Thursday, April 21, 2011

Prophecy Article Today: "Compromising the gospel " -DON KOENIG

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DON KOENIG

Compromising the gospel for church growth and American idol heretics.

On April 14, 2011 · 35 Comments

I get no joy out of telling people that much of what is being passed off as Christianity today is counterfeit. Those American Idols that are pushing modern heresies on people may think they are being opened minded but they really have become a willing door of Satanic deception. Satan’s goal is to get people who identify with Christianity to doubt fundamental doctrines that uniquely define who a Christian is. Satan then substitutes Christian doctrine with doctrines of demons in order to create counterfeits of the Christian religion. These demonic bastardizations of Christianity are not true Christianity.

for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Satan works through heretical and deceived Christian leadership because he understands the fallen nature of man. From the time of Nimrod people have always put their substitute for God (idols) on objects, thrones, pedestals and pulpits. Instead of checking what God has revealed to them, they check out God through their own created Idols.

Today we can write off most of mainline Christianity as nothing but cultural Christianity that is practicing doctrines of humanism. Mainline denominations have a liturgy that they act out with the use of words that they recite but their faith is in their own rituals rather than the “truth” the rituals were set up by the domination’s to teach. They have become like Israel that began to worship the bronze snake on a pole rather than retain the knowledge that salvation came by faith in God’s propitiation for sin.

That is also why Catholics for much of their history had no problem with a Latin Mass even though the people did not know Latin.  They just let their living Idols that they called priests define the rituals that would appease God for them. Now the Mass is in the native languages but not one in a hundred Catholics even understands what the ritual is all about. Even those who understand the Mass just watch their Idols offer up Christ on the altar daily thinking that God can be further appeased by what He already accomplished once and for all.

Mainline protestants are not exempt from having living Idols either. The Idols in mainline pulpits are mostly peddlers of psychology, humanism and sacramentalism. The people get an uplifting message from their Idols about the potential goodness of man and how they can please God through keeping sacraments and following Idol suggestions. About the only Word of God found in these churches are either a suggestion for better living or some rote scripture for the people to recite and claim this fulfills prayer.

This dead orthodoxy in the mainline churches is well-known but now Satan is going after the holdouts in the Fundamental, Pentecostal and Evangelical Bible churches. Satan seems to be having a “new fashion rout” through the use of their own mega Idols.

Finding a mega church without an American Idol running the show is as hard as trying to find Obama in a church. It is rare indeed. It’s not just that they put their pastors on pedestals. Many churches are in competition for bragging rights about church size. They all want to move up on the list of the top 1000 largest churches in America and they do not much care how they advance. Whatever works is their overriding methodology.

It seems the more they water down the gospel and push worldly self-help programs and downplay sin the larger they grow. Even a moron could figure out why that is. If there is no repentance, salvation, baptism and discipleship required for church membership or if there is no membership at all like in some churches you will have more attenders. You also will have more numbers if you never take anyone off the membership lists. Nevertheless, the Church is not about how many people you can get on a church roster or into your church building on Sunday to listen to your American Idol.

I can’t put all the blame on the pastors of these churches because they just carry out what the rest of the church wants and if they did not go with the popular agenda the congregation would find someone else that would. Like in politics, a constituency usually gets the leadership they deserve.

When any church gets so market driven and seeker friendly that counterfeit Christians becomes the majority within the church it is very likely that it will also become a counterfeit Christian church. I can name some and they are some of the top churches in America. The chicken or egg question is, did the counterfeit Christian church become that way because the pastor led them there or was it because the membership wanted an Idol made in their own image? Look at some of the top books on the Christian book market today and you will see many are written by pastors of mega-churches teaching some major heresy. It seems that there is quite the demand in pseudo-Christianity for all kinds of heresy.

Universalism is now a real popular heresy in some seeker friendly and emergent churches. Nobody wants to believe anyone will go to hell anymore without Christ. The American Idols say God would not be that cruel to let grandma go to Hell even though grandma opposed His Savior and salvation. So the Idols are now  judging God. They would lead you to believe that all the warnings in the Bible about Hell and damnation must just be figures of speech they are just hyperbole, or else those scriptures are not really God’s Word they are just the writer’s opinion. So the Idols even become a judge of what is God’s Word and what words might not be. Red letters in the Bible are rated higher than those dark letters. Poor God! He is totally misunderstood! Since God is love, everyone is going to Heaven. Just ask any universalist? Never mind, that if God left some people in Heaven they would soon make it Hell. What kind of love is that?

There are many brands of heresy coming from evangelical mega-churches but what most have in common is universalism, pluralism, and pantheism.

On the other side of the evangelical coin you have the Word Faith speak it into existence Pentecostals and many of these are also mega-churches. They left Bible doctrine for mystical experiences and they only use the Bible if something they find in it can be force fitted into whatever heresy that they are teaching today. These churches have anointed pietistic American Idols on stage and you better not touch these holier than thou anointed leaders (in other words oppose anything that they teach and claim). If you find yourself in a church where the American Idol parades around the stage like he or she is doing a Mick Jagger imitation you probably found one of these anointed leaders.

In this mega circus you will find healing and prophecy and the promise of wealth in the name of the counterfeit Jesus of the Word Faith or New Apostolic Reformation movement. Negative thoughts and words are about on par with hexes in these churches and God can never say no. After all, they think that their big mouth contains the God force that will speak things into existence.

Most people in this movement would be quite comfortable in New Age teaching because they believe much the same thing. One big difference is that people in the New Age movement are probably saner and they obviously know more about why they believe what they believe.  At least those in the New Age admit they believe in spiritualism but those in this movement think that practicing spiritualism means that they are being filled with the Holy Spirit.

I would like to have a nickel for every false healing, false prophecy, and false conversion claimed by these American Idols, I would be richer than Donald Trump. You would think after many decades of this stuff that they could document something tangible that will hold up. They can’t because this whole act is nothing but a side-show for gullible people with itching ears that are willing to depart with their money and brain while in the Idol’s presence.

That is about as kindly as I can put it, and yes, I have personally been involved with these unstable people. I knew people who were buying into this side-show almost 40 years ago and some still are buying tickets to the same circus even today and to what end? All the health, wealth and fortune-telling and false prophecy still ends at the hospital or grave for everyone in this counterfeit Christian movement. I doubt if most of the people I knew in the Word Faith movement ever found the time to read through the Bible once in their entire life but they do find plenty of time to listen to every word of their American Idols and to act out all their suggestions no matter how foolish.

These Idols own the “Christian” airwaves in America because they never are short of suckers willing to give their cash with the Idol promise of getting back a hundred times more. It is a great scam and it is untouchable by government regulation because the scam is done in the name of religious faith.

Of the top five heretical movements of our age I guess that still leaves me with legalism, those that confuse Christianity with American patriotism and date setters. I hear from these people all the time. Half of the comments directed to my Blog are from such people (they usually never get posted), they also seem driven to email me to set my theology straight.

Those into legalism are always telling me that something I am teaching is going to send me to Hell if I do not repent. Pretribulation Rapture theology is a big one for some legalistic people, as is Dispensationalism. Also, salvation by confessing Jesus is not enough for legalistic people they want evidence of works or obedience that would satisfy the skepticism of any Jehovah Witnesses. What day you worship on is all important for some legalists, and these same type think that all of Christianity is apostate, except for themselves of course.

There are also the political Idol worshipers who think that any Christian should be supporting anyone who mentions God and country in the same breath. Sorry folks, Mormons are a demonic cult and their leaders are being led by Satan. I am not voting for them or promoting them. That might be true of the NAR leadership as well since they also have counterfeit Christian doctrine and practice spiritualism rather than Christianity. Those that hobnob with them will not get my support. I really do not see how any true Christian can be that deceived and I certainly do not want NAR supporters to deceive others and carry out Dominion Theology from the White House.

As for The Bible prophecy date setting heretics, I think I have talked enough about their errors on this blog. We can know we are near the Lord’s return. The signs of the time are getting obvious but anyone setting a specific date is teaching heresy. Those that think they can figure out the exact date are wasting everyone’s time and discrediting Bible prophecy teaching in general. The Rapture requires no signs at all and the clear teaching of scripture indicates that Christians will not know when the Lord will come for His Church. So what does Harold Camping and ilk do for an encore next month when they find that they are still here? They will probably come up with a new heretical lie.

Another thing that really irks me is when I see what I once thought was well-respected Christian teachers and pastors standing on the same platform of some of these American Idol heretics. And just as bad is when they quote or promote the Idol’s heretical books and Bible paraphrases. Is accommodating heretics acceptable for a Christian leader just because the heretic is popular? Is the new great commission endorsing those that are misleading millions? What a pity if you worked your whole life for the gospel and then compromise the gospel in the end to share a stage with an American Idol.

Christianity is looking pretty sick these days and there are not many in Christian leadership that have the guts to talk about it. When they do they have to take heat from Christian leaders that really should know better. Yet the Bible clearly teaches that this would happen.

1 Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

2 Ti 4:1   I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Acts 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

2Pet 2:1   But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

So if God said it would happen why don’t you Christian leaders see it when it is happening? The most popular Christian magazines and book publishers seem to promote any heretic that sells and the endorsements found on these books speaks wonders. Everywhere you look today there are heretics peddling a different gospel and American Idols, and some well-known Christian leaders are just too eager to enable them.

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