The Ministry of God’s Prophet
“The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. Once we are born again, the Spirit’s chief aim is to bring truth and reality to the heart and mind of every believer, because truth is God. Satan, on the other hand, is the father of lies. Each time an untruth, lie, or rumor comes our way, we should resist it, and cast it down from our minds so that we can walk in truth, light and spiritual reality.”
An Amazing and Scriptural Look at the Prophetic Ministry
God's prophetic army must be equipped for this end time battle. Toni Pugh has written more than just a book about the function of prophets, but it is a training manual with a comprehensive question and answer segment included for the reader. Who is "The Ministry of God's Prophet" for? Everyone who wants a deeper insight into the ways and mind of God. That means YOU!
It’s a training manual, a poetic journey, a study guide, and a riveting work designed to give clarity to the modern day prophetic movement. Balanced. Sound. Scriptural. Spiritual. “The Ministry of God’s Prophet” will bring conviction, confidence and transformation to the life of the reader. If you remotely believe that you are a prophet, then this book is for you. If you want to understand the life of the Spirit and how the Holy Spirit guides us, then this book is for you. If you want to know more about God, the Father, then this book is for you! It is a great tool for Bible and small group studies.
Reviews:
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2021
Excellent and exceptional! Whether unknown or renowned in the prophetic community, this is a must read for those who want to move to the next level. I’ve read many of James Goll’s books, LeClaire, Sanford, J. P. Jackson and countless others. Toni Pugh’s book is definitely the double icing on the cake. We are encouraged in all our getting to get understanding, and without a doubt, this book will do it for you.
LC
5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Down 2 Earth Guide to the Prophetic
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2020
Simply put, my Pastor who is a Prophetess, told me that I needed to read some books on the Prophetic ministry. IMO, this book was captivating, easy to read and not pretentious nor Super-religious. Which is a good thing.
The author confirmed some stuff, cleared up some stuff, and gave me a lot to think about.
I highly recommend it.
Available in audiobook, ebook, paperback, and hardcover. Available for FREE with Kindle Unlimited.
Audiobook Sample
Six Signs of the False Prophet
Excerpt from “The Ministry of God’s Prophet”
SIX is the number of man (Revelation 18:13). Therefore, we have named this chapter, “The Six Signs of the False Prophet.” There are more, of course, but we have chosen major and consistent characteristics that follow false prophets. We must interject that many prophets are not false but carnal. They lack the maturity, discipline, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and a strong knowledge of the written Word of God. Many have neither died to their flesh, nor to their sins. Others sadly lack humility and have allowed their gifts to exclude them from accountability.
Furthermore, we must understand that we are all false at some time or another. No one is a hundred percent one hundred percent of the time. No one is infallible except the Lord, and there is a huge difference between an erring prophet and a false prophet. The false prophet is one who has escaped divine discipline and fallen headlong into the ditch of deception. Here is the Lord’s warning concerning the emergence of the false prophets as His return approaches.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:11,24)
Let us make this point clear. If you are a true prophet of the Lord, you certainly will be called false at some point in your ministry. The servant is no greater than his master is. If they called our Lord, a man perfect in every respect, false, then assuredly they will call you false.
Consequently, every prophet must make your calling and election sure, that is, you must know who you are in God, who chose you, and what He wants you to do, lest you become sideswiped by a tide of persecution and accusation. There will always be those screaming “false prophet” while pointing their fingers at you. Some do it out of immaturity, others out of cruelty, and others out of envy, and plenty out of sheer ignorance of the scripture. There is still another category of believers who simply don’t have a clue what they are talking about.
The truth of being a false prophet is this: before one can be false to the people, they must first be false to God. Every prophet must have a history with God—a history steeped with years of dealings, highs and lows, joys and sorrows, wrestling until surrender like Jacob at Jabbok, intimacy in the wilderness like David, brooding like Jonah, frustration like Moses, and weeping like Jeremiah. At the end of the day—it all boils down to relationship, relationship, relationship.
The word “relationship” evens the playing field for all of God’s people. You can be a false pastor, a false evangelist, a false soloist, even a false church mother when we interject relationship into the equation. Whoever does not know the Lord is false and, according the Bible, does not possess eternal life! “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).
Additionally, it is sheer folly to think that a handclap, a pat on the back, a huge honorarium, and a miracle performed is a sign that God has honored our work or even our life. It is an even deeper deception to think that we can serve God without holiness. It is not spiritual gifts, high callings, full stadiums, sweeping fame, or eloquent speaking that commends us to God, but righteousness, which is right standing with God through an abiding life. This is what God requires of us all, but especially His prophets.
The Bible clearly states that the Lord knows those who are His (II Timothy 2:19). When we lose our fear of God, disregarding His holiness, rebelling against His mandate for our lives, we will steer off the path of righteousness. When we fail to represent Him in a secret, hidden life, then our public life is false—regardless of the level of the applause that we receive from the people. It is a colossal deception when we believe that the approval of man is evidence of heaven’s approval.
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. (Luke 16:15)
Every prophet must possess a righteous standard with God. Even our sin and fragilities are to stay presented before the Lord until He gives us strength and victory. The flesh, which is all that we were prior to salvation, must be pinned to the Cross and reckoned as dead. God presents the Cross to every believer, but no one needs to take it up like the prophet because they must speak for Him. Peter writes about those who have escaped this process.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. (II Peter 2:1-3, 14, 19)
The work of grace is to woo and warn us when we steer left of center, but the heart of the false prophet has rejected this vital ministry of the Holy Ghost because his soul becomes desensitized. The conscience becomes seared with a hot iron (I Timothy 4:2). Doing wrong, whether it is adultery, lying, stealing, cheating, or committing gross sexual sins, becomes the norm. The deception deepens until the false prophet creates a god of his own imagination: a permissive god, a god who winks at wickedness, drools at debauchery—one who “just knows my heart and understands it.”
Whenever we reject the righteousness of God, redefining it to suit our fleshly appetites, thus creating our own God, and not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we are turned over to one or more of the following six spirits. The six spirits are: 1) the spirit of mammon, 2) the spirit of lust, 3) the spirit of error, 4) the spirit of control (witchcraft), 5) the spirit of lying, and 6) the spirit of sinning. Let us examine each one.
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#1 The Spirit of Mammon
God is a Spirit (John 4:25). Mammon is paralleled as God’s rival, which means that it too is a spirit and has its roots steeped in every imaginable evil.
Mentioned in the Bible just four times, the word mammon derives from the Greek word mammonas, a term used to describe greed for money. Mammon collaborates with materialistic craving, unlawful gain and the over-valuing money to the point of idolatry. Those under the spell of mammon inwardly think, I don’t need God, I’ve got money. The Lord gave us a clear warning of such an attitude.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24)
You cannot serve two masters. You will either hate one or love the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon. Mammon is unrighteous money or money gotten through wrong, unscrupulous means. Let me make this point clear. God is not poor, nor does He endorse poverty. The devil has deceived many saints into thinking that poverty and lack somehow commend us to God, when poverty is actually a curse of the law, from which Christ has redeemed us (Deuteronomy 28, Galatians 3:13). Prosperity is the will of God for every believer (III John 1:2); therefore, NEVER swallow a “poverty pill,” and NEVER allow the world to define prosperity for you for example: (exotic cars, expensive bling, private jets, huge mansions, and fancy furs.) Prosperity, abundance, and increase must be gained righteously and honestly, or it will fall into the category of mammon. Eternal life, not money, is the central theme of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Mammon is also characterized as a spirit. Once the spirit of mammon attaches itself to a prophet, money will be the central focus of everything he does and preaches in the ministry of God. At the start of the Lord’s ministry, He entered the temple. And what did He do? Did He deliver a sermon? Did He lead a choir in praise and worship? No! He whipped the moneychangers out of the temple and turned over their tables while splattering coins all over the temple floor.
The eight-day festival commemorating Israel’s miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery, called Passover, brought throngs of Jews into Jerusalem from throughout Asia Minor. Far away travelers typically purchased their sacrifice in the outer court of the temple, and the required temple offering, the shekel, was exchanged for foreign money. The exchange provided the opportunity for greedy money merchants to cheat earnest worshipers through inflated rates. Greed, deceit and a swindling spirit created an atmosphere of unholy irreverence, sparking the Lord’s righteous indignation.
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. (Matthew 21:13)
And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. (John 2:16)
“A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight” (Proverbs 11:1). Today, much is said about homosexuality being an abomination, but here, dishonest business is as well, so are lying lips (Proverbs 12:22). The Hebrew word for abomination is the same in each text.
Examples of Modern-Day Mammon
Ø 800-telephone solicitation: This automated telephone-calling marketing scheme is a popular tool for gathering, not souls unfortunately, but money. Once an organization receives your telephone number, you will receive harassing automated phone calls, sometimes up to several times weekly, with recorded messages begging for money, pushing a product, or advertising a meeting. The calls do not stop.
Some calls will say, “Receive a FREE prophetic word from a master prophet” (whatever that is), but first you must give your name, address, phone number and finally, your birth date. (If this were a master prophet, he would be able to tell me these things.)
One brother called the hotline, gave his information by phone, and shared the outcome with me personally. He received a prophecy by mail vaguely describing his personality and spiritual gifts, and was told that his untapped talents could be released through the prophet’s prayers for a donation of forty dollars. I instructed him to cut all ties and to dispose of the letter—for it was nothing short of the spirit of mammon coupled with witchcraft designated to financially milk and deceive him.
So corrupt are some of these prophets, so desperate for “signs and wonders” to validate their ministries, that some have followed psychics and studied the mystic arts of eastern religions, along with dark occult practices such as astrology, spiritualism, and mind control to achieve greater demonstration of the supernatural. What God fails to do, Satan does. So long as there is thunderous applause and shrinking pockets, elevated egos, gazes of amazement and everyone leaves drenched with sweaty emotions, what does it matter where the power comes from? Many have deliberately yielded themselves over to seducing and familiar spirits for the sake of fame and gain. This level of deception is not only reprehensible but also damnable.
Ø False miracle products: Not all that glitters is God. There are a few televangelists offering bottled holy water and other products such as trinkets, cloths, and sand from Israel, bracelets, shawls, etc. for a donation. Products sent by mail with claims to heal finances, ailments, family matters or break curses inundate mailboxes. Eventually, the purchasers are left with powerless products, withered wallets, and an avalanche of letters appearing in their mailboxes, begging for more money.
Ø Plead for seed: “God told me that there are 100 of you listeners who are supposed to give a seed of $300.00. There are 500 of you who are supposed to give a seed of $30.00, and you will hear from me,” said the internet preacher. Pleas for finances under the command of God should raise red flags. The late and honorable Oral Roberts received a powerful revelation on seed faith based on Genesis 8:22. As with any Biblical principle, many who seek to widen their pockets and increase their bank accounts with the hard-earned cash of the unsuspecting and gullible, sick, desperate, and poor, have exploited the concept.
This is no slight against prosperity preachers, per se. Money is good, necessary, and provided by God for a variety of reasons too numerous to mention. It is man’s lust for it that is evil, not money in itself. We applaud those called to bring a much-needed knowledge of financial wealth to the Body of Christ, especially among the poor and marginalized. However, charlatans have taken the prosperity message and twisted scriptures for their own personal gain, raising multiple thousands, even millions in support of non-existing churches, missions, orphanages, schools, or foreign outreaches. They are offensive. Their motive simply begins and ends with money. Let us take Apostle Paul’s admonition to Timothy to heart: “from such turn away” (II Timothy 3:5).
If true prophets do not emerge on the scene and do their job of presenting prophetic integrity and morality to the church and the world, a cesspool of sanctified-soothsayers, Pentecostal psychics, shady charlatans, and worshipping wizards will overtake the Body of Christ and discredit the entire prophetic movement altogether. Let the true prophets come out of sin and compromise and arise!
Distortion of the Brazen Altar
One day while watching Christian television, a popular preacher taught on the tabernacle, one of my favorite subjects. As she spoke of the various sacrifices of the brazen altar, there was an abrupt, very visible contortion in her facial features, and the teaching shifted from animal sacrifices offered upon the brazen altar to money. As a deliverance minister, I discerned a demonic spirit at work. Later that week, I had lunch with a Messianic Jewish brother whom I had not contacted in years. As we spoke about the condition of the Body of Christ, he mentioned this very Christian broadcast, (not knowing that I had viewed it also), and how this sacred work at the brazen altar shamefully reduced to money-grubbing greed.
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# 2 The Spirit of Lust
And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. (II Peter 2:2)
For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Jude 4)
Those who are bound by lusting demons work their way into a victim’s life, gains their confidence, and then invades their homes and bedrooms. When not pursuing unlawful sexual pleasure, they seduce and then reduce congregations into unquestionable submission, while seizing more and more of their personal lives through mind control and the twisting of scriptures. They do this in the name of ministry, with the claim of God’s anointing and a divine commission from God.
Peter says two things about them: 1) the eye gate is full of adultery (lust) 2) they will preach a message of deliverance from the very sin that they themselves are ensnared in and, in many cases, condemn others for the very filthy fountain that they themselves drink from.
Upon conversion, the first two areas that the Holy Spirit works on are the tongues and the sexuality of every believer. Speaking right things brings the kingdom of God here on earth but living right brings us into the kingdom of heaven. A false prophet will not have a moral grip on his life because the spirit of uncontrollable lust binds him.
Peter says that their eyes are full of adultery. When a glass is full of water, you can add nothing to it. In the false prophet, burning lust reaches its apex—they can hardly wait to get out of the pulpit and jump into bed with an equally lustful partner.
The Holy Spirit is there patiently waiting them to navigate back to the holiness of God through not only a renewed mind, but a-made-up-mind as well. Daily crucifying the flesh is the responsibility of every believer, but because the relationship with the divine keeping agent (the Holy Spirit) is defunct, the false prophet revolves inside a vortex of burning lust, from which there is no deliverance. With pornography as a daily diet, the sexual appetite has turned them into molesting monsters with many, tragically enough, carrying spirits of pedophilia (child molesters).
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#3 The Spirit of Error
The Apostle John speaks of the two spirits that are in the earth. “Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error” (I John 4:6). While most of the false prophet’s life is steeped in delusion, their doctrine will diametrically oppose the tenants of truth. Much error will come from “revelations” that they have received “directly from the Lord.”
God primarily used prophets or apostles to pen the books of the Bible. Whenever it is time to introduce a fresh revelation, a new move, or a recovery of what has been lost, God typically uses His prophets to do the job. And although the Word of God is the infallible revelation from God to man, He is yet giving us insights and expansions in His revealed Word through the ministry of the prophet.
Caution must be exercised, however. Because of their estrangement from God, who is Truth, the false prophet cannot help but shift into doctrinal error. Nearly every known cult founded by a self-proclaimed prophet has introduced heresy into the religious world. Heresy is an opinion that strongly opposes the truth or veracity of God’s Word and has the power to create splits, fractions, and sects.
Some well-known North American Christian cults are Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Armstrongism, The Church of Scientology, and Black Hebrew Israelites, some of whom had leaders who received divine revelations from heaven.
Listed below are some popular doctrines circulating in Christian circles and how they rate on veracity.
· Eve had sex with the serpent and produced Cain, who was marked by God as being the son of the devil (False). The Bible clearly reveals the parentage of Cain. “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord” (Genesis 4:1).
· Because he did not die, Elijah plays a special role in the eternal purposes of God. The voice that Adam heard in the garden was actually Elijah. (False). Described as a prophet from Tishbe in Gilead, Elijah was subject to like passions as us all, such as fear, discouragement, and suicidal thoughts. He was one of two men who did not die, and since death is an appointment to every man, he and Enoch will be the two witnesses who will die in the streets of Jerusalem during the tribulation period (Revelation 11:3-11).
· The Sabbath is Saturday (True). The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week and was established when God rested after six days of creation—long before it was instituted as Jewish law by Moses. When persecuted by the religious elite for not adhering to their interpretation of the Sabbath, the Lord simply said, “For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day” (Matthew 12:8). He is our rest. Anyone who judges you on such a matter should carefully read (Romans 14:1-8)
· The world is flat (Who cares?)
· There is no hell, and everyone will go to heaven. (False). Called the gospel of Inclusion, it is a re-packaged version of Universalism, and is a rapidly spreading, damnable heresy. It teaches that Jesus universally redeemed the entire world, and that everyone goes to heaven (except for a select group who intentionally reject God after they have “tasted of the heavenly gift” (Hebrews 6:4)), regardless of his or her belief, lifestyle or deeds done in the flesh. It eliminates the necessity of renouncing sin (turning away from doing wrong), the regeneration of the human spirit, and the personal application of the blood of Jesus Christ for the removing of individual sins. According to this doctrine, the practicing pedophile and whoremonger, the murderer, the unforgiving, the Taliban, the liar, the God hater, the terrorist, the atheist, the rebellious, the racist and Satanist will all see God’s face in peace. The Bible states that heaven belongs to those who are spirit-born and blood-washed through confession and faith in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Inclusionists are those “who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4).
· We are gods. (True). If a tiger mates with another tiger and it produces a cub tiger. The offspring from a bird is another bird. If a bear produces a cub, and an antelope produces a fawn, then God produces little gods. Since we were conceived in the mind and bosom of God, who is a Spirit, then we are likewise made into His image as a spirit possessing a soul and body and placed here on the earth. We are then little gods.
This truth was spoken three times in scripture. “Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your lay, I said, Ye are gods?” (John 10:34). The Lord referred to Psalms 82:6. He is not slack in sharing His power, authority, and glory with His children. When commissioned to go into Egypt, Moses resisted because of a speech impediment. God brought his brother, Aaron, aboard while saying, “And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God” (Exodus 4:16).
Predicting the Second Coming
The end time events preceding the Lord’s return have been the fascination of the ages. When asked what the signs of His return would be, the Lord gave a litany of occurrences like famine, war, rumors of wars, the emergence of false prophets, signs in the heavens, and ended with, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36). This means that even the Lord does not know when He will be sent to set up His kingdom in Jerusalem; and yet we have scores of bible teachers predicting His return.
Back in the early eighties, Edgar C. Whisenant, a former NASA engineer and Bible student, sold millions of copies and rocked the religious community with his book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. Even though the Lord said that no one knew the day and hour, Whisenant surmised that he knew the month and year. (Go figure that!) What he failed to see is that no one knows “but my Father only” (Matthew 24:35). Scores believed, sold their businesses and property, took out loans, quit their jobs, gave away their money, moved to the hills, divorced, married early, and watched for the coming of the Lord, which never happened.
This was nothing new in Christian history. Over a century prior to this, William Miller, a Baptist preacher, predicted the coming of the Lord and gathered a large following of believers who sat on their rooftops awaiting the Lord’s return. They were disappointed, of course, and were called Millerites, which later morphed into the Seventh Day Adventist.
Prophetic Witchcraft
Recently, a flurry of predictions hit the internet saying that something would happen to the planet Earth on September 23, 2017. Conjoined with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, along with a once-in-a-lifetime planetary alignment and the astrological sign Virgo—symbol of the virgin, many began teaching the alignment was a fulfillment of the sun-clothed woman in Revelation 12.
Scores of Bible teachers, including popular Christian televangelists, taught that this could be it—but nothing unusual on September 23. Surprised? Hardly! The co-mingling of the signs of the time, Bible prophecy, and Jewish feasts with astrology is witchcraft, pure and simple, and once again man’s unholy appetite for knowledge as introduced by the serpent in Eden prevails. (Genesis 3:5-6). Like Whisenant, these teachers fell prey to seducing spirits, which only want to interject error and division into the Body of Christ. Let every believer beware.
Identifying the Real
The world is rifted with false doctrines of every source, far too many to mention. The key in recognizing false doctrine is to know true doctrine. In the banking system, counterfeit currency is identified by a repetitive study of the authentic. The same is true with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we know our God and the truth of His Word, as we know His voice, and as we walk in the Spirit, we will not swallow error nor follow the voice of a stranger. Every believer should be like those in Berea of whom Luke wrote, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so (Acts 17:11).
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# 4 The Spirit of Control
The spirit of control is equivalent to witchcraft. False prophets work heavily in the realm of manipulation, intimidation, and domination. They will twist the Word of God telling their audience “not to question the prophet,” or “you cannot grow and go to the next level without a prophet in your life,” or “obey the prophet for a blessing, but disobey and you will be cursed.”
Once a platform has been set, they sow heresies, sensuality, and control of every sort, while robbing the congregation financially blind. A weak, young, or undiscerning pastor will allow these charlatans to ensnare his entire congregation.
Below are some tell-tell signs of a church under witchcraft domination:
· Members are told who to marry, what to eat, what to wear, where to go, when to vacation, what to buy, etc.
· Heavy reliance upon non-scriptural sources of teaching
· Use of fear to control congregants
· Members are discouraged from critical thinking, asking questions, or reading literature
· Declaration that they are the only true church and the only ones going to heaven
· There is an emphasis on birth control through abortion or vasectomy
· Members are forbidden to fellowship at other assemblies not in their denomination
· Demands to separate from those with opposing viewpoints, including family and friends
· There is an exaltation of a prophet, Master, teacher, or guru and obsessive reliance upon their writings and teachings
· Micromanaging the members lives… (“you must report everything to headship”)
· Brain-washing political jargon such as— “it’s them against us”
· Members are cursed when they leave the church (“you will never prosper” or “you are cut off,” which is witchcraft)
· There is a heavy demand upon your money
· Members are encouraged to spy and snitch on defectors
· There is a sick demand for sexual submission to leadership
· Public humiliation of its members
· Leadership focus on destroying other ministries and ministers
· Heavy emphasis on preparation of the end-time apocalypse
· The use of terror to get people to the altar… “at the count of three, get to the altar or you’re on your way the way to hell with roller skates on!”
· Inference that a particular church, doctrine, or organization defines your destiny
· Use of physical force as a means of discipline
· The use of a few scriptures taken out of context to build an entire doctrine upon
· Belief that God divinely inspires headship, and therefore headship is infallible. The list is exhaustive.
Now some would say that they know a religious organization or a person with these regulations, and therefore they are cults. This is not necessarily true. There is not a person who has not at some time or another operated in witchcraft. Neither is there an organization that has steered clear of this dilemma. The key here is the weight of oppression.
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#5 The Lying Spirits
Deceiving and lying spirits play a diabolical role in the life of the false prophet. If you think that evil spirits do not exist, just look at what was happening during the reign of King Ahab who, along with the wicked queen Jezebel, managed to bring Israel into apostasy (backslidden state).
When king Jehoshaphat sought confirmation before joining ranks with the wicked, king Ahab against their mutual enemy, Syria, four hundred false prophets of Baal boldly prophesied, “Go up to Ramothgilead.” Jehoshaphat was not convinced and asked, “Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might enquire of him? (I Kings 22:6-7).
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. (I Kings 22:8)
Micaiah’s first response was one of sarcasm, mocking the company of prophets and goading the King’s anger. Then Micaiah gave a searing Word that included a vision in the Spirit realm.
And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. (I King 22:21-23)
Lying and deceiving spirits will eventually inhabit all false prophets. The lies may manifest in the form of staged healings, lying wonders, twisting scriptures, fake testimonies, fabricated stories of persecutions, and unreal consecrations such as, “I fasted 40 days and nights while praying before the Lord.” Their lies serve to deceive their audience, inflate their pride, bolster their credibility, and finally extend their bank accounts. Because God has chosen their delusion, they become pathological liars (Isaiah 66:4).
The Truth Is God
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. Once we are born again, the Spirit’s chief aim is to bring truth and reality to the heart and mind of every believer, because truth is God. Satan, on the other hand, is the father of lies. Each time an untruth, lie, or rumor comes our way, we should resist it, and cast it down from our minds so that we can walk in truth, light and spiritual reality.
Lying spirits invade the conscience of the false prophet, and they cannot tell the truth because it has eluded them. They cannot grasp truth because they are estranged from God, who is Truth, and are given over to their own deceit.
Understanding Conscience
What do we mean by conscience? The human spirit has a component called the conscience that discerns what is right and wrong and carries these signals to the brain. The mind receives it, and the will of man makes decisions accordingly. No one is born with a pure conscience; it is developed through teaching, training, and discipline.
For example, while leaving a grocery store with my four-year-old son, I looked down only to see him chomping on a piece of chocolate candy. “Where did you get that?” I asked. “From there,” he replied while pointing his tiny index finger towards the store. I realized that he had helped himself to a low hanging open bin of assorted chocolates that patrons bagged themselves before purchasing at the checkout counter. “Josiah, you are supposed to buy that. Let Daddy know when you want something from the store, alright?” I said gently.
I was trying to make him aware of what stealing was, and how to avoid it, without damaging him. As we learn lessons of right and wrong, good and bad, what is acceptable and unacceptable, we develop conscience. Once saved, the conscience unites with the holiness of God. We are stirred by what He approves or disapproves of, and conviction occurs when we miss the mark (sin).
True prophets must walk according to conscience daily, keeping it pure, pliable, and renewed through meditation on the Word, and by seeking the face of God. When sin is committed, repentance should instantly follow. Sins of the flesh like sleeping around, smoking, or stealing are easily discerned, but sins of the spirit such as haughtiness, deceit, unforgiveness, bitterness, and revenge are the little foxes in the prophet’s vineyard (Song of Solomon 2:15).
Fake Healings
One of the ways that lying spirits manifest is through fake healings and lying wonders. While watching a famous televangelist with a renowned healing ministry in an open-air meeting, an eight-year-old African boy stood placidly before the evangelist as the assistant announced his need for healing of cross-eyes. The camera zoomed in closely on the left side of the boy’s face, where the good eye peered at the evangelist. After laying hands on the boy’s head and praying in the Lord’s name, the boy was turned face forward, and there set two perfectly straight, beautiful brown eyes glistening amid the backdrop of porcelain, ebony skin. The audience applauded, as praises rang up for the great “miracle,” but never at any point did we see the flawed eye. It was merely camera angles, emotions and, most sadly, fraud. I sighed in disbelief and sadness. God does not need shenanigans in order to look good, I thought. Neither is it His reputation that we are trying to bolster—it is our own.
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# 6 The Sinning Spirit
Peter says that the false prophet is bent and cannot “cease from sin” (II Peter 2:14). This is very serious because it describes the reprobate. Every born-again believer has the DNA of God within his spirit. We have everything that pertains to eternal life and godliness (II Peter 1:3), and the Bible says that there is a seed inside the believer that cannot sin (I John 3:9). Our task is to allow this seed to produce fruit on a daily and consistent basis.
When we fall and confess our sin, the blood of Jesus covers and cleanses us. While learning to walk in purity, God wants us to enjoy the benefits of the kingdom, take dominion, tread on the head of the enemy, walk in our blessed inheritance, reach the lost, share the glory of this life, love one another, and serve Him with joy. The false prophet knows nothing of purity, and his mouth will attest to it with foul and insulting language.
For example, a “hoe” is a garden tool and should never be ascribed to women whom God has chosen to bring all life into the entire world. Likewise, using vulgarity and derogatory names like “dyke” behind the rostrum is not only deeply offensive but also reprehensible. Unlike Isaiah, the false prophet has never seen the Lord, high and lifted up. Neither has the hot coal from heaven purged their unclean lips.
While you may be trying to find someone who fits this description, remember the lesson that we learned from the airlines. Should there be decompression in the cabin, the oxygen mask will automatically fall from the compartment above. Place your mask securely over your head first, and then assist someone else with theirs. In the spiritual realm, this means deal with yourself first by tightening up your own relationship with God, and then help your brother out as the Spirit leads (Matthew 7:3-4).
Personal Experience
In my earlier days as a single pastor, I was very young, naive, and thirsty for the things of God. There was a season when a series of women were coming into the ministry bearing spiritual gifts and looking for husbands to marry. I was truly interested in loving the Lord and working out His destiny in my life. My disinterest stirred up such fervor against me and the ministry that they became staunch enemies. Far more gifted than I, they began to use their revelation gifts to dismantle the church and pull members out. They said things like, “the Lord is showing me that the pastor is in disobedience concerning marriage, and the church is going under…better leave now.”
They approached other members with, “The Spirit is telling me to tell you to co-sign for me a car,” and “the Holy Ghost wants you to stay in this house and not leave.” If the person left to go to get groceries, it would be, “You disobeyed the Holy Ghost!” Much of this was going on without my knowledge, but I felt the effects in dwindling offerings, opposition, low morale, and sporadic attendance.
After one Sunday service, a dear brother came up to me and said, “Pastor, I have a Word for those two sisters, and I want you to witness it.” As they stood before us, he spoke, “The Lord said, stop it, stop it…or it will be turned over to witchcraft!” The witness of the Holy Spirit was very strong upon us all. Eventually, I had to put some people out of my church.
The lesson here is simple. Gift and authority misuse will bring divine warnings from heaven. If the heaven’s warnings are ignored, the gifts and authority will fall sway of seducing spirits, and the individual will operate in witchcraft. Let us all examine ourselves.
Barrenness
Jude says that false prophets were foreknown ages ago; even Enoch addressed their doom. Both authors compare them to three elements (wells, trees, clouds), which lack a byproduct. If wells contain no water, what good are they to the thirsty seeker? If trees bare leaves, but have no fruit, who can eat of it? And if clouds appear in sky but no rain falls, what good are they to parched ground? Such is the state of the false prophet. They are barren; hence, they must fake everything. These glory hogs, Academy award-winning actors will receive their final reward in the Day of Judgment (Matthew 7). But because of their bewitching charisma and blinding deception, we are all warned to beware in these last days.
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