Our Lenten journey has taken us into the end time deception and delusion of the church. I said it was like going down a rabbit hole as it doesn’t take long to see the plethora of false teachers and their false teaching that have infiltrated the church. The amazing part is that each group will tell you there are false prophets / teachers, but it is not them but upon closer inspection, it is them. It seems the further you go, the more ridiculous it gets, and it doesn’t take long to see how much these teachers have been deceived and how delusional they have become. Speaking of ridiculous, I just saw a quote from a video of Franklin Graham suggesting Trump be re-elected, even though that is un-constitutional. He said “I love Donald Trump. We'll never get another president like Donald Trump. That is why it's important we do everything we can to try to get him re-elected.” Graham then clarified after he was busted that he misspoke and was talking about his policy. It doesn’t take long listening to Graham to see just how much deception and delusion has set in with people who call themselves leaders in the church. But it is not just the leader that has been deceived and delusional, you also have the deception and delusion of the millions who have followed these false teachers.
But that begs the question; what if you are not looking and you just believe what you are being told as we see many in the church doing. Most people just accept what they are told and never question it. Others just stick their head in the sand as they really do not want to know, while still others have been told but refuse to listen. Jeremiah 17:23 “They did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline.” Behind all of this deception is satan, but as we were warned, satan uses false prophets and teachers to do his work. False teachers are everywhere in the church and most who call themselves Christians have no idea they are being deceived by those they have entrusted their lives to. It still amazes me that people still follow some of these false teachers, but not only follow, they give them money so they can live their lavish lifestyles. They believe their leaders should be speaking truth so they never test the spirits to make sure. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” They have been told others are not teaching correctly but by listening to them they have found the way, truth and life. I have watched many videos and watched people nodding their heads in approval and praising God, all the while they are being lied to. Peter said 2 Peter 2:1 “There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.” Not only are people deceived, but because the church rebelled against God’s word, God brought upon them delusion. As I said yesterday, we are not talking about cults like the Mormons or JWs, we are talking about those who call themselves the church like Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, Catholics, Reformed and so on.
So far, a lot of this has been based on false interpretation of prophecy. Interpreting prophecy, especially about the end times without the Holy Spirit leaves you deceived and delusional. Instead of speaking truth, they promote doctrines of demons. Jesus said very clearly that the Spirit of truth would come. He then said, John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” That is how it was supposed to be, but rebellion changed that. As we talked about, if the Spirit of truth was guiding, you wouldn’t have all these very distinct doctrines. Since God has turned His face from the church, the guidance is coming from satan whose main goal, as we saw in the garden of Eden, is to get you to turn against God and die and then spend eternity with him. Jesus said, Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” If you have been taught to follow other gospels, you will hear, Matthew 25:41 “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Luke 13:25 “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.”
So far we have looked at the third temple which is body of Christ, not a building in Israel, as Acts 17:24 “the God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.” The tribulation which is not a future event but happening now and millions who call themselves Christians have been deceived and deluded. Daniel 7:21 “As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them.” The rapture which is a fictional Hollywood idea and does not exist, but Jesus returning to take us into eternity does. John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” Believing in the Son is believing in God’s word. You will not see eternal life if you are following a different jesus. We also talked about the millennial kingdom which is not way off in the future, but came near when sincere repentance took place. Mark 1:15 “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Many have bought into these delusions and deception that there will be a rapture of the church, a tribulation of those left behind, a temple built and Jesus reigning on earth for 1000 years. Here is an example of delusional. “The Messianic era will witness ultimate physical and spiritual bliss. All will be healed.14 The blind, the deaf and the dumb, the lame, whosoever has any blemish or disability, shall be healed from all their disabilities: “The eyes of the blind shall be clearsighted, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened… the lame shall leap as a hart (deer) and the tongue of the dumb shall sing…” (Isaiah 35:5-6).15 Death itself shall cease, as it is said, “Death shall be swallowed up forever and G‑d shall wipe the tears from every face…” (Isaiah 25:8)” That was from a Jewish site but can be applied to the Christians who also believe in the 1000 year reign.
So what difference does it make if you believe in this nonsense that you just read and that we have been talking about? This is why it matters. Waiting for healing in a kingdom that is never going to happen means you are missing the Kingdom of God Jesus said would come near. That is what the Jews have done and Christians have also done the same. It means you do not think you have to repent because you have been taught that the powerless church is how it is supposed to be, except they do not use the term powerless church, they just reject scripture that talks about the power the church was supposed to have. Today we are talking about healing and casting out demons which demonstrates the power of God. The lack of healing and casting out of demons in the church shows very clearly that the church has rebelled and the doctrines are wrong, and it shows that because of rebellion, which is following a different jesus and other gospels, the church, both charismatic and non-charismatic, has been decimated by the abomination causes desolation. Healing and casting out demons are not prophetic words but what the church was empowered to do, but by accepting the false teaching about the end times, that affects the teaching about healing in these times. That means people will miss the power the church was supposed to have. As we will see, some who believe in these end times deceptions and delusions do not believe healing as described in scripture while others do believe in healing as we will talk about.
As described in scripture means the church will do as Jesus did with the same power and authority. Matthew 8:3 “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.” Notice the word immediately. This is not happening in either charismatic or non-charismatic churches. That also means disciples will heal and cast out demons just as Jesus did just like the first disciples that Jesus gave power to. What happens is when you believe that Jesus is going to come back and reign on David’s throne, you accept that His kingdom is not present which also means you accept that there is no power. So you then believe the condition of the church, no healing or casting out demons, is normal and how it was supposed to be. Paul said Galatians 3:1 “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?” It is important to note that all those miracles were not listed. Paul also said 1 Corinthians 4:20 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” The church as we know it, is filled with talk but no power.
It really is hard to comprehend why there is so much resistance to having the power of Godin the church, especially when we have the bible in our hands. How can you read the bible and not want what you reading? But that is the deception we were warned about in the bible, that we have in our hands, so we are without excuse. Even those who say there is power, even when there really isn’t, are not seeking God to turn His face back to the church. Most just stubbornly continue heading in the direction they have been taught to go and refuse to change course. They will respond just as those who responded to the word of God spoke through Jeremiah. Jeremiah 18:11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’”
There are basically two groups with a wide variety of beliefs in between. There are the non-charismatics who believe God can heal if He so desires but not through His disciples. Most believe that healing power stopped with the disciples. Then there is the charismatic side of things that believe God does heal through His disciples but neither groups are seeing the healing and casting out of demons we see in the Gospels and Acts. This is not happening. Acts 8:4 “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.” Mark 16:20 “the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” Many charismatics have been deceived by false manifestations because they did not test the spirits.
The first group, the non-charismatics all say they believe in healing but upon a closer look, they do not. That unbelief is pretty easy to see. They do believe God is a God of healing and if He so desired, He would heal. The good news is that God does desire, but His plan using disciples to heal is not acceptable to their doctrines and theology and they are unwilling to change. Jesus showed us God’s plan almost immediately after Jesus began His ministry. Luke 9:1 “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” That is God’s plan for the church and at Pentecost, the church was empowered to do as Jesus did. John 7:37 “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” Receiving the Holy Spirit means power and authority. Luke 24:49 “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Acts 1:4 “On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” 1 Corinthians 15:2 “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”
The amazing part is God’s plan is an extension of what He said in the Old Testament. Exodus 15:26 “He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.” We serve a healing God. Then we see the same with Jesus. Matthew 8:16 “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” Jesus fulfilled what was said in Exodus but the good news as Peter said at Pentecost, Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” When we repent, the kingdom of God comes near. Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” When the kingdom of God comes near, so does power and authority to do as Jesus did.
We also saw that disobedience and rebellion leads to no healing which is what we are seeing in the church now. On the curse side we see that, Deuteronomy 28:21 “The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. 27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind.” As we can see, rebellion against God’s word changes God blessing into curses. We go from Deuteronomy 28:1 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God,” to “15 “However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you.” The church chose the latter.
The amount of effort put into bringing truth into disrepute is amazing and usually it is pretty easy to see. There are volumes of writing in direct opposition to what the bible clearly says about healing. One that I read was from Moody. The whole article was why James 5 did not mean what it said. James 5:14 “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” Why do they do this? The bible doesn’t work with their teaching.
I just wanted to add if you are seeking the God who heals, don’t give up because the promise to David still applies. Not only should you believe James is about healing, just above James says James 5:10 “Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” Romans 4:20 “Yet he (Abraham) did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
I say usually false teaching is easy to see because sometimes you have to look deeper, than just their beliefs found on their website. One of the most detrimental doctrines is called cessationism. This is a doctrine of demons and is taught by false teachers throughout the church. There are also those who teach the same thing, they just don’t use the word. 1 Timothy 4:1 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” That is already happening. Obviously, there are more doctrines of demons than cessationism, but our focus will be on this one in particular. One writer described this doctrine of demons this way although they do not believe it to be a doctrine of demons. “Cessationism is the view that the “miracle gifts” of tongues and healing have ceased—that the end of the apostolic age brought about a cessation of the miracles associated with that age. Most cessationists believe that, while God can and still does perform miracles today, the Holy Spirit no longer uses individuals to perform miraculous signs. After Jesus’ resurrection, as the Church was being established and the New Testament was being written, the apostles demonstrated “signs” such as tongues and the power to heal.” They also say, “Because these gifts were tied to the foundational role of the apostles and prophets in establishing the church, cessationists believe the need for these specific offices also ended.” If you wonder what the voice of satan sounds like, you just heard it. Not only are the ages they talk about a lie (dispensationalism), the church only needing power to start is ridiculous. My van starts and then takes me where I need to be. My van would be useless if it only had the power just to start but then no power to get where I needed to be. Just because we have a hard copy of the bible, doesn’t mean the church will follow it.
One of the main proponents of this doctrine of demons is John MacArthur. Let me just say that people need to stop following people named John and stick to the ones in the bible. Although even John the Baptist had to be sure as he was about to die. Matthew 11:2 “When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” If Jesus really is our Messiah, these words still apply. There were 21 officially recognized popes named John. You also had John Calvin, John Wesley, John Piper, John MacArthur, John Hagee, John Maxwell just to name a few. Psalm 118:8 “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.” These humans have led many astray with their teaching. Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
This is what John MacArthur said about cessationism in a video. He died last year, and will never be able to come back and say he was wrong. He will have died as a false prophet, who not only deceived people about healing, but also deceived them about the end times. He believed there would be a rapture, tribulation and millennial kingdom. He took a stand against the charismatic movement but actually he was taking a stand against the belief that disciples should be able to heal, which is a stand against scripture. Don’t buy his commentary. This is what he said in a video where he was talking about the strange fire of the charismatics. He said, “Most of you know that a few months ago we had a strange fire conference and we talked about the aberrant charismatic Pentecostal movement that has dominated the evangelical landscape and even spread around the world. Somewhere between half billion and 750 million people claim to be a part of this movement. And it raised the question of what is called cessationism. That kind of awkward word simply defines the belief that the New Testament miraculous gifts ceased. They ceased. That has been the normative historical view of the church through the church's life going all the way back to the New Testament and on into the modern era. But since the turn of the 20th century, there has been the birth of a of a strange uh Pentecostal and then charismatic movement that wants to affirm that all the sign gifts, miraculous gifts are back, including prophets, including apostles.”
The strange part is that his teaching is just as aberrant as those he is speaking against. The reason why the word is awkward is because it doesn’t exist. Plus, this false teacher will look you straight in the eye and tell you this is the view of the church. The problem is that his own doctrinal beliefs do not line up with the bible, so he changes the bible. Now John MacArthur isn’t a nobody writing a blog. One person said, “There is no single pastor who has been more influential on young theological conservatives in the last 50 years than MacArthur. Not Billy Graham. Not Adrian Rogers. Not Charles Stanley. Not John Piper. MacArthur has been the gold standard for conservative and Reformed theology not only through his preaching but through his books, his commentaries, his study Bible, his podcasts, his videos, his conferences, his public appearances.” Another said, “John MacArthur will be remembered for his emphasis on expository preaching and diligent Bible study, “For me, MacArthur and the Word go hand in hand.” This man had massive influence on the lives of those who look to him to be a servant of God, but not only did MacArthur lead people away on his own, all those who bought into what he was selling went out and taught the same. When Jesus said do not be deceived, He meant it. Look at the power and influence of just one person.
Now he is not the only one, but not everyone who believes this will call what they are doing cessationism. We talked about another false teacher David Jeremiah the other day who believes the same. Yes, it is hard to imagine a person with those two names could be a false teacher. He believes God can heal but he does not believe God uses disciples to heal. Now if you looked at his website you may be confused. Actually, I was, because normally when you look at their beliefs under the heading of Holy Spirit, you usually do not see 1 Corinthians 12:4-13 and there will be no talk of healing. Actually, there was no talk of healing but they did include the verse. You do get the picture that they don’t actually believe because they said this, “The Holy Spirit is that Person of the Triune Godhead who convicts men of sin, causes spiritual birth, indwells, seals, sanctifies, guides, equips, teaches, and fills the believer, thus enabling him to walk in obedience to God and His Word.” It doesn’t say empowers to heal. The posting of the verse confused me so I looked deeper, but that didn’t take long as he had a sermon where he was teaching people not to expect miracles and then went on to explain why they were so rare and that’s okay. This is all because of his cessationists views. He also said what MacArthur taught. “Sign gifts were given to establish God’s authority. I don’t have time to go through all the arguments about this in this sermon, but if you’ll listen carefully, I’ll give you the core answer to the questions that sometimes you’re asked. In the New Testament, when Jesus was on this earth and His apostles were preaching, they had no New Testament; they had no authority for what they said. How could people know whether they truly came from God? Their words were authenticated by miracles and visible signs that proved their authority. The apostles were recognized as God’s messengers because of the sign gifts. But when the written Word of God was completed, when we got this blessed book called the Bible, those sign gifts began to fade from the center.” The bizarre part of that teaching is they are saying no one else needs to be authenticated because we have the bible, yet millions are being deceived by these very powerful yet powerless false teachers all using the bible. As Paul said Galatians 3:3 “Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”
So here are two men that are renowned around the world and have great influence, yet I have called them false teachers. Just so you know I am not the only one. This is not about one group fighting against the other, this is about the word of God fighting against the forces of evil. Aside from both having the same end times doctrines, they both teach what is contrary to scripture when it comes to healing. This isn’t prophecy like we were dealing with the end times. First, they said there are no longer any prophets or apostles. This really isn’t complicated because this is what was said. Paul said in Ephesians 4:11 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Nowhere does it say there will no longer be apostles and prophets.
It is interesting that they believe that presently there are false prophets and apostles, yet you can’t counterfeit something that isn’t there so there must be true prophets and apostles plus scripture makes it clear that there are. True apostles and prophets won’t be like the ones they are speaking against in charismatic circles and yes, we should be concerned about those prophets and apostles. What they have done is speak against the charismatics and the many false prophets and apostles, but in doing so have rejected the word of God as you read above. They are right that nothing is to be added to God’s word, but they readily admit to taking away from God’s word in order to satisfy their own distinct teaching. Prophets and apostles are no different than in the Old Testament and the Gospels. They speak the words God’s people do not want to hear. We also know that they did prophesy about events. Acts 11:27 “During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world.” But we must always test the spirits.
Then we look at the gifts of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:4 “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” Read that again.
Once again, they take away what scripture clearly states. The sign gifts are a real problem as they do not line up with their theology. This is what the verse looks like after they are done redacting it. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” They should take out the knowledge and wisdom also. But their redaction is not what it says. John MacArthur said when talking about the sign gifts, “There are four temporary sign gifts listed there: Miracles, healings, languages, and the interpretation of languages.” Notice how satan works here. That is not what scripture said. MacArthur inserts the word temporary, thus adding to scripture something that is not there. These false prophets have no fear of Revelation 22:18 “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.” He then goes on to convince those listening why miracles are no longer happening. So a good question to ask is who is behind this teaching? The answer as we discussed is satan and this is false teaching for the simplest of reasons; it doesn’t say that! You cannot agree to disagree and say they still love Jesus. Their teaching shows that they follow a different jesus, and other gospels. They work so hard to convince God’s people that the power we read about in the bible was only for a short time at the beginning of the church and no longer for us today. And many have been convinced by their lies. There are many churches who may not say they are cessationist, but they do believe and are convinced that the sign gifts, disciples with healing power do not exist today. Thus the church has been deceived and deluded and lies in desolation.
If people were honest, the word disappointment would describe the result of many people’s prayer for healing. Basically, people have been taught to get used to disappointment. I am pretty sure everyone wants to be healed just like they did when Jesus walked the earth. Matthew 4:24 “News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.” So today it is good that there are no sick people, no cancer, no heart conditions, no mental health illness, no covid, no respiratory infection, no Alzheimer’s, no diabetes, no strokes, no kidney diseases, no HIV/AIDES, no incurable diseases, no homosexuality, so we really do not need God’s plan for the church to be in effect.
I think this hymn describes the sad condition of the powerless church who have been deceived into believing all is well with their soul. No not that one. It’s called “In the Garden” – “I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses, and the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses... And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other, has ever, known! He speaks and the sound of His voice, is so sweet the birds hush their singing, And the melody that he gave to me, within my heart is ringing . . .” The song written by C. Austin Miles, 1912 says it was inspired by John 20. When you look at John 20 you see power and unbelief. Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared to Mary Magdalene. She then went to the disciples to say I have seen the Lord. Luke 24:11 “But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.” Mark 16:14 “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.” Jesus appeared the disciples but Thomas wasn’t there and Thomas did not believe. He said, John 20:25 “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The last part of the chapter said, 30 “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John also said John 21:25 “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Do you believe?
So we have the power of the resurrection of Jesus. Paul said Ephesians 1:18 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” His incomparably great power for us who believe was supposed to be available to the church, but the church is still filled with unbelief.
The songs chorus said, “and He walks with me, and He talks with me.” That made me think of the woman who believed Jesus could heal her in the midst of the masses walking and talking with Jesus who was on his way to heal a man’s daughter. The difference is she reached out to Jesus while everyone else walked and talked. Mark 5:24 “A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
This is the power made available to the church for all who believe. Can you honestly say that there is no one like this today that needs healing? Can you say there is no one like the other woman that Jesus healed who was Luke 13:11 “bent over and could not straighten up at all. 16 whom satan has kept bound for eighteen long years.” Or like all the people Jesus healed. Now this is going to sound a little strange after calling cessationism a doctrine of demons. They are right in saying there is no power in the church since the time of the apostle Paul. The problem is that is not how it was supposed to be. The church was to continue proclaiming the gospels, destroying the work of the devil, healing the sick and casting out demons but instead the church like Israel and Judah rebelled against the word of God and lost the power to do as Jesus did. Instead of repenting and turning back to God’s word, they make up a doctrines, obviously under the guidance of satan, to cover up the sin and explain why there is no power. It becomes a false teaching because they do not teach the church to turn from its wickedness so that God will turn His face back to the church. When God does turn His face back to the church, power and authority will return and the church will once again do as Jesus did. satan is very pleased with those who teach that a lack of power is normal as satan knows what happens when the church does as Jesus did. Mark 6:7 “Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. 12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” Matthew 10:1 “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. “Leprosy could be any disease today. Just as it was when Jesus walked the earth and healed all the sick, today there is no disease or sickness that cannot be healed even though we face diseases and sickness that have no cure. I can tell you that satan will rage against you for actually believing what the bible says. I have had people say to me have you seen what you are talking about and sadly the answer is no, but I believe the word of God. I believe that the power that we read about in the Gospels and Acts is available for today. When the church returns to the word of God, power and authority to heal and cast out demons will also return. So many have been deceived by their eyes, meaning they reject God’s word because they have not seen it. The church is filled with people who are content in their rebellion.
Today’s church does a lot of talking about Jesus but at the same time do not believe what His word clearly states. Do we really believe the verses we read above. Exodus 15:26 “He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.” The we see the same with Jesus. Matthew 8:16 “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” A different jesus no longer heals and doctrines of demons like cessationism are taught in order for satan to keep people bound, but Jesus said the church would free people. Matthew 16:18 “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock (Peter saying Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.) I will build my church, and the gates of hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” That is the power the church was supposed to have. As Paul was told Acts 26:17 “I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” The church was to continue in that power.
People say they believe God will heal, but the reality is most are left disappointed as churches are filled with the sick and the medicated and many are incapacitated due to their illness and many are dying because of their disease. They then accept that doctors are God’s plan for their healing. 2 Chronicles 16:12 “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians.” Then when the doctors fail, they accept death as the ultimate healing, but all the while absolutely refuse to believe that God’s plan includes the gift of healing. One church I looked at when talked about the gifts, said they believed in healing, but their gifts survey did not include healing.
It is God’s plan to have His disciples heal. Almost the first thing Jesus did was call His disciples and give them power to do what He was doing. Jesus went and preached the gospel which was proclaiming the kingdom of God, healing the sick, and casting out demons. Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.” Jesus then gave that same power to those who would believe. Mark 16:15 “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” If you believe Jesus is still alive, Jesus can then still send out disciples in power.
Notice Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe.” Most churches prefer the other great commission passage from Matthew 28, even though it says the same thing. Matthew 28:18 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Since most churches believe they are sent out, then these verses apply to today also. There was no cutoff date. That came from false teachers because of course satan wants the church to be powerless.
The rabbit hole does not seem to have an end. In the news said a church was having a revival of young people. A revival is a return to the truth but this was not. This shows how deadly false teaching can be as new generations are turned away from the truth. This is a mega church in Dallas Texas and it appears that young people are flocking to it. But what are they flocking to. If they get saved, what are they being saved into? The answer is they are not being saved but deceived by yet another church who teaches false end time beliefs. They say on their website “Some gifts of the Holy Spirit, however, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of miraculous healing, were given to certain individuals as authenticating signs for the early church. We believe in the personal, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Church. This event, commonly called the rapture, will be followed by great tribulation on earth and will culminate in the visible and bodily return of Jesus Christ to the earth, commonly called the Second Coming, to rule the nations and establish his millennial kingdom.” These young people are hungry for God but instead of finding God, they have been deceived by a different jesus and other gospels.
Now we have the other side of the coin, the charismatics and like the non-charismatics have a wide range of beliefs. I am clumping them all together. Some beliefs are extreme just like the non-charismatics and some are not. This is how one person describes it. “The charismatic movement is an approach to worship and faith in some Christian denominations that emphasizes the active presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. While it has its origin in the denomination of Pentecostalism, adherents of the charismatic movement can be found in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, most mainline Protestant denominations, and non-denominational Christian churches as well. The movement promotes worship and expression of faith through special spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues, translating tongues, healing, prophecy, discerning spirits, words of knowledge, and words of wisdom. These gifts are associated with what charismatics refer to as baptism in the Holy Spirit. Many Christians believe that these gifts ceased in the first century as the original disciples of Jesus Christ died, while others believe that they are still rarely bestowed on certain individuals. Charismatics, on the other hand, believe that the presence of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts as well as miracles can and should be part of the life of every practicing Christian.”
Most believe that the sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. Scripture makes it clear that this is a language. Acts 2:4 “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.” People accused them of being drunk, but Peter said, Acts 2:15 “These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” As we know, the apostle Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote much of the New Testament. The words he wrote are also the most distorted. 2 Peter 3:14 “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” I am not going to talk about it now but if you have been taught you are eternally secure, you are not and you should take the time to find out what else you church is teaching.
My journey took me into this realm for a bit and I saw some pretty bizarre stuff. There were a couple of men’s breakfasts (charismatic) where men who came were not just from the church. The guy speaking was talking about his mission trip to somewhere in the middle of nowhere and he said he preached the gospel with an interpreter. That sounds okay until it came time to pray at the breakfast and he started muttering in tongues; everyone there spoke English. I am sure you can see the problem there. Here is a guy talking about preaching to a people who did not speak English and he used an interpreter. He then is talking to English speaking people and speaks in tongues. At another men’s breakfast, at a restaurant, we were praying (thankfully, I never spoke in tongues which was upsetting for a little) and as many were babbling, a waitress walked in and I saw her face as she quickly turned around and left. It was as if she saw something she was not supposed to see. In both cases there was no conviction of sin.
This is not meant to be an extensive study on tongues but what I have seen looks nothing like scripture. It appears to be the opposite. There are some wild scenes like running, bodies convulsing, shouting, barking, and laughing like hyenas, people who claim they are drunk in the spirit, people falling and lying on their backs as if they had been overcome by the spirit but since we do not see this in scripture it was not the Holy Spirit they were overcome by. Always on the face. It looks more like the animal kingdom and sexual submission. After Jesus cast out the demons from a man into the pigs, he was a changed man, Luke 8:34 “When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured.” Many charismatic events are the reverse of this. Instead of right minds people are out of their minds. Not all charismatics are that extreme.
Today we are talking about healing. The charismatics say because they are speaking in tongues, the Holy Spirit is present, so when the whole group is speaking in tongues, the Holy Spirit must really be present and power must be flowing. One time I went to a prophetic conference and at the time I had a bad knee. The prophet said that he had a vision of the blood of Christ flowing along the front. He was the only one who could see it. So I thought, great all I have to do is go stand there and I will be healed. Yes, thankfully my eyes have been opened to these false teachers. So people lined up along the front and he went down the line praying but when he got to me he went around and I thought okay and no my knee was not healed. Beside me were two little girls that had a rare disease and they were crying and I heard them say he didn’t pray for me. There was no blood, it was just the imagination of a man. Jeremiah 23:20 “In days to come you will understand it clearly. 21 I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.” There was definitely no power to heal either. Often the manifestations are a cover up for the lack of power. Yes, there is power, but it is not God. People will think because people are slain (and they put a blanket over the ladies’ legs- think about that for a moment) that God is present but when they get up from their “carpet-time” they are still the same.
When Covid hit the world, the church was deemed un-essential. I remember saying this is wrong and I would stay open if I had a church building. We had a house church at the time but I was wrong because the church was unessential because it was completely powerless to do anything about covid. This is why many churches still do say it was fake. I am sure the people who lost loved ones would say differently. WorldoMeter states “7,010,681 people have died so far from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak as of April 13, 2024, There are currently 704,753,890 confirmed cases in 229 countries and territories. The fatality rate is still being assessed.” You may remember just after it started, Kenneth Copeland another false prophet commanded it to be over. The guy beside him looked very uncertain. “Kenneth Copeland stands in the office of a prophet of God, and on Sunday, March 29, 2020, he declared that judgment be executed on COVID-19:” Now if you watched this video and thought glory to God, you have some work to do. This is what he was yelling. “As people of God, we have dominion and authority over COVID-19, because Jesus has redeemed us from every curse, which includes sickness, disease and every plague. "In the Name of Jesus, standing in the office of the prophet of God, I execute judgment on you COVID-19. I execute judgment on you, satan, you destroyer, you killer. You get out. I break your power. You get off this nation. I demand judgment on you. I demand. I demand. I demand a vaccination to come immediately. I call you done. I call you gone. You come down from your place of authority, destroyer. You come down and you crawl on your belly like God commanded you when He put His foot on your head in the Garden of Eden. You will destroy through COVID-19 no more.” 'It is finished! It is over! And the United States of America is healed and well again,' saith the mighty Spirit called Peace, who is also the Prince of War, the Lord Jesus Christ." We must choose to exercise our authority and dominion over COVID-19 with our words. Get into agreement with the prophet, and declare God's judgment on COVID-19. It is defeated in the Name of Jesus!” The question is what do you need a vaccine for if it is over. That was right at the beginning and there has been over 7 million people die, not to mention all the people who were affected by it long term, yet this false prophet is still going.
In 1994 there was the Toronto Blessing, but it was not a blessing but a false revival. It was described as “characterized by dramatic, "supernatural" manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Attendees experienced uncontrollable laughter, falling, shaking, and animal-like sounds, attracting millions worldwide to experience what many deemed an outpouring of God's love.” Another false prophet involved with this was Rodney Howard Browne (the holy ghost bartender) who like Kenneth Copeland is still deceiving the nations. If you are not sure satan is standing behind pulpits, after seeing this two in action you should be. But don’t just be deceived by the charismatic preachers, others like John MacArthur and David Jeremiah are just as false as these two. Bill Johnson is a false teacher who came out of the Toronto Blessing profoundly influenced. He is the pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California. One person wrote, “Johnson has been a key figure in carrying the theological focus of the Toronto Blessing to the global charismatic church, stressing that God often works in ways that offend skeptics.” This is the church that claims they had glory clouds. One who was there said, “one of the manifestations that we experienced was the glory cloud and this glitter-like substance was just kind of up along the ceiling kind of moving in the air currents of the room but not all the air currents of the room that we could see like I remember being mesmerized by that and also flabbergasted just totally I had no, I had no words.” Johnson said, “it's like his world is breaking to ours.” The problem is it is not God but satan. 2 Corinthians 11:12 “And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” But just above this Paul said “I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.”
I bring this up because this is a church that is claiming the power of God is so present that there are glory clouds but then Covid hits. This church has a school called, “Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.” You would think supernatural would mean power and authority. They also had healing rooms. The services were shut down, the school and the healing rooms also. At one point they said there was 274 positive cases. I think you can see my point. They also believe as their website states “in the ever-increasing government of God and in the Blessed Hope, which is the glorious, visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to rule and reign with His overcoming bride – the Church.”
So like with most charismatic groups, the healing we see in scripture is not taking place, just as it is not taking place in non-charismatic groups. Both groups say they are filled, albeit differently, with the Holy Spirit yet neither looks like scripture. The deception and delusion that has been happening in the church keeps people from asking why the body of Christ isn’t doing as Jesus did. Instead, false teachers make up doctrines to cover the missing power. Others as we just talked about are deceived by manifestations they say are from the Holy Spirit. But when you compare them to scripture, they are different. The one thing going for the charismatics is if they had tested the spirits, they were on the right track to believe power was available. When power did come, they did not test the spirits and were deceived. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” When the Toronto Blessing and Brownsville revival occurred, million were deceived and still being deceived. It is not just charismatics being deceived but non-charismatics also. Millions are deceived form the like of MacArthur and Jeremiah.
The bottom line is that you will find out very quickly what someone really believes when you talk about healing. The church has been decimated by the abomination that causes desolation. False teachers have led the church astray and the church lies desolate and in captivity. Jeremiah 50:6 “My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains.” Jeremiah 12:10 “Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard and trample down my field; they will turn my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland. 11 It will be made a wasteland, parched and desolate before me; the whole land will be laid waste because there is no one who cares.” Why is the church desolate and powerless? The same reason Israel and Judah became desolate. Jeremiah 9:12 “Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross? 13 The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. 14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” 15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.”
The problem is most do not know whose voice they are actually listening to. They think it is Jesus, but they have been deceived. John 10:24 “The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” Many have been taught this but what they have not been taught is what happened when you are following a different Jesus and other gospels. You then become like the Jews and not His sheep. Is Jesus really your Messiah and King? If He is, then stop listening to the words of false teachers who are leading you astray. Hebrews 10:26 “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
