2 Timothy 3:10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
When you look at Paul's resume, you better know he did not know anything about any prosperity preaching. He had to suffer long due to persecutions and afflictions, not over whether he needed a new private jet or a Lamborghini or should he buy the five million dollar house or the ten million.
Lest you think that was just him, note he said ALL who will live godly, not luxuriously, SHALL suffer persecution. Menno Simons said that the true Church will always be persecuted. Western civilization seems to have a lack of true churches. That may be changing soon.
Rather than checking out our relationship to God based on all the bling we have, we should be looking for our scars. They may be physical, emotional, social, familial or even corporate, but there should be some sort of persecution or Paul says we are not living very godly or may not be godly at all. OUCH!!!
For a culture who is all about the blessings of material things that we deserve because we are God's children or as some heretics teach that we are little gods this a body slam followed by a pile driver.
Prosperity and persecution start with p, but that is the only similarity. Is prosperity indeed a sign of God blessing or godliness? Jesus said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into Heaven. There are many wicked rich people in this world. He also told the richest church in Revelation that there were poor, blind and naked. OOPS!
It has been said that all of the churches in Revelation have existed in every generation. If we look around the world, I believe we could find "daughters" in this age. That said, if we had to pick a church that defines this age it would be Laodicea at least in the 1st World nations. There are some very godly Christians enduring persecution all around the world. They are the church at Smyrna who was in tribulation and poverty, but Jesus said the were rich.
I believe it is in early stages in the US and it will greatly intensify in the coming years. One need not be a prophet to see this. One must just be aware. Two Canadian social scientists have been encouraging their government to prepare for an influx of Americans as they see the country collapsing in 2025. I do not know what indicators they are looking at, but I can see that as very plausible. Christians will not be very welcome there and some notable ones who might head to that border may be arrested for what they consider hate speech or other issues.
We are into celebrity preachers, modern Taj Mahal like churches and we are all to be rich and healthy by the things we decree and declare into being. It has been said that if Jesus preached like many preachers today He would not have been crucified. Not sure why God calls the weak, base and foolish if we are all to be rich and celebrated. Someone failed to tell that to myriad of martyrs from Acts 2 until today and His return. What kind of losers are those under the throne that are martyred in the Tribulation. Why did not not walk in prosperity, decreeing and declaring a better life? Yet, these saint will be avenged by God. If God is avenging you, I would call that being a winner.
John 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
Was Jesus wrong when He said we would be hated like Him? Are we really greater than Him so that we do not suffer persecution? We can easily look about and see that the world and even much of what is called Christianity has not kept His saying. Indeed, many have gone off into New Age or Hindu Kundalini manifestations. Many have leaders that deny the authority of the Scriptures. They say there is no heaven or Hell and Jesus is not God in the flesh and the list would most likely take up two pages or more and I would probably still miss many things that I have just not heard of, yet.
Many of these “pastors” are cemetery, ah, seminary trained in seminaries that once stood on the truth. We are in an age of apostasy that I believe started in the late nineteenth century with higher criticism, evolution, Marxism and even psychology. Role play was initially designed to take God out of decision making because we are the masters our destiny with no need of a divine entity to guide us.
A form of godliness that denies the power thereof would not be persecuted. Indeed, it would just be considered a perspective among many and as long as it did some humanitarian work it would be well spoke of and hailed on talk shows. If a well known preacher is invited to a talk show, it is either because they want to mock or discredit him or they find him to their liking because he is not in any way a challenge to their beliefs as he is most likely a motivational speaker than a preacher of sound doctrine.
“For there is some danger of falling into a soft and effeminate Christianity, under the plea of a lofty and ethereal theology. Christianity was born for endurance; not an exotic, but a hardy plant, braced by the keen wind; not languid, childish, nor cowardly. It walks with firm step and erect frame; it is kindly, but firm; it is gentle, but honest; it is calm, but not facile; obliging, but not imbecile; decided, but not churlish. It does not fear to speak the stern word of condemnation against error, nor to raise its voice against surrounding evils, under the pretext that it is not of this world. It does not shrink from giving honest reproof, lest it come under the charge of displaying an unchristian spirit. It calls sin “sin,” on whomsoever it is found, and would rather risk the accusation of being actuated by a bad spirit than not discharge an explicit duty. Let us not misjudge strong words used in honest controversy. Out of the heat a viper may come forth; but we shake it off and feel no harm. The religion of both Old and New Testaments is marked by fervent outspoken testimonies against evil. To speak smooth things in such a case may be sentimentalism, but it is not Christianity. It is a betrayal of the cause of truth and righteousness.”
? Horatius Bonar,1808-1889 from Peace and Holiness
Pastor Bonar would not have considered himself a prophet. He was a pastor and a poet and in the fuller definition of prophet he prophesied when he properly exegeted the Scripture and when he wrote poetry as any writer or singer was declared as inspired or a prophet. However, not like the bulk of prophets in the Bible or the many soothsayers we have today claiming to be prophets. Yet, in this quote he nailed our current condition.
As long as we do good things in the community, as we should, even the atheists will at least tolerate us. As long as we speak of love, grace, and prosperity we can gain a following and even become a mega-church. But, if we get down to preaching like Jesus or Paul, they will walk away as they did in John 6 when He quit feeding them bread and started feeding them theological steak that they could not chew let alone digest.
People at work will not care if you go to church everyday as long as you do not invite them. They will not care if you wear religious bling, but when you take up your cross, dying to self and following Christ, they will trample the pearls of truth you try to share and will want to rend or break you. I worked in an environment where there I was threatened with death and persecuted in other ways by a man claiming to be a nondenominational Christian. He would rile up the non-practicing Catholics to rant and rave. I spent a lot of time in a part of the tool cage when headphones listening to sermons and reading my Gideon’s NT. Property was broken, evil notes and pictures were placed in and on my desk. After eighteen months, I got another job across the base, but the main instigator had a friend over there and though it was diminished it continued until I was able to get a promotion and move South.
I was threatened online with “when we take over, we are coming after people like you.” When I asked what I had done to harm or offend that person I received no answer. That was some years ago, so the desire to persecute was already there. The lack was ability to do so until “when we take over.” I do not know the “we” they were referring to, but I may have an idea.
There are not many Bereans in the Body. They are easily tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine or sleight of hand or magicians. Touch on a sacred cow and they will cut you off without any discussion about why they think you are wrong. They just stick to what has been traditional thought or the current consensus and that is it. There are things practiced that have no basis in the Word, but if you speak to those issues you would think you have attacked the deity of Christ, the resurrection or the Virgin Birth. Some traditions or teachings are non-negotiable, but there are many left over errors from the Reformation and many more have been added since and especially since the age of apostasy began. We talk about being 1st Century churches, but we are a far cry from them.
Bottom line, though there are times when God allows us a respite from our enemies. That is when our ways please Him, not the world. Yet, Israel had many enemies and God allowed them to conquer and harass them when they strayed from His ways. However, in the NT when your ways please God, you will suffer persecution, but He will be with you. Indeed, the Church suffered spiritually after Christianity became the official religion of the government and the persecution ceased. It grows best under persecution which explains how it is growing so well in places where it is outlawed and dying where there is none.
Philippians 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
30 Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
Say what! Suffer?? Somewhat opposite of the prosperity gospel, which is not a gospel. Same conflict as him? He was in a filthy Roman prison. Come on, Paul, why did you not use the law of attraction or declare and decree yourself out of that mess. Did you decree yourself to end up beheaded? Why did you or your crew not speak life over you? Peter did not think of declaring or decreeing himself out of prison so God sent an angel to make it happen. People, run away from that nonsense.
1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
There is no one in the West who wants suffering or fiery trials. Many want Christ’s authority or to walk in resurrection power, but before the resurrection came persecution, unjust accusation, illegal trials, bad governance, the Cross and death. Indeed, in some groups today if you are poor, sick or anything not considered to be the normal life of a King’s kid or little god it is all because of you. You are not saved, you’re in sin or you lack faith. Yet, the man healed by Peter and John at the temple gate was only looking for a handout. He had sin, was not saved and had no faith except that they might give him a few mites.
Paul left one person sick at Miletus, another he thanked God for healing the man and gave Timothy a prescription to add wine for his stomach and other infirmities. Why were they not healed like others. All three were saved, had great faith being in the ministry with a lad who spent a great deal of time in jail when he was not being stoned and no sin as a cause is mentioned in two of them and Timothy became the pastor of the Church of Ephesus when he was 21 and single when culturally he should have been at least 30 and married. Probably not in sin for Paul to endorse and encourage him.
If you got this far as it is TLDR for many in this age, I pray that God will give you wisdom and discernment to get out of hyper-Charismatic circles by being Bereans. Let the Word teach you through His Spirit. There are many false prophets out as were prophesied so study and get out from their clutches. If you have to pay for dreams to be interpreted or for prophetic utterances you are not in the right place. When God sent out a prophet no one paid for the prophecy in cash though they may have paid for their sin if it was a prophecy of judgment. They did not murmur or peep either. Unless, it was something that was a prophecy for the future they were absolutely clear and the prophet and the one it was being given to knew what was meant. They did not do vague ones that make you guess and have a back up meaning if it failed. God’s prophets are not like Nostradamus. God does not give willy-nilly prophecies where it seems He changes His mind on a whim.
In conclusion, I am going to just put it out there. If you are in a church that teaches the prosperity gospel GET OUT! I believe it is not just a heresy, but a damnable heresy as it misrepresents God and the Word. God is not the great slot machine of the universe that delivers a jackpot if you say the right things or follow some formula. That is New Age law of attraction theology, but not Scripture. It is diametrically opposed to the Word in principle and is only supported by Scripture taken out of context or redefined by a self-proclaimed apostle/prophet or pick a title. If you are saved, you are a child of God, but not a little god. God in you does not make you a god. You are still a human. Only Jesus is the God-Man who saves us from our sin from His sacrifice.
