are we really that delusional?

Some recent observations have me scratching my head in wonderment. In fact last week I said to Bev - "are we really that deluded?" Two differant incidents happened within close proximity of each other, incidents that would have been funny had they not been so serious.

Last spring I received an email from a "ministry". I quote directly from the email:

The Lord told me to look at the nation [the United States] as He sees it, not through my eyes but through His. I could not look too long before I had to agree and repent of loving Babylon. Once I repented the Lord told me to prepare for the fall as time is running out. I must preach the Gospel of The Kingdom not the Gospel of America. America is already judged, the time of shaking is now and will increase rapidly this summer. Water shortages and food shortages will become common this summer, as well as fuel shortages. Civil unrest will become common place in large cities first but will spill over into the rural areas as well.

If you are not aware of it...there were not water and food shortages that were commonplace in the United States this past summer. Civil unrest did not become common either. Last week I re-read this "word". I decided to email both the ministry that had distributed the "word" as well as the man who gave the word asking about the veracity of this supposed word from God. The responses I got were bizarre at best.

From the ministry that distibuted the word - I did not believe that his [the man giving the word] sense of timing was correct. However the ministry claims this man to be a credible prophet in their promotion of him! How can one be a credible prophet when he claims to have a word from God but the "minor detail" of timing is incorrect? Did God make a mistake? Or did the "prophet" insert his own thoughts into the word?

I also received a response from the man giving the word - I believe these things are going to happen maybe God is giving more time. Besides I did not give this word out of the flesh. Quite obviously neither was the word from God. So what was the source of the word?

Here is the truth of the matter. A word was spoken as the prophetic word of God. Instead of admitting the truth that the word did not come to pass, there is a willful ignorance of what is.

The second incident had to do with something I read on the internet. I was reading about a new church. The words used to describe this new church were -Birthed out of a vision for unity within the body of Christ, we strive to be connected with each other and other churches. Noble words indeed! There is only one slight problem with this statement. I have enough knowledge of the situation to know that this church start was actually the result of a church split! No amount of niceties, no amount of noble words will mask the fact that the foundation of this church did not come from unity but from division.

I am beginning to believe that we so desparately want to believe certain things. I believe the "prophet" wants to believe that his word was true even though it never came to pass. I believe the leaders of this new church want to believe that unity is important, but the truth is that they caused a great deal of pain and angst in the body of Christ with their divisiveness.

When we choose to believe something that is not truth, we are worse than deceived, we are delusional. Perhaps we are seeing a fulfillment of the scriptures from 2 Thessalonians 2.

1Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.