My good friend, Dr. David R. Reagan, recently wrote an outstanding article titled, “How Did God Speak Through the Prophets.” He mentioned that the little known prophet, Micaiah, is one of his favorite prophets and he told the story about Micaiah, Ahab and Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:1-38).

What Dr. Reagan said is better than anything I can come up with, but his article left me with a thought that I want to try to expand on.

Syria had captured the large city of Ramoth-gilead from the Northern Kingdom called Israel and the wicked Israeli king Ahab wanted it back. He saw the opportunity to get it back when he the godly king Jehoshaphat visited him from the Southern Kingdom called Judah.

While they were talking Ahab asked Jehoshaphat if he would join him in a war against Syria to retake it. In essence, Jehoshaphat said he would, but he wanted Ahab to seek the will of the Lord first.

Ahab called about 400 prophets in (false prophets or prophets who thought their job was to tell the king what he wanted to hear) and they said, “Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.”

This sounded a little suspicious to king Jehoshaphat so he asked king Ahab, “Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might inquire of him?” Jehoshaphat wanted God’s opinion not man’s opinion. He wanted the truth whether he liked it or not.

King Ahab replied, “There is one man, Micaiah …but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” King Jehoshaphat told king Ahab he shouldn’t say that and to satisfy the good king Jehoshaphat, Ahab sent for the prophet Micaiah.

While they were waiting for Micaiah to arrive, Ahab’s approximately 400 prophets assured him that the Lord would deliver Ramoth-gilead into his hands.

When Ahab’s servant reached Micaiah he told Micaiah what the other prophets said and urged him to “speak that which is good.” That is to say if you want to get along with the king, prophesy good things instead of bad things.

Micaiah’s response was, “As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak.” His prophecy would be what the Lord says whether it is positive or negative. Skipping down to the end of the story for the sake of getting to the point, Micaiah said to Ahab:

“I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd.” He also told Ahab, “the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.”

Four things: 1) Israel would be defeated, 2) Ahab would die, 3) his prophets were lying to him, and 4) God’s judgment was coming instead of God’s blessing.

Micaiah was slapped in the face by one of Ahab’s prophets and he was cast into prison to receive nothing but bread and water until Ahab’s return from the battlefield. Nevertheless, Ahab listened to his lying prophets, Israel was defeated, he was killed and his body was buried in Samaria.

Many people are like Ahab because they don’t want to hear negative prophecy even if it comes from the Lord and even if it is true. And many preachers are like the prophet that slapped Micaiah in the face because they are not preaching the whole counsel of God and they resent those who are.

Paul told Timothy, “The time will come when they (most church members) will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Tim. 4:3).

The time will come when many church members will not listen to everything that is in the Word of God. They will listen to a positive message, but they will not listen to a negative message. They will bring in preachers that say things that make them feel good, but they will not tolerate preachers that say things they don’t want to hear. They will love darkness more than the truth.

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck

Greek experts say the English word “apostasy” means to withdraw, stand away from, fall away from, or depart from the faith. Bible prophecy experts say departing from the faith is a sign that the end of the Church Age has arrived. They base this on something Paul said:

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Tim. 4:1).
Apostasy is as old as the church, but professing believers who teach heresies will be a major problem in the organized church when the Rapture is near.

In 1893, the U.S. Congress gave a charter to the Episcopal Church to build a cathedral in Washington, DC. That Cathedral quickly became the location of religious services of national significance. The funerals of several U.S. presidents, senators and congressmen have been held there.

That Cathedral also became known as America’s “National House of Prayer.” Monthly prayer meetings have been held there including prayer for our nation during WW II. Special prayer services have been held there including a prayer service for our nation following the 9/11/2001 terrorist attack on the United States.

On Nov. 14, 2014, a Muslim prayer service was held at America’s“National House of Prayer.” Many prayer carpets were spread in the sanctuary; hundreds of Muslims turned their back on the cross; hundreds bowed toward Mecca and said, “There is only one god, he begets not (doesn’t have a Son) and I bear witness that Muhammad is His only servant and Apostle” (Jesus is not God’s Servant and there are not Twelve Apostles).

Christians believe John was an apostle. He wrote five books of the Bible including these words:

“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son” (1 Jn. 2:22).

The apostle John also said:

“Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is thatspirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (1 Jn. 4:2-3).

The Muslim denial that God has a Son is a lie and nothing less than the spirit of Antichrist in America’s “National House of Prayer.” It is a doctrine of the devil that was organized and promoted by church leaders who have departed from the faith. It is no wonder that the Episcopal Church has lost more than 40 percent of its members since the middle 1960s.

I have presented this as an example of a church falling away from the faith to the group of Bible prophecy lovers that I have the honor of meeting with each week. I wrote this article to share their responses with those who read this.

One very perceptive lady said, “This tells you the temperature of that church.” She was referring to the fact that Jesus told the church at Laodicea:

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16).

The church officials that put that service together are a perfect example of people that would say, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” (Rev. 3:17); people that know not that they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked; people that know not that they are spiritually poor; people that know not that their nakedness must be covered with the righteousness of God’s living Son; people that are blind to the fact that He is the only way to be saved and worshipping Allah condemns multitudes to hell.

One very perceptive man said, “It reminds me that President Obama said, ‘We (the people of the U.S.) are no longer a Christian nation.’”

He is right. America has fundamentally changed and clergy like those wretched, miserable leaders at the Episcopal Church in Washington, DC are a major contributing factor. Clergy that should be defending the faith have been seduced by evil spirits (1 Tim. 4:1). They call Jesus Lord, claim to preach in His name and claim to do many wonderful things like this odious event, but Jesus doesn’t know them (Matt.7:22-23).

Another very perceptive lady said, “It is obvious that before those church officials invited the Muslims to blaspheme God He had already left our National Cathedral.”
She is right. God will not share America’s “House of Prayer” with Allah. Here is fundamental change we can believe in: Either Allah goes or God goes and it is quite possible that God has already left. It is quite possible that future prayers in that defiled place will not be answered.

During the service a woman shouted out, “Leave our churches alone.” She was escorted out of the church shouting, “Why can’t you worship in your mosque?”
Church officials thought it was okay to allow Muslims to blaspheme Jehovah during that service in America’s “House of Prayer,” but it was not okay for a Christian to stand up for the faith at that time. Can those church officials honestly claim that they were sharing the gospel with their Muslim guests?

No one can deny that we should have order in the church and everything should be done for the glory of God. But worshipping Allah wasn’t done for the glory of God. And the problem wasn’t the woman who shouted out.

The problem was the religious church leaders who foolishly scheduled a service and allowed a Muslim imam to come into the church and say that “God has no son, that Jesus Christ cannot be his son, and there is no god like Allah.”
If those church leaders don’t condemn the heresy that occurred in that church, their hearts are not right with God and they are a part of the spirit of antichrist that prevailed there.

Oh, I know they said they were trying to promote tolerance among faiths. But that was only to appear godly and to try to justify their decision to ignore the Scriptures and compromise the faith. Paul spoke about this:

“This know also, that in the last days . . . . people will have a form of godliness” (2 Tim. 3:1-6). It is easy to understand why Jesus will spew out the lukewarm.
Prophecy Plus Ministries

Daymond & Rachel Duck