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“Want Some False Doctrine in Your Life? Try These Handy Tips!” by Steven Kozar

June 20, 2015 in apostasy, christianity, Church, contemplative spirituality, discernment, Rick Warren, The Emerging Church | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Want Some False Doctrine in Your Life? Try These Handy Tips!” by Steven Kozar

 

Don’t be shy about it-admit it: false doctrine is fun and, well, it just feels good. Here are some handy tips to keep you fully deceived and incapable of discernment:

 

1. Always think to yourself: “I know what he meant” when false teachings are taught; don’t listen to the actual words themselves. Pretend you are giving someone the “benefit of the doubt” when you’re actually permitting bad teaching. Also, bad teaching isn’t so bad if the pastor tells an emotional story to drive home the heresy; and he must be telling the truth if he starts to cry, especially at the same point of the story in multiple services!

2. Here’s a handy saying: “No church is perfect!” The assumption here is that it’s not of any value to carefully examine doctrine because all churches are wrong in one way or another, so just accept anything. If you go to the church because “you feel comfortable there” and the “worship team really rocks” you’ll probably never have to think much about doctrine anyway. This can also be modified as: “No pastor is perfect!” False teachers and mediocre pastors really appreciate it when you think this way.

3. Focus on your feelings rather than the clear teachings of Scripture. Because you’re a sinner, this will be very easy. For added validation of your false beliefs, convince yourself that God told you to disobey Him and somehow violate His word; but don’t use such obvious language. For example, say: “I really feel that God spoke to my heart, that’s why I believe it’s okay to       (fill in the blank with whatever sin and/or false doctrine you want). A great little catch phrase to instill this principle would be something like this: “Theology will never change a man as much as a direct encounter with God.” Of course, if you really had a direct encounter with God you’d probably be dead…

Finish HERE

Bickle’s Bible Botching – From Spirit of Error

April 19, 2015 in apologetics, apostasy, discernment, Life, prophecy | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Source HERE   Spirit of Error

Mike Bickle

Mike Bickle–the leader of the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City, Missouri–is revered by many people in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement as a sound Bible teacher, as someone who majors on teaching people the written Word of God.

But I have noticed something disturbing about his teachings. The Bible verses he uses to support them frequently have nothing to do with those teachings–and sometimes they actually teach something very different.

In this post, I look at one of Bickle’s teachings and show how he attempts to support it through the use of a botched interpretation of Scripture. This example should raise a flag of caution in people’s minds when they encounter his other NAR teachings.

 The ‘Israel Mandate’

IHOP has a ministry called the “Israel Mandate,” that seeks to mobilize people to pray for Israel and the salvation of the Jewish people. Well, this might all sound good–even to many traditional evangelicals who have, historically, shown strong support for Israel and Jewish people.

So, then, what’s the problem with the “Israel Mandate?”

It’s this. According to IHOP’s description of the mandate, part of the “primary calling” of the Gentile church in regard to Jewish people is for the church to be “moving in the supernatural.” In other words, Gentile Christians have a responsibility to perform miraculous signs and wonders so that Jewish people will believe the gospel.

And what is the Scripture verse cited in support of this teaching? It is 1 Corinthians 1:22:

For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom (New King James Version)

But this verse does not support the Bickle/IHOP teaching that Christians have a duty to perform miraculous signs for Jewish people. Quite the contrary. The apostle Paul, the author of 1 Corinthians, is actually criticizing the Jews for demanding miraculous signs and the Greeks for seeking worldly wisdom.

Paul goes on to say that he did not give in to the demands of the Jews or the Greeks, but instead he preached the simple but powerful message of “Christ crucified.” Yet this message was not well received by the Jews, who craved displays of God’s supernatural power. Rather, the idea of a suffering Messiah was a “stumbling block” to those Jews putting their faith in Christ. See for yourself by reading the verse in its larger context.

20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks[a] foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:20-25)

Notice two things from the above passage: (1) the Jews’ request for miraculous signs is not portrayed in a positive light, and (2) the apostle Paul does not grant their request for signs. So, then, how can Bickle use this verse in support of the NAR teaching that Gentile Christians have a responsibility to perform signs and wonders for the Jewish people?

– By Holly Pivec

LifeWay Removes Unbiblical Resources From Their Stores

April 9, 2015 in christianity, Church, discernment, Life, religion | Tags: , | Leave a comment

I am applauding the decision of LifeWay………

LifeWay Removes Unbiblical Resources From Their Stores

Church
Source HERE

Alex Malarkey’s book “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven: A Remarkable Account of Miracles, Angels, and Life Beyond This World” has been a top seller for a very long time. Just a few months ago Alex confessed that the whole story was a lie that he fabricated to get attention. He says,”I did not die. I did not go to Heaven,” he wrote. “When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough.” This led to LifeWay making the decision to pull the book from all of their stores and website. Now LifeWay has just compiled a list of authors and resources that will be banned from their stores from this point on. LifeWay sent out a company email to all employees in regards to their decision and an acquaintance of mine who works for LifeWay sent me the list of banned resources/authors. I want to applaud LifeWay for this decision which will encourage Christians to be more discerning about what they read and share with others. It blows my mind how Christians will believe something just because its in a book or in a movie without diligently searching the Scriptures to be sure their receiving biblical truth and not mystical and unbiblical nonsense. LifeWay still has a long way to go because though their list is exhaustive it still is missing other authors who are harming the church with unbiblical doctrines.

The one question I have is why would LifeWay carry these resources in the first place? Its ironic that once Alex confessed to fabricating the story that now LifeWay decides to pull the book. This reminds me of the incident at World Vision when they decided to accept homosexual missionaries. After receiving instant criticism they decided to retract their decision. Obviously the answer involves the financial profit received from popular yet uahonbiblical resources. If you want to read the list of banned resources you can do so here:Lifeway Removed Authors

Here is their list of removed authors

 

Che Ahn

Clay Aiken

Mitch Albom

Ebal Alexander

J. Neal Alexander

James Alison

Elizabeth Alves

Karen Armstrong

John G. Arnott

John Avanzini

Bruce Bawer

Mary K. Baxter

Rob Bell

Jon L. Berquist

John Bevere

The Blind Side (DVD)

Ray Boltz

Reihard Bonnke

Marcus Borg

Gregory Boyd

Rebecca Brown

Rodney Howard-Browne

Juanita Bynum

Jack Canfield

Charles Capps

Morris Cerullo

Charisma magazine

Reginald Cherry

Chick Tracts

David H. Chilton

Mark Chironna

David Cho

Deepak Chopra

Randy Clark

Richard Cleaver

Kim Clement

Gerald Coates

Common English Bible

Tony Compolo

Gary David Comstock

Gloria Copeland

Kenneth Copeland

L. William Countryman

Stephen Covey

Paul Crouch

Dake’s Study Bibles

Marjorie Decker

Jack Deere

Creflo Dollar

Mark Driscoll

Jesse Duplantis

Betty Eadie

James L. Empereur

Rachel Held Evans

Gary Ezzo

Melinda Fish

Francis Frangipane

Robert Fulgham

Chris Glaser

Kirby Godsey

Peter Gomes

Larry Kent Graham

Ted Haggard

Kenneth Hagin (Sr. and Jr.)

Frank Hammond

Andrew Harvey

Marilyn Hickey

Steven Hill

Benny Hinn

Larry Huch

Cindy Jacobs

Paul King Jewett

Bill Johnson

Tony Jones

Rick Joyner

Thomas Keating

RT Kendall

Essek Kenyon

John Killinger

John Kilpatrick

Jennifer Knapp

C. Baxter Kruger

Kathryn Kuhlman

Bob Larson

Larry Lea

Roberts Liardon

Life in the Spirit Study Bible

Eddie Long

Sara Maitland

Brian McLaren

John McNeill

Aimee Semple McPherson

Thomas Merton

Joyce Meyer

Virginia Ramey Mollenkott

Robert Morris

Myles Munroe

Mike Murdock

Mary Neal

New American Bible

New Jerusalem Bible

Henri Nouwen

Scott O’Grady

Joel Osteen

Doug Pagitt

Rod Parsley

Carlton Pearson

Scott Peck

Basil Pennington

Fuchsia Pickett

Clark Pinnock

Norm Pott

Frederick Price

Derek Prince

Joseph Prince

Earl Radmacher

Oral Roberts

Jack Rogers

A. J. Russell

John Sanders

Jerry Savelle

Letha Dawson Scanzoni

Gwen Shamblin

Peter Singer

Alice Smith

Spirit-Filled Life Study

William Stringfellow

Lester Sumrall

David Switzer

Tommy Tenney

Leroy Thompson

Phyllis, Tickle

Robert Tilton

TNIV

Randy Travis

The Voice Bible

Matthew Vines

Neale Donald Walsch

Barbara Wentroble

Paula White

Sally Lowe Whitehead

Bill Wiese

Smith Wigglesworth

Johanna Van Wijk-Bos

Hans Wilhelm

John Wimber

Laura Winner

Walter Wink

Andrew Wommack

Maria Woodworth-Etter

The Word on the Street (Bible Paraphrase)

Jeremiah Wright

William Paul Young

 

Revival Or Apostasy? Dave Hunt

March 28, 2015 in apostasy, Bible Study, Christians, Church, discernment, new age, prophecy | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Feature Article – Dave Hunt

 

Revival or Apostasy?

 

Knowing that we are in the last of the last days, with an imminent Rapture a very real hope, our thoughts often (and indeed should) turn to the signs that Christ said would herald the nearness of His return. The signs that are most widely cited include “wars and rumours of wars…[when] nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom…and…famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes…these are the beginning of sorrows” (Mt 24:6-8). 

Unquestionably, these specific “sorrows” have been both prominent and accelerating since Israel again became a nation in 1948. Since that time, the intensity and frequency of these signs have increased like the birth pangs of a woman approaching her time of delivery, exactly as Christ foretold. However, the first sign that Christ gave has been largely overlooked and His solemn warning neglected:

 

And Jesus answered and said…Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many….And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many….For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Mt 24:4,5,11,24) [Emphasis added.]

 

Concern for this prophesied deception has marked this ministry. Let us take a closer look at the religious deception that Christ foretold. He issued a warning: “Take heed [beware] that no man deceive you.” Its seriousness is emphasized by being thrice stated. Its nature is specified: false Christs, false prophets, and false signs and wonders. His repetition four times of the word “many” indicates a worldwide deception of multitudes.

 

Paul issued a similar warning: “Let no man deceive you by any means….” He explains that the spiritual deception to which Christ referred will infect the professing church. That is evident from his words “falling away,” or apostasy:

 

For that day [of the Lord] shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin [Antichrist] be revealed, the son of perdition.” (2 Thes 2:3)

 

Although a true Christian cannot fall away, a false Christian can. Fall away from what? From the faith in Christ that he or she has outwardly professed without inward reality. Those few apostates who announce themselves as atheists or convert to Buddhism or Hinduism are not the concern of Christ and Paul in this verse. They are warning of a turning from the truth within the professing church. Other scriptures confirm this, as we shall see.

 

Paul warns us not to be deceived into thinking that the apostasy won’t come. It must. Such a warning can mean only that in the last days many will reject the biblical teaching that apostasy is inevitable. The false prophets to whom Christ refers will use their signs and wonders to support their false teaching that revival, not apostasy, is underway. Paul therefore warns us not to be deceived with talk about revival: the apostasy must come, or Christ will not return!

 

False signs and wonders will be an integral part of the apostasy. The departure from the truth will be spearheaded by apparent miracle workers, and the delusion will be made possible by a prevailing emphasis upon experience over doctrine: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine” (2 Tm 4:3). Christ declares,

 

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Mt 7:22-23)

 

These apostates of whom Christ speaks do not lose their salvation; they were never saved (“I never knew you”). Yet they are high-profile Christian leaders apparently performing signs and wonders in the name of Christ. Tragically, they seem to think that their ability to prophesy and to perform wonders proves that they belong to Him. The signs and wonders are so impressive that doctrine no longer matters – exactly what we see today!

 

Surely these of whom Christ speaks in Matthew 7 must be the same “false Christs and false prophets” to whom He refers in Matthew 24. Moreover, the signs and wonders they are able to perform are apparently so impressive that without discernment by the Holy Spirit even the very elect would be deceived by them. Obviously, something more than mere trickery is involved. These miracle workers are backed by the power of Satan, whom they unwittingly serve in the name of the Lord.

 

The Bible clearly predicts a last-days signs and wonders movement – but it will be of Satan, and thus a delusion that will deceive many. After a solemn warning that in the last days “perilous times [not revival!] shall come,” Paul makes this remarkable statement:

 

Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these [apostates] also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. (2 Tm 3:8)

 

Jannes and Jambres were the magicians in Pharaoh’s court who, through the power of Satan, duplicated (up to a point) the miracles that God did through Moses and Aaron. Paul thus declares that the last-days opposition to the truth will not come so much from outside the church but from those within who are reprobate concerning the faith: depraved men who corrupt the truth. And they do so by performing apparent miracles in Christ’s name some of which (when more than mere trickery) are actually of Satan. In that way, they deceive and lead many astray – not out of the church but into false doctrine and thus a false hope within the church. Satan has no more effective tactic to damn souls!

 

Such [deception] involving the whole gamut of today’s revival scene must be seriously faced! Videos of the services show people crawling on the floor, howling like wolves, barking like dogs, roaring like lions, going through bodily contortions impossible without the aid of some spiritual power, unable to speak or even remember their names when they try to give a testimony – and worse. Many of those being baptized seem to lose consciousness or shake so violently that they must be carried out of the baptismal tank or they would drown. Others flail about so wildly as to require several men to handle them. That such things could now be widely accepted as evidence of the Holy Spirit can only testify to the depths of the delusion!

 

Jude exhorts us to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Contend against whom? Surely not primarily against godless enemies outside the church. The warning concerns those within: “For there are certain men crept in unawares” (v. 4). Crept in can only mean inside the church.

 

Paul confirms Jude in addressing the Ephesian elders: “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30). The spiritual deception of which Christ warned would be rampant within the church.

 

In further confirmation, Christ warned His disciples that “the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service” (Jn 16:2) – a most remarkable prophecy. He can’t be referring to the slaughter of Christians by the Caesars or by Mao or Stalin or Hitler, for they did not believe they were thereby serving God. Yes, when the Jews of Jesus’ day killed the early Christians, they thought they were serving God; so did the Roman Catholics when they slaughtered the true Christians before and after the Reformation; and so it was when Muslims killed Christians. But none of this was the complete fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy.

 

“Whosoever” is the key. Neither the Pharisees, the popes, nor the Muslims were alone in killing Christians. Others pursued them to the death at the same time. But Christ is saying that a time is coming when whosoever (in other words, everyone) who kills Christians will think he is serving God thereby. That can only mean that a world religion to which everyone must belong is coming, a religion that will seek to exterminate true Christians in the name of God. John saw the same scene in the future:

 

And it was given unto him [Antichrist] to make war with the saints, and to overcome them….And I beheld another beast…he exerciseth all the power of the first beast…and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast….And he had power to…cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (Rv 13:7-15)

 

To summarize, the scriptural warnings foretell the very delusion we find in our day: 1) a false signs and wonders movement led by many false prophets; 2) many being deceived through these seeming miracles; 3) the rejection of the biblical teaching concerning apostasy, and the insistence that we are in the midst of, or at least building up to, the “greatest revival in the history of the church.” The promise of revival will be part of the last-days deception, Paul warns, so beware! Instead, in the days preceding the Rapture there will be a great apostasy, a falling away from the faith. Don’t be part of it!

 

That we must earnestly contend for the faith against those who have crept into the church implies that the battle is not so much one of faith against unbelief, but rather of true faith against false faith. And that, too, is precisely what we see today. Articles in leading medical journals cite studies showing that those who have any “religious faith” are more likely to recover from illness. Christianity Today ran a major article naïvely promoting these studies as though they were supportive of the truth.1 Thus God has been reduced to a placebo that can come in any shape, size, or color.

 

Multitudes of Christians imagine that faith is believing that what they are praying for will happen and that if they truly believe, they will have whatever they ask. Obviously, if things happen because one believes they will, then one doesnʼt need God. This is mind power, not the faith in God that Christ taught (Mk 11:22)….

 

An Afterword from T. A. McMahon

 

In the eighteen years since Dave wrote the above article, the apostasy has intensified in ways that are mind numbing. I write this from the perspective of one who worked with Dave for more than three decades and learned from him how to discern trends that are taking hold in the church, drawing both professing and even true Christians away from the Word of God. I remember that just three years following our book The Seduction of Christianity: Spiritual Discernment in the Last Days (1985) we were astonished by how much worse things had become, spiritually, during that short time. But that was then. 

Today seems like light years (or “dark years”) away. At that time, the New Age was dawning. Today we have “Christian” yoga practiced in church sanctuaries. Back then, evangelical leaders were dialoguing with Roman Catholic leaders; today Lent, Ash Wednesday, and the sacred Catholic ritual of the Stations of the Cross have become popular among “Protestants.” In those days, Christian youth were mostly being entertained in their fellowships; now they are being led into emergent contemplative and social gospel ideas. Then, the cults were making headway; today cultic teachings abound throughout Christendom. Then, “Christian” psychology was infecting the church; now, that pseudo-science has contaminated “biblical” counseling. Bible studies (where the Bible was actually studied) and prayer meetings were then rare; currently, books by popular Christian authors have displaced Scripture completely, and prayer has turned into “Lord, give me…” sessions. Back then, faith was being turned into a “force”; today, rare is the Christian who can tell you what biblical faith even is. False prophets used to be found primarily on “Christian” TV; now they proliferate on bestseller lists and head up prosperous “non-profit” organizations. We used to see TV preachers encouraging greed; currently, they sell survival food that they promote through fear-mongering techniques.

 

We are in those days characterized by Scripture as ones in which the church “will not endure sound doctrine” (2 Tm 4:3). Discernment has all but disappeared. The only antidote lies in the Word – diligence in studying it, reading it, and obeying it by the Spirit.

 

 

The topic on everyone’s lips and mind today is revival. Christian TV and radio and best-selling books persuasively argue that we are in the midst of the greatest revival of Christianity in the history of the world….It comes as a shock to many to learn that the word “revival” does not appear even once in the entire King James Bible. The hope of revival, which excites so many today, is not even a biblical concept. Ask yourself a few questions: Is Christ not indwelling us? Is He not in our midst each time we meet? Are we not to be filled with the Holy Spirit at all times? Is not the Word of God sufficient? Why, then, run after signs and wonders as though unusual manifestations prove that God is at work while neglecting what God has already given us? In the meantime, undertake a study to see what the Bible says. Check every source (including TBC) against Scripture! Be a Berean.  TBC

 

First published in October 1997 

 

EndNotes

  1. Christianity Today (Jan. 6, 1997), 20-30.

 

 

Bibiographic details:

 

Potentially Harmful and Dangerous Spiritual Practices

March 26, 2015 in discernment | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This is an excerpt from

http://www.spiritual-research-network.com/dangerouspractices.html

Potentially Harmful and Dangerous Spiritual Practices

Compiled from numerous sources by Chris Lawson

Contemplative Spirituality / Spiritual Formation (Please read note below)

  • “Ancient Prayer” Practices
  • Awareness of Being
  • Being in the Present Moment
  • Beyond Words
  • Breath Prayers
  • Contemplative
  • Centering
  • Centering prayer
  • Dark night of the soul
  • Divine Center
  • Divine Mystery
  • Enneagrams
  • Ignation Contemplation
  • Inner light
  • Jesus Candles
  • Labyrinths
  • Lectio Divina
  • Mantras
  • Mantra prayers
  • “Palms Up, Palms Down”
  • Practicing the Presence
  • Prayer of the Heart
  • Prayer Stations
  • Sacred Space
  • Slow Prayer
  • Spiritual Direction
  • Spiritual Disciplines
  • Spiritual Formation
  • Taize
  • The Jesus Prayer
  • Thin Place
  • The Silence
  • Yoga

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY PRACTICES:

The contemplative spirituality catch phrases and practices referred to above are used by Eastern occultists, religious mystics, and many “well-intentioned” Christians.   Almost the enitre list of these practices has been gleaned from Eastern mysticism and the occult – and they have been brought into Christian settings.  Due to the massive explosion of experience driven Christianity and the endorsements of many well known personalities, these practices are now thought by many to actually be “Christian”.

It must be clearly noted however that “Christian mystics” gleaned these practices from Eastern religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism.  (See The Desert Fathers, Fr. Bede Griffiths, Fr. Thomas Keating, Thomas Merton, etc.)  As such, they are “Christianized” forms of non-Christian practices.  Even biblical prayer has been convoluted and re-defined as “centering prayer”, the “Jesus prayer”, “slow prayer”, “mantra prayer”, “meditation” (unbiblcal forms), etc.

We make special note of this here because oftentimes the “results” that people experience from these Eastern practices are contrary to biblical theology and balanced Christian practice.  With this in view, it is no wonder that a number of so-called Christian leaders in our age have adopted a pantheistic, occult worldview – in place of a biblical, Christian worldview.  The proof of this can be found in their books and sermons.  The tragic end result of this is that many undiscerning church-goers (and quite a number of true Christians) are now being subjected to and influenced by an unbiblical Christianity.  This new Christianized form of Eastern spirituality is an amalgamation of Eastern occult practices mixed with theologically corrupted biblical terminology.  In theory it has major problems and in practice it can very quickly lead to spiritual delusion.

Another very serious problem that can arise through the use of a number of these practices is direct, overt contact with the spirit world apart from God.  The technique or practice of “Centering prayer” as contemplatives call it, has a very strong potential to introduce well-intentioned people to occult practices such as Clairvoyance, Clairaudience and Clairsentience, etc.  The Bible calls this divination, a form of the occult condemned by God Himself (Deuteronomy 18).  Click here to see many references of the biblical condemnation of divination in any form).

It is very simple to do the research and find out just where these practices originate from and how they have crept into the church.  Sadly, many refuse to look at the facts!

Finish HERE

FOUR BLOOD MOONS OR FOUR RED FLAGS OVER AMERICA

March 24, 2015 in discernment, prophecy, rapture, religion | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

FOUR BLOOD MOONS OR
FOUR RED FLAGS OVER AMERICA

By Pastor John Muncy

This is the single most deadly prophetic heresy in many years. It is based on something real, and on biblical Jewish feast days. But this teaching now promoted by John Hagee is profoundly heretical and violates the very words of Jesus Christ.

Just so you know my opinion from the start; I will spill the beans and say that I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the rapture WILL NOT occur on April 15, 2014, if you disagree with me, we can talk about it on Wednesday, April 16th. (Yes, there are some who are taking this blood moon theory way out of proportion, even though most who are teaching on this don’t believe that. However, some believe that the Great Tribulation could be started on one of the blood moons.)

 

I’m convinced that the first of the four blood moons will be like every other day, with no big significant change in our world. And again later in October, when the second one occurs, and then when the other two blood moons show up 2015, I’m convinced that they will not usher in the coming of Christ, nor will that be the beginning date for the Great Tribulation. Of course, not everyone who believes the blood moon theory believes that either, but there are a large number of people expecting “major” events to arrive on those dates. The blood moon dates are as follows:

April 15, 2014
October 8, 2014
April 4, 2015
September 28, 2015

Let’s go back to how this teaching got started…

Finish Article HERE

from HERESCOPE: Unsagacious Seers

February 28, 2015 in Christians, discernment, new age | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Part 6: The Physics of Heaven
A Serial Book Review & Theological Interaction

Read Part 1: “The Physics of Heaven”
Read Part 2: “The Power of the Zero-Point Field”
Read Sidebar: “Jesus’ Lesser Works”
Read Part 3: “Extracting the Precious From the Worthless”
Read Part 4: “Vibrating in Harmony With God”
Read Part 5: BILL JOHNSON: Squandering Our Spiritual Inheritance

Unsagacious: having or showing no acute mental discernment and no keen practical sense; not shrewd; not wise.

 

Review of Chapter 5 authored by Jonathan Welton,
“Authentic vs. Counterfeit”[1]

“I have found throughout Scripture at least 75 examples
of things that the New Age has counterfeited,
such as having a spirit guide, trances, meditation, auras,
power objects, clairvoyance, clairaudience, and more.
These actually belong to the church,
but they have been stolen and cleverly repackaged.”
—Jonathan Welton, The Physics of Heaven, p. 49, emphasis added

Thesis
Ironically, this chapter, “Authentic vs. Counterfeit” by Jonathan Welton,[2] proposes that Christians should pursue separating the true from the false in New Age Religion, and reclaim the truths that religion stole from the church. The chapter’s “most important point” is,

If there is a counterfeit, there is an authentic that we need to find and reclaim. Every time we see a masquerade, we need too look closely to properly discern what is being counterfeited, because a counterfeit is evidence that an authentic exists. (TPOH, 42)

“Resistors” and “Fearers”
To advance his bold thesis, Welton needs to discredit conservative Christian critics who question the legitimacy of such a reclamation project and therefore states, “The way that God moves in power looks a lot like the New Age, and this has scared many Christians away from the operating gifts of the Holy Spirit.”(TPOH, 45) So he breaks down the way religious people view the supernatural into 3 Groups—

  1. Those who operate in the supernatural realm authentically (i.e., the signs and wonders crowd of the New Apostolic Reformation);
  2. Those who operate in the supernatural realm fraudulently (i.e., New Agers, Buddhists, Hindus and Occultists); and
  3. Those who view the supernatural realm skeptically.

Welton perceives Group 3 to be comprised of “fellow Christians who believe false doctrines regarding the operation of supernatural power.”(TPOH, 48) In contrast to the charismatic crowd that embraces the supernatural under the “the lordship of Jesus Christ,” Group 3 is comprised of those who fear supernatural phenomena, and presumably do not live under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Welton bio on TheElijahList, 4/27/12


The New Normal
Welton compares these “resistors” to the Pharisees who after they observed the miracles Jesus worked by the Spirit, blasphemed the Holy Spirit by ascribing Jesus’ miraculous power to have been Satan’s (Luke 11:14-15). (Note: Unlike the Sadducees, the Pharisees were not anti-supernatural.)[3] To Welton, the new Christian normal involves free operation in the supernatural realm, performing signs and wonders at will. Yet upon their seeing miracles performed by manifest sons of God, Welton states that, “There will always be those who resist the Holy Spirit,” and “what may surprise you (as you become normal) is that the strongest resistance does not come from the sinner but from the fellow saint.”(TPOH, 49) Therefore, “Being a normal Christian” Welton informs, “is not for the faint of heart.”(TPOH, 49) So we turn to give attention to some of the spiritual activities which will comprise the new normal, activities which it is surmised, originally belonged to the church but were stolen by the New Age Movement. Welton writes:

“I have found throughout Scripture at least 75 examples of things that the New Age has counterfeited, such as having a spirit guide, trances, meditation, auras, power objects, clairvoyance, clairaudience, and more. These actually belong to the church, but they have been stolen and cleverly repackaged.” [Emphasis added, TPOH, 49]

We turn now to deal with the “things” Welton claims belonged to the church but were stolen, repackaged and used to promote New Age spirituality.

 

Continue HERE 

Chuck Missler and Kim Clement – The Merging of Muddy Waters

February 5, 2015 in apostasy, discernment, Gnosticism, prophecy | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

About eight years ago I begin hearing about Chuck Missler. Today information is abundant with the likes of social media. News is passed on like wildfire.

Teachings from Chuck Missler are easily available and what I first read caused alarm. What? Bible Codes? Numerology? Microcodes, Macrocodes and Metacodes.  My first thought was that this man has no interest in teaching the Bible. If he did at one time,  then he has surely lost his way.

Other issues surfaced. Plagiarism, purgatory, and support for a book “Have Heart” which suggests necromancy.

But….I was ridiculed for posting warnings about a  favorite teacher from Calvary Chapel.

So now it has come to this. Please read this from Herescope.

Home

THE MERGING OF MUDDY RIVERS

The Singing Prophet Kim Clement. . .
. . . Washes in Chuck Missler’s Stream

“And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. (Ezekiel 34:17-19)
Kim Clement hosts Chuck Missler – End Times Conference
(image is taken from the Koinonia Institute email alert, Jan. 8, 2015)
By Gaylene Goodroad

“And he [Naaman] has a river problem. He does.  And many of us don’t want to wash in a river because we feel that our rivers are better….  And because of that, he [Naaman] lost out—he could have lost out on being healed and being restored.  I was in that position.  I don’t want to dip myself and wash myself in that river because we have something better.  Which apparently was the Kingdom message, and you know, Word of Faith and all this great stuff that was out there—but so unbalanced. And one of them was, of course, end times. And I mocked it many times… eventually Naaman goes and washes himself in the river and he is restored.  Don’t reject this river [Missler’s] because you think that what you have is better.  We need rivers to restore us. And I am proud to say that the Lord God, through my wife, brought this representative of that river to us [Missler], so we could be restored and have a healthy outlook and preach the gospel, and win the lost, touch the untouchable, and reach the unreachable. And that’s what we’re gonna do! …”
– NAR Prophet Kim Clement[i]

“This is what it is.  I was very desperate to hear the truth  about the Second Coming and about the Rapture….  In the meantime, my wife, who by the way, for thirty-something years basically trusted what I taught… she knew there was a gap somewhere… she was searching and getting—listening to different teachers. And she was getting passionate. And then I heard this voice… I’d said to Greg [Wark], Greg just tell me of a teacher that can tell us the whole thing, uh, in a nutshell. So I don’t have to spend days and hours and weeks learning.  And Greg said there’s only one man that I can guarantee will teach you and impart something on you. His name is Dr. Chuck Missler. And I said to Greg. Okay, I’ll let Jane listen to him… She’s been telling me about Isaiah 53 being the Holy of Holies and all this stuff. And I’ve been listening to what he’s been saying.  And so I asked the Lord to do what He did with Cornelius. Cornelius prayed. I pray a lot. Cornelius gave alms and God sent the very best to him. And He sent—and I know Dr. Chuck won’t even acknowledge this—but I said to the Lord, ‘Send me the best for my people, cause I love my people’. For thirty six years I fought being a pastor, you know that. And then He gave me all these people. We have an online church of almost 15 thousand people. I said, ‘why are you doing this? I’m not a good pastor.’ Well, apparently, I am, because I got the best. And so I believe that we’re going to be taught.  And this is the beginning of a moment in destiny that I believe is God-orchestrated long before we were born.”
– NAR Prophet Kim Clement[ii]

“I thank you for having me and what a thrill to really have people so hungry for the word. And we’re [Missler and Ron Matsen] so glad to be here. And we have an opportunity, not just for a little session or two, but a whole survey of the end time perspective. And the passion that’s here for the word of God is so refreshing, and so contagious! I can’t tell you that Ron and I are so thrilled to be part of this Kim, and uh, we sense a real partnership emerging between Kim and myself. I just couldn’t be more pleased. And I thank you [Kim], and I thank you Jane [Clement] for making this possible.”
– Bible Teacher Chuck Missler[iii]

Missler and Clement embrace at Clement’s House of Destiny

“You know, it’s rare—let me be blunt. It’s rare to encounter someone with the integrity and character that I find in this new friend—new brother and friend [Clement]. I just appreciate that.”
– Chuck Missler[iv]

ANALYZING CHUCK MISSLER’S ‘STREAM’
For the past few years, we have documented the ever-mystical leanings of notable Bible teacher and author, Chuck Missler, ultimately listing him among a group of evangelical teachers we’ve dubbed ‘Postmodern Prophecy Paradigm’ (PPP) leaders, because of their gravitation away from sound truth revealed in Scripture alone, coupled with their feverish efforts to re-fashion end-times prophecy to fit their extra-biblical speculations. We have written extensively and in detail of these seductive, morphing departures from the Word of God.[v] The end result has been a toxic mixture of truth and error—leading away from Christ and headlong into the occult.

Finish article HERE

10 Important Things to Consider About Roma Downey’s Spiritual Affinities:

January 30, 2015 in apostasy, contemplative spirituality, discernment, Oprah Winfrey, religion, Spirituality | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

An excerpt from Lighthouse Trails.

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=16777

10 Important Things to Consider About Roma Downey’s Spiritual Affinities:

roma-downey-mary

1. Roma is a devout Roman Catholic who, among other Catholic rituals, prays to Mary, as she describes in this video. Roman Catholicism teaches that Mary is a co-redeemer with Jesus.

2. Roma Downey endorsed a 2010 New Age book titled Loyalty to Your Soul by Ron and Mary Hulnick (published by the New Age publisher, Hay House), Downey endorses the book saying:

As a USM [ University of Santa Monica – a New Age metaphysical school] graduate, I know firsthand the value I received from participating with Ron and Mary  in the Master’s degree Program in Spiritual Psychology. I am so grateful to have Loyalty to Your Soul to sweetly remind me of all I have learned. Let’s just say that I went from playing an angel on TV to living more of an angelic life every day. The teachings in this beautiful book have sent me on a journey to the very center of my own being where, wrapped in the safe wings of Love, I feel as though I have come home.

Downey’s endorsement in the Hulnick’s book is nestled in with full-blown New Agers like Barbara Marx Hubbard, Joan Borysenko, and Gay Hendricks (The Corporate Mystic). (By the way, Neale Donald Walsch, the New Ager who said that Hitler did the Jews a favor by killing them,(1) wrote the foreword to Loyalty to Your Soul.)  Clearly, Downey read this book and resonates deeply with it to say what she did about it. To get an idea of this “journey” that Downey is on, listen to a few quotes from Loyalty to Your Soul:

Center your awareness in your heart and consciously look for the Loving Essence in the person in your presence. By doing so, you’re signifying your respect for the Soul before you . . .  Maintain awareness that you’re in conversation with another Divine Being who is engaged in having a human experience. (p. 209)

We ask for the presence, protection, guidance, and Love of the Divine Beings [spirit guides]  who work with each of us. (from the “Invocation” – emphasis added)

When people speak of spirituality, they simply mean awareness of the sacred reality of the Divine Essence within and beyond all creation. (p. 8, quoting favorably a New Age “spiritual teacher”)

You begin to recognize others as Divine Beings, and the situations and circumstances of your life as learning devices. (p. 31)

Those familiar with New Age teachings will recognize such statements as being the core essence of the occult (that man is divine) and that there are spirit guides who help us through life. Loyalty to Your Soul is a contemporary version of A Course in Miracles (the New Age book Warren B. Smith talks about in his biography, The Light That Was Dark).

3. Roma Downey also endorsed a 2008/2011 book called Angels in My Hair: the true story of a modern day Irish mystic by Lorna Bryne. The book is about spirit guides in people’s lives.

roma-class-of-2010

4. Roma Downey graduated in 2010 from the University of Santa Monica’s Spiritual Psychology Program. The school was founded by the late New Age spiritualist guru John-Roger Hinkins in 1971 (who also founded the Movement of Spiritual Awareness). Hinkins claimed to have had a spirit guide named Mystic Traveler.  Today, University of Santa Monica  is considered a New Age/metaphysical university. Some teaching points(2) from USM’s Spiritual Psychology program (the program is one of just three degree programs offered at the school):

a. ” If you are interested in really growing as a person and awakening more fully to your Divinity—take this course” (emphasis added).

b. “Soul-centered co-creation [a term used in New Age to signify our equality with God].”

c. “Spiritual Awakening. Designed to provide a practical working knowledge of, and appreciation for, the “giants” in the field of psychology, including Rogers, Perls, Ellis, and [Roberto] Assagioli [a world-famous occultist].”

d. “The Buddhas and the Christs are born complete.(3)

practical-praying5.  In 2010, Roma Downey did a “meditation” CD for psychic medium John Edward’s 2010 book Practical Praying: Using the Rosary to Enhance Your Life (see video of John Edwards). As of Jan. 17, 2015, John Edward’s is still selling the Practical Praying book advertising Roma Downey’s CD meditation contribution. John Edward is best known for his psychic TV show in which he talked to the dead. Downey has been on his show and allowed him to channel her mother.

6. New Age actress and ordained minister  of a New Thought church, Della Reese, plays a significant role in Downey’s life. In addition to Reese teaming with Downey for 9 years in the popular TV series Touched by an Angel, Reese is Downey’s  daughter’s godmother and also officiated at the wedding of Downey and Mark Burnett.

7. Downey has been on the Oprah Show to promote her and her husband’s production Son of God. Oprah is the most influential New Ager today.

8. Downey and Burnett are proponents of Tony Robbins, a prolific New Ager. “For 25 years, Hollywood power producer Mark Burnett has applied Tony’s strategies to his life. This past year, he decided it was time to invite his wife, Roma Downey, and their 3 children to share in an experience they won’t forget.”(4)

9. Downey resonates with Eckhart Tolle, another very prolific New Age author and teacher. Warren B. Smith has written about Tolle and his New Age/New Spirituality views. One article about Downey quotes her as saying: “My kids go to school about a 40-minute  drive away. I’m open to the group’s opinion about what we listen to on the  way there. On the way back, I get my own selections—books on tape by  Eckhart Tolle, Tony Robbins . . . My husband says I’m so self-realized I’m practically levitating’” (First for Women magazine, 03/31/14, pp. 44-45). To get an idea of what Eckhart Tolle believes, listen to a quote by him:

Don’t get attached to any one word. You can substitute ‘Christ’ for presence, if that is more meaningful to you. Christ is your God-essence or the Self, as it is sometimes called in the East. The only difference between Christ and presence is that Christ refers to your indwelling divinity regardless of whether you are conscious of it or not, whereas presence means your awakened divinity or God-essence. – (Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now, p. 104)

10. Former New Age followers Caryl Matrisciana, Johanna Michaelsen, and Warren B. Smith have renounced and repudiated their former New Age beliefs and have even written books warning others about the New Age. On the contrary, Roma Downey has never renounced her New Age involvement and continues to promote it in one form or another. Interestingly (and significantly), Lighthouse Trails author Greg Reid personally handed Roma Downey a copy of Warren B. Smith’s book, The Light That Was Dark: From the New Age to Amazing Grace at the 2014 National Religious Broadcaster’s Convention right after she finished premiering The Son of God movie. Roma Downey is in a perfect position to warn the church about the New Age, but rather she is bringing the New Age into the church. Greg Reid capsulates this situation well:

Roma and Mark’s open door credentials to the evangelical church is that they are committed Catholics. That, and the movies themselves, were apparently proof enough to the higher leadership of the evangelical churches to give them carte blanche. They have been, 100%, embraced as one of us.

NO ONE has asked the crucial questions: Is Jesus the only way to God? Do we all have the “Christ spirit?” Are we all Divine? Is the Bible the infallible Word of God? Knowing that the Bible forbids necromancy, are you sorry you worked with John Edward? Is what you learned from John-Roger’s University compatible with your Christian faith? Unless Roma and Mark have gone through a massive conversion since last year, then they are still the same people who listen to audio books by New Age Gurus Ekhart Tolle and Tony Robbins, and who follow a brand of spirituality that is so strong that, as Mark said of Roma, “You’re so self-realized you’re practically levitating.”

Why are none of these questions being asked? If we didn’t know, now we do. If leaders DID know and chose to ignore it, or considered these things “little differences,” then God forgive us for our spiritual blindness and willingness to let crucial spiritual darkness enter in for the sake of a movie they think will lead the masses to Christ. (from Reid’s article Son of God—Trojan Horse)

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=16777

Speaking In Tongues, Questions and Answers.

January 16, 2015 in Bible Study, discernment, religion | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Speaking in Tongues, Questions and Answers

1.Can/should all Christians speak in tongues?
2. Is speaking in tongues to speak in the tongues of angels?
3. Is speaking in tongues a private prayer language?
4. Should we speak in tongues to edify ourselves?
5. Does praying in the Spirit mean to pray in tongues?
6. Should we speak in tongues at church when there is no interpreter?
7. Is the groanings which cannot be uttered referring to speaking in tongues?
8. Is the baptism of the Spirit a second blessing that is evidenced by speaking in tongues?
9. What is the fire of the Holy Spirit?
10. What happened at Pentecost?
11. Were tongues real human languages?
12. What was the purpose of tongues?
13. Are the tongues spoken today the same as the tongues in the bible?

1. Can/should all Christians speak in tongues?

“And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.” -1 Corinthians 12:28-31

Clearly the answer is no, not all were meant to speak in tongues, as “there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. ” -1 Corinthians 12:4

“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” -1 Corinthians 12:4-11

God gave different gifts to whom He willed, not to who wanted each specific gift, and not all the gifts to everyone, including speaking in tongues.

2. Is speaking in tongues to speak in the tongues of angels?

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.

“Tongues of angels” is not speaking about speaking in tongues, otherwise Paul also would have all knowledge and he would have also burned his body. We know he did not have/do all the things he listed. Paul is saying that EVEN IF angels had a language that he was able to speak, EVEN IF he burned his body, he would still be NOTHING without LOVE. Paul was simply using these illustrations to make a point, it is hyperbolic language to show that love is the greatest thing! We see that love is the more excellent way!

3. Is speaking in tongues a private prayer language?

“For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.” 1 Corinthians 14:2

Sounds like a very spiritual and commendable thing at first glance. It is an interesting passage, let’s look at the context:

“Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification. ”

-1 Corinthians 14:1-5

“Speaking mysteries to God” is not meant as a commendation but as a rebuke, it was not a good thing, but a bad thing. This passage is telling us that it was loveless to pursue speaking in tongues unless it was interpreted, otherwise it was worthless, it was like speaking mysteries that no one understood and that did not edify the Church.

4. Should we speak in tongues to edify ourselves? 

“He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself” is also a rebuke. The gifts of the Spirit were meant to edify the Body, not to edify self, that is why prophesy is greater because it edifies the church. People speaking in tongues without an interpretation were misusing speaking in tongues for their own selfishness, maybe to appear as more spiritual or to experience some sort of elevated ecstatic feelings. Self-edification is never promoted in the bible, it is condemned. We are to edify one another, not to please ourselves. “We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself.” -Romans 15:1-3a. “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.” -1 Corinthians 12:7.

Paul says “I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied.” Paul knows that not all do nor can speak in tongues, not all do nor can prophesy (as the same Spirit gives different gifts), he just wishes that everyone had the gifts so they would edify the church, and stop playing games with the gifts to show off and appear more spiritual than the next person.

“Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified. I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.” -1 Corinthians 14:13-19

Tongues were not meant to be a private prayer language because they were meant to be a gift to edify the Church.

5. Does praying in the Spirit mean to pray in tongues?

“Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.”

“Unfruitful” is never a good thing. We don’t want our understanding to ever be unfruitful.

This again is a correction and rebuke for the misuse of tongues.

“I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” This is not saying that sometimes I will pray in tongues where I don’t understand it (“in the spirit”) and then other times I will pray in my real native language (“in the understanding”), this is saying I will pray with the spirit and understanding AT THE SAME TIME. Praying in the spirit is not praying in tongues. Praying in the Spirit is much like walking in the Spirit, and being filled with the Spirit, which has nothing to do with speaking in tongues, it has to do with submission to His will, to be led and controlled by the Spirit.

We want to pray with understanding EVERY single time that we pray, we want to pray in the spirit and in the understanding.

We should always be praying without ceasing and it should always be with the Spirit and in understanding.

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
-Ephesians 6:18.

“These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” -Jude 1:19-20

6. Should we speak in tongues at church when there is no interpreter? 

“How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. ”  -1 Corinthians 14:26-28

Clearly, there should never be someone speaking in tongues in church unless an interpretation is given.
7. Is the groanings which cannot be uttered referring to speaking in tongues?

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us[a] with groanings which cannot be uttered.” -Romans 8:26

Let’s look at the context of this verse:

“For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body….Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” -Romans 8:22, 23, 26-27.

Notice that it is the Holy Spirit who groans and not believers, furthermore the groans that the Spirit makes cannot be uttered.

In this passage, we see that the creation is groaning and obviously the earth and universe and plants and animals do not speak in tongues, this is a metaphor. In this passage we ourselves are also groaning within ourselves, and that cannot be referring to speaking in tongues either because it is within us, not vocalized. Then we see the Holy Spirit making intercession with groaning that cannot be uttered, and we cannot hear nor understand this. The Holy Spirit is interceding for us, not through us or in us or by our tongues, but by His own groanings that cannot be uttered.

8. Is the baptism of the Spirit a second blessing that is evidenced by speaking in tongues?

The baptism of the Spirit happens to ALL believers, at the very moment of salvation. If we are not baptized with the Spirit, we are not His. It has nothing to do with speaking in tongues.

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” – 1 Corinthians 12:13

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” -Romans 8:9-10

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” -Ephesians 4: 4-6

9. What is the fire of the Holy Spirit?

“John answered, saying to all, ‘I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” Luke 3:16-17.

The fire is a judgement, it is damnation, while the baptism of the Spirit is salvation.

10. What happened at Pentecost?

Pentecost was the coming of the promised Holy Spirit.

Jesus said, ‘He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” -John 7:38-39

“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'” -Acts 1:4-5

In John and in Acts 1, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, and in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit came, as promised.

He did not come because He was invoked by earnest prayer or seeking, but by the exact plan, promise, and will of God. They were told to wait for the Holy Spirit, they waited, and they prayed while they waited for the promise, and SUDDENLY the Holy Spirit came.

Acts 2 is where the Church was born, a new era began, at Pentecost.

Acts 2 is where the Holy Spirit first baptized believers. The first time the Holy Spirit baptized was the only time it occurred after the believers were saved, there had to be a first time at some point, but after that first time, all new believers were/are baptized with the Holy Spirit at the very moment of salvation.

Acts 2 is also the first time believers spoke in tongues.

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” -Acts 2:4

They spoke in different tongues, representing that God was taking the gospel throughout the whole world, into all nations.

11. Were tongues real human languages?

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” -Acts 2:1-12

Note, tongues were known human languages. There is a list of 16 languages noted in this passage. Tongues did not then change from being human languages to being a heavenly prayer language. This is the clearest description and example of tongues we have in the bible, it is evident that they were real intelligible languages, never meant to be used for self-deification or for personal prayer.

12. What was the purpose of tongues?

Besides being edifying to the Church, they also validated the gospel or authenticated the gospel message, and were a sign to unbelieving Israel as a judgement.

“Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.

In the law it is written:

“With men of other tongues and other lips
I will speak to this people;
And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,”
says the Lord.

Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.” -1 Corinthians 14:20-22.

“With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; and yet, for all that, they will not hear Me” is a prophesy from Isaiah 28: 11-12.

Tongues were also to show that God was saving Gentiles, which in itself is a judgement to Israel as well (although God has not cast away His people Israel and their judgement is not final. Read Romans 11).

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, ‘Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’” Acts 10:44-47.

It was the same gift as it was in Acts 2, it was intelligible human languages. They heard them magnifying God, they understood the tongues. Peter says that they (the Gentile) received the same Holy Spirit that the Jews received at Pentecost.

13. Are the tongues spoken today the same as the tongues in the bible? 

An honest evaluation of the biblical description and prescription for tongues leads to the conclusion that the tongues that Charismatics/Pentecostals, Mormons, Catholics, Hindus, Shamans, Muslims, Buddhists, and Voodooists practice today are not the same tongues of the bible.

March 2026
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