The Eth Cepher "Bible"?

Today I want to examine and expose the Eth Cepher so-called "Bible". It is not a translation, but a modified King James Version first published in 2015 with many dangerous issues. The word "eth" is a Hebrew word meaning "divine", and the word "cepher" is an intentional misspelling of the Hebrew word "sefer" or "sepher", meaning "book" or "scroll". So Eth Cepher means "divine book". That is how this so-called Bible is presented to the public.

Please watch the following short videos and check out the articles:

A Warning Regarding the Cepher “Scriptures.” (video)

5 Reasons to Avoid the “את Cepher” Bible (video)

The Cepher - A Follow Up - A Few Questions Answered (video)

A Review of the "Eth Cepher" - Part 1 

What is the Cepher Bible?

The author of the Eth Cepher "Bible" is Dr. Stephen Pidgeon, a political scientist and active attorney with a Doctorate in Philosophy and a Juris Doctorate (law degree), who pastors a Hebrew Roots Church in Washington state. In this "Bible", he has added many extra books, chapters, and phrases, including a 29th chapter of Acts, in which Paul the apostle blesses the Druid priests, which is ridiculous. Here are some quotes (not from the Cepher) regarding the Druids: "Druids were a high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures." "Druidism is considered a nature-based religion with a focus on reverence for the natural world and Celtic spirituality, often incorporating elements of paganism and New Age beliefs." "Druids revere the earth, the human body, and the rest of the physical world as part of the spiritual Divine." Obviously the apostle would not bless the Druid priests.

When someone claims that all 81 books of the Cepher are inspired, which is what they have done, that is false. They claim it is the Ethiopian Bible, which is also false. Adding fake chapters to the existing Bible like Acts 29 with Paul blessing pagan Druids, who sacrifice humans, is dangerous. The Apocryphal books are not the only thing Pidgeon has added in there. The Cepher also contains the "pseudepigrapha", which are works falsely attributed to the patriarchs, that clearly were not and could not have been written by them, since the earliest manuscripts are only from the era 100-200 BC. For example, the book of Jubiliees claims to be written by Moses. As for these uninspired books included in this so-called Bible, the authors of the Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha never claimed to be inspired and nobody in any inspired book of the Bible acknowledged them as Scripture. 

If you own a copy of the Eth Cepher, the best thing you can do is throw it out and read the actual Bible, the Word of God. Nobody should be putting uninspired Bible books inside the same cover as Bible books and then calling those the Bible. That is very misleading.

And they are selling the Third Edition of the Eth Cepher (2018 Revision) for $332 USD on Amazon. What a waste of people's money! What profiteering!

A Harmless Book or Dangerous Book?

Someone has defended the Eth Cepher saying, "I don't necessarily think that merely reading it will cause a person to be in a cult, as long as anything they do agree with in the Apocrypha isn't contradictory to the Canon and is supported by the Canon." First this person incorrectly assumes that this is simply a Bible with the Apocrypha added. As I've already mentioned, it also contains many other additions like the pseudepigrapha and extra chapters. Here is my rebuttal to this person's defense of the Eth Cepher as a harmless book:

The Hebrew Roots Movement, which is what's behind this corrupted Bible, is heretical. It is a cult. This is not my opinion, but a fact. The Hebrew Roots may sound good, but it is teaching falsely, as I have explained in my article called The Heretical Hebrew Roots Movement.

It's not safe to assume that most people picking up the Cepher are mature enough spiritually to discern what things in the false writings, books, and chapters do not align with the rest of Scripture. That is not a valid assumption. Most Christians are not well-versed in the Bible in the first place, and even if they had read the Bible through once entirely, they would probably not be able to discern false teachings in the Apocrypha, pseudepigrapha, and false chapters like Acts 29. That is why it is so dangerous. I can vouch personally for this since, before I was saved, I grew up reading the Apocrypha, which was in my Bible, not knowing it was not the Word of God. 

Let me give you an analogy to show how dangerous it is to present these 81 books as the divinely inspired Word of God. 

Imagine holding an egg hunt for little children in a back yard, in which the children go hunting for hollow, plastic eggs containing chocolate and other candy. The children are very excited to find the eggs, but what you didn't tell them is that you have also hidden deadly explosives inside many of the plastic eggs, instead of candy, which will explode when the children pick them up and open them. The deadly plastic eggs look just like the ones containing candy, and the children cannot tell the difference. Who would ever do such a thing? 

Only an evil person would do that! But that is exactly what they have done by publishing all of these extra books and chapters in the Eth Cepher and claiming that they are inspired. For most Christians, this is a very dangerous situation, in which they lack the knowledge, discernment, and expertise to distinguish between that which is the inspired Word of God and what is not. 

The reason this is so important is that the Word of God is our sole rule of faith, so we must put it into practice (Mt 7:24-27) and be doers of the Word, not just hearers (James 1:22-25). But we are not to live by extrabiblical books that are not inspired. Therefore, it is necessary to know which books are inspired and which ones are not, so that we know which ones to live by and which ones not to live by.

Interesting Confirmation of the Canon

The Church held councils that confirmed centuries ago which books were inspired and which ones were not. The ones that were determined to be the inspired Word of God were included in the Bible. This is known as the canon, a word that means "measuring stick". In other words, the canon has a very finite beginning and end from Genesis to Revelation. The entire Hebrew canon (our Old Testament, as we now know it) was already complete by four hundred years before Christ! No changes have been made to it since then, except to the grouping and arrangement of the books, but not to the content. 

Moreover, the New Testament canon has been firmly established since the fourth century AD! By that time, the entire New Testament canon had been collected and organized as we now now it, and was accepted by the Church as the authoritative Word of God in 367 AD. At that time, Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria, wrote in his Easter letter the first known complete list of the 27 books, which was later ratified by several councils, "including the Synod of Hippo Regius in 393, the Councils of Carthage in 397 and 419, and Pope Innocent I in 405." (Google AI). No additional books have been added to the canon since that time. For more on this, see the video teaching on Six Proofs of Inspiration on this page.

Here is an interesting numerical coincidence that, in my opinion, confirms the canon and demonstrates how God oversaw the canonization of Scripture to ensure that only His Word would be included.

I am quoting from my article on Numerical Patterns in Scripture:

There are sixty-six books in the Bible, thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New Testament.  There is an amazingly similar pattern found in the book of Isaiah the prophet, which contains sixty-six chapters.  Interestingly the first thirty-nine chapters of Isaiah reflect the same tone and message as the first thirty-nine books of the Bible! Likewise, the last twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah reflect the tone and message of the gospel recorded in the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. In the first thirty-nine chapters of Isaiah, one main theme is God’s judgment against sin.  In the final twenty-seven chapters, there is the hope of redemption and forgiveness.

Isaiah begins the last twenty-seven chapters of that book in chapter 40 with these words:

"Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. "Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD'S hand Double for all her sins." A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isa 40:1-3)

And Mark’s gospel begins with these words:

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.'" (Mar 1:1-3).

So when Mark began his gospel, he called it “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” quoting in Mark 1:3 from Isaiah 40:3. This gives further support to the fact that Isaiah 40 is the beginning of the gospel message found in the final twenty-seven chapters of that book. Also see The Bible is the Word of God.

Not a Cool Book

Before I close, I would like to include here some comments made by my sister in Christ, Prema Sankarsingh Pelletier, after she viewed the videos featured in this article, as her comments reflect my own concerns as well. She wrote:

"I looked at Tim Nichol's video as he talked about the writings of Dr. Pidgeon and the 'cepher scriptures'. I was concerned that he thinks it is a good idea to have a copy of that book in his library. I think if I really needed some of the material from that book, certainly there would be a way to find them. Personally, I wouldn't want to keep a copy of the cepher scriptures, no matter how 'useful' it may seem. 

Brother Nichols is well-read but I personally believe he is making an error in judgment by keeping this book in his library. He even said it is a 'cool book'. I believe he means well, but I don't see anything 'cool' about it. We must separate the wheat from the chaff. A little leaven corrupts the whole lump. 

A new or weak Christian can get a hold of that book while visiting brother Nichols and fall into the enemy's trap."

Closing Words

The apostle Paul warned, "Do not go beyond what is written" (1 Cor 4:6). Unfortunately, Dr. Pidgeon didn't pay attention to that verse. Likewise, the apostle Peter warned about those who distort the Scriptures to their own destruction, as Dr. Pidgeon has done (2 Pe 3:16).

Moreover, Jesus warned in Revelation 22: "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." (Rev 22:18-19). 

The Church has already established the canon of Scripture, and the Lord has warned that if you add anything to the Book of Revelation (the final book of the Bible) that He will add to you the plagues described in the scroll. He also warns that if anyone takes words away from it, He will take away that person's share in the tree of life and in the Holy City. Since that warning was given in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible to be written -- the final book in the canon, I also believe that this warning from our Lord applies to anyone who would add extra books, chapters, or phrases to the Bible that were not originally in it, and are not the inspired Word of God, as the heretical author of the Eth Cepher has done.

Therefore, I believe you have now been adequately forewarned against the Eth Cepher, a book written by a heretical movement that adds to the Word of God that which is not God's Word. It should be considered a Bible perversion, rather than a Bible version. If you know anyone who is reading or promoting this dangerous book, please share this article with them to prayerfully consider.

Disclaimer: Use of videos about the Cepher by David Wilber and others in this article should not be construed in any way to imply that I share the same views on other topics held by these men.

Attribution notice: Scripture taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. 

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I recommend The Heretical Hebrew Roots Movement, The Bible is the Word of God, and Scripture Alone. 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.

The Heretical Hebrew Roots Movement

Dear saints, 

I'd like to talk to you today about the Hebrew Roots Movement (HRM) that has become very popular around the world these days. This may sound like a good thing on the surface, for Christians to go back to our Hebrew roots, since Jesus was Hebrew, the entire New Testament was written by Jews, and the Church in the first century was comprised of Jewish believers in Jesus for the first ten years, until the Gentile household of Cornelius got saved (Ac 10). 

However, the Hebrew Roots Movement is not a good thing. It's a heretical movement with the same roots as Church of God (Seventh Day), the heretical SDA Church, and the Millerites of the 1800's, as well as the Judaizers of the first century, whose false gospel the very first Church Council rejected in the first century, and which Paul always preached against. 

This is connected in with lots of false teachings, including keeping Torah (i.e., following Jewish dietary laws, keeping the Jewish Sabbath on Saturdays, keeping the Jewish feasts, etc). That is going back to the law, following Jewish customs, which the cross set us free from, and if any Gentile does this, they have made the cross of no affect, alienated themselves from Christ, and fallen away from grace (Gal 5:4). The Word of God clearly says that all foods are clean (Mk 7:19; Ac 10:15; 11:9; Rom 14:20).

The people in the Hebrew Roots Movement believe that the reason the Father is angry with the lukewarm church and the reason it is lukewarm is that they are not properly keeping Torah and not keeping the Jewish Sabbath. 

As I mentioned, the first Church Council convened in the first century to address the Judaizers' heresy and decided against it (Acts 15). The apostle Paul also soundly condemned it once and for all in his epistles under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Here are some examples of what he wrote:

"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed." (Gal 1:6-9)

"But it was because of the false brethren who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you." (Gal 2:4-5) 

"How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?" (Gal 2:14b)

"For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.' Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because 'the righteous will live by faith.' The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, 'The person who does these things will live by them.'" (Gal 3:10-12; cf., Rom 10:5)

That means that if a Gentile wants to go back to observing the law and Jewish customs, they have to obey the whole law.

"You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?" (Gal 3:1-3)

"But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you." (Gal 4:9-11)

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 'A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.' I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty." (Gal 5:1-10)

"'Are you so dull?' [Jesus] asked. 'Don't you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn't go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.' (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)" (Mar 7:18-19)

"The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.'" (Act 10:15)

"Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble." (Rom 14:20)

"They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order." (Heb 9:10)

"For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain." (Tit 1:10-11)

Hebrew Roots Movement vs. Messianic Jews

The Hebrew Roots Movement is not the same as the Messianic Jewish church. The Messianic Jews are actually Jewish people who have come to believe in Jesus their Messiah. They love the Jewish people and are winning them to the Lord. But the Hebrew Roots Movement is made up of Gentile believers adopting Jewish customs that were never meant for non-Jews. By doing the things they are doing, like processing the Torah in their services, or in one case wrapping a fallen minister in the Torah, they are alienating and offending Jews unnecessarily. 

There is a Messianic Jewish man named Tov Rose, who wrote an article, in which he linked to the following paper that goes into the history of the Hebrew Roots movement.

I just read up to page 41 or so of this paper, and may finish it later. But page 33 is key. This is the history of the modern Hebrew Roots Movement, which has its roots in cults like the Worldwide Church of God led by heretic Herbert Armstrong. In other words, the Hebrew Roots Movement is essentially a new brand name for the Herbert Armstrong cult, known as Worldwide Church of God, which was closely related with the Millerites and the SDA. After Armstrong's death in 1996, the elders of the Worldwide Church of God repented and formed Grace Communion International (GCI), at which time they publicly confessed that they had been wrong to preach that message. 

The Hebrew Roots Movement is synonymous with the Two House of Israel Movement and the One Law Theology, which states that "there is one law for both the native born and the sojourner" (Google AI). This is essentially replacement theology, which teaches that the Gentile Church is made up of the lost tribes of Israel and that it is Israel. It teaches that the Jews in Palestine are not Israel and not the true heirs of the land, but that we Gentile believers are.

Article (One Law Two Sticks)

Is HRM a Cult or Not?

I hold to the broad definition of a cult that I learned in Bible school in the late 1980's and early 1990's. A cult is any group claiming to be Christian that does not hold to the sound doctrines of the faith as taught in the Bible and upheld by the Church for centuries. The heretical Hebrew Roots Movement meets this criterion, and shares the same historical and doctrinal roots as other cults, as I have already discussed and proven from Scripture; therefore, it is a cult, in my opinion. 

Closing Words

In conclusion, the Hebrew Roots movement is actually a false or heretical movement, not one that is true to God's Word. It preaches another gospel, which has already been condemned by Scripture. Beware of this false gospel! And if you have already been caught up in it, then repent and come out of it, so that you may be saved, since you are putting yourself under the law. Please share this with those whom you love that are caught up in this false movement. I hope they will prayerfully consider what I and Tov Rose have written, and be set free from their bondage in Jesus' mighty name.

Please do not attack me for sharing this information with you. As Paul wrote: "Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them." (Gal 4:16-17)

Attribution notice: Scripture taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. 

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I recommend The Eth Cepher "Bible"?, Scripture Alone, By Grace Alone, By Faith Alone, Christ Alone, Seventh Day Adventist Heresies, Christian Sabbath is Sunday, not Saturday, Famous Christian Sabbath Observers, Keeping Sundays Holy - Part I, Keeping Sundays Holy - Part II, The Lord's Day, The Origin of the Sabbath, The Spirit of the Law, and The Spirit's Law of Life. 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. 

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.

The Cult of Mormonism -- Part II

In my first post called The Cult of Mormonism, I explained from the Bible why this religion is a cult, which is something I suppose most Christians don't necessarily realize. In this second part to that article, I want to share some facts about Mormonism that I learned from an ex-Mormon. For those who are not aware, the Mormons call themselves The Church of Jesus Christ, the Latter Day Saints (LDS).

Did you know?

The Book of Mormon is the racist Mormon bible of the Americas written by a white man in the nineteenth century. It essentially erases the real history of the indigenous American Indians.

Joseph Smith, the founder of the religion, married 14-year-old girls. His polygamy that Mormons are taught was necessary, non-sexual, and only involving widows, was actually happening between him and teenagers. 

He forced young girls into marrying and having sex with him, and he also married other men's wives by threatening them or sending their husbands off on missions. 

Joseph Smith also committed frauds before he even started the Mormon cult. But Mormons are not told about these things.

There are many other Mormon lies to cover up the violence, rape, and coercion of the early history of the religion, which took a strong stance against desegregation and had ties to the KKK. They teach that Black people will be servants in heaven, and that early Mormons were sealed to their slaves and servants “for time and all eternity” through the temple rituals. 

Even for members it takes years to slowly find out information about the Mormon religion.  This is similar to how Freemasons are slowly indoctrinated.

At age 18, young men go through the temple for the first time in preparation to serve a two-year mission. This is when they find out about temple ceremonies, which are copied from Masonic rituals -- complete with bizarre, cult outfits, and many other bizarre things.

Adults are supposed to attend the temple as often as possible to perform “endowments” for the dead, in which they marry the dead and make promises on their behalf. 

Mormons are taught that in order to reach the Celestial Kingdom — the highest of the three Mormon heavens, they must attend temple, obey all the rules, and sustain their prophets without question. Once they begin to attend the temple, they must always wear special undergarments (i.e., “magic underwear”), and they must swear an oath to never talk to anyone about what happens inside the temple (it used to be a blood oath). 

Later in life, a Mormon man finds out that he will be the god of his own planet once he dies, and his wife will be merely one of his many spirit wives in heaven, who will bear him children and pleasure him throughout eternity. They are also taught that by having sex they renew their temple covenants. 

Their songs, scriptures, doctrines, talks, and the people around them are constantly driving into them that “the church is true” (the most commonly used phrase in Mormon culture).

If any Mormon living in Utah dares to doubt anything, he is considered the delusional one since everyone around him is acting like it’s normal. 

Songs in church include lyrics such as “Follow the prophet / Follow the prophet / Follow the prophet / Don’t go astray”, which are warnings against departing from the teachings of their prophet Joseph Smith that are written in the Book of Mormon.

There are mandatory interviews with male bishops, in which teenage girls are asked sexual questions behind closed doors. This is the main reason child abuse is so high in the church. There in temple they learn that they are to be a spirit concubine to a husband in heaven someday. 

When young people prepare to go inside the temple for the first time to perform their endowments (i.e.,. the ceremonies), they are not allowed to preview the contents of the bag they’re given ahead of time, which is filled with strange cult clothing and garments. 

Mormons have secret handshakes and rituals in the temple that they've stolen from Freemasonry. 

Mormon missionaries are assigned missionary companions who remain with them at all times, except when using the shower or toilet. They switch companions every so often, but they’re supposed to spy on each other. 

Every male serves a two-year mission, which is mandatory, so every male is thoroughly and completely indoctrinated by the time the two years are up. The females who choose to serve on a mission get equally indoctrinated, but their missions last for 1.5 years. 

During missions, Mormons have to be up at dawn and work until late. They’re on their feet, knocking on doors, and proselytizing the entire time. That’s their life for those two or 1.5 years. 

Many Mormons never find out that all of their efforts are for nothing, or find out the lies, cover ups, and scams of their cult. In fact, most will never discover that their church is actually a cult, which is why it’s so rare for anyone to escape.   

Mormons are brainwashed and told that everyone else is crazy or lying. It doesn’t matter what evidence you show Mormons, even if it’s proof from their own organization or words from their own prophets. They won’t believe you. But some people do escape from the cult, so it’s not impossible to leave or to get out of it. 

Conclusion

The Mormon church is excellent at marketing their religion, so many outsiders assume it’s just a strange religion that focuses on the family. However, it’s not. It’s a dangerous cult that ruins lives, even if the members don’t understand what’s actually happening to them. That's why ex-Mormons deal with high rates of religious-based PTSD, chronic shame, guilt, and a host of other issues associated with leaving a high-demand cult.  

If you have a Mormon friend, don’t let them take you to their church events or try to proselytize you. Don’t affirm their faith. It’s oppressive, harmful, abusive, violent, racist, and proven to be false. It's another gospel, not the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Be candid with them, and share resources with them like these two articles I've written. But most importantly, pray for them. Pray that they would know the truth and the truth would set them free.

Jesus said, "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." (Joh 8:32,36)

Attribution notice: Scripture quoted from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. The photos are in the public domain.

Author's note:  I also recommend reading The Cult of Mormonism, You Must Be Born Again, Are We Really Little gods?, Scripture Alone, Accurately Handling the Word of Truth, Exposing Heresy, The Rise of Antichrists, The Origin of Sin, Satan, and Secular Music, The Rise and Fall of Lucifer the Musician, Michael Thomas Sambo's Revelation of Heaven and Hell, By Grace Alone, and Righteousness by Faith not Law. 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.

HOREMOW Descends to a New Low

I have previously written about my Issues and Concerns with HOREMOW, followed later by my sequel called Exposing the Darkness within HOREMOW. Those were written years ago, but there has been no repentance from Paul and Linda Rika. Rather than repent and confess their sins, they have attacked those who have brought accusations against them.

Let's take for example a group of believers calling themselves the Concerned Brethren in the Lord. They presented numerous documents showing very compelling evidence of sin on the part of Paul Rika (see here). But instead of repenting, Paul Rika stepped up behind a big golden pulpit all dressed in white and declared his innocence. He surveyed the audience to show that he and his ministry still have the approval of men. He referred to the ones bringing the accusations against him as wolves, and told the audience that there is nothing to see here, and that they should just forget about what they heard and move along with their business. He also falsely stated that one of the documents presented by Concerned Brethren is fake. This video is called Take Heed of Grievous Wolves Against HOREMOW by Paul Rika.

I researched this and found out the legal document that Paul Rika says is fake is actually genuine. I also discovered that brother Ama Dediare, his US Coordinator for HOREMOW, recently resigned from his position and left HOREMOW. 

Paul Rika recently sent out a questionnaire to all his coordinators. The questionnaire seemed to be designed to expose any traitors and ensure total allegiance to himself among the ranks of the coordinators. The questionnaire seems to be checking to ensure that all the coordinators are loyally devoted to Paul and Linda Rika, and ensure that they are kept on a pedestal in the eyes of men. When brother Ama saw the questionnaire, he knew that he must choose between God and man, and he already knew that he was going to stand with God. He honestly answered the questionnaire and stood up to Paul Rika courageously (see here). Consequently Paul Rika engaged in his usual tactics by committing a sort of character assassination against brother Ama. He spread the rumor through a false revelation about brother Ama and his wife that claimed they had used the ministry's money for their own personal business. Therefore he publicly accused this man, who had faithfully served him, of being a thief.

Then panels were organized to conduct an inquiry of brother Ama. He told them that he was resigning, and they asked for him to put into writing the reason for his resignation, which he did. The document is a sequel to his resignation letter called Reasons for my Resignation Letter Pastor Ama, and it is well worth reading (see here). In the letter he explains everything and lays out serious allegations against Paul and Linda Rika. 

If you have any doubts about whether the accusations against Paul and Linda Rika are true, you need to read the document by brother Ama, as well as the documents presented by the Concerned Brethren in the Lord cited above. Once again, the documents presented by Concerned Brethren in the Lord include the following: Letter From Concerned Brethren to Paul Rika, CAC Falsehood, Linda False Revelation Affirming Amure, and Believers Concerned 1.1.

Comments from Michael Thomas Sambo

As most of you know, Michael Thomas Sambo, who is a preacher with Global Revival of Holiness Ministry, used to be a HOREMOW Coordinator. In fact, he was also a board member of that ministry. When I asked him to review this article, he replied in part:

"Paul Rika's modus operandi is still the same. It's downright questionable that he accuses almost everybody that tells him the truth of witchcraft and immorality or stealing HOREMOW money. These are tools and instrument he uses to get people out of the movement. 

Recently an individual from HOREMOW, whom I have never met, went to the Lord's Chosen Church in Lagos, Nigeria and testified that Linda is from the marine kingdom. I don't know this individual, have never met him, and have never had any form of discussion with him. After the video of his testimony was uploaded to YouTube, Linda Paul Rika said God revealed to her that I, Michael Sambo, was the one that sponsored and asked the person to go and testify against them. 

Beloved, I do not know this individual, how could God reveal a matter that is not true? When has God come short of truth that he resorts to the use of lies? I brought it to the notice of a cousin who is the wife of the former Administrative Secretary of HOREMOW, and she reliably informed me that she met Paul Rika and informed him of what I said of my innocence on that issue. Has he made restitution by apologising for that lie in the name of the Lord on the Lord's altar? Linda lied to God's people. This is delusion and deception. 

I was also informed by a reliable source of a man who went to Paul Rika and confessed how his son in 2017 lied to Paul Rika's congregation. He said that his son, who was 7 years old at the time, had then lied that God gave him a revelation of late sister Claire Andoun being in hell. A few months ago, the man confessed that they lied, that they never saw any revelation. Has anyone made restitution for that? Certainly, a lying spirit has taken control over the entire ministry. It's most unfortunate."

He also brought up another matter as well, regarding one of Linda's so-called revelations about him.  He stated:

"I still have never spoken to the brother whom she claimed in this video that I once met and spoke to (video link). Here she claimed I met with one brother Dan, and that afterwards he left HOREMOW and hated Paul Rika, and now he is in hell. I have never met with Dan, nor have ever spoken to him. 

She also said the doctor she referred to as a witch was sponsoring my ministry. Again, that doctor has never given my ministry one Naira or a dollar or a cent. So they use revelations to malign or destroy brethren whom they don't feel have any value, while others whom they have accused of witchcraft are still there. Moreover, others that are beneficial to them financially, whom he knows are not living right, are allowed to remain, and are given key positions in the movement. This is a common knowledge among the staff in the international headquarters of HOREMOW."

Closing Words

The way that Paul Rika continues to cover up his and Linda's sin with more lies and deception reminds me of the sin committed by Ananias and Saphira (Ac 5), in which they lied to the Holy Spirit. Peter told them that they had not lied to men but to God, because they deceived the church and then lied to the apostles and elders to cover up what they did. Here we have Paul and Linda Rika operating deceptively, and then lying before the whole church to cover it up. It certainly seems quite similar to me. The situation is truly horrible.

Meanwhile the people within HOREMOW continue to go along with this deception and believe the lies. They are expected to keep the Rikas up on a pedestal and "touch not the Lord's anointed." They are typically unwilling to look at the evidence against their leaders, but they should most definitely do so. We continue to pray that the Lord would deliver them and save them, and God is answering out prayers. For He is truly opening people's eyes and helping people like brother Ama realize what is happening, so that they can leave the organization, which has become a cult. 

If you are a member or follower of HOREMOW, please take this to the Lord prayerfully. I urge you to come out from among them, so that you will not participate in their sins and receive their judgment (Rev 18:4; 2 Cor 6:7). You need to remove yourselves and your families from that group before you become the next victim. If you know someone who is part of HOREMOW, please share this information with them.

Part I - HOREMOW Issues and Concerns

Part II - Exposing the Darkness within HOREMOW

Author's Note: I also recommend reading HOREMOW Issues and Concerns, More Accusations Against Paul and Linda Rika, Judging Revelations, Visions, and Prophecies, Grieve and Lament for the Church, The Nature of False Prophets, Leadership Approach Reveals View of God, Michael Thomas Sambo's Revelation of Heaven and Hell, A Tale of Two Kings, Testing the Spirits of False Prophets, Accountable, correctable, and teachable, Loving Deeply, Filled Up to All the Fullness of God, Angelic Escape from Terrorist Assassins, Interview with Brother Michael Thomas Sambo, The Wardrobe of the Saints, Whatever You Do, Do All Like This, How to Treat Leaders, Our Senior Pastor, The Shepherding Role of Elders, Exposing Heresy, Divorce -- Two Divine Revelations, Adultery According to Jesus, Holy Living in a Perverted World, Purge the Evil from Among You, and The Rise of Antichrists. 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.

___________________________________________________

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?"

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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