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In these days of the Great Deception, when people prefer a reassuring lie rather than the inconvenient truth, this is a collection of articles I have written about the truth found in God's Word, the need for biblical teaching, and sound doctrine.  It includes articles that refute false doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, the prosperity movement, the eternal security doctrine, Islam, agnosticism, antinomianism, relativism, atheism, humanism, ecumenism, the New Age movement, the Jehovah's Witness, the Mormons, also known as the Latter Day Saints (LDS), as well as the oneness doctrine of Unitarians. This collection of articles also exposes certain other cults and movements based outside the USA. It even exposes the popular, international Hillsong church, as well as certain novels that are popular among Christians.

As the Scriptures say:

“Holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”  (Tit 1:9)

"I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints." (Jud 1:3b) 

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2Ti 2:15)

"In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures." (Jas 1:18)

"Jesus *said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'" (Joh 14:6)

It is my prayer that these articles will lead you to pray earnestly and seek the Lord's face, as well as search the Scriptures, regarding what you have been taught and have come to believe, so that you will not miss the glories of heaven and wind up in hell for eternity.  “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (Joh 8:32)

Unbiblical Practices of the Catholic Church	New Age-New World Order	The Holy Trinity
Pagan Symbols of the Popes	Pope Establishes One World Religion	The Cult of Mormonism
Pope Francis Supports Homosexuality	Messages from the Lord for Catholics Worshiping Idols	The Cult of Mormonism -- Part II
Accurately Handling the Word of Truth	Former Pope in Hell Declared a Saint	Children of God
Pope Francis Validates Evolution and Big Bang Theory	Why Infant Baptism if Not Scriptural	What's Wrong with the Prosperity Gospel?
Exposing Heresy	Unbiblical Practices of the Russian Orthodox Church	Rhema vs. Logos – Is there truly a distinction in the word?
Not Enduring Sound Doctrine	The Nature of False Prophets	The Creation Gap Theory
What is Truth?	The False Gospel of Eternal Security	The False Gospel without Repentance
Restored Truth	Gabriel Doufle Issues and Concerns	HOREMOW Issues and Concerns
Tradition vs. Truth	TGRM Issues and Concerns	Exposing the Darkness within HOREMOW
Is it Always a Sin to Not Tell the Truth?	Heresies of C.S. Lewis	Harry Potter is the Devil's Snare
The Shack is an Attack	The Message Bible or "The Mess"	Catholic Priests Molesting Children
The Truth About the Roman Catholic Church	The Truth About Hillsong	Is It Possible to Resist God?
Kanye West Issues and Concerns	Awaken 2020 Event Exposed	Pope Francis Pushing for the Mark of the Beast?
HOREMOW Descends to New Low	The Truth About Islam	The Truth About Ravi Zacharias' and His Sexual Immorality
Exposing the JMS Cult	Refuting the Oneness Christology Heresy	Is it a Sin for a Woman to Cut Her Hair?
Have the Spiritual Gifts Ceased?	The Evil Agenda of the World Council of Churches	Are Jehovah's Witnesses a Cult?
Seventh-Day Adventist Heresies	New Testament Books Disproving Eternal Security	Can You Lose Your Secure Position in Christ?
Andy Stanley's Disconnect from the Old Testament	Andy Stanley's Unbiblical Views on Homosexuality	Kanye West Claims to Be God
Issues and Concerns with Deeper Life	HOREMOW's Linda Rika "Knows" Whose Names Are in Book of Life

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note:  You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master. 

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

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Are Jehovah's Witnesses a Cult?

In this blog, I have addressed many false teachings and cults, including the Mormons, the Oneness Christology heresy, the prosperity gospel, cessationism, the false eternal security gospel, those who deny the Deity of Christ, and the Roman Catholic Church. Today I would like to touch briefly upon a very active group that is constantly trying to make converts to their religion, which is the Jehovah's Witnesses.

These people go around from house to house, knocking on doors, ringing door bells, wanting to talk to people about God and the Bible; but if you are wise, you will not allow them into your home. 

I know a precious sister in Christ, who once made the mistake of welcoming these people into her home. They became friends, and she was away from the Lord for several years, while she was caught up in this cult. 

She says of those nine years of her life as a JW, "I never once felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. My time there was absent from the presence of God. The reason I stayed in the cult for so long was because they skillfully use scripture out of context to support their claims, and they keep people using their intellectual, natural thinking, and don't allow room whatsoever for the person to experience the confirming, spiritual presence of God.  They 'reason' everything with their natural minds and give no room for the life-giving presence of Jesus to abide in their hearts.  Those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth, not just head knowledge." 

Thank the Lord that eventually, through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, she came out of it, and is once again walking with Jesus as her Lord and Savior. But it all began with allowing them into her home, which the Scripture teaches us not to do so. It says: 

"Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work." (2Jn 1:9-11)

I saw an excellent video recently about a lovely Amish couple that got saved. The Amish couple mentioned that after they were excommunicated from the Amish, they were approached by people from four of five different religious groups, including the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Christ (probably he was referring to Latter Day Saints/Mormons), and another was an Apostolic guy (Oneness Pentecostal). That last one has something in common with the first ones, as both the JW's and Apostolic people deny the essential doctrine of the Holy Trinity.  A person made a comment on the video asking what was wrong with the Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs), since he apparently has noticed that a large part of society seems to dislike them. Here is the person's comment:

"Why is everyone so anti- JW? I had them visit me every week, and they were absolutely lovely. I'd love to understand why they are considered cultists, as they were open, friendly, and welcoming. They love God and family. Those are two things that are undervalued so much."

Please allow me to explain why true believers are against the JW cult. It's because we love the truth, and we hate the devil's lies; that's why. JW's deny the doctrine of the Trinity — one of the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. They claim that Jesus is not God. Rather, they say he was the Archangel Michael. And they don't believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, but that He was resurrected as a spirit. John 1:1 clearly says He “was God.”  They changed it in their own New World Translation (NWT) to say he was “a god,” and teach that He is something less -- not truly God. But there is no Greek word for “a” (the indefinite article) in this verse, nor does Greek grammar allow one to be inserted¹, as they have done. This is just one of the perverted verses in their NWT Bible translation, produced by their Watchtower Society, which is not a valid translation of the Bible, but rather one that is dishonest, inconsistent, and has been changed in order to agree with their false doctrine, since the true Scriptures do not support it². 

Not only do they deny Christ's deity, which is clearly taught all throughout Scripture (see here), they also deny the existence of a literal hell as described in the Bible. Watch Tower publications teach that hell (Hades or Sheol) is not an actual place of fiery torment, as Scripture clearly teaches, but rather the "common grave of mankind", a place of unconscious non-existence. Therefore, the JWs deny that hell even exists, in clear contradiction of the Holy Scriptures, which explicitly teach that hell is real (Mt 5:22, 29-30; 8:12; 10:28; 13:42, 50; 18:8-9; 22:13; 23:33; 24:51; 25:30, 41; Mk 9:43-47; Lk 12:5; 13:28; Jn 5:29; 2 Pet 3:7; Rev 14:9-11; 20:10-15; 21:8; Dan 12:2). 

In fact, they even teach that there is no general (universal) resurrection of all the dead, although the Scripture explicitly says the exact opposite (Mt 22:30-32; Lk 14:14; 20:35-36; Jn 5:28-29; 11:25; Ac 4:2. 33; 17:32; 23:6; 24:15, 21; Ro 6:5; 1 Cor 15:12-13, 21, 29, 42; Heb 6:2; 11:35). The Bible teaches that there will be a resurrection of all the dead, the righteous to eternal life and the wicked to eternal punishment. But the JWs believe that at the time of death, a person's existence completely stops, since they believe that human beings do not have an immortal soul that survives when the body dies. For more proof that this belief of theirs is false, please see eternaldestinations.info where I have posted many testimonies of many people who have been shown heaven and hell either through near-death experiences, after-death experiences, or through dreams and visions.

To be sure, while the JWs do not believe in a general, bodily resurrection of all mankind, they do believe that a spiritual resurrection is possible for certain people. They teach that in 1878 Jesus resurrected as spirit beings to heavenly life those among the 144,000 (known as the "anointed") who had already died at that time. And they believe that since 1878, any "anointed" (i.e., members of the 144,000) are individually resurrected as spirit beings to heavenly life at the time of their death. They teach that the 144,000 anointed ones, which are all Jehovah's Witnesses, of course, shall serve as kings alongside Christ in his heavenly government. They say that the 144,000 are the only ones who are born again and who experience heavenly life. Finally, they falsely claim that all other JW's who have died and don't go to heaven will one day get resurrected and will live on a paradise earth (not heaven).  Therefore, to summarize, they only believe in a resurrection (as spirit beings) of the 144,000 to heaven, and an ultimate resurrection of all other JWs to an earthly paradise, but they do not believe in a general, bodily resurrection of all mankind.

Furthermore, the Jehovah's Witnesses deny the power of God and believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased during the first century. They do not believe these gifts are still in operation today, and in teaching this, they directly contradict Scripture (Mk 16:17-18; Jn 14:12; Ac 1:8; 2:17-18; Joel 2:28-29), as well as the experience of billions of people like me, who have and still are experiencing the spiritual gifts in operation in their lives today. For more on this, please see Have the Spiritual Gifts Ceased?

They also deny the Holy Spirit, and say that He is not a Person but just a force. They like to use head knowledge, natural, intellectual, and human reasoning to explain God's Word, instead of being led by the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, they are into using occult symbols. For example, the early Watchtower publications prominently displayed on the upper left-hand corner the cross and crown symbol of the Knights Templar, which is actually a Masonic symbol. The same symbol can be found at the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pictured here to the left is the Jehovah's Witness headquarters in Denmark as seen from the sky using Google Earth. Notice the obvious pyramid with the all-seeing eye at the top like the one on the US currency. 

Closing Words

The Jehovah's Witness religion meets the basic criteria of a cult, which is any group that claims to be Christian, as this group does, yet does not adhere to the basic, essential tenets of the true Christian faith as taught in Scripture and embraced by the Church for thousands of years. They do not hold to the true doctrines of the Holy Trinity, the Deity of Christ, or His bodily resurrection, nor do they believe in the general resurrection of the dead, or a literal hell, where the wicked are forever separated from God in a fiery place of eternal, conscious torment. They claim that theirs is the only true religion. They have a form of godliness, but they deny the power of God (2 Tim 3:5). They deny the Person of the Holy Spirit, and teach that the gifts of the Spirit have ceased. They have their own erroneous Bible translation, and they use it, as well as any Bible version, to deceive people, as Peter the apostle spoke of, distorting the Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Pet 3:16). They follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons (1 Tim 4:1). The Bible tells us to have nothing to do with such people. Do not take them into your house or welcome them (2Jn 1:9-11). 

If you do a Google search on whether this is a cult, one of the first results that you will get will be an article written by the JWs defending their false religion. Anyone can pay to have search engine optimization (SEO), so that their article will be one of the top results in a search. They don't want you to find other results from Christian authors that will show you the truth about their cult from Scripture. But one article you may find helpful that is buried in the search results is called Using the New World Translation to refute the New World Translation: John 1:1. If you know what's best for you, I urge you to stay away from this cult, even though they claim to be the only true Christians.

Footnotes: ¹ Ancient (koine) Greek does not have an indefinite article like the English word a, and nominatives without articles also have a range of meanings that require context to interpret. The noun theos (meaning "God" in John 1:1) is anarthrous (meaning it lacks an article), which often is how indefinite nouns are expressed in Greek. The construction in John 1:1 is that of an anarthrous nominative singular in a preverbal position; so in this verse, theos (1) lacks an article, (2) it occurs before the verb, and (3) it is a nominative singular. Therefore, an indefinite article "a" cannot be inserted before the word "God" in this verse, as the JWs have done. Also see here.

² Dr. Julius Mantey, author of A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, and a first rate scholar who studied Greek for more than 65 years, calls the NWT "a shocking mistranslation." "Obsolete and incorrect." "It is neither scholarly nor reasonable to translate John 1:1 'The Word was a god.'" "I have never read any New Testament so badly translated as The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of The Greek Scriptures.... it is a distortion of the New Testament. The translators used what J.B. Rotherham had translated in 1893, in modern speech, and changed the readings in scores of passages to state what Jehovah's Witnesses believe and teach. That is a distortion not a translation." (Julius Mantey, Depth Exploration in The New Testament (N.Y.: Vantage Pres, 1980), pp.136-137). The translators of the NWT are "diabolical deceivers." (Julius Mantey in discussion with Walter Martin). Also see here.

Attribution notice: Most Scriptures takes from the NIV Holy Bible, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image may be subject to copyright, used per the Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only. Special thanks to my son Christopher Lacroix for proofreading this article.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I recommend Charles Taze Russell -- JW Founder in Hell, Refuting the Oneness Christology Heresy, Is Jesus God?, The Place of Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth, The Holy Trinity, Have the Spiritual Gifts Ceased?, The Person of the Holy Spirit, The False Gospel of Eternal Security. The False Gospel Without Repentance. You may access more of my articles on the Main Directory of this blog, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Is it a Sin for a Woman to Cut Her Hair?

A common belief of Pentecostal Holiness Churches is that it is a sin for a woman to ever cut her hair at all, even to keep it manageable. They consider this true holiness. Of course, there is no Scriptural basis for that, which I will prove to you from the Bible in this article. In order to do so, let's examine 1 Corinthians 11, looking carefully at the Greek words. I found that in this particular case, the King James Version is the closest literal expression in English of the original language without adding words to smooth it out, although I do not believe the KJV is the best or only inspired version of the Bible. It says:

“For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.” (1Co 11:6)

Paul said it is a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, so I studied these two words. Here are the Greek word definitions:

• Gr. keirō, 4x: to cut off the hair, shear, shave, Act_8:32 (as a sheep before it’s shearer is silent); Act_18:18 (Paul had his hair cut, for he was keeping a [Nazarite] vow); 1Co_11:6 (2x).
• Gr. xyraō, 3x: to cut off the hair, shear, shave, Act_21:24 (take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads); 1Co_11:5-6.
• One word means to shear and the other means to shave, which are very similar. 
• To shear is a. to cut off the hair from. b : to cut or clip (hair, wool, etc.) from someone or something also : to cut something from shear a lawn. c chiefly Scotland : to reap with a sickle. d : to cut or trim with shears or a similar instrument. Webster’s defines the verb shear as follows: 1. To cut or clip something from the surface with an instrument of two blades; to separate any thing from the surface by shears, scissors or a like instrument; as, to shear sheep; to shear cloth. It is appropriately used for the cutting of wool from sheep on their skins, for clipping the nap from cloth, but may be applied to other things; as, a horse shears the ground in feeding much closer than an ox. 2. To separate by shears; as, to shear a fleece.
• To shave (according to Webster’s Dictionary) means: 1. To cut or pare off something from the surface of the body by a razor or other edged instrument, by rubbing, scraping or drawing the instrument along the surface; as, to shave the chin and cheeks; to shave the head of its hair. “He shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing.” Num 6. 2. To shave off, to cut off. Neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard. Lev 21. 3. To pare close.

Based on the way these two Greek words are used elsewhere in Scripture (not including our text in 1 Cor 11), they are both used in Scripture to refer to cutting off the hair close to the scalp, as Jewish men and woman initially did when they took a Nazarite vow. In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or a nazarite (Hebrew: נזיר) is a man or woman who voluntarily took a vow which is described in Numbers 6:1–21. "Nazarite" comes from the Hebrew word nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated". Among other aspects of the vow of separation or consecration to God, the Nazirite would begin the vow by cutting off his or her hair and laying it on the altar, and he or she was not to cut his or her hair for the length of the vow. The act of separation of the hair from the head and offering it on the altar to God was symbolic of the person consecrating or separating himself or herself to God for a period of time. The vow had a definite beginning and end to it. Thus it was voluntary and for a finite period, rather than mandatory and for a lifelong period, except in the case of Samson who was to be a Nazarite from birth until death (Judges 13:7). 

Since both men and women could take such a vow, we see that both the men and women who took the vow would begin by cutting their hair off, and since they would not cut their hair until the vow had ended, then at the end of the vow their hair would be long. Therefore, there is a time for everything, as it says in Ecclesiastes, and in this case there was a time for both a man or a woman to have both a shaven head and long hair, if they chose to voluntarily take the Nazarite vow.

Furthermore, in the context of 1 Corinthians 11, Paul was contrasting the long tresses of a woman’s hair to a man’s short hair. He said it is a disgrace for a man to have long hair, but that it is a woman’s glory to have long hair. “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering.” (1Co 11:14-15). 

The whole reason he made this distinction was to teach that a woman ought to have her head covered with a veil when she prays or prophesies. He was drawing a parallel between the nature of things and spiritual things, between hair length and head coverings. He spoke in terms of the natural hair length of men and women, in order to teach a spiritual lesson about a veil or head covering while praying or prophesying, which is a sign or symbol of being under spiritual authority. 

We see Paul doing the same thing all throughout his epistles, including in 1 Cor 9, where he uses the ox who treads out the grain being entitled to eat the grain as an example to teach that a man who preaches the gospel should make a living from the gospel. We see him use the seed in 1 Cor 15 as an example to teach about natural bodies and glorified spiritual bodies. He also uses the sun, moon, and stars in the natural realm to teach about the glory that is given to different people in the spiritual bodies in the resurrection. So that is all he was doing in 1 Cor 11 by using the example of women cutting their hair off. 

He was not at all saying it is a sin or unholy for a woman to ever trim her hair to keep it manageable or to remove damaged and split ends or to keep it out of her eyes. If a woman never cuts her hair over a period of many years and decades, this becomes very unmanageable and damaged, not to mention that it will be extending below her chin on the front of her head and below her buttocks in back. In some cases, depending on hair type and how fast it grows, her hair would eventually become quite heavy and burdensome on her head, which could cause headaches and neck pain. It would present a number of practical burdens, including regular care to wash and dry it, as well as to tie it up so that it is out of the way. 

For African women, it would become tangled, as that type of hair does, when it is not trimmed from time to time. If an African woman never allowed scissors to touch her hair for her entire life, then it becomes difficult to comb or maintain, because it becomes thick, hard, coiled around itself, and does not grow well.

It is not the heart of God to put a lifelong mandate on all women that they can never allow scissors to touch their hair. If a woman chooses not to ever cut her hair, it should be by her own choice and not because it is a rule placed upon her.

Conclusion

We can learn from Paul’s contrast of men’s and women’s natural hair lengths, however, that it is a disgrace for a man to have long hair and for a woman to have her hair sheared or shaved off, as is done in the special circumstance of a Nazarite vow. On the other hand, we learn that it is glorious for a woman to have long hair. We may also safely conclude that it is a disgrace for a woman to wear her hair short as men do, because there must be a distinction between men and women. 

Since the two Greek words in 1 Corinthians 11 for shear and shave are not used in Scripture to refer to merely a light trim of the ends of the hair to keep it manageable and healthy or to slightly shorten it a bit, then we should not conclude from this passage that it is a sin or disgrace for a woman to do so.

Therefore, the NASB translation of 1Co 11:6 accurately conveys the meaning of the original language: “For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head.”

For any church or denomination to require all women in their congregations to abstain from ever touching their hair with scissors, saying it is a sin to do so, and calling it “holiness” if she never cuts her hair, is clearly error and bondage. It is nothing more than a manmade rule that has an appearance of wisdom, with its self-imposed worship, its false humility and its harsh treatment of the body, but it lacks any value in restraining sensual indulgence (Col 2:23).

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from King James Version, as well as New American Standard Bible, copyright Lockman Foundation, all rights reserved, used by permission. 

Author's note:  I invite you to also read my articles called Is a Woman's Hair Her Head Covering? and Refuting the Oneness Christology Heresy. You may access more of my articles on the Main Directory of this blog, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master.  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Kanye West Issues and Concerns

Kanye West (AP photo)

I would like to share some issues and concerns regarding Kanye West, who is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and fashion designer.

Earlier this year he announced to a fellow rapper that he was now born again after initially turning to God in 2016, when he was hospitalized and ultimately diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In September 2019,  he announced that from now on, spirituality would be his only true theme, and that he would no longer be producing secular music. In October 2019 he announced that he had been saved. Meanwhile, he had begun holding star-studded events known as the "Sunday Service" following the release of his album called Jesus is King. He has even applied for a trademark on the name "Sunday Service". Kanye seems to be the leader of these exclusive events that typically have A-list celebrities in attendance, revolve around music, and sometimes include informal prayer.

Recording spiritual music is nothing new for him. His 2013 album Yeezus included the song “I Am a God." In case you don't see what's wrong with that song title, I need to let you know that Kanye is not a God and we are not gods. (For more on this, please see my article, Are We Really Little Gods?) 

Kanye West (Rolling Stones photo)

And the title of that album was derived from combining Kanye's nickname "Ye" with the variant spelling of "Jezus" to come up with the name Yeezus. In other words, he was saying, "I am a God," and calling himself Yeezus. During that Yeezus tour, he even had a Jesus impersonator come on stage. This was after he had already appeared in 2006 on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine wearing a crown of thorns. That background information is important, since he has a history of associating himself with God or Jesus. While we could simply write those things off as a part of his sinful, pre-Christian past, we do need to factor them into our consideration of what he is currently doing, which has some of the same self-aggrandizing elements to it.

Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) News had headlines about Kanye on a daily or near daily basis in October and November 2019. If you do a search on "Kanye West" on that site, you will find 75 results, many of which appear to be articles they have written about him. While I didn't read the articles (except for a couple of them), the headlines (in my opinion) often made him appear to be the one who would save this generation with his Sunday Services; and based on the headlines, at times it seemed as if some people might have thought that he could single-handedly reach the whole world for Christ. The Christian media need to be careful not to put him up on a pedestal, as if he is the savior of the world or the Messiah of this generation. It's a mistake to put anyone up on a pedestal, because it will lead ultimately to their destruction, if they allow you to do it.

According to the news reports. thousands of people were flocking to his Sunday Service performance, and thousands of people even reportedly got saved at one of those shows. There's nothing wrong with people getting saved, as long as they truly did get saved through repentance and faith in Christ. And Kanye does speak about a lot of things that are biblical like the love and fear of God, grace, repentance, and being set free by Jesus Christ. He also says that when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will be granted eternal life. He also says that the only superstar is Jesus. That's all well and good.

However, there are numerous red flags that you need to be aware of, and sadly none of them were raised by CBN News. In November 2019 he appeared on stage with prosperity preacher and mega church pastor Joel Osteen for an interview in front of the  Lakewood Church congregation. During that interview, Kanye said that the Lord is now going to use the cockiness and arrogance, for which his fans have always known him. Since cockiness and arrogance are sins, God cannot and will not use those sins for His glory. Kanye also referred to himself as "the greatest artist that God ever created." That would be pride, which is also a sin in God's sight.

When a man seated in the crowd off-stage was speaking while Kanye was speaking, he stopped and publicly asked the man to stop speaking, because Kanye said that when he is in certain "streams of consciousness," he must not be distracted, in order to allow God to speak through him. He then asked that every single person in the church auditorium, which holds over 16,000 people, be completely silent while he spoke. In my thinking, the term "streams of consciousness" is basically New Age terminology, although it does have other usages, so Kanye's use of it could indicate some mixture there.

In his closing prayer, Kanye also referred to Joel Osteen as "one of the strongest voices in the Christian community," who "has led hundreds of thousands of people to Christ." He referred to Osteen's words and mission as being anointed. If you have listened at all to Osteen, you will know that he preaches a Christianity-light, prosperity gospel message. He keeps it positive and doesn't want to offend anyone or appear to be judging them by preaching against sin. This is contrary to the Lord Jesus and His apostles who definitely preached against sin and offended plenty of people along the way.

Kanye told Osteen that when he was at UCLA hospital for a mental breakdown, he was sitting there drawing a picture of a church, and writing "to start a church," which apparently meant that he felt God had called him to start a church. So while some may not be sure if "Sunday Service" is a church or not, we at least know that Kanye thinks he is supposed to start one.

The problem is that if he is in fact a new believer, the Scripture clearly warns against such a person being an overseer of a church. Paul the apostle warned "He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil." (1 Tim 3:6, NIV).

The Sunday Service choir wears a uniform from West’s Yeezy clothing line, which seems to be a direct form of advertising. His fans can even purchase “church clothes” from his website, including $50 socks that say “Jesus Walks,” and $225 hoodies that say “Holy Spirit.” Our Lord taught against this sort of merchandising in the Church, as I have written in my article The Sale of Christian Music and Art -- A Robbers' Den?

Since Kanye himself has battled with opioid addiction, he speaks about addictions. He said, "Those addictions are on us even when you are saved and fully delivered. We are all human and fall short of the glory. Christians are not going to be Christ - we are going to follow Christ and be Christ-like and repent for our sins. It's that constant repentance. People who don't accept the Bible don't want to accept that they’re wrong.”

I agree with most of what he said, except the part that addictions remain on us as disciples of Christ, even when we are saved and fully delivered. That is incorrect, and there is no biblical basis for it. Once a person is delivered, they are truly set free.

As Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free....So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (Jn 8:31b-32,36, NIV).

Another concern I have is that he can be seen during his Sunday Service show singing and dancing with his hand over his crotch as rappers typically do. This is certainly immodest and improper for God's holy people, and some might say it is suggestive or even obscene. (See Instagram video).

According to his wife Kim Kardashian, the Sunday Service is open to all faiths and does not include preaching. However, that is more like ecumenism or New Age religion than Christianity. The Christian faith is exclusive. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes to the Father, except through Me." (Jn 14:6).

It has also been reported in September 2019 that those who attend his Sunday Service have to sign an NDA, which is Non-Disclosure Agreement saying they won't disclose what happened at the event. That seems quite strange -- even cult-like -- and doesn't have any biblical basis at all.

Kanye West and Family dressed as fly and larvae

Oddly enough, Kanye appeared with his wife on Halloween in October 2019 dressed in a demonic Beelzebub costume, as reported in an article by "Now the End Begins" called Lord Of The Flies: Kanye West And Kim Kardashian Dress As Fly Larvae And Worms In Demonic Beelzebub Family Portrait Session On Saturday. He was a giant fly, while she and the children were larvae. Was he supposed to be Beelzebub? For those who don't know, Beelzebub, translated literally as "lord of the flies," is another name for the devil, similar to satan.

Regarding the music he produces and performs, let me just say this. There are many forms of popular, worldly music, including rap, rock, and reggae, that are commonly used by people to communicate Christian messages. However, God does not condone worldliness and He does not need worldly music to accomplish His purposes on earth. (For more on this, please see my article Rock, Rap, and Reggae Music -- Five Divine Revelations).

Finally, as pointed out by "Now the End Begins," Kanye's Sunday Service performances feature the all-seeing eye of Horus, which is clearly a New Age occult symbol (See here).

Kanye Headlines the Awaken 2020 Event

I should also mention that Kanye West was chosen to headline the Awaken 2020 event on January 18, 2020 at Sun Devil Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. Of all the places in America that they could have chose for the event, they chose Sun Devil Stadium. They also chose red as their predominant theme color on their website, logo, and promotional videos.

The self -proclaimed purpose of the event was to "open the womb for the third Great Awakening in America." Yet the two different promotional videos on the event's site (see here) and on Facebook (see here) had many antichrist, immodest, impure, and seductive images that have no place among God's holy people. The apostle Paul wrote:

"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people." (Eph 5:3)

Suffice it to say that this event had many New Age and antichrist images and words associated with it. The fact that Kanye was the featured performer at this event is one more piece of evidence that shows his New Age and antichrist connections.

One last thing about the event that was very strange was that Lou Engle was originally listed as one of the speakers for the event, and he is prominently featured in both of their promotional videos linked above. Lou Engle is connected with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), and while he loves homosexuals, he has spoken out against homosexuality as a sin. The event organizer, David Herzog, issued a press statement prior to the event, stating that Engle would not be an event speaker, nor was he affiliated with the event in any way. Herzog stated:

"...we want to make it specifically clear that: Lou Engle is not affiliated with, nor is he an organizer or partner of or a speaker at Awaken 2020...If any of our past potential or current event participants, speakers, and collaborators were affiliated with any such harmful platforms in any way or at any time, we do not support any view points as such. Awaken 2020 is a new opportunity for the Christian community to reset and align its message with respect for the people, especially the youth who are experiencing a time of revival and renewal in the wake of the new works of Kanye West and The Sunday Service Collective." (emphasis added). The focus on Kanye as opposed to Lou Engle is glaringly obvious.

Herzog further stated that he "would like to emphasize that our message is of Love and Unity." Although this event was being billed as a revival and a spiritual awakening, he didn't say anything about repentance, which is central to any revival.

Epilogue

In April 2024, five years after I wrote this article, I learned that Kanye is "dead set" on starting his own pornography website and studio. He appears to have confirmed reports that he is launching an adult entertainment studio, his new venture known as "Yeezy Porn." He also said during an interview that he is God and he is the Kingdom.  His words were: "We are the kingdom and I'm the head of the Kingdom. I am God! No one can suggest sh** to me, period! You can't tell my daughter to say sh** to me about Jesus. I'm just tell you some real simple sh**: God runs the world; I am God; I run the world. Make that very clear." Obviously his mind is completely warped, indicating that he has been given over to a reprobate mind. As Paul wrote to Timothy, "They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected." (2 Tim 3:8).

For more on this, and to hear Kanye say this out of his own foul mouth, see the following short video, and beware that it contains foul language.

Closing Words
Let's take a step back and prayerfully consider the issues and concerns that I have raised here, remembering the words of our Lord that we must be on guard against false prophets who come as wolves in sheep's clothing. He said:

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Mat 7:15-23)

In these last and evil days, when false prophets abound, let's not be deceived by anyone, no matter how attractive, talented, famous, or sincere they may seem, and no matter how well they can talk the talk. Let's examine their fruit, because by their fruit we will recognize them. In my opinion, Kanye does not pass the simple fruit test of Scripture, but that is something that each person must personally evaluate, and a decision they must make on their own.

Footnotes:
'The Only Superstar Is Jesus': Kanye West Speaks to Joel Osteen About Faith and Family

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV,  copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Images may be subject to copyright and are used per the Fair Use Act for commentary and education purposes only.

Author's note:  I also recommend reading Kanye West Claims to Be God, Awaken 2020 Event Exposed, The Forgotten Sin of Worldliness, Separated from the World, Avoiding Worldly Worship, Rock, Rap, and Reggae Music - Five Divine Revelations, New Age-New World Order, Testing the Spirits of False Prophets, Popularity of the Gospel, What's Wrong with the Prosperity Gospel?, The Sale of Christian Music and Art -- A Robbers' Den?, and Pope Establishes One World Religion. I also recommend my daughter's poem, The Dazzling Wine of Deception. You can access the Home page of this blog for more articles on Truth and heresy, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org

Why Infant Baptism is Not Scriptural

Water sprinkled on infant in the Catholic Church

There are many errors of the Roman Catholic Church that have been carried over into other churches, which many people do not realize and simply take for granted. One of those is infant baptism, which has been adopted by the Orthodox Church, as well as many Protestant churches, such as the Anglicans (Episcopals), Lutherans, Presbyterians, Congregationals, other Reformed denominations, Methodists, some Nazarenes, and the Moravian Church. Since the Word of God is our sole rule of faith, any practice we engage in for the sake of Christ must have its foundation in Scripture, and baptism is no exception. Please allow me to explain.

Original Sin
In my article, Where Will You Go When You Die?, in the section where I debunked the false doctrine of limbo, I stated:

"In Catholic theology, it has been taught that babies must be baptized...The notion that babies must be baptized in order to be saved comes from the false notion that God will not allow them into heaven due to the stain of Adam’s original sin on their souls. The ancient Catholic theologians thought that these babies were not pure enough to go to heaven but would not go to hell, since they had never committed any sins of their own. But as I said, this is foreign to Scripture."

First the premise for infant baptism is the belief that babies are born with the "original sin" of Adam. This is not taught in Scripture. The apostle Paul taught that in Adam all die. He stated, "Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned." (Rom 5:12, NIV).

It's true that sin entered the world through Adam, and he eventually died because of his sin. In this way death came to the human race, because all sinned. This is a general statement about all people, so we must be careful not to incorrectly apply it to babies. Paul taught that the reason death came to all people was that "all sinned." We know that all people are mortal and have to die sometime, including babies. It is appointed to each man once to die, but then comes the judgment (Heb 9:27). However, since babies have not yet committed any sin, there is nothing they could be judged for that would deem them unfit for heaven.

A person must first reach the age of accountability, before God holds them accountable for sin. And while the age of accountability is probably a lot younger these days than it was thousands of years ago, due to various societal factors in most cultures, babies have certainly not yet reached the age of accountability. They do not know right from wrong yet.

The concept of original sin began with a theologian named Augustine and became an important Catholic doctrine. However, we must realize that while every human being is born with a natural tendency or urge to sin, they cannot be held accountable for sin until they have reached the age of accountability, when they know right from wrong. Therefore, babies are not guilty of Adam's sin or any sin at all before God. They are innocent! This is explicitly stated in Scripture. Ezekiel prophesied that the Lord declares:

"For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die." (Ez 18:4, NIV).

The Lord said that a righteous man "will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. But his father will die for his own sin." (Ez 18:17b-18a). If that is true of a man, how much more does it apply to an innocent baby!

In the natural sense, Adam is the father of us all, including every baby born into the world. And the Lord declares: "The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them." (Ez 18:20, NIV, 1978). A baby will not share in the guilt of its father, its grandfather, or any of its forefathers all the back to and including Adam. That's a fact, and you have God's Word on it. It is only the one who sins who will perish.

Once you understand that babies are completely innocent, you realize that when they die they go straight to heaven. There is no such thing as limbo. That term and that concept is not found any place in Scripture. So there is no reason to baptize infants, since it is completely unnecessary and provides no assistance for babies in reaching heaven. It serves no purpose, but is merely a superstitious practice.

No Infant Baptism in Scripture
In my article, Where Will You Go When You Die?, I further stated that infant baptism is completely foreign to Scripture, where we never see babies baptized but only those who have made a commitment to follow Christ. There is not one single instance in Scripture of infant baptism. It simply doesn't exist.  I wrote:

"Jesus always welcomed little children and blessed them. He never pronounced one warning or rebuke to a child, although He rebuked the people who tried to keep the children from coming to Him. Jesus said you must become like children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Then He said the kingdom of heaven is such as these. And He said that God has ordained praise from the mouths of babes. So if we go by what the Word of God says, we will never find anything but complete acceptance in God’s heart for little children. He would never turn away one of these little ones."

Let me also add that when Jesus was baptized, He was not a little baby. Joseph and Mary didn't take Him to be baptized as an infant. Rather He was baptized as a fully grown adult in order to fulfill all righteousness. He knew what He was doing, but a baby does not know what he is doing. We are to follow the example of Christ and walk as Jesus did, so we should not baptize infants.

Only for Disciples of Christ
As I stated in my article, Holy Washings I, water baptism is an outward sign of what we have already demonstrated by our repentance and faith in Christ. In fact, you must be baptized after you repent and give your life to Jesus.  The Lord commanded it when He gave the Great Commission to His disciples:

"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 'Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'" (Mat 28:18-20)

We see that the apostles and other disciples who preached the gospel followed this pattern. Notice the sequence. The Lord commanded them to go and first make disciples, and then baptize them, as well as teach them to observe everything that Jesus commanded the first apostles. He did not commission them to first baptize people, then make them disciples of Christ. Neither did he tell them to first teach people everything He commanded them before baptizing them.

The Ethiopian eunuch
When the Ethiopian eunuch got saved, he was baptized immediately afterward when they came to some water (Ac 8:36-28). He had asked Philip if there was anything to prevent him from being baptized, and the only condition that Philip had given him was, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." Once the eunuch confessed his genuine faith in Jesus Christ, then he was baptized into Christ.

There are also other examples of disciples being baptized after they first experienced repentance and faith in Christ.

Peter's Listeners at Pentecost
One such example is the people to whom Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, who became convicted by the Holy Spirit of their sin at the preaching of the gospel.

"When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" (Ac 2:37-38, NIV).

Samaritan Believers
Another example is the people of Samaria who were saved at the preaching of Philip:

"But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." (Ac 8:12, NIV).

Saul of Tarsus
Then we have the example of the apostle Paul himself. It was only after he, who was then known as Saul of Tarsus, personally met Christ and was converted that he was baptized.

"But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.' Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized." (Ac 9:15-18, NIV).

Notice that the Lord already considered Saul His chosen instrument and Ananias acknowledged that, when he referred to him as "Brother Saul."

Cornelius and His Household
Yet another example is Cornelius and his household, who were baptized in water after they received the gift of the Holy Spirit, proving that they already belonged to Christ.

"While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 'Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.' So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." (Ac 10:44-48, NIV).

Furthermore, we can learn even more from the explanation Peter gave to the elders of Jerusalem for his actions in the home of Cornelius. He explained:

"'So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?' When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, 'So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.'”  (Ac 11:17-18, NIV).

The elders understood that God had granted these Gentiles repentance that leads to life and they had come to believe in Christ. The elders also understood that repentance must precede baptism.

The Philippian jailer
The Philippian jailer is another example.

"The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.' Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized." (Ac 16:29-33, NIV).

First there was the jailer's conviction for sin and repentance, then his question how to be saved, followed by the answer that he must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. And after preaching the Word to him and his household, the apostles saw his faith expressed in love as he washed their wounds. Immediately after that, they baptized him and his household in water.

The Ephesian Disciples
There is also the instance when Paul found some disciples in Ephesus, who had only received the baptism of John, and after explaining things to them, he baptized them into Christ.

"Paul said, 'John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.' On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."

The fact that they had received John's baptism was evidence of their repentance. And once Paul explained that John taught his disciples to put their faith in Christ, the necessary requirements of repentance and faith in Christ were met, so that the disciples could be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Putting it All Together
There is a clear order in Scripture regarding the timing when baptism should take place. It is taught explicitly and demonstrated practically in the Bible. The Lord commanded us to go and first make disciples, and then baptize them, as well as teach them to observe everything that Jesus commanded. There is no basis in Scripture for any other order, nor is there any evidence of such.

Since the Bible is our sole rule of faith, we must go by what is written in it. That is why a true Bible- believing Christian should know that infant baptism is not something God requires or condones. In fact it is a hindrance to the gospel, because it gives people the false sense of security that they were saved when they were baptized as a baby, even though they had never repented or put their trust in Christ to save them. They may say, "I've been a Christian all my life." This false sense of security has led many to think they are going to heaven, and that they are true Christians, even though they have never been born again according to Scripture.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, NIV. Photo of infant baptism from Wikipedia and used per the Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this article, I recommend also reading The Unbiblical Practices of the Catholic Church, Holy Washings - Part I, You Must Be Born Again, Scripture Alone, Entering the Kingdom of God, and Do You Want to Know Jesus?

I strongly recommend viewing the videos I have posted on my Eternal Destinations blog about a young Ecuadorean girl who has visited hell twice.  She testifies to some things about the Catholic Church that she saw in hell.  Don't miss Angelica Zambrano's First Visit to Hell, Angelica Zambrano's Second Visit to Hell, Messages from the Lord for Catholics Worshipping Idols, Former Pope in Hell Declared a Saint, and Pagan Symbols of the Popes.You may also like the other posts in this blog, such as Exposing Heresy, Accurately Handling the Word of Truth, Tradition vs. Truth, and Pope Frances Supports Homosexuality. You may access more of my articles on the Main Directory of this blog, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Harry Potter is the Devil's Snare

I want to address the believers in Jesus Christ who enjoy occult forms of entertainment, such as Harry Potter, and see no problem with it. This is not for those who don't believe in Christ, but for the ones who consider themselves true followers of His, and confess the name of Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and yet choose to read Harry Potter books, or watch the movies, or others with a similar theme.

The Word of God says that the sorcerers all end up in the lake of fire:

"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Rev 21:8)

Scripture also tells us that they are shut out of heaven: "Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying." (Rev 22:15)

You may wonder how this could be and what is wrong with having a little fun with magic. In order to help you see what is so wrong with this, I call your attention to a passage in Deuteronomy that says,

"When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. "For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you. "You shall be blameless before the LORD your God." (Deu 18:9-13)

We must not imitate occult practices or find them entertaining, since they are detestable to the Lord our God. If you found something detestable, you probably would not think it was entertaining to watch. The Lord does not find witchcraft, sorcery, or casting spells to be entertaining. Rather, these are Abominations in the Sight of God. Magic is considered witchcraft. Throughout Scripture, all forms of witchcraft are considered wicked and are condemned. (Deuteronomy 18:10–16; Leviticus 19:26, 31; 20:27; Acts 13:8–10). There is no distinction made between black magic and white magic, good magic or bad magic. It is all evil. Harry Potter and other secular movies or books that have a magical, sorcery, or witchcraft theme have no place in the blood-bought Church. What fellowship is there between light and darkness?

If you are a Christian who's into Harry Potter, you may also enjoy C.S. Lewis. But let me warn you about him, too, that he was a heretic, as I have already said in my article, Heresies of C.S. Lewis. He was one of those authors whom many consider to be a Christian, and is still very popular among Christians, yet he believed white magic is good. Forget about what everyone else thinks about him, or whether they think his books are great reading for believers. Let's get back to the Word of God.

All true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ keep His Word, which means we live under His Lordship. He is the eternal Rock. That's solid ground. Everything in heaven and earth that can be shaken will be shaken, so that only that which cannot be shaken remains (Heb 12:27). So get ready. Jesus is coming back right away! But He's only coming for a pure Bride without spot or wrinkle. Here's a word to all who want to make heaven: "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." (Heb 12:14, NIV).

"Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are his,' and, 'Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.'" (2 Tim 2:19).

If you have been entertaining yourself by reading books about Harry Potter, watching the movies about him, or involved in other similar forms of entertainment, then I urge you to repent, turn away from such wickedness, and return to the Lord, in order to avoid coming under judgment. The Lord loves you and does not want you to perish.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other quotes taken from the Holy Bible New International Version (NIV). Image used according to Fair Use Act that allows its use for educational and commentary purposes. Federal Law allows citizens to reproduce, distribute, or exhibit portions of copyrighted motions pictures, video tapes, or video discs without authorization of the copyright holder. This infringement of copyright is called "Fair Use", and is allowed for purposes of criticism, news reporting, teaching, and parody.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I recommend Abominations in the Sight of God, Separation from the World, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, James Agboola Revelation of Heaven and Hell, Eudoxia Varga Testimony of Heaven and Hell, Is the Harry Potter Series Truly Harmless? (offsite), and Heresies of C.S. Lewis. You may access more of my articles on the Main Directory of this blog, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.