False Teachers and Prophets, Part 1

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

False teachers are a dime a dozen today. They don’t go away and end up deceiving multitudes of Christians with their false prophecies. We can expect more of them to happen along. Will we be taken in by them?

Case in point, Mark Taylor, a retired firefighter began a few years ago providing what he believed were prophecies that God had placed on His heart. Many of those prophecies had to do with President Trump and the “salvation” of America. As I’ve noted in many previous articles and in my book, “Deception in the Church: Does It Matter How You Worship?” the current movement abbreviated as NAR (New Apostolic Reformation), believes God has raised up at least 500 modern “apostles” and “prophets.”

However, if they are not who they say they are, then Christians have the responsibility of warning them, then have nothing to do with them. How do we know them?

We all know how damaging misinformation and misconceptions can be. We understand that those who traffic in lies (whether intentionally or due to a false perception), end up creating discord and havoc. If you simply consider Joshua 22, you’ll see exactly what I mean.

There, the tribes of Manasseh, Gad, and Reuben, (M/G/R)who were living on the east side of the Jordan at the time, and decided to build an altar. It turns out that they were building it as a memorial because they were concerned that a generation or two down the line, all the tribes living on the west side of the Jordan would claim that M/G/R wasn’t really part of Israel and then possibly war would break out or M/G/R would lose blessings. That was their stated reason for building the altar as we learn later in Joshua 22.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and they sent a delegation of people from the tribes to M/G/R. They then accused them to their face of preparing to commit idolatry. The leaders of M/G/R were aghast and denied the accusation, explaining that they were simply creating a memorial to safeguard being left out of future blessings with the rest of Israel. This solved the problem and life went on for Israel, at least for a while.

Of course, while the tribes on the west side of the Jordan jumped to conclusions due to assumptions based on misinformation, this whole thing actually could have been avoided if leaders from the three tribes on the east side of the Jordan had gone over to the leaders of Israel and explained what they wanted to do before they did it. Wouldn’t this have been better? Let that be a lesson to all of us that we may need to go out of our way to ensure that other Christians are not given a wrong impression about our actions.

It is the same thing when people start going around declaring that they speak for God or that God speaks directly through them to us in visions. As someone who spent a number of years in the Charismatic Movement during the 70s, I can attest to the fact that this happened a great deal. Christians take “urges” or “impressions” and turn them into these long drawn out conversations they’ve had with God because they want other people to think that God actually “speaks” to them and if so, the hearers are supposed to react accordingly. Think of what Jude says about these people in his one chapter epistle.

This type of thing causes people to go off track, sometimes very seriously. This is happening a great deal today because of so many false teachers and prophets running around declaring things. It appears their god is their stomachs (selfish gain).

In Matthew 24:5, Jesus noted that during the end times, many would come in His Name claiming they were Him. If that’s the case related to false messiahs, how many false teachers do you think we’ll see before He returns? In Matthew 7:15, Jesus warns about “false prophets” who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Paul says in Romans 16:17 that we should “watch out” for (AVOID), those who create problems and divisions by not adhering to the doctrine of Scripture.

The Bible talks repeatedly about calling false teachers out in order to teach others to avoid them (1 Corinthians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14; 2 Timothy 3:5; 2 John 10).

It is clear that during the Tribulation period, God will raise several prophets to work through them. These prophets will be called by God and will have a direct ministry with Israel. This will be after the Church is Raptured when things actually seem to revert to Old Testament times during that period. Many will be saved during the Tribulation but they will not be part of the Church since the Church will be gone.

Christians need to have and use discernment and wisdom. That happens when we are well-versed in the Scriptures and have drawn and remain close to the Lord. It is the best defense against all false teachers and prophets.

Beth Moore
Beth Moore is very well known today. She is one of the darlings of the Southern Baptist Convention. When she first began teaching years ago, both my wife and I used some of her books and writings in our study of God’s Word. However, it became apparent that she was starting to wander. She was moving off into the area of “feelz” (or emotional virtue to determine truth). She was starting to emphasize feelings way too much. This often leads people down the road to a social gospel.

Moore also began highlighting conversations that she was supposedly having with Jesus and according to her, they were very clear and detailed. It has been interesting watching Moore become more and more of a Social Justice Warrior. In fact, it has become apparent that Beth Moore preaches a Leftist social gospel. [1]

When Moore first began teaching publicly, she only spoke in front of women’s groups. Now, Moore will often take the pulpit and speak before mixed crowds of women and men. This is not allowed in Scripture. I’m not sure how much more clear Paul the apostle could have been here.

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 1 Timothy 2:12

Feminists come along and argue that Paul was simply speaking out of the male patriarchy culture of that day, which no longer applies. Really? Interesting that he actually provides the reasons why women should not teach or exercise authority over men and he does so in the very next verses.

13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

There’s nothing about those two verses that are cultural at all. Adam was formed first, correct? How does “culture” change that fact? It doesn’t. Second, Adam was not deceived but Eve was. Unfortunately for Adam, he deliberately chose to follow Eve into sin though he clearly knew it was wrong according to Paul. Eve, the “weaker vessel” was deceived and did not fully understand what was happening.

God’s Created order placed the man first and as head over the family unit. It is the man who is supposed to be the spiritual head of the home and Paul lays this out clearly in his writings. Satan went after Eve because he knew he’d have a better chance of deceiving her and hopefully, due to Adam’s affection for Eve, he would follow her into sin, which is exactly what happened. Adam rejected his “federal” headship and turned and followed Eve. Satan succeeded in overturning that part of God’s created order.

By the way, God does not see women as “inferior.” He created them and the social order that Satan has been trying to overturn since the beginning. Galatians 3:28 does not change this order either. That verse speaks to the fact that everyone in Christ’s eyes are equal and salvation is available to all in equal measure, regardless of gender or station in life. Galatians 3:28 does not set aside the roles that God gave to each of the two genders. The fact that I am the spiritual head of my home does not make me “better” than my wife or give me greater access to God. It makes me more responsible.

So Moore (and other women teachers), should not be exercising authority over men, period. Whenever a person is preaching, they are exercising authority over the people they are teaching. Women can preach to other women, but Paul says they are not to “teach” or “exercise authority” over men.

Beth Moore has also become increasingly involved in mysticism (e.g. the DVD “Be Still”). The “Be Still” DVD has come under fire for its leanings toward ecumenism, emergent church teachings, and mysticism in general. The emphasis on “hearing” from God completely takes the actual biblical meaning of being still before God and applies a completely new, disingenuous and unbiblical meaning to it.

To suggest that God wants to have long drawn out “conversations” with us about this, that or the other thing is tantamount to what pagan worshipers have always believed and sought. God does not “talk” to us either audibly or in our minds. It would be nice and there was a time while involved in the Charismatic Movement that I believed He did. I’ve even “experienced” things like that only to realize much later that because I was chasing so hard after those things, Satan was very happy to give me what I wanted (with God’s permission as a teaching moment). If God speaks to us and we are supposed to expect that, then there is absolutely no point in reading His Word, memorizing it or relying on it to reveal God’s truth.

Beth Moore has claimed to have received visions directly from God. Unfortunately, that first vision she received directly violates the truth of Scripture. But since it felt right, then it must be right, according to Moore. How many times have people followed that path that led them to destruction?

If God speaks to us, we do not need His Word except possibly as a back-up point of reference. I hate to say it, but Beth Moore is a heretic. She claims to love God’s Word but clearly does not, because she sets aside or re-explains and twists parts that condemn her for her denial of Paul’s authority in written form.

We only need to look at the people Moore connects herself with, like Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyers, or the fact that she generally espouses Left-wing propaganda even where Jesus is concerned to understand her. This is Beth Moore.

By the way, it is often the norm for Beth Moore “cultists” to become seriously angry if you try to offer some suggestions as to what is “off” about Moore’s teachings. If you haven’t experienced that, you probably will if the subject ever comes up. It’s often like trying to ask a critical question of President Trump, and watch his “cultists” come unglued and immediately resort to calling you a “never Trumper” or “Trump hater.”

As we continue to move through this series, we will find that many of the false teachers (heretics), all have the same type of heretical thread running between them that has caused them to go seriously astray. Whether it’s Sarah Young, Priscilla Shirer, Tony Evans or someone else we’ll be highlighting, the truth is that these people hold to some very serious errors that expose them for who they are – false teachers – if we are paying attention.

If you disagree with me, that’s up to you. But please take the time to do the research. Sitting at the feet of someone who claims to be Christian while espousing aberrant theology is never a good idea. It may feel good, but in the end, it will bite you big time.

Avoid false teachers. Next time, I’ll deal with at least two more false teachers.

For Further Reading:

• [1] https://evangelicaldarkweb.org/2020/08/08/is-beth-moore-a-false-teacher/
• https://studygrowknowblog.com/?s=mark+taylor&searchbutton=Go%21
• https://reformationcharlotte.org/2019/02/22/no-women-you-are-not-called-to-preach/
• https://the-end-time.org/2019/07/23/problems-with-beth-moores-teaching-in-list-form-did-you-know-there-were-this-many/
• https://www.reformingamericaministries.com/single-post/2018/05/30/Beth-Moore-The-Southern-Baptist-False-Teacher

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective