Study – Grow – Know

Today’s Prophet Doesn’t Like Criticism

October 23, 2017 at 9:10 AM 2 comments

I recently read an article from Pulpit & Pen regarding Jim Bakker. In the article, the author quotes Bakker as being a bit miffed that anyone would have the audacity to critique his “words of knowledge” or “prophecies.” He essentially wants people to “go away” and leave him alone. He also states that God will punish those who make fun of him.

If you don’t want to hear it, just shut me off…Especially you folks that monitor me every day to try to destroy me. Just go away. You don’t have to be there. You don’t have to hear it…One day, you’re going to shake your fist in God’s face. And you’re going to say, ‘God, why didn’t you warn me?’ He’s gonna say, ‘You sat there, and you made fun of Jim Bakker all those years. I warned you, but you didn’t listen…

In my personal dealings with certain individuals today who either call themselves prophets or are referred to as that by others who follow them, I’ve found that no matter what approach I have taken with them (compassionate, kind, etc.), as soon as I attempt to point out that they are wrong, they often become unglued. They remonstrate loudly likely thinking that if they sound tough and adamant, that will pass as proof of godly authority they believe has been bestowed on them.

I recall one particular individual whom I called out via one of the social networks. He was clearly wrong and his “prophecies” were clearly there for all to see as not having come to pass when he said they would come to pass. I chose to go to him privately via email and he responded. He stated pertaining to his newest “prophecy” that if he was wrong and it did not come to pass (in two days hence), he would apologize, admit he was wrong and stop being a “prophet.”

Two days later, his prophecy was proven to be a failure. Instead of sticking with his original plan of apologizing and shutting down his prophetic ministry, he then told me that while he had made a mistake, I was being judgmental. He stated God did not want him to stop prophesying and he would continue to do so. It went downhill from there with him eventually telling me that God was going to judge and rebuke me if I continued to call him out.

This is essentially what Jim Bakker is now doing as well in spite of the many, many times that he has been thoroughly wrong. When he is wrong, it’s not mentioned again and he continues on as though he never said anything about anything. The late Paul Crouch (of Trinity Broadcasting Network), did the same thing. I recall watching several videos of him “rebuking” people in what he likely hoped was “righteous indignation” for daring to question him.

This is tremendously sad for a number of reasons. First, it proves that these individuals – labeled prophets – are not in the least bit humble. They take serious umbrage when someone questions them, their methods, or their prophesies. They want people to believe that what they say is from God’s mouth to their ear and ultimately, to the world. Therefore, if God is saying it, no one should question it. Second, their attitude and lies dishonor God.

This idea that we cannot question or critique a teacher within Christendom is absurd. Christians (and the lost of this world), have every right to question what someone says, especially when they claim to speak for God. The many “prophets” of today who provide “words of knowledge” or claim to speak the mind of the Lord can’t all be telling us the truth because there are so many prophecies that contradict one another. How can it be possible that everyone who opens his/her mouth claiming to speak for God is actually doing so? It’s not possible, is it? Yet, every one of these so-called prophets believes themselves to be 100% correct even though they have terrible track records.

But how did the apostle Paul approach this same type of situation during his ministry? Did he threaten people with God’s rebuke? Did he become indignant when they questioned him and his teaching? Can we know for certain? Fortunately, yes, we can know. Turn to Acts 17 please and learn about the Bereans and how they reacted to Paul’s new teaching concerning Jesus and the Gospel.

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. – Acts 17:10-12 ESV

The apostle Paul was constantly harassed and followed by Judaizers, men who wanted to shut him down for what he taught. But notice how the people of Berea acted regarding his teaching. Verse 11 tells us that the Jews there were “more noble” compared to Thessalonica. They not only heard the word Paul taught but received it “with eagerness.” The most important aspect of their reaction is found in the phrase, they “…examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

Paul didn’t seem to mind that his words, his teachings were scrutinized in such a way. In fact, he very likely welcomed it because he knew what he taught was truth and the Scriptures would verify that truth. Because of it, “many of them therefore believed.”

Yet today, people who have either set themselves apart as prophets or are set apart by others with that title take offense when someone has the audacity to critique their teachings. I’ve seen it happen time and time again. If the actual person isn’t calling down fire and brimstone from heaven, his followers will for him. Beyond this, today’s prophet is actually often adding to God’s Word so it makes it difficult to go and find someplace in Scripture that rebukes it. Christians need to decide if the Canon of Scripture is closed or whether or not God is still “writing” it through these prophets.

Jim Bakker has a terrible track record. Here’s an article I wrote specifically on the subject of a visit Rabbi Jonathan Cahn had to the Jim Bakker Show and there, both spoke of the cow born with shape of the numeral “7” on its forehead. Both connected this natural phenomenon to the days of Pharaoh of old and his dream of cows of Genesis 41. Cahn went onto connect this with the Shemitah and the coming problems for the United States. In case you are unaware, Cahn is constantly attempting to connect the USA with Israel. His books and concepts have been thoroughly critiqued and debunked by many, yet he persists.

I recall Bakker during that show saying, “Well, we don’t want to set dates of the Lord’s return” but then went onto pump up the whole idea that Cahn was bringing to the table. This dialogue took place in late 2014, early 2015 and here we are nearly in 2018, and there has been absolutely no fulfillment of Cahn’s Shemitah. It didn’t pan out.

Time and time again, today’s “prophet” is simply out to make a name for himself (or money). I have read and studied such convoluted drivel and ravings that I wonder how anyone can make heads or tails out of it. Yet, people gobble it up because it appears so mysterious. My difficulty – admittedly – is the hermeneutic used (if at all), by these prophets. For instance, they’ll say at one point that a particular time period as used in Scripture represents a certain amount of days or years. The very next time that same phrase it used, all of a sudden it means something completely different. Context is often ignored by these folks who have made such a mishmash of Scripture that it is unrecognizable.

But this feeds into the “mystery” mindedness of the average person today. People love mysteries. They approach the Bible almost as if it’s a book of magic, that can say one thing to you and another thing to someone else. These folks aren’t interested in studying God’s Word to learn about God or get to know Him. For them, they see the Bible as “God’s Big Book of Magick” and as such, they want to uncover all the mysteries inherent within it. It’s the same with apocryphal books like Gospel of Thomas, the Nag Hammadi, or other Gnostic writings.

What is the problem? The problem is that these people are not interested in gaining more of Jesus. They’re not preoccupied with living the Christian life so that unsaved people might see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (and even become Christians themselves). No, these people want to learn the “secret knowledge” (gnosis) for the sake of knowing it. But the way they’ll attack anyone who doesn’t agree with them or the prophets they follow tells you that if they are Christians, they are thoroughly carnal in their approach to people who disagree.

Jim Bakker’s ministry prior to going to jail was suspect at best. He was ultimately arrested, arraigned, and convicted of 24 counts of fraud in a federal courthouse. He is said to have “bilked followers of his PTL Ministry out of $158 million by offering promises of lifetime vacations he could not provide and that he diverted about $3.7 million to support an opulent lifestyle that ranged from oddities like an air-conditioned dog house to luxuries like a fleet of Mercedeses and Rolls-Royces.”

Ultimately, though Bakker’s initial 45-year sentence was overturned, his conviction on 24 counts remained. He spent four years in prison and then moved into a halfway house for the remaining six months of his sentence.

He came back from all this allegedly a “new” man with a new wife (Tammy divorced him and later died of cancer). The truth is that while some things have certainly changed (he’s no longer offering lifetime vacations that he cannot provide), he continues to offer prophesies and words of knowledge. Oh, he also sells “end times rations” for people who wish to stock up on supplies for when things hit the proverbial fan. If you hurry, they’re currently having a “super grocery offer” that they say lasts 25 years on the shelf.

Wouldn’t it be great if all Christians were far more concerned about submitting to Jesus, allowing Him to live His life in and through them as opposed to looking under every rock and bush for the latest new “sign” that will signal the return of Jesus? We can all use more of that, can’t we? None of us have yet reached the point where we no longer have any room to grow.

But fewer and fewer Christians today seem interested in reading God’s Word for spiritual growth. Too many want to live the exciting, adventurous life of the New Testament Christian where one miracle leads to another. Often, these are not the least bit faithful in the smaller things of God.

The greatest miracle God ever performs is salvation. Once they gain salvation, they must then actively embark on a lifelong path of growing in Christ. This means allowing the Holy Spirit to develop the character or “imprint” of Jesus on our life and personality and that only happens when the Christian submits to God as Jesus submitted to the Father, as a model for us.

We don’t need “prophets” today. We have God’s Word. If people would just take the time to intelligently read and study the Bible, God would “speak” to them. He wouldn’t necessarily do so audibly (or through dreams or visions), but through inner urges and change, the Holy Spirit would direct our steps. The more we study/read God’s Word, the more it will impact us. The more we will be seen as living 1 Corinthians 13, the way of love.

Jim Bakker says when we stand before God, He will rebuke us if we have somehow disparaged Bakker. I wonder if Bakker is willing to shine the light of God’s Word on himself and admit the times he’s been thoroughly wrong?

I am – unfortunately – quite confident that I will have some serious explaining to do regarding my life when I stand before God. I am a sinner, saved by grace, but still a sinner nonetheless. There are things that will be replayed as I stand before God that I will not be proud of. Yes, I am forgiven. Yes, my salvation will be intact. However, my shame regarding some of my words, actions, and thoughts in this life will be too much for me, but God says He will wipe away my tears (Revelation 21:4).

Personally, with Jim Bakker’s terrible track record, if I were him, I would be very concerned about all the times he spoke in God’s Name, crediting God with what he stated. In essence, since he was wrong about so many of those things, he makes God out to be a liar. I would be extremely concerned about that as he stands before God one day. Jim Bakker (and too many other self-styled prophets), don’t seem to care about that at all. Though they’ve been wrong more times than can be counted, they think people are supposed to ignore that and simply hold to those times when they are correct (if/when that happens). That’s not the way it works, biblically speaking.

Folks, I cannot implore you enough to read, to study God’s Word for the sole purpose of getting to know God. Forget the “mysteries” that this person or that one says he’s uncovered and can now reveal. It is enough to put our hand to the plow and focus on growing in Christ for the remainder of our earthly lives. It is enough to understand that we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling, as Paul says. Again, not to work for our salvation, but to work it out, to let it come to the surface of our lives from within through out submission to Him and His will. This is the biggest and best “work” each Christian can do and it can only happen when we immerse ourselves in God’s Word with the proper attitude.

If you are not doing so, I would encourage you to start reading His Word daily. You don’t have to wait until January 1st. You can start today using any through the Bible in a year reading program. Do it. Start today. See what God will do with you as you expose yourself to the truth of His Word! You don’t need “prophets.” You need God’s Word.

Entry filed under: Atheism and religion, christianity, Cultural Marxism, Demonic, devil worship, Emotional virtue, eternity, Religious - Christian - Prophecy. Tags: false prophet, god's word, jim bakker, jim bakker show, knowing god, ptl ministries, secret knowledge, the bible.