Discerning the times: checking what a youtube prophet says against the Word

Many Christians today feel the burden of the times. Many more feel an imminence that is akin to a pregnant woman about to burst. Even the unsaved feel like something is coming.

And something IS coming: Jesus. The times are definitely drawing to a close and though no one knows exactly when, the Spirit is sending fervor and imminence to many. He raised up many people who send the warnings about the times, as He has done with me.

But He also said that this time will be perilous for Christians (2 Timothy 3:1) and that it will be a time that is permeated with deceit. In Matthew 24:4-5 He said "And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many". As the Strong's word concordance says of the word 'misleads', the Greek word Paul used is plané which means "a wandering; deceit, delusion, error, sin." That verse means people will come in Christ's name to lead us wandering sheep away from the truth into delusion.

This steady rising of deceit that is mentioned so many times in relation to the end times in so many books and verses, will culminate in total deceit on earth in the Tribulation when the Lord sends the great delusion that will come over the world, and they accept the antichrist. (2 Thess 2:10-11). He will remove the moderating influence of the Holy Spirit as Restrainer (2 Thess 2:6).

So it behooves us to heed warnings about people who come in Christ's name with messages that may be false. We are also warned by watchmen to heed true warnings about the times and to live a Godly life. It is up to each Christian to pray for the Spirit to lead them into discernment when listening to or reading messages, including mine. Test all things against scripture.

Here is a discernment lesson regarding one of the new Youtube prophets someone sent me to look at. Now this person was thrilled to have discovered him. I listened to several of his youtube clips. I was not as thrilled. I really hate throwing cold water on people's excitement, but if the excitement is over someone or something that may be false, then isn't it better to have cold water thrown than to go away under an unfortunate spiritual impression? Water dries but cold water at least gives us all a shock to stop a moment and consider things.

So I decided to post this as a discernment lesson. It is an insight into how I approach the issue of determining for myself whether someone may be speaking truth or not.

• First, I pray that the Spirit lead and guide me into the scriptures that will speak to the discernment I seek.
• Then I do look those verses up and check them in the bible.
• I pray for an attitude of gentleness but boldness in stating what the Spirit had led me to.

The young man, whose name is not on his Youtube account, but goes by "warningthepeople", mentions several times about having been a paid pastor and stepping away to be a watchman, foregoing any payment at all. He focuses on that. What does the bible say about being paid?

Being paid as a pastor is not necessarily a bad thing nor is it necessarily a good thing, but it is a biblical thing.

1 Timothy 5:17-18, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, 'Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,' and 'The worker deserves his wages.'” 1 Corinthians 9:14 declares, “In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.”

So being paid is a biblical thing and at root, a neutral thing. It's not good nor bad but necessary. Here is a link to a short essay about whether a pastor should be paid. In these links I give, the scriptures are in the essay.

Therefore if this Youtube person has received a word from the Lord about not being paid, I must wonder why what Jesus told him about not being paid contradicts what He already said in the bible.

I also wonder if he was a paid pastor presumably he had come previous calling to that work, and if he is being called away from it now (so soon? He looks young) then why Jesus would contradict Himself by first calling him to the pastorate and then tell him to quit the pastorate... Philippians 1:6 says "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Did Jesus fumble in calling the young man to be a pastor? Did He change His mind? Did he train him up with a flock only to tell him to abandon that flock? Likely not.

Here is a link discussing how a pastor can know if he is being called to be a pastor and this link, "A call to Ministry."

Third, he said that he was told by Jesus in this new ministry as watchman to warn his friends and family. Since he had been a paid pastor and had some training at college in Biblical Studies, a license, some passion for the Gospel, and some skill at it (he had earned so much respect as he stated) then why hadn't he warned his family and friends before his calling to give it all up to be a watchman? Warning friends and family is usually the first thing pastors do and do it relentlessly (if skillfully and gently).

Being a pastor is also a call to be a watchman. A Pastor preaches the entire counsel of God, which includes the doctrine of His coming. (Acts 20:20, 27). A Pastor means shepherd and a shepherd watches his flock and guards his flock warns of dangerous things, so the two ministries are not incompatible, they are actually intertwined. Yet the young man seemed to separate them one as far from the east as from the west...

Fourth: I am not sure I agree with his interpretation of Ezekiel 33 about the watchman who fails his duty. He said that watchmen who fail to warn will be thrown into hell. If a person is saved according to the New Testament, nothing can snatch him out of Jesus's hand. (John 10:28). We have eternal security. However it is true that those who are called to teach and preach are entering into a serious relationship with Jesus with special burdens. Paul says Acts 20, "I am clear from the blood of any man, I have not failed to declare unto you the whole counsel of God. I've discharged my duty." Hebrews 13:17 says that we have to give an account to God for how we give leadership and direction and teaching to God's people. It is indeed a serious issue. "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." (James 3:1)

But if a person is saved under the New Covenant of the cross they will not be thrown into hell for failing duties. If that were true we would all be at risk of failing commands of God, such as failing the Great Commission, failing the Greatest Commandment (Luke 10:27) and other commands that are just as explicit as the call to the Old Testament watchmen. We are saved. That is what saved means, saved from hell.

One must be careful not to extrapolate with impunity the OT to the NT. Careful exegesis demands we look at the entire book, we look at all the verses in context, to whom it was written, why it was written, when it was written, and appeal to the Spirit for proper application of the verse. I don't think the young man has done that here.

Most worrisome, in his video on his personal testimony, he never mentions how he was saved. He speaks of growing up in the church, but not of his repentance, his sin, and Jesus's authority as Sinless Savior to forgive these. Worse, he says that at age 23 he came to a crisis of faith, and wondered how he could determine if the "religion" he was in was the true one. How did he know if his denomination was right, or whether a Buddhist had more wisdom in settling on his own faith? Foremost I must say, we don't exist in a religion, we dwell in the holy relationship with Christ. Every true Christian knows that. But be that as it may, the young man said he posted cards all around asking the Spirit to lead him into truth. He did not say he searched the scriptures, as Paul said is the more noble way to do in Acts 17:11. Instead, he found truth in dreams the "Lord" sent. That is a dead giveaway that he is a false prophet. Elevating personal experience over scriptural truth is absolutely wrong. Even Peter, who saw the transfiguration, said that we have a more sure word.

Henry Morris said in the Institute for Creation Research: "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." (2 Peter 1:19). As eyewitnesses, they bore the onus of bearing witness to the facts. But he downplayed the importance of his own personal testimony, even though it was a firsthand account and quite important, and he knew it was absolutely correct. The "more sure word of prophecy" he recommended, however, which outshines any human testimony, was the written Word of God, for the Transfiguration confirmed numerous Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ. Prophecies already fulfilled multiply our confidence in the rest of Scripture."

Personal testimony from dreams is not inerrant. The Word is.

Next: I worry that the gentleman says many times that he will do what Jesus "tells" him to do. Does he hear these commands audibly? Does he hear them in dreams and visions? (Some, he says, yes). Are they new revelations or are they commands to exhortation from what is already written? How has the gentleman discerned that these audible commands telling him to do certain things are in fact from Jesus? Or has he? I don't think he has, because he relates dreams and does not share the scriptures.

I am always skeptical of people who say that have had dreams and visions and that Jesus told them to say things to the people. I'm skeptical because God's final word is through Jesus and Jesus IS His word. (John 1:1-5 and Hebrews 1:1-2). There are no new revelations. If the gentleman wants to be obedient to Jesus that is wonderful! But he must do so under the direction of the Spirit's leading him into understanding of the Word. Not a disembodied voice telling him to do things...

In one youtube clip he related a dream but then said that it was up to us to interpret it. However, in Scripture, whenever a person asked God for the meaning of a vision, God ensured it was explained to the person (Daniel 8:15-17).

The young man speaks of the Lord giving him messages in dreams to then relate to the people. I do not believe that what he is dreaming is directly from Jesus. As stated above, the revelatory period of direct message by Jesus to His people is over, and it is all contained in His word. Revelation 22:18-19 says that no one may add nor take away from the words of that book. Some have tried to say that only applies to Revelation but Revelation is the last book. With that warning, Jesus closed the canon. You can go here to read a short essay from a solid bible teacher about prophecy and the closed canon--

Prophecy and the Closed Canon

We are all hungry for more information. We are all hungry for insights into the times and what is happening behind the scenes. Would that we were all given a glimpse like Elisha's servant (2 Kings 6:17) or a glimpse like Paul was given (2 Cor 12:2)! But Paul was explicitly told not to say what went on there. And the inside glimpses we are given are contained in the Word.

The bible tells us all we need to know. I ask you gently to consider these thoughts and concerns and to seek answers from scripture as to whether what I shared with you is aligned with the Word, and to compare to what the young watchman has to say with the word also. That is how I came to the conclusion he is not someone we should listen to. Many people are raising up who claim special insights from Jesus. But unless they found them by the Spirit leading them into truth by the Holy Word, then they are false. No truth exists outside of the bible.

I believe the time is short, and therefore I cling to the words of the bible more than ever and I compare the words of men with what the bible says. And because time is short, we will know all that God intends for us to know, shortly! (1 Cor 13:9-12). I truly believe that there are no extra glimpses prior to that time.

If we pray, study the word, and are VERY familiar with the real thing, then when a counterfeit comes along we can spot it. In this way we grow in Him. Then we shall not be children any longer, or tossed one way and another and carried along by every wind of doctrine, at the mercy of all the tricks men play and their cleverness in practicing deceit. If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ, who is the head. (Eph 4:14-15)

"Asleep on the watch"

"Somebody please wake the watchmen! I would rather have sadness and grief with much tears, bringing us to repentance, than to continue to see the churches being infiltrated and assimilated by New Age Occultism, false teaching, heresies, philosophies of men and doctrines of demons as the watchmen sleep." (source)

Another good article on the biblical explanation of what a watchman does from the Old Testament and New Testament, here.

Back to Basics: What discernment is

We in the body of Christ are not to judge those outside the church, (1 Cor 5:12). That is because, as Barnes Notes explains, "I have no authority over them; and can exercise no jurisdiction over them. All my rules, therefore, must have reference only to those who are within the church." However, we inside the church are to judge for ourselves whether a teaching is true or not. (1 Corinthians 5:12-13).

Romans 12:9; 1 Cor 14:29; 1 John 4:1 also reminds us that we are to judge, discern, test, etc., the teachings we  receive. The Bereans searched whether Paul's teaching was consistent with the bible, and tested what they heard against it. Paul applauded them for that. Given what we see from Christians today, even if they DO go so far as to test it out, if they find the teaching failed the test, they then remain silent so as to pursue a sense of unity. This is a wrong-headed approach. Any unity arising by silent believers suffering under a teaching they know to be false is a false unity. We are not told so many times in those verses above to test out the teachings we receive just so we can stay quiet about the false ones. We are to speak up.

We don't use the heart to judge a teaching. Just because someone says their teaching is "from their heart" or it looks to us that it is heartfelt, or it touches our heart, we are liable to hear Jesus chastise us through His word, "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." (John 7:24). Anyone can look sincere. Joel Osteen looks very heartfelt, his speeches come across as being from his heart. But are they consistent with what the bible says? No. Being discerning means looking deeper.

We are being gullible if we fall for the old "from the heart" standard. Why? Because the "heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can know it?" (Jer 17:9). The heart is the WORST standard to judge anything. Joseph Smith's teaching is from the heart and his religion consigned many millions to darkness (Mormonism). Muhammad's teaching is from the heart and many millions following Allah are likewise consigned to darkness. Oprah is teaching New Age ecumenism from the heart and also many who follow it will end up in eternal darkness. Being heartfelt has nothing to do with whether a teaching is right.

If a person's standard to determine if a false teaching is

--from the heart
--the teacher seems like a religious person
--they are prospering so it means God is blessing them, so it must be good

then I submit that person is dangerously misled as to what biblical discernment is.

Those standards are exactly the opposite of what we should be using as a barometer for determining if a teacher is true or false. Discernment is not a "nudge from the Spirit," because that calls for subjective decisions and as per the verse about the heart, subjective assessments on any given situation are not valid. The only way to practice discernment is to test against the bible. (1 Thess 5:21).

Tim Challies wrote a book about Discernment. He defines it this way:

" 'Discernment is the ability to think biblically about all areas of life.' A longer, more thorough definition might be something like this: 'Spiritual discernment is the God-given, Spirit-empowered ability to understand and interpret truth, so that we can apply truth to our lives, thus bringing glory to God and furthering our enjoyment of Him."

"The Hebrew word for discernment is used 247 times in the Old Testament. The word has been translated variously as understand, discern, and distinguish. The Greek word is used similarly in the New Testament. It too refers to a process of separating or discriminating whereby truth may be set apart in relief from that which is false. In short, discernment is a filtering process by which a person distinguishes and separates good from the bad, right from wrong, and truth from error." (source: Tim Challies, "Defining Discernment" )

If a person does that, they are being led by the Holy Spirit. I pray you come to this understanding as well, and be unafraid to discern a good teaching from a bad, and to speak up about both. Praise good teaching, point out false teaching, and as always, pray ceaselessly. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Don't fall prey to one of them. Be discerning.
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What discernment and prophecy blogs are for

Discernment ministries and end time prophetic ministries are like the Doppler effect. The Doppler effect is heard when, say, a vehicle sounding a siren or horn approaches you, passes, and goes away from you. The frequency is higher during the approach, it is correct at the instant of passing by, and it is lower during the going away.

When you hear a siren, your ears perk up, even when it is in the distance. As it approaches you might think “Gee, it’s getting closer, I hope everything is OK.’ You listen for a moment to determine of the siren is indicating a fire near you or a crime that you should be worried about in your immediate vicinity. As the siren recedes you breathe an unconscious sigh of relief. You know that there are first responders at the scene who are helping and attending to the afflicted. You go your way relaxing at each step, initially relieved that the siren is now out of earshot and secure in the knowledge that others are on the case.

We don't partake of a steady diet of the siren. For example, if you get the siren from the police car and install it in your home, you will become irritated after a while, then aggravated, then angry. It will totally consume everything you hear, think about or talk about, rather than the other normal things you do in your home.

Discernment and Prophetic ministries are that siren. You’re not supposed to live on a steady diet of it. Discernment verses are in the bible and prophecy makes up one third of the bible, but even at that, there is OTHER meat we live upon. The first responders at the scene are other Christians, attending to neighbors, caring for them in the ways that they need. The siren alerts you, but only to let you know that there is an urgency somewhere in the world. You need to go along and join the people helping at the place where help is needed, not sit and listen to the siren all the time.

What I and others do is give you the tools you need to begin appealing to the Spirit for discernment. It isn't to educate you on each and every false doctrine. It isn't for you to ingest a steady diet of falsity apart from the truth of the bible and Jesus. It is to give you a grounding of what is true balanced against what is false, and to learn to begin regularly appealing to the Spirit for greater depth in distinguishing between the two. I'll give you an example from my own life.

When I first came to the Lord, I was fascinated with fallen angels and the demonic realms. I studied the topic intensely. I bought books, I read web pages, I watched youtube videos. After about four or five months I realized that quite some time had gone by since I'd listened to a sermon on some good meat such as the Gospel, or the life of Jesus, or joy in ministry. I vowed then and there to quit cold turkey and only focus on Him.

As for End Time/Prophetic Ministries, the same thing goes. A steady diet of absorbing every nuance of each little jot and tittle of the news plus biblical references to prophecy may be instructive, but there is other meat in the bible that is important to be absorbed. For example, I don't usually listen to sermons about prophetic things. The other day I listened to a sermon on The Humble Gospel. Right now I'm listening to a sermon on the joy Paul had in the Thessalonican church.

We need meat, but if you had hamburger every night you would get sick of it! A prophetic ministry is there to offer you enough meat so you understand the prophesies, and that you understand the times, SO THAT you allow the Spirit to then increase your urgency and fervor for Living for Him, knowing He may come back any second and the next second you will be facing Him.

Anonymous on my previous blog entry regarding wolves and gratitude made a great comment. The comment was actually the catalyst for this blog entry. That person had said, "I think I might take a step away from discernment blogs because they just make me angry. The latest thing I saw was a band at Perry Noble's church singing AC/DC's highway to hell on Easter Sunday!!!! It's such an obvious move from the kingdom of evil and I was just blown away at how satan's tares have infiltrated the church...it's all getting too much. I think I know enough now to focus on praying for those that are deceiving and those that are getting deceived. I've also been studying bible prophecy and the headlines a wee too much for awhile now. It's all SO interesting but I sometimes do it instead of spending time with God. I hope that's ok to admit on here LOL..."

It is!

Feel free to come and go, to learn biblical standards and discernment and then go your way being salt and light. It actually makes me proud of Anonymous to read "I think I know enough now to focus on praying for those that are deceiving and those that are getting deceived." Yes! That is how it should work. The information on Discernment blogs and Prophecy blogs should not be information in and of itself but only be a launching point to go into the world and worship, serve, and praise.

Selah!
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Some thoughts about wolves and some thoughts about gratitude

From Chris Rosebrough's Twitter stream today, thought provoking enough for me to rip them off and present them to you here. Do you have wolf stories to share? Do you have some things you're grateful about? Please feel free to share! Here's Chris:

"If the tweet your pastor sent on Friday is longer than the Bible passage he preached about on Sunday...#HeMightBeAWolf."

"If your pastor is "allergic" to words such as sin, blood, redemption, penal substitution, wrath, hell &  propitiation .... #HeMightBeAWolf"

"If your pastor spends the summer preaching on the latest blockbuster movies rather than preaching God's Word.... #HeMightBeAWolf."

"If your pastor has ever presided over a round of "Holy Ghost Hokey Pokey". #HeISAWolf." (Brandon Elliott came up with that one on Chris's stream)

"Discernment Fact: Wolves travel in packs. When a pastor invites a heretic to "preach" to his flock, chances are the pastor is also a wolf."

"Lord I thank you for ordinary office workers who commute to work everyday & toil in the corporate world."

"Lord I thank you for ordinary moms & dads who are emptying themselves and raising the next generation."

"Lord I thank you for the humble men who work the trash trucks in my neighborhood and keep my city clean."

"LORD I thank you for the daily grind, for the mundane & the same old routine. You are glorified in the ordinary."

Back to me now. I am grateful for pastors who stand on the Word. I listen to John MacArthur and Steve Hadley, two excellent expository preachers. I listen to my own preacher every week and I'm grateful that there are still pastors in these dangerously apostate times who still preach by the Spirit like he does. Please take a moment to thank your pastor and your elders and deacons and ministry leaders and teachers for what they do.
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