by Eloise Gardenier

     Since World War II the dramatic rise of false christs and prophets has taken on a very different flavor from the flase prophets that were able to form vast denominations and followings disguised by Christian rethorical cliche and utterly fanciful ideas with equally fanciful prophecy. The scrutiny of the media and the increase in devilish spirits and demonic activities has allowed them to pop up all over the place, but with less chance of becoming a bona-fide rooted heresy such as Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventism or Christian Science was able to do in its day, one hundred or more years ago. though some post World War II heretical movemnts centering around christ-like imposters have taken hold and gained an appeal like the so-called 'Toronto Blessing or Antioch Church, and others that have outlived their founder, such as Armstrongism and L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology. aneticsveand dloIf we are deceived about who Jesus is, what He requires of us, what His plan of the ages is about, and how to fit into that plan, it really doesn't help to know the rest of the signs of the times. After His warning not to be deceived He does go on to list the signs that will take place leading up to His return. He did this so those of us living in these days, when these signs are appearing, might be able to know the seriousness, but also the hope and glory, of the times in which we live.
       With so many truly prophetic events taking place all over the world, we ought to take care to examine Jesus' answer to his disciples when they asked; "What shall be the sign of thy coming?" Among first warnings was this: "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many." The history of this Age of Grace is strewn profusely with tragic cases of False Christs and Messiahs, even the phenomenon of false Christs seemed to characterize and impregnate whole ‘pockets’ of time, capturing the imagination and the vain hopes of a variety of peoples in various locations at the same time. In recent years a rash of False Christs reared its ugly head in Russia, for example. In the Arab world a number of holy men have surfaced promising enlightenment to the those lost in darkness, if they will only follow their path which usually means buying tickets to their rallies and giving money into their coffers.. Jesus warned the people of the earth, that when it is said, Lo, he is there, or, Lo, he is there! Do not believe it. He forewarned us that he will come just as the lightning shines from the east to the west, and that people would be taken by surprise. We are told in Acts 1:11 that he will descend just the way he ascended – in the clouds from his invisible abode in heaven with the Father. But the deception persists that Jesus will be somewhere on earth, hiding and preparing for some kind of earthly take-over of the kingdoms of this world, even though God has explicitly told us otherwise in His Word. The phenomenon of false messiahs and christs has a long an inglorious history. Every so often, once a generation or two, it rears its ugly head, always attempting to drag as many of a generation of potential believers away from faith in Christ’s return down the slippery slope into Hell’s kitchen into the gluttonous maw of Satan. (See a brief History of False Messiahs and Christs in this Age.)
        The 1980s and early 90s is a case in point for it  for this decade was the unfortunate witness of a bee-hive of false messianic activity that successfully shipwrecked people’s possible faith in God on the rocks of incredulous heretical belief in cultic messiahs and anti-christs.  All we need to do is think of the many cult leaders in the 1990’s which surfaces in a relatively short period of time presenting themselves as messiahs or (saviors), often throwing the name of Jesus about freely, only to promote the enduring efforts of Satan and the world to divert true faith away from the words of Christ about his return and the fulfillment of prophecy about the deceptive works centering around belief and discipleship of outlandish claims from false christs.
      "The Children of God", who sprung up in the 60’s and 70's, and gained international attention in the 1990s, accepted one, David "Moses" Berg, as the great prophet for the "last days". Many prophecies that pertained to the Messiah only were said to be about him. The indoctrination of each follower included bringing a the ‘disciples’ around to accepting Berg’s letters and prophecies as proof that he was their special end-times leader. He said, "I was prophesied over many times by many prophets of God, as having been filled with the Holy Ghost from my mother's womb and that I would be like Moses, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and even David." The COG read and study a set of over 190 special revelation letters that have come from their heretical leader. These letters are believed to be an up-to-date continuation of the Bible for God's special chosen people (i.e. The Children of God cult) These letters are filled with numerous blasphemies and various perversions of the Scriptures and are, beyond the shadow of a doubt, doctrines and fables of another gospel. "The Children of God" left this country and were not much heard about for a number of years, but they resurfaced in the 1990s. They then surfaced under several other names. One of those names they are using is "The Love Family". David "Moses" Berg's own granddaughter has revealed the shameful inner-workings of this cult, including her sexual abuse at age eleven.
       Another case was The Manson Family whose infamy will live on for as long as time lasts. I quote from former member Susan Atkins' book Child of Satan, Child of God; "Charlie was there, alone. He was dressed in a long white robe. I immediately knew that he might be God Himself; if not, he was close to Him. The day I met Charles Manson I felt I had met the world's savior."

      And who can forget the Waco, Texas case and the tragedy of David Koresh and the Banch Davidians who dragged so many of his followers into perdition with himself. Koresh impressed upon his followers that he alone understood the Scriptures. Like the insidious Jim Jones before him, Karesh plucked sexual partners from his flock and formed an elite guard to enforce his will. He convinced his believers that he was the messiah. On April 10, 1993 he sent the FBI two letters that he said were from God. From reading portions of those letters it is hard to tell if he thinks he is prophesying in God's name or if, by this time, he truly thought he was God. One is inclined to believe he was, then, totally possessed and had come to believe he was God. One thing that makes us think so is that he signed it Yahweh Koresh. (Time Magazine May 3, 1993.) Once again Satan was fast at work trying to discredit God's prophetic word. The Hellish horror surrounding the Branch Davidian misery and its demonically possessed leader was just one more chapter in the long running series of incidents and tragedies ingeniously orchestrated by Satan to scare people away from prophecy and cloud the truth about the nature of the return of Christ. A contemporary folly was perpetrated in the Fall of 1993 when the forces of Hell tried to bring prophecy under suspicion by using a heretical group from South Korea who predicted the Rapture of the Church would take place on October 28. The fact that this was totally unscriptural, antichrist, and opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ in every way did not stop a callous, self righteous world from mocking and maligning God's prophetic truth. The Branch Davidian debacle and subsequent disgrace followed in its wake and once again showed Satan's obsession with covering prophecy in a shroud of darkness and evil. The intent is always the same: to keep people from embracing prophecy and to make its adherents look like cult fanatics on the brink of madness, people who wish only to control others and drag them down into self-destruction.
      But full-gospel Christians, as we at PhiladelphiaFaith.org, must reject all the attempts of Hell to scare the Church away from prophecy and rebuke Satan in Jesus' name, for the Devil’s outrageous lies and unholy blasphemies against the Word of Truth as declared in the Bible. His attempts to discredit biblical prophecy are nothing less than bullying tactics. The evil perpetrated by possessed individuals and those who throw their lot in with such heretics should never be allowed to intimidate the Church into casting off the word of prophecy, which God has given to us as "a lamp unto our feet" and a voice of reckoning to the World.
      The Bible clearly warns us that, "In the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." Such events from the camp of heretics should not be received as shameful church events but signs proving that Christ will keep his promise and return to rule the earth from His throne of ‘righteousness’ in Jerusalem. Instead of impeding the progress of the prophetic promise of the Messiah’s Second Coming, incidents like the David Karesh heresy should only impress upon the Church the imperative of teaching and preaching the full gospel truth concerning God's prophetic word. Nowhere does God's word even intimate or insinuate that the Church of God, the disciples of the one and only Messiah, Jesus Christ, should take up arms to bring about the kingdom of God or in any way prepare the kingdom in a spotless or submissive way for Christ. He will impose righteousness when he returns to earth to rule it in justice and by force where need be. Jesus said the kingdom of God is within. When He walked the earth He never promoted or preached armed insurrection against the Roman Empire - who by the way were the oppressors of His people and occupiers of His Father's nation during His time -and He did not even defend Himself against Pontius Pilate at His own trial. The time for imposed righteousness is yet in the future, for the next age to come.
      Jesus preached love and peace, and faith in God's word and power. Jesus told His disciples that the real work of God is to "believe on the one whom God has sent" - Himself. He promised He would return and prophesied (as did God's prophets before Him) of things which would come.
      We should be striving to enter into body ministry, as described in 1 Cor. 12 wherever we can, particularly in our personal congregation and homes. The people of Christ should be separate from the world, determined in spirit, wherever they gather together in the name of Christ, to come together truly in one mind, one purpose, with one accord. They cannot have as a common ground being united against authority, but they are "submitted one to another in love" and each man looks not to his own things but to the things of others." One has to admit that he greatest determining factor for partaking (in the Spirit) of this unity is a spirit of submission and servitude to the head, Jesus Christ. There is nothing cult about Christ's mission. We are to be a light to the world, not escape from it or isolate ourselves from those in need. We are to reach out with the gospel, not retreat into cloistered groups or fortified compounds.
      Such horrors as occurred in Waco, Texas at the Branch Davidian Compound serve as a grave warning to all born-again Christians to take seriously God's prophetic word. Make no mistake; there is no unity, no agreement of spirit, no singleness of purpose, and no service together to the poor and needy, without the mutual reliance on the FULL gospel of Christ as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. The Church – no, let us say rather, -the Bride of Christ - must insist on sound doctrine and balance in the handling of the prophetic word. "All [this includes prophecy] Scripture is given by inspiration from God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
      If the David Koresh thing teaches us anything it is that we can never - ever - ever - put aside sound doctrine and prophecy (which is a lamp unto our feet) and give it a back seat for the sake of unity. This love of the Word of God coupled together with walking in the Spirit is at the heart of our relationship with Jesus and the heart of our unity - O Bride.
Do not get scared off of prophecy for any reason. It is only by prophecy that we can understand about our calling as the Bride of Christ. Prophecy is how we know that "in the last days perilous times will come" and "men will pay heed to the doctrine of devils". Prophecy is how we know that the Church will be raptured. Shouldn’t it also tell why and who shall be raptured? Prophecy has told us the world will be judged, that Israel will be redeemed, that the Lord will return with "10 thousands of His saints" to rule the earth with a rod of iron. Prophecy told Peter, John and James and the rest of the children of Israel that the Messiah was coming. Prophecy confirmed John the Baptist's ministry. Prophecy assures us of our place in heaven and the eternal love of God. Should David Karesh, groups from South Korea, mass suicides like the Jim Jones disciples and other strategies of Satan cause the Church to throw aside the Full Gospel or lay down the lamp of prophecy which is God's gift to the Church and lights our way in a dark world? No! We ought to say in our hearts, "Like a tree planted by the water, I shall not be moved."
      These comings and goings of False messiahs, christs and prophets were foretold to instill an unremitting faith and strength for believing in the Second Coming, because when men throughout the age have seen them not as distractions but occurrences that were lighted signs of the promise of God for the true Savior’s return from heaven.
      In these events described above God was waking up His Church. And there were of course, prominent movements already entrenched in the popular vanguard which insisted they were themselves Christians, promoting salvation by special Messianic revelation, but in reality were and are cults, claiming their founders have received inspired messages from God that are equal with, or can be added to the Scriptures. (Refer to Revelation 22.18-19 regarding the Lord's warning about this.) A few of the most notable: Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Science, Armstrongism, and Seventh Day Adventists … The Rev. Sun Myung Moon was another version of the false messiah, somewhat different from the others.
       We quote this from AP: "New York - The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church, testified in federal court that he had met Moses and Buddha and that Jesus Christ has asked him to help save the universe. Testifying under oath about his religious beliefs for the first time, the Korean evangelist said Thursday that although he doesn't call himself the Messiah, his followers "believe" in him. 'I have the possibility of becoming the real "Messiah'', he said.
      Then there were quasi-spiritual groups that surfaced around the same time forecasting the arrival of the Messiah on a specific date or in a specific location, even though the Scriptures directly discourage and even forbid such lunacy. Some examples:
      In 1980, an ad appeared in the New York Times proclaiming that "THE CHRIST IS NOW HERE". Among other things it stated that his location was known to only a very few ... "a group of enlightened men, the Makers of Wisdom, have remained largely in the remote desert and mountain places of the earth."
      Another report was headed; "JESUS MAY BE BACK ON EARTH"? The article went on to declare that a scientist thinks he can use the blood stains on "the shroud of Turin" to clone Jesus Christ.
      And again, appearing in a 1988 edition of the Boston Herald: "Christ spotted in Kenya" - In a center page spread that included a picture of the visitor - a bearded, intense-looking man with swarthy looks and white robes. 'Did Jesus Christ Come to Nairobi?' According to a reporter, Job Mutungi, who was present, dozens of people collapsed as the robed man strolled through the prayer meeting after being introduced by local evangelist preacher, Mary Akatsa."  …
      Even with this, we have only scratched the surface of all the false prophets, teachers and messiahs that were being proclaimed in the eighties and early nineties in America, citing only the more notorious examples of the continuing sporadic flurry of False Christs and Messiahs that have shown up during the course of this age, even from the beginning of the Church. It is a prominent phenomenal and regular occurrence of the last two thousand years of man’s history serving as a sure sign that Christ shall return - only in the Father’s good time. The Father has not chosen to reveal the exact time, not even to the Son, or the angels. But we are told how Jesus will return – in the clouds, just as he ascended to the Father (see Acts 1:10-11 where we are told that Jesus will return in like manner as he ascended to heaven) -  False messiahs have had no trouble finding plenty of followers. No wonder Jesus made this matter His first priority when instructing His disciples about the signs of His second coming and the end of the age. A rash of false christs and prophets can be found in every generation since the beginning of the age; and the greatest fulfillment of this will come at the very end. Everyone who believes must, therefore see to themselves and “take heed that they be not deceived”.