5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

I sometimes pray with a group of people on a prayer line.  The leader calls in from Africa.  The man calls himself a prophet.  No one has ever seen him.

The prophet is the leader of this prayer line.  He seems to be a wonderful man of God with spiritual gifts… always praying in the name of Jesus.  I’m very concerned and do not want to be deceived into any magic or anything that is against God.

He often asks the people who are having issues to bring oil, water, white handkerchiefs, stones, garments, shoes, rings, pictures, honey, sugar, salt, shirts, and many other objects.  He would pray over them and tell us what to do with them (for example: wear it to bed, put it under your pillow, flush things down the toilet, place it in the Bible, and various directions).

Could it be that, in the background, he is working magic?  Is this of God?  Should christians be involved in this?  Thanks for your honest answer.

Sincerely,
On The Party Line

Dear On The Party Line,

This man is definitely not of God.  God tells us to test all teachers and compare them to the Scriptures (1 Jhn 4:1) because even false teachers disguise themselves as ministers of the light (2 Cor 11:14-15).  This man is a great example of this.

God never teaches that we should do the things that this “prophet” is telling you to do.  In fact, the Bible teaches that all behavior like this is occult and should be fled from.  When the christians of the first-century converted, they burned their books of magic and fled from such occult practices (Acts 19:19).  Paul tells us that all spiritual gifts have ceased (1 Cor 13:8-10).  This man isn’t teaching or living by Bible principles; he has warped God’s Word for his own purposes, and that will get him in a lot of eternal trouble (Gal 1:6-8).  This man has gone beyond the Scriptures (1 Cor 4:6).  Don’t unwittingly become his accomplice by entertaining his false notions (2 Jhn 1:11).  You are right to be concerned.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

Is there an answer in the Bible as to WHY God made the life span of man from 900 years (before the flood) to 120 years (after the flood) and then in Ps. 90, Moses says it has dropped to 70 years?  Is there any Bible explanation for this?  I am supposed to teach Sunday school this Sunday, and I can't find a Bible answer.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Teach This Teacher

Dear Teach This Teacher,

There is no specific answer as to why God allowed the age of man to deteriorate down to seventy to eighty years (Ps 90:10) from the hundreds of years that people lived during the pre-Flood era, but many creation scientists attribute the drop to genetic degradation.  As mankind’s genetic pool has deteriorated from the perfect specimens of Adam and Eve, the length of our lives has suffered.  At least, that is one theory.

Now let’s address the ‘120 year’ reference that you made.  That reference comes from Gen. 6:3.  Gen 6:3 isn’t a statement concerning the maximum age for all people; it was the length of time God waited until flooding the earth.  Genesis 6 is the beginning of the account of Noah’s Flood.  God said that He would only put up with the wickedness of mankind for another 120 years because all their thoughts and ways were evil (Gen 6:5-7).  During that 120-year period, God tasked Noah with building an ark for the safety of his family and the collection of all the animal kinds (Gen 6:13-21).  That verse is a flood verse, not a proclamation of the age limit for humans.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom