During the Trojan War, the Greeks constructed a large wooden horse by the hand of Epee-us, who was a master carpenter and fighter. The Greeks, pretending to desert the war, convinced the Trojans that the horse was an offering to Athenia, the Greek goddess of wisdom. By accepting this horse it would make the city impregnable. Despite warnings from Lao-coon, a Trojan priest, and Cassandra, daughter of a prophet whose prophecies were true, but never followed, the Trojans took the horse inside its gates. That night, the soldiers that were on the inside of the horse, unknowingly to the Trojans, emerged from it and opened the gates of the city and the Greek army came and destroyed the city. The term, Trojan Horse, has come to refer to subversion introduced from the outside. What an apt illustration of the church world. Its walls a fortress, listens to the devil who bring what appears to be a gift. A gift offered to the church that promises to keep her walls impregnable. Inspite of the warnings from those who proclaim the truth, the church opens her doors and brings the Trojan horse right into the sanctuary. At night, while the church sleeps to the realities around her, satan and his host of demonic led false teachers and heretics have opened her gates to a host of multitudes of error and errorist, teaching damnable doctrines. Yes, the Trojan horse, the subversion of the church is in full swing. Jude 3,4 (read). II Peter 2:1-3.

Jude 3-4 3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort [you] that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 2:1-3 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. 3 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.

Both writers of these two letters have warned us of the coming of the false teachers and their teachings. Peter predicts that the false teachers will come, while Jude says they are already here. It is imperative that we see the serious nature of these false teachers, prophets, and so on. This is a war for the souls of men and women, boys and girls. Eternity hangs on the balance and we had better make sure that we are following the truth. For, if you follow the wrong Jesus, if you believe in the wrong salvation, if you believe in the wrong God, you are headed for the lake of fire, not Heaven. The church is filled to the rafters with false doctrines and false teachers and the church does not have the discernment or the will to know the difference and then to do something about it. Well, how do we determine what a false teacher is? What are some characteristics of false teachers according to the scriptures?

II Peter 2:1
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.

• First, False prophets in the Old Testament and false teachers in the New Testament are nothing new. Peter wants his readers to understand that first of all, false prophets were among the nation of Israel in the Old Testament.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. 5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn [you] away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

The parallels between the false prophets of Israel and the false teachers in the church are quite striking. So is the instruction of God to His people regarding their reaction to false teachers.

First of all, the false prophet arises up among the people.

Second, he sometimes performs signs and wonders among the people along with his prophecy. Now what is very significant about this is that these signs and wonders are NO indication necessarily that the man is a prophet of God.

Third, his signs and wonders are used specifically to draw away listeners from following and serving the true and living God and His commandments, to following and serving false gods, idols, if you please.

God’s orders were quite clear as to what was to be done to that false prophet. (Read vs 3-5).

First, God commanded Israel not to listen to him.

Second, God commanded Israel to kill him.

Third, God commanded Israel to fear Him, obey Him, keep His commandments, serve Him and cleave to Him.

Forth, God called false prophets, evil.

Jeremiah 5:30-31 30 A wonderful (appalling) and horrible (dreadful) thing is committed in the land; 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, (Meaning that they speak with the intention to deceive others because they are self deceived)and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love [to have it] so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

The appalling and sad fact is that the people wanted false prophets. That is why they existed. If they had been following God, all false prophets would have been stoned to death. The conclusion is this, whenever God’s professed people are NOT following God, in any age, false prophets are sought after. So what happened to those who follow false prophets? Whatever the answer is, it is a parallel of what will happen to those who follow false teachers today.

Ezekiel 14:9-10
9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh [unto him];

Jeremiah 14:14
14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

Again, the parallels between the false prophets in Israel and the false teachers in the church today are staggering. Let’s look at some more of them.

• 1.) They prophesy lies in the name of God.
  
  
• 2.) They were not sent of God.
  
  
• 3.) They were not commissioned by God.
  
  
• 4.) They do not hear from God because God was not speaking to them at all.
  
  
• 5.) Their so-called visions and divine oracles were completely worthless, since they came from a heart that was filled with treachery and deceitfulness.

Jeremiah 23:16-32 16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, [and] not out of the mouth of the LORD. 17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. 18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard [it]? 19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. 20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. 23 [Am] I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall [this] be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, [they are] prophets of the deceit of their own heart; 27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What [is] the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. 29 [Is] not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer [that] breaketh the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I [am] against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. 31 Behold, I [am] against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32 Behold, I [am] against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

Again, the parallels between the false prophets of Israel and the false teachers in the church as well as the instruction of God to His people regarding their reaction to false teachers is clear.

1.) God commanded Israel not to listen to them, whatever they spoke because the vision they claim came from God came from their own deceitful hearts.

2.) Their visions, if followed, would produce vain, empty hopes.

3.) Those who followed the false prophets showed absolute contempt towards God.

4.) The false followers followed the deceived lifestyle of the false prophet believing the lie that there would be no judgment to come on those who walked in contempt of God and His word.

5.) God’s judgment is sure to come on both false prophet and follower.

6.) If these men were truly sent from God, they would have reproved the people because of their wicked ways and evil doings.

7.) False prophets do not proclaim God’s word, they way HE said preach it.

8.) God heard every false prophet’s lies.

9.) The purpose of false prophecies was to cause Israel to forget the Lord and follow idols.

10.) True prophets were faithful to proclaim God’s truth, false prophets did not.

11.) False prophets used the name of God to lend credibility to their wickedness.

12) False prophets were useless to Israel.

We could spend weeks in examination of many, many scriptures concerning the false prophets who continued to deceive Israel. However, I want to spend some time today in examination of the false teachers that we are warned against by Peter, Jude and Paul. Before we go into the text, as a matter of reminder, let’s go over that list of principles that we clearly extracted from the Old Testament passages we just looked at:

Principles we saw from the Old Testament 1.) The false prophet rose up among the people. 2.) He sometimes performs signs and wonders among the people along with his prophecy. Now what is very significant about this is that these signs and wonders are NO indication necessarily that the man is a prophet of God. 3.) His signs and wonders are used specifically to draw away listeners from following and serving the true and living God and His commandments, to following and serving false gods, idols, if you please. 4.) God commanded Israel not to listen to him. 5.) God commanded Israel to kill him. 6.) God commanded Israel to fear Him, obey Him, keep His commandments, serve Him and cleave to Him. 7.) God called false prophets, evil. 8.) They prophesy lies in the name of God. 9.) They were not sent of God. 10.) They were not commissioned by God. 11.) They do not hear from God because God was not speaking to them at all. 12.) Their so-called visions and divine oracles were completely worthless, since they came from a heart that was filled with treachery and deceitfulness. 13.) God commanded Israel not to listen to them, whatever they spoke because the vision they claim came from God came from their own deceitful hearts. 14.) Their visions, if followed, would produce vain, empty hopes. 15.) Those who followed the false prophets showed absolute contempt towards God. 16.) The false followers followed the deceived lifestyle of the false prophet believing the lie that there would be no judgment to come on those who walked in contempt of God and His word. 17.) God’s judgment is sure to come on both false prophet and follower. 18.) If these men were truly sent from God, they would have reproved the people because of their wicked ways and evil doings. 19.) False prophets do not proclaim God’s word, they way HE said preach it. 20.) God heard every false prophet’s lies. 21.) The purpose of false prophecies was to cause Israel to forget the Lord and follow idols. 22.) True prophets were faithful to proclaim God’s truth, false prophets did not. 23.) False prophets used the name of God to lend credibility to their wickedness. 24) False prophets were useless to Israel.

Go back to 2 Peter 2:1

Peter 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.

• Second, Peter wants his readers to understand that they could be sure that false teachers are coming, they could depend on that. Notice also where Peter says the teachers will be, among you, in your midst.
• Third, and probably most important of all, they will stealthfully bring in the church destructive heresies. Destructive heresies are divisive doctrines that are designed to bring you into spiritual ruin, loss and destruction, both physical and spiritual. False teaching is designed to destroy your spiritual life. They are designed to bring eternal loss to your life. Following false doctrine is no small matter with God. It could very well cost you your eternity with God. Believe the wrong gospel, the wrong Jesus, the wrong God, and wind up in the lake of fire. "For someone to defend a false teacher means that a person is in support of teaching that the scriptures say will ruin and destroy a man or woman's spiritual life." False teaching enhances nothing in the Christian life. There is nothing that false teaching delivers, except empty promises. (2:17)

2 Peter 2:17
These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

• Forth, they deny the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. (even denying the Lord that bought them) I cannot begin to tell you how this truth of Peter is being revealed right before our eyes and yet inspite of that, the church goes blissfully and ignorantly on its way, acting as if everything is fine. False teachers ALWAYS deny the redemptive work of Christ! Whether you are talking about the cults, or religious groups that disguise themselves as the true church, they all deny the redemptive work of Christ for the sins of man. The redemptive work of Jesus Christ is sufficient to save the whole world. They reject His salvation, teach their followers to do the same and the scriptures teach that they are all unsaved. If you believe the wrong Jesus, if you deny the redemptive work of Jesus Christ in your life, if you reject the Lordship of Christ over your life, then you are lost. It is as simple as that.

One of the most subtle of all of the new cults that is sweeping the church world today is the word faith movement. All of their leaders, so-called, and many of their surrogate children, are some of the greatest blasphemers, liars, and heretics in church history. It is incredible to me how we as the church have been so duped by these spiritual hucksters. They are also wholesale rejectors of biblical redemption that comes through Christ. We are going to look at some of the things these men, and some women say. But before we do that, it is essential to understand that their rejection of biblical redemption is very subtle sometimes. Usually their rejection is seen in a faulty view of the person and work of Christ, as well as the Father and the Spirit. Biblical redemption comes from a biblical redeemer. If the Jesus is not who the scriptures claim Him to be, you have no redemption whatsoever. That is why you have to listen carefully to what is being said by these individuals today. There are many roads to reject God’s redemption, especially by rejecting God’s redeeming Son, Jesus Christ.

* * * Kenneth Copeland. Kenneth Copeland had Jesus tell him the following, "They crucified Me for claiming that I was God. But I didn't claim I was God; I just claimed I walked with Him and that He was in Me. Hallelujah." (Kenneth Copeland, "Take Time to Pray," Believers Voice of Victory 15,2 (February 1987) pg 9) "The Spirit of God spoke to me and He said, 'Son, realize this. Now follow me in this and don't let your tradition trip you up.' He said, 'Think this way - a twice-born man whipped Satan in his own domain.' And I threw my Bible down...like that. I said, 'What?' He said, 'A born-again man defeated Satan, the firstborn of many brethren defeated him.' He said, 'You are the very image, the very copy of that one.' I said, 'Goodness, gracious sakes alive!' And I began to see what had gone on in there, and I said, 'Well now you don't mean, you couldn't dare mean, that I could have done the same thing?' He said, 'Oh yeah, if you'd had the same knowledge of the Word of God that He did, you could've done the same thing, cause you're a reborn man too.'" Kenneth Copeland, "Substitution and Identification," tape #00-0202, side 2 Kenneth Hagin. "spiritual death means something more than separation from God. Spiritual death also means having Satan's nature....Jesus tasted death - spiritual death - for every man." (Kenneth E. Hagin, "The Name of Jesus," pg 31) "Jesus is the first person to be born again." Kenneth E. Hagin, "The Name of Jesus," pg 29 "Every man who has been born again is an incarnation and Christianity is a miracle. The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth." Kenneth E. Hagin, "The Incarnation," The Word of Faith 13, 12, December 1980, page 14 Charles Capps. "Jesus was born again in the pit of hell. He was the firstborn, the firstbegotten, from the dead. He started the Church of the firstborn in the gates of hell....He went down to the gates and started His Church there....The Church started when Jesus was born again in the gates of hell." Charles Capps, "Authority in Three Worlds," pg 212-213 Benny Hinn. "God came from heaven, became a man, made man into little gods, went back to heaven as a man. He faces the father as a man. I face devils as the son of God..." (Benny Hinn, "Our Position in Christ #2 - The Word Made Flesh" videotape #255) "Ladies and gentlemen, the serpent is a symbol of Satan. Jesus Christ knew the only way He would stop Satan is by becoming on in nature with him....He became one with the nature of Satan, so all those who had the nature of Satan can partake of the nature of God." (Benny Hinn, "Benny Hinn" program on TBN, 15 December 1990 Paul Crouch. Paul Crouch responding to Benny Hinn's remarks about Jesus defeating Satan in Hell, "That's when His (Jesus') divinity returned." Paul Crouch, "Praise-a-Thon" program on TBN, 6 November 1990 * * *

Not only are these men denying salvation by faith in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, but they also deny the Lordship of Christ over their life. The most horrific way these in the so-called faith movement deny the Lordship of Christ over their lives is to claim an equality with God. If God is an equal, rather than Lord, then what is the reason for submission? There would be none. Now listen to how these men deny the Lordship of Christ over their lives by claiming an equality with God.

* * * Kenneth Copeland. (Kenneth Copeland goes one step further in his humanization of God by placing God in subjection to man, thus removing His deity and sovereignty over all.) Kenneth Copeland describing what God looks like, "A being that is very uncanny the way He's very much like you and me. A being that stands somewhere around 6'2", 6'3", and weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple hundred pounds, little better, (and) has a (hand) span of nine inches across." (Kenneth Copeland, "Spirit Soul and Body I) audiotape #01,0601 side 1) "I was shocked when I found out who the biggest failure in the Bible actually is...The biggest one in the whole Bible is God..." (Kenneth Copeland, "Praise-a-Thon" program on TBN, April 1988) "You see Adam was walking as a god, Adam walked in the god's class, Adam did things in the class of god's hallelujah. What he said went. What he did counted. And when he said and when he acted on the fact that, and when he bowed his knee to Satan, and put Satan up above him, then there wasn't anything God could do about it, cause a god had placed him there." (Kenneth Copeland, "Following the Faith of Abraham," audiotape #01-3001) Kenneth Hagin. "Man...was created on terms of equality with God, and he could stand in God's presence without any consciousness of inferiority....God has made us as much like Himself as possible....He made us the same class of being that He is Himself....Man lived in the realm of God. He lived on terms equal with God...The believer is called Christ....That's who we are; we're Christ!" (Kenneth E. Hagin, "Zoe: The God-Kind of Life," pgs 35-36, 41) "Jesus is the first person to be born again." Kenneth E. Hagin, "The Name of Jesus," pg 29 "Every man who has been born again is an incarnation and Christianity is a miracle. The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth." Kenneth E. Hagin, "The Incarnation," The Word of Faith 13, 12, December 1980, page 14 Frederick K.C. Price "Now this is a shocker! But God has to be given permission to work in this earth realm on behalf of man....Yes! You are in control! So, if man has control, who no longer has it? God....When God gave Adam dominion, that meant God no longer had dominion. So, God cannot do anything in this earth unless we let Him. And the way we let Him or give Him permission is through prayer." (Frederick K.C. Price, "Prayer: Do You Know What Prayer Is...and How to Pray?" The Word Study Bible, pg 1178) "if you have to say, 'if it be Thy will,' or 'Thy will be done,'... then you're calling God a fool...." Frederick K.C. Price, "Ever Increasing Faith," program on TBN, 16 November 1990 Benny Hinn. "God came from heaven, became a man, made man into little gods, went back to heaven as a man. He faces the father as a man. I face devils as the son of God..." (Benny Hinn, "Our Position in Christ #2 - The Word Made Flesh" videotape #255) God, "could not touch this earth till a man gave it back to Him." Benny Hinn, sermon at the World Charismatic Conference, Melodyland Conference Center, 7 August 1992 "never, never, ever, go to the Lord and say, 'If it be thy will....' Don't allow such faith-destroying words to be spoken from your mouth. When you pray 'if it be thy will, Lord,' faith will be destroyed. Doubt will billow up and flood your being. Be on guard against words like this which will rob you of your faith and drag you in despair." Benny Hinn, "Rise & Be Healed," pg 47-48 Paul Crouch. "I am a little god! Critics, be gone!" (Paul Crouch, "Praise the Lord," program on TBN, 7 July 1986) * * *

I wanted you to have an understanding of what these men are teaching which are in total denial of the truth. God classifies this as heresy and false teaching, and since these men seem to have no repentant hearts, no retractions from these blasphemies, no change of lifestyle, then the scriptures call them false teachers. We are going to see more of these characteristics later on in this chapter that will bring even more to light about these men, and others as well.

Jude 4
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

False teachers have crept in the church, foretold by scripture to be prepared for the sentence of an eternal judgment. They are ungodly, by God's standards. They alter the grace of God, which is, salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus, whose Lordship they reject, and turn it into lasciviousness. This word means, "to have an absence of moral restraint. Indecent and shameless conduct." These are the so-called preachers that imply directly or indirectly that it doesn't matter how you live, only that you believe.

The only problem with that mindset is that BIBLICAL belief affects behavior. Having the grace of God does not mean in any way that we can live the way we choose. The grace of our God, which is salvation in Christ, teaches just the opposite.

• Fifth, their eternal destruction is just and sure. This is the inevitable and righteous end of everyone that is false. They will bring upon themselves an everlasting state of torment and death, it will be swift and it will be sure. I believe that some of these false teachers and most of their followers will be shocked. Not so much because they didn't see the truth of the scriptures, but because they were under the impression that judgment couldn't happen to them because they were so religious (Matt 7:15-27).

Go back to 2 Peter 2:2

Peter 2:2
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

• Sixth, they will have a great following. Many will follow, imitate! Yield themselves to follow. Someone asked me, if this is false doctrine, then how could it have such a large following? The reason so many people follow false teachers isn't because of unwilling deception, but of CHOICE! False followers follow false teachers! This is what the bible says and that is the truth.

We are under the impression that these people MUST be believers! That they cannot possibly be following false teachers with full knowledge, they have to be deceived, they have to be Christians! Why, my brother or my mother or my sister or my uncle or my cousin or my girlfriend or my boyfriend or my father or my nephew or my friends go to Rev, Dr, Brother, Pastor, so and so's church and the Lord must understand that they are His children. I'm here to tell you that if you believe that, then you are deceived as well.

No genuine believer and follower in Christ Jesus will stay with the lie! They will come out! The Holy Spirit of God will not allow God's children to stay in deception. Spiritual deception is not the work of the Holy Spirit, but of Satan.

Many will follow their shameful, lustful, filthy and immoral ways. And what will be the result of that? Because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed. Notice carefully what Peter is saying. There are two ways described. The way of the religious lost and the way of truth. The word way, speaks of more than just doctrine, more than just thought, but it speaks of the way of life. False teachers and false followers are not just following false doctrine, they are walking in the way of their error.

To walk in the way of the truth means that your life is governed and directed by the truth. To walk in the way of error means that your life is governed and directed by the lie.

Because of the way of the false teachers and their false followers, the way of truth will be blasphemed. This is very crucial and very contemporary today. The truth is blasphemed whenever these heretics are exposed as the fraud that they are. They misuse the bible as their means to deceive gullible, weak minded people. Then, when they are exposed for what they are, the truth that they misused is spoken against. Whenever the scriptures are used to expose their damnable teachings, these teachers and their gullible followers blaspheme the truth by their refusal to submit under the authority of God's word. Their teachers and their teachings are elevated above the scriptures and because it is popular, huge and well known, the general consensus of the deceived is that it must be from God. These false followers, mesmerized by what their eyes can see and their flesh can experience, attack anyone they perceive to come against what they consider to be the truth when there's no biblical truth in what they believe at all. Or as Paul Crouch said so eloquently on his program:

* * * Paul Crouch Those who speak against the Faith movement are "damned and on their way to hell." "I don't think there's any redemption for them." Paul Crouch, "Praise-a-Thon" program on TBN, 2 April 1991 "To hell with you! Get out of my life! Get out of the way!...I say get out of God's way! Quit blocking God's bridges or God's going to shoot you if I don't....I don't even want to talk to you or hear you! I don't want to see your ugly face!" Paul Crouch, "Praise-a-Thon" program on TBN, 2 April 1991 * * *

 

False Teachers Exposed- Continued here