Prophetic Voices Crying in the Wilderness

This chapter contains articles and messages written by other ministers who are greatly concerned about the prosperity message and general materialism and backsliding of Christians today (reprinted here by permission, or only short quotes from books). The first article compares the lifestyle of a well-known TV preacher with Francis Asbury, who was a circuit rider; that is, a preacher who traveled a particular route on horseback. It was written by Michael Edds.

(1) What has become of the American church?

What is this sickness spreading in the body of Christ?

by J. Lee Grady

(underlining was not in the original)

Some bigheaded preachers demand rock star treatment. If the apostle Paul were around today he might throw rocks at them.

Just when I thought we charismatics had finally taken enough abuse from the egomaniac ministers in our midst, I’ve learned that some of our leaders are taking things to a new extreme. We’ve moved beyond the red carpets, limousines and entourages of the 1990s. A new strain of the celebrity virus is spreading in large segments of the church.

One friend of mine in Texas recently inquired to see if a prominent preacher could speak at her conference. The minister’s assistant faxed back a list of requirements that had to be met in order to book a speaking engagement. The demands included:

• a five-figure honorarium
• a $10,000 gasoline deposit for the private plane
• a manicurist and hairstylist for the speaker
• a suite in a five-star hotel
• a luxury car from the airport to the hotel (2004 model or newer)
• room-temperature Perrier

This really makes me wonder how the apostle Paul, Timothy or Priscilla managed ministering to so many people in Ephesus, Corinth and Thessalonica. How did they survive without a manicurist if they broke a nail while laying hands on the sick?

I was relieved to know that this celebrity preacher’s requirements in 2007 did not include a set of armed bodyguards-because I just might want to jump uninvited into her Rolls-Royce and say a few words.

It gets worse, if you can believe it. At a charismatic conference in an East Coast city recently, a pastor stood on a stage in front of a large crowd and smugly announced that the guest speaker was “more than an apostle.” Then the host asked everyone to bow down to the person, claiming that this posture was necessary to release God’s power.

“This is the only way you can receive this kind of anointing!” the host declared, bowing in front of the speaker. Immediately, about 80 percent of the audience fell prostrate on the floor. The few who were uncomfortable with the weird spiritual control in the room either walked out or stood in silent protest.

So today, I guess it’s not enough to feed a celebrity preacher’s ego by treating them like a rock star. We also are required to worship him.

And apparently in some places you even have to pay big bucks to speak with him. In a city in the South, a well-known preacher is known to ask for money in order to secure a five- or 10-minute counseling session. The minister uses Proverbs 18:16, “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men” (NASB), to support this bizarre practice. Some people are known to give more than $1,000 for a short meeting.

People on fixed incomes need not apply. (That would include lepers, blind beggars, Samaritan women or any other social outcasts who were welcomed and healed by Jesus without payment.)

What has become of the American church? What is this sickness spreading in the body of Christ? I don’t know whom to blame more for it: The narcissistic minister who craves the attention, or the spiritually naive crowds who place these arrogant people on their shaky pedestals. All I know is that God is grieved by all of this shameful carnality.

How far we have fallen from authentic New Testament faith. Paul, who carried the anointing of an apostle but often described himself as a bond slave, told the Thessalonians, “Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives” (1 Thess. 2:8).

New Testament Christianity is humble, selfless and authentic. And those who carry the truth don’t preach for selfish gain or to meet an emotional need for attention. May God help us root out the false apostles and false teachers who are making the American church sick with their man-centered, money-focused heresies. (Reprinted with permission from (Fire In My Bones) Charisma & Christian Life, July, 2007. Copyright Strang Communications Co., USA. All rights reserved. www.charismamag.com.)

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The minister being referred to in the above article is a very popular female TV preacher, who is also a prosperity preacher. J. Lee Grady says he may want to jump into “her Rolls-Royce” which tells us the egomaniac minister is in fact a very wealthy woman with a private jet and a Rolls Royce. There are only a handful of women ministers who own private jets.

(2) The Circuit Rider vs. The Televangelist

In my continued research on the “old wells of revival” I have discovered some incredibly contrasting bits of information. One of the top televangelists in the nation was recently invited to preach in Baltimore, Maryland. His terms for coming were #1. That he must be picked up by a limousine at the airport, #2. that he must have $1,000 spending money, #3. That he must be guaranteed at least $10,000 in offerings. This same televangelist/ pastor lives in a multi million-dollar mansion, eats in the finest restaurants and wears the most expensive tailor-made suits. His writings and speaking engagements have garnered millions of dollars. He brags that he is a role model of the prosperity message of our day. He pastors a mega church, appears on national and international television, has authored many books and draws tens of thousands to hear him. To his credit, he is a powerful, commanding speaker. However, please contrast this to the following life and ministry of the great circuit rider, Francis Asbury in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

While still in his 20’s, Bishop Francis Asbury left his home and family forever in England to come to a wilderness called America. He came to be a traveling preacher/evangelist in a nation with little infrastructure such as roads, decent housing, few hotels and restaurants, poor sanitation and dangerous drinking water, few medical professionals and limited law enforcement. The nation had recently plunged into a violent war of independence against Asbury’s native land of England. The American frontier was also ablaze with war between the colonist and Native Americans tribes.

Asbury was not greeted upon his arrival by a limo. He had to purchase a horse on which he traveled 6,000 a year for over 40 years. His financial reward was $60 a year, much of which he gave away or sent back to England to help his parents. He wore hand-me-downs not tailor made suits. He had no retirement, no insurance, no dental plan, and no 401 k. He set no fee for his ministry.

What he did receive, he often gave away. He traveled on “roads” on which his horse sank many times knee-deep in mud. If a road did not exist, he would lead his horse over the steep, rocky inclines of the Appalachians to reach a pioneer community. Many times, his feet and legs were bloodied and bruised by the horrific journey. When he came to a river where there was no bridge or ferry, he would swim his horse across. Numerous times he was nearly drowned by an angry, swollen stream. His “hotel” on many occasions was on a dirt floor in an overcrowded, rat- infested frontier cabin. Often times he slept in the woods, on a mountain ledge or in a damp cave.

Many days he would travel over 60 miles with nothing to eat. The paths and roads he traveled were full of dangers from murderers, thieves, wolves, bears, poisonous snakes and roaming bands of Native Americans with whom the frontiersmen were at war. If he met someone who needed a cloak, food or money, he would take what he had and give it to the person in need. Asbury sought out the forgotten, hidden places of early America. He traveled from New England, to the Midwest, and to the Deep South spreading the Gospel of Christ. When he would meet a person who was ill, he would minister to their physical needs with the last medication he had. He demanded nothing of others in order to come into a community. The demands he made were on himself. Frequently, his body would be racked with pain, illness, fever, hunger and weakness. His physical being would cry out for rest and nourishment. However, his spirit ruled his body. When truly unable to travel, he would mount his horse and ride for 8 hours or more through blinding snow storms, torrential rain or in oppressive heat. He too had been invited to Baltimore. In 1816 he was traveling by buggy through Virginia headed to the annual conference in Baltimore. However, he was dying.

His last sermon was preached in Richmond. He had to be carried into the meeting room. He commented, “I am too weak to walk but not to preach.” They sat him on a small table and he ministered the Word for the last time. He made it as far as Spotsylvania twenty miles north of Richmond. He body was rapidly failing. He stopped at a friend’s house on Saturday. Shortly before he left this world he was asked, “Do you feel Jesus precious?” Summoning his last remaining strength, the great circuit rider raised both hands in victory. Minutes later he laid his head on a friend’s hand and gently slipped away to be with the Lord. He owned no mansion, no land, and no bank account. His net worth was what he wore on his body. He was buried in a borrowed grave plot.

When Asbury came to America, there were few Methodist believers and fewer preachers. At the end of his ministry, there were over 200,000 Methodist believers and almost 8,000 ministers. He impacted lives of thousands upon thousands. He changed the very course of American history. Among his converts were poor farmers, merchants, Governors of several states, frontiersmen, slaves, Native Americans, State Supreme Court Justices, attorneys, physicians, house wives, children, youth and people from all walks of life. He gave all he had. He sought nothing for himself. His passion was to bring salvation and the Light of the Gospel to those in darkness of sin. He loved a nation and made it his own even though he was not her native son.

Quite a contrast between the Circuit Rider and the Televangelist! One was selfless, the other selfish. One was people-centered, the other ego-centered. One was a Kingdom builder, the other an empire builder. One drew souls into the Kingdom of God, the other drew the masses into an arena. One demanded of himself, the other demanded of others. One gave freely, the other commanded a price. One was a servant, the other a celebrity. Hebrews 11:32-38 speaks about the real heroes of the faith: They were, “tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mocking and beatings, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented… they wandered in deserts, and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth…. of whom the world was not worthy.”

How long are we going to tolerate the “superstar syndrome” in the church? How long are we going to feed the ego and pocketbooks of these self-seeking charlatans, regardless of how articulate they are? How long will we continue to pack their arenas and buy their CDs, DVDs and books? How long will we pick them up in limos, and line their wallets with thousands and thousands of dollars to spend on self? How long will we tolerate apostasy???

My God, how far we have fallen!! God is calling on us as His people to repent and turn from our wicked ways. He is calling us to seek HIS face. I am praying that God will overthrow this current, perverted religious system and will fulfill Jeremiah 3:15 and give us shepherds after His own heart. (by Mike Edds)

(3) Modern Day Money Changers

by David Ravenhill

I’m convinced that the carnal, cunning, conniving, crooked crooks that Jesus drove out of the Temple are still among us today. These modern day moneychangers are forever devising new and deceptive doctrines to defraud God’s people out of His/their money. These masters of deceit have now set up their changing tables throughout the Christian television industry.

I’m absolutely certain that if Jesus returned today He would walk into the vast majority of these television studios and overthrow the cameras, lights, monitors, and soundboards. He would unplug the microphones and scatter the makeup colors around as He went about destroying the stages and backdrops.

Several years ago now, a nationally know prophetic voice was told by the Lord, “I’m sick and tired of the prosperity message”. If that was true then, how much more today. As far back as 1986, the top seven media evangelists took in over 750 million dollars. Now with the increased manipulation of ’seed faith teaching’ that amount has no doubt been dwarfed by comparison.

Only a few days ago I was appalled as I watched and listened as Pastor Steve _______ zealously twisted and distorted the Scriptures to his own advantage. This ‘brother’ dared to distort the most sacred truth of all Scripture. He used The Day Of Atonement, that day when Jesus Christ the Lamb of God shed His blood for the sins of the world, to teach that how we give financially determines how God will respond to us throughout the coming year. My blood boiled as I listened. This ‘brother’ had finally crossed the line and was now on the verge of blaspheming the atoning work of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, not to mention lining his own pockets with the proceeds. He might as well have been selling indulgences by inferring that God’s favor toward us was based on our giving rather than God’s unmerited grace and forgiveness through the gift of His Son. What made matters worse was that this same ‘charlatan’ was the guest of one of the nation’s best known charismatic personalities. Within a day or so he was teaching the same message on a local Christian telethon. Neither the evangelist nor the network sought to correct his aberrant teaching – after all, the show must go on and that takes money, so how you raise it doesn’t seem to matter anymore.

Why does almost every single Christian program have to end with some type of ’seed faith teaching’? If these men and women of faith really believed what they taught, they would practice what they preach and teach; after all what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Imagine how shocked you would be if your favorite televangelist and covenant partner were to send you a check in their next mailing for the amount of $1,000.00 with a personal note telling you he/she just wanted to sow into your life. Perhaps then I could believe that these men/women really believe and practice what they teach. Not only that, but they would never have to appeal for money again as God’s return to them would result in a hundredfold increase. At least that’s what they would have us to believe.

On a recent ministry trip to the Northwest, I was told by a pastor friend that his church had received a call from a well known and anointed teacher in the Body of Christ. The caller was asking them for a contribution towards the purchase of a jet for their ministry. What a far cry from what the Apostle Paul taught when he prefaced his teaching on ’sowing and reaping’ with these words; “For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality.” (II Cor. 8:13-14)

Many pastors measure their success in terms of numbers -the larger the church the more successful their ministry. Itinerant ministries, not being able to brag about size, seem to fall for the notion that having one’s own jet is how success is determined. (Once it was the Rolex watch). By the way, if you love and appreciate this fine teacher, pray that he won’t get the desires of his heart – it will only lead to the leanness of his soul.

This is one man’s attempt to appeal to the Body of Christ. Stop pandering to these moneychangers. These men and women live like kings while spending your money to buy mansions and jets for themselves. They dine in the finest restaurants, wear the latest designer fashions and then have the audacity to tell you that you can live the same way as long as you give to their ministry.

I opened my Bible the other day to Zechariah’s wonderful prophecy concerning the first coming of Jesus, our great and glorious King. Listen to his words; ‘Behold your King is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt the foal of a donkey.’(Zechariah 9:9) What a far cry from the televangelist who comes high and mighty and traveling on his own jet!

If you are as sick and tired as I am about this waste of God’s money, then for heaven’s sake STOP SUPPORTING THESE PEOPLE. Give your money to your local church. There are tens of thousands of needy missionaries who barely have enough support to keep themselves alive. They are laboring long and hard under some of the most difficult and trying conditions. They would rejoice at the thought of an extra $10-30 dollars a month support. These are the real heroes of whom the world is not worthy. Help put these MONEY LOVING TELEVANGELISTS OUT OF BUSINESS and save another MISSIONARY FROM EXTINCTION. Together we can make it happen. (by David Ravenhill)

(4) Caught in the Web of Deception

by Bob Farley

Many Christian leaders and church members alike have fallen into sin through deception. Sexual sins and the break up of marriages are at an all time high! Addiction to pornography has become a national epidemic among Christian men. Deception is causing divorce, immorality, dishonesty and greed to run rampant in the church! The divorce rate among Christians is now running 8% higher than the divorce rate among the people of the world.

Dr. Billy Graham has said that, according to his research, at least 90% of all Christians in America are living defeated spiritual lives. (p. 5)

The world’s influence on Christians in this generation has been much greater than the influence of the standards taught in the Word of God. This has caused the moral character of the average Christian in America to change. Christians are more tolerant and indifferent to many of the sins described in the Bible that are now commonplace in our culture. While we say we are standing against the tide, in reality we are simply a few decades behind the world’s acceptance of ‘new’ moral standards. What was permissible by worldly standards in American society twenty or thirty years ago is now largely acceptable to Christians. Finding a Christian who has a fear of sinning is very rare these days….  (page 6-7) [The author's brother, Dr. Charles Fraley, had a vision--]

The first vision I had was that of a large head of a “beast” –very fat looking– hovering over America. It was swallowing up Christians in our country almost at will. The Spirit of the Lord showed me the meaning of this vision. This “beast” represented the power of materialism and pleasure in our country. It was swallowing up Christians by spiritually deceiving and then overcoming them through the influence of the materialistic and pleasure-seeking lifestyles that had developed in our society. Those Christians who were spiritually being overcome were not aware of what was happening. … (page 13)

It is unfortunate, but it has been proven again and again that it takes an extended crisis before most people will listen and begin to seriously seek the Lord. The events of September 11 proved that to be true. The churches were full the next few Sundays following this tragedy. But how quickly we returned to the ways of the world. (page 18)

(For a copies of this booklet write to; Christian Life Outreach, 6438 E. Jenan Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85254, or visit www. christian life outreach.org.)

(5) The Fight Against Mammon (money)

This section contains extracts from the writings of Eberhard Arnold (1883-1935). He was active in the student revival in Germany before World War I, but just saving souls and leaving them to suffer deprivations did not seem right to him, so he studied the Scriptures and the Early Church Fathers and realized that he had to help the entire person, not just his soul. His observations are as relevant today as then.

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I found myself in a very difficult situation, and I was deeply unhappy. I began to recognize the needs of people in a deeper way: the need of their bodies and souls, their material and social need, their humiliation, exploitation, and enslavement. I recognized the tremendous power of mammon, discord, hate, and violence, and saw the hard boot of the oppressor upon the neck of the oppressed. If a person has not experienced these things, he might think such words an exaggeration – but these are the facts.

Then, from 1913 to 1917, I sought painfully for a deep understanding of the truth. I recognized more and more that personal dedication to people’s souls was not all that Jesus asked – that it did not fully express the being of God. I felt that I was not fulfilling God’s will by approaching people with a purely personal Christianity and concerning myself with individuals so that they, like myself, might come to this personal Christianity. During those four years I went through a hard struggle. I searched not only in the old writings, in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and other scriptures, but I also wanted to get to know the life of the working classes – the oppressed humanity of the present social order – and to share in their life. I wanted to find a way that corresponded to the way of Jesus, of Francis of Assisi, and also the way of the prophets.…

Then hunger came to Berlin…. it soon became clear that Jesus’ way is a practical one: he has shown us a way of life that is more than a way of concern for the soul. It is a way that simply says, “If you have two coats, give one to him who has none; give food to the hungry, and do not turn away your neighbor when he needs to borrow from you. When you are asked for an hour’s work, give two. You must strive for His justice. If you want to found a family, see that all others who want to found a family are able to do so, too. If you wish for education, work, and satisfying activity, make these possible for other people as well. If you say it is your duty to care for your health, then accept this duty for the health of others also. Treat people in the same way that you would be treated by them. This is the law and the prophets. Enter through this narrow gate, for it is the way that leads to the kingdom of God.”…

In this connection it became clear to us that the first Christian community in Jerusalem was more than a historical happening: it was here that the Sermon on the Mount came to life. We saw that it was more necessary than ever to renounce the last vestiges of privileges and rights and to let ourselves be won for this way of total love: the love that will pour itself out over the land from the breath of the Holy Spirit, the love that was born out of the first church community.

So we felt that we could not endure the life we were living any longer. We had to witness to the fact that Jesus concerned himself not only with people’s souls but with their bodies as well. He made the blind see, the lame walk, and the deaf hear. And he prophesied a kingdom, a rule of God which was to change completely the conditions and the order of the world and make them new. To acknowledge this and live according to it – this, I believe, is God’s command for the hour.…

Our mission on behalf of the kingdom is to be the salt of the earth: to stem its injustice, prevent its decay, and hinder its death. The world must perish in order to be born again. But as long as salt remains salt, it restrains the fulfillment of evil in the world and acts as the power that will one day renew the earth….

The salt of the earth is where God is, where the justice of the future kingdom is lived out and the powers of the coming order promote organic life and growth. In other words, salt is present where the victorious energy of God’s love is at work. God himself is the creative spirit who overcomes corruption, the living spirit who wakens the dead. He is the God of miracles who can bring forth new birth out of corruption and degeneration, replacing nausea and disgust with joy and well-being.

Finally, there is freedom from everything outward and unessential, a freedom that is ready to sacrifice all possessions and any amount of time, for it is love, love to enemies as well as to friends and brothers and sisters. It is freedom from earthly treasure, freedom from the cares and worries of possessions, a childlike joy in light and color, in God himself and all that he is and gives.…

Not a single area of life should remain unaffected by this salt and this light. There is no responsibility in public life, including economics and politics, from which the city on the hill may remain aloof. Nowhere should the poison of decay be allowed to set in without being counteracted by salt. No wickedness must be allowed to lurk in the dark….

It serves the whole of life without letting itself be enslaved. It fights against all suffering and injustice without succumbing to the suffering and becoming unjust itself…. It is a lost cause to try to follow Christ in only one sphere of life….

So they are both poor and rich at the same time. They are people of faith who have nothing in themselves and yet possess everything in God. In spite of failing again and again, they try to reveal God’s invisible nature through their deeds. Just as they themselves receive mercy, so they pour mercy on all in need. They are on the side of poverty and suffering, on the side of all who suffer injury, and they are ready to be persecuted with them for the sake of justice. They know that they cannot go through life without struggle and that their opponents’ slander will fall on them like a hailstorm; yet they rejoice in this struggle and remain the peacemakers who overcome opposition everywhere and conquer enmity through love…

The entire Sermon on the Mount shows us the characteristics of this new justice – a gift of the future, a promise of God….

Gather no riches for yourselves! Know only the one treasure, the treasure in heaven. Your longing can have only one object. Your heart is either set on things, or else it is directed toward something entirely different. A divided heart leads to darkness and judgment. You can never serve God and money at the same time. What the heart longs for is decisive. Consequently, your worry about material things and your existence stems from the same godless spirit of mammon as accumulating wealth. Life that is given by God liberates from both worry and possession. Just as the birds and flowers in creation are cared for, so in the new creation there is abundance of food and clothing for those who trust in God and acknowledge his kingdom as the first and last….

Not all who call themselves Christians are connected to the same center, nor are they motivated by the same thing. The religion of many who confess to the name of Jesus Christ has nothing to do with God or the coming kingdom….

Is not the great world organization that names itself after Christ serving a god other than the God whom Jesus confessed? Has not the institutional church sided with wealth and protected it; sanctified mammon, christened warships, and blessed soldiers going to war? Has not this church in essence denied him whom it confesses? Is not the Christian state the most ungodly institution that ever existed? And are not the state and the organized church, which protect privilege and wealth, diametrically opposed to what is to come: God’s new order?

Nobody can serve two masters. Nobody can serve God and mammon. The message of Christ had to do with the “trans- valuation of all values” – the coming kingdom of God. His first witnesses testified to a radically new order, an order concealed from those blinded by the god of this world. This god – the god of greed and murderous possessiveness – stands opposed to the kingdom of justice, unity, and love.

Mammon is the rule of money over people. It means dependence on income and finances instead of on God. We recognize that mammon is the enemy of God, but we cannot apply the lever that lifts it off its hinges: we ourselves are so dominated by it that we lack the strength to rebel.

The deepest human relationships are based not on mammon, but the spirit. No one of us can live in isolation; we are all interdependent. All of us are interrelated in groups, families, classes, and trade unions; in nations, states, churches, and all kinds of associations. And through our humanity we are interrelated in an even deeper way: through the love of God that flows from spirit to spirit and heart to heart, leading to organic, constructive fellowship.

But there is a devilish means that seeks to rob us of heart and spirit and God. This means is money. Money reduces human relationships to materialistic associations. It destroys the highest human goals. At first it may be just a means of barter, but later it becomes a commodity in itself. It becomes power. In the end, it destroys all true fellowship.

Money and love are mutually exclusive. Where mammon rules, the possessive will is stronger than the will to community. The struggle to survive becomes stronger than the spirit of mutual help. Where mammon rules, matter is stronger than spirit, and self-assertion stronger than solidarity. Mammon never motivates people to work in a creative way for a life of fellowship. Instead, it engenders the enslavement of the soul to circumstance. It is the spirit of lying, impurity, and murder, the spirit of weakness and death.

Jesus, the prince of life, declared war on this spirit, and we must declare war on it too. When our inmost eye has been opened to his light, it can no longer respond to what mammon demands. When our hearts are set on the future – when we expect God’s kingdom – we can no longer accumulate property. We will turn our backs on everything present and live instead for freedom, unity, and peace.

Jesus entered the temple with a whip not to strike people, but to show his contempt for money: his father’s house belonged to God, not to mammon. In the Gospel of Matthew, he exhorted the otherwise blameless rich [ruler] to confirm his love by selling everything: “Give all you have to the poor, and come follow me.” . . .

This attack on the order of mammon resulted in his death. Yet life had the final victory. The men and women who had gathered around him in life waited for something new after his death. They waited for the Spirit. They knew that the spirit of love, order, and freedom was the spirit of God’s kingdom. And this Spirit came upon them, bringing about a church: a fellowship of work and goods in which everything belonged to all, in which all were active to the full extent of their powers and gifts….

It is self-deception to think we can overcome mammon by violence, for violence is of the same evil spirit as mammon. We cannot drive out poison by means of poison. The new can be born only of the new; only out of life comes life; only of love can love be born. Only out of the will to community can community arise.

And community is alive wherever small bands of people meet, ready to work for the one great goal, to belong to the one true future. Already now we can live in the power of this future; already now we can shape our lives in accordance with God and his kingdom. The kingdom of love, which is free of mammon, is drawing near. Change your thinking radically so that you will be ready for the coming order!

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Eberhard Arnold formed a commune, Bruderhof Community, but because of persecution they fled to England. With the approach of World War II, the English became suspicious of Germans, so they moved to Portugal and eventually to the United States. Today they also have branches in England, Germany, and Australia, with about 2,500 members.

(6) Clouds Without Water

For some strange reason, rather than God sending a rich American to Eastern Europe to plant churches, God has sent poor Africans. Henry Madava pastors Victory Christian Church with 6,500 members in Kiev, Ukraine. He has also planted 85 other churches in Ukraine and 23 in other parts of the world. Seven people have been raised from the dead and many others healed. Here is what he says about American TV preachers:

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When the big guys who are on TV in the United States come here, my congregation is shocked because what they see on TV does not correspond to what they see in person…. Many leaders in America have received the anointing but they have become clouds without water. Most of them seem to lose the anointing. I wish the American church could keep the water in the cloud. (Lessons from Ukraine: America: Please Don’t Lose the Anointing, by J. Lee Grady. Charisma Online)

(7) Crisis in The American Church

Another Nigerian pastor who also pastors a large church in Kiev, Ukraine, is Pastor Sunday Adelaja. Pastor Sunday is concerned about American Christianity:

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There are several points that I see are responsible for the crisis in the American Church today. I got a better understanding of this after I started visiting North America four years ago. The first and foremost of these reasons is a lack of desperation for God…. Another problem I saw in the American Church is what I call the lack of fresh revelation from above…. There will be a fresh anointing on a fresh revelation, which unfortunately, we don’t see in today’s American church leaders.

The third problem I see in the American Church is materialism. …. This abuse is seen in Godly men and women eventually falling into the trap of the love of money…. Another problem connected with money is that the American Church doesn’t seem to fully comprehend the purpose of the wealth God has entrusted into its hands. Though America is still the biggest and most generous giver in the world, we all know that what is given to missions is meager in comparison with what is spent on the minor issues of life….

Another problem I see in the church is … I am certain this is a major doctrinal lie that Satan has planted in the church, worldwide, to kill her and take as many people as possible to hell. I’m referring to the doctrine of “once saved, always saved.” The teaching that believers can never lose their salvation is the biggest, anti-New Testament doctrine in the world today.

The next area I see that has contributed to a weak church in America is the lack of emphasis on holiness in the churches. This, of course, could be a direct effect of the point above, “if you’re going to heaven anyway, why live holy?” (www.godembassy.org /en/news/newsfr.php) (Parts of this interview were published in the January 2005 edition of Charisma Magazine)

(8) The Army of the Lord

Rick Joyner spoke about the future of the true Church in his book The Harvest, Vol. II. Here are a few quotes from that book:

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The nature of The Army of the Lord will be different than that of any army that has ever marched – she will wage war by doing good. As earthly armies spread unprecedented devastation in their wake, the army of the Lord will leave restoration, healing, peace and even prosperity in her wake. The world will be a desert before her, and a paradise after she passes. This army will not pillage, plunder and destroy; she will give, build and restore. (page 144)

As the testimony of Scripture reveals that in the last days the earth will suffer its greatest assaults from wars, earthquakes, famines and plagues, the church will provide a haven from each. As wars increase the church will reveal the peace of God. As earthquakes shake the foundations of the earth, the church will be a testimony that there is a foundation that cannot be shaken, and when we build our lives upon it the whole earth can fall apart but we will not be moved. As famines grip the earth the church will reveal that there is a supernatural provision for the saints, and they will never be found begging for bread. When plagues traverse whole continents, the church will come forth with power to heal any disease, making known the haven in Christ where no plague can come near. (p. 147)

Much of what is now being promulgated as the gospel may be actually dooming men to damnation because it compels them to feel safe though their condition, in fact, has them in terrible spiritual jeopardy. (page 182)

The real apostle Paul would probably disappoint most of us today, as even the Lord Jesus Himself did to most of those who were looking for the Messiah. To receive a ministry, we must know men after the Spirit, and not after the flesh. (page 216)

(9) A Dream About Fishermen in Shallow Water

This section is my own: I dreamed that fishermen on small boats, in competition with each other, were trying to catch fish in shallow water, but all the fish were out in the deep ocean. Their nets were not long enough to catch fish in deep water. The water was also murky when it should have been clear.

One group sent divers down to see why they were not catching any fish. The divers saw other divers carrying large amphorae (clay pots) from the deep water into the shallow water and pouring out their contents onto the bottom of the shallow areas, and the fish were following, thus allowing them to be caught. When the fishermen saw that, they knew how their competitors were catching fish and they started doing the same.

The ocean bottom of the deep water contains spiritual and doctrinal truth that people need. But because the church is so shallow and lacking in this area, the people are not getting the truth they need, so these churches are declining in membership. Those churches which are catching fish are taking some truth from the deep and mixing it with the shallow lies; in other words, they are compromising truth.

The ocean bottom that is rich in nutrients is being dumped into shallow water, and the fish flock to it in large numbers, thinking they are getting something good but they do not realize that the nutrients have become diluted in the shallow water, so it does not contain much truth. This is the large-mega churches in America today.

If they were teaching the truth, they would have very long but narrow nets, because long nets that reach down to the bottom of deep water must be narrow in order to pull them in; otherwise they would be too heavy. The nets that are used in shallow water do not need to be long in depth, so they can be very wide and therefore can pull in many more fish because they can cover more of the bottom area. But they would not be able to catch any fish in the shallow water were it not for taking truth from the deep and dumping it in the shallow water. They are able to catch large amounts of fish only by compromising truth.

We all know who the fishermen are that use this method; they are all the mega-churches in the U.S.A., because they all teach people what they want to hear rather than things that would cause some people to turn away, as Jesus himself taught hard truths.

Finding truth is like hunting a wild animal, it must be hunted and killed and butchered and cooked. It is hard work to find and eat this truth. But people prefer fast food that is very tasty and contains lots of filler and additives such as fat and sugar; so you are not getting as many nutrients and the fat can clog your arteries and kill you. So even when truth is made available, most people will pass it up in favor of the tasty mix of truth and lies. It has always been this way.

There are many things in the list of lies that tell people what they want to hear; here are the top 13, not necessarily in order of poison level:

• You cannot loose your salvation no matter what you do.
• God wants you to be wealthy.
• You can have anything you want, just confess it.
• No Christian can ever have a demon in them.
• It’s OK to live in luxury as long as you pay tithes, while your Christian brothers and sisters are cold and hungry.
• God wants you to be happy and successful in all areas of life.
• Nothing bad is going to happen until the Rapture occurs (Christians will not go through the Great Tribulation).
• Every Christian will go in the Rapture.
• It is OK to gamble in Casinos as long as you can afford to loose the money and you are not addicted to it.
• It’s OK to engaged in perverted sexual acts, such as anal and oral.
• We already have all the truth, so you don’t have to concern yourself with seeking it, just believe what we tell you to believe.
• Capitalism is ordained of God, therefore it is OK to pay people minimum wage, even though they cannot supply all their needs on that income.
• God prospers those who are his children, and the opposite is also true that poverty is always from Satan and a sign of God’s disapproval.

(10) Woe! To The Money-Loving Christians

Have you ever wondered why the Christians in America are prosperous while the Christians in Asia and Africa are poor? Is it because the Christians in America have more faith or are able to plant more seed money? No, it is because the Christians in America live in America! The nonChristians are also prosperous. It is not faith, it is our economy that is responsible for the prosperity in America. God has blessed America, generally, but the Christians are not using the money God has given them to help their poor brothers and sisters, therefore, God is going to take away their money.

The Bible says that greed is idolatry, which means the Christians in America are guilty of idolatry and the preachers are guilty of leading the people into idolatry. Even those preachers who do not teach the gospel of wealth teach that it is OK to be rich. It is not just the Charismatics who are guilty of materialism and idolatry. The parking lots of many churches are like Cadillac showrooms. Therefore God is going to bring economic disaster upon America. God is going to take away the retirement accounts and vacation homes, the sports cars and diamond rings. God is going to teach the money-loving Christians in America a lesson that money cannot buy. God is going to give the money-loving Christians in America spiritual gold which comes only by being refined in fire.

Christians in America are eating up sermons about “money cometh” and “who wants to be a millionaire.” There are millions of homeless children throughout the world who are NOT being helped by the prosperous Christians in America, therefore God is going to take the money away from the rich Christians who still don’t have enough. Money is not going to “cometh,” money is going to goeth. God’s judgment has already begun, as Christians have lost millions with the collapse of Enron, Worldcom, IndyMac Bank, and other ways.

Then in 2007 the global economic collapse began but we did not realize it had started until well into 2008 when billions of dollars were lost when the stock market dropped and when several investment firms were shown to be frauds. Billons were lost just as I had been warning about on my web site for seven years, 2000-20007. Few people who read the warning believed it.

God commands that we share our wealth with those who don’t have enough, but American Christians are using the money on themselves. Africa is not the Promised Land of Canaan; the Sahara Desert does not flow with milk and honey, therefore God expects us to help those who live there.

(11) Escape From Christendom

In 1980 Robert E. Burnell had a dream about a Christian pilgrim on a journey which symbolizes a person on his/her Christian walk. Because of its length I will not include it completely here, but will merely discuss what it says and what it means along with some short quotes. Because of its content, I believe this to be a genuine dream from God with spiritual and prophetic importance. A pilgrim approaches a glorious city:

In my dream I see the lone figure of a man following a road. As the sun sets beneath the hills, a city comes into view. Nearing it, the traveler sees what appears to be a large group of churches. Spires and crosses pierce the skyline. His pace quickens. Is this his destination? He passes an imposing structure, a neon sign flashing “Cathedral of the Future.” Farther on a floodlit stadium supports a billboard boasting that fifty thousand people crowd into evangelistic meetings there three nights a week. Beyond this, modest “New Testament” chapels and Hebrew Christian synagogues cluster together on the street front.

“Is this the City of God?” I heard the traveler ask a woman at the information booth in the central square.

“No this is Christian City, “she replies.

“But I thought this road led to the City of God!” He exclaims with great disappointment.

“That’s what we all thought when we arrived,” she answers, her tone sympathetic.

The pilgrim is occasionally approached by a man or woman who gives him instructions and encouragement as he leaves Christian City and travels through the desert toward the City of God. The City of God is a metaphor for Heaven, and Christian City represents present-day Christianity in America.

To arrive at the City of God the pilgrim must travel through four wildernesses: first is the Wilderness of Forgiveness, then the Wildernesses of Worship, then of Prayer, then what is simply called the Harvest.

At first the pilgrim is tempted to settle down in Christian City, where there are Christian restaurants, Christian bookstores, and many activities to keep Christians amused and happy. “He sees busy people hurrying hither and yon with their Bibles and shiny attaché cases, looking like men and women who know their destiny. But it is clear they lack something which the old man with eyes like a prophet possesses.” He is even discouraged from traveling toward the City of God:

“Don’t be fooled!” His neighbor replies quickly. “Everyone who has ever taken that path has been lost, swallowed up by the desert! . . .”

The road to the City of God is merely a path that is rarely traveled. He considers whether to travel the path or stay in Christian City, then one of his guides shows up:

“If you stay here in Christian City, you’ll wither away. You must take the path. I belong to the desert you saw earlier. I was sent here to encourage you to press on. You’ll travel many miles. You’ll be hot and thirsty; but angels will walk with you, and there will be springs of water along the way. And at your journeys end you will reach the City of God! You have never seen such beauty! And when you arrive the gates will open for you, for you are expected.”

His guide goes on to say:

“Christian City is the place for those who want religion but don’t want to lose their lives. The desert is the territory of those whose hearts are so thirsty for God that they are willing to be lost in Him.”

Each person appears to travel through the deserts alone, but when they are famished someone is there to give them a flask of cool water. We are each accountable directly to God; we cannot rely upon any church or any other person to get us to Heaven, we must travel our road to Heaven alone but we have the Holy Spirit to guide us and strengthen us on the way. In the Wilderness of Forgiveness he learns to forgive, in the Wilderness of Worship he learns to worship God and experiences great worship, but he also realizes that in Christian City many people just go through the motions of worshipping God, “while one’s real worship, the thing which obsesses the mind day and night, is idolatry.” His guide tells him:

“Back in the Wilderness of Forgiveness you began to experience the power of Jesus’ blood cleansing your inmost heart. Here in the Wilderness of Worship you receive His Holy Spirit. God baptizes you with power and from on high in order for you to worship Him with a worship which, in the wildernesses beyond, will take the shape of deeds. . . .”

“When you are lost in the worship of God, you no longer worship such things as money, romance, or success. You have found the one true object of worship, and as you worship Him you are fulfilled.”

Pay careful attention to the statement above that worship will take the form of “deeds” which refers to good works. In the Wilderness of Prayer he learns that life can be hard in order to make us pray hard, so we can learn to pray. Then he reaches the final area before Heaven and encounters many people who are sick and suffering.

Some victims are screaming with pain and others are weeping silently to themselves.

He is instructed to take a flask of water and give some to each person who needs help. This water revives them and they begin to give water to others. The pilgrim realizes that this work will never end; that he will be occupied with it until he dies or until the Rapture, then his guide says:

“Don’t worry. Just keep reviving these people until they’re all on their feet. Then the gates of the City of God will be open and the inhabitants will come out and escort you in.”

The pilgrim questions whether he will have “the strength to continue on working among people with such great needs.” His guide tells him:

“Find out where people really hurt, what they really need. Also, you must tell them about Jesus as you go about with your flask. The water in the flask and this message of yours are identical. These dying people are thirsting for Jesus, not theories about Jesus, but Jesus Himself. The message of Jesus is a drink of refreshing water which brings them back to life. Remember the verse, ‘Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without pay, give without pay.’”

The previous three Wildernesses served to prepare the traveler for his work of helping the poor and needy. He works until he becomes tired and asks how long this work will last, much like we often ask how long until Christ returns, but the difference is he is working by meeting the needs of others. While he is resting another traveler comes by and gives him water to drink which refreshes him. His guide shows up and encourages him:

“[Y]ou lost your strength because you lost your vision. The City of God over there is still your destination. It is your home, the dwelling place of our God. While you work, be sure to take time daily, hourly, to pause and look at the City of God. If you fail to look up in the midst of your labors and see the City of God, fail to stop and hear its music, neglect to breathe the atmosphere it sends forth to you, or to drink from that steam which flows out from beneath its gates, you will be exhausted. You must remember that sustaining power comes from the City.”

Another worker also encourages him to look to the City of God, which refers to praying, worshiping, and keeping our spirit-life strong. The pilgrim then nears the end of his work here on Earth as he sees two great revivals taking place, one takes place in Christian City, and another takes place in the desert as more and more people are raised to life by a single drop of the refreshing water. In Christian City:

Within a very short amount of time the population had increased tenfold. Building was going on everywhere. New homes sprawled up and down the surrounding hills. But the most dramatic aspect of this growth in Christian City was the appearance of magnificent new church structures towering over the country side. One cathedral was being completed which had a spire seventy stories high, housing the world’s most powerful transmitter. Another church was taking shape in the form of a giant glass dome with revolving stage and wrap around sound systems.

While these revivals were taking place, a great army of God had formed in the desert while the teachers in Christian City “were claiming that when the End came, they would be caught away to the City of God, before the chaos erupted.” But then the dreamer saw an army invade and destroy Christian City:

The magnificent cathedrals, the world’s largest cross, re treat centers and seminar halls were splintered apart and flattened by deafening explosions. Dead bodies of the inhabitants who had thought they would escape this holocaust filled the streets. The armies of destruction now pressed on into the desert toward the scene of the second revival. Soon this seemingly indestructible horde was engulfing the Wilderness of Forgiveness, the Wilderness Worship and the Wilderness of Prayer. When the City of God came into its view, a single roar like that of a wounded beast filled the air. The horde drove on toward its goal, appearing about to storm the City of God.

But near the wall of the City, the army of revived ones waited poised and ready. When the enemy came within range, the gates of the City burst open. Out marched the Army of Light led by a King of such splendor that the enemy horde had to shield its eyes. The revived ones merged with the Army of Light and joined battle with the enemy. Three-and-a half days later the war was over. The enemy was destroyed and the triumphant ones entered the City of God for which they had been chosen before the foundation of the world.

What the above passage tells us is that America will be invaded from the east, perhaps China or North Korea; even Russia can be considered from the east because it is so large it occupies a vast area north of China reaching from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe. The invaders will destroy churches and kill Christians very shortly before the end of the Gospel Age (perhaps months before the end of the age).

Notice that those in the desert were living near the walls of the City of God, this means they were living close to God. These will not be destroyed by the invaders (according to this dream). It also shows that the Wrath of God will be completed three and one-half days after the return of Christ at the end of the Great Tribulation. The dream shows the Rapture taking place at the return of Christ, at the start of his total wrath upon the world, but it could take place shortly before that. The only time detail given was that once Christ returns to destroy the armies of World War III, his wrath will last for 3.5 days. The dream concludes:

Never has it been more clear to me that two revivals are in progress on the earth. One is the revival of the Spirit of God by which dead men and women are freed from their sins by the blood of the Lamb and raised to a life which is the life of the sons of God, a life which bears God’s nature, manifests God’s mercy. The other revival is the revival of religious flesh, a revival which is so appealing and gathers such multitudes and wields such power in this world because it offers all the comfort of religion, while allowing you to keep your ego and all rights to yourself.

Surely each of us has to decide which revival he is going to be part of. Am I going to invest my life in some enterprise of booming Christian City? Or am I going to lose my life in the pursuit of God’s will of mercy? Am I going to concentrate on building something that will cause the citizens of Christian City of sit up and take notice? Or am I going to spend my life bringing the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind to the Master’s table?

Today God is known as the God of huge cathedrals and massive church complexes, but he wants to be known as the God who loves and cares for the poorest of the poor, such as the Untouchables in India. We must reach out to the lowest, for that is what Jesus did and what he commanded us to do.

You can read the entire dream on the internet at many web sites, and can be found in books, such as Visions of The Harvest, by Rick Joyner.

(12) Vision of True and False Revival

-by Patrick Ersig

(Capitalization is in the original.)

Here is the account of a vision from God that I received regarding true and counterfeit revival. This vision occurred on March 4th 2006.

The VISION- Everything was black and I saw one person walking at a semi-brisk pace. Not fast walking, but a slight cadence above normal pace; walking with purpose. This person was walking straight and sure – upright and strong – solemn and serious, like a revolutionary – a warrior – a light to darkness. I then saw a couple more people and then others in the distance and they were bright and shining against the blackness that was all around. They all walked the same way – solemn and serious and the Lord spoke and said, “These are my remnant who are walking in holiness, righteousness, obedience, brokenness and utter submission to MY WILL – watch what I am doing Patrick.” Then I saw the individuals begin to unite in small groups of two to three at first and then more came and the groups grew to five and even ten and the light intensified greatly. It was beautiful like a sunset over the mountains or a sunrise on the ocean, a rose in full bloom.

What I saw next made me burst into tears and sobs to the point that I couldn’t continue to describe what I was seeing. My wife kept saying “What?! what is it? What to do you see?!” After a few minutes I was able to control the weeping to explain what I saw happening. As the Lord was drawing together His remnant into these small groups the power God came down – like in the book of Acts – the lame were walking, the blind were seeing, the deaf were hearing, (literally and figuratively) and persecution fuelled the fire! This end time HOLY and RIGHTEOUS remnant of serious and solemn warriors and revolutionaries walked, in the deep darkness of America and her backslidden lukewarm churches, with apostolic glory and power not seen since the book of Acts – to proclaim the true Gospel of Jesus Christ – repentance and holiness and freedom from sin!

The Lord spoke and said, “This is the revival that I am bringing about and it starts with the individuals who have been called out to personal revival and are walking straight and sure – upright and strong – solemn and serious, like revolutionaries, warriors, lights to darkness. My remnant is walking in holiness, righteousness, obedience, brokenness and utter submission to MY WILL and I am drawing them together.”

Then the vision switched. Now I saw what looked like a dimly lit movie or a video shot with poor lighting. I saw clips of people dancing and shaking. I saw people falling down, shouting, jumping, and singing. There were huge multitudes rather then the few and many, many were coming in large groups that filled large auditoriums and stadiums instead of small groups of individuals being drawn together. Even some of the lights that were in the first part of the vision were drawn to this part of the vision. I saw dancing and clapping, shaking, shouting, strong and powerful emotionalism and sensationalism. Soulish and fleshy spirits claimed to be the Holy Spirit. Great miracles abounded – signs and wonders. People proclaimed, “This is the revival we have been waiting and praying for! -This is the revival we have heard prophesied! – This is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit- a great move of God!”

But the Lord spoke and said, “Patrick this is not from me, this is from Satan, it is a counterfeit! And many will be fooled and tricked by this clever deception from the enemy!”

Then the vision switched again. Now I saw both visions side by side – split screen, so to speak. They both grew in intensity at an equal rate – as the true would grow in power, the false would grow in numbers and as the true would grow in numbers, the false would grow in false signs and wonders. The Lord spoke and said, “This is not a vision of the future, but this has already begun and will grow as the days pass. I am doing this now and the enemy is coming against it at this very moment.”

Conclusion: The Lord is bringing about an end times revival of which the like we have never seen and it begins with you. The Lord is calling you to be separate, to holiness and righteousness unto the Lord and to walk in obedience and utter submission to His will. Be free from sin, be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect, be dead to flesh and alive in Christ. Walk sober and solemn and serious before the Lord with a reverent and holy fear of God. If you are looking and waiting for some big corporate outpouring of emotionalism and signs and wonders you are going to miss the coming revival. The revival starts with you! Seek the Lord and press into Him closer everyday. Allow the Blood and Grace of Jesus to break the bonds of your flesh and produce Holy and Righteous living in your life. Ask the Lord to show you what it is in your life that is keeping you from that which is perfect – no matter how small or how painful; ask the Lord to expose everything that is keeping you from being closer to Him and bring Glory to Him and His kingdom and deeply renounce all that He shows you.

Live your life as a living sacrifice – a living drink offering poured out before the Lord for His glory and honor. There are many things that are cultural, societal and religious that keep us separated from God and walking in His Spirit. Pray for God to bring these things to light and put them to death no matter how hard it may be. If you don’t realize that the revival the Lord is doing begins with you individually, then you are going to miss it! The Lord is calling you today, repent for your lukewarmness and your lackadaisical attitude toward sin in your own life and those who are perishing and plunging into hell all around you everyday! The Lord is calling you today to allow the Blood of Jesus and the grace of God to produce holiness and rivers of righteousness in your life that you maybe salt to a decaying world and light to the darkness that prevails. What will you do? The Lord is calling you right now to make up your mind to love Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, take up your cross, die to self and follow HIM – forsaking ALL and seeking after Him with all that you are and have. Come out and be separate in holy, righteous obedience unto God!

WARNING – DO NOT be fooled by these sensual, emotional counterfeits that are and will be popping up, that these people and churches call “revival.” IT IS A TRICK FROM THE ENEMY! When you hear that “revival” has broken out in the next town or the next state or even in your own city – please remember this warning. There will be much singing and dancing and shouting and many things will sound as though they are true. There will be great surges of emotion that will cause people to fall down and jump and shout, cry and weep but this is not from God. Many will be crying out in joy, “Peace, peace.” But God’s Servants will have discernment above and beyond any gift, and a willingness to die than lie -despite the increase of signs and wonders from all of the counterfeit moves around them in the churches. If the revival you are in is not serious and reverent, holy and righteous, and the Love and reverent fear toward God are not the only things you see, then RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, and warn everyone you know. These spirits are strong and extremely powerful – get out of the building and don’t be fooled by the signs and wonders.

Please, I am begging you to remember this, for I know that there will be many who are fooled and even (if possible) drawn away from the real to the counterfeit, but I also know that there will be some who read this warning and remember it and are spared. The true revival army will look like small bands of revolutionaries or Special Forces with an end times mission to complete and Satan’s counterfeit will resemble a band of wild Indians or tribal warriors dancing shouting battle cries.

The true revival army will attack the enemy at its stronghold, sin – their mission will be the souls of men through the power of the Holy Spirit – they will be concerned with setting people free from the bondage of sin through the message of the cross and will watch strongholds of sin topple. Satan’s counterfeit will go after places and methods of sin – they will try to legislate morality and get laws changed, which results in forced morality and no salvations. God’s army will seek to save that which is lost in the streets and alleys; Satan’s army will try to change the laws to prevent sin but result in the salvation of no one. “Whosoever loves his life shall lose it. Whosoever loses his life for My sake, shall find it.”

Satan you are on notice! God is preparing a revival army that is going to tear down the strongholds of your kingdom and Jesus is preparing a bride for Himself that is spotless and pure! God is calling to make a decision right now – what will you do?!

(13) The Church of the USA will be Filtered by Deception

by Steven Dobbs (U.K.), 2005.

I received this from the Holy Spirit in early summer 2005. The Lord showed me that there is going to be a flood of deception (1) infiltrating much of the U.S church in the near future, (the gift of discernment of spirits is therefore going to become increasingly important). Why the Lord will allow these deceptions: I was extremely disheartened by this as the U.K receives a lot of help from some good U.S ministries and there are close links between these two nations.

The Spirit then ministered to me again and showed me that God was sovereign and that this was His will. I saw that although this increase in deception will test the Christians in the U.S.A. It will also filter the global church from the less reliable U.S teaching ministries and reduce their influence in the global body of Christ.

Many of the world’s largest and best known teaching ministries come from the U.S.A. I was shown that many were propagating poor, badly emphasized or erroneous teachings. The Lord showed me that He could not allow them to continue influencing the worldwide church as they are at present. This is because we will soon be entering into the end times and this season will test the faith of all of us. God therefore wants His people to be prepared for this with good teachings that have the same emphasis as found in the New Testament.

The filtering process: I was shown that the ministers that teach errors or a poor emphasis will also tend to have this reflected in their own walk with God. They will not therefore be rooted very deeply into the truth themselves even though many of them may be well known teachers or preachers. These people will therefore tend to be amongst those most open to this flood of deception. When exposed to such deception many of them will start to move in increased spiritual error and folly as a result. Many will get deceived as they fail to discern the difference between which spiritual phenomena are of the Lord and which are counterfeit and from the enemy. Their true spiritual maturity will then be revealed for all to see.

Many other Christians from around the world, those who are able to discern these things better, will then start to question the maturity and teachings of such ministries. They will start to look more closely at these teachings and notice the errors and wrong emphases that already exist, errors that they had not noticed before. People will then start to turn away from the worst teachers and listen instead to those who are teaching the full council of God in line with the whole of scripture. The overall level of teaching in the global body of Christ will improve as a result of this.

How this will realign ministries: The ministries which have the poorest levels of teaching will become less popular around the world as a result of this. Those teaching ministries that are the most mature and have the best quality teaching will become more popular than before. The overall quality of teaching ministries in the global body of Christ will therefore improve as a result of this filtering effect.

The “prosperity gospel”: God showed me that one of the main teachings that He is concerned about is that which has become known as the “prosperity gospel”. Although truths are taught within this I understood that errors and wrong emphases are taught as well. At present this teaching has a great deal of influence in the global body of Christ. This results in many believers around the world taking on board the errors and wrong emphases contained within it. I saw that the Lord does not want this situation to continue. We are heading into the end times in the near future and God wants us to be strong, built up with good, solid teachings that prepare us for the difficulties we are going to encounter and the sacrifices we may have to make to follow Christ.

A realigning of national churches at a global level: The Lord wants those national churches that are submitting the most to Him to have the greatest proportion of well known ministries at a global level. The Spirit showed me that at present the U.S.A is over-represented by such ministries. This filtering process will reduce the number of influential U.S ministries on the world stage. At the same time, other ministries from other nations will become more popular and will increase in influence as a result of this.

The overall church of the U.S.A will also therefore lose some of its influence within the global body of Christ because of this filtering. The churches of some other nations, (those that have been submitting the most to Christ), will, however, see an increase in their influence in the global church.

This is God’s will and the global body of Christ will be strengthened as a result. The Lord wants the body of Christ to be led by, and follow the example of, the best international ministries. He also wants the global church to be influenced the most by those national churches that are submitting the most to Jesus.

The better ministries from the U.S.A: I was then shown a picture of a vessel of milk which had cream floating to the top of it. The interpretation was that as this filtering takes place, and the overall level of deception (2) increases in the U.S church, the better U.S ministries will then come to the forefront at a global level. I understood that many of these were presently only medium sized ministries because their popularity was presently overshadowed by some larger but poorer quality U.S ministries. I saw that many of these medium sized ministries already have a better walk with the Lord and that they would therefore be less likely to be influenced by the coming flood of deception. They will be seen to be mature as they discern and avoid these deceptions. In due course this will vindicate them and earn them respect from other believers from around the world. Their ministries will then become more popular and grow in influence because of this. I saw that some of them will then start to minister and preach at the highest levels on the world stage within the body of Christ in the future.

1. I understand “deception” to mean all sorts of counterfeits of the Holy Spirit. These will include counterfeit moves of God’s power which will come from other spirits, from New Age/occult spirits, counterfeit healings and miracles even, false teachings, false prophecies, counterfeit visions from the enemy, counterfeit experiences of heaven, fake appearances of Jesus and, please note, many counterfeit appearances of angels which will really be fallen angels come to deceive any believers who are open to them. Of course Christians can have such experiences genuinely from the Lord but there is also going to be an increase in these counterfeits as we move towards the end-times, as the enemy attempts to “deceive if possible even the elect”, (Matt 24;24).

2. Concerning the U.S church, this increase in deception will have its entitlement at a national/ corporate level. We should not therefore see any deception as a judgement on individuals themselves. At a personal level some believers will be more exposed to these deceptions than others for reasons that are not necessarily their fault, e.g. if they happen to be in a church where the enemy is moving in a lot of deception. I believe, though, that those whose hearts are set to follow Christ will eventually come through any serious deception if they persevere in following the Lord and keep on submitting to Him.

At an international level, though, this wave of enemy deception will expose and reduce the global influence of the worst U.S ministries and will bring about the realignment of national churches and ministries that God desires. It will improve the quality of teaching and the quality of the most well known ministries at an international level. This is due to God’s sovereignty, and will strengthen the global body of Christ and prepare God’s people for the difficult years ahead. -S. Dobbs, 30th Oct 2005.

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Does this explain what is happening with the Charismatic movement?