(Help me keep the momentum going with my two new titles, The God That Answers by Fire and Zechariah 2. They really are great Christmas gifts as you line up Bible studies for the New Year. Many thanks!)
Literally from the beginning, the enemy of our souls has used subtle lies to deceive mankind. Even humans would generally recognize huge lies and at least take some measure of pushback. We all know that first encounter in the Garden of Eden, when the serpent asked Eve, “Did God say?” He was introducing doubt to her mind, and the logical destination from that is rebellion—rejecting God’s Word.
As we all try to keep our balance against the flood of bizarre happenings in our world, it can feel overwhelming. I would suggest that the devil is doing something new in our generation. He is throwing everything at us, along with several kitchen sinks, in order to keep people disoriented. I think he’s succeeding.
(I once visited the Grand Canyon. As we explored at river-level one day, our guide pointed to the large grooves that empty at the river. They were dry, but he said that flash floods appear out of nowhere in the desert, and if you find yourself in one, you’re in trouble. He gave his account of once hiking through these areas when all of a sudden, a torrent of water swallowed him and he was sent hurtling underwater, striking his head and other body parts on the canyon walls. Obviously, a dangerous situation. Well, I think that’s a good analogy for what we’re going through now.)
Remember, Jesus heavily emphasized watching out for deception in the last days. Deception is not a frontal assault. The devil often imparts some bits of truth in a stew of lies. He draws people in, then it’s too late.
All this to set up what I hope becomes clear to you, as I unpack a devilish assault on biblical truth.
I recently became aware of a song, “Rattle,” produced by Elevation Worship and apparently Bethel Music. As soon as I played the official video, I saw that it’s really a Steven Furtick Production.
Furtick, the founder and pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, is now 45. A marketing major in college, Furtick is what I’d describe as a clever communicator. Notice I didn’t say good. Elevation launched in 2006. Furtick’s Southern Baptist background served him well in terms of networking, but he then pivoted and began hosting and slavishly lauding older ministry leaders. These included T.D. Jakes and Matt Chandler. His network also included Bill Hybels, Brian Houston and James McDonald—all now disgraced and fallen from ministry.
Furtick, though, built a powerful ministry, which includes Elevation Worship, a lucrative music outlet. Furtick is loved by many, but some others realize he is less than a solid Bible teacher. Furtick appears to be interested most in promoting Steven Furtick. He is vicious in responses to critics. When he built a $1.7 million mansion in Charlotte a few years ago, I could not (still can’t) understand why his congregants, many who no doubt can barely pay their bills, support him financially. Furtick also wears very expensive designer clothes and mega-expensive watches and other jewelry. In short, he is a Word-Faith guru, sort of a 21st-century Oral Roberts.
He is known for his extensive use of “eisegesis.” Here is an AI(!) explanation of eisegesis:
“Eisegesis is the interpretation of a text by reading one’s own ideas, biases, and assumptions into it, rather than drawing the meaning out from the text itself. This is in contrast to exegesis, which involves a careful, objective analysis of the text’s historical, cultural, and literary context to understand its original meaning. Eisegesis can lead to misinterpretation because it prioritizes the reader’s point over the author’s intended message.”
Furtick’s book, Sun Stand Still, was not a teaching book about the amazing experiences of Joshua, son of Nun. No, it was all about getting stuff from God. Several years ago, he traveled to Israel, where he was photographed dressed up like Elijah. Again, Steven Furtick sees the Bible through the lens of personal gain. He loves to talk about himself, or just loves the sound of his own voice. One of the short videos on his website was a film of Furtick preparing to leave his office and go to the pulpit. Lots of dramatic shots of him praying, adjusting his clothes, etc. Can you imagine Spurgeon (or any other Gospel preacher) doing that?
Check out this great research resource, from the late, great Ken Silva. There, you’ll find much background on Mr. Furtick.
Now, to my point. A recent music video release from Furtick’s (I mean Elevation’s) money-making venture titled “Rattle” jumped out at me immediately. I should tell you that many, many people love Furtick’s stuff and groove to his music. You can watch Rattle here if you can make it through the self-lovefest.
Now, what Furtick and his team of musicians do is conflate several biblical accounts: the Resurrection, Ezekiel 37, and Elijah. Furtick wrote the song with Brandon Lake and Chris Brown. The title “Rattle” calls to mind bones coming together.
Note some of the lyrics:
Saturday was silent
Surely it was through
But since when has impossible
Ever stopped You?
Friday’s disappointment
Is Sunday’s empty tomb
Since when has impossible
Ever stopped You?
This is the sound of dry bones rattling
This is the praise, make a dead man walk again
Open the grave, I’m coming out
I’m gonna live, gonna live again
This is the sound of dry bones rattling, yeah
And here we get to the Charismania stuff:
Pentecostal fire stirring something new
You’re not gonna run out of miracles anytime soon
Yeah, resurrection power runs in my veins too and
I believe there’s another miracle here in this room
This is the sound of dry bones rattling
This is the praise, make a dead man walk again
Open the grave, I’m coming out
I’m gonna live, gonna live again
This is the sound of dry bones rattling
This is no longer about actual Scripture. It’s about 20th-century snake-oil salesmanship. In these last lines, Furtick & Co. sing of themselves coming out of the tomb. Not Christ. Then they throw in Ezekiel 37 to their stew of Gospels accounts in the New Testament.
This is junk. It not only doesn’t feed his flock, it leads them away from actual teaching about what the Bible is.
“It would seem to me that after 3,000 years, the time has arrived to accept Israel’s nationhood as a fact, for here is the only State in the international community which has the same territory, speaks the same language, and upholds the same faith as it did 3,000 years ago.” (Abba Eban)
There is more teaching in that quote from Israel’s most famous diplomat than there is in a year of Elevation worship/church.
After “Rattle” was issued in 2020, this note appeared on the Elevation site:
“There’s no other song like it on the project. musically speaking. It was written during quarantine, over voice memos that were shared back and forth, and Zoom calls, that are so difficult to actually write because of the delay. There just quickly got to be an energy around this song, like, this is supposed to make you feel something, feel alive, feel this sense of hope.
From our standpoint, what our faith just grounds us in is if Jesus was in the grave for just a temporary moment and he got up out of that grave, then why are we staying locked inside this dark place? When the song came about, it felt like ‘Let’s give people something’—first of all, write it authentically to what we’re experiencing personally, but then give our church something to shout about, like this isn’t the end, I will get to go and see life again and experience life again, and let’s believe it.”
What?
You see, it’s all about experience and feeling. This is the hallmark of this kind of church. And don’t forget that Furtick is teaching his people that they are somehow participating in the Resurrection morning. We “participate” insofar as we are told in Romans 10, if we accept that God sent Jesus in the flesh, and raised Him from the dead, we are saved. We are not “emerging” from the tomb with Jesus to soak up applause.
There is much more that is problematic with Steven Furtick and Elevation. But this tale of “Rattle” really annoys me. It is yet another example of pastors and churches inserting themselves into Ezekiel 37, the famous “Dry Bones” prophecy, meant for…the Jews.
“Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts” (Ezekiel 37:11).
Some would say I am nitpicking. Fine. All this will shake out in the end. I said what I said.
Ezekiel 37 is not about Steven Furtick. Or the Church. It is once and for all about the Jewish people and their destiny.
I personally believe that the vast majority of professing Christians in America today are largely ignorant of biblical truth. It’s much about mediocre leadership.
We are in the endgame.
Most people are not ready.
www.patreon.com/TheGodThatAnswers
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(Help me keep the momentum going with my two new titles, The God That Answers by Fire and Zechariah 2. They really are great Christmas gifts as you line up Bible studies for the New Year. Many thanks!)
The post Apostasy in the Church: The Death Rattle :: By Jim Fletcher appeared first on Rapture Ready.
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