During the last five years, there has been a lot of hype about revival in the land. The latest go-around started with the Toronto “laughing revival” and has been continuing with the Pensacola, Brownsville Assembly of God revival. This has been primarily a Pentecostal, Charismatic move of the “spirit”, but there also seems to be stirrings in the Evangelical wing of the church.

The word “revival” isn’t found in the Bible, we don’t even find a hint of the word. There are various times in the Bible where we see people becoming obedient to the Lord, but I wouldn’t call that “revival” as spoken of today, it would be more of a movement of “reform”. We see reform taking place in the book of Nehemiah, (Ne 13:3) “now it came to pass, when they had heard the law , that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.” This is “reform” not “revival” as termed today. Reform is what is needed. We must be honest with ourselves, before revival can take place reform must happen first. In the book of Acts (Ac 2:17-21, 3:19-21), we see passages that many label “revival” and especially in (Ac 2:17-21). However, in both of these passages we see Peter and the disciples ministering to lost people, preaching the “good news of Jesus Christ.” I would call this evangelism not revival. In (Ac 2:17-21) Peter is quoting from (Joe 2:28-32) that the Spirit of God will be poured out on all flesh. When was this to happen? According to Peter in (Ac 2:15-21) this was what God was doing on that day. Peter is quoting from Joel, which says that he will also show “wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire and vapour of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.” Peter says that what was happening on that day of Pentecost was what Joel prophesied. However, the wonders in heaven was not taking place as yet. We know from other places in the Bible that this phenomenon will take place during the “great and notable day of the Lord,” a terrible time at the very end of the age when no true Christian will be on earth, and God will pour out His wrath. Therefore, what was happening to Peter and the one hundred and twenty is what has been promised to all who will “repent, and be baptized…in the name of Jesus…” (Ac 2:38-39) “for the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Therefore, what Peter and the one hundred and twenty was experiencing was the beginning of normal Christianity. This is what Jesus said in (Ac 1:4) was the “promise of the Father.” This is not NOT REVIVAL as we think of it today.

We have been inundated with “revival” talk, consequently we automatically lean that way and are prone to think in terms of revival but don’t really know what it means. I’ve been a Christian since November 1975 and all I‘ve ever heard is that there will be this great “end-time revival.” It’s mostly spoken of by the Charismatics, however many Evangelicals are now picking it up. They talk about the “latter and former rain” taken from the Joel prophesy, stating that the rain is symbolic of the outpouring of the Spirit of God…etc. This is the only reference that is used to talk about the great outpouring that they say will occur. Christian’s have been told that the “former rain” is what Peter and the one hundred and twenty experienced and the “latter rain” is what will occur in the end-times.

The very word revival or ‘revive’ presupposes life. You can only revive what has already been vital and alive. It means to restore lost power or recover lost energy. A good analogy would be of someone who had lost all vital signs due to a heart attack and then is revived by using CPR techniques. This is actually what it means to revive. When we view this in a spiritual sense, revival is a sovereign move of God based on His mercy. In the present day church this concept is totally misunderstood. I say this because the church is confusing evangelism with revival. You’ll find most churches will advertise that they will be having a “revival” service on a certain day and time and it will last for two weeks. This event is purely mechanical and put together by men and not God. Remember that revival is a sovereign act of mercy by God and not man, man can’t schedule a revival, and revival cannot be organized.

Revival is not the saving of the lost. Revival has to be based on someone that was once alive. Unregenerates were never spiritually alive so you can’t revive them. Revival can only pertain to the church, those who were made alive and now need a reviving. Joel speaks to this when addressing the priest and the ministers of God. (Joe 1:13) “Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar…” (Joe 2:12) “…turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.” (verse 13) “…and rend your heart and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God…” (verse 17), “let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach…” Leonard Ravenhill said, “What God wants is not to fill up empty pews. He is not concerned about filling empty churches, He is concerned about filling empty hearts and empty lives, and empty eyes that have no vision, empty hearts that have no passion, and empty wills that have no purpose.” Revival can only come when we break up the fallow ground. It’s like what Hos 10:12 says, “Sow to yourself righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and reign righteousness upon you.” What is fallow ground? Fallow ground is soil that was once fruitful, but has been plowed under and not seeded and has therefore become unproductive. Spiritually speaking this is true of our personal lives, there has to be an individual breaking up of fallow ground. We have to prepare ourselves so that the Spirit of God will not be obstructed or prevented from planting seed in our lives, so that we are fruit bearers. A part of that preparation, breaking up fallow ground, is to see sin like God sees sin. If we are really going to get a concept of true revival we have to get a vision of God’s sorrow over sin. We must start to break up our own personal fallow ground. (Ps 85:6) “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in Thee?” It is true that revival can only be a sovereign act of God, however, we must see our responsibility and yield to the Spirit of God, and break up the fallow ground in our lives.

Let’s talk more about the “former and latter rain” found in Joe 2 and how many have used this ERRONEOUSLY to speak about a great “end-time harvest” of lost people.

Above, it was shown that the word “revival” is being misused. Most use this word to speak of a great “end-time harvest” of souls, these souls being unregenerate. The first paper said this was not revival but evangelism, which leads to lost people being saved. Revival can only pertain to the church, those who were made alive and now need a reviving. The prophet Joel speaks to this in a number of verses (see abaove). The church will be cleansed before any revival will take place. The church will sustain reformation before revival will come.

Throughout church history, our Lord has been speaking to His people around the world about the “great end-time harvest.” This harvest will come before the final judgment “The Great and Notable Day of the Lord” at the close of this present age. We see in (Joe 2:23) the words “former and latter” referring to the rain. It’s true that the former rain as seen in Israel would be the early rain and the latter rain would refer to the late or harvest-ripening rain, which occurs just before the fields are ready for harvest. Putting this into spiritual terms, it would be this latter rain outpouring of God’s Spirit that most in the church speak of as the great end-time revival. Are they correct? Jesus spoke of a harvest at the “end of the age” (Mt 13:39). In this parable spoken by Jesus, He declares that at the end of the age, He would cause the tares (false wheat) to be separated from the true wheat. In (verse 41) we are told that His Angels shall “gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and them that do iniquity.” Did you notice it said “His Kingdom. “We are now living in the days that we will start seeing the fulfillment of this prophecy. Remember, “judgment must first begin in the house of God” (1Pe 4:17).

If we view the scripture with an eye on end-time revival, we would have to say that the church is truly spiritually bankrupt. The Apostle Paul says that in the “end of the age” the church will be carnal, and lukewarm, “covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers…having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” The Bible says that in the last days “…evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived…” (2Ti 3:13). Another scripture says, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Mt 24:12) and on and on. The scriptures are consistent on this subject, telling the story of an apostate, carnal, blessing-oriented, Laodicean church. How can this church be responsible for this great end-time harvest? Well the answer is obvious, it won’t. Yes I believe there will be an end-time harvest, but the present day church that is running around falling down, jerking, and having demonic manifestations will not be the ones involved in this harvest.

This is why there must be a cleansing and reformation process in those who will be in this last round-up. Those who will not submit to the preparation process of being an “overcomer” but rather stay in their present “lukewarm state” will be “spewed out of the mouth of God” (Re 3:16). The Bible clearly shows that the great moves of God are always through a “remnant” those who are willing to be “doer’s of the word and not hearers only.” Those who are willing to believe His word and truly Trust Him no matter what the circumstances will bring. These are the ones who will be used in an end of the age harvest.

In these last days there is a tremendous cry for UNITY. It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as Jesus Christ is your Lord; we are all brothers, they say. This cry is working. We see Roman Catholics, Pentecostals, Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, even Mormons and others that call themselves Christians, gathering together for various protest marches, prayer meetings, church services, etc. It’s interesting to note in the Parable of the Tares and the Wheat (Mt 13), that at the end of the age it is the “false wheat” in God’s Kingdom that is bundled together (unified) first and separated from the true wheat. These tares are relatively safe until they are separated, but as soon as the separating process is complete, the tares are in imminent danger of the judgment of God’s Holy wrath.

Meanwhile those who are willing to submit to God’s purifying fire, will be those who are prepared for the Bride of Christ, “without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing” (Eph 5:27). These are the saints who are being reformed, the ones who have broken up their fallow ground, who see their responsibility in serving a Sovereign God when He brings revival to them. (Ps 85:6) “Wilt Thou Not Revive Us Again: That Thy People May Rejoice In Thee?”

Finally, getting back to Joel, we know that the prophecy in (Joe 2) points to the new covenant in which we see Peter in (Ac 2:16-21) saying that what was happening to Peter and the 120 disciples was what Joel prophesied. Now we know that the event was not the final completion of Joel’s prediction; on the contrary Peter said that this was the initial event, but there would be a continuous fulfillment (Ac 2:39). Also the “gift of the Holy Spirit” is for all who ask (Lu 11:13). Yes, I believe there will be an end-time harvest, yet not any different than what has been going on since Pentecost. We have had times since Pentecost where almost total darkness has fallen in the land, in fact the gift of the Holy Spirit was barely in evidence; and other times when the Holy Spirit was poured out as evidenced at the Azuza Street revival. Yet, with this move and others, there has come much deception and counterfeit Christians (tares). Therefore, the only people who will be used in this end-time harvest will be those who have prepared themselves and have not fallen into the, carnal, Laodicean mentality. Amen

FALSE TEACHERS

In this section, we want to understand one of the main elements affecting the church in bringing a false revival, namely, false teachers. Yes, there are many false teachers in the land today who are bent on getting people hyped over revival, yet are themselves more interested in the “numbers” who can bring in the “filthy lucre”. Not all of these false teachers are operating with that kind of pre-supposition, but this doesn’t change a thing. The Devil will use it to bring deception and ultimate ruin.

In the Epistles of 1Ti, 2Ti, and Tit we find Paul spending a lot of time giving instruction about false teachers. (1Ti 1:3-4) “As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.” Paul was making a passionate cry to Timothy to accept his command. He knew that Timothy was a true man of God in the faith, and would carry out the job through power of the Holy Spirit. When Paul said, “charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies” Paul was giving Timothy apostolic authority to command the false teachers to stop their teaching. False teachers and their error cannot be dealt with lightly in the church; they must be dealt with immediately and firmly. Unfortunately, this is not the case in the church today. In 1Ti 1:3-4, we cannot label the heresy in any specific way except to say that it was contrary to the truth of the Lord. But I can guarantee you that God wants all error to be stopped. From my observation over the last 25 years, I see a frightening trend taking place. Most people in the church are not taught the whole council of God, they are very naïve people who will hear false teaching and not be able to recognize that it is error. People are so excited about getting others saved, they are willing to do anything it takes - the end justifies the means. This is where the big push for unity comes into play. Doctrine doesn’t matter, it’s only if you love Jesus; that’s what’s important. With this kind of mentality we may evangelize and see people birthed into the kingdom. But what are they being born into?

Teachers who propagate false doctrine are described in the Pastoral Epistles as ambitious, avaricious, ignorant, hypocritical, prideful, corrupt, bereft of the truth, defiled, unbelieving, disobedient, and abominable. They have turned aside from the truth and have made shipwreck of the faith. What’s interesting is that we have false teachers of this ilk in many churches today and they are allowed to continue with their false doctrine, “tickling the ears of the hearers.” Joh 8:44 reminds us that Satan is not only a murderer but he is also a liar. One of the manifestations of his lying intent is the proliferation of false teachers who besiege the gospel and the church. Wherever God establishes the truth, Satan endeavors to sow lies and error. In Mt 7:15 the Lord tells us, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing {the garment of a prophet}, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Later in Mt 24:11 Jesus warns us that many false Christs will come. 1Jo 2:18 says, ”even now are there many antichrists.” The book of Revelation draws us a clear picture of the consummation of the church age – God’s final picture of what will happen on the earth. The last days will be characterized by deception and lies, dominated by the false prophet and the Antichrist.

1Ti 4:1 reminds us that seducing spirits are loose in the church, teaching demonic doctrines. “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;” (verse 2) “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;” (verse 3) “Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” The apostle Paul warns the Galatian church about false teachers (Ga 1:6-7, 3:1). In writing to the church at Colosse (Col 2:8, 16, 18, 20-23), Paul refutes the teaching that salvation in Jesus Christ alone is insufficient. The subtlety of false teaching is that it uses the Word of God but misrepresents its teaching. It’s not those who teach something overtly anti-biblical, anti-Christ, and anti-God, that you need to worry about. They pose no real threat. It’s the subtle teaching that appears to be biblical, yet pull unwary souls away from the faith that poses the greatest danger to the church.

Because of the many religious bodies existing in the world today, people are easily confused. Yet there are really only two religions in the world: the religion of divine accomplishment (God in Jesus Christ accomplishing salvation without the aid and effort of man), and the religion of human achievement (man attains salvation by something he does). These two religions started at the beginning with Abel and Cain. Abel presented the sacrifice that was acceptable to God, an innocent animal without spot or blemish, which Abel had nothing to do with in its creation. On the other side you have Cains sacrifice. He offered God the fruit of his labor (from the ground), which is man’s accomplishment, human achievement, for which God “had no respect.” The religion of divine accomplishment is the Christian gospel, every other religion in the world, in one way or another fits into the category of human achievement. Wherever false doctrine strikes a blow at the gospel, it will claim that man in and of himself can please God.

Paul said of anyone preaching another gospel, (Ga 1:8) “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Again, false teachers are not to be dealt with lightly, especially when one understands their error. Inevitably, their error is an attack on the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith.

In 1Ti 1:5 Paul sets the objective of what is to be the essence of the church. “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:” God wants to see love in the church. Jesus said the identifying mark of believers is love (Joh 13:35). The church needs to be marked by people who “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” “…love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Mt 22:37-39). 1Jo 4:10-11 says,“herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” The major characteristic of Christians is love. What is the essence of love? (1Ti 1:5b) “love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” A false teacher has an unclean heart, which has never been cleansed by the true gospel of faith in Jesus Christ. His impure heart may trigger a guilty conscience, but his conscience may have reached the point where it is so scarred that it has lost its sensitivity (reprobate). A false teacher has hypocritical faith, he wears a mask. This kind of heart will never produce the love of God. The goal of the false teacher is not to create an environment of love but to feed his ego and fill his pockets.

CHARACTERISTICS OF FALSE TEACHERS

One of the main duties of every pastor, teacher, or spiritual leader is warning others of error. Warnings run throughout the Old and New Testaments, because God knows His people can be led astray by false teachers, if they aren’t properly taught.

1Ti 6:2 says, “…these things teach and exhort.” That refers to everything Paul has taught in this epistle.1Ti 1 speaks about having proper understanding of the law of God, the saving gospel, and the majesty of God. 1Ti 2 speaks about praying for the lost and the role of women in the church. 1Ti 3 describes what elders and deacons are to be like. 1Ti 4 teaches about the source of false doctrine and gives principles for an effective ministry. 1Ti 5 instructs Timothy how believers should treat older men, older women (particularly widows), and younger widows. Then he discusses how to treat the elders of the church. In 1Ti 6:1-2, Paul discusses how a slave should serve both a believing and unbelieving master. Paul wanted Timothy to teach the congregation to obey all these things because they were God’s revealed truth.

In 1Ti 6:3 Paul says, “if any man teach otherwise”. Here Paul means anything in scripture that is taught differently – from what has been revealed through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In the Ephesian church, we have already seen that men infiltrated the church, teaching bizarre fables, endless genealogies, and other things that were not edifying (1Ti 1:4). They wanted to be teachers of the law but didn’t understand that they were teaching doctrines spawned by seducing spirits (1Ti 4:1). They were hypocritical liars (1Ti 4:2). They were teaching people to abstain from things God had “…created to be received with thanksgiving.” (1Ti 4:3) They were teaching ”…profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:” (1Ti 6:20).

Therefore, when Paul said, “if any man teach otherwise”, he knew already that they were doing so. Since he did not mention any specific teacher or teaching, we can conclude this is a generic statement embracing all subversive doctrines and agents of Satan that had infiltrated the church with their deadly virus. You have to listen to what they say, is it different from what you know the Scripture says? The Greek word translated “teach otherwise” is heteros didaskalia, a heterodox teaching rather than an orthodox teaching. That means it is heresy – something that is different from what Scripture teaches. False teachers usually do not obtain their teaching from the Word of God – they use something other than the Bible or grossly misuse th Bible. They may base their teaching on some vision, revelation, psychological insight, self-generated doctrine, or interpretation contrary to Scripture. In 1Ti 4:16 Paul adds, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” When you know good doctrine, you are protected from the deadly poison of error. The only protection we have against false teachers is the truth of God. Paul re-iterated the same point in his second epistle to Timothy: “Hold fast the form of sound words…” ”That good thing which was committed unto thee keep…” (2Ti 1:13-14) “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” (2Ti 2:2)“Preach the word…” ”For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” (2Ti 4:2-3). False teachers are marked by heresy. They affirm things that are different from what Scripture teaches, and add or subtract things from the scripture. (1Ti 6:3b) “If any man…consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ,” The verb translated “consent not” is in the present tense. The false teacher is not presently in agreement with Scripture. Specifically, false teachers disagree with the “wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That does not simply refer to what Jesus said in the Gospels, but to all He said as the author of Scripture. Col 3:16 calls Scripture “the word of Christ” and1Th 1:8; 2Th 3:1 call it “the word of the Lord.” False teachers may talk about Jesus and God, but the heart of their ministry will not be the Word of God. They will add to it and take away from it. (1Ti 6:3c) “If any man…consent not…to the doctrine which is according to {related to} godliness;” The ultimate test of Godliness is whether it produces Godliness, because false teachers ignore God’s Word and do not have Godly life-styles. Only the Word of God produces healthy spiritual behavior. That is why (1Ti 4:7) says, “Exercise thyself rather unto godliness.” Error can never produce Godliness.

Listen to what false teachers say. Are they calling people to repentance and holiness? Are they urging people to abandon their self-indulgence and be broken over their sin, or are they teaching doctrines that accommodate the carnal mind and feed the fallenness of man? No false teachers have been named in this newsletter. They can be identified by the characteristics shown in Scripture. A number of present day teachers that we see on Christian television and so called “Revival meetings”, would fit this bill. 2Pe 2describes them in vivid terms: they indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires (verse 10). They are daring and self-willed (verse 10). They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. “They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery and that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children” (verses 13-14 NASB). ”They entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality” (verse 18 NASB). “It has happened to them according to the true proverb, ‘A dog returns to its own vomit,’ and ‘A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire’” (verse 22 NASB). Jude said they are “ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness” (verse 4 NASB). They defile the flesh, caring only for themselves (verses 8 & 12 NASB). Their own shame billows the waves of the sea (verse 13).

False teachers are invariably arrogant. An arrogant person is inflated with his own sense of self-importance. Peter said false teachers are so arrogant that “they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties” (2Pe 2:10 NASB). Rather, they speak “out arrogant words of vanity” (2Pe 2:10NASB). Anyone who puts his teaching above the Word of God is arrogant.

ATTITUDE OF FALSE TEACHERS

The people of God have always been plagued with false doctrine. They have endured the invasion of false prophets and teachers throughout the ages. Satan attempts to confuse the world by drowning it in a sea of deceit. Satan started it with his twisting of the truth to Eve, plunging man into sin and bringing separation from God (Ge 3:1-6). Since that time, there has been a steady stream of false teaching ever widening and deepening into a great river torrent. False teaching during our present time has become pandemic. It’s so prevalent that in some Christian circles it has become the norm. The father of lies works overtime to destroy the saving and sanctifying truth God has given to us in His Word. The effects of false teachings have been devastating and damning. That’s why the Bible calls false teachings destructive heresies (2Pe 2:1). The Bible says that as we get closer to the coming of the Lord, these deceptions, and misrepresentations will increase.

Let’s turn our attention to the attitude of false teachers. A false teacher is marked by an attitude of pride. (1Ti 6:4a) “He is proud.” The Greek word translated proud (tuphoomai – also used in 1Ti 3:6) speaks of being engulfed in smoke. Here the perfect passive form is used, indicating that false teachers are in a settled state of being engulfed in their own smoke screen.

Arrogance is also a trait that we invariably see surface in false teachers. The epitome of arrogance and self-importance is usually characterized by a teacher that thinks his teaching is superior to the Word of God. Peter said false teachers are so arrogant that “they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties” (2Pe 2:10). Rather, they speak “out arrogant words of vanity” (2Pe 2:10). Jude said that they reject authority (verse 8) and speak arrogantly (verse 16). Anyone who puts his teaching above the Word of God is arrogant. False teachers are notorious for trying to pass themselves off as humble, meek, and self-effacing; but will never receive correction. To affirm teaching contrary to the Word of God is the height of arrogance. False teachers refuse to accept the straightforward truths of God. In his arrogance the false teacher chooses to be greater than God, and as a result he spawns a generation of sinners with the same desire. Simon, the sorcerer, considered himself a great person, (Ac 8:9). When a person gets inflated with his own sense of self-importance, he deviates from the “faith which was once delivered unto the Saints.”

It doesn’t matter how much training false teachers have; they still don’t know the truth (1Ti 1:7). They get caught up in their own knowledge. They are more than willing to display their imagined intelligence, scholarship, superior understanding, deeper insights, and religious ability, but they are woefully ignorant and unteachable. Peter describes their ignorance in strong terms. He speaks of false teachers as “unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge” (2Pe 2:12 NASB). Jude says that false teachers are “clouds without water, carried along by winds, autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars” (Jude 1:12-13 NASB).

Another aspect of a false teacher is shown in (1Ti 6:4b) “…but doting about questions and strifes of words…” The Williams translation renders like this, “with a morbid appetite for discussions and controversies…” The Greek text could be translated “…having a sick craving for questions and word battles.” The Greek word questions means “idle speculations.” They make a fuss about theory instead of the truth of God’s Word. They talk a lot about revelation knowledge and like to spiritualize the many shadow and types from the Old Testament narratives. False teachers teach their own thing – whatever is right in their own eyes. They will either add their material to Scripture, or they will deny Scripture in favor of what they teach. Because each ego-motivated doctrine becomes their own particular standard, such teachers become pitted against one another, which results in discord and chaos. The path of discord is seen in the rest of the verse (1Ti 6:4c-5a) “whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds,…” False teachers have unregenerate minds – minds that have never been transformed. In Ro 8:7, Paul says that their “carnal mind is enmity against God.” Their minds are filled with earthly wisdom that fights against God (Jas 3:15; 4:4). In Ro 1:28 Paul says, “God gave them over to a reprobate mind.” Their mental faculties do not function properly in the moral or spiritual realm. They don’t react positively to truth. In 1Co 2:14 Paul calls them natural men who “receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.” The root of the problem is a corrupt mind. They don’t understand God, and they can’t understand truth. Eph 4:18 says that their understanding is darkened and alienated from God. Col 1:21 says that they are “…alienated and enemies in [their] mind by wicked works.”

False teachers possess alienated, wicked, darkened, and corrupt minds. They have not received the mind of Christ. This leads to the motive of false teachers, 1Ti 6:5c “supposing that gain is godliness.” The King James text adds the phrase “from such withdraw yourself.” False teachers teach their doctrines to receive money. Money is all they have on their mind. They invent all kinds of doctrines and teachings to bring money in to their coffers. They have the audacity to presume that their “godliness false piety” is a way to make money.

Stay away from people who teach doctrine contrary to Scripture. Stay away from those who deny the truth. Stay away from those who are not Christ like and Godly in their conduct. Don’t listen to those who are arrogant, ignorant of spiritual truth, and dreamers of worthless speculations. Those things generate word battles that lead to chaos, confusion, disorder, and disunity. Stay clear of those who are desirous of personal enrichment at your spiritual and financial expense. They are like a corrupt infectious disease, the prognosis for them and those they infect is terminal.

DANGER OF FALSE TEACHERS

Scripture clearly affirms that God is truth, and that He cannot lie. We also see from scripture that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. Satan’s main objective is to deceive people. This dichotomy pervades the whole universe. We see a conflict between the holy angels and the unholy demons.

The people of the earth have always been plagued with false doctrine. They have endured the invasion of false prophets and teachers throughout the ages. Satan’s misrepresentation of the truth to Eve plunged the human race into sin (Ge 3:1-6). Since that time there has been a steady stream of false teaching, which has ever been so cumulative that it is wider and deeper now than it has been. The father of lies works overtime to destroy the saving and sanctifying truth God has given to us in His Word. The effects of false teachings have been devastating and damning. That is why the Bible calls false teaching, “destructive heresies” (2Pe 2:1). There is no question that as we get closer to the coming of Christ, these deceptions, lies, and misrepresentations will increase.

Any servant of the Lord must be aware of false teachers and warn others. That is why the apostle Paul warned the believers and leaders in Ephesus “day and night” (Ac 20:29-30). It is frightening to look across America today and see church after church full of naïve people who will hear false teaching and not be able to recognize it. Apologist Walter Martin once said, “…the average Christian doesn’t know exactly what he believes or why he believes it…” Many of the true teachers are not instructing believers about how to recognize false doctrine and keep it from damaging their lives.

In the last 20 years, I have witnessed three major deceptions: The first in the area of “Deliverance” then the “Prophetic” fad, where many were deceived, and lastly the “laughing” deception. When one tries to understand the damage these false teachings cause, it always comes down to the same thing; the enemy destroying the pure Word of God. Every one of these movements put the emphasis on feelings, emotions and experiences, which Scripture teaches, “makes the Word of God of none effect.” I knew a Christian woman who was a frequent attendee at the Toronto Airport Vineyard, where this laughing revival got its main momentum. She called the Word of God, “stinking doctrine” after I mentioned that what she was saying was against true Biblical doctrine. These pool deceived people give lip service to the Word of God. If you press in a bit, you’ll find they are “feelings and experience” centered with almost a hatred for the one who wants to stay totally with the Word of God.

How does this happen? Let me quote a pastor who was exposed to this end-time deception. He said, “One week, during a leadership conference in the mid-western part of the United States, several of us were invited to a private meeting. We were to be introduced to the prophets who were slated to have a major impact on the future of our movement. The prophets began to inform us that in the last days, the Lord was restoring the fivefold ministry of apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists to the church. We were challenged to accept the arrival of apostles and prophets because today’s church already had plenty of teaching and pastoring, and evangelizing. The arrival of the prophets and apostles would lead to the world’s last and greatest revival.” This sounds all well and good and even logical, but where do we find that in the word? Let me quote this pastor a bit more. We were told that one such prophet had been commissioned by God to find the apostolic leadership and apostolic ministry that, linked with the prophetic, would provide the basis for this new surge of end-time anointing.

It all sounded downright intoxicating. After struggling with the daily duties of ministry and our fears of inadequacy, this was exactly what we wanted to hear. We clung to the promise that spectacular things would follow the inauguration of this new move of God.

We listened attentively to the flattery of our new friends, the prophets. Our skepticism barely peaked above the surface of our consciousness. It disappeared entirely later in the meeting when one of the prophets singled us out and proceeded to reveal, in detail, the secrets of our lives. Now they really had our attention. How could they not be from God?…We became completely convinced of the validity of this prophetic anointing. How else could we explain their ability to “see into” our childhood and personal histories through their prophetic gifting?…The prophets began telephoning pastors with words straight from God directing staff changes and adjustments in church policy and practice. They anointed individuals to healing ministries and apostolic appointments. Then, instead of waiting for the prophets to call, the pastors began calling the prophets for predictions, instruction, and advice. “…fortune cookie faith soon became more popular than following God’s clear voice in scripture.”

This is typical of the “dumbing down” of the word. Once a person gets a steady diet of the prophetic, they become Biblically illiterate. They end up choosing a “dial-a-prophet” style of Christian living rather than studying God’s Word for themselves. This leads many to live from one prophetic “fix” to the next.

The danger of course is that you become a set up for Satan and eventually fall away from the Faith. It can lead to apostasy like those referred to in Heb 6:4-6: ”In the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance.” That is because in essence they”trampled under foot the Son of God, and…regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and…insulted the Spirit of grace.” (Heb 10:29)

How can we be alert to the infiltration of false teachers? Ask yourself these questions about the Bible teachers you encounter. Is there error in his understanding of Scripture? Is his interpretation sound, biblical, and legitimate? Look at his associations, they will tell you something if those associations are negative. Listen to what he says. Do what 1Jo 4:1 says, “test him to see if he is from God.” What is his approach to Scripture? Is he teaching things that go beyond Scripture? Is he saying things that sound good but you are without Scriptual support? Don’t be taken by their ability to operate what seems to be the Word of Knowledge or Word of Wisdom. (De 13:1-4) “If there arise among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them. Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the Lord you God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.” Can you see humility, meekness, and a selfless motive in his life? On the other hand, does it appear he is emphasizing the gospel of “name it and claim it” to become wealthy? Is he self-indulgent at the expense of the people to whom he is ministering? Do his followers clearly understand the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do they understand the proper use of the Law? Check his doctrine, goals, motives, and followers. Are his objectives holiness, a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith without hypocrisy? Most important is his objective a love for God and for everyone else?

Finally, stay away from people who teach doctrine contrary to scripture. Stay away from those who deny the truth. Stay away from those who are not Christ-like and Godly in their conduct. Stay away from those with corrupt minds that have forsaken the truth and are headed for eternal judgment. Stay clear of those who are desirous of personal enrichment at your expense. They are truly false prophets, they are diseased, and the end result for them and those they infect is death.