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ORI testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Rev 22:17-19)
The above verses, to some, are an outright embarrassment. Every attempt to explain away the fullness of God’s Holy Word is futile. If the closing verses of the New Testament found in Revelations 22 are not applicable to the whole Word of God, then God must not have known of future events that should have been included in His Word, but weren’t. God is omniscient – not only in things present, but all things future as well. He included in His Word all that is needful for our salvation and the living of a Holy life in Christ. The One who foreordained the fate of the nations could not have been incapable of foreordaining every detail of the lives of each of us. If Christ is the Lamb of God sacrificed from before the foundation of the world, God must have known of the Fall of Adam ere it occurred, and made provision there for.
From the very beginning, the believers from Abraham to today have been confronted by men who claim to know more of God’s Mind than God has expressed in His completed and sealed Word. If there are men today who are being told super-biblical mysteries, how can the elect verify those things through Holy Scripture? Why study the Scriptures so thoroughly if they are not the complete and finished Word of God? Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15)Should each believer be as studious as the Bereans in confirming every word uttered by a presumed minister to be consistent with Scripture? 10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were 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. 12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. (Acts 17:10-12)
How can we confirm biblical truth when some man claims to utter a word of prophecy that cannot be therein confirmed? There are living prophets today – please do not get me wrong. But these make utterance of truth already presented in Holy Scripture. They are prophets of God because they reveal written truth in Scripture of God’s Will for present and future generations. Each of us can utter prophetic words based upon Holy Scripture. There is an excellent example given in the Testaments, Old and New. Can you tell me what God will do to a nation that perverts Marriage and turns to a perversion of marriage in homosexuality? Well, God tells us, and I will be a prophet in relaying what you may already have read:
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. 23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. 24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: 25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. 26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: 27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) 28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. 29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. (Lev 18:22-29)I am not being an ungodly soothsayer or a fortune-teller in telling you that God views this sin with great gravity and will cast a people out of their land who allow this sin to prevail among them – not my some mysterious revelation to me from God, but one openly given in His Word.
A New Testament example (among many): : 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in theirknowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. (Romans 1:21-32)
In days of old, God gave His word to men of renown who heard His Voice and transcribed His Word for us. It was not some mystical gift of their imaginations, but God’s very Word. If we did not have God’s Word to confirm every utterance from the pulpit, we would be pawns of deceit and the evil imaginations of the hearts of unrighteous men. 22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. 23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things. (Mark 13:22-23) How inconvenient for the fortune tellers who claim a gift of prophecy is this verse. We do not need anything added to what Christ has foretold to us since He has foretold to us all things. Is it not enough that we preach the known truth of the Gospel and not the imaginations of so-called prophets of the future which have already been revealed in Holy Writ? 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.(Matt 24:11-15)Note, Christ did not say a FEW, but MANY false prophets shall arise.
Many claim a false gift of prophecy for the sake of vainglory: 26 Woe unto you, when all men shall SPEAK WELL OF YOU! for so did their fathers to the FALSE PROPHETS. (Luke 6:26)Jesus tells us to BEWARE of false prophets. Why? It is because they can deceive and harm us in our faith. 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.(Matt 7:15)
God sends not prophet that does not preach the revealed Word of God – revealed to all who seek and read – not those who imagine in their vain hearts a lie: 20 The anger of the Lordshall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. (Jer 23:20-22)
God does not take likely those who claim to prophesy that which is not revealed in His Word: 15 Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord. 17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month. (Jer 28:15-17)28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the Lord hath not spoken. (Ezek 22:28)
A FINAL WARNING TO THOSE FALSE PROPHETS OF OUR DAY: 1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord; 3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. 5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. 6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. 7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken? 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. 9 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. (Ezek 13:1-9)
Why do I send out this devotion on false prophets? It is because I see and hear, know and experience, the false teachings abroad in our modern churches. Anyone with an open mind and a fundamental understanding of biblical truth can see the travesty of the works of these false prophets just as a bank teller who handles only genuine currency can readily spot a counterfeit bill among many others. Look around you at the fruit of the modern church. Are men and women more devoted to God today than yesteryear? Are their children more Godly and obedient to parents, or is just the reverse true?
Where was the modern church and her prophets when prayer was taken out of school? With few exceptions, they were stone silent. Where were the churches when the Ten Commandments and Bible were removed? The same silence! Where were the church voices of indignation when a dictatorial Supreme Court lied and ruled that abortion was Constitutional, or that Homosexual marriage was legitimate? You decide!
THE WARNING IS DIRE: 25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; 27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. 29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord. (Jer 23:25-32)
