False prophet! How to spot 'em

This message is not written out in it's entirety. Be sure to watch the video to grasp the entirety of the message.

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The past seven days have been an incredible breakthrough for our church. Our YouTube channel reached more than 35 thousand people. We almost tripled in subscribers.

This all came from a small act of obedience.

How many of you are hesitant to talk about the end times?

There’s a lot of disagreement on the subject, and our desire not to ruffle feathers keeps most of us quiet.

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It’s funny. Of all the things I talk about publicly, from LGBTQ to feminism to wealth, teaching on the end times takes quite a bit of prodding from the Holy Spirit.

I’ve taught on it many times, not because I wanted to, but because I had to. When the Lord gives me a command, I follow it whether I want to or not. And each time, He’s given me the boldness needed to overcome the weakness of my flesh.

Throughout my study of the end times, I’ve come to realize that the rapture of the church is most likely to happen during a Jewish feast called Rosh Hashanah, or the Feast of Trumpets. Let me tell you why.

Rosh Hashanah and the Rapture

The Jewish feasts are a foreshadowing of Jesus. Jesus died on Passover, was buried during Unleavened Bread, rose from the dead on First Fruits, and the Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost.

These four feasts are called the Spring Feasts, and Jesus fulfilled each of them on the exact day. It’s phenomenal.

On the Jewish calendar, there is a break between the spring feasts and fall feasts. It is called the summer harvest, which correlates perfectly with the harvest we’ve been in since Pentecost.

Which, by the way, if you are waiting for the harvest, you don’t need to wait any more. The harvest is white. It’s ready. And it’s been ready ever since Jesus said it was ready two thousand years ago.

The harvest is here. It’s now. Don’t delay your work in the harvest. You have a part to play in the harvest. Look at the person next to you and say, “Come on. Let’s work the harvest.”

After the summer harvest are three fall feasts that have yet to be fulfilled by Jesus. The next is called the Feast of Trumpets. This is the only feast that begins with the new moon.

This is significant because no one knows the day or hour this feast begins. The new moon must be sighted first. They watch all night, looking for a tiny sliver of the new moon.

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If they don’t see it because of clouds or whatever, they watch the next night. The feast doesn’t begin until the new moon is spotted and announced by the watchmen.

I tell you all of that so you know why I believe the Feast of Trumpets is a great candidate for the time of the rapture of the church. Because of the trumpets, and no one knows the day or the hour, and it’s the next feast to be fulfilled.

But the reality is, the rapture will happen whenever God says, so we should always be ready.

That’s how I live my life, and you should, too. I don’t wait to ready myself until the Feast of Trumpets every year. I ready myself every single day of the year.

Watch and pray. That’s the simple instruction the Lord gave us. Watch for His coming. Watch for your enemy who’s trying to destroy you. Draw close to God by communing with Him in prayer.

We are not guaranteed tomorrow. If you are waiting until the rapture to get yourself ready to meet Jesus, you are walking a slippery slope.

Live every day ready to meet Jesus Christ face-to-face.

Although I live ready every day, when the Feast of Trumpets comes around every year, I get excited about the return of Christ. It causes me to stop, look up, and imagine what it will be like to meet Jesus Christ face-to-face.

The rapture of the church is an encouraging event. Jesus is going to rescue us from the wrath to come. Just like He did for Noah. Just like He did for Lot. We will be rescued right in time.

The Power of Quick Obedience

Some of you would argue that the rapture isn’t in the Bible. I’ve listened to these arguments objectively, and you’ve yet to convince me, but I’ve learned many things in these debates.

I learned even more while watching the thousands of comments roll in on the videos I posted on YouTube about the rapture this week.

Each video was a simple encouragement, reminding people that the rapture could be this week. I didn’t set a date. I didn’t prophesy. I just talked about the many signs that point to the soon return of Christ.

This was that act of obedience I was talking about earlier. Last Sunday afternoon, I was convicted by the Holy Spirit about staying quiet about this subject. I feared the response of man.

I repented quickly and backed it up with obedience. Right after we put the kids to bed, I went outside and shot an amateur, impromptu video about how the rapture could be this week.

As I allowed the Holy Spirit to lead what I was saying, the heart of the video didn’t end up being the rapture but about our duty to live in the righteousness we’ve been given.

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This simple act of obedience enabled me to tell 35 thousand people about one of the lost aspects of salvation.

I threw a grenade in the enemy’s camp by telling them, “Jesus didn’t just forgive your sin. He set you free from the power of sin! Jesus gave you righteousness as a gift, so put it on and walk in it!”

This has been the message the Lord has been declaring through me for the last four years, and now it's going far and wide.

If I had titled those videos, “Free from Sin” or “Gift of Righteousness”, 35 people would have watched them. But since I was obedient to open it up with the rapture, 35 thousand heard the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I give God glory for what He accomplishes through our little acts of obedience. He is the great multiplier.

Remember how I said I learned a lot in the comments?

It became clear to me once again how much people struggle to receive the goodness of God.

Why do people struggle to receive God's goodness?

When we did the revival earlier this year, there was plenty of criticism from people who just can’t wrap their heads around God wanting to heal. They think sickness comes from God.

I noticed the same thing regarding the rapture of the church. People struggle to believe that God would want to save them from the coming wrath. It’s sad how cynical Christians have become.

The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy. The church as a whole seems to be missing all three these days! Don’t let that be you. Recieve the goodness of God.

Remember how the Bible said that in the last days the love of many will grow cold? Do we not live in a world full of cold-hearted people?

Another thing I noticed is that people don’t know what a false prophet is, and that’s a problem. If you don’t know how to identify a false prophet, you set yourself up to be deceived.

People were calling me a false prophet for talking about the rapture. I never set a date. I never said it would be this week. I simply made the case for why it could be.

But even if I did prophesy a specific date and got it wrong, that is not a false prophet. It would be a wrong prophecy to be thrown out, but it is not a qualifier for a false prophet.

How to Identify a False Prophet

Matthew 7:13-27 (NLT)

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

• False prophets are not obvious at first, but they can be found out by observing their actions.
• False prophets call Jesus Lord, but don’t do what He says.
• False prophets prophesy, casting out demons, and perform miracles. Yet, they live a life of iniquity.
• The gifts of the Spirit don’t verify a true prophet. The fruit of the Spirit does.

Matthew 24:11-12

And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.

• False prophets cause rampant sin.
• False prophets cause people to stray from agape love. Their teaching doesn’t produce the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13.

Mark 13:21-23

“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. Watch out! I have warned you about this ahead of time!

• False prophets are so good at what they do that even those closest to God could be deceived, if God permitted.
• KJV says that they perform signs and wonders to seduce people. Seduction is how people are drawn into sin. That’s what false prophets do, draw people into sin.

Luke 6:26

Then the king deeply regretted what he had said; but because of the vows he had made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her.

• False prophets draw a large following that always speaks well of them. They have plenty of people to affirm their error.
• True prophets attract a crowd but run them off just as easily. The people who like the last thing they said don’t like what they are saying now. (Example of crowds leaving Jesus - John 6:60-70)

Acts 13:6-12

Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.

Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.

When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

• False prophets can be known as sorcerers. Today, we’d call them physicians, astrologers, seers, scientists, professors—basically, anyone who exalts human wisdom above the knowledge of God.
• False prophets use the name of Jesus (Bar-Jesus means son of Jesus) and pose as His follower, yet put up great resistance when the true gospel is preached.
• False prophets work hard to keep people from believing when the true gospel shows up. They become argumentative, divisive, and hostile.
• False prophets are an enemy of righteousness. They pervert the straight ways of the Lord.

2 Peter 2 (Full Chapter)

But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.

For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment. And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood. Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people. But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority.

These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling. But the angels, who are far greater in power and strength, do not dare to bring from the Lord a charge of blasphemy against those supernatural beings.

These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed. Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals. They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse. They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.

These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”

• False teachers teach shameful and evil things.
• False teachers are greedy. They do wrong to earn money.
• False teachers make way for sexual immorality.
• False teachers indulge in evil behaviors.
• False teachers hang out in the church, posing as one of the saints, while delighting in sin and deception.
• False teachers brag about themselves. “Look at what I’ve done!”
• False teachers give people a false sense of freedom, using grace as an opportunity to sin.

This message is not written out in it's entirety. Be sure to watch the video to grasp the entirety of the message.