ch092 The False Prophet’s Spectacles is an examination of the unbiblical methods a false prophet uses to attract new people to his church.

The False Prophet’s Spectacles
By David R. Cox

[ch92] v1 ©2024 www.coxtracts.com
This tract can be freely reproduced for non-profit purposes

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works.

Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

So, why would a saved person support such ministries?

These false prophets made many supernatural shows in the name of Jesus. One of the marks that Jesus gave us to discern the false prophet is that they prefer making shows to identify themselves as being truly of God. Jesus declared something that was a strong shock, “I never knew you.” We must meditate on this. There are ministers and churches where those in control, that is, those who preach and teach in such a “ministry” are not even saved. So, why does a saved person have anything to do with them?

What is the Declaration of the Gospel?

Ephesians 2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

We must understand what the gospel is, and how we are to treat it in terms of what we say to others regarding salvation. There is a lot of importance in this. I mean, if you don’t understand what the gospel is, what salvation is and how you obtain it, you will never be able to enter it, nor will you treat it well.

A False Prophet does not explain the Gospel very well. A good pastor must explain salvation constantly and with different presentations. For the false prophet, the gospel is the repetition of magic words that if you repeat them, you will be saved. In areas of Catholic cultures, they must dip people in baptismal water (water baptism does not save anyone), but that is what the Catholic Church teaches. A preacher faithful to God will explain the gospel many times with clarity and care so that people understand salvation. Just saying or repeating a few words will not save anyone. Salvation comes when one hears the gospel and understands it, but the point of being saved is when the person believes in the gospel, his life changes and he is born again.

The World is Given over to Riches

The world is crazy in its desire for economic gain. The gospel is a spiritual orientation to remove the desire for material things. In other words, we begin with sin. We are in error, because we exalt riches to be our god. But our problems go beyond that. When a church or ministry attracts people through its economic giving of gifts, it is not right.

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden,

Matthew 4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

God declares that human needs (and desires) should not dictate how you live your life. It is a deception of Satan that you always have economic gain.

Fasting is exactly a spiritual activity to prove to the person himself that his spirit can dominate his body. But people can’t seem to live without exalting economic gain above everything else. Jesus said several times that we will always have the poor with us (Mark 14:7; John 12:8) and in Deuteronomy 15:11 He commands us to “Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy.” We are to be generous to those in need. 1 John 3:17 But if anyone has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

But there is a type of people who always have their hand outstretched, and they are not actually saved, and God’s work cannot be done with such types. But the false prophet uses people and finds it useful to give gifts to people who are greedy in order add them and better control them.

John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Salvation involves a spiritual change in the person’s being in which he leaves the importance of the earthly and the temporal in order to obtain the spiritual. We must live every moment of every day trying to please God. And this means working to sustain ourselves.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

So, our charity to these people must be limited lest we aid people in their sin, but it is totally a sin and the wrong way to live if one always seeks for “a handout.”

Jesus lamented that they would always follow whoever was giving handouts. These followers are not saved but are looking for the handout. They are children of Satan. Satan only has this world, that he has corrupted. He can only bribe people into his realm based on corrupted earthly things. The children of God have heaven and their future in it, blessings without number.

But a child of Satan habitually focuses on what he is going to enjoy now and in this life. Nothing else matters to him.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

The true Christian has changed their way of thinking. They esteem and value what is spiritual, and the rewards in heaven are more important than anything the earth has to offer.

Judas Iscariot followed Jesus also and he when to hell anyway

John 12:6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

[literally “bare away” as in carry off the money]

What we must notice is that for some, money and what is economically convenient for them is more important than anything else, and so their god is wealth. In other words, one’s financial well-being controls the decisions of one’s life. Because of this detail, God commands us to give offerings. God commands every believer, every follower of Him, to give spiritual sacrifices of their possessions for His work. There is another important point. How much does a Christian sacrifice of his own life to show God that wealth is not his god?

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Likewise, sacrifice, prayer, and meditation must be done so that this sacrifice does not go to a false prophet. But the point we see today is when a ministry attracts people through this greedy desire among the people, how can anything good come out of it? We are part of the “ministry” of the false prophet by attending, supporting him, going for what he gives away, or directing others to him. It is worse when you give money to the falsehood he represents.

The False Prophet uses Avarice[1]

[1] Immoderate desire for wealth; cupidity. An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness for wealth; covetousness; An inordinate desire for some supposed good.

2 Peter 2:3 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.

The matter here is not just that the false prophets are covetous, but they use the covetousness of people to deceive them and to entrap them in webs of wickedness.

2 Peter 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

We have to understand the economic motive in ministries that give away free things in order to attract people. On the one hand, they give away things in order “build their ministry.” But to appear like a great spiritual success (because the economic attraction is what is actually happening here), they use this to raise funds from Christians that believe their lies of success. In other words, they use numbers to promote themselves.

There is no Real Repentance in Their Ministry

Jeremiah 8:4 Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return? 5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. 6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.

These false prophets do not preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), because it is not convenient for them. They want a great number of people (that will provide them with money, luxuries, fame, and control of their people), and whatever hard thing that should be preached or that might turn away some of their crowds is avoided. When the false prophets have control over many people, they reach their goals. They are embarrassed when people have spiritual problems, and they don’t deal with that kind of thing.

Ezekiel 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

(To feed is to remedy their spiritual problems.) God used the prophet Ezekiel to get their attention and to instruct us as well. If a church comes to have thousands of members, how can it care for them individually?

Miracles and Healings

John 6:2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

But we observe and analyze what people are like, and what is it that pleases God? The world lives looking at the earthly and as if it is the most important thing here on earth now. In other words, God warns us many times that our sin brings eternal and earthly consequences, and death. Then, God warns us with an illness that our sins will cause us to die. We have limited time to fix our lives. But few are those who use this time for their eternal good. It is the judgment of God that will fall upon one at any moment, and it is certain that it will fall. The false prophet identifies himself with saying good words instead of rebuke when the judgment of God is about to come.

Jeremiah 23:17 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.

The false prophets do not preach strongly, but only want to appear as if they do. They do not preach towards moral change in their people so that they imitate the moral character of God. It would ruin their goals of success if they did.

Elijah and the Prophets of Baal Wasn’t it sensationalism what Elijah did?

In 1 Kings 18, Elijah went “toe to toe” with the prophets of Baal.

1 Kings 18:33… Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. 34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

There are some that would say that Elijah fought against the false prophets of Baal, and by this, they also put an axe against physically destroying the icons of false religions. But if we examine the Bible, Elijah did not destroy any idols. He prayed, and God did a miracle that they couldn’t do.

They caused Harm to the Gospel

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

Because the truly saved support the ministries of these false prophets, the world thinks that all Christians are like this, and it is not true.

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Ch012 The Worship of God: The Principle Obligation of the Believer examines the Bible’s teaching on what is worship.

The Worship of God
The Principal Obligation for the Believer
By David Cox

[ch012] v3.2 ©2023 www.coxtracts.com
You may freely reproduce this for non-profit purposes

Let us think of God as the worthiest Being who deserves a spiritual response from our souls (which should be surrender, dedication and obedience). He is first and foremost our Creator. Salvation is in essence, trust (or faith) in the person of God. His promises of salvation are real, and He is always ready to save us. If we believe this “we are calling upon God in our lives”. And this is what saves us.

Salvation is not a prayer of magic words, which, being vain or feigned (lies), neither affects nor changes our lives. It is putting great trust in God, knowing His character and imitating Him (Ephesians 5:1).

To worship Him is to recognize His character, to trust and exalt Him to be our only pattern. To worship Him is to express faith through words and actions (meditations on His divine character). And it is in Sunday worship given to us by God that we best focus our worship of God.

What is Worship?

James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

One’s attitude toward God is of supreme importance. God punishes pride, and rewards humiliation before Him. Access to God is by recognizing His Sovereignty. The second and third commandments speak of wrong forms and objects of worship, the fourth commandment speaks of the day of worship (dedicated to the Lord). Worship is simply the exaltation of God by the person who honors Him. Worship is a spiritual activity, it is an imitation of the morality (moral character) of God, it springs from the soul, it is the response to the Creator with esteem, actions and words that exalt Him in all that He deserves. William Ames explains that there are two forms of worship, formal (in worship) and informal, of which he says, “One cannot give honor to God in any other way but by expressing faith, hope, and love.” That is, true worship is seen in one’s activity and attitude.

Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

At this point, says William Ames, “God requires only one thing: worship of Him. This has to do with a fearful attitude (reverence), walking in His ways, loving and serving Him. This is the heart of worship.”

Who do we Worship?

Matthew 4:9 And (Satan) saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

It is striking that Satan wanted Jesus to worship him, and God emphatically insisted that worship is only for God Himself. Firstly, “our Lord” is our Master, the one who rules our lives. Secondly, it is important that Satan wanted Jesus to worship him “prostrate”. That is; to be valid worship, it must be exactly as Satan commanded him.

Satan wanted worship as a sign and in a position of submission (prostrate and humbling himself). That is, worship must deal primarily with the object of worship (God alone, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit John 5:23), and then the form (the humiliation and exaltation of God over us and our will). Satan wants to rob God of His worship. Worship is to keep our eyes fixed, and to give Him attention and priority, offering Him what He requires, and it must be in the form God specifies. Satan intends to draw us away from the right object by corrupting the proper forms. Also, it is very clear that we must never worship anyone other than God Himself, the Creator.

Romans 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

“Giving worship” is the word σεβάζομαι (sebazomai) which means to give reverence or adoration. It is forbidden to worship any creature, or thing, especially wealth. In Colossians 2:18 and Revelation 19:10 it is forbidden to worship angels who literally are “messengers” (which can be preachers or spirit beings appearing in vision with a message).

The Elements of Worship

Worship comes from the fact that we are creatures made by God for His glory. It is the primary obligation of every creature to worship God. This is the reason God created us. It is the response of every creature to God, their Creator. Worship implies that we should prostrate ourselves before the superior God (exalting Him).

The forms are not specific because the attitude is more important than the position of the body, but what the Scriptures command is that we kneel before God, bow our heads to the ground, and be still and maintain silent listening before Him. In general, let us show reverence, awe and humiliation in the presence of God. (Children whose parents do not accustom them to behave well in church will always have problems with worshiping God as adults. The teacher’s authority in school comes from God, and these children will also not be good students in school and will suffer in life).

How should we worship God?

Genesis 4:5-7 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.

When we examine Cain, we do not understand his sin in a very clear way. Cain’s sin was that he worshipped in a way that did not please God (the same thing that Nabad and Abihu did in Leviticus 10:1-11 by offering “strange fire”). Many commentators are of the opinion that Cain offered a bloodless offering, a requirement demanded by God, although this could well be, God does not explain it to us. His mistake was not to give importance to the details of his worship, when one has precise instruction from God, one must obey faithfully.

Deuteronomy 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Numbers 15:39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:

We must study how it is that God wants us to worship Him, and fulfill it exactly. It was God’s constant concern that His people that they not forsake His commandments to follow the thoughts of their hearts. Worship begins with God, and continues with hearing, studying, understanding and applying the Word of God to our own lives.

Matthew 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Exodus 20:4-5 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

God forbade worship of that which does not have God as its object, and especially not worshiping using images of any kind (of God himself, or of persons, of saints, or of animals, plants, stars, the sun, the moon, etc.). The method of worship is spiritual and not in symbols. The form or method of worship is very important.

John 4:23-24 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

The woman doubted the right place to worship (Jerusalem or Samaria). Jesus declined both centers of worship (which was of great contention between Jews and Samaritans) and focused on spiritual worship, through the truth of God spiritually, dwelling and living visibly within the life of each one.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

The most important part of worship is that we live God’s moral character (morality) in our daily lives. Thus, we will worship God in the way that pleases Him. Ephesians 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.

The most essential parts of worship in services are: 1) To know and understand the spiritual truth that we need to follow by reading the Bible itself. 2) To insist on this in our way of worship (hymns, Scripture reading, testimonies, etc.). 3)encourage our brethren in faith and love, using spiritual examples, (testimonies and actions of grace) where God shows His character in us, through our experiences.

The “Lord’s Day”

Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work…

It is extremely important that one worships God. Salvation is not really within you if you do not worship God WITH YOUR OWN LIFE, with your expressions, your words, and your deeds. Furthermore, as a permanent habit of the child of God, there is a specific time and place to worship God, and this is in the church services (in the company of the brethren) every first day of the week.

The observance of the Sabbath (which is a rest from normal life) was of supreme importance in the Old Testament. Breaking the rules of reverence for God on that day was punishable by death.

1 John 1:5, 7 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

John observed that there are some people who do not easily fellowship with the brethren. (1 John 2:19 “they went out from us, but they were not of us”) They abandon the church and the brethren. These people do not want to identify with the redeemed of God. John saw the purification of sins, or moral change (1 John 1:7; 3:3, 6) and the love between brethren (1 John 3:10) as the clearest demonstration of a child of God.

Conclusion

The worship of God is the result of having changed one’s life, leaving sin and living together with the brothers and sisters in the community of faith. This is emphasized in the formal worship services.

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More Tracts from the Church Category

• Ch012 The Worship of God: The Principle Obligation of the Believer
• Ch09 Our One another Relationship
• ch092 The False Prophet’s Spectacles
• Ch11 True Praise
• ch13 Why we are Independent
• ch14 Finding a good church
• ch15 Congregating because we Love
• ch16 Example of the man of God
• ch17 Why do I Attend Church?
• ch18 Supporting your Pastor
• ch19 Marks of a False Prophet
• ch20 Baptists: Why we call ourselves Baptists v.1.2
• ch20 Why we call ourselves “Baptists”
• ch21 Will a man rob God? tithes
• ch22 Pastorless Flocks
• ch23 Paying the Pastor
• ch24 The power of an example
• ch26 Don’t touch the anointed of God
• ch27 Tithe Is it biblical to tithe? v2
• ch28 Difference between sheep and goats?
• ch29 The Marks of a Christian (Study of 1 John)
• ch30 The man of God must not be contentious
• ch31 3Bs of success: buildings, bodies, and bucks
• ch32 How to pray for missionaries
• ch34 Brethren, we must not fight!
• Ch35 Bad Pastor or Disobedient Sheep?
• ch38 Recognizing a good pastor
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• ch39 What should we preach? sermon topics
• ch41 The marks of a bad minister v1_1
• ch42 Destitution of Pastor
• ch43 Time to leave your church?
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• ch51 Cowboys versus Shepherds
• ch55 Who runs the Local Church?
• ch64 The Church is not a Circus
• ch87 The Remnant of the People of God
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