“And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose.” – Nehemiah 8:4
Did you notice the words “pulpit” and “purpose” in this verse? A reading of this passage reveals that they are mentioned together in this context relating to the issue of corporate worship. Peering into this passage will help us to discover and return to God’s original “purpose” for the “pulpit.” During the gathering together of His people to worship Him, this is vital in order to ensure that we are walking in His truth and escaping apostasy (1 Timothy 4:1-3). The “pulpit” simply represents a platform of communication and understanding the divine “purpose” for it is critically important, as it will prevent us from “being ledaway withthe error of the wicked” who, in our day, use the pulpit for a purpose foreign to the divine intent (2 Peter 3:17).
Nehemiah 8 contains the only mention of a “pulpit” in God’s Word. Examining the setting where the original pulpit appears is crucial to understanding the divine intention for its use. The purpose for which it was established has not changed. God’s “purpose” when His people gather is, in part, seen just four verses down. Nehemiah 8:8 says: “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.”
Nehemiah 8:8 sets forth the pattern for the gathering of the people of God. It is to worship the LORD Himself and no other and in doing such, we read His Word and no one else’s. Replacing His Word with anything else is worshiping at the altar of another god. In order to become intimately familiar with this truth and these words of our LORD that we are looking into, let’s read these words again: “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8).
The elders of God’s people Israel stood up and read God’s Holy Word to the people. They simply spoke the divinely inspired Precepts which we now have today in the complete Old and New Testaments. Would to God that men who lead today would know and understand the divine truth in this Nehemiah 8 passage of Holy Scripture!
See what others are saying about the book Predators in Our Pulpits and order your copy here.
Nehemiah 8 is a very important Bible text. Today, we must follow the divine pattern set forth here or we will greatly “err”; which many have done “not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). The Scriptures provide the only divinely ordained instructions for worship and ministry. Anyone not following them has greatly erred. According to Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:11, Nehemiah and all of the Old Testament Scriptures were written “for OUR learning” and “for OUR admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”
Nehemiah 8:4 says: “And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose.” That day when God’s people gathered, the “purpose” was for His Word to be read to them from that wooden “pulpit.” The divinely ordained “purpose” for the “pulpit” and for which they built this structure is given in this very text: “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8).
This author is aware he has re-quoted these words more than once, and that is intentional. Reader and friend, are you hearing these words? This is the only time the word “pulpit” is found in the Bible and we must understand the divinely-ordained purpose for it. Knowing this simple truth will do wonders to help our discernment.
The wooden pulpit in Nehemiah’s day was for the people to gather and hear the very words of God; and for the leaders to speak them so they could understand the Word and will of God for their lives as a people.
In its most basic definition, a “pulpit” is merely a venue or central place of communication. It is simply a medium where a message is transmitted and conveyed to a person or people. As we see in this Nehemiah 8 setting, the pulpit was a place to stand and read or declare the written Word of God and nothing else. Notice that the elders stood and “read in the book in the law of God distinctly.”
Parash is the Hebrew word for “distinctly” and is defined this way: to separate, literal (to disperse) or figurative (to specify); also (by implication) to wound: scatter, declare, distinctly, shew, sting.
Does this definition sound like “rightly dividing the word of truth”? (See 2 Timothy 2:15.) Notice the words separate, disperse, wound, and sting. The words of God separate or sanctify the saints as they are dispersed into the hearts of God’s people (John 15:3; 17:17). Also, the Word of God many times first wounds us, stinging our consciences to convict and bring us to repentance (Deuteronomy 32:39).
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). The dilemma today is not the piece of wood our leaders stand behind, or the various mediums of communication we have today, but rather what they are communicating as they use these vehicles to transmit information. In God’s eyes the audiences are equally as guilty as the wolves they migrate to and support (Hosea 4:9; 2 John 7-11). We were long ago forewarned of an hour when men who claimed to know the LORD and had a “form of godliness,” would “turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 3:4; 4:4).
And how does this happen? “For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed” (Isaiah 9:16).
The fact that so many people who call themselves Christians sit in front of deceptive wolves and listen to foolish, shallow, empty, non-convicting, psycho-babble and stories (“fables”) today, is an indictment of a whole generation of lost souls who do not fear the LORD and are biblically illiterate (Colossians 2:8). These two soul damning flaws go hand in hand—refusing to know God’s Word and not fearing God (Deuteronomy 4:9-10).
The great apostle Paul warned God’s people: “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8).
Today, in this late hour of great apostasy, the essential Word of God has been replaced with notions, philosophies, pop psychology, traditions, and the doctrines of sinful men.
When men in leadership do not bow down to the Most High in their daily lives, it will show up in the pulpits. When men don’t uphold Christ in their personal lives, but instead have control of their own lives, the same will transpire in their “ministry.” They will be in control, not the LORD. This is one reason that the daily cross Jesus commanded is essential to following Christ and leading others in the biblically prescribed pattern of worship.
See what others are saying about the book Predators in Our Pulpits and order your copy here.
God surely has ordained the preaching of His Word, and yet very few do so in this late hour. Satan’s desire is to control the pulpit and what is spoken from it, so he has targeted and attacked the seminaries and the personal lives of those who lead. If he can ensnare leaders in sin (living in the flesh), he can thwart the flow of God’s Word to the people. The enemy’s goal is to replace the life-giving Word of God with “another gospel,” which is no gospel at all (2 Corinthians 11:2-4). Those human emissaries he has enlisted, who wear sheep’s cloaks, are “accursed” for participating in this rebellion against the LORD (Galatians 1:6-9).
The Pulpit
What most people hear and trust from the pulpits of today is going to pull them into the pit of eternal hell.
The word and concept of “pulpit” is found in the Bible, but it is so very grossly misused in our day. We see so very few who stand behind a pulpit who are truly and simply preaching the pure Word of God which was what the elders in Israel were doing when we see the word “pulpit” in Nehemiah 8. Let’s read a larger portion of this revealing passage:
And all the people gathered themselves together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel. – Nehemiah 8:1
The Ezra Example
Ezra and the elders of Israel read God’s written Word and helped the people understand God’s Word and nothing else. They offered nothing else but God’s Word. Do we get it? These God-fearing men had no personal agenda. They weren’t raising money or building a local business called a church. They had no message of their own but were mere conduits to communicate God’s Message which is God’s Word. Where O where are the Ezras of today?
How important is God’s Word?
God’s Word is our protection: “Every wordof God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him” (Proverbs 30:5).
God’s Word is our life: “And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4).
The importance of the words of God being heard and ingested by the people of God both individually and corporately, cannot possibly be over emphasized. To His people, the LORD says:
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; Specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. – Deuteronomy 4:9-10
He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. – Proverbs 4:4
Myson, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. – Proverbs 4:20-22
Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. That thy trust may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day, even tothee.Havenot I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee? – Proverbs 22:17-21
Letthe word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.– Colossians 3:16
Nehemiah 8:1-8:
And all the people gathered themselves together as one maninto the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
2AndEzra the priest brought the law before the congregation, both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.
3 Andhe read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law .
4And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithia, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
6AndEzra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
7 Also Jeshua,andBani,and Sherebiah,Jamin,Akkub,Shabbethai,Hodijah,Maaseiah,Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.
8So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
In verse one above, we see that “all the people gathered themselves together as one man … and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.” Wow! These people wanted, desired, and were calling out for God’s Word! These people of the LORD did not want fables, stories, psychology, commentary, or poems. No, they desired the sincere or pure Word of God (1 Peter 2:2). They were ready to “receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).
Notice in verse two of Nehemiah 8 where the Bible says that “Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation.” Would to God that leaders today brought only “the law” (or written Word) before the people and eliminated all else from their lives and ministries!
See what others are saying about the book Predators in Our Pulpits and order your copy here.
In verse three the Bible says, “the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.” We must stop here and ask ourselves just what it is that we desire and want to hear? The answer to this question will plainly reveal just where our hearts are—our current spiritual state. We are told that in the last days that “some shall depart from the faith.”
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron. – 1 Timothy 4:1-2
Preachthe word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turnaway their earsfrom the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. – 2 Timothy 4:2–4
The people of God in Nehemiah’s day wanted God’s Word and there is a remnant today that desires the same. When Jesus preached to “many of his disciples,” “many … went back, and walked no more with him” (John 6:66). Why? John 6:60 says: “Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” Only twelve remained, while “many” of His “disciples” departed or apostatized. As has been prophesied, many in this last generation before Jesus returns, have “itching ears” and do not “endure sound doctrine” because of “their own lusts” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). So, they “heap” up or set up before themselves “teachers” who do not preach God’s Word which they do not want.
Pulpits in the Dark Ages
“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. … So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate” (Revelation 2:6, 15). What is Jesus really trying to communicate here? After all, the Son of God tells us here that He hates the “deeds” and the “doctrine of the Nicolaitans.” Wow! We’d better look into this.
Let’s begin by breaking down the Greek word from which we get the English word “Nicolaitans.” In the Greek, nico means to conquer and laitans means the laity or people. So, “Nicolaitans” means to conquer the people.
You see, the Bible teaches us that if we believe a lie, we are brought under bondage to the person who told us that lie. While speaking specifically of “false teachers” and “false prophets,” the Bible says: “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is over come (by using a lie), of the same is he brought in bondage” (2 Peter 2:19).
Pulpits became the place of evil men who used their religious myths, lies, and doctrines of demons to control and beguile the masses. The remnant of God’s elect went outside the walls of the visible church and stayed alive in Christ!
During the dark ages (after Christ was born, died, was raised again, and His Church was launched), evil men brought in a perverted version of Christianity, yoking souls to their hellish doctrines and organizations (Mark 23; Mark 7:6-10).
A “pulpit” is merely a platform for communicating and teaching others. So, what is truly important has little to do with a physical, wooden pulpit, building, or anything physical in this fleeting world. We have no record of the earliest disciples of Jesus constructing any building or using a wooden pulpit. The pulpit resurfaced when the evil leadership of Rome began and took over the visible religious visage of a false “Christianity,” amalgamating it with paganism. It was from those pulpits in those majestic and expensive physical buildings that the Nicolaitan leadership Jesus hates began to wage their war against the Almighty, bringing men into bondage as they deceived them into thinking they had the exclusive rights to access the LORD (Revelation 2:6, 15).
The earliest followers of Jesus simply went forth preaching God’s Word (Acts 8:4). They gathered “house to house daily” and at times met in synagogues which were physical buildings already built before the birth of the New Testament church. See Acts 2:42-47.
Do we need the church building and the pulpit? No. But in fact, millions in America are dependent upon a mere man or ministry feeding them instead of learning to feed themselves daily. Yes, servant elders are to feed Christ’s sheep and yet, if the pure Word of God is not coming from a pulpit, why would any true disciple continue to hear those mis-leadings? The pulpit is a mere medium and not an end in itself. All that is spoken from a TV or radio transmission, in a book, from a podium, or on the web or paper is to be weighed and discerned against the written Word.
When Paul preached, the astute, God-fearing, Scripture-intensive believers in Berea judged what he spoke against the Holy Standard—God’s written Word. “Thesewere more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).
Yet today, many who claim to know Jesus have handed over the care of their souls to mere sinful men and are in danger of hell fire. It is a terrifying truth that, in most cases, these deceived souls have no idea they are going to be kindling for the fires of hell.
The Bible says that we are not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). There is no command in the New Testament Scriptures to go to a so-called church building and sit before a pulpit on Sunday mornings. What’s important to the LORD is that His children individually and corporately dwell worshipfully before His holy presence, richly in His Word, in prayer communion with Him and in fellowship with one another as they break bread and pray together (John 4:23-24; Acts 2:42-47; Colossians 3:16-17).
The Book of Acts shows us the church of Jesus Christ before it became fat and short of breath by prosperity. – Leonard Ravenhill
The pulpit or medium of exchange is not what is important but rather the content of the communications that are coming over those airwaves, that wooden podium, that book, that audio message, that TV or radio program.
A communication medium is just that—merely a medium for the exchange of data, namely that of communicating religious beliefs of some sort. So, the title Predators in Our Pulpits in no way limits beguilers and false teachers to those standing behind a physical pulpit on Sunday mornings. As we see in Ezra’s example in Nehemiah 8, the biblical and proper use of the pulpit or place of humbly leading others is to communicate the Holy Scriptures. Whenever some other philosophy replaces God’s Word, there is a predator in that pulpit or medium of informational exchange. Of this late hour the LORD foretold and warned us that there would be “many false prophets,” and of course they abound today using every type media communication medium known to man (Matthew 7:15; 24:5, 11, 24; 1 John 4:1).
The big question is just who is behind that medium of communication. What is coming out from and through that communication? What is coming from that man’s mouth?
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. – Matthew 12:33-35
Where else can Satan work best than through someone who feigns to represent Jesus Christ while misrepresenting Him? (See 2 Corinthians 11:12-15.) Where can the enemy of all souls be better camouflaged and undetected than using the medium typical of Christian ministries?
Today’s modern church and its philosophies, methods, gimmicks, approach, and processes are completely irreconcilable with Christianity as it is revealed in the New Testament record. The diligent Bible student sees this.
The modern church’s marketing schemes and seductions are designed to farm the community to attract the masses of unregenerate people; getting them into their church building and keeping them coming. So, to do this, they search out and hire (or elevate from within) the slickest, most persuasive wolf in sheep’s clothing (hireling) to be their head or lead marketer. He’s called the pastor and yet, in reality, he is basically a CEO of a religious firm with a marketing program. Marketing to one’s community is much of what is taught and learned in seminary nowadays and in religious seminars and conventions.
The biblical criteria for leadership do not include oratory elegance or skills of eloquence, nor does it consist of charisma and the ability to organize and amass large crowds (Matthew 7:15-20; Luke 6:26; Acts 6:1-6; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-16; Jude 3-4). There is no tenet to be a good entertainer—that’s for goat herders, not sheep-feeders.
This great apostasy was foretold by the Holy Spirit and is now upon us at the hands of false leaders who fill pulpits, air waves, cyber-space, and books with their evil leaven (Isaiah 9:16; 56:10-12; Amos 8:11; Matthew 7:15-23; 24:3-5, 11, 24; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; 10-12; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 John 4:1-6, etc.).
Prayer:Father in Heaven, please forgive me for ever alienating the affections of my heart to any mere man or other idol. I here and now repent and turn my heart and life to You alone as my supreme LORD,God, Savior, and friend. I beg You to unite my heart to truly fear Thy holy Name and to serve You in spirit and in truth. In Jesus’ holy Name. Amen.
Capture Points
What is to be preached when one or more people gather in Jesus’ Name? Cite and discuss
What does “Nicolaitans” mean? (See Revelation 2:6.) Why is this important to know for today?
Why did the LORD say the Berean Christians were “more noble”? (See Acts 17:11.)
Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee [podcast]
There is nothing – NO-THING – more important in your life than your relationship with Christ. Job 22 “Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. 22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. 23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. 24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. 25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and […]
"Make Ready a People Prepared for the Lord" [podcast]
“And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:17 “Your Redemption Draweth Nigh” “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28 The coming of our LORD Jesus is “that blessed hope” of the true believer: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching […]
The Goal of Grace [podcast]
Reckoning with the Depravity of the Old Man “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Galatians 6:14 Rightly assessing what the Bible informs us of concerning the old man is essential. Nothing good exists in us except Christ Himself, His perfect righteousness! “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. … 24 O […]
Jesus Calling Devotional Exposed: 10 Things You Might Not Know
“I know so many who are so deceived by this book!! The author is a woman and she makes Jesus sound like your boyfriend who is so in love with you he can’t bare a minute without you! It is sickening! Plus she says the Bible was not enough for her. She needed more. This author died and if she did repent of her blasphemy against a holy God she is burning in hell as we speak.” Karen Cochran
BEWARE of the Jesus Calling devotional book which is written by a full blown heretic, Sarah Young. This book continually assures things to lost souls (catholics, etc.) reserved only for the true Christian. It promises salvation, assurance, grace, mercy, the glory of God, etc to lost hell bound idolatrous sinners. Like antichrist Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life book, Jesus Calling never calls sinners to repent which is a Gospel essential and without which God will never save any soul from sin and hell (Luke 13:3, 5). You will never hear Jesus’ born again commanded or command to repent in this heretical devotional book title Jesus Calling. This monstrosity simply confirms sinners in their sin, sealing their doom in the lake of fire (Jeremiah 23:17; Lamentations 2:14, etc.).
Sarah Young is just another self-willed false prophet who does “ministry” her way, not God’s, in order to sell books and to mislead eternal souls into eternal damnation.
The blessings of God in Christ’s salvation are reserved only for those born again “in Christ,” and never for hell bound religious idolaters (John 15:7; 2 Corinthians 1:20; 2 Peter 1:1-4, etc.).
Stacy Strother writes:
“Her subtly, deceptive, doctrinally corrupt fairy tale version of what she calls bible studies for all the different ages of people, including children’s bible studies, teen and other, are found in the book stores—shelves filled full.
She is deceived, a false witness, False bible teacher, and has not heard from our Jesus—the Christ, Son of the living God, of which, is the very Word of God.
She hears from demons. Period! She needs to REPENT, and be born again! Please Lord Jesus, help her see her own demise!”
About That Jesus Calling – 10 Things You Might Not Know
ARE you seeking to experience God OR to KNOW HIM? (John 17:3)
“People want a word from God instead of the Word OF God.” Warren Smith
by Lighthouse Trails Editors
1. Did you know that Sarah Young says she had been inspired by the “Jesus” of a book called God Calling?
2. Did you know that Christian publisher Harvest House’s book TheEncyclopedia of New Age Beliefs says that God Calling is an example of a channeled New Age book “replete with denials of biblical teaching”?1
3. Did you know that the “Jesus” of God Calling teaches that God is “in” everyone?
4. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling contradicts the Jesus of the Bible?
5. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling rejects the Jesus of the Bible’s warnings about the future and tells us to “laugh” at the future?
6. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling frequently flatters his followers, which contrasts the way Jesus Christ spoke to people?
7. Did you know that Sarah Young’s “Jesus” revises the night that Jesus Christ was born and calls it a “dark night” in a “filthy stable” in “appalling conditions” even though the Bible says the shepherds rejoiced in all that they had seen that night? 2
8. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling revises the accounts of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph of the Bible?
9. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling encourages his followers to practice contemplative “listening” prayer and to have a “buffer zone of silence” with no warning about seducing spirits?3
10. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling emphasizes New Age terms and concepts throughout the book?
The 10 points above have been taken from Warren B. Smith’s new book, “Another Jesus” Calling. This book provides valuable information that can help you warn your family and friends how the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling contradicts the biblical Jesus.
Notes:
1. John Ankerberg & John Weldon, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1996), p. 103.
2. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, p. 376.
3. Jesus Calling, June 15th entry
FEEDBACK:
“Solid Biblical refutation of the “New Age ” nonsense passing itself off as the latest thing God is doing. In our area a number of Churches have embraced this and other similar material with no discernment to the un-biblical nature of this drivel. Thank God for Warren B. Smith and others who provide an inestimable service to the Body of Christ as “watchmen on the wall.” Pastor Tom, West Harrison NY”
“And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:” Romans 1:4 Chapter 1-16 Chapter 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2 (which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3 concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5 by whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience […]
How We Know the Bible is the only Holy Book on Planet Earth [podcast]
Only God knows the future. Law of probability and the fulfillment of Bible prophecies: Odds of the 332 prophecies of the prophets concerning the coming Messiah, given hundreds of years prior to His arrival coming true are: 8,749,002,899,132,046,697,490,008,908,470,485,461,412,622,723,572,849,745,… 703,082,425,425,639,811,996,797,503,692,894,052,708,092,215,296 to 1 Fact: Only the Almighty could know the future and forthtell it in specific detail, long before it ever happened. THIS is how we know that the Bible is truly the Word of the one true God and that all other so-called “holy books” are frauds. “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” Mark […]
Jesus vs The Pope, Muhammad, Joseph Smith, and Ellen White [podcast]
*CORRECTION: Ellen White was the false prophet of the SDA (Seventh Day Adventists) and not the JW (Jehovah’s Witness) cult. Both the Seventh-day Adventists and the Jehovah’s Witnesses grew out of the Adventist movement of the 19th century, the Seventh-day Adventists specifically through the Millerites. Both still cults. Jesus Christ founded the Christian faith. The kingdom of Christ is revealed in the Bible which is the only divinely inspired holy Book on the planet and we know that because only God could know “the end from the beginning” which is something He declares and demonstrates in His Word (Isaiah 46:9-10). […]
Billy Graham Promoted and Sent People to Go Join the Catholic Church
“One of the most troubling problems within the church today is the unwavering loyalty to a ‘christian’ personality rather than to Christ and His Word. The unwillingness to test every man’s teaching with God’s Word, coupled with a stubborn lack of discernment, produces fertile ground for deception to flourish.” Evangeline DiChristi
from Chick Publications
Billy Graham Still Sending Converts Back to the Pope
Billy Graham. We know that his messages are solid gospel. Few in or out of the Christian World have not heard of him. Since 1949 he has held the spotlight as the most prominent evangelist in Christendom. He has just finished his 416th crusade in Pasadena, California that drew over 300,000 people in four days. 13,000+ responded to his altar calls. Graham is now 86 years old and has one more crusade scheduled in New York City next year, health permitting.
The Pasadena crusade was on the anniversary of his first Los Angeles revival 55 years ago. It was after that meeting that Graham was “kissed by William Randolph Hearst” according to Dr Cathy Burns in her book, Billy Graham and His Friends. This meant that Hearst had decided to promote Graham’s ministry in his nationwide chain of newspapers.
Immediately, reporters and photographers were crawling all over the Graham meetings. Front page articles began to appear in the leading local papers wherever Graham held meetings. One reporter was assigned full time to travel with Graham’s team.
In 1991, Graham claimed that this sudden attention remained a mystery. Burns describes a more complex scenario. Regardless, the publicity propelled Graham into the national, if not international, limelight.
Jesus warned, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you.” Over the years, Graham became the friend of presidents and kings, a beloved “America’s Pastor.”
But the fame came with a price. In his book, Smokescreens, written in 1983, Jack Chick describes how Roman Catholic leaders viewed and used Graham as a key player in their ecumenical plans. As early as 1965, he was a guest speaker at Catholic Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina where he received an honorary doctor’s degree. A college official’s letter describes Graham’s address as “theologically sound” as may have been given by “any other Catholic preacher.” The letter further states, “I would state that he could bring Catholics and Protestants together in a healthy ecumenic spirit.” Graham was also speaking at several other Catholic colleges at that time.
This prediction was fully realized. In Smokescreens, Chick shows various illustrations. In 1971 Graham is shown meeting with Oakland, California, Catholic Bishop Floyd Begin who lauded Graham’s ministry. In 1972 he received a Franciscan Friars’ award for true ecumenism. In 1979 Graham praised the pope as a “moral and spiritual leader that believes in something.”
In 1981 he was closeted for almost two hours with Pope John Paul II. After the 1982 New England crusade, thousands of those who went forward for salvation were turned over to Catholic clergy for follow-up.
And this hasn’t changed. Before the Pasadena crusade this year, The Tidings, official newspaper for the Los Angeles diocese, reported that Cardinal Mahony had written to parish priests to encourage their members to attend the crusade.
Crusade officials bragged that they had “a marvelous agreement” with Graham to give all registration cards to the diocese, of the inquirers who identified themselves as Catholic. The object was to “reincorporate Catholic Crusade participants back into full sacramental life in the Catholic Church.” “This is ecumenicity at it finest,” said Alexei Smith, Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer for the archdiocese.
There is no doubt that hundreds of thousands have been swept into the kingdom during the Graham crusades. But how tragic that so many who responded to Graham’s call to salvation were then sent back to the spiritual bondage and pagan rituals of the pope’s prostitute church?
Jack Chick concludes the Smokescreens chapter: “Yes, beloved. Billy Graham, as much as I love him and hate to say it, I believe was cleverly used as a smokescreen and as a pied piper for the whore of Revelation.”
In Graham’s 1952 Pittsburgh crusade, the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph reported that Graham said:
“Many of the people who reach a decision for Christ at our meetings have joined the Catholic Church and we have received commendations from Catholic publications for the revived interest in their Church following our campaigns. This happened both in Boston and Washington. After all, one of our prime purposes is to help the churches in a community. If after we move on, the local (sic) churches do not feel the efforts of these meetings in increased membership and attendance, then our crusade would have to be considered a failure.” [Emphasis in the original.]
Did you notice that Graham was only interested in a church’s increased membership-but nothing was said about a person receiving Christ as his or her personal Lord and Savior. This is what is important-not church membership! Church membership could increase a 1000-fold but if people are not being saved, then all is in vain.
Graham also gave a boost to the Catholic Church (in 1952) when he added that he “hoped to hear Bishop Fulton J. Sheen at one of the masses at St. Paul’s Cathedral tomorrow. ” [Emphasis in the original.]
“In 1968, Graham was in a meeting in San Antonio, Texas. He said that the Roman Church had given ‘tremendous cooperation’ in areas where he had held crusades. He added, ‘A great part of our support today comes from Catholics. We never hold a crusade without priests and nuns being much in evidence in the audience.”
By 1973 nuns were singing in the choir at Graham’s crusades.
Continuing on with Graham’s ecumenical outlook, the June 10, 1966 issue of Time said that volunteers “will tactfully receive those stepping forward to make a decision for Christ, [and] steer them to the nearest church of their chosen denomination….”
In Poland in 1978, “Graham taught nuns and priests how to evangelize. A picture taken at the famous Polish Shrine of the Black Madonna shows Graham welcoming pilgrims to the worship of their Virgin.”
Historical List of Atrocities of the Popes [video]
Peter was not the first so-called “pope” because there’s no such thing in Christ’s kingdom. Not one mention in the Bible and such would actually blaspheme the only Head of HIS truth believers, the nail scarred risen Savior Him, “the blessed and only Potentate (Supreme Ruler), the King of kings, and Lord of lords;” (1 Timothy 6:15) Therefore we rightly conclude that the pope is the head of a false church. 1 Timothy 2:5 Historical List of Atrocities of the Popes Speaking of things not found in God’s Word ….. Can anyone please show us where there is a novena […]
Paul Washer Exposed: Pope Connection Exposed! [video]
IF we want to see who the antichrists are among us, just look at the frauds who get their picture with the pope. By doing so they told you with shameless impunity that they are antichrists. Should we be quoting this guy? NO. …. Watch the demons manifest when one of the puppet idols of Satan is exposed. Those who’ve put their trust in these false prophets garnered to themselves demons which manifest when these dark agents of hell are exposed. … We already know that Paul Washer is a Calvinist which alone makes him a diabolical heretic. WANT to […]
Did Mary Die for Our Sins? [podcast]
Mary is just one of millions of people who have obeyed their Maker. That doesn’t make the immaculate conception heresy correct, that doesn’t make her anything other than a sinner, which she admitted (Luke 1:47). If Mary had refused to obey God, He would have simply replaced her (Esther 4:14). Did Mary walk on water? Did Mary tell anyone to pray to her? Is there even one prayer in the Bible to Mary? No. Did Mary raise the dead, open blinded eyes, heal the lepers, or die for anyone’s sins? No. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHES THAT MARY IS THE MEDIATRIX/co-redeemer: […]
10 Clues Your Love for God has Waxed Cold [podcast]
The wise virgin saints are keeping their lamps full of divine oil, they are taking personal responsibility for their own spiritual state with Christ the great and soon coming Bridegroom. Read Matthew 25:1-13.
“The Love of Many Shall Wax Cold”
“And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matthew 24:10-14
Did you notice in verse 14 that those who hot for Jesus are participating in the preaching of His Word to the end of the earth (Mark 16:15).
Anyone not devouring God’s Word daily is falling away, is not enduring to the end, is choosing the let their love for Jesus wax cold, and on the wrong, the losing end of this prophecy Jesus gave here on record in Matthew 24:10-14.
“I will spue (vomit, reject) thee out of my mouth”
“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” Revelation 3:16-17
Praying God will help you love Him more (Matthew 22:37-40). It really all boils down to WHO we love most. THAT is exactly who we are serving (Romans 6:16).
Loving God is everything as far as what’s in our control – because it’s a choice, daily, and will determine if one remains in Christ to the end.
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
“Thou hast left thy first love”
“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Revelation 2:4-5
1. When you are choosing not to spend quality time with God in prayer each and every morning… When you are choosing not to spend quality time with God in His Word each and every morning (Luke 9:23-24; 1 Chronicles 16:11).
2. When your love for God’s people is being reduced instead of increased (Philippians 2:12-13; 1 John 5:1) Marks of the True Christian …. “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;” (Romans 12:9-11) See John 13:35.
“And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. 21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.” Luke 8:20-21
“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” 1 John 3:14
“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.” 1 John 5:1
Reading 1 Corinthians 13 today will refresh your heart and mind on the divine importance placed upon LOVE.
3. You are not denying self and not taking up the cross daily (Luke 9:23-24; 19:27; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3, etc.).
4. You aren’t communicating the light of truth to others because you no longer seek or fear the LORD and so His divine virtue isn’t teeming in and flowing out of you. Your cup no longer runs over but instead is running empty (Psalms 23). You have a lampshade over the light and are not letting His light shine in and through your life and words… “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” (Isaiah 58:1)
5. You live in fear instead of faith and the joy of being with Jesus (Luke 21:28; 1 John 4:16-18; Proverbs 28:1; Psalms 2:11).
6. You preach promises and not conditions…following the apostate modern church and you don’t preach the cardinal doctrines of the original Gospel which we are commanded to “earnest contend for.” (Jude 3) You begin meditating on and living by trends instead of truth (Jeremiah 9:3; 2 Timothy 4:2-4; Philippians 4:8; Romans 12:1-2).
7. You have little or no true fellowship with other born- again Bible believing disciples of Jesus as is defined in God’s Word and not by the modern church world (Acts 2:42).
The Word of God is to run rich, to be abundant among God’s people … “In all wisdom” and “all in the name of the Lord Jesus” … “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Colossians 3:16-17)
8. You know you are backsliding when your main thrust and identity become politics, not the work of the Gospel. YOU are a blood bought disciple of Jesus, not a conservative. You are a Bible believing follower of Christ (Luke 9:62; Galatians 6:14).
9. When you love this world…..When you spend more time and money on hobbies and the things of this fleeting world than you do on attending to knowing, walking with the LORD and preparing to be used of Him (Mark 4:17-19; 1 John 2:15; James 4:4).
10. When you spend more money on trash and trinkets then helping the work of the One you claim to love and the poor. You know you are backslidden when you are not obeying God with what He’s placing in your temporal possession. He shall bring you into full account for this.
Regrettably, people will give their money to any and every pleasure under the sun but make excuses when the opportunity to support the work of the One they claim to love and serve. The Holy Spirit foretold that in the final days before the return of Jesus, there would be those with a mere “form of godliness”, “men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous,” and “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” (2 Timothy 3:1-7) According to the LORD, one of the main ways to measure our true love for Him or lack thereof, is by peering into our personal stewardship of the resources He’s placed into our temporary possession. Luke 12 and 16 offer a plethora of divine wisdom and warning concerning the judgment to come, the judgment we shall endure in giving account for our stewardship in this life.
The clear proof that God is working in our lives, that we are truly following Jesus, is that we are becoming less and less vested in this fleeting, fallen world (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17). And that we, our good works, our giving are more and more invested in eternity – in the eternal kingdom of Christ, laying up treasures in Heaven, sending them before us, relinquishing the things of this world for the glory of God – putting them to work for the eternal Gospel of Christ – for saints to be fed and equipped and the lost to hear the Word of God (Matt. 6:19-21).
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:19-24
To underscore the importance of stewardship, we should realize that 16 of our LORD’s 38 parables involved stewardship. Those who now do not wish to face and confront this truth, are apparently those who are in the most need of hearing it.
PRAYER: Father I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. Please cause my conscience to be super sensitive to Your conviction, Your leading, and to evade all that defiles me in Your holy eyes, sin. Here and now I submit my life afresh to You dear LORD. You must increase but I must decrease. I am crucified with Christ and thank You for conforming me to His holy image. I am all Yours LORD and thank You that You are all mine. I love You Jesus. Please make me one with You and the Father and with Your beloved body. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
You can Have a … Jesus is the Great Shepherd of His Sheep (Heb. 13:20; Lk. 15) A FRESH START WITH GOD (First, if you are not certain that you are genuinely born again, please go here first) Let’s get something straight…. the disciple, the mere man writing this message is more in need of JESUS than anyone who ever lived! No one needs Jesus more than I do and yet, we must do things HIS way, not our own (Ephesians 3:8). “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs […]
Dollar Dialogue [podcast]
Holes in Your Money Bags? [podcast] Curing the Dilemma of Diminishing Returns. If we want to see Heaven’s floodgates opened, we must examine what compliance, what agreement, what obedience the LORD may be leading us to render. The Reason Your Bag has Holes in it [podcast] (below) YOUR own bank statement tells you exactly who you are. Matt 6:21 A financial investor takes your money and multiplies it for your last few years in this temporal life, right? In contrast, laborers for Christ take your support and multiply it for Christ and themselves for all eternity. In Christ’s eternal kingdom […]
The Love of Many Shall Wax Cold [podcast]
If someone’s love toward God’s people has waxed cold, it’s only because their love for the LORD first waxed cold (Matthew 24:10-14). Today is the best day to repent and return to the LORD. “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all […]
by Lighthouse Trails Editors
The 10 points above have been taken from Warren B. Smith’s new book, “Another Jesus” Calling. This book provides valuable information that can help you warn your family and friends how the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling contradicts the biblical Jesus.
