"Just as Satan's strategy was to deceive Eve, so heretical false teachers have frequently chosen to spread their falsehoods by the same method. It doesn't mean that they don't approach men also, it's just that Scripture's telling us this is their target very often." (source)
In secular life, "American women influence 80 percent of all automotive purchases...Chances are, you rule the roost when it comes to deciding which vehicles your family will drive. Your fella may want that Ferrari but cooler heads prevail, since you can’t really slap that child safety seat into the back of a California. Yes, women do make most family vehicle decisions..."
This UK Telegraph article reports that Women are key decision-makers in the home, DWP says
"But they are increasingly taking charge of traditional male household decisions such as choosing the family car, which pension provider or utility firms to choose and where to go on holiday."
Satan sees an opportunity to weaken the church through the women, by women. We see this clearly in Revelation 2:20-23.
"But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works."
Apparently, a woman was teaching in Thyatira even though the bible says women are not to teach in the church over men. (1 Timothy 2:12). Worse, she was teaching heresy. Worst of all, the discerning Christians in the church at Thyatira knew she wasn't fit and wasn't true, but tolerated her anyway. Jesus said unless she repents, and her followers also, He will kill them. The ones who tolerated the false teaching from a women, He has this against them. It is the most weighty matter to have the God of the Universe against you.
Here is the problem. First, the penchant for big convention events is growing. I remarked that the Passion event held at the Georgia Dome for youths between ages 18 and 26 is at root a Gnostic event. I further mentioned that rounding up youths and taking them away from their parents for a several-day sleep-away event apart from their home church to learn doctrines from people with no accountability is simply not a good idea. The Women of Faith organization also stages Revolve events aimed at teenage girls since 2005.
There are huge bible events, Christian retreats, revivals, and workshops held for many reasons targeted at many segments of the population, and for men, this may or may not be fine. But for youths and for women, it is not good. Youths and women are being separated from their families and home church, rounded up by wolves as it were, as sheep and getting them away from the safety of the pack. Once apart, they are either shredded by false doctrine, gangrenous theological disease, and poisonous leaven- or, they are planted with false doctrines to bring back to their home church and let bake in a slow cooking oven of leaven and the church dies from the inside.
So, increasingly, youths and women are being targeted for infiltration at huge "live events" where doctrine will be taught away from the oversight of the husbands or parents. Another new women's convention has just concluded, and it is touted as the biggest bible event in Christianity. It is put on by Women of Faith, which is reported by Wikipedia,
"Women of Faith is a Christian-based live events organization. It stages non-denominational events across North America. According to the company, its events have been attended by more than
Five million people! That is a lot of people. What are some things the Women of Faith live events are offering? The newest is-
"We're thrilled to announce with our friends at Women of Faith, America's largest event for Christian women, the creation of a brand new bible event, 'Unwrap the Bible.' " (source)
Who is involved in Unwrap the Bible? Mark Burnett and Roma Downey.
This husband and wife duo are not saved. They are workers of evil. They are heretics. They are not in partnership with the Light. They do not know Jesus. I am trying to be very clear. Mrs Downey has a spiritual degree from a New Age teaching institution, practices mysticism, Catholicism, and necromancy (seeking communication with the dead). On live television, Downey communicated with her dead mother through a medium on live TV. Necromancy is strictly forbidden in the bible-"Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19:31). Also Deuteronomy 18:9-12, 2 Kings 21:6, Isaiah 8:19, Revelation 21:8.
The same duo created The Bible miniseries seen last year on the History Channel, and from that series, edited it down to a 90 minute movie focused on Jesus, called Son of God and released this month in movie theaters. The TV mini-series and the movie theatrical release both were fraught with biblical omissions, twistings, and outright heresy and in no way represented the accurate truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ nor did they correctly reflect His spotless character and Person. Yet Mrs Downey is considered a Christian. She is partnered with Women of Faith in this new bible teaching endeavor.
Why I am NOT watching the History Channels' miniseries 'The Bible'.
Why I am NOT going to see the Son of God movie
The lineup of bible teachers at the Unwrap the Bible convention (just concluded a few weeks ago) are below. Beth Moore is one of the teachers who taught at the convention. Some of the materials the women of faith are using are the clips from the Son of God movie. The promotional material states,
"In addition to the in-depth Bible study, dynamic worship pastor and recording artist Kari Jobe will lead musical worship and praise throughout the event. The program will also include video clips from Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s “The Bible” mini-series, illustrating stories from the Scriptures."
The venue for this largest bible event in America featuring a lineup of utter heretics is, Lakewood Church, Joel Osteen's Church, a church of heretics led by a heretic.
Now let's add up the numbers, starting with Women of Faith, five million women. I don't believe all their events stretching back to the first one in 1996 were all false, I don't know for sure, but the nature of apostasy is for seducers to creep into to households and by flatteries deceive women. (2 Timothy 3:6, Jude 1:4).
Beth Moore has a following on Twitter of over 450,000 women. She is the cornerstone of LifeWay teaching materials, even being the anchor for their worst quarter when the economy turned sour. In other words, her materials sell briskly to millions of people. Moore has an ongoing rotation of television shows, speaking engagements through Living Proof Conventions, a blog, podcasts, and more. Shirer has 130,000 Twitter followers, plus a webshow, a blog, a bible study and is partnered with Lifeway in Sunday School curriculum, etc.
Aside from the Unwrap the Bible convention, the Passion Convention, Women of Faith conventions, there are other female teachers out there. We haven't even mentioned the one huge female powerhouse teaching heresy and it's not Beth Moore. It's Joyce Meyer. Her influence and popularity is incredible and deeply penetrating across many denominational lines. Millions of women are influenced by Meyer. Meyer is an outright heretic, claiming that Jesus stopped being the Son of God on the cross, and that she herself isn't a sinner. The bible says that Jesus is the Everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28, Hebrews 1:8) and anyone who says they don't sin doesn't have the truth in them. (1 John 1:8).
In any case, The Christian Post says "Another adept Twitter user is Joyce Meyer Ministries, previously reported as having the most retweeted messages on the network, above brands like ESPN, the Miami Heat and CNN Breaking News."
Did you know that 140 characters at a time, Meyer is tweeting poisonous and heretical messages cloaked in pious sounding Christianese which are re-tweeted to the tune of being more penetrating than CNN Breaking News??
Retweets are messages Meyer sends out over Twitter, and then someone else sends it out again, in ever widening circles. As of March 21, 2014, Meyer had 2.69 million followers on that particular social media. Meyer has a television show called Enjoying Everyday Life which reaches potentially two-thirds of the world in 32 languages. She has brisk sales of her 30+ books, over 5.2 million likes on Facebook, live speaking engagements, podcasts, and many other venues into which she pours her poison. And this poison is picked up by women and brought into homes, who they are entrusted with the care of the Godly seed, the children. Many times the husband is unaware or barely aware that Meyer, Moore, Shirer, Caine etc teach doctrines contrary to the one Jesus gave us. This infiltration is repeated with Rachel Held Evans, Ann Voskamp, Oprah Winfrey, Lynne Hybels, Jen Hatmaker, Kara Powell...
You see the progression- a household life of the women in charge, yes, even in Christian households, a female's natural inclination to be spiritually deceived if a male is not guarding her, an incredibly powerful and popular slate of female Christian bible teachers, infiltrating homes with false doctrine at a massive rate with the power and force of a tsunami. Inattentive or undiscerning husbands. You see the problem, the false teachers, many of them women, are coming for the women. And they are succeeding. They did when Paul wrote to Timothy, (2 Timothy 3:5-9) and they are succeeding now. In this sermon by bible teacher John MacArthur on the 2 Timothy 3:5-9 verses, he explains,
Who do you think they're after? Weak women who are vulnerable because they're out from some protection and who are captivated by these people because they promise them deliverance from the burden of sin and guilt and they promise them a system of truth ... Just as Satan's strategy was to deceive Eve, so heretical false teachers have frequently chosen to spread their falsehoods by the same method. It doesn't mean that they don't approach men also, it's just that Scripture's telling us this is their target very often. Women not strong in virtue, weighed down by sins and driven by impulse and lust, women not strong in truth, women who want to know the truth, who are always learning but have never come to the epignosis, the deep knowledge of the truth are the victims. ... And then in verse 7 it says they probably are the kind of women who have a curiosity about religion. They're attracted to easy solutions that don't really call for a radical change and don't deal with the real issue, the issue of sin before a holy God and salvation in Jesus Christ. They're interested in a cheap gospel. They're the kind of women who maybe are always learning, taking it all in, attracted to some kind of religious teaching.
Fortunately we can review the verse in Revelation when Jesus said he was angered by the prophetess Jezebel and by those who tolerated her. Jesus also said that He gave her (the Jezebel false prophetess) and her followers time to repent. Jesus is merciful! These false teachers have time still to repent!
Any person following these false teachers or promoting their teachings or even just tolerating them can repent! Jesus forgives, He wants His children to be pure and holy, as He is holy. The church however should be guarded always, and this is an active, never-ending activity until the glorification comes. It means NOT tolerating sin, and actively confronting it. In Thyatira's case, they failed because of poison from the inside.
We women are entrusted with the Gospel, with helping our husbands, with the children. It is a precious cargo we women have given to us. As Oswald Chambers said, Let us do our utmost for His highest! In this case it is protecting ourselves from false doctrines so that we may help our husbands or the church in proper encouragement and support, and keeping our children away from heretical teachings.
For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition.
For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.
For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, (1 Thessalonians 2:1-6a)
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Further reading
Friends don’t let friends read Beth Moore
Joyce Meyer's teachings analyzed
Should a Christian go into business with an unbeliever?
Some good women teachers: Don't settle for silly books
What is the definition of heresy?
