A friend of mine sent me a link to a You Tube video clip of a popular Christian pastor who has come under attack by some other Christian leaders for some of his teachings that they regard as being unbiblical. I won’t bother to mention his name because I know so little about him, and I must be careful to not be so quick to judge. An estimated ten thousand worshipers come to hear this preacher each week so he does have significant influence.
After watching most of the video and hearing some of the things that were being taught, I started entertaining the idea of false teachers in the world. The Bible warns, “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). According to this verse, the existence of false messengers was a widespread problem even doing the first century A.D. Moreover, this verse admonishes us to be discerning. We must not indiscreetly lend our ears to everybody who claims to be a messenger of the Lord. If we do we will find ourselves embracing seriously errant teachings.
Some months ago, Harold Camping, an influential Christian radio broadcaster and president of Family Stations, Inc. predicted that the end of the world would begin on May 21, 2011. He claims that he based his calculations on his studies of the Bible. I did a post on this subject already so I won’t retell the story here. Click here to read my previous post. Anyway, this was one of the most heavily read and shared articles I have ever posted on my blog. I am certain that based on the readership associated with that post, many people are quite anxious as we approach the May 21, 2011, date. But how serious should we take Mr. Camping’s prediction? He was wrong in his previous prediction that the world would end in 1994. Moreover, the Bible is clear that no one can accurately predict the coming of the Lord (see Matthew 24:36).
Today, there are many signs pointing to the end of this age and of the coming of the Lord, though we don’t know the day or the hour these will occur. As these signs become more pronounced, we will see an increase in the amount of false prophets and teachers coming on the scene. It is imperative that we study the Bible for ourselves. For until the Lord returns, the Bible will be the standard by which we are to judge the proclamations of men.
After watching most of the video and hearing some of the things that were being taught, I started entertaining the idea of false teachers in the world. The Bible warns, “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). According to this verse, the existence of false messengers was a widespread problem even doing the first century A.D. Moreover, this verse admonishes us to be discerning. We must not indiscreetly lend our ears to everybody who claims to be a messenger of the Lord. If we do we will find ourselves embracing seriously errant teachings.
Some months ago, Harold Camping, an influential Christian radio broadcaster and president of Family Stations, Inc. predicted that the end of the world would begin on May 21, 2011. He claims that he based his calculations on his studies of the Bible. I did a post on this subject already so I won’t retell the story here. Click here to read my previous post. Anyway, this was one of the most heavily read and shared articles I have ever posted on my blog. I am certain that based on the readership associated with that post, many people are quite anxious as we approach the May 21, 2011, date. But how serious should we take Mr. Camping’s prediction? He was wrong in his previous prediction that the world would end in 1994. Moreover, the Bible is clear that no one can accurately predict the coming of the Lord (see Matthew 24:36).
Today, there are many signs pointing to the end of this age and of the coming of the Lord, though we don’t know the day or the hour these will occur. As these signs become more pronounced, we will see an increase in the amount of false prophets and teachers coming on the scene. It is imperative that we study the Bible for ourselves. For until the Lord returns, the Bible will be the standard by which we are to judge the proclamations of men.
Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
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