Another month, another conspiracy theorist claiming the end of the world is coming.
You may be rolling your eyes right now, but the reality is scads of unsuspecting people are buying into this bombastic banter. We need to pray for more discernment in the body of Christ. When the world witnesses this goofy manifestation of the “prophetic,” it makes genuine prophets seem illegitimate.
Let’s debunk these false prophetic utterances before we pray:
Signs of the End Times, a website run by Christian fundamentalists, claims it has “evidence from the Bible” that 2017 will bring the end of the world. They point to signs of the times like earthquakes, the dwindling number of bats, fish and honey bees and more.
“Never has there been a time before when all these events were evident in so many diverse places and with such frequency and intensity,” the site reads. “Our generation is the first generation to fulfill all the biblical signs. Without doubt we are living in the final year.”
Signs of the End Times then points to Earthquake Track, which tracks earthquakes, to back up its assertions. Earthquake Track has chronicled 4,000 earthquakes since the start of 2017, which the conspiracy theorists claim is God “giving us plenty of warning.”
Sure, there are earthquakes and there are indeed issues with dying birds and fish, but these things alone do not suggest the world will end this year and to claim such is disingenuous at best and harmful at worst. This kind of rhetoric doesn’t get anyone saved.
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“We will be without excuse if that day of Christ's return comes upon us like a thief in the night and catches us unaware,” they say. “We need to heed the signs and get ready.”
And there’s one contradiction. Paul did indeed warn: “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord [a]will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4).
But Jesus Himself said plainly, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Matt. 24:36). How much clearer can He get? If the angels don’t know and the Son doesn’t know, who are these false prophets to work up formulas and fiction to drive traffic to their website so they can collect advertising dollars?
Carl Olson, editor of Catholic World Report, perhaps said it best:
“Date-setting is not an option. It could be many more centuries or millennia before Christ comes again—or it could be very soon. Anticipation and readiness need not turn into despair, fear, or the error of date setting. It means nothing in the end.”
Don’t let the false prophets scare you—or steal your money. These end-times “prophets” may be obvious to you but you could be sowing into the ministry of a false prophet promising profitability for your purse through money miracles that never manifest. If you’re one of those false prophets, repent now because there’s an exposure coming. The Lord is going to expose the false.
Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, co-founder of awakeningtv.com, on the leadership team of the New Breed Revival Network and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening; Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter. Jennifer's Periscope handle is @propheticbooks.
You might pray for me. Graduated from bible college in 1994 and was involved in our church ministry team, and praying for people. I had a series of visions, I sketched what I saw and wrote the meaning. Leadership said they didn’t understand, but I but polite. I saw in 1995 the centre of New York destroyed by a pillar of fire, and a large black box out in the desert, it represented atomic bomb Pakistan was endeavouring to produce. The Lord wanted to take control of that, and and wanted intercessors to pray for that. Also I saw a vision that indicated the rise of radical Islam in Egypt and violence with it. With some other things I wrote down, I still have the sketches and most of the writings that I gave accompanying the pictures, and maybe eight or ten lines of writing explaining the meaning. I The meaning came clearly with each vision. I had the visions over a period of months. They all came to pass. I even said that the ground in centre of NY would be churned up to a depth of 70 feet if I can remember correctly, and that was the depth of the foundation of the buildings foundations that were dug up. I had an open vision once and heard the Lords voice speak to me. I heard the Lords voice when I was 13 years old. There were other things. But I returned home from England to Ireland in about year 2000. I had been abroad for twelve years in England, I had left Ireland a few months after I got saved in 1987. So the churches I attended didn’t open up to me much, concerning my desire to just continue praying for people as I did in England. I I stayed in the pew… I attended prayer meetings and basically endeavoured to live right. I gained some maturity and understanding but i have been feeling recently more about seeking what the Lord meant, was He telling me something about my ministry considering the visions and words I would get. I take a serious view of things but enjoy humour. I am finishing building out house and hope, and will find a way to get my hands plow again. I like Brother Hagin and Derek Prince and am Spirit filled. I also have had a long desire to evangelise. Could you pray for me and my wife, as we now have two small children, she was a music minister in her little church and is set apart. I know that as I minister again, deliverance will begin happening, and I people will come for it,and so also the challenges. God bless you all at the ministry, I happened to come across a video by Jennifer Le Claire, thank you Jennifer, about ways to know if you are called to prophets ministry. 3 steps I think, just last night. I haven’t shared the visions with any pastors here but give some words from time to time. I know if I were involved again I would be praying more and hearing more. Its a burden right now to know, and to return to ministry. Now thst I have my God sent glorious wife I feel more free and secure to go out to minister, because I have my wife, and I thanks be to God! . I attend a church of God church in Ireland Thanks, Jim.
God bless.