Take Heed, Beware Of The Leaven?

Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more
than one loaf with them in the boat. Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed,
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." And they reasoned
among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread." But Jesus, being
aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you
not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? "Having eyes, do
you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? "When
I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments
did you take up?" They said to Him, "Twelve." "Also, when I broke the seven for
the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And
they said, "Seven." So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?" Mark
8:14-19
The American Heritage Dictionary defines „leaven‟ as:
leav·en n. 1. An agent, such as yeast, that causes batter or dough to rise,
especially by fermentation. 2. An element, influence, or agent that works subtly to
lighten, enliven, or modify a whole.
So we see that leaven is an element, influence, or agent that works subtly to lighten,
enliven, or modify a whole, and that includes our thinking and our doctrines. Jesus warned
us that religious leaders of His day and our day could with a little bit of leaven subtly modify
the Word of God to make it useless to us! As a result many become deceived and destroyed
for not only lack of knowledge but wrong knowledge. God‟s word is unchanging:
"For false Christ‟s and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders
to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (Matthew 24:24)
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the
faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in
hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry,
and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with
thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God
is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is
sanctified by the Word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:1-5
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-
control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And
from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households
and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various
lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2
Timothy 3:1-7
Yes, we are to turn away from those who have departed from the faith, giving heed to
deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy and now preach
heresies, things contrary to the Word of God. Yes, we are to turn away from those having
a form of godliness but deny its power, always learning and never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth even if they are pastors and preachers.
JOHN WARWICK MONTGOMERY i is considered by many to be the foremost living
apologist for biblical Christianity. A renaissance scholar with a flair for controversy, he lives
in France, England and the United States. His international activities have brought him into
personal contact with some of the most exciting events of our time: not only was he in
China In June 1989, but he was In Fiji during its 1987 bloodless revolution, was involved in
assisting East Germans to escape during the time of the Berlin Wall, and was in Paris during
the 'days of May' 1968. Dr. Montgomery is the author of more than forty books in five
languages. He holds ten earned degrees, Including a Master of Philosophy in Law from the
University of Essex, England, a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, a Doctorate of the
University in Protestant Theology from the University of Strasbourg, France, and the higher
doctorate (LL.D.) from Cardiff University, Wales. He is an ordained Lutheran clergyman, an
English barrister, and is admitted to practise as a lawyer before the Supreme Court of the
United States and inscrit au Barreau de Strasbourg, France. He obtained acquittals for the
'Athens 3' missionaries on charges of proselytism at the Greek Court of Appeals in 1986 and
won the leading religious liberty cases of Larissis v. Greece and Bessarabian Orthodox
Church v. Moldova before the European Court of Human Rights. As a result of his victory in
the latter case, he was presented with the Patriarch's Medal by the Patriarch of the
Roumanian Orthodox Church (October, 2003).
Dr. Montgomery is author of over one hundred scholarly journal articles and more than
forty books in English, French, Spanish and German. He is internationally regarded both as
a theologian (his debates with the late Bishop James Pike, death-of-God advocate Thomas
Altizer, and situation-ethicist Joseph Fletcher are historic) and as a lawyer (barrister-at-law
of the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn, England; member of the California, Virginia,
Washington State, and District of Columbia Bars and the Bar of the Supreme Court of the
United States). He is one of only six persons to have received the Diploma of the
International Institute of Human Rights cum laude, and was the Institute's Director of
Studies from 1979 to 1981.ii
If we examine how John W. Montgomery handled a false prophet Bishop James A. Pike
compared to Southern Baptist Pastor and Evangelist Billy Graham we will be surprised. For
the record in his 1959 San Francisco Crusade, Billy Graham honored the notorious liberal
Bishop James A. Pike by having him lead in prayer. Graham had attended Pike's
consecration at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral on May 15, 1958. iii (Pike would also have
been involved in Graham's 1957 New York Crusade, as he was the dean of the extremely
modernistic Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York from 1952 to 1958. )
James Pike was a brilliant man, raised as a Roman Catholic and trained as a lawyer. He
became an Episcopalian after the war and pursued ordination in the Episcopal Church,
eventually becoming dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City in 1952.
In 1958 he was elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of California, and his election
narrowly received confirmation because he had divorced and re-married (this was before
episcopal permission for re-marriage was allowed). He became known more and more for
outspoken views on the irrelevance of classical doctrines such as the Trinity and the virginal
conception of Jesus.
Pike’s mediagenic personality and brilliant arguments made him the darling of some and
the devil of others. His personal life gradually came apart when his son committed suicide in
1966. Pike started a highly public quest to contact his son through spiritualism. He divorced
and re-married again. Many people who knew him have told me they believe he began a
slide into manic depression.iv
Yet, Pike was a rank, unbelieving Modernist, a drunkard, an adulterer. He denied the
Trinity and refused to state the traditional benediction, "In the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen!" He abbreviated this to "In the name of God, Amen!"
Three times Pike was brought up on heresy charges in the Episcopal Church. In an article in
Look magazine Pike stated that he did not believe the fundamentals of the faith. In a
pastoral letter that was to be read in all the Episcopal Churches of his diocese, Pike stated
that "religious myth is one of the avenues of faith and has an important place in the
communication of the Gospel." He spoke of the "myth of the Garden of Eden." He said, "The
virgin birth... is a myth which churchmen should be free to accept or reject." In an article in
Christian Century, Dec. 21, 1960, Pike declared that he no longer believed the doctrines
stated in the Apostles‟ Creed. The same month that article appeared Graham again joined
Pike at his Grace Cathedral for a Christian Men‟s Assembly sponsored by the National
Council of Churches. Three times Pike was picked up by San Francisco police while he was
wandering around in a drunken, confused state late at night. He spent four years in
intensive psychoanalysis. Pike was twice divorced, thrice married, and had at least three
mistresses. One of his mistresses committed suicide; one of his daughters attempted
suicide. After his eldest son committed suicide in 1966 at age 20, Pike got deeply involved
in the occult in an attempt to communicate with the deceased.
In 1967, Pike died from a 70-foot fall in a remote canyon in the Israeli desert near the
Dead Sea. His maggot infested body was found five days later. The 56-year-old theologian
had gotten lost in the desert while on an extended honeymoon with his 31-year-old third
wife. A biography about Pike noted that "never before in the history of the Episcopal Church
had a Solemn Requiem Mass been offered for a bishop in the presence of three surviving
wives" v
John W. Montgomery actions with Bishop Pike were different that that of Billy Graham.
In the early Seventies, during the “God is dead” movement, Dr. John W. Montgomery came
into prominence. He was and is a renowned Biblical scholar with numerous degrees and an
obvious brilliant mind, and a “who‟s who” in America at that time. He was invited to openly
debate Bishop Pike, on a Chicago University Campus, which was televised. He literally tore
the Bishop‟s theology apart. His critics were upset and protested at how he destroyed
Bishop Pike during the debate. Even though God‟s word states that they should be
destroyed:
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His
lips He shall slay the wicked. Isaiah 11:4
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false
teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying
the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 Peter 2:1
I was to have the privilege of meeting Dr. John Montgomery when he came to our
university for a week of Evangelism. It was sponsored by the university‟s Inter-Varsity
Christian Fellowship club where I was on the executive committee. I personally asked John
the following question, “As a Christian how could you do what you did to Bishop Pike?” He
answered, “Easily, and I would gladly do it again to anyone who was a false prophet and
had hurt and deceived so many people.”
Jesus didn‟t bless the religious and political leaders of His day but rather He cursed
them. “Woe to you” doesn‟t mean “something good is going to happen to you?” God‟s word
is unchanging about deceived religious leaders of our day such Jim Bakker, Henry J. Lyons
and Billy Graham who called themselves—men of God:
"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow
those who are entering to go in. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore
you will receive greater condemnation.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to
win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell
as yourselves. Matthew 23:13-15
 A real Man of God doesn‟t lie, steal, is not cowardly or fearful, because he is truthful,
bold and full of courage. These things are done by those who belong to the other family and
not to God‟s family. A real man of God doesn‟t support rapists, liars and thieves or have
them as His friends.
Those who walk in the flesh will demonstrate the works of the flesh adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness,
revelries, and the like. Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God
even if their name is Ned Graham, the son of Billy Graham. Here are the modernists and
apostates with whom Billy Graham has fellowshipped, and used in his crusades:
 Henry Van Dusen Union Theological Seminary
 Bishop James Pike, episcopal bishop
 John Sutherland Bonnell
 Robert McCracken, Minister of Riverside Church, New York
 Dr. Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury
 Dr. Fred Townley Lord, British Methodist
 Dr. Bertram Simpson, Bishop of Southwark
 Dr. E.A. Payne, General Secretary of British Baptist Union
 Bishop Gerald Kennedy, Methodist
 Dr. Jesse Baird
 Dr. Stanley E. Jones
 Dr. Martin Luther King, Modernist in theology.
The Lord Jesus said, 'If ye love Me, keep My commandments'. (John 14:15). God has
said, 'To the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word, it is because
there is no light in them'. (Isa 8:20). The scriptures are very clear about not having
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them (Ephesians 5:11).
God‟s word is very clear as to how we are to handle and deal with false prophets and those
who support them:
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with
darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that
believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?
for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and
walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come
out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be
my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Corinthians 6:14-18
Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not
have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into
your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. 2 John
1:9-11
But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you
withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the
tradition which he received from us. 2 Thessalonians 3:6
 "Ephraim is joined to idols, Let him alone. Their drink is rebellion, They commit
harlotry continually. Her rulers dearly love dishonor. Hosea 4:17-18
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false
teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying
the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many
will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be
blasphemed. 2 Peter 2:1-2
If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even
the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with
godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and
arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,
useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose
that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. 1 Timothy 6:3-5
Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses,
contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. Romans 16:17
And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people,
lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. Revelation 18:4
It is a fact that many of God‟s people have received plagues of the judgments of others
because they shared in the sins of others just like Oral Roberts did when he supported and
defended Jim Bakker. In an interview on "The Larry King Show," Swaggart claimed that
Bakker's downfall represented a "very glad day, because this cancer has been excised that I
feel has caused the body of Christ untold reproach. ' vi These comments aroused Oral
Roberts's ire, and he blasted Swaggart while defending Bakker. Foolish Oral Roberts forgave
and defended Jim Bakker for something that was not forgivable. God does not forgive those
who rob, rape and murder in the house of God as Eli and his two sons were not forgiven.
Something that is in the very bible that they sometime use and is true.
Oral Roberts forgave his friend, Jim Bakker, for robbing and raping in the house of God.
Roberts made large contributions to the Praise the Lord (PTL) ministry of Jim and Tammy
Bakker when they fell into hard times during the 1987 scandal. (Sara Diamond, Spiritual
Warfare (Boston, MA: South End Press, 1989). Then he wondered why the City of Faith of
faith was not finished, the law school was not accredited and ORU incurred a 40 million
dollar debt.
- Falwell called Bakker a liar, an embezzler and sexual deviate. He fired Bakker's entire
staff when he took over Praise the Lord show. Falwell bankrupted the PTL Club calling
Bakker "the greatest scab and cancer on the face of Christianity in two thousand years of
church history"
But Jim Bakker won't have to pay $120 million to former followers who bought
"partnerships" in his PTL tele-ministry. A jury in North Carolina on July 23, 1996 threw out a
class action suit brought on behalf of more than 160,000 onetime believers who paid as
much as $7,000 each in the '80s to join Jim and Tammy Faye in holy larceny.
However the Internal Revenue Service says Bakker and Messner owe personal income
taxes from the 1980s when they were building their Praise The Lord empire reported the
Charlotte Observer. The IRS assessed the taxes after revoking the PTL ministry's nonprofit
status, said Roe Messner, Tammy Faye's husband since 1993.
Tammy Faye Messner new husband said Jim Bakker and his former wife didn't want to
talk about the tax issues. "We don't want to stir the pot," Messner said. He said the original
tax amount was about $500,000. Penalties and interest account for the rest of the bill. The
notices reinstating the liens list "James O. and Tamara F. Bakker" as owing $3 million.
 Jim Bakker nor the Assembly of God with whom he was ordained have never publicly
discussed or dealt with the fact that Jim Bakker was Bi-sexual or that his real lover was a
man! Although a contrite Jim Bakker returned to his childhood church to ask forgiveness, he
never talked about David Taggart his great male lover! Bakker, the founder on the now non
existent PTL Club and Village, has downplayed the role of the bisexual evangelist John
Wesley Fletcher, who arranged his tryst with Jessica Hahn. He hardly talks about James and
David Taggart, the brothers who many claim controlled Bakker in his final PTL years
Fletcher was bitter and said Bakker had failed to keep promises and had forsaken him
during tough times. Fletcher stated during the "Pearlygate" media storm that he, too, had
been sexually involved with bisexual Bakker, reported Christianity Today. vii
The Bakkers declined to meet their accusers. Jerry Falwell offered them that
opportunity; so did the elders of the Assemblies of God, which conducted their own inquiry.
When Bakker declined to appear before his district presbytery to face charges, the
Assemblies of God dismissed him for "conduct unbecoming to a minister." Reverend G.
Raymond Carlson, general superintendent of the church, said the "alleged misconduct
involving bisexual activity" weighed heavily in the decision to unfrock Bakker. Carlson
noted further that the word alleged was used because Bakker did not wish to defend
himself.
For many people, allegations of misappropriating PTL resources for their own personal
use and the payment of huge salaries and bonuses were far more serious charges than the
allegations of sexual misconduct.
The Bakkers had appointed a rubber-stamp board of directors to oversee their
management practices. In return for acquiescing to Jim and Tammy's whims, several of
these board members received tens of thousands of dollars in fees, bonuses, and
contributions to their own projects.
In 1986 the Bakkers were paid $1.9 million; since 1984, a total of $4.8 million had been
paid to them. In addition, PTL monies were used for expensive homes, a palatial suite at the
Heritage Grand Hotel, automobiles, lavish wardrobes, vacations, and parties.
The Bakkers' closest associates were privy to their high living at the expense of PTL
partners. They, too, were well paid. Reverend Richard Dortch, the Assemblies of God
minister who many thought had brought some order and organization to the rapidly growing
Heritage USA operations, was paid $240,000 in 1985 and $350,000 in 1986. He received
approximately $270,000 during the first three months of 1987 before Falwell sacked him.
David Taggart, a twenty-nine-year-old "personal aide" to Bakker, received $360,000 in
1986; Jim Bakker's personal secretary received $160,000.
And then there were "consultants." James Taggart, interior decorator and David
Taggart's brother, was paid $10,000 a month, but, according to the new PTL management,
he had performed no services "for months."' Peter B. Teeley, press secretary to George
Bush until 1984, was paid $120,000 for eighteen months to serve as a Washington "liaison";
apparently there were no written records of any services performed. viii

Walter Kambulow
http://www.scribd.com/tag/walter%20kambulow
http://walthope.tripod.com/
An Overview of Religious Financial Fraud http://www.scribd.com/doc/24336837
Not Innocent http://www.a2zbookdepot.com/xxcrxxoxxoks.pdf or
http://crooksaog.tripod.com/
Liars and Perjurers in Revival John Arnott and Todd Bentley
http://www.a2zbookdepot.com/revival.pdf

i http://www.jwm.christendom.co.uk/
ii http://www.id.ucsb.edu/FSCF/LIBRARY/MONTGOMERY/bio.html
iii William Stringfellow and Anthony Towne, The Death and Life of Bishop Pike, p. 306.
iv
The Ghost of James Pike The Rt Revd Pierre W. Whalon, D.D.
v The Death and Life of Bishop Pike, p. 202. , Billy Graham's Disobedience To The Word of God by David W.
Cloud, http://cnview.com/on_line_resources/billy_grahams_disobedience.htm
vi Associated Press, "Swaggart Calls Bakker 'Cancer' of Christ," The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Virginia),
March 25, 1987.,
vii http://www.evolvefish.com/fish/product902.html, http://tmatt.gospelcom.net/column/1996/12/04/
viii Hadden, Jeffrey K. and Anson Shupe. Televangelism: Power and Politics on God‟s Frontier. New York:
Henry Holt and Company, 1988., "Jim Bakker Indicted on Fraud Charges," Fund Raising Management, Jan
1989.,Art Harris and Michael Isikoff, "The Bakkers' Tumultuous Return, Washington Post June 12, 1987.