False Prophets

Last August on returning from my summer holidays I felt the need to blog about those 'Charlatans' who broadcast on Christian Television. On holidays I have the opportunity to look at some of these religious channels and it never ceases to amaze me that people send these 'prosperity pimps' their hard earned cash.

This year I came across an individual called Peter Popoff. This particular individual was sending out FREE 'miracle water' to whoever applied. The idea was that if you got your hands on this water and drank it or rubbed it on your body you would be healed of whatever disease you were suffering from, other knock on benefits appeared to include the immediate increase in personal wealth and general favour with God. Of course this was simply a technique Mr Popoff and his friends use to get contact details for the desperate and the gullible and no doubt in the future will contact these poor people and bleed them dry of their resources. Mr brother in law remarked as we watched Mr Popoff's appeal, 'he probably gets that water from the tap in his house'.

Mr Popoff has a colourful history and in the past was caught out wearing an earpiece which he used to receive information from his background team. He was using this personal information about people to try and convince them that God was giving him direct revelations about them. Mr Popoff is nothing but an old fashioned con artist, a grifter, a scammer, a liar of his father the devil, the father of all lies.

We read about people like Mr Popoff in the little letter of Jude. Jude warned about men who would creep into the church unawares and gives us some information on how we can spot these false prophets. One of those areas by which we will recognise these false prophets is by their desire for money, he warns in verse 11 'Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core'

Balaam to whom Jude refers was a character in the Old Testament who was hired by the Moabites to curse the Children of Israel as they were coming out of the wilderness into the promised land. Balaam knew better as God had told him he could not curse the children of Israel but he badly wanted the money that the Moabites were offering so he explained to the Moabites that he could not curse what God had blessed but suggested that instead the Moabites corrupt the Children of Israel. If we can't curse them then we will corrupt them was his counsel and sadly for Israel it worked.

Balaam was a false prophet who loved mammon more that God, he was a rent a prophet only interested in taking money and would say anything to get it. These are the same characteristics that I see in the false prophets on TV preaching a health and wealth gospel. This false gospel has no basis in Scripture. As I read my Bible I find that a Christian should expect, troubles, tribulations and trials in a world that hates God. No where in the scripture do I find that God wants me to be wealthy nor is there a promise that I will be healthy. One of the most Godly men in the Bible the Apostle Paul had a physical ailment that God refused to take from him but rather promised him that His grace would be sufficient for Paul.

These liars have chosen Mammon instead of God, don't be fooled by their lies.

'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.' Matthew 6 v24