Don't believe it

God will one day deny having known precisely such false prophets and false teachers, even though they presume to have done so much in God's Name. They were so blinded that they were trapped in their own pseudo-spiritual doctrines, but had long since strayed from the foundation of realistic spirituality (Matthew 7:21-23). That which distinguishes a true prophet, is listening. Whomever does not listen, does not know what to do or say. Whomever does not listen, is left to his own world of thought and fantasy and acts in accordance with his own judgement and his own philosophy. A prophet must distance himself from his own opinion - a preacher when preaching must do the same. Only then the Spirit of God can be effective. We read in Ezekiel 2:8-10 “But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.” Ezekiel even had to eat the scroll – he had to, so to speak, receive that which God gave him to hear and read, into his body and soul in order to tell others. Whomever is called to serve God must also read, hear, eat and speak the Word – preferably in this order. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:16-17 “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.” Paul was not a Sunday-Christian, neither was Ezekiel – and neither should we be Sunday-Christians.

God stands above all and He is constantly active – for example through the angels, who are mentioned to great extent in the book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:5-25 and Ezekiel 10:1-22). God's actions, in principal, are always just. Why? Because He, in His holy omnipotence, can and wills it. God knows too well that this fallen world, in general and collectively, is not void of sin. And one of these sins are lies with which Christians are confronted – precisely now at this time. God is often not rejected, however a false God is proclaimed. False hope is given and many speak superficially, lacking the confidence to speak biblical truths. Of whom is man more afraid? Towards whom shall man show more respect and humility? Man or God? We will also be judged in accordance with our witness. Our salvation is certain when we belong to Jesus, but how does my life reflect before God? It is clear that a judgement without Jesus Christ contains no hope. With Jesus in our hearts and as our Redeemer and Deliverer of our sin, we are able to have hope – justified hope, which will not be put to shame (Romans 5:5). But, what do we really believe? In which manner have we been led astray? Do we still take instruction from the Bible? Are we still testing the spirits or have we become indifferent? We are living in disconcerting, evil, unsettling times. What endures when everything else fails? What remains when everything is gone? It is the eternal Word of God. Luke 21:32-33 “Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.'' Amen.

Jörg Bauer