Can you recognize a false message posing as truth? Can you recognize the voice of the devil? His message is “yea, hath God said?”, and his message is false, since the devil is a liar. His message is a flesh and pride satisfying alternative to what the Lord has said in His Word. The first time I ever heard the term ‘discernment’, as in, “Are you involved in discernment ministry”? I had no idea what that meant. Never heard of it. Turns out, I had been doing that (discerning) all along, not knowing it was called that. I thought this was a normal part of being a Christian; comparing what you hear to the Word of God and noting if there was a difference. How can we discern? We must know, believe in and trust in the Word of God.
Like I’ve been mentioning in other posts, there are religions and movements in the world which cry out the false, satanic messages of the god of this world; the New Age movement for instance, which is not new, just the old “ancient wisdom” occult religion of Lucifer that weaves its way back in time through history, all the way back past the Tower of Babel, to the garden.
The interesting thing is, now we are seeing this exact same message in the visible church, in some places. Besides the secular Humanist occult New Agers, who is promoting the devil’s lie the most lately? It is some within visible ‘Christianity’. It is within the visible ‘church’.
In Fatima Portugal there is a Roman Catholic shrine to ‘Mary’. People from all over the world go to it to worship and pray to Mary. Did you know it is an interfaith shrine? (And did you know Fatima was named for Muhammad’s daughter?) People from every religion you can think of go there, and they all worship Mary together. The leadership of Roman Catholic Church is fine with this. They encourage ‘interfaith dialogue’.
In mainline liberal Protestant Christianity, there is a movement, not just for ecumenism, but for interfaith universalism with the world’s religions. In seeker, man focused modern evangelicalism, there is the social gospel P.E.A.C.E. plan, which is focused on making this world in this present evil age, through the effort of man, a utopia. The messages you hear in these movements are not God’s message of faith and salvation in Jesus Christ alone.
Some who decided to leave modern ‘institutional’ evangelicalism have not just rearranged how and where they gather, and how they ‘do church.’ When I first heard of emergent church a while back, I thought they were interested in getting out of something less than biblical and becoming more biblical, and reaching the lost with the gospel. Turns out, they were interested in becoming skeptics, questioning the Word of God, becoming visionary philosophers and opening themselves up to the ‘possibilities’ of global ‘spirituality’. In other words, they are slowly emerging into the same New Age spirituality that the devil is selling to the world.
Here is a leader in the emergent church movement. How excited he is in his desire to pass on his ‘vision’ for communal global spirituality. We are used to hearing this from the New Agers, the Roman Catholics, the liberal mainliners. Now this is coming from ‘evangelical Christianity.’ This guy is coming to us in this video as a Christian, and he is speaking to Christians. He beckons us to join him in his dream, which he calls “God’s dream”.
God does not have a dream. God has told us His plan in His Word. He did not tell us to dream and come up with new ideas for how God’s plan will work out. He told us what to do, and told us what would happen, in His Word. We are not to gather in order to question what God has said, to question if it is true out of skepticism. To say you hold the bible in high esteem, but you hold God even higher makes no sense, since Jesus, who is God, is the Word of God.
Our understanding/interpretation of the bible is not achieved by the community’s collective responses and thoughts. This is Hegelian dialectic process, which uses dialogue to create synthesis (consensus) out of thesis and antithesis. If we have questions, the answers are found in the bible; that is, answers concerning things that God wants us to have information about. Are we to question His answers?
Saved does not mean having a kingdom of God mindset. God’s plan is not going to become a reality because of us. He will do it. To say “together, WE can become God’s dream” reminds me of the attitude of the people in Genesis 11:1-6.
Listen to the message in this video, and tell me, is he speaking truth from God’s Word; is this biblical? Or is this the voice of deception?
Thy word is truth. Ps.119:160.
Let no one deceive you with empty words… Eph.5:6.
and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Acts 20:30.
Witnessing Encouragement 
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Loretta,
Nice post! Not that this is a “nice” subject nor that the voice of deception coming through that young man is “nice,” but you did a fine job putting this together. I have been trying to formulate something along these lines ever since I posted that Catalyst Reverb piece. I was contacted by the director of “Catalyst.” He offered to phone conference with me about what they could have possibly done to raise so much fuss from us. I simply emailed him back and told him the truth, he was either deceived or he was a deceiver himself. In any case, thank you for posting this.
In Christ
Mike Ratliff
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I exposed this guy earlier this year and he is really out there, if you read his comments on youtube you can really hear his double talk. I am thankful to see someone else expose this false gospel he is trying to spread.
http://bororean.blogspot.com/2007/01/nothing-but-dreamer.html
I also did an update recently here.
http://bororean.blogspot.com/2007/05/nothing-but-apostate.html
Thanks Mike. Yes, the dream in that video sounded a lot more New Age (age of Aquarius) to me than Christian. I do not listen to or read emergent statements much, so when I do come across it, like with this video, it is a shock. It is just a different thing altogether.
Thanks for the links John! I’ll check them out. What else can we do with these things, but continue to put ourselves under, and in, the Word of God.
Thanks Loretta and also Mike for the link to this. Wow, am I wrong or did I seem to hear hissing when he talks?!
Yuck….I think Mr. Parker has watched too many Nooma videos.
lol Rachel. Yea, that was hissing. lol. All I could really hear was “yea, hath God said?”, because that dream does not match up to the revelation of scripture. Regardless of how cool it is to be postmodern nowadays, God’s revealed truth still exists. He has not issued a memo stating that He has revoked His Word, and it is now up to us to figure everything out, according to the wisdom of our minds, or our imaginations, dreams, and visions.
Very good post and much needed today. There is so much deception going on today and people need to be in the word to catch all of it, as the hirelings are getting ever more sublte weaving their lies into Christian sounding words.
Even Churches that think they are against the new teachings are falling prey to it. The new buzzword is “Unity” over “Doctrine” fewer and fewer churches have elders that are deep in the word and carry out the role of watchmen. More and more churches are being led by Personality Cults. And the Hirelings love this as it exhalts them and directs the adoration to them instead of Jesus Christ.
This manifests itself when someone questions them over false teaching, their usual reaction is one of indignation, as if to say who are you to question me?
The Evangelical Church is becoming ever more like the Catholic Church where there is an exhalted Priesthood “who have the “Secret Knowledge” and the congregation who know none of the word and therefore rely on this priesthood to “interpret” the word for them.
Praise God for sites like this and other Discernment Web sites, you are keeping the light of truth burning in an ever increasingly dark world.
Never remain silent on points of Biblical Truth.
God Bless!
MG, maybe that is why this was such a shock to my system… I haven’t seen any Nooma videos.
another john, Agreed to all you say. I have my own personal experiences, as many of us do, with what you speak of, and it is confusing and painful. I spoke up at church once: I went to a female pastor (??) who led a New Age practice (it was very subtle) in church during announcement time before the sermon. I was in shock when everybody went along with it. I went to her in private, one on one ( to be nice) and very carefully and gently, with scripture said why we must not do that (New Age practice)in a Christian worship service. She called me legalistic, referred me to her advanced degrees (in ministry) and said they have new and innovative ways of doing things now, and totally dismissed me with laughter.
It is things like this that just make me want to cling to the cross(to the feet of Jesus) even tighter.
MG…my thoughts exactly. I was sure I was watching the next Rob Bell wannbe. As for the hissing that Rachel noticed….I was too distracted by those darting snake-like eyes. Give me a break.
Great post, Loretta! I’m with you….Jesus is the Word. These Emergents can dissect the Bible all they want, but it won’t change the fact that His Word is UNCHANGEABLE! Thank God!!
Margie, Unchangeable. Amen!
But is not the Voice of Deception often human? And is not the Holy Bible, a text selected from a multitude of scrolls by the Catholic Church hundreds of years after the death of the Christ, a fallible human interpretation of the words of a God? There is a difference between ‘the word of God’ and the human record of the word of God. Beware of taking an undeniably human text at face value.
Many Christians are reluctant to question the infallibility of the Holy Bible, but the realistic and undeniable truth is that, while a useful book, it is inherently human and therefore must have succumbed to at least a few errors over time. Allow yourself to question this and you’ll be a better follower.
Wow….. I’m not familiar with the whole Emergent Church thing other than what I read in articles, having said that its very true that professing Christians prefer Unity and Peace over sound doctrine. I could and mabybe I will tell you stories about those who use anything other than the WORD to make decisions and judgements ( and when they do its usually out of context). Lastly, I haven’t even listened to this whole clip, but I’ve heard enough to easily discern that he is using his own wisdom with is earthy and sensual.
Loretta – I’m glad you posted this. Just watching the way he spoke and would intentionally pause and then look around reminded me of Rob Bell. So many people are drawn into this including some of my family members…sad to say.
My mother and I struggle to reach those in our family who are falling for the word faith, prophecy, contemplative and emerging movements sweeping through. They take great offense when we try to show through scripture these things are dangerous. Some hardly speak to us anymore. It is hard to understand why they’re offended or why they have no interest in being like the Bereans to search for themselves if these things are true. It is a struggle because on one hand you don’t want to alienate people, but then again, how can you NOT speak the truth in love?
I continue to pray how to handle these things.
Margie – darting snake-like eyes indeed!
Loretta,
We must not be afraid to take a stand. The most dangerous of men are not those who hold guns to our heads demanding that we denounce our Lord God and Saviour. The most dangerous are the soft-talking, sweet-natured men who cunningly or ignorantly play around with spiritual words such that the undiscerning are unaware that what is being presented is far-removed from the truth of the Gospel.
These are perilious times indeed. Abide in God’s grace. He will keep us.
Will, hi, I’m not familiar with the Emergent Church thing either. Please share your stories if you’d like, so we can get more of an idea of what is going on out there.
Your last comment reminds me of James 3:15: This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural(sensual)……………demonic.
MG, hi! You bring up such an important topic: truth and love. Once I was told it would be “best” not to speak the truth, and was told my attempt at this was “unloving” and “judgmental”. That really hurt. (oh well, you have to be tough if you are going to be in the middle of the spiritual battle, this is why he gave us his protective armor.) It was confusing because I thought we Christians were supposed to contend for truth.
At a later date I listened to a Richard Bennett audio in which he said,
“What more loving thing than to explain the truth even though it’s painful- so they may be freed? How loving are we if we remain silent? That is not love.” He is of course speaking mainly about evangelizing Roman Catholics (of which I am formerly). But this is true for anyone in darkness. Jesus said we are the light and he told us to put our light on the lampstand- not hide it under a barrel. “Love rejoices in the truth.” 1 Cor.13:6. Truth will alienate some people, and free others. The truth is a dividing thing. It is not going to just be “nice, nice.” Keep speaking the truth boldly, in love.
Yomi, hi from California! Amen, amen, to all you said.
Kafele, I must go do some work now, but I will be very happy to answer you later today when time permits.
Kafele and all, My oldest son is graduating from 8th grade today, and I am working to prepare. Hopefully I’ll check in tomorrow. : )
Good luck with the graduation. If I allow my mind some freedom mine doesn’t seem quite as long ago as it really is 😉
I am seeing so many christians being decieved with these and also leaders who claim to be prohets stealing money with false money scams etc. What is missing nowadays is the fear of God .I would be terrified to add one word to the bible .It is a record of what happens when we turn from the truth . We need to get back to the living word of God ( the Bible and do what it says by reading it ) . Amen
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Well they made the video private. I doubt I can get permission to access it. In my article, I addressed the man’s statements. The point is that he was speaking to Evangelicals as an Evangelical, introducing doubt regarding the scriptures and introducing new age spirituality and false doctrines, thus he was a facilitator or change agent, inviting Bible believing Christians into the global new age mystic spirituality of man’s imaginations.