Spirit of Deception: God’s Unleashing Judgment on False Leaders in the Last Days!
We are living in a very sobering and glorious era in the global Church when God is measuring where churches, ministries, and individuals stand regarding biblical issues—specifically concerning abortion, sexual immorality, drunkenness, and false doctrine.
One of the greatest blessings of these current times is that we are going to witness healthy and necessary division in the global Church like never before. Please listen carefully. While satan seeks to cause division in the Church using tactics such as false accusation, slander, deception, and more, this is not the healthy and necessary division that God has shown me is coming.
What the Holy Spirit is revealing to me is found in 1 Corinthians 11:19 (AMP) where Paul writes, “for [doubtless] there have to be factions among you, so that those who are of approved character may be clearly recognized among you.” Another translation says it this way, “But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized” (1 Corinthians 11:19 NLT).
There is going to be tremendous unity taking place in these days, however, the factions and divisions that Paul speaks of actually have to happen before real unity can take place. In other words: the sheep must be separated from the goats, those who love truth must be separated from those who love deception, those who support abortion and same-sex marriage must be separated from those who choose life and define marriage between one man and one woman, before real unity can take place.
What does all of this mean?
It means we must prepare ourselves right now for the greatest shaking, exposure, and division in the global Church that we have ever seen in our lifetime. Again, I am not speaking concerning satan’s attacks in the body that are based on lies, false accusation, and deception. What I am prophesying about is exposure and healthy division coming from God as a gift to His global Church so we can recognize the difference between the holy and the profane, the difference between those who love God and those who love the world.
When churches, ministries, and individuals get exposed for hidden sin and wickedness, there is naturally an extraordinary sense of grief, betrayal, hurt, and devastation among those who followed their leadership. While this response is expected, the Holy Spirit is trying to encourage, strengthen, and comfort us. He is enlightening us that when we see these things take place, we can respond appropriately. The Holy Spirit desires to bring the global Church into extraordinary unity, but we must accept that one of the ways He does this is by releasing cleansing judgment so we can recognize the difference between the precious and the vile (1 Peter 4:17). A holy separation is coming to the house of God, and it is going to be such a gift to those willing to discern and receive it.
God says, “Prepare your hearts My people! Do not be discouraged, alarmed, or even shocked by the shaking and exposure that is coming; rather, give thanks for the clarity and discernment that will come. You must get ready to decide what and who you love more. Do you love men and their ministries more than you love Me?”
Navigating Celebrity Christianity
As mentioned previously, I have been invited on numerous occasions to sit down in private with many influential leaders over the past two decades. Several of these leaders have
come with great caution every time, saying, “Jeremiah, we see the gift and passion, but you cannot keep speaking out on certain issues if you want your platform and the crowds to get even bigger.” Honestly, this “caution” always perplexed me, and I walked away with deep grief and tears on many occasions.
You see, I was being constantly counseled and advised that when I reached a certain realm of influence and leadership, I would have to be very guarded concerning certain issues. I was told to specifically stop preaching on:
Deliverance
Repentance
Holiness
Abortion
Sexual Immorality
I was told that those five subjects would cause the most controversy and offense as I reached the “top.” With great fasting, prayer, and incredible inner turmoil, I chose to reject the advice of multiple famous Christian leaders and refused to compromise my messages to the best of my abilities. When God asked me to preach to the masses on how the shedding of innocent blood and sexual immorality bring His judgment to nations, I did. When I was being interviewed on live television and could have watered down key biblical issues, I instead called for repentance, deliverance, and holiness.
When I was offered large sums of money to stay silent, I spoke out and paid a dear price. Since when was Jesus more concerned about protecting His influence and platform than He was speaking the truth and pleasing His Father?
I share my personal journey now with tears to say this:
To those who have a realm of influence now or who believe they will one day, never allow the size of your platform to change your message! You must refuse to be bought! When you make those painful choices and pass the tests—there will be many—you will become a great threat and thorn in the flesh to those with even more influence who have compromised their messages. You will be avoided by many and slandered in green rooms. The “wisdom” some will give you concerning your future will actually seek to smother the fire God put inside your bones. Your commitment to a standard of righteousness will be wrongly labeled “legalism.”
Whether it’s speaking to ten people or a million, whether there’s no love offering or you get $50,000 honorariums, I encourage you, do not compromise what God has placed in your heart. And please be aware that just as older and more influential leaders have hunted me down and told me to be more positive over and over again and just preach more encouraging messages, they will come for you too and ask you to wear their armor. When they do, know that I am praying for you! Be bold, be courageous, and may the only thing that changes in your life as you gain more influence and a greater platform is a deeper measure of conviction, prayer, fasting, and intimacy with Jesus Christ!
A Prophetic Warning Dream
God gave my friend, who is a pastor, a powerful prophetic dream one night that is a warning to anyone seeking to gain more influence with the wrong heart and motives. Derrick Hawkins writes and says:
I had a dream one night that has challenged and served as a bit of caution. This dream reflected what I would call the spirit that seeks to attack our churches and clergy. It’s a spirit of celebrity Christianity.
There were three levels in my dream. The first level is where everyone in the dream initially gathered. We were all in a lobby setting. Everyone present was extremely cordial and very welcoming. It was genuine starting off. Everyone was gathered together to enjoy a meal. While we were waiting for the meal to be prepared, everyone was hanging out, talking, and catching up.
In the room, there were three types of people. There were those who had massive influence, those who were becoming influential, and those who had influence but chose to walk the narrow path. The last group of people were sitting on the sidelines observing those who had had influence and those who desired to become influential.
The second level of the dream is when things began to change. People who were initially genuine shepherds started to become filled with lust, pride, and deceit. As the wait for the food continued, people began to gravitate toward people who were the most influential in the room. It was very subtle at first. It wasn’t harmful initially. The leaders all still had very genuine motives. However, the longer the meal took to come, the more people gathered around the influencers in the room.
The third level is where the dream really became disturbing. By the time the food was prepared, we all begin to travel up an escalator. During that time, a separation began to take place. By this time, people gathered around their preference. They gathered around the leader who they aspired to be like. What started as a genuine gathering became divisive and extremely personality driven. The meal was never eaten, the servers who served were disregarded and disrespected, and the tables that were prepared were abandoned.
The influencers who had influence but chose the narrow path were isolated from those who had massive influence. Very few people gathered around them. The crowd followed the influencers and abandoned those on the narrow path. All of sudden the scene shifted from this extravagant building where everyone gathered to an airport.
All of the influencers rejected the meal that was prepared and ran to their next engagement. As people began to follow the influential leaders, they all went to board a plane. The plane crashed. The influencers who desired influence were being followed into the room and boarded the plane that crashed. The only ones who remained were the remnant influencers who chose the narrow path.
For the ones who are seeking notoriety over intimacy, the Lord is calling us back to the table. For the ones who feel overlooked because you don’t fit, you are right where you need to be. For the ones who have used their influence for manipulation, deceit, and greed, the Lord wants you to come back to Him. For the ones who are in the crowd chasing what we feel will take us to our next level without intimacy with the Holy Spirit, I pray the eyes of hearts and minds would be enlightened.
Celebrity Christianity is idol worship. Do not let it become your golden calf.
This revival will not be on the shoulders of man but through the counsel of God. Lord, forgive us if we have abandoned Your table of communion for platform and opportunities. Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV) says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
