WHO LIED ON GOD?

Several days ago, while scrolling through Facebook, I encountered a post from Dr. Michael Brown. He wrote, “Either those who are steadfastly holding on to the word that Trump will be inaugurated on January 20th are right, in which case they are real heroes of faith, continuing to believe against all odds because they are sure the Lord has spoken. Or they are wrong, which means they have been seriously, even deeply deceived.” I saved that post to revisit on January 20th, yet it seems appropriate to write about now. 

The straightforward question I have,

“Who lied on God?” 

Just take a short hop, skip and jump over to Charismanews.com and type in ‘Trump’s prophecy.’ Stephen Strang, founder and CEO of Charisma, released an entire 33-minute conversation with two “respected” prophetic voices declaring what the “Lord” said in regards to Trump’s victory. This blog has less to do with who you voted for or why you voted, but about the voices who have claimed to hear directly from God as to who would be the next president of the United States. I would argue, false prophets emboldened not only the president of the United States but many who held on to a ‘word from the Lord’ of his victory. 

When leaders surround themselves with soothsayers such as Paula White, what else can we expect? Other than tongue fueled prayer and the conjuring up of victory by calling on mystical African and South American angels. We don’t have to wonder what it must have looked like for Elijah to stand before the prophets of Baal and laugh at their antics in trying to call down fire from heaven. Yet, sincere believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have been deceived by following these sorts of people. I would argue in certain charismatic circles; people are taught to be open to these shenanigans. They tell you, be open because you don’t want to ‘stifle’ the Holy Spirit. Well, my big question is, “Would the Holy Spirit ever lie?” 

The Bible, the infallible Word of God, tells us, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 14:6). First, as Rev. Curtis Crenshaw writes, “If the Holy Spirit speaks to people apart from the Word of God, that is special revelation.” Notice everyone who has a ‘word’ from the Lord today always states, “I heard, I feel or I dreamed.” See, the moment you say, God told me, you are unequivocally saying, at this moment I am speaking for God. The ancient writer Chrysostom said, “Many boast of the Holy Spirit, but those who speak their own thoughts claim His falsely.”

Just in case you are wondering, the Scripture is clear when it comes to false prophets. Jeremiah 23:16-17 says, “This is what the Lord of Armies says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are deluding you. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the Lord’s mouth. They keep on saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord has spoken: You will have peace.” Remember, we are not dealing with some vague prophecies. It was stated by many; Trump will indeed win a second term. Bethel’s own, Kris Valeton, had to backtrack with a full apology for lying on God. What did he say? “And I believe the Lord’s gonna give him [President Trump] another term. I believe it because … the Lord wants it. Cause the Lord wants it.” 

As the London Baptist confession states, “The whole counsel of God concerning everything essential for his own glory and man’s salvation, faith, and life is either explicitly stated or by necessary inference contained in the Holy Scriptures. Nothing is ever to be added to the Scriptures, either by new revelation of the Spirit or by human traditions.” Another popular prophetic ministry, Jeremiah Johnson Ministries, issued an apology as well. You may ask why, because of a dream he had that showed him Trump would be carried over the finish line by baby boomers. Pat Robertson on the 700 Club was emphatic that the Lord told him Trump would win.

See, your pastor or church may not be this upfront, but are they even open to this type of foolishness? Does your pastor support hearing more from the revelatory voices of men or the infallible word of God? Are you satisfied that God indeed has given us His Word, and from His Word, we can know how to live? That the Word of God is sufficient in leading us to make the right decisions, raise our children, and how to live in this world?

 For decades, within the American church, the authority of the Word of God has been undercut. We have a generation of Christians that have been raised to believe truth is relative, and the Word of God is not sufficient. Rev. Crenshaw hits it on the nail again, “Jesus always based His works and doctrines on the Scriptures. Why would God go through so much effort to give us the Bible and keep it preserved for thousands of years, only to supplant it with something else?”

Does God care what happens in our world? Yes! Will we always know the hidden will of the Lord? No! The Bible tells us, “The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). There are those who have made entire ministries and deceived people to believe that they know God’s secret will. Yet the Scripture is clear, God has given us the revealed things, and they are for our children and us. What is his revealed will? It is found in the infallible Word of God.

So, who lied on God? 

Well, every person who said, “God said, Donald Trump will be the president again.” If a lie has deceived you, there is hope. Turn back to Christ and the truth found in His Word.