THE COUNTERFEIT

“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted--you may well put up with it!” (2 Cor. 11:3-4)

The whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) and “sound doctrine” (Titus 1:9. 2:1. 1 Tim.1:10. 2 Tim 4:3) tells us there’ll be an apostasy, spiritual falling away from the truth, deceptions and heresy before Christ (the Lamb) first returns to collect His Bride (the true church) to attend the wedding He has prepared for her in heaven (Rev 19:7-8). And. later He returns to the earth with His Bride following Him, “riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen (the righteous acts of the Saints) to strike down the nations who He will then rule for a thousand years. (Rev. 19:13-15)

As birth pangs culminate with more force, increase and come together before the birth of a child so Jesus describes signs of the last days with intense spiritual deception and conditioning that will ultimately usher in the arrival of an anti-Christ who’ll deceive all who are left behind. (Mark 13:14). (The Bride will not be present on earth when the anti-christ is in power. The church is already in heaven with the Lamb celebrating the wedding.)

The spiritual conditioning of delusion began 2000 years ago since Jesus Christ resurrected. His return is imminent but trickery and confusion will lead many to mistake false messiahs for the real. The unwary will ultimately be deceived by the counterfeit who likens himself to be “the Christ”. The deception has been increasing in intensity since Peter warned “false prophets” would be coming from “among you” - the church.

But Peter encouraged the church not to loose its confidence in God's Word which must be reverenced and understood for its unique authority, based in the faithful character of God Himself, not false prophets “among us”, who’ll corrupt and distort the spirit of the Bible: “no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:19-21).


Paul confirms that Scripture alone is “the gospel of God…. promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures” (Rom 1:1-3). Nothing more should be added, yet “false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ” are corrupting minds with another Jesus, different spirit and gospel. One such phenomenon is Todd Bentley who receives his messages from an angel called Emma similar to many cult leaders who receive extra-Biblical revelations from their spiritual guides which contradict Scripture.

Paul warns, “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.” (2 Cor.11:13-15) (DVD: Supernatural Powers: The Power Between Good and Evil explains angelology, the study of God’s Ministering Angels and satanology, the study of fallen angels. www.caryltv.com)

BUT, Christians are not only being duped by false teachers within the church but also by secular celebrities and writers from outside the church. TV star Oprah Winfrey’s proselytizing of New Age endorsement continues through her promotion of 'The Course in Miracles' being promoted in 365 daily doses through Marianne Williamson’s radio presentation on “Oprah and Friends”. Also, Oprah’s weekly push of Eckhart Toiley’s blockbuster book “A New Earth: Awakening to You Life Purpose”.

Both Oprah and Eckart actually practice meditation eastern style available for viewing on YouTube and demonstrate how yoga’s pranayama breath control and kundalini (snake) power supposedly sleeping at the base of the spine awaiting awakening can, through mind altering and self hypnotic methods be released to transform human consciousness individually and at large. This idea of all being one with deity is called universalism and promoted through eastern mysticism, mind science cults and the Christian church which is promoting the idea all gods are equal to the Creator God, and we all have this god within awaiting to be “tapped” for its potential power.

Surprisingly a popular fiction novel by William P Young, The Shack is taking Christians by storm and has been amongst my most asked questions these past weeks. Pastors, church leaders and Christians are being delighted by the book’s story which distorts Scriptures redefining sin, guilt and portrays God as “father-goddess” a large black woman named Papa.

The feminizing of Father/Mother perfectly dovetails with ongoing spiritual teaching about not only the character of God about the earth He created. Environment spirituality is based on pagan ideology and the worship of Mother Gaia Earth who is envisioned as the goddess of creation who needs preservation and worship. Scripture teaches that while God asked us to be good stewards of the earth, He at no time asked our allegiance to it above the worship of Him Who created it. But Bible warnings predict such worship will be a sign of last days. “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator”. (Rom 1:24-25)