Well… its 12:03am… *HUGE RANT WARNING*
Monday, June 19, 2006
A VERY LONG BLOG…
Originally posted on Monday, June 19, 2006
I recently got an ‘URGENT’ bulletin from some e-mail group that I used to belong to religiously. Now I just hang around to see what they’re up to.
This email was very “serious”.
Apparently there was supposed to be a 9.5+ earthquake and tsunami based in the Portland/Salem area on Father’s Day– June 18, 2006.
They seemed all reverent and convinced of absolute authenticity because the source of the prophecy was a Messianic Jew.
Here’s the original web site:
http://www.bethtefilah.net/blank?pageid=14&catstart=0&prodstart=0
That was the original web address. They have since changed it to what it is now.
I have a copy of the original email I was sent on my website here:
Earthquake
*edited to add— later the link was turned into an explaination of why it did not happen (originally on their website but removed– I cannot find the explaination on my website though 
)*
I love the Jews, they are very close to my heart. I have a hard time believing that just being Jewish makes you 101% credible!!
Anyway, It is now June 19 and I am still alive and my whole town is intact and sadly, this guy can be chalked up as a false prophet.
I must tell you–I love God with all my heart and soul. I publicly confessed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour at the age of 17. I had known Jesus since I was a small child, but I never knew what serving Him meant until I made it a point to learn.
I am now almost 27. I know the Bible very well and I am passionate about it. I certainly don’t know everything about it, but I usually know where I am speaking from, unless the specific passage escapes me at the time. Also, I make it a point to understand the contextual meaning of Scripture.
In recent years, I had gone to a church that advocated ‘personal revelation’ and interpretations of omens and visions and dreams.
All kinds of ‘prophecy’ was viewed as absolute GOSPEL. If reverence wasn’t given to whatever prophecy, dream, or vision someone had, people’s panties got into a bunch FAST. Particularly the person who gave the vision, dream, or prophecy, as they were convinced that they were right, even with no contextual Scriptural backing. *The scriptures used were often out of context and twisted to fit what the person wanted it to say.*
THE GURUS
Most of these people in this church, who did such things, seemed to hang on every word of people like Rick Joyner, Bob Jones, Cindy Jacobs, Kim Clement, Paul (David) Yongee Cho, Paul Cain, Larry Randolph— the list seemingly goes on forever.
The people advocating such things were totally convinced that absolutely EVERYTHING your eyes graze in life was a “rhema” or word from the Lord. It was as rediculous to the point of if anyone noticed the time at any given moment, there was a ‘word’ from the Lord in it and it was your job to decipher it.
Basically, reading WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too far into things. And I was really caught up in this sort of thing– mostly because everyone I knew in my church did the same thing under the umbrella of Scripture (taken way out of context almost all of the time). That, in and of itself, is a VERY long and difficult subject to tackle in just one blog, but to make a long story short, they often used scripture blatently out of context to fit what they were saying. Also, esoteric (mysterious) meanings were attached to every day random things to ‘try to figure out what God was doing.’
OKAY… THIS SOUNDS THOROUGHLY CONFUSING…
I don’t think that God needs to be secretive with His people. If He wants something known, it will be KNOWN and most often, the thing that needs to be known, I have found, is already in the guidelines and context of Scripture. It seriously makes no sense if we are constantly wearing ourselves out trying to interpret cryptic things at every single turn. Never REALLY knowing whether or not you’re right unless you run it by someone else to get ‘confirmation’. That’s a buzz word in this movement. “Confirmation” is something like an interpretation of an omen. Random, off the wall things seem to be confirmation for a lot of things, I have noticed. If you read the link above about the earthquake, the gentleman writing the prophecy speaks of ‘confirming’ factors of how there WILL be an earthquake on Father’s Day.
I don’t think God ever had constant cryptic messages to decipher in mind for His people. Doing this will not only confuse even His most devout follower, but this sort of thing has disheartened MANY people. Countless people have left the church as a result of false prophecies, words, and visions.
His plan is plainly written down, there is little need past the FOUNDATION of the church to use prophecy. (I will argue this point at a later time.)
The practices that I mentioned above are just a sliver of what all happens in this Latter Rain/Kingdom Now/New Apostolic Reformation/Joel’s Army/International House of Prayer(IHOP)/Vineyard Movement (they move under a LOT of Christianized names.) It’s all basically a mixture of Gnosticism, occultic behaviour, and a whole lot of blasphemy, but KEENLY disguised as safe for the Christian. The disguise is sickeningly keen, at that.
MY TURNING POINT
Again, I was very much into this movement but it wasn’t until I read a post on the Elijah List, by Kim Clement, that my eyes were painfully opened.
Clement was supposedly speaking for God in the first person.
He said, and I quote:
God said, “Even as I spoke to Moses to strike the rock and he struck and he struck, you have struggled to bring water from the rock.” But God said, “This time around, you will not struggle as you struggled before.”
The whole context can be found here:
http://www.theelijahlist.com/words/display_word/3791
I saw it and did a double take. This man is supposedly speaking as my Lord’s mouthpiece, but just totally took some scripture out of context!!
The scripture *I refuse to say God was speaking here because God is perfect and makes aboslutely NO mistakes* that Kim Clement is speaking of here is found in Exodus 17:6 and another reference is found in Numbers 20:10-11.
Lets first look at the Exodus passage.
Exodus 17:6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
This sounds almost in context with what Clement is saying. Clement made it a dramatic “Moses struck and struck” as if he really labored get the water out of the rock. This is not the case. From the context of Scripture, it looks like he probably only struck it with minimal effort. If it were great effort, it would have said so. If this is the scripture Clement is referencing in his ‘prophecy’, he is assuming something that is not in the context of Scripture.
Numbers 20:10-11
And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
Fine and dandy right?
Not quite…
If you read the scriptures before and after these ones you get an entirely different meaning to the scripture because its actually in context.
Let me show you:
6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.”
Did you notice the Lord told Moses to speak to the rock?
Check out the scripture immediately following the passage where Moses struck the rock:
12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
Wow– The Lord just punished Moses and Aaron! They both died before reaching the promised land!!!
NOW…
I absolutely do not believe God was speaking through Kim Clement. Nor do I believe that He speaks through most of the people out there masquerading as prophets of God.
It doesn’t matter which passage of Scripture you use to reference Clement’s alleged prophecy, he adds drama that is not found in Scripture, and he adds it to fit what he wants to say.
In 2 Peter 2:18 this is said about false prophets like Clement:
For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped F7 from those who live in error.
I was really upset when I read the alleged prophecy by Clement. Seriously contemplating whether or not I should just ignore it or not. What if this man really did speak for God, what if he didn’t, etc.
I didn’t want to give up listening to the ‘prophets’ if indeed they were truly speaking for the Lord. But they made it so dog gone confusing, and there were 3 or 4 prophecies a day sometimes, so who was going to keep tabs on that to find out who’s prophecies actually came to pass?
I almost want to start a watchdog society on this sort of thing. Its getting unreal and people all OVER the body of Christ are getting their faith either severely wounded, like myself, OR, their faith is completely destroyed.
BACK TO THE POINT…
So I talked to a friend. Who then talked to another friend — both of them are very much into the New Apostolic Reformation and all the other surnames the movement goes by. She said later that this friend had noticed what I had noticed and then said it was probably just a typo or misprint.
OKAY… I WOULD HAVE HAPPILY BOUGHT THAT…
… had it not been for 2 teensy little things.
I have continually checked Kim Clement’s website. It’s never been changed. You’d think that someone speaking for the Lord would make sure a thousand times before publishing, that he got the words absolutely 1 million percent CORRECT! I’m thinking that maybe Clement thinks that he and God are such great buds that His words are painfully common enough to carelessly throw down on a sheet of paper. THANKFULLY the people who compiled scripture weren’t so careless!!
Here is the ‘word’ on Clement’s website:
http://www.kimclement.com/words/2006/Jan192006.html
SECOND
What Clement said in that passage would have made absolutely NO sense if the Scripture was in context.
Clement was implying that you have labored hard because the Lord told you to, and it will pay off.
Moses was downright DISOBEDIENT in one passage by striking the rock! His labor by striking that rock ultimately got him squat because he didn’t listen to God’s instruction!!!
The cover-up of ‘it was probably a typo’ just went to show me the lengths people go to protect their gurus over the true and already written holy word of the Soverign Lord! He will NEVER go against what He has already said– that would make Him a LIAR!! And God is NOT a liar!!
I am now against this whole prophetic/apostolic movement. With plenty of reason other than this one. The reason I speak of the ‘Clement incident’ in this blog is just the one that opened my eyes.
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT?
I debated long and hard whether or not to let this slide. But the more I read the Bible for all it was worth, the more I realized how much WARNING there is given in scripture about false prophets and teachers. And how there was no supporting evidence for many of the things I had seen done as a result of this movement. Like getting together to get ‘words’ for eachother. Never once found in scripture. Neither are MANY of the often violent physical reactions as a result of being worked into an altered state of consciousness, as happens in the conferences and crusades. Its easier to get people to do what you want that way. And its easy to do!!! *More on that in a future blog!*
The only way I was able to detach myself from it was to dive into the Word and not have anyone tell me what to think of this movement or tell me what a prophet should or should not be like, etc. Reading Jeremiah– just even a little bit, was very helpful.
When I was ready, I wanted to get background information on the character and fruit of these gurus. Anyone who knows me, knows I am a HUGE researcher. *I think I didn’t research this sort of thing beforehand because I was desperate for friendship at that time.*
I went to http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ — there was a plethora of information on the utter blasphemies of those caught up in this blasphemous movement.There are plenty other sites I went to as well, but I HIGHLY recommend the book Counterfeit Revival by Hank Hanegraaff.
I’m not a huge fan of his because of recent controversy, but I found his material corroborated with many other sources, including the often self- contradictory words of the ‘prophets’ themselves!! Also, a third of his book was reference and bibliography so you could check it out yourself. I even bought the audio and heard these people say these blasphemies themselves!!!
Ultimately, the Bible in its context (as I have repeatedly stressed) has helped me the most. Often, I find that these ‘prophets’ wrap scripture around what they want it to say and take scripture out of context– or they don’t use it at all. Ultimately, EVERYTHING they say must be tested in light of Scripture to see if it is sound. Again, God will not say something contradictory to what He has already said. It is not in His nature to lie.
You know, I have been in services that are really VERY moving– but dynamics used in preaching to get someone excited are what move the services along more often than not.
I have found that the sincere teaching of God’s Word alone– absolutely in its context, is what moves my heart the most.
IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOUR FOUNDATION IS
If I was not a solid Christian when I came to the realization of the biblical unsoundness of this movement, I’d have likely ditched Christianity at this point. I didn’t because I know God isn’t the One uttering the blasphemies. These self-anointed ‘prophets’ are– and taking countless others down with them!! BE SURE YOU ARE FOLLOWING GOD AND NOBODY ELSE!! EVEN IF THEY SEEM RIGHT ON!! Put your faith ONLY in Him!! I cannot stress that enough!
I believe that these gurus fit into this spot of scripture:
Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
My heart is sad for the people I know that are sickly entwined in this stuff. I have been rebuked more than once for my stance. And that’s Ok with me. I know I had to be in the right spot to hear the hard truth of the matter. I’m praying for them to be primed for that spot too.
MOVING ALONG…
Anyway, as far as this ‘earthquake’ goes that was supposedly to happen today, I expect these people to write it off as being a ’spiritual’ earthquake.
My question is, how do you gauge a ’spiritual earthquake’ on a Richter scale??
I would always hear them saying, “Things happening in the natural are evidence of what’s happening in the supernatural” *which is not found in Scripture* So if that were true, and it was a ’spiritual earthquake’, wouldn’t the ground have actually shaken??
By the way, the Jehovah’s Witnesses use that “spiritual happening” thing too when their prophecies don’t come true. Back in 1914 the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society prophecied that Jesus would return. When He didnt, they said He came back invisibly… Its a pretty threadbare blanket in my opinion.
This was also printed by the WTBTS in 1920:
“Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews chapter eleven, to the condition of human perfection.” Millions Now Living Will Never Die, p. 89,90.
Sorry guys… that one didn’t happen either…
They had to make up a lie (or alibi) so their followers (aka funding) would keep following (thats the key!!)!! And the lie isn’t even that good, or even creative!!
Adolf Hitler said in his 1925 book Mein Kampf:
“If you tell a lie loud enough, long enough, and often enough, the masses will believe it.”
Looks like they have… and they defend it to the death! Just like many Germans did for the swastika and their fuhrer.
When I see on paper the kinds of things these folks are trying to pass as real sound Christian teaching, it amazes me that people don’t figure it out faster. I didn’t because I was ‘hooked on a feeling’. It was all experiential Christianity.
False prophets and false teachers now are spreading this lie that prophets are only about 66% accurate now. Bob Jones, in particular, is the one who ‘heard’ that one from God.
Biblically, they are WAY off. The Bible says a prophet must be 100% accurate or they get stoned to death! Being a prophet was a dangerous job in the Old Testament!! You had better be sure you were speaking for God or you were TOAST!
If only 66% of prophecies were indeed correct, which ones are we supposed to believe?? How would we even know?? It would make God out to be someone who can’t be trusted! That He would just dump out a word haphazardly and have you try to figure it out whether it was Him or not, is just ludicrous!
It also shows me that these people don’t know God’s voice from a hole in the ground. If they did, they would be 100% accurate all the time and would not dare open their mouths to proclaim the messages of the Lord unless they absolutely positive it was Him. It would only make sense for God to ALWAYS send prophecy with 100% accuracy. What on earth or in heaven would be the point of sending out a prophecy that didn’t come to pass? A joke? I seriously doubt that God is in this for kicks.
Sadly, this is just another blanket that they use to substantiate their lies and false prophecies.
They just slap God’s name on any old thought that comes to mind. (I have absolutely seen this happen countless times) It’s truly sickening!
Many, many, many books in the Bible are aimed at false prophets. The thing that saddens me the most is people think that they are going to be blatently obvious. However, Scripture says otherwise.
Matthew 7:15
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”
If these false prophets were to masquerade around in the ugliness of evil, they wouldn’t be disguised as wolves in sheep’s clothing, would they?
No. It would be pretty obvious and easy to discern on wheather or not to hang around them.
These people look, feel, and smell like Christians. Their talk is persuasive and as sweet as honey. Just like the best friend you never had that has all the answers you need for your life’s journey. ANYONE who says they speak for the Lord MUST ALWAYS be paralleled to the written Word. If they do not match or fall outside what God has clearly outlined in His written Word, they are not speaking for Him.
I know I have reiterated that several times, but it is of utmost importance that everything uttered from the mouth of someone who says they speak for the Lord, that they be absolutely in line with what He’s already said, otherwise, He is calling God a liar. That is not a wise thing to do.
YOU’RE SO PARANOID, AMANDA!
I would often get told that I’m paranoid and too skeptical. I used to think that was a bad quality. Sure, it can be OCD for some people, but I know I am not that extreme. I had always been skeptical of this movement from the very beginning (because it WAS WEIRD STUFF!), I just figured since SO many Christians were following the teaching of these ‘prophets’ that, gosh it must be Scripturally sound… it sure sounds Christian…
WHEN IN DOUBT STUDY SCRIPTURE!! You will find your answers eventually if you keep looking! Reference materials and online Bibles are super helpful in this area.
CHRISTIAN DIVINATION
I was involved in ‘prayer nights’ that were nothing short of things a fortune teller would perform I know because I’ve seen that too– AFTER I had been in this movement for quite some time! I almost wet myself when I saw a fortune teller do exactly the same thing I had seen my brothers and sisters in Christ do!! I was at the gym and I saw it being done on TV– I didn’t go to a reading myself.
There is NO biblical parallel for that sort of thing! Never one time in the Bible do you find people gathered together getting ‘words’ for one another. I’m serious and also very sad when I say that it all was eerily similar to divination, channeling, or classic fortune telling. Again, if you’ve ever seen a psychic reading, this is almost identical to what you would see at a prayer night, only in group form and in the Name of Christ.
I now know that my skepticism was a good thing.
1Thessalonians 5:21
Test all things; hold fast what is good.
And…
1 John 4:1 says
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
I could go on and on and on, but I think I’m going to quit for now. My frustration boils to anger and sadness when I even try to grasp the amount of people these wolves are leading astray.
Blessings, and the Lord’s peace and discernment be with you.
Amanda
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