Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, "Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle or shall I refrain?" And they said, "Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king." But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not yet a prophet of Yahweh here that we may inquire of him?" And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." But Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so." Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, "Hasten to bring Micaiah son of Imlah." Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, clothed in their royal garments, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, "Thus says Yahweh, 'With these you will gore the Arameans until they are consumed.'" All the prophets were also prophesying thus, saying, "Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king."
Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, "Behold now, the words of the prophets, as if from one mouth, are good towards the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good." But Micaiah said, "As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that I shall speak."
Then he came to the king, and the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?" And he said to him, "Go up and succeed, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king." Then the king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear that you will speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?" So he said,
"I saw all Israel
Scattered on the mountains,
Like sheep which have no shepherd.
And Yahweh said,
'These have no master.
Let each of them return to his house in peace.'"
Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not say to you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?"
Then Micaiah said, "Therefore, hear the word of Yahweh. I saw Yahweh sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. And Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said this while another said that. Then a spirit came forward and stood before Yahweh and said, 'I will entice him.' And Yahweh said to him, 'How?' And he said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then He said, 'You shall entice him and also prevail. Go out and do so.' So now, behold, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; but Yahweh has spoken calamity against you."
Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, "How did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak to you?" And Micaiah said, "Behold, you will see on that day when you enter an inner room to hide." Then the king of Israel said, "Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the commander of the city and to Joash the king's son; and say, 'Thus says the king, "Put this man in prison and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I come back safely."'" And Micaiah said, "If you indeed return safely, Yahweh has not spoken by me." And he said, "Listen, all you people." 1 Kings 22:6-28
Four hundred lying mouths speaking pleasantries (what you want to hear), and one mouth speaking the truth (what you need to hear). When you do nothing but speak good of someone, because you do not love the truth, do not be surprised when Yahweh sees to it that you are deceived. These prophets presumed to speak in the name of Yahweh. These prophets may have been close friends of the king, and because they would only speak what he wanted to hear, Yahweh deceived them into thinking they were speaking for Him. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy" (Prov. 27:6).
Even if you are not a close friend, love from a stranger is better than apathy from a friend. "Better is reproof that is revealed than love that is hidden" (Prov. 27:5). Ahab showed partiality to those who spoke well of him. Micaiah was encouraged to "go along to get along." If this is how you behave with your brothers and sisters in the faith, with your partners in ministry, then you do not truly love them. You are a flatterer who does not love the truth. Because the king showed partiality, discernment died and deception was the only remaining option.
If you do not want to hear the truth being spoken about yourself, whether by a friend, a stranger, or an enemy, then Yahweh will put a lying spirit in the mouths of your so-called "friends" and partners. If you do not want to hear truth because it contradicts you in some way or another, discernment dies and deception is born.
Well-respected men, out of their pride, cannot stand to be corrected by those they deem to be lesser than themselves, whether in prestige, power, or position. They have a "How dare you try to rebuke or correct me" attitude. Out of their embarrassment, they will seek to destroy the person they deem to be lesser. This is the way of religious hypocrisy.
If any of these people (John MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, Todd Friel, Justin Peters, Matt Slick, Chris Rosebrough, Jordan D. Hall, etc.) or these ministries (Bible Thumping Wingnut Network, Conversations That Matter, Fighting For the Faith, Justin Peters Ministries, No Compromise, Polite Leader, Pulpit & Pen, Protestia, ReformedWiki2.0, Right Response Ministries, Wretched, etc.) were to read my previous article or this article, because truth is not on their side, I have absolutely no doubt that they will lash out with their hatred against me by engaging in denial, deflection, projection, censorship, "cancelling," manipulation, smearing, gaslighting, jamming, framing, ad hominem, name calling, character assassination, intimidation, and the use of fallacious arguments that have no basis in reality.
When you see ad hominem attack, when you see someone going after the individual in order to circumvent what they are saying, in order to dodge and evade the issues (often by way of obfuscation, technicalities, ambiguous language, and equivocation), being unable to argue the main point and never providing a reasonable refutation or an intelligent counter-argument (merely presenting subjective opinions and irrational feelings), that is a person speaking by way of the Devil and confession of intellectual bankruptcy. They do this because they are incapable of having a serious, mature, respectful, intelligent, rational, honest conversation.
When you call these men and their ministries out, seeking to hold them accountable, because of their stubborn pride and egotistical arrogance, they will not give you the time of day. They will turn on you in an instant like a wild dog. These men are hypocrites. They call other men and women out for their sins, men and women who are not part of their clique, but when their friends and ministry partners commit the same sins, they are purposefully silent about it. One man unrelated to their group beats his wife and they are quick to talk about it and condemn it, but when a member of their group beats his wife they are silent and vague about it. Is this how they learned Christ?
I could provide endless quotes from the early Christians as to how Christians are to live and behave, and compare them to these men and their ministries, which would condemn them and disqualify them entirely from ministry, questioning whether they truly are genuine born again believers, and yet most of their followers would not even bat an eye. Christians who have truly encountered the Lord Jesus will have a permanent change in their character and life, and they will continue to grow in that character and life. The early Christians were entirely against violence and war, and yet American Christians entertain violence and are eager for war, even engaging in threats. Is this how American Christians have learned Christ?
Reading the early Christians has convicted me a number of times already, and no doubt will continue to do so. I know for a fact that they will condemn others, and yet these people will seek to make excuses for themselves. These people network closely together, being on the board of each other's ministries. They are no different than those in the Charismatic camp. They may not preach the false prosperity gospel, but they have certainly found another way of accomplishing the same end goal—fleecing the flock. How about doing these conferences and the like for FREE? The early Christians would have!
If you speak well of these people and encourage them, then you will be in good standing with them. If you stand up to them, call them out, and hold them to account, they will hate you for it, bad mouth you for it, and demonize you for it. They will accuse me of being "abrasive" in the tone of my writing, and yet they will behave in a much worse manner against me. That is okay. Let them hate me. Let them speak ill of me. It does not bother me. I do not seek validation from them. I am not being "persecuted" by them doing so (as some professing Christians would attempt to claim for themselves), however. I do not love these men any less, regardless of whether they hate me or not. I love them as Christ loved me and gave Himself for me.
We are commanded to expose the unfruitful deeds of darkness (Eph. 5:11), mark those evil and divisive men who deceive others (Rom. 16:17-18), and strongly reprove those who are "detestable and disobedient and unfit for any good work" (Titus 1:10-16). May the exposure of these sins bring repentance to evil men, purify the Congregation, and silence the mouths of foolish mockers. When you show partiality among your own network, discernment necessarily dies and you are being deceived at the behest of Yahweh. He who has ears let him hear. Learn the lessons taught in Scripture. Obey the commands and teachings of the Lord Jesus. Do not imitate these men and their ministries with their walking hypocritical contradictions. Imitate men who actually imitate Christ.