God's Faithfulness in Judgment, Part 3c: Religious Leaders

God's Faithfulness in Judgment, Part 3c: Religious Leaders
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Apostasy / Contemporary issues / God’s sovereignty / Scripture discussion / Spiritual deception / The church / Thought for Today / Truth telling

The Church in the United States (and Western Europe for that matter): What do we see? Overall, do we see faithfulness to Scripture or not? Often, we find growing unfaithfulness, especially in the United States.

In the previous post, we looked at versions of “Christianity,” churches and church leaders that were allied with the political Left. But, what is the situation with churches that are aligned with the political Right?

We have already seen that the version of the “Christian” faith currently in the White House, broadly speaking, is within the “health and wealth” camp. Overall, what do we see in terms of supposed Bible believing “conservative” leaders?

First, we see the growing “signs and wonders” movement. Generally connected with extreme Charismatics, the signs and wonders movement often parallels the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). Within “Christian” worship music, studies have shown that music emanating from the NAR have a near strangle-hold over the field. There are exceptions, of course, just as there still are churches that adhere to, and proclaim, biblical truth..

We have covered the NAR in detail in previous series. From Bethel Redding, in California, to the supposed “The Passion Translation” of the Bible, by Brian Simmons, the growing movement is riddled with occult practices, with the demonic. As mentioned before, while the website for “The Passion Translation” makes it appear legitimate, several of Brian’s own podcasts indicate that the name comes the angel, Passion, who gave him the translation. The Passage Translation was in essence received through channeling demons. Sadly, there are significant intercessory prayer groups that are rife with NAR teachings. While those teachings appear to be biblical, at their core, they are not.

Then we have, among others, leaders like Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, and Kenneth Copeland (who is still alive and still spreading his less than biblical message). None of them are strictly biblical, many of them tout the importance of the self, of faith emanating from the self, our abilities, personal prosperity. If we have the requisite faith, we can receive as well as perform miracles. Jesus is certainly mentioned, but the primary focus is on us, on our abilities. Sadly, those teachings detract from the biblical reality that Jesus is still performing genuine miracles. The counterfeit will always imitate the genuine, seeking to diminish the genuine in the process..

Jesus’s warning should be sobering, but it seems to be mostly ignored. Matthew 7:22–23 (ESV): “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

But, even within supposed staunch biblically conservative denominations there are signs of trouble. We have previously discussed what has been going on within some of the top leadership within the Southern Baptist Convention, the lack of financial transparency, the lack of accountability among certain key leaders; the numerous warning signs of potential serious trouble.

God tells us in Hebrews 12:26–27 that things will be shaken, and that only what is unshakable will remain. That shaking includes church denominations, religious institution, and other Christian entities. The need to remain faithful to Jesus Christ, the gospel message, and the Scriptures, has never changed.

From God’s perspective, any religion, even supposed “Christian” ones, that points away from Jesus Christ is false, ultimately of the Evil One. Nothing is neutral. Thus, whether the false teachings come in a form that appeal to either the political Left or the political Right, the end of those false teachings will be eternal destruction.

But, as we will see in the next post, the false teachings of religious leaders have chilling far-reaching effects:

Jeremiah 23:14 (ESV): But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.

Share This Blog: