2020 has been a test run for the church and it has exposed many things we need to fix really soon.
Because the Lord loves us so much, He will not leave us in this condition. His purpose for this test run is to reveal our true condition so we can repent, be equipped, gain fresh insight, and prepare for the greater shakings to come.
The Lord tests us, not because He is harsh, but because He wants us to see our true condition. When our eyes our opened, it will lead us to Him so He can become our life. Since Jesus and His kingdom are unshakable, He wants to establish His kingdom within us, making us unmoved by external circumstances.
God Is Judging the American Church
Peter said, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Pet. 4:17).
Isaiah said, “When the earth experiences Your judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness” (Isa. 26:9).
Jesus said, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent” (Rev. 3:19). The word for discipline means child training. Jesus is training us for reigning; therefore, He disciplines us with correction, strong exhortations, warnings, and rebukes.
Because Jesus loves us so much and deeply yearns for God’s ultimate intention to be accomplished in His people, He is presently judging His church. Let’s have ears to hear what He is saying.
2020 has exposed so many things about the church. But I want to focus on two things.
1. False beliefs about the end times will cause many to be unprepared.
I’m burdened by the end-time doctrines many have embraced in the church. These doctrines were highlighted recently, when Pastor Dana Coverstone’s series of prophetic dreams went viral.
Pastor Dana leads a small church in rural Kentucky and he posted a few dreams to YouTube. Millions have now watched or listened to Pastor Dana’s dreams.
I will summarize his dreams quickly. In December 2019, Dana had a dream of a 2020 calendar flipping from month to month. When the calendar flipped to March, a finger pointed to March. Of course, this is when the coronavirus pandemic hit America. Then he saw the finger point to June. This is when the riots, civil unrest, and anarchy broke out in cities across America. After this, the finger pointed to September. And finally, when it reached November, the finger became a fist and it punched November. This is significant because November is when America holds a presidential election.
In November, Dana saw complete chaos breaking out—100-times worse than what we have already experienced. He saw politicians making backroom deals, the economic system contracting, and Russian, Chinese, and UN troops in our country.
He also had dreams about a cashless society, hyper-inflation, and religious persecution coming to America.
I don’t have time to discuss whether or not this is a true word from the Lord. My point is to discuss the troubling doctrines many have embraced about the end times.
Many Charismatic leaders and prominent prophetic ministers have quickly dismissed these dreams. Since these dreams create fear, don’t contain hope, and are void of redemption, many leaders claim these dreams can’t possibly be from God.
Digging deeper, behind the many persuasive and eloquent words of dissent, is a belief about the end times known as Preterism and Post-Millennialism. These doctrines, rebranded and sold under the banner of Victorious Eschatology, believe many of the negative, pessimistic, doom-and-gloom outlooks of the future in Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation have already been fulfilled in history. This viewpoint confidently asserts things are not getting worse but better. Rather than a depressing future, where the antichrist takes over the world, mandates a mark to buy and sell, and beheads Christians, this viewpoint claims God’s kingdom is progressively increasing. Ultimately, the kingdom of God will overtake the kingdoms of this world through the church before Jesus returns.
Victorious Eschatology, or some variation of it, is becoming popular in many steams and tribes in the body of Christ. It’s not hard to understand why. Victorious Eschatology will certainly get a lot of amens from people who don’t carefully study the Scriptures. However, when you dig deep into the faulty interpretations this framework is built on and examine it closely, it fails to hold water. It is constructed upon an over-spiritualized method of interpreting the Scriptures, that in the end, contradicts itself.
Here’s my burden: The fruit of this teaching will leave millions of believers completely unprepared for the difficult times ahead.
This is why eschatology—the study of the end times—is so critical. We have to know for ourselves what the Scriptures teach about the end of the age. Paul exhorted us to “study” to show yourself “approved unto God” (2 Tim. 2:15, KJV).
Here’s a question for you. Have you studied the end times in-depth to know what you believe and why? Or have you just parroted what your favorite Bible teacher, denomination, or movement teaches?
If you want to be trained and equipped to know what the Scriptures teach about the end of the age, I highly recommend joining our Forerunner School. We are going to dig deep into the belief system of Victorious Eschatology and other viewpoints, examining the faulty premises these beliefs are built on. The Forerunner School starts this September and we are offering it for free. You can read more about it at our website.
2. There is a deceiving spirit in the prophetic movement.
Before explaining this point, let me state I am Charismatic in my beliefs and have over 25 years of experience ministering in the gifts of the Spirit. This is why I care so much about the growing deception I see in the prophetic movement.
As previously stated, I have spent a lot of time listening to prominent leaders and prophetic ministers quickly dismiss Dana Coverstone’s dreams. I am not concerned whether or not they think his dreams are from the Lord. I’m troubled by the unbiblical narratives and protocols used to dogmatically say this can’t be the Lord.
Time will tell if his dreams are the true word of the Lord or not. But here is what has become clear. Our view of the end times directly affects how we hear from the Lord. If we embrace some form of Victorious Eschatology, then how we hear from God will be filtered through this grid. Our worldview and what we think God is saying in this moment will be seen through this lens.
Based upon all I have heard and read, many prominent leaders in the Charismatic Church have rejected these dreams as a possible warning from the Lord. Based on the swift rejection of these dreams and the reasoning in their dissent, I wonder if deception has infiltrated the modern-day Prophetic Movement.
It reminds me of Micaiah and the 400 prophets in Israel. If you don’t know the story, King Ahab wanted to go to war, so King Jehoshaphat encouraged him to seek the word of the Lord.
Four-hundred prophets were in agreement. They said to him, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king” (1 Kings 22:6). They proclaimed, “You will gore the Arameans until they are consumed” (1 Kings 22:11). And “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for the LORD will give it into the hand of the king” (1 Kings 22:12). Sounds a lot like our modern-day prophetic words of breakthrough, success, and prosperity, doesn’t it?
But there was one prophet named Micaiah. King Ahab dreaded his prophetic words because they weren’t pleasant, hopeful, and promising. Micaiah prophesied negative words the king didn’t like. Sure enough, when Micaiah prophesied to King Ahab, he warned of a great defeat for Israel. Because Ahab ignored this word, Ahab was killed in battle.
Even more disturbing was Micaiah’s vision of the Lord’s prophets. He saw the Lord “put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets” (1 Kings 22:23). Notice carefully it wasn’t the devil who deceived the prophets. The Lord sent a deceiving spirit to the prophets. The result: They falsely proclaimed breakthrough, prosperity, and success to the king.
Before you quickly dismiss this account as being from the Old Covenant, Paul, writing in the New Covenant, said God Himself sends a deluding influence to those who don’t love the truth (2 Thess. 2:11). Look this Scripture up and read it for yourself. I don’t know about you, but this sobers me.
When I hear some of the words coming from the modern-day Prophetic Movement, I have to wonder if this same dynamic is at play. It appears a deceiving spirit has infiltrated the modern-day Prophetic Movement.
The Root of Deception
After praying about the deception in the Prophetic Movement, I will summarize what I believe is happening.
There is a tribe in the body of Christ who are like Peter when Jesus was going to the cross. Peter, for selfish purposes, because he wanted an earthly Messiah to defeat Rome and make Israel great, tried to hinder Jesus from going to the cross. His mind and heart where not set on Christ but himself. Not on heaven but on earth.
And what seemed like compassion—trying to prevent Jesus, whom he loved, from dying—was actually Satanic.
This tribe is like Peter. They love and serve the Lord. They move in miracles and God is using them. But they want glory before the cross. They want a crown before crucifixion. They want heaven before tribulation.
And like Peter, they have become a voice of mixture that is confusing the church. Because their hearts are set on an earthly kingdom—on heaven coming to earth in fullness apart from Christ being on the earth—a door has opened for deception.
Self-interest—due to the absence of the cross and self-denial—has brought in soulish mixture and demonic deception.
Some are saying peace, peace when there is no peace. Some are trying to superficially comfort God’s people.
If this could happen to Peter, it can happen to anyone of us. I want to live in the fear of the Lord. I don’t want any selfish motive or selfish ambition to dilute the pure word of the Lord.
End-Time Messengers
In conclusion, the church and the world desperately need end-time messengers who are free from soulish mixture, doctrines of demons, and worldly compromise.
If you are interested in being equipped as a faithful witness of the truth in an increasingly humanistic world, I want to encourage you to consider our free online Forerunner School. Read through our website, and if you are interested, send us an email or register.
