When asked why Hillsong is so successful, Brian Houston said, "We are scratching people where they are itching." Does that not sound like something straight out of Scripture? "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts they shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;" (2 Tim. 4:3). The reason all these mega churches and campus churches are so "successful" is because they are telling people what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear. They are attempting to make these people feel better about themselves just so that they can go to Hell on a greased pole. They make these people twice the inhabitants of Hell than they themselves are. They are wolves in sheep's clothing and they are leading millions astray. But we should not be surprised. God's Word told us this would happen:
"But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth." 1 Timothy 4:1-3
"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these." 2 Timothy 3:1-5
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4
"Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."" 2 Peter 3:3-4
"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us." 1 John 2:18-19
"But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, "In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts." These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit." Jude 1:17-19
These "churches" are merely Synagogues of Satan. How is it that churches that faithfully preach God's Word remain significantly small, while these churches have hundreds of thousands of people in attendance every Sunday? That alone should set off a red flag. When three quarters of your year's Sundays are spent giving messages on "tithing," there is something wrong. When your "message" is about how rich you are (while your congregation is poor and struggling), there is something wrong. When you are claiming to have a word from the Lord and you are doing a whole bunch of wacky nonsense, there is something wrong. Where is God's Word in any of this? Where is the faithful expository preaching that adheres to context? If a Christian is going to walk into a mega church or a campus church, make sure you know your Bible well! Make sure you have discernment from the Holy Spirit! Pay attention to everything that is said and/or done and hold it in comparison to the Bible. If it does not match up, leave that church immediately!