Reminder about false prophets

[AusDisciple]

This was one of the very first things the Holy Spirit inspired me to write in response to my first encounter with a false prophet. Given the times we are currently in, I am reposting it here as a scriptural reminder to everyone to be on your guard.....Dear faithful of the Lord,I speak to you as a faithful servant of our Lord, Jesus Christ.It is through Him that I have been inspired to write this letter.I am a mere infant lamb held in the arms of The Shepherd, close to Hisheart so that I, along with the other faithful, may be protected from eviland fulfil His will.Just as is spoken, each and every one of us who graciously accept His gift,the Holy Spirit, has a divinely inspired task. I have received inspiration for atask which I will fulfil knowing I am a channel for the Word of God by thegrace and power of the Holy Spirit made possible through Jesus Christ.Joel 2:28 "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spiritupon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your oldmen shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days willI pour out My Spirit."There are and will be many who attempt to deceive the faithful with hiddenfalsehoods and even they themselves may not be aware of their drifting. [url="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:24;&version=31;]Matthew 24:24[/url] "For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, andshall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible,they shall deceive the very Elect."The Lord has provided His Holy Spirit to guide those who accept His calling,and those who are true to His Word shall know of deception: [url="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207:15&version=31]Matthew 7:15[/url] "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep'sclothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, orfigs of thistles?"Therefore, I do not judge anyone but know throughthe test of the scriptures, being the Word of God and His judgements, whatis true:[url="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2017:11&version=31]Acts 17:11[/url] "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that theyreceived the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scripturesdaily, whether those things were so.17:12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women whichwere Greeks, and of men, not a few."I bid you all well on your journey as my brothers and sisters in Christ.Praise and thanks be to God,Dannii.

 

[josh55plus]

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[RichardBurger]

Apostasy: teaching a false doctrine.This writing is offered as a study of Apostasy and is to be considered the view of the writer, me. If it offends any I am sorry, but just as I give others the right to believe and write as they see it I claim that same right for myself. This writing is not a claim, by me, that I know everything. It is my effort to try and understand the truth.Evidence of a great doctrinal apostasyThis is the background of Christ's instruction to Gentiles (through Paul) during the dispensation of grace (that's us):1 Cor 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me [Paul], as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon...1 Cor 4:14-16 For I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. [the Kingdom Gospel? No, the Grace Gospel? Yes.] Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers [of whom? All the apostles? No...] of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.1 Cor 11:1-2 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances as [who? Peter? John? James? No...] I delivered them to you.Eph 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given [to who? All the apostles equally? No...] to me for you...Phil 3:17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and observe them which walk according to the pattern you have in us...Phil 4:9 Those things which you have learned and received and heard and seen [in who? the circumcision apostles? No...] in me, practice these things, and the God of peace shall be with you.Col 1:25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil [Gr. pleroo, complete] the word of God;2 Tim 1:13 Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.Finally...2 Tim 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.***Looking at the record of history...did "faithful men" continue Paul's teaching? ------ Judge for yourself after examining the doctrines that cropped up soon after the apostolic era.THE LORD'S SUPPERThree of the "church fathers" --Ignatius, Justin, and Irenaeus--said the Lord’s Supper had some positive mystical influence on your spirit and physical body when you ate it. Ignatius went as far as to call the bread “The medicine of immortality and the antidote that we should not die but have life forever in Jesus Christ.” These folks weren’t into transubstantiation as we know it, but they had an early form of it (more like consubstantiation). QUESTION: Is that what Paul taught? Paul clearly taught that it’s a memorial (1 Cor 11:23-26)...an important, solemn memorial, yes, but it’s still just bread and wine with no mention of any mystical presence of the Lord. So who was right -- these early church "fathers," or Paul?SALVATION, SUFFERING AND PERSERVERENCEIgnatius longed for animals to tear him to bits because he seemed to have believed that suffering and martyrdom would prove his Christianity and ensure his salvation. He seems to have exhibited an attitude of "I must endure to the end to be saved." While Kingdom saints had to believe such dreadful truths (Matt. 24:13), Paul never did.THE MYSTERYDid Ignatius really have a grasp on the Mystery? He knew that the body of professing believers was comprised of Jews and Gentiles, but that was a fact clearly evident even to unbelievers. As to Paul's Mystery, he saw it as something else entirely:"Ye are associates in the mysteries with Paul, who was sanctified, who obtained a good report, who is worthy of all felicitation..." (Eph. 12)That's as close as can be found that Ignatius got to mentioning Paul's mystery revelation. But he did go into detail on this:"And hidden from the prince of this world were the virginity of Mary and her child-bearing and likewise also the death of the Lord---three mysteries to be cried aloud--which were wrought in the silence of God." (Eph. 19)Ignatius did not have a clue regarding the Pauline revelation, judging by what he wrote. Yet he considered the virgin birth and the death of Messiah to have been hidden from Satan. But they weren’t hidden, for both were prophesied in the O.T. What WAS hidden from Satan (and from the whole world) was the full scope of the Cross (1 Cor 2:6-8), which was not known until Christ revealed it to Paul as part of the Mystery. Timothy knew it. Titus knew it. The Ephesians knew it. But Ignatius appears to never have understood it. That scope being that through the atonement work of the cross mankind can be saved by the grace of God based on faith in what God (Jesus) did on the cross to pay for their sins.WATER BAPTISMThis early doctrinal slide is most grossly evident when one examines these writer's opinions of water baptism. Ignatius wrote:"It is not lawful apart from the bishop either to baptize or hold a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve, this is well-pleasing also to God; that everything which ye do may be sure and valid." (Smy. 8)"Let your baptism abide with you as your shield... (Poly. 6). Elsewhere he said, "...as your arm..."What Ignatius meant by "shield" is clear - it's a reference to defense, possibly spiritual armor. However, Paul gave water baptism no such significance. Ignatius is paving the way for a ritualistic, salvational approach to baptism [i.e., Rome's] which is with us to this day, especially when he says only the bishop can perform it or approve of it.Justin also said that one could believe but wasn’t actually saved until he/she was dunked. That’s a form of baptismal regeneration, from as early as 150 A.D. (some say they used the terms “baptism” and “regeneration” interchangeably). But did Paul EVER teach this? No! These Gentile philosophers sound far more familiar with Mark 16:16 and Acts 2:38 than with Eph 4:5.NOTE: The point of this post is that all this doctrinal confusion happened within ONE GENERATION of Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles and dispenser of the mystery. Not 100 years after his death, gross doctrinal distortion had already set in and the Church believed, and practicing a mix of two dispensations, as well as things not even found in the Bible. One thing is certain from what I’ve read -- the Asian fathers largely failed to acknowledge the uniqueness of the revelation Christ gave to Paul. Why? Because, as Paul himself wrote, Asia had already turned away from him even while he was yet alive. Those in Asia were even then “turning aside unto myths.” These church “fathers,” with their compounded mythical doctrines, are only the fruit of the apostasy that began in the first century before Paul died.2 Tim 1:1515 This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.(NKJ)Richard

 

[AusDisciple]

QUOTE (josh55plus @ Feb 7 2009, 05:49 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=68884
whats the name of the false prophet that you encountered?
There are a number of them so far which I am documenting on my website HERE

 

[Dunamite]

1 John 2: 18Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is what he promised us—even eternal life. 26I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.There have always been anti-Christs, apostates and counterfeit Christians. They existed in John's time and they continue to exist. This is nothing new. Nor is John's warning. Their intention is to lead the faithful astray with their false teaching. He says that they have come out of the church. They are in our midst and pretend to be Christian, but we are not to be deceived.He goes on in the book to relate on how to tell false Christians from real ones. It is as James says in James 2: 14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 1 John 3: 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.We aren't saved by them but our deeds reveal the level of commitment that we have in our hearts. Faith and deeds are reflections of each other. Counterfeit Christians know all about Jesus, but they don't know him as a person and as such there is no transformation. James says that belief is not enough. "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." (James 2: 19)The key to transformation is the Holy Spirit. He not only inhabits us, but he works in us. He makes Jesus real for us (John 14: 26). It is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to do Jesus' work and continue his ministry. He is using believers to carry out the great commission in Matthew 28: 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."and in Acts 1: 7He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."The Holy Spirit in Jesus' words is critical to his plan. He promised not to leave us as orphans (John 14: 18) and that we would be able to do even more than he (John 14: 12), an astounding statement on its own. But it isn't us doing the great works, but the Holy Spirit. We are mere conduits of his power, but only if we choose to be. That is where faith comes in. The more we believe in the power of the Holy Spirit, the more he can use us to glorify the name of Jesus and advance the kingdom.