In a January 2014 blog post entitled, "A New Year, A New Time," popular Southern Baptist Bible teacher Beth Moore shared the following alleged God-given revelation:
In mid-November of 2012, God dropped a word so convicting on my heart through another teacher’s lesson that my face instantly burned. . . . This was the word:
"Stop sowing over and over in the exact same field."
I wasn’t looking for it. I didn’t ask for it. I was happy where I was. Like many of you, I like things to stay the same. I loved my circle of relationships and the familiar places I got to serve. I’ve never lost a passion for those places and have often wept with thanksgiving to God for the privilege of walking through some of the same doors again and again. I have a history of long relationships and staying put and that’s how I like things. But I knew God was talking to me. It burned like a branding iron.
Every single day for nearly 14 months, that same word has reverberated in my soul and troubled my feet. . . .
Fast forward 12 months exactly to the most recent November. A year after hearing from God so clearly about sowing further than the field that I’d loved and served in for so long, I had a very disturbing dream. I can count the significant dreams I’ve had through the decades on one hand so I’m not prone to look for messages in my sleep to keep from having to actually pray and read the Bible. That God can speak through dreams is clear in our own Bibles, of course, but for many of us it is unusual. I don’t feel the release right now to describe the dream though I may someday. What I do feel is a strong compelling to share with you what I knew beyond a doubt it meant. I believe that I can either be obedient to God in the faith walk He is setting before me or He will take my voice. I do not feel that it was a rebuke. I felt that it was a warning.
(Source, emphasis added)
At the time,
Do Not Be Surprised emphasized the danger of Moore's claims to receiving direct, personal revelation from God. What was not emphasized at that time was the content of the revelation.
Moore's post goes on to say:
I was saved in childhood but I was 18 years old the first time I ever had a vivid encounter with God and it accompanied my calling. . . .
38 years have come and gone since that day I received my calling.
And I have rarely – if ever – received clearer orders from God.
I share this with you because I love and esteem you so much and want you to know that I haven’t lost my footing or had a dramatic change in my theology as I tread into a wider perimeter than I’ve served before. . . .
We must all be willing to exceed denominational boundaries. Revival is at stake. Nearsightedness will trip us and disunity will slay us in the perilous days to come. We can prioritize our denominations over the Scriptures if we want to but we will shrivel up and die on the vine if we do.
We who are called to teach must teach the Scriptures even if – and especially when – they differ from our long-held stance. That we will answer for.
These are days for bravery.
To avail ourselves to the Holy Spirit and a fresh work of Christ in our midst, our healthy fear of God must far exceed our fear of man. I say this with tremendous love. Those who refuse to rock the boat when Jesus is tossing the waves in their faces will never know the thrill of the water beneath their feet. . . .
Change is on the horizon and certainly not only where I live and serve. The winds of the Holy Spirit are picking up. We can dig our feet in the ground and demand to stay right where we are. We can toil to maintain things just as they have been for years. And we can be left out of a coming awakening that could one day be recorded in the annals of Christian history.
(Source, emphasis added)
What is this "awakening," this "fresh work of Christ," this "revival," this "wind"? Whatever it is, Moore spoke of it again recently at James Robison's
Awaken conference. Below is a short clip from Moore's teaching at that event:
The full teaching can be viewed
here, at the
Life Today website. The astute viewer will notice that the message Moore is sharing allegedly was given to her directly by God, thus it cannot be questioned lest we question the Lord Himself.
Below is a partial transcript of some of the more troubling portions of Beth Moore's message. The transcript also is available
here, at the
Life Today website.
As we cry out for a downpour and I'm going to tell you something, I believe its coming. You know why? Because I believe the truth is we are thirsty. . . .
I believe that God placed it on my heart to tell you that as it comes, and it will if we'll own our thirst, it will, if we'll be willing to stop telling him what it has to look like, it's coming, it's coming. But we must be prepared in advance for scoffers. I will say that again. We must be prepared in advance for scoffers. I want you to look at one another and say, "Be prepared for scoffers."
And here's the thing. The unbelieving world scoffing is not going to bother us that much. We're used to them thinking that we are idiots. Can we just own that one? We're used to it. Of course, they think that. We've got that one down. That's not what's going to bother us so much. What's going to bother us, and I believe God is saying, "Get prepared for it so you know in advance it is coming" so when it does happen you're not all disturbed and all rocked by it because it is going to come from some in our own Christian realm -- our own brothers and sisters.
We're going to have people that are honestly going to want to debate and argue with us about awakening and downpours. What do you want here? They're going to say, that's not the way it should look. You know what, dude? I'm just asking you, are you thirsty? Are you hungry? I can't think of the way to the semantics to get it like you want it. But I will say to you, I'm just thirsty and I'm hungry.
But there will be scoffers and they will be the far bigger threat, the one within our own brothers and sisters, our own family of God -- far, far more demoralizing. And yes, it will come from bullies, and yes, it will come from the mean-spirited.
What God began to show me is that it would not just come from the mean-spirited it will also come from people who are just genuinely concerned about us. . . .
The scoffers, I believe that God put on my heart, please test the spirit, pray and see if this is confirmed to you in prayer and in the study of the word. I believe that he placed it on my heart that the scoffers will have an alternative answer for everything; An alternative for every single thing we see, there will be an alternative. They will not see it as the hand of God, an alternate answer. Unity will be called defection. Brokenness will be called instability. Grace will be called compromise. And the genuinely prophetic will be called false teaching. You see if this does not happen. And because of those things, defection, instability, compromise, and false teaching, because those things will be simultaneously in effect, you and I, who are believing God for a vivid downpour of his spirit and recognize it as it comes, we will have to be taking the risk of being lumped in with the ones that really are defecting, unstable, compromising, and false. And it will be hard for us because we don't want to be mixed-up with them.
(Source)
The similarities between this teaching and Moore's January blog post are obvious: the calls for unity, revival and outpouring dominate. Note the gravity of what Beth Moore is saying here—and remember that she is claiming that these concepts were given to her by God.
"Be prepared for scoffers." And these scoffers, says Beth, are literally a threat. In other words, the scoffers will be enemies of these chosen ones who are open and available to receive whatever outpouring Beth is describing. These will be "bullies" and will be "mean-spirited."
But what if these "bullies" or even the poor, confused souls who are simply "concerned" about Moore and others like her, are trustworthy ministers of the gospel? What if the "scoffers" are men who have proven to be faithful teachers of God's Word? Are we to cast these men aside if they dare question such an "outpouring" of the Spirit? Or should we take their warnings into consideration?
"Unity," says Moore,
"will be called defection." Reader, are you aware that these sentiments of "unity" are the same as those
expressed by Pope Francis?
"Grace will be called compromise." If this "grace" is extended toward false teachers and false teaching then, yes, it is compromise. Unity at the expense of truth? Never!
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| Screenshot: YouTube |
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And the genuinely prophetic will be called false teaching." How are we to distinguish the "genuinely prophetic"? By taking the self-proclaimed prophet at his or her own word? The true Church is not in need of a "prophetic word" because the Bible has already warned of what is to come. Jesus Himself warned of false Christs and false prophets in the last days (
Matt 24:3,
4,
11), and He warned that they would rise to fame with displays of miraculous signs and wonders.
For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. (Matt 24:24–25)
When we hear Beth Moore preparing people for an "outpouring" and a "downpour," the specifics of which still remain vague, and when we hear her warning her followers that they must be prepared for "scoffers" and "bullies" and enemies of this "revival" and this "unity" one cannot help but think of Paul's promise of a great coming delusion in 2 Thessalonians 2. Where is the evidence of such a "downpour" in Scripture? Where is the clarion call to forsake truth for unity? These things are not in Scripture, yet they are common elements found in the teachings of many dangerous leaders today. Such things are common themes among the Word-Faith, NAR, and even among the Roman Catholics. Beth Moore may have received this message from an outside source, but that source was not God. Oh, she is being used by God, yes, but not for the purposes which many would claim.
Beth Moore is an extremely influential woman. She has written numerous books and Bible studies. Her ministry,
Living Proof, hosts the
Living Proof Live conferences each year. Additionally, she participates in such gatherings as
Louie Giglio's
Passion conferences and Hillsong's
Colour conference. She is the darling of LifeWay, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. Women's ministries at churches across the country, even churches considered to be biblically and doctrinally solid, rely on Moore's studies to train their women.
The claims, concepts and 'prophecy' Moore has taught at Robison's
Awaken conference will not go unnoticed. Her words will not go unheeded by the many who blindly follow after her. The fact that Beth Moore has demonstrated
time and
again that she cannot even properly handle Scripture will continue to be ignored by those who perceive her words to be without error. And if she has received these words from God, then they must be without error, mustn't they? "Thus saith the Lord . . . by way of Beth Moore."
Friends, it is no new or surprising fact that we are witnessing a growing deception among those who claim to know Christ. As experiences trump the truth of Scripture, the deception darkens. Many men and women have been put in place to lead and pave this road of deception. We ought not be surprised that such leaders would claim a personal word from the Lord, but should these prophetic words be trusted?
Thus saith the Lord . . . in the Bible that we already hold in our hands. No more needs to be added to this Word. Friends, it is time to banish the book of Beth Moore, for it is this writer's opinion that this woman does not speak for our God.
*As a final note, the reader is strongly encouraged to listen to apologist Chris Rosebrough's review of Beth Moore's teaching.
Rosebrough's commentary can be accessed here.HT:
Pirate Christian Radiophoto credit: ROSS HONG KONG via photopin cc, text addedFurther ReadingWhy Beth Moore and Not Me?Beth Moore's 'Twelfth Month Redemption'Beth Moore's 'Sabbath Moment' Playdate with God
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