Pat Robertson's latest prophecy for 2011 and put in a ridiculous disclaimer to protect Pat and other false prophets for being labeled for what they are. The publisher Steve Shultz wrote:

"Some are confused because there are so many differing pieces of the puzzle as we have posted words for 2011. That is because there would not be a need for thousands of prophets unless this was a large puzzle...Keep in mind that prayer can change any negative prophecy."

 Yet Pat Robertson did not deliver his word from God with any conditions. Shultz got this unbiblical idea from the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders [ACPE], headed up by C. Peter Wagner and Cindy Jacobs. They put together a collective prophecy from all their false prophet underlings every year and because of their horrible record they had to change the Bible's requirement for 100% accuracy. 

Last year the ACPE prefaced their prophecies with this disclaimer:

"This is the word given through a compilation of the prophetic releases and consensus of the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders.  There are differing variables that can affect the timing and/or coming to pass of theses words:

• All prophecy not contained in scripture is conditional.
• The timing of when the prophecy comes to pass may occur over a longer period of time than one calendar year.  Some take many years to fulfill.
• It is possible that prophetic warnings will cause either the person or nation to repent and so turn away the judgment prophesied.  Biblically, this happened when Jonah prophesied to Nineveh and the city repented, causing God to relent."

This gives a whole new definition of a prophet. There hasn't been a single failed prophecy given by any of the Elijah List or ACPE "prophets" that could be interpreted to have failed due to repentance as in Nineveh. And when they specify a time-frame to their prophecy and it does not come to pass, they have no right to say it can happen later. To say that all prophecy is conditional when no conditions were put on them is an insult to everyone's intelligence.

The true prophet Jeremiah told us what our attitude toward false prophets should be and we need to apply that to these "thousands of prophets" that have crept into our churches:

"Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the LORD.'" -Jer. 23:16