2 Timothy 4: 3 & 4...For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

In parts 1 & 2 of this lesson, “Serving God, With A Wink And A Nod”, we covered the sins of the Church that has led us to the beginning fulfillment of 2 Timothy 4: 3 & 4. This week in “Part 3”, we will cover the sins of our “Christian Leaders” that will help us to see how they help fulfill 2 Timothy 4: 3 & 4. Before we start, I want to remind us of the sins of the Church that we previously covered.

Sins Of The Church…
***Evangelism…
***Tithing…
***Un forgiveness…
***Gossip…
***Judgmental Attitudes…
***Unholy Conversations…
***Conforming To The World…
***Tolerance…
***The Spineless Man Sin…
***False Teachers & Doctrines…

You know, as I was looking through the Word of God for a clear definition for what the responsibilities of “Our Ministers” are, I came up with a few scriptures that I think best describes what that responsibility is. Let’s take a look…

Matthew 20: 25 -28...But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Hebrews 13: 7 & 17...
7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

So the verse in Matthew, Jesus tells us that a Minister of the Gospel must take on His example and be a servant, as he did not to come to be served. Paul then tells us in Hebrews that our Ministers “Watch for our Souls” and that they must give account for our souls. Now, keeping that in mind, Paul is telling us “Christians” that we are to respect and obey those in the Ministry who have rule over us. Now I agree with Paul that we should heed the advice of our Ministers, obey and respect them for the position God has put them in. But, what do we do in this world we live in now where our pulpits are filled with Pastors & Preachers who have not come to serve but to be served? What do we do if “Our Ministers” are teaching and preaching false doctrines? Are we bound by the scriptures above to continue to obey and respect these men & women who are perverting the word of God and leading many astray? I think the obvious answer to that question is “HECK NO”!! Get out of that Church as fast as you can and don’t look back lest you turn into a pillar of salt.

The biggest problem in the Church and with believers is their inability to recognize what is “True Biblical Doctrine” and what is “False Doctrine”. I stated this last week but it bears repeating again and that is, believers don’t know what is true and false because they don’t know the word of God. If you don’t read and study the word, you will buy into anything your Pastor says is true and never be the wiser. Pastor John Hagee also touched on False Teachers this week and made an analogy that spoke truth to my spirit. Here is the verse he referred to…

2 Peter 2: 1 - 9...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. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

Now the verse that he zeroed in on was verse 1 that says these false teachers will bring in damnable heresies. (Now this is not an exact quote) But he said, “that what is damnable about these heresies is that if you continue to follow them they will damn your soul“. (Back to me) You see, it is not only that they are bringing these heresies in from the depths of Hell, but they are bringing this damnation upon every soul who buys into their lies. Once you buy the first lie you will surely swallow the next and so on. Then the next thing you know, you are living a life of lies and misquoted scriptures and are totally destitute of the true word of God. How do we recognize these false teachers and false doctrines? BY READING AND STUDYING GOD’S WORD! Never let anything a “Man of God” says go into your spirit without first confirming it in the Bible. The Devil and these false teachers are relying on the ignorance of Christians and their refusal to study the Word. If you work for the power company as a lineman, you don’t get hired and immediately go out and start climbing poles before you study electricity and the dangers that lie ahead. It is the same with the word of God, you must study to be able to recognize the dangers ahead because the Devil is what????

1 Peter 5: 8...Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

If you think that you are not a target of the Devil you are living a Christian life of fairy tales and make believe! If you think that Pastor X is so wonderful that he could not and would not lead you astray, you are wearing blinders and do not believe God’s word. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians that these false teachers go around masquerading as teachers of Christ. Then he says, well, no wonder that they do, for even the Devil himself masquerades as an Angel of light. Let’s read…

2 Corinthians 11: 12 - 15...And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

Paul finishes up by saying…It is no surprise then that his (Satan’s) servants masquerade as servants of righteousness, they will get what they deserve in the end. Now I am not sitting here telling you that your Pastor is some False Prophet or Teacher, I am only telling you that nobody is above scrutiny when it comes to teaching the truth. I’m sure that Billy Graham would tell you to check everything he says with God’s word and so would anyone who is teaching the truth. Again, the key is, do you know God’s word so you can accurately check? I believe most of you by now know that I believe we are in the last days and not only that, but I believe we are in the last seconds, of the last minutes, of the last days. Why is that so important as I try to teach about false prophets, false teachers and false doctrines? I’m glad you asked… Let me first say that if you do not know or understand the scriptures, you are probably totally oblivious to the fact that we are even in the last days. Why is it so important? Because the scriptures that I am about to give you are all about what God tells us will be happening in the end of days. If you don’t believe we are at that point, the scriptures will have little or no meaning to you. I hope to, in the future, teach on the very signs we were given to look for that tells us we are the generation that will see the return of Christ to this earth. But for now, let’s look at what God says about false prophets and teachers for the time we live…

First of all let’s look at general warnings that believers were given…

General Warnings…

Matthew 7: 15 - 20..."Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Like the earlier scripture in 2 Corinthians 11, where we see that the servant’s of Satan come as servants of righteousness, this verse tells us the same. “They will come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves”. You see, if they came right out and said hey, I’m a wolf, you would run as fast as your little feet would carry you. But, to gain your trust and loyalty, they come to you as sweet innocent little lambs.

2 Peter 2: 1 - 3... But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

Notice what Peter says…”They will secretly introduce destructive heresies”…and “Many will follow their shameful ways”. Are you starting to notice a trend here?
1.) “Posing as servants of righteousness”
2.) “Coming as wolves in sheep’s clothing”
3.) “ Secretly introducing destructive heresies”

These people are not going to come out and say…Hey, I’m the big bad wolf, you are going to have to see through the deceit by knowing the Word of God and discerning the spirits. Speaking of discerning of spirits… Let’s read…

1 John 4: 1 - 4...Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

You see, John tells us here that we are not to believe every spirit, but we are to try or test these spirits. How do we test these spirits? By the word of God! The next part, I have to confess, I was a little troubled with the way that it read or at least in the way I was interpreting it… “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God”. The reason I had such a hard time reconciling this in my mind is because I know of Ministers out there right now who confess that Jesus came in the flesh etc, etc. But I also know these men to be teaching false doctrines as well, so how is that of God? So after hashing this out with a few Brothers I then came upon this commentary from John Wesley… “Jesus Christ, who is come in the flesh, is of God — This his coming presupposes, contains, and draws after it, the whole doctrine of Christ".

Then the light bulb went off and I understood that it is not just the simple confession that Jesus came in the flesh that makes a person “Of God”, but the following of his complete doctrine. You see, even this teacher is learning as he teaches. The main reason that this verse threw me was because of this next verse…

Matthew 7: 21 - 23..."Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

You see what I mean. These people who thought they were doing all of these wonderful things in the name of Jesus, prophesying, driving out demons and performing many miracles were told by Jesus, Away from me you evildoers, I never knew you. You know, I use to think that these people had to be doing these things by the power of Satan but then remembered what Jesus said when the Pharisees accused him of casting out devils by Beelzebub the prince of the devils, and this was His reply…

Matthew 12: 24 -26...But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons." Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?

So the people in Matthew 7 saying Lord, Lord, could not have been casting out devils by the power of the Devil as Jesus said, or his Kingdom would not be standing now, and it is. Now someone can Prophecy falsely by just lying or by being misleading. Miracles can seem to be done by trickery or deception, but casting out devils can only be done by the power of the Spirit of God, right… right. But we also know that Jesus tells these people at the Great White Throne judgment to “get away from me, I do not know you”. So the only logical explanation is that these people were once believers that at some point strayed away from the truth and started practicing, living, teaching, preaching or embracing false doctrines that were not of Christ. I welcome your thoughts and comments on this subject, remember to go to the discussion board for this weeks lesson on the group page to comment.

Please forgive me for drifting off subject a little as God was teaching me as I taught. Some of you may have already grasped this concept but it was one that I had been wrestling with, so I thank you for your indulgence. Now we can get back on track with the remaining scripture.

End Time Warnings Of False Teachers…

Matthew chapters 24 & 25 have great end time prophetic messages in them, of course these messages was given by the greatest prophet ever, Jesus Christ himself. I want to look first at chapter 24 but first want you to understand a few things about these prophetic messages. First of all, the disciples come to Jesus and ask him “What will be the signs of the end of the world”? And also, “What will be the signs of your second coming”? Now what I want you to understand here is that Jesus had yet to be crucified and “The Church” was not in existence then so we need to know that Jesus was speaking primarily to the Jewish followers here. Jesus gives them a list of things that would be signs of his second coming but I want to focus in on the scripture dealing with this lesson…Let’s read…

Matthew 24: 4 & 5...Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.

Grant R Jeffrey Quote…
“Throughout history imposters and delusional fanatics have arisen and have claimed to be the Messiah. In our generation alone we have seen an explosion of those claiming to be Jesus Christ, including David Koresh, Sun Myung Moon and the lord Maitreya”.

So we see that this prophecy that Jesus gave has already partially been fulfilled and I anticipate that the closer we get to the return of Christ, the more these false teachers and false Christ’s will rear their ugly heads.

Let’s go on in chapter 24 as Jesus warns us again of these false Christ’s and teachers…

Matthew 24: 23 - 25...At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.

Jesus warns us here to not be taken in if someone claims they have seen Christ. The second coming of Jesus Christ will be spectacular. He will not be hiding in the corner waiting for people to find him. Jesus also warns us here that these false prophets and Christs will be doing great signs and miracles to deceive even the people of God “if it were possible”. You see at the very end Jesus says…” See, I have told you ahead of time”. These signs that he gives us were not given so we can store them away for a rainy day. He gives these signs as a warning so that we will not be deceived in the last days. Sadly, many will be deceived because they refuse to read God’s word and be watchful.

The Gospel Of Mark Echoes the same warnings as Matthew…

Mark 13: 21 - 23...At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

I think I have established clearly that the Bible predicts that in the last days many false teachers, false prophets and false Christs will arise and deceive many. The one thing that we have not covered yet is the state of the “Church” in the last days. The Bible clearly tells us that in the last days that many will depart from the faith, or at least the “True Faith”. Let’s look at a few of these verses. Let me set up this next verse by saying that in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians in chapter 2, Paul was trying to reassure them that the rapture had not yet happened. Some of the Thessalonians held the belief that they had missed the resurrection because the day of the Lord had already begun. (Vs 1 & 2) Let’s pick up with vs. 3...

2 Thessalonians 2: 3...Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Paul tells them to not let anyone deceive them, but that day will not come (what day? The rapture) except there come a falling away first…Then the son of perdition (The antichrist) will be revealed. What falling away is Paul talking about? Paul is talking about a Religious Apostasy or Rebellion against God. So Paul is telling us that many will depart from the faith just before the rapture of the Church. Let’s look at a few more verses…

1 Timothy 4: 1 - 3...The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.

Paul tells Timothy that in the later times, some will depart from the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. I mean, doesn’t that send chills down your spine just a little bit to know that we are the generation that Paul is speaking of. I would think that verses like this would make Christians dive head long into their Bible to seek the truth. To seek the truth so they would know a false teacher if they heard one. Nevertheless, the Word of God is true and many will depart the faith to chase after these false teachers.

2 Peter 3: 3 & 4...First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."

Peter tells us here that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say…” Where is this coming he promised”? So basically these people will be laughing and mocking the promises of Jesus’ second coming. To be honest with you, I went to West Lincoln High School and I had to look up the word scoffing…Stop Laughing!!! Anyway, I can honestly tell you that I have heard this repeated by many people before. I have even seen it posted on someone’s status. They say… Yeah, they’ve been saying that for 2000 years now! Then laugh about it. Scary stuff people!!! Let’s look at one more scripture…

2 Timothy 3: 1 - 9...But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

Paul tells Timothy, in a nut shell, that there will be terrible times in the last days and then goes on to list the many sins that will be prevalent. The important part to me is after Paul tells of the many sins, he then says that they will “Have a form of Godliness, but deny it’s power”. Paul then tells Timothy to have nothing to do with them. Paul goes on in verse 7 to say that these people were, “Always learning, but never able to acknowledge the truth”. I’m sure that the sins that Paul referred to here describes the state of the world and unbelievers but I believe he is also talking about “So called Believers”. Unbelievers would not have a “Form of Godliness”. I have heard of false doctrines being taught today that are denying the deity of Jesus Christ. That he wasn’t really God, he was just a man. You have others who deny the virgin birth and even the resurrection. These things are not only being taught in our Education system today but are also coming out of many Churches and being taught from the pulpit. As Paul says, they are…”always learning, but never able to acknowledge the truth”. Denying the power of Christ.

Now, real quick, let’s look at the original lesson scripture and tie all of this together.

2 Timothy 4: 3 & 4...For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Remember that I promised to tie together “The Sins Of The Church” with the “Sins Of Our Ministers” to show how 2 Timothy 4: 3 & 4 is being fulfilled right before our very eyes. If you have studied all three parts of this lesson I think you can connect the dots yourself but let me do a quick connect anyway…

The Church itself has become so worldly and full of sin that they don’t want a Minister up there rubbing it in their face twice a week. So what do they do? They go out and find a weak minded Minister who will compromise the word of God for them as long as the green keeps rolling in. Ministers are so afraid any more to step on toes and hurt someone’s feelings that they are more than willing to water down their messages and tell them what they want to hear. Preach messages that makes the sinners feel good about themselves. When the “Church” becomes more and more sinful, they pick up that direction manual (The Bible) less and less until their conscious’s has been seared and nobody is living for God anymore although they may have a form of Godliness. Enter The Wolf… Where God is not present or at work, that’s when the Devil comes a calling… Since the truth is not embraced, false doctrines are introduced and fully embraced by the apathetic congregation. False teachers look for such congregations because their apathy helps to further his agenda, (his bank account). The apathetic Church and the Wolf, live happily ever after…That is until the judgment of God comes upon them!

Friends, If you are one of those apathetic Church goers, sinning up a storm without a care in the world, I implore you, pick up that Bible, confess your sins to God and start living for him again. You will not be able to recognize the Wolf without your Biblical instructor Jesus Christ. Jesus hunted wolves all throughout his Ministry, he can show you how if you just let him. If you choose not to, I refer you to the book of Revelation to reveal your fate.

Ministers, If you are one of those Ministers who has severely compromised your calling by preaching watered down and false doctrines, I implore you as well to turn to God for forgiveness and start preaching the true Gospel by which you were called. Stop looking to be served and start serving again as your calling dictates that you do. Stop preying on the ignorant and weak minded to promote your own filthy bank account and start concerning yourself with winning souls and tending the flock you were given to tend. Stop compromising your beliefs for the sake of money or hurt feelings and start preaching and teaching the true word of God again. If you choose not to, I refer you to the book of Revelation to reveal your fate as well.

Here are a few Old Testament verses that plainly shows us how God views false prophets and teachers. They also show us how God dealt with them in the old testament. You who are teaching false doctrines and are falsely prophesying to the Church, you better read this very carefully.

Jeremiah 23: 30 - 40..."Therefore," declares the LORD, "I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. Yes," declares the LORD, "I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, 'The LORD declares.' Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," declares the LORD. "They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least," declares the LORD. "When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, 'What is the oracle of the LORD ?' say to them, 'What oracle? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.' If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, 'This is the oracle of the LORD,' I will punish that man and his household. This is what each of you keeps on saying to his friend or relative: 'What is the LORD's answer?' or 'What has the LORD spoken?' But you must not mention 'the oracle of the LORD ' again, because every man's own word becomes his oracle and so you distort the words of the living God, the LORD Almighty, our God. This is what you keep saying to a prophet: 'What is the LORD's answer to you?' or 'What has the LORD spoken?' Although you claim, 'This is the oracle of the LORD,' this is what the LORD says: You used the words, 'This is the oracle of the LORD,' even though I told you that you must not claim, 'This is the oracle of the LORD.' Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your fathers. I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten."

Deuteronomy 13: 1 - 5...If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.

In those days my friends, those who were false prophets were put to death if their prophecies did not come to pass or if their prophecies turned the people away from the Lord. False prophets today will prophesy and when their prophecies do not come to pass, they make up some excuse then go on to falsely prophesy again & again. The biggest problem is we keep on listening to them, how stupid are we? God says in Deuteronomy Vs 5 that we must purge the evil from among us. If God were to bring back that death penalty for false prophets today, I believe their numbers would dwindle quickly. We can’t kill them, but we can darn sure “purge the evil from among us”.

To The Church…

1 Peter 4: 17 & 18...For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"

Judgment is on the way Brothers & Sisters, and it begins with us…We better get right and get ready to meet our God!

Revelation 2: 4 & 5...Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Friends, let’s all repent today and return to our first love Jesus Christ…

Note: A guideline to this study came from the Grant R Jeffrey prophecy study Bible. I have been a student of Bible Prophecy for over twenty years now and have studied under the video & audio tutelage of Hal Lindsey & Grant R Jeffrey. If Bible Prophecy intrigues you, I am posting links to both Hal’s and Grant’s sites below.

Hal Lindsey Media Ministries

Grant R Jeffrey Ministries

God Bless You All
Your Brother In Christ
Tim Barrett