Famine for God's Word
The contemporary church is plagued by famine for hearing the words of God, but one that is a self-inflicted wound. I have heard credible men of God
warn of the time when the Church will experience a “famine for the word
of God.” At first, I took this to refer to a time when the Bible
itself will be suppressed.
And
the church has known persecution of that sort over the last twenty centuries,
and almost certainly it will experience such dark times again before the coming
of Jesus at the end of the age.
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| [Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash] |
But these more recent prophetic voices often cited a passage in Amos to validate their prediction - “The days are coming when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Yahweh” - (Amos 8:11).
AMOS
I
take this prediction seriously, though upon careful examination, basing it on
the passage from Amos is a bit precarious. In context, that prophecy was
given to the kingdom of Israel and not to the church, and the New Testament
nowhere reapplies it to the church or any expected future event.
Moreover,
in Amos, the “word of Yahweh” does not refer to the Hebrew Bible,
but instead to the “words” of Yahweh spoken through His prophets. As God
withdrew His hand from the nation, so, also, His prophets became few and far
between.
But
whether intentional or applicable to our times or not, the “famine”
predicted in Amos is now the reality in the church, and in ways
that are quite faithful to the original passage. This “famine” for His
word has become all too real.
No,
I do not mean we are now seeing the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, or Australia burning Bibles and throwing pastors in the slammer.
In Amos, it was Yahweh himself who withdrew His spoken word, and not any action taken by the Assyrians against Israel.
And
this is the situation today. Yes, there are genuine prophets, but to find one
and hear a true word from the Lord you must slog your way through the vast
swamp of deceivers, deceptions and pure silliness that has inundated far too
many churches, and the saint who engages in the attempt without proper discernment
will almost certainly be bamboozled by one of the myriads of false prophets that
dominate popular Christianity.
WILLING IGNORANCE
But
the far more insidious “famine” is the ignorance of Scripture that prevails in too
many churches. Many believers do not know what the Bible says or how to study
it, leaving them open to deceivers with their “doctrines of demons.” And
too many pastors and teachers have failed to teach the Word to their flocks,
and perhaps worse, some of them are themselves biblically ignorant.
And
many “prophetic” leaders steer Christians away from reliance on the Bible. Instead
of adhering to clear teachings from it, saints are directed to pursue highly
subjective personal experiences and “revelation” from the “spirit realm,”
whatever that is.
Why
study the Bible when you can receive new “revelations” and “downloads” through
“heavenly portals” via dreams, visions, and angelic visitations, or by
deciphering numbers and dates or adding a thus saith the Lord” to whatever pops
into your head? Of course, supernatural “signs” and ascents to the “third
heaven” are a lot more fun than sitting through a one-hour class on the book of
Matthew or Hebrews.
The
problem today is NOT the suppression of the Bible by government
agencies or social media. Yes, one day we may see many governments burning
Bibles, but that is not happening now, at least, not in places like Canada, the
United States, or Australia.
SELF-INFLICTED
And
the present “famine” is a tragedy of our own making, a self-inflicted
wound. It seems we prefer pursuing exciting experiences, “signs and
wonders,” and ear-tickling “words” from the Facebook “prophets” over spending
time learning what the Bible actually says in black-and-white and committing
ourselves to follow what we find in it no matter what.
If
you organize a class free of charge at your home or church on water baptism or
the Lord’s supper, a handful of people might attend. But if you sponsor a
seminar at the local conference center on how to “move in the prophetic” or
find your personal “destiny,” you can charge exorbitant fees and still pack the
house.
And
while the New Testament does not quote or allude to the passage in Amos,
it certainly anticipates some of what we see today. Did not Jesus warn us that
“many false prophets” would come and “deceive many,” that deceivers
and grifters would target the very “elect,” liars who would even point to
“signs and wonders” to validate their deceptions?
And so, today, just as the Apostle warned, many believers no longer “endure sound doctrine; instead, having itching ears, they have heaped to themselves teachers after their own lusts, and turned aside their ears from the truth, and turn aside instead to fables.”
To
the Thessalonians, Paul described the “mystery of lawlessness” that is
working actively to prepare the way for the “man of lawless,” a
malevolent figure linked to the final “apostasy,” a deceiver who will
use “signs and wonders” to deceive those who refuse to “welcome
the love of the truth.”
FOLLOW THE WORD
We
often cite the passage in Deuteronomy that warned Israel that any
prophet whose prediction did not come to pass did not speak for the Lord.
But
the same book also declares that even if the prophecy of the prophet or the “dreamer
of dreams” does come to pass, even if his word is validated by supernatural
“signs or wonders,” if he tells us to “worship and serve other gods
that we have not known” we must NOT heed his words. And that
is precisely what so-called “prophets and apostles” who instruct Christians to
engage in divination are doing today – (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).
Fortunately,
Paul left us instructions for how we may avoid deception and apostasy, and
especially the plots of the coming “man of lawlessness,” namely, by “holding
fast the traditions that you received from me.” And that apostolic
tradition has been preserved for us in the pages of the New Testament.
I
am not opposed to the supernatural and the miraculous. God has certainly given
many spiritual gifts to the church. But when it comes to knowing His will or
discerning good from evil, I will take what I find in Scripture over anything and
everything else the first time, last time, every time.
I
do not doubt that hard times and persecution will come. Indeed, Christians in
many parts of the world already live under persecution. But that is even more
reason to learn and cling to the Word of God now while we still can.
When
dark days do come, it will be the principles from the Bible that will see us
through them, and if we do not take advantage of the opportunity we have now,
it will be too late when the darkness descends upon us.
Paul never said the
final “apostasy” may not come, but that it will come, and its arrival will be a sign
that the “Day of Yahweh” is imminent.
