In Matthew 24 where Jesus speaks about the signs of the times at the end of the age, He says in verse 11: "Then many false prophets will arise and deceive many." A recent 'prophecy' of the impending rapture of the church on a given day in May is stark evidence of this - it didn't happen! This man said that his calculations were 'off', and now has mentioned another date for this fall. Why should we believe him this time? He has already proven himself false. He is, unfortunately, deluded.
This, however, is not the only deception in today's church. The so-called 'Emergent' Church is another deception, for it combines elements of New Age philosophy with ancient mystical 'contemplative prayer', as well as chants, candles, drums and other paraphernalia. Not only that, it preaches another 'Christ' that is certainly NOT the Son of the Living God! Matthew's gospel tells us in verses 23-24 of the same chapter:
Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
It was recently brought to my attention that the paraphrase of the Bible called 'The Message' offers some glaring insertions as well as omissions. I had bought a copy when it first came out, and read a little bit of it. Frankly, however, I didn't like the almost irreverent tone of it. Consequently, it has been relegated to a seldom-used storage area.
When I began to look up several verses and compared them to the New King James version, I was astounded. Not only does it refer to God as the 'God of green hope', suggesting a reverence for the earth; in other verses it omits any reference at all to homosexuality as sin.
Romans 15:13 in The Message states: "Oh, may the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!"
Romans 15:13 in the NKJV reads: "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately, this article which I received via email contained no author name. But considering the fact that the Message paraphrase has become very popular in some circles, it concerns me as to what people - and particularly young people - are being taught.
In today's world of open homosexuality and gay marriages, the inference that it is 'OK' according to God's word should be cause for alarm. Let's take a look at a couple more verses in The Message and compare them to other translations.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 in The Message: "Don't you realize that this is not the way to live? Unjust people who don't care about God will not be joining in his kingdom. Those who use and abuse each other, use and abuse sex, use and abuse the earth and everything in it, don't qualify as citizens in God's kingdom. A number of you know from experience what I'm talking about, for not so long ago you were on that list. Since then, you've been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus, our Master, our Messiah, and by our God present in us, the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 in NKJV: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
In comparing these verses, the Message uses a very general "those who use and abuse sex" in contrast with specifically mentioning "nor homosexuals, nor sodomites" in the NKJV.
To be fair, let's take a look at the words used in other versions:
NIV - "Neither the sexually immoral nor idolators nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders ......"
AMP - "Do not be deceived (misled); neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, noradulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality ...."
Good News - "Do not fool yourselves. People who are immoral or who worship idols or are adulterers or homosexual perverts ...."
RSV - "Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals ...."
We can see from the specificity of the other translations that God wanted no confusion in this regard. The Message's generality of those who 'use and abuse sex' is essentially meaningless; it also inserts "those who use and abuse the earth and everything in it."
Deuteronomy 4:2 gives us a clear warning: You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God.
Deception abounds, not only in our general populations, but in our churches! Be aware, people of God! Take heed, lest you be deceived. Know what God's word says. Meditate on it.
