In late November 2014, the Atlanta Business Chronicle ran a story about Atlanta’s Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran. Chief Cochran holds a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management and a master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He has 27 years of experience in the Shreveport, LA Fire Department; was the city’s first African-American Fire Chief. Later he became the Fire Chief in the Atlanta Fire Department.

He then left his position to serve as Fire Administrator in the Obama Administration, worked with FEMA and the Dept. of Homeland Security; held several positions in community and professional organizations; and more. Chief Cochran has obviously proven himself to be an outstanding individual.

Chief Cochran accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and became a member of the Galilee Baptist Church in Shreveport, LA at the age of five. He grew up poor, attended church, developed a strong faith, became a committed Christian and turned into an exceptional citizen and role model—especially in the black community. If more people were like Chief Cochran, America wouldn’t be having the violence it is having today.

Chief Cochran’s fame didn’t cause him to turn away from his faith or stop him from taking a strong position on Christian issues. He wrote a book in 2013 titled, Who Told You That You Are Naked (available at amazon.com), that verifies this. Simply put, he condemned homosexuality, marital infidelity and relationships with multiple sex partners.

His Christian teaching caused the gay community to go bonkers (slang for bananas, nuts, irrational, mentally disturbed, etc.). Some of those I grew up with would say it caused them to go buck wild or to be unrealistic. And some of those I worked with would say it caused them to act like they were about three digits short of a five digit zip code.

For example, it was reported that some in the gay community claimed that Chief Cochran wouldn’t put out fires at gay homes. Really! Are we to believe that when a house catches on fire in Atlanta the Fire Chief knows whether it is occupied by gays or not and based on that he decides whether the fire should be put out or not? Is this not irrational, buck wild or unrealistic?

Anyway, Chief Cochran was accused of undermining the public’s trust in him for writing that book, and he was suspended from his job for one month without pay. Some would probably ask, “What happened to his freedom of speech?”

Much could be said about that, but right now I want to recall what Paul said, “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2-3). The time will come when unsaved people will not tolerate true Bible teaching. If America hasn’t already reached that point, it is quickly reaching it because Christians are rapidly losing their freedom of speech.

Concerning the last days, Paul said, “men shall be . . . without natural affection” (2 Tim. 3:2-3). The fact that speaking the Word of God is off limits and rejected, that a godly man is persecuted for stating only what the Bible teaches and the fact that an unnatural lifestyle is boldly celebrated and treated as normal are all signs that the world is in the last days of the Church Age.

In one generation, the depraved have become more depraved and many are telling the true church that expressing God’s truth is unacceptable. These are signs that God will soon bring the Church Age to an end. If society doesn’t want Christians to give them the Word of God, He will soon remove the Christians and let them see what happens when His Word is universally rejected.

Paul also said, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient” (Rom. 1:28). Many of those without natural affection don’t want to know God, so He has given them over to what they do want.

That is to say, He has allowed them to be free from Him and to have a reprobate (worthless, corrupt or godless) state of mind. And there are consequences from that: Their lives without God and their faulty thinking have made them slaves to sin. They are free from God, but enslaved to sin.

Just think about it: The leaders of a major American city would rather suppress the truth and be lied to—than to hear the truth. If that isn’t reprobate thinking, what is? Let’s hope it doesn’t last long and that many gays come out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light before it is eternally too late.
Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck

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