FORTUNE TELLERS NEVER GET IT RIGHT

Jesus said that, “men love darkness rather than light” (John 3:19). Never is it more clearly seen than in the undying propensity of people to run after psychics and psychic predictions. This is not limited to the occult and the tabloids, but is seen in increasing measure in Charismatic circles and, alarmingly, within some Evangelical circles as well.

The Apostle Peter said that we have a word more sure or a “prophetic word confirmed” (2 Peter 1:19). We have in the Word of God, all we need for salvation, all we need for sanctification (2 Timothy 3:15-17, John 17:17), and all we need for prophecy (Revelation 22). If God wanted us to know any more, He would have inspired more books to be added to the Bible. Still, lost people and some confused Christians do not think so and prefer the guesswork, failures and darkness of false prophets and tabloid prognosticators.

If one does just a little tabloid perusing or religious channel surfing, the misses and failures of modern “prophets” are obvious. Remember that God demanded 100% accuracy (Deuteronomy 13:5-10, 18:19-22). This clearly leaves all of the psychics and their predictions on eroding ground or no ground at all.

Cult researcher Bill Alnor reminds us: “When biblical prophets told of the future they were without error, and their words were usually specific — such as that Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) and that he would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zech. 9:9). It is simply not true, as some teach today, that modern prophets can sometimes be wrong” (UFO Cults and the New Millennium, pg. 59).

In 1998, we saw that the mystics and soothsayers were constantly wrong. Their “visions of an apocalypse” and the “wrath-of-God-like hailstorms in Texas” missed completely. Their visions of Clinton’s dog, Buddy, involved in an international scandal missed it entirely (“The Fault Lies Not in the Stars” by Buck Wolf from ABC News web site, Jan. 2, 1999, pg. 1).

It is most interesting that the psychics own up to their own shortcomings and lack of accuracy. Yet, some overreach and claim 90% accuracy. That is highly suspect. And because of the apathy or lack of diligence on the part of followers of psychics, some predictions are tweaked or altered after the fact for greater success and fulfillment. No one really keeps score and sadly no one seems to care.

Major earthquakes did not come to Hawaii, but the Rev. Leon LeGrant just blows it off by saying he is glad for people that the predictions did not come true. LeGrant is predicting flooding in the deserts of Arizona, California and Nevada for 1999. LeGrant combines his bogus predictions with a bit of spiritism and claims he is constantly in touch with dead rock star Jim Morrison (Ibid., pg. 2).

It is obvious that where these people are not outright frauds and fakes, they are occultists of the highest order.

In 1994, Family Radio Network prognosticator Harold Camping told PFO that if his September 1994 date for Christ’s return failed, “All we’ll do is drop anymore reference to 1994. Somehow an error was made. Maybe by that time we’ll know what the error is” (see The Quarterly Journal, July-Sept. 1994, pp. 1, 12-14).

Camping’s error was quite easy to identify: He went outside the bounds of Scripture and set a date for our Lord’s Second Coming (Acts 1:7).

An old proverb says: “To promise and give nothing is a comfort to a fool.” People are not only being fooled but are fools. They also have short memories and forget quickly (or choose to ignore) the false prophecies of the likes of Camping, Benny Hinn, John Kilpatrick, Marshall Applewhite, Kim Miller and other “Christian” and cultic superstars.

People need to revisit their Bibles on the subject of direct revelation and predictive prophecy. They need to also revisit the writings of others who have been down the path in times past. Kurt Koch in a classic analysis (1971), reminds us that:

“A distinction has to be made between intuitive and suggestive types of fortune-telling. Fortune-telling itself has two sides to it, influence and fulfillment. Possibly 95% of all fortune-telling, or even more, can be regarded as a matter of fraud, fake and the making of money. Yet because of its suggestive character, even fraudulent fortune-telling can be dangerous. The last 5% is dependent on extrasensory powers whose ethical character is disputed both by theologians and parapsychologists. The Bible, however, is absolutely clear on this matter. Prophecy is inspired by the Holy Spirit and is of God. Fortune-telling is inspired by the spirit of Satan and is of the devil. The effects of fortune-telling speak in a language which is equally as clear. The Scriptures label fortune-telling as blasphemy” (The Devil’s Alphabet, pg. 57).

Koch continues:

“Is it not part of God’s mercy to us that the future is veiled? If we knew everything that lay ahead of us, decisions would be impossible, initiative would be paralyzed, and we would be robbed of our joy of living. The silence of God is far more merciful than the unveiling of the fortune-tellers, although they seek to do it as a service to man. And this neglects the fact that most of this so-called ‘unveiling’ is of a dubious nature and carries with it much oppression and many burdens” (Ibid., pp. 58-59).

In their article entitled “Faith in the future,” Don Lattin and Richard Cimino, writing from a secular standpoint, concluded that the trend in American religion is toward “Finding faith through experiences, not institutions.” In a cold analysis, they affirm that people are not looking to the Bible or to Bible-believing churches for truth but to themselves and their subjective experiences. They state:

“According to a recent poll, 7 in 10 Americans believe you can be religious without going to church. This can frustrate clergy members and religious institutions looking for loyal constituencies; indeed, half of the baby boomers raised in the mainline Presbyterian denomination have dropped out. The emphasis on experience also is seen in the growth of practices that provide a firsthand sense of the sacred, ... About 75 million Americans attend church on Sundays, but they also pick up beliefs and practices from the popular culture and other religions” (USA Weekend, Dec. 25-27, 1998, pg. 8).

So we see that people are into do-it-yourself, pick and choose “religious” experiences at times cut off from the Church and most certainly from the Bible. This leaves people open, vulnerable, and prime targets for all kinds of religious deception. While some church institutions need to be rejected, the wholesale rejection of even Bible-believing churches leaves people with no accountability and no spiritual teaching. The trend is not toward discernment but rather mindlessness.

Tabloid teasers, false prophecies and occult experiences are to be avoided and condemned. Whether secular fortune tellers or “Christian” (Charismatic or Evangelical) fortune tellers, born-again people everywhere ought to speak out in condemnation of the froth and fraud and the possible dark link to occultism and Satan. Fortune cookies are probably a safer entity — while their predictions are just as spurious, at least you get a bite to eat.

—GRF

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