"And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own hearts. Prophesy against themand say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.- Ezekiel 13: 17-19 (ESV)
http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/preach
The link above is to a promo video for a new show upcoming on the Lifetime Channel. My hope is always that true believers would have the discernment to recognize the fruits of the devil but after seeing so many continue to fall for lie after lie, I grow very concerned. The world has no problem mocking modern Christianity. The Preachers of LA, Preacher's Daughters and now this new garbage, Preach, is just how the world sees the church. It is not different than the movie industry with their mangling of the holy Word to produce such heretical shows as The Bible Miniseries and the new AD - The Bible Continues. Anything to skew the Word of God. Anything to mock the Lord is to be expected from people who are walking in darkness. It is when they find willing partners in the church itself that we must realize these are the final days. God will not be mocked forever - judgment is coming. Here is the promotional pitch for this series:
"Prayers are about to be answered with Lifetime's all-new docuseries "Preach," premiering Friday, June 5th, at 10pm ET/PT. With the religious leadership world primarily dominated by men, the show produced by CORE Media Group follows four powerful female leaders who believe God has given them the ability to heal the sick, see the future and rid people of their addictions. Known as "Prophetesses," these women speak as the interpreter through whom the will of God is expressed. In order for their legacy to continue, they must enlist a "protege" and teach them how to carry on their gift. These Queens of the Church each have different styles and their own special way of delivering God's message, but all are united in their love of the Lord."
Putting aside some of the glaring problems with this description, let us just focus on this "protege" aspect. Whose legacy is vital and focused on? Theirs, not Jesus. The most absurd part though is the notion that the gift is "theirs" and needs to be "taught" to their protege. The Bible makes it clear that the gifts are given as the Spirit decides, not some fake prophetess. The video accompaniment views like a laundry list of false signs and lying wonders with these women blowing on people to knock them down, out of control dancing, and one full contact chest bump. It is almost embarrassing to have to debunk what should be obvious to Christians. This is nothing having to do with God whatsoever. There is however nothing new under the sun beloved. We have seen this thing before and God has warned us about such nonsense. Before getting into the key Scriptures today let us remember that God provides us with the stories of the Old Testament to warn us:
Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. - 1Corinthians 10: 11 (ESV)
God does not tell us for example about all of the problems with false prophets and prophetesses in the days of Ezekiel just for a history lesson. They were written down for our instruction. The end of the ages has definitely come beloved and the lunacy that tries to pass itself off as Christianity only gets crazier. Many can see a show like this and realize it is a fraud but yet still fall for the same thing in their own church. Even the famous false prophetess, Jennifer Leclaire, wrote an article critical of this show. That is like the blind criticizing the blind for being blind. The truth is that this show is merely a caricature of what is actually going on in churches every single week in this country. False prophets and prophetesses lying about God, dabbling in the evil principalities of this world, and leading the sheep to slaughter.
The same thing was happening to Israel in the days of Ezekiel. The key verses are a stark true prophesy from the Lord rebuking these who would falsely profane the Lord. We ought to take great care in what we follow and what we dabble in. The first instruction is for the true prophet to set his face against those that prophesy out of their own hearts. Another translation says out of their own imaginations. What passes for prophesy in the church today is nothing more than clairvoyance and the psychic network. Yet it is tolerated. It is even encouraged. The true word from the Lord today is we need to set our face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own hearts. We need to rise up as the church and prophesy against them. I know that flies in the face of Kumbaya Christianity but getting along with what is evil is killing the body of Christ.
Woe to you false prophetesses! You who sew magic unto everything! Beloved when you see these people blowing to knock people down, rambling incoherently, or any of the other showy tricks we need to realize that it is just magic. The dictionary defines magic as the art of creating illusions. That is all these people do. They use the power of suggestion and prey on people of faith to create the illusion they are doing something "supernatural." It reminds me of Simon the Sorcerer and how the Bible described his "magic."
But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great." And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. - Acts 8: 9-11 (ESV)
They paid attention to him. They were amazed. They even attributed his magic to God! What a perfect picture of what we see in false prophecy today. I remember a friend of mine went up for a touch from a self appointed prophet one time. Everyone at the church was lapping up the false prophecies and he had a really bad hip. The "healer" laid his hands on him and declared him healed. He even made him run up and down the altar to prove the miracle. Then the charlatan left town with the offerings and a week later my friend's hip was exactly as it has always been. Can God heal? Absolutely. Will He heal through someone who is false? Never. He cannot contradict His own Word.
Woe to you false prophetesses! You who make veils for the heads of persons of every stature. This is referring to the simple fact that these prophetesses lie for a living. They make merchandise of the sheep of the Lord through deception. It matters not the stature of the person. They do not discriminate. It does not matter if the person is there for a hangnail or stage four cancer. They will be treated equally by the false demons. They will be blinded by the veil they produce. Just like my friend was convinced at the time he was healed. They blind the sheep and keep them blinded in their ignorance.
Woe to you false prophetesses! You hunter of souls! Will you hunt down the souls that belong to my people while protecting your own? We see this every day in modern Christianity. The false protecting the false. Calvinists will rarely speak against a fellow Calvinist. Charismatics will rarely speak against another charismatic. Those who walk in the false signs and lying wonders will rarely question another doing the same thing. They will never expose what they are really doing - hunting souls! This is not some casual thing for God beloved. The very souls of man are on the line whenever the wolves are let loose among the sheep. Just because you might be well grounded does not mean everyone else is. Just because you can discern the demonic from the holy does not mean everyone else can. The devil is seeking whom he can devour and the false prophetesses here are hunting for human souls. Leading them astray with magic, sleight of hand, and just enough bible fragments to keep people feeling it is pious. Do not look upon these people as harmless beloved. The Lord is very clear here as to their intent. They are hunting for souls and we all know people who have fallen away from the faith or never come to Christ at all because of the lies of people like the false prophetesses on this new show.
Woe to you false prophetesses! You profane God among His own people! And for what? A handful of barley? A couple of pieces of bread? Thirty pieces of silver? There are two important truths for us here. First of all what they are doing is profaning God. That means they are holding contempt for the God they pretend to be serving! This is serious business beloved. We always think about taking the Lord's name in vain as having to do with verbalizing His name. While that can be a correct application it is really about treating God and the things of God with utter contempt. That is profaning God. That is mocking God. That is what these TV shows are all about. When we hear false teachers always claim direct revelation from God - they are profaning Him. When we see these theatrics being blamed on the Holy Spirit - they are profaning God. When we watch it, partake in it, revel in it, or do nothing about it - we too are profaning God. The second important truth here is how little we do it for. Handfuls of barley and some scraps of bread? For that night's offering? For money which is here today and gone tomorrow? The earlier example of Simon the Sorcerer saw that he became saved. He believed. He followed Phillip. Yet when he saw Peter impart the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, his old ways died hard:
Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money,saying, "Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. - Acts 8: 18-21 (ESV)
Just like the false prophetesses are prophesying out of their own hearts, so too was the heart of Simon here impure. In both cases the problem is the same. The heart is not focused on the things of God. The heart is always self serving. The Bible teaches us it is wicked above all things. Just like Simon wanted the gift for selfish motives, so too does the false prophetesses engage in what she does for selfish motives. It is all for filthy lucre. It is all for shameful gain. Both in finances and in notoriety. One of these four starring ladies is known as the "Beyonce of the Preaching World." If that is not enough I do not know what will be.
