BELLY OF THE BEAST: A Trip to Another Apostate Church

TRICK OF THE PULPIT WOLVES: Burying the Word of God under a mountain of speculation upon which to base unbiblical teachings.
TRICK OF THE PULPIT WOLVES: Burying the Word of God under a mountain of speculation upon which to base unbiblical teachings.

APOSTATE AMERICAN CHURCHES:

THE SPIRITUAL PROBLEM, NOT THE SPIRITUAL SOLUTION

At the request of a friend, this writer made an appearance at a church the weekend of January 3-4 .  The church was small (12-20 present) and friendly.  The atmosphere presented was friendly.

The preaching was classic 2015 American Church. That is to say, while the Bible was used as a prop, it was only adhered to in passing.  These instances were too many to catalog but the most egregious was a re-telling of the events in 2 Kings 5 and 8. The preacher approached the story of the covetousness of Gehazi (the servant of Elisha) and his subsequent curse of leprosy in a three-step process.

First, the speaker speculated that Gehazi was one of the lepers in 2 Kings 7:3-16.  The Bible is silent on this matter, but the speaker appealed to “concordances, the heathen writer Josephus and ‘her belief’.”

Next, the speaker speculated that because of her earlier speculations, Gehazi had been healed of his leprosy–placed on him as a curse by the man of God–which clearly contradicted 2 Kings 5:27.

Finally, utilizing this foundation built on complete and utter speculation, the speaker launched into an unbiblical idea of God and “second chances” based on good works.

Yes, we are saved by grace through our faith.  But no, God does not honor good deeds instead of repentance and faith, which was the moral of the speaker’s convoluted story.

The takeaway?

“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”
–Deuteronomy 4:2

“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”
–Proverbs 30:5-6

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book.”
–Revelation 22:18-19

“What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”
–Deuteronomy 12:32

God is jealous of His Word.

Perhaps the preacher wasn’t aware of what she did–but if not, she nevertheless she exhibited some skill in slyly subverting God’s Word by burying it under a mountain of speculation and unbiblical contradictions.

Belly of the beast indeed–and in more ways than one.

Churches have become a snare for any who exhibit an interest in knowing Jesus. Any number of pagan and satanic distractions serve to deceive those who have turned to a church as a solution to their spiritual problems.

And that just might be the real problem: Instead of seeking Jesus, many people are seeking other men to advise them about spirituality.  Instead of reading and studying the Bible for themselves, many have outsourced their Bible study to a wolf in the pulpit.

This is all just another reminder:

  1. Of the times in which we live.
  2. That the enemy has so perverted the visible church that his minions inhabit even the pulpits of the smallest congregations.
  3. Of the vast number of lost people inhabiting the end times churches. Sometimes it appears that the number of the lost is only surpassed by the number of church-going counterfeits.
  4. Finally, that in America, “going to church” has become the problem, not a solution.

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.“
—Matthew 24:4

[Parts of this piece appeared originally in End Times Prophecy Headlines: January 5, 2015.]

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by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier

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