Could the apostolic be leading to
a face off between holy and unholy prophets? Which side
would you be on?
Just like Elijah confronted the prophets of
Baal, the time is coming when God’s New Testament mouthpieces will
confront modern day merchandisers. The true will defy the false. The
holy will challenge the unholy. Until that day, spirits of
divination, with a little help from the lust of the eyes, the lust
of the flesh and the pride of life, are working overtime to woo
God’s true prophets to the side of err.
Some merchandising prophets, with their miracle water, prophetic
soap and prosperity oil, are catching naïve Christians hook, line
and sinker. Other Gospel gainsayers are profiting with urgent
announcements that God will heal the first five people who run up to
the altar with $100 bill in hand.
But perhaps the most dangerous merchandisers are those who use their
gift to tap into divination. These prophets announce what the
believer wants to hear in order to sow a false seed of faith in his
heart and reap an improper financial reward, inappropriately earned
position or wrongly received recognition. No matter the
merchandiser’s brand of deceit, it is a practice that stinks in the
nostrils of God.
“Then the Lord said, ‘These prophets are telling lies in my name.
I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any
messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never
seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying
hearts. Therefore, says the Lord, I will punish these lying
prophets, for they have spoken in my name even though I never sent
them. They say that no war or famine will come, but they themselves
will die by war and famine!’” (Jeremiah 14:14-15)
Of course, most false prophets don’t start their ministries as false
prophets rather they are tempted and enticed by the idolatry in
their hearts. Avoiding Satan’s snare begins with the fear of the
Lord and the promised wisdom that follows. After all, the
merchandise of wisdom is better than the merchandise of silver, and
the gain thereof than fine gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies
and all the things that you can desire are not to be compared to her
(Proverbs 3:14-15).
The wisdom in God’s Word plainly illustrates that with every
temptation there is also a way of escape. By comparing the responses
of Balaam with Daniel and of Jezebel’s diviners with Elijah, we get
a clear view of the trap, the way of escape – and the ultimate fate
of merchandising prophets.
Balaam is best remembered for his talking donkey. He was a true
prophet of God who went the way of divination for the promise of
financial gain when King Balak offered him rewards to curse Israel.
But Balaam did not fall into sin upon the first temptation. In fact,
he refused the king’s initial offer. His royal majesty then upped
the ante, promising the prophet promotion, honor and power if he
would curse the Israelites. Balaam once again refused, saying “If
Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go
beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more” (Numbers
22:18).
Despite his bold confession to obey the Lord’s will, Balaam secretly
desired to attain the rewards pledged by the king. And so the
testing begins. Balaam would follow his rebellious heart 320 miles
on a donkey’s back to curse Israel and claim his coveted
merchandise. But to his surprise, the Lord would not allow him to
pronounce the curse when he arrived in Moab. Disappointed and still
hoping to collect the king’s bribe, Balaam shared a strategy to trip
up the Israelites through sexual sin that led to the downfall of his
brethren.
Balaam had a clear way of escape: Telling the king’s messengers upon
their first visit that the Lord forbid him to curse Israel. That
would have closed the door to future offers and put an end to the
temptation that would lead to his destruction. The end of Balaam
came by the command of Moses at the sword of his own people – the
Israelites he tried to curse through divination.
Daniel, on the other hand, refused to give in to the temptation
presented in King Belshazzar’s dilemma. Belshazzar and his guests
were drinking from gold and silver cups that his father had stolen
from God’s temple and giving praises to idols when the fingers of a
human hand appeared and wrote on the palace wall. Belshazzar was
frightened and summoned enchanters, fortunetellers and diviners to
come, promising riches and power to anyone who could interpret it.
When none could, the king called Daniel and made him the same offer
(Daniel 5).
Daniel was faced with at least three choices at this critical
turning point in his ministry. He could accept the king’s offer to
interpret the message, thereby merchandising his gifting. He could
exercise the gift he had freely received from Jehovah to freely
interpret the message, all the while knowing that such a harsh word
from the Lord could land him in the lion’s den. Or he could stand on
his credible reputation as God’s prophet to falsely interpret the
warning message as a blessing message and in all likelihood collect
the loot anyway.
Unlike Balaam, Daniel unlocked the hard truth in the writing on the
wall. He told the king that his days were numbered and that his
kingdom would be divided up and handed over to the enemies. Daniel
refused to compromise, no matter the consequences, and God used the
king to promote him. As one of his last acts as king, Belshazzar
robed him in purple, draped a great gold chain around his neck and
positioned him as third-in-charge of the entire kingdom.
King Ahab and his wife Jezebel took the tradition of kings calling
on prophets to unlock the mysteries of God a step further – and a
few steps too far. Jezebel had false prophets on her payroll. The
wicked queen regularly fed 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of
Asherah. Bible scholars estimate that feeding those false prophets
cost her about $12,750 a week or $663,000 a year. That’s a hefty
price tag for a good prophetic word.
So while Jezebel’s prophets had full bellies in a time of famine,
the queen cut off the prophets of the Lord for fear of the truth (1
Kings 18:4). Obadiah, a type of religious spirit, hid 100 of God’s
prophets in caves and fed them bread and water. While this may
appear like a good work on the surface, Obadiah was only
facilitating Jezebel’s plan to cut off the uncompromising prophetic
word.
While Jezebel’s prophets looked well-fed and God’s true prophets
looked like sheep being led to the slaughter, the story changes in a
hurry when Elijah confronts the 850 merchandisers at Mount Carmel in
what goes down in Biblical history as the ultimate showdown between
the true and the false. Elijah threw down the prophetic gauntlet and
challenged the false camp to bring fire down from heaven by calling
upon their God. The merchandising diviners cried to Baal from dawn
to dusk with no answer.
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When the false camp had finally exhausted itself, Elijah built an
altar holding a sacrifice to Jehovah, drenched it with four barrels
of water, said a simple prayer, and watched as the fire of God fell
from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the
dust and even the water in the trench. Then Elijah slew his false
counterparts one by one. So the ultimate fate of the false prophets
came at the hand of the true prophet, who was later taken to heaven
in a chariot of fire.
Like Old Testament prophets, modern day prophets are also being
tempted to merchandise the anointing for fame, fortune or friends in
high places. Being plugged into a strong local apostolic church is a
safety net because apostles boldly confront false moves of the
Spirit and give merchandisers a way of escape by leading them into
deep repentance.
Recall Simon the sorcerer, who was highly esteemed among the
Samarians because he bewitched them. The apostles Peter and John met
up with Simon after praying for the baptism of the Holy Ghost for
the new believers there. When Simon saw that the people were filled
with the Spirit when the apostles laid their hands on them, he
offered them money. “Saying, Give me also this power, that on
whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter
said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought
the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part
nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of
God” (Acts 8:19-21). Simon may have repented and did ask the
apostles to pray for him. Repentance is the appropriate response for
New Testament prophets who fall into the trap of merchandising.
The decision to go the way of Baal and or to go the way of Elijah
lies in the prophet’s heart. If pride, self-will, anger, or lust
occupies the place where obedience, love and truth should live, then
the merchandising prophet may succeed in reaping worldly rewards for
a season but the retirement fund built on ill-gotten gains leads
only to death (Romans 6:23). While there is certainly abundant grace
for the true prophet who misses it, the Book of Revelation makes it
clear that the false prophets (those who purposely set out to lie
and deceive God’s people) will be cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone and be tormented day and night forever and ever
(Revelation 20:10).
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