Jesus warned his followers that the world in general would hate them. He said: "People will deliver you up to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be objects of hatred by all the nations on account of name. And many false prophets will arise and mislead many."--Matthew 24:9, 11.
The above passages are very important passages as they apply to false prophets/preachers and the end of time as we know it. I regularly watch religious programing on television and listen carefully to what the tele-evangelists have to say, especially concerning the end of time and false prophets. I sometimes can recall some of the passages that they use to call our attention to what is happening in the world today, other times I have to look up passages in my Bible to refresh my mind on what is being preached that day. I am in agreement with what so many of the television preachers talk about, i.e., how we have to read the Bible and adhere to certain principles and how we should conduct our lives. I am not a theologian, nor have I been to Bible college like many of the evangelists on television, but I do read my Bible and I was brought up in the church and know of God. I was recently watching a religious program the other day where one tele-preacher, whom I watch on television all the time, was talking about wealth and riches and how to attain it and so forth. Suprisingly he went on to say that if you are truly of God, then you will be prosperous, have money and so on because all the people in the Bible who were of God were prosperous and wealthy! Wow, he surprised me with that statement. He even said that Jesus Christ was also rich and only became poor when he was on the cross! Where is that in the Bible? From what I have read and understand in the Bible, Jesus came from humble beginnings and was NOT rich or had a lot of money. His father, Joseph was a carpenter. I don't believe in those days that carpenter's were considered wealthy people. Now if Jesus' God chosen family had been wealthy, they wouldn't have had to put Jesus in a manger in a stable. How hard is that for us to understand? Now the Bible does say that God wants us to prosper and have want of nothing and I do believe that. But nowhere in the Bible does it say that only people of God prosper and are wealthy! This is the kind of thinking that goes in direct opposition to the Bible. This is the type of thinking that will make someone falsely believe that if they are prosperous and have attained a certain standing in life, i.e. wealth, they have all the spiritual answers and if you are not "prosperous" and haven't attained riches and the like that you have nothing to offer the world, in terms of spirituality. I do not know if he was trying to sell a book or something, that would make him make a statement like that, but I was really surprised by that statement. Prosperity has its place in the Kingdom of God. And prosperity comes in different ways, as appointed by God. One person my be prosperous with great knowledge, still another person may be prosperous with material type prosperity. Both of these things are good, but we must not get caught up into the "things" of the world and then forget that all these 'things' comes from God Himself. Not even one of us on this earth today can gauge how God is going to work through a single human being. And how does one gauge prosperity anyway. Are you prosperous if you have lots of money and a beautiful home, a nice car and great friends? One person might think that being prosperous is having a home valued at $150,000, whereas another person might feel like being prosperous means having a multi-million dollar home. It's a matter of personal preference as far as I'm concerned. I have seen many so called prosperous people with everything that money can buy who are absolutely miserable, who if you doubled up what they possessed, would still be miserable. And then I've seen people who didn't have much of anything who were at peace with themselves and have an internal joy that only the Love of God could give. So when I hear preachers preaching about prosperity and alluding to the fact that you will be happy with lots of money, material things and the like and should feel utterly blessed because they have material things. If that is what makes you happy, then I can feel happy for you. I have rededicated my life to God and am doing God's work in the way that God has chosen for me to do it in. I have many detractors out there who regularly read all my posts only to become filled with anger, hatred and rage and try to twist every word I put on my posts. Some of them (my detractors) are so hate filled and full of rage and hate me so much that they have to do everything in their power to discredit me by any means necessary. These same hateful, vengeful & wicked people make up lies about myself and my life and try to totally destroy me in any way they possibly can because they are in direct opposition to God, Jesus Christ and Bible teachings. Lucifer has deceived them into believing that they are in fact a 'god' of this world and that they and other other people like themselves have perhaps been chosen. By whom they have been chosen I do not know. Satan has also deceived them by sealing their hearts with hatred, anger and so much rage to come after me, and mistakenly convince them that a person like myself couldn't possibly have anything to offer the world by putting up posts concerning God. I feel sorry for all of them and pray for them, because one day they will know the truth, and the truth will set them free. Ecclesiastes verse 8 sums up these types of people so well. Ecclesiastes says, "Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him". " For he knoweth not that which shall be; for who can tell him when it can be"? "There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death; and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it". "All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun; there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt." Ecclesiastes 8: 6-9.
We as humans have very limited knowledge when it comes to matters of God. Our knowledge is based solely on faith, as it should be. But how and when God chooses to manifest in our lives, it is God and God alone who is in control of this and chooses how He will spiritually enter into our lives and what he will cause to direct our lives. So that being said, I do not, I repeat, I do not have a problem with people and wealth and prosperity in their lives, especially when it is in direct alignment to God's purpose for our lives. I do though have a problem with preachers who preach wealth/material attainment and prosperity by doing what they say you should do, if it does not line up with what is in the Bible. And with the way the world moves, there is no guarantee that a wealthy prosperous person will be that way an hour from now. Money, material possessions etc., according to the Bible can be eaten up by moths and thoroughly destroyed by flood, fire or hurricane, just like that. But our belief and the Word of God lives on. This is my train of thought. No car, house, clothing, status symbols or anything material in general guarantees you a place in Heaven. All of these types of things are of the world, created by the world and for the world. Prosperity comes in every shade of the rainbow. You can feel prosperous because you have a very expensive car or home, but on the same token you can feel prosperous because you are in alignment with God. What is of utmost importance is for us as humans to know and have faith in the belief that the greater we are tested in God's spirit, the greater will our reward be in the Kingdom of God.
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