Blessed Hope Prophecy Forum: A word of caution

On October 13-15, 2017, the Prophecy Watchers ministry hosted its first annual Blessed Hope Prophecy Forum in Norman Oklahoma. The term “blessed hope” comes from Titus 2:13 in reference to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ (which will first be in the air at the rapture of the church, and then, to the earth after the seven-year Tribulation Period). Therefore the focus of this conference is of vital importance to believers in these Last Days because our “blessed hope” is that we will be spared the wrath of God as it is poured out on the earth during Daniel’s 70th week.

Unfortunately, this particular conference reflects a trend in the church today to have a mixture of sound teaching from well-known and respected Bible teachers as well as false teaching from a growing number of men who specialize in novel ideas, conspiracy theories and sensationalism with little biblical support. Among the good Bible teachers were Mark Hitchcock (speaking on “Russia Rising and “The Judgment Seat of Christ”), Thomas Ice (“Israel’s Right to the Land,” “The Biblical Necessity of the Pre-trib Rapture”), Andy Woods (“Last Days’ Apostasy,” “Why Christians Should Support Israel”), Randall Price (“Search for the Dead Sea Scrolls,” “Prophecy in the Dead Sea Scrolls”) and Ron Rhodes (“End Time Super Trends”).

Among those who were of serious concern were Jonathan Cahn (author of The Harbinger, Mystery of the Shemitah, The Paradigm), L.A. Marzulli (main promoter and spokesman for the reality of UFOs, black-eyed children, and presence of the Nephilim throughout history), Tom Horn (author of Petrus Romanus, a book that relies heavily on ancient Catholic prophecies and pagan mythologies from around the world), as well as other promoters of what I have termed “UFO/Nephilim Eschatology” such as Derek Gilbert, Josh Peck, and Gary Stearman.

We understand that choosing which conferences to participate in is a philosophy-of-ministry issue and there are reasons why a good Bible teacher would choose to have influence in a conference where false teaching was also taking place. And, we understand that choosing which conferences to attend is a matter of personal Christian liberty. However, our concern is that when such a mixture of biblical and false teaching takes place, that it can be difficult for the average believer to recognize the false teaching for what it is. This problem is further compounded when good teachers give tacit endorsements to false teachers by joining them on the platform. We urge both potential speakers and attendees of these conferences to carefully exercise discernment and good judgment in making these types of decisions.