Articles
False Prophets, False Teachers
Once again, someone has predicted the end of the earth. David Meade, a "Christian numerologist" [an oxymoron, if there ever was one], claimed "verses in Luke 21:25 to 26 are the sign that recent events, such as the recent solar eclipse and Hurricane Harvey, are signs of the apocalypse" and "built his theory on the so-called Planet X, which is also known as Nibiru, which he believes will pass Earth on Sept. 23, causing volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and earthquakes." [From FoxNews.com] Not surprisingly, Meade backtracked on his claim on Friday the 22nd, stating, "the world won’t end on September 23 after all, but instead, Saturday will only mark the beginning of a series of catastrophic events to occur over several weeks." [From the New York Post website.]
If you remember, a man named Harold Camping predicted Christ would come and the world would end on May 21, 2011. You might not remember a man named Ronald Weiland predicted the end of the world on September 29, 2011, but he also predicted the end on May 27, 2012, and again on May 9, 2013. We could go on and on with failed prophecies of this world's end but there really is no use; they all failed, so the only thing we may know for certain is that all these men were and are false prophets.
I probably don't have to tell you, but these charlatans who tell us they know "for certain, because the Bible says so" are either ignorant, dishonest, or both. What they are not is knowledgeable of the Scriptures. If they had picked up their Bibles and read the clear, plain words [not looking for some secret "Bible code" or trying to piece together some meaning out of random numbers found in the Bible], they might have read the following words:
“For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2).
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,…” (2 Pet. 3:10).
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only…For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be…Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” (Matt. 24:36-42).
Plain words with clear meaning, yet some essentially ignore these words and foolishly make predictions of the end. Why is that? And why should we care?
Why Predictions? Without trying to guess the motives for those who make such foolish predictions, let's simply examine the outward facts about those who insist on setting dates for the end of the world. The most obvious fact about those who make such predictions is that they ignore the plain teaching of Scripture. But that point is not really that uncommon.
On just about every topic and issue relating to spiritual matters, from marriage, divorce, and remarriage, to forgiveness and salvation, those who teach error have to ignore the plain teaching of Scripture to do so, or "explain away" those they cannot ignore. While some [like David Meade and several others] try to complicate the message of the Bible by finding "secret codes" or by using numerology, the message God gave to man is not hidden, nor is it found in some code of letters and/or numbers.
The only message God ever "hid" from man was the clear meaning of the Messianic prophecies. Peter noted to the first-century disciples, “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into” (1 Pet. 1:10-12). The point here is, prophets foretold the coming of the Christ, and some [most] would have liked to know when He would come, but that wasn't for them to know. It wasn't even for the angels of God to know!
But even this remained hidden for just a time, until Christ fulfilled those prophecies completely and ascended into heaven. Once Jesus completed His purpose on earth and ascended back into heaven, the Spirit was sent to certain men like the apostle Paul, who told those in Ephesus, “He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (Eph. 3:3-6). The "mystery" was God's plan for our salvation, which would now include the Gentiles, and Paul clearly noted that they could understand it when they read what he had written to them. It was no longer a mystery, but had been revealed!
Modern-day false prophets would have us believe there are many "hidden" messages in God's word that are yet to be revealed, and only by their expert direction. A long record of failures should tell us they don't know what they are talking about, but men keep trying. Remember, God's word also says, “when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken” (Deut. 18:22). Simply put: If a prophecy fails, it didn't come from God!
Why We Should Care. Of course, we should care about all these false prophets going around making predictions that inevitably fail because it brings a reproach on the name of our Lord and on His people. But, more than that, we should care because there are many more men out there using the same tactics of these false prophets and, instead of preaching falsehoods about the end of time, are preaching false doctrines regarding forgiveness and salvation, and leading many more people to believe they are saved when, in reality, they are not. You might even be one of those who has been deceived!
Some plainly ignore the words of Jesus, who said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16) and say one can be saved without being baptized. Some will ignore Peter's plain statement to those in Jerusalem when he commanded, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38) and say we may be forgiven without repentance or baptism! Some ignore the numerous warnings against disciples falling away and try to teach that salvation cannot be forfeited, giving false comfort to millions who believe the false doctrine of "once saved, always saved."
While we shake our heads at those who predict the end of the world, let us not take lightly the consequences of those who have convinced millions to believe a false doctrine of salvation! “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Your soul depends on it! —— Steven Harper
