Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
II Peter 2 ...
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 (they say Jesus is Lord but they deny the Word teaching false things, perverting scripture),
and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2And many shall follow
their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil
spoken of. (they use scripture falsely and thereby "speak evil" of the truth of the scripture)
3And
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.
During the past two or three months I have encountered both a false prophet and a false teacher. In both cases I was deceived briefly by them. But eventually "by their fruits" I knew what they were.
In the case of the false prophet, she
was correcting the church while she was committing fornication.
In the case of the false teacher,
he quoted one scripture after another and knew a lot of Bible but twice
he misused scripture and once he even attributed to Jesus things that
Jesus did not do. By this I saw this man for what he really was ... a false teacher.
We should see many false prophets and many false teachers in the days as we draw nearer the end.
It is easy to identify a false teacher. A man or woman who presents false doctrine is a false teacher.
Though they say, "Jesus is Lord", they
deny Jesus, The Word, by changing the word to suit themselves and by
dealing carelessly with the word showing a lack of concern for the word,
for Jesus Himself who is The Word.
Jn. 1 ... 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
So when you see a man or woman
teaching something that is not in the Bible, you should be able to
identify that person as "a false teacher". It is not merely a mistake.
When that person adds to the Word of God to make his teaching more
exciting and to make himself seem wise in the sight of other people, he
is a false teacher.
When he is careless in handling scripture he is a
false teacher.
Real ministers of God care about the Word of God and are
very careful in handling of the Word of God and should they mishandle
it they will grieve deeply and tell the people with sorrow what they
did. The others show no sorrow nor grief when confronted.
Years ago, I visited a church group. The pastor was
teaching about Sarah and Hagar (Gen. 16) He said, "Hagar was Sarah's
1/2 sister." My ears picked up. I'd never heard this before. I read the accounts in Genesis. I couldn't find that. I
called him the next day. I asked him where that was in Bible. He said
he couldn't remember. Then when I asked him to look for it and tell me,
he angrily confessed it was not in Bible. This is example of a false teacher.
At another church I visited, pastor
was teaching from John 8 about the woman taken in adultery. He said,
"And when she was brought to Jesus she was naked from waist up." I grabbed my Bible and began rereading Jn. 8. I couldn't find this. I
called pastor next day and asked him where that is in Bible. He first
said he couldn't remember. I said, "This is very important to me to
know. Would you please look it up and tell your secretary where it is
and have her call me?" He became very angry. He replied in an angry
voice, "Well, all right. It isn't in the Bible. Where do you go to
church." (trying to find way to accuse me) This is another example of a false teacher.
When
you witness a person teaching something that is not in the Bible you
have witnessed a false teacher. (It is not just a mistake. This person
does not care for the Word of God and mishandles the Word of God at
will ... flee from such.)
There are church groups
that omit scripture because they cannot stand any reference to the Holy
Spirit. One such group in USA is Church of Christ. Their favorite
verse of scripture is Acts 2:38 and they often quote it, but they leave out the last part of that scripture.
Acts
2:38 ... Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
They omit this part ... and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost... for
they are very opposed to mention of receiving the Holy Ghost since
they equate that with speaking in tongues which they teach against. (My own cousin said they now know some of their doctrines are not true in Church of Christ but they don't tell the people for they don't want to hurt the older people's faith ... Amazing ... They want their faith to continue in the Church of Christ. So they protect the false doctrines in their own church group. Our faith is supposed to be in God, not in a church nor in a minister.)
I Cor. 14:39 ... Paul said ... (concerning the gathering of the church) ... forbid not to speak with tongues.
Shortly
after I was born again in 1975, I was attending a non-denominational church
in Dallas, TX. They were teaching against speaking in tongues. When I
read I Cor. 14:39, I left that church group though I had no real
interest in subject of tongues I knew what they were teaching was
opposite from the instruction in the Bible for the gathering of the
church. I wanted no part of a church group that taught opposite to the
instruction given in the Bible.
Flee from false teachers. Do not explain away their false teaching.
Flee. And flee from any church group which teaches something different
from Bible and leaves out scripture when they teach.