That is IMPOSSIBLE!
Let me illustrate…
Illus: These different cults make you think of all these translations, paraphrases and perversions of the Word of God that are on the market today.
All of these translations teach different things, and they all claim their translations to be the Word of God
That is impossible!!!
Also, we cannot possibly believe that all these cults today are based on the Word of God, since they teach different things.
That is not to say there are not some good moral people in these cults but based on the Word of God they are not saved by the grace of God.
Some preach to be saved you must…
• Join our church
• Be baptized by one of our ministers
• Produce good works.
You can do all these things and still die and go to a devil’s hell.
Why? Because these things will not save you.
In John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Let me illustrate…
Illus: Before we had GPS to direct us on a road trip it use to be when you took a trip somewhere you would buy a road map to help you reach your destination.
Once you got that map you had to follow it!!!
But if someone sold you THE WRONG MAP AND YOU FOLLOWED IT YOU WERE IN TROUBLE.
With that in mind, we can understand why Paul wrote to young Timothy about this.
They had received some BAD DIRECTIONS.
Look at 1 Timothy 4:1, Paul taught that in the latter times some would depart from the faith follow after SEDUCING SPIRITS.
• (When?) Latter times
• (What) Some shall depart (To depart means they once was raised in a Bible preaching church but now they have departed) from the faith,
• (How?) GIVING HEED TO SEDUCING SPIRITS, AND DOCTRINES OF DEVILS.”
Today we have these T-SHIRTS preachers have turn God’s church into a SLOT MACHINE RELIGION preaching send them a thousand dollars AND God WILL make them rich.
And all over this nation these DUMB PEOPLE ARE TAKING THEIR HARD-EARNED MONEY GIVING IT TO THE HUCKSTERS BY THE THOUSANDS.
Many churches hire pastors to lead their congregations.
The word “pastor” comes from the Latin word for “shepherd.”
Pastors can have several streams of income, including:
1. a fixed salary from the church with other benefits.
2.Speeches at religious events and conferences.
3. Wedding officiating.
4. Royalties from their books.
5. Funeral officiating...
But it is altogether different for these tv preachers
For example, look at the worth of some of these tv preachers
• Ken Copeland – 760 million
• Pat Robertson – 100 million
• Benny Hinn – 42 million
• Joel Osteen – 100 million
• Creflo Dollar – 27 million
• Joyce Meirs - 25 million
• Rick Warren – 25 million
• Jesse Duplantis – 50 million
These are only a FEW of the many false prophets who are making merchandise out of Christians.
AND THE ONLY ONES ARE GETTING RICH
ARE THESE TV PREACHERS.
Illus: Dr. Joseph Parker, of London, said many years ago, "In the last thirty years I have seen enough dead theories and discarded hypotheses to fill a good-sized cemetery. They entered the world like an amateur band and coughed their way out like a squad of consumptive tramps.”
If Dr. Parker thought he was being besieged by false teachings in his day, what would he think about our day?
Paul told Timothy these things would come in the latter days, and some would depart from the faith to follow these "seducing spirits."
Let us look at THREE things in this sermon.
Notice, he says…
I.THERE SHALL BE
There shall be what?
There shall be many false prophets in the last days, before Christ returns for His church.
When the Word of God use the word “Many” we do not know what MANY means?
We do know this in Matthew 7:21-22 Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?
This passage of scripture using the word MANY we know that there are a lot of lost people in the world compared to Christians
One of the reasons it will not be long before we can know the Lord is going to RETURN soon is the fact the Lord said before He returns there will be MANY FALSE PROPHETS!!!
We have them:
• On the Radio
• On Television
• In churches across these nations.
However, false prophet does not have to be on radio and tv, they can be in church buildings as well as on radio and tv.
In fact, there is probably more in church buildings than on radio and t.v.
For example, all across this nation there are preaching one can receive salvation through WORKS. That is a false teaching.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
What makes this so sad is that many people do not know enough scriptures to recognize they are trying to enter heaven through their good works.
Peter tried to warn the people of his day…
Look at 2 Peter 2:1-2, we read, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”
These two verses reveal two concerns:
A. NEW TESTAMENT CONCERN
Men in the ministry have one thing like men in other professions.
There are good and bad in all PROFESSIONS!
For example, if I told you that…
• All doctors and lawyers are good, you would wonder what I have been drinking, because while we know there are some good doctors and lawyers, in these professions there are also a lot of bad ones.
• The same thing goes for the ministry. Some of the greatest people you will find on this earth are ministers of the gospel, who could be making a lot more money doing something else, but they have dedicated their lives to the preaching of God’s Word to lost mankind.
At the same time, some of the biggest crooks that you will find on this earth are not in jail cells where they belong but claiming to be MINISTERS OF GOD.
• The fact that Peter speaks of false prophets implies that there were also true prophets.
• That is in order to have counterfeit money you have to have REAL MONEY
But Peter as a good APOSTLE is trying to warn the flock of God of these HUGSTERS.
Illus: If someone was trying to scam one of your good friends wouldn’t you try to warn them.
One of the most unrecognized problems in the church today is that of corrupt teachings by these false prophets.
Today they are allowed to teach all kinds of damnable teachings, and many of the Christian churches will never open their mouths while their congregations watch and listen to these false prophets EVERYDAY!!!
WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?
It was a problem in Peter's Day, and it is an even bigger problem for us today.
The Lord recognized this growing problem when He was here.
He said in Matt. 24:11, “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”
Illus: God’s Word does not hesitate to say before He returns there will be MANY FALSE PROPHETS DECEIVING THE FLOCK OF GOD.
It was a New Testament concern that the apostles frequently HAD TO WARN THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
However, today in many churches you will never hear Minister trying to warn God’s people of the danger that is still prevalent.
But not only was it a NEW TESTAMENT CONCERN, also, it was an-
B. OLD TESTAMENT CONCERN
In the Old Testament, we see that they dealt with false prophets by not only condemning them with their mouths, but they also dealt with them severely.
WHAT DID THEY DO TO THEM?
Look at Deuteronomy 13:1-5. “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.”
In the Old Testament they stoned them, in our age we make them into icons to be worshipped!!!
GOD has exposed them all.
Illus: You would think after the Y2K false prophecy of doom before the year 2000 they would have learned something.
Let me illustrate…
Illus: When Donald Trump and Joe Biden was running for President in 2020, three of the modern-day prophets stated on national television that God showed them that DONALD TRUMP was going to WIN.
Many believed them because they are modern day prophets. BUT HE DID NOT WIN, HE LOST!
If they were living during the Old Testament times they would have been stoned.
But they were not stoned; they are still preaching their garbage and getting a lot of money in doing it.
For example, you can show some professing Christians that these “Hucksters” are not preaching the Word of God, and they will still continue to follow them in large numbers.
Two things amaze me…
(1) It always amazes me that these “pop” music singers can draw the crowds they draw.
Illus: We have seen groups on television and on stage…
1. They looked like they had not taken a bath in six months.
2. They would scream and holler as if they were having a gallbladder attack and call that singing.
3. People drive hundreds of miles to see and hear scream and holler they call singing.
4. Thousands of people attend their concerts to see, hear, and smell them!!!
There is one more thing unbelievable to the Bible believers.
That is that some television preacher can take 3 or 4 scriptures, out of context, and pack a football stadium full of people, and have the message broadcast across this nation on television.
God's Word says there will be imposters among us, who, “... SHALL BRING DAMNABLE HERESIES, EVEN DENYING THE LORD THAT BOUGHT THEM.”
Their goal is twofold:
1. They will introduce heresies
2. They make millions preaching a false gospel.
They deny the Lord who purchased our salvation by saying, “We are saved by grace, BUT….and they start to list what we have to do to be saved.
This problem existed in the days of the Old Testament, and of the New Testament church.
IT IS STILL A PROBLEM TODAY!
We have looked at THERE SHALL BE, but let us also look at-
II. THEY SHALL DO
The Word of God tells us that they are among us, but what are they doing?
But it should not surprise us that this is a problem, because the Lord said, “...THERE SHALL BE FALSE TEACHERS AMONG YOU…”
Preacher, you sound like it has to black or white, that is exactly right; it has to RIGHT OR WRONG!
Illus: According to the word of God everything is BLACK AND WHITE, THERE IS NO GREY!
Lord said, “...THERE SHALL BE FALSE TEACHERS AMONG YOU…”
They are not all on radio and tv, God says AMONG YOU!
Look at 2 Peter 2:2-3. “And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”
Illus: During the holocaust, thousands of people were led into large gas chambers.
Those people had no idea where they were being led. They hardly resisted because they did not know they were headed to their death, until it was too late!
Peter uses the strong word, “pernicious,” which means: “Damnable.”
Look again at how he uses this word “Many”. "And many shall follow their permicious (evil, immoral) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”
It should not surprise us that the FASLE PROPHETS are PACKING OUT STADIUMS!!!
How sad it will be when the multitudes discover they have been misled.
Peter shows us how and why these false prophets do what they do.
How?
A. THROUGH WAYWARDNESS - “...many shall follow them...”
B. THROUGH WICKEDNESS - "... by reason of whom the way of by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken.”
C.THROUGH WEALTH - "And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you...”
We have looked at:
I.THERE SHALL BE
II.THEY SHALL DO
But look at-
III. THEY SHALL BE
We have all heard the expression that hell will be hot for a lot of people.
You can mark it down that hell will certainly be hot for these “Hucksters” who have miss-led millions into a devil’s hell.
It is a terrible thing to be deceived…
(1) Business deals
(2) Marriage
(3) Lies
(4) Doctrine
The Roman Catholics are taught from a Book of the Maccabees when a person dies, they go to purgatory.
WHAT IS PURGATORY?
Purgatory is believed by some as a place for sinners who have God’s grace but need to endure “temporal punishment” for transgressions that did not receive payment during their lives.
In other words, if anyone has any leftover sin, this place purges them of it, before they reach the gates of heaven.
That is not what the Word of God teaches.
Look at Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.
There is no SECOND CHANCE TO GET RIGHT WITH GOD.
2 Corinthians 6:2 Behold, now is the day of salvation.
The Bible tells us
There is no PURGATORY THE WORD OF GOD TELLS US in Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.
So, if you plan on going to heaven, you need to do it now.
Can you imagine how many sad Catholics think they can die in sin and go to purgatory and get purged from their sins.
They will find out they have been deceived by these false prophets.
Look at-
A. PETER'S STATEMENT OF JUDGMENT
Peter states that their judgment is coming.
They better enjoy their money!!!
Illus: Jimmy Swyggert was one of the best religious singers there was during his lifetime.
But he should have stuck to singing, not preaching.
• He had some terrible teachings that you can be saved by GRACE AND WORKS.
• He preached this damnable teaching taking in a half million dollars a day.
• He took in took up money for the poor in other countries and it was reported only a portion was given to the poor.
The Word of God tells us in verse 3b, “…Whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”
Unlike man, God does not pay all His wages every Friday, or even on the first of each month.
Look at Hebrews 9-27, “...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
Illus: Multitudes of people have committed sin and crimes, which have never been caught and punished because no one knew who committed the acts, or they could not prove the evil they had committed and bring them to justice.
But God knows every sin anyone has ever committed, and He has proclaimed that payday is on the way!
Illus: A pastor and his wife were going to visit a lady one rainy night. Their little boy was in the back seat. As they stopped and waited at a red light, a car sped up behind them. The car's lights were not on, and he crashed into the back of the pastor's car with such force that it hurled the vehicle down the street. When the little car finally stopped, the pastor got out just in time to see the driver of the other car speed away into the darkness. That person never knew if he killed anyone or not.
No one here knows who he was, but God knows, and one day that driver will give account for what he did.
Peter says that their judgment is coming.
B. PETER'S SHOW OF JUDGMENT
HOW DOES HE DO THIS?
By showing-
1. GOD SPARED NOT THE ANGELS
Look at verse 4, “For if GOD SPARED NOT THE ANGELS that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.”
2. GOD SPARED NOT THE OLD WORLD
Look at verse 5, “And SPARED NOT THE OLD WORLD, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly”
3.GOD SPARED NOT SODOM AND GOMORRA
Look at verses 6-8. “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.”
3.GOD SPARED NOT HIS OWN BELOVED SIN WHEN HE TOOK UPON HISELF OUR SINS.
The church that allows sinners to feel comfortable in their sin is not doing what God commanded them to do.
The Bible teaches there is PROOF OF GOD’S JUDGMENT.
People in our church pews need to be told that God did not:
• SPARE THE ANGELS
• SPARE SODOM AND GOMARA
• SPARE THE PEOPLE OF NOAH'S GENERATION
• And God did not even spare His own Son, as He took our sins upon Himself.
And God is not going to spare those today who are living an ungodly life or promoting a false religion.
The only way any of us will be spared is through the precious blood of Jesus!
Conclusion:
I. THERE SHALL BE
II. THEY SHALL DO
III. THEY SHALL BE
