Saturday Song: Klaatu, "California Jam"

Long-time readers of this blog will doubtless remember all the predictions charismatic preachers made of how the west coast of North America was supposed to slide into the Pacific. Various doomsday prophets kept repeating this idea and many Christians accepted it as being a genuine prophecy.

Even the Canadian band Klaatu got into the act. In their debut hit, they sang of how California would someday be "one sweet memory."

Hear the song here.

So will this actually happen? I highly doubt it since those who claim this to be true have an aberrant understanding of Holy Scripture.

Look at the criteria for being a true prophet. Deuteronomy 18:22 (KJV) says, "When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."

But what if a prophet says something and it does happen by chance? Either he or she was a good guesser or the Lord is testing people by that prophet's lies. Deuteronomy 13:1 to 3 reads, "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, 'Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;' Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

How wonderful it is that we have the scriptures to guide us. We'd be drowning in false doctrines if not for the sure word from the Lord. His word is solid and dependable, unlike the wavering values of this world.

On Monday, I'll post about what "the Great Commission" is. Christians use this phrase often but what does it really mean?