Rick Warren invokes the name of Islamic Jesus at Obama Inauguration
There I was, watching all of the regalia of the presidential inauguration. The crowds, the dignitaries, wondering if at any second a Muslim terrorist would be able to breech the heavy security try something unthinkable. Praise the Lord it all went relatively well. Of course, I was also waiting to see just what kind of prayer Rick Warren had co-opted to pray for the new incoming President and his administration. There was good cheer and lots of non-partisan wishes, including copious amounts of slightly sickening back slapping. Politics as usual was for at least a short time partially on hold anyway.
When Rick Warren was introduced I and many listened intently. Christians hoped for the best and prayed. Atheist sat poised with the ACLU on speed dial ready to cry foul should Warren actually mention the dreaded politically incorrect "J" word - Jesus. Others, having been mis-educated in government schools, wondered whose idea it was to have someone pray anyway. After all, those old guys who started this country really weren't religious, right? Or at least that's what the history teacher back in high school said just before the lecture on how only zealots would be so nutty as to hold to all those outdated notions like "One Nation Under God." But, I digress...
Frankly, I'd never before heard Dr. Warren express himself so passionately. No wonder. I'd be on an adrenalin rush too if I knew people in nearly every country in the world were watching. I kept thinking, "Come on Warren. Don't wimp out now." As much as I disagree with his philosophy and so much of what he has said and written (or omitted) in his books, I was truly rooting for him to not pray some generic prayer that the openly gay Episcopalian Bishop, Gene Robinson, would be proud of.
The inaugural prayer was proceeding along and Warren was rightly praying for God to lead and protect Obama. Though he didn't petition God as I have to "put a hook in Barak's nose to make him accomplish the will of the Lord," I honestly did appreciate what Warren prayed - at least to a point.
So, just when I thought I could say "amen," it happened. Warren said "I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus, who taught us to pray, "Our father who art in Heaven..." Opppsss. Wait a minute. I should have known that it was too good to be true. Yeshua and Jesus - great! "Isa" - not so much.
I have researched Islam for many years. Last year I ministered concerning the history, theology and intentions of Islam over 40 times in churches and conferences so naturally, Warren's use of the name of Isa, the false Jesus of Islam, was a glaring slap in the face to all that he had already prayed. "Isa" in no way represents the Jesus of the Bible but is instead the false Jesus of the Qur'an (Koran) and the Muslim Hadith.
"Isa" (pronounced "eee-sa") is the Islamic Jesus who was but a prophet and who certainly did not experience a sacrificial death on a cross let alone resurrect from the dead. In fact, in Islam the prophet Isa is actually the destroyer of Christianity - not it's Savior. Obviously, this is simply NOT the same Jesus as is Yeshua. Thus far, only one person has written me to comment on Warren's statement. (Hats off to Diana in Ohio who did her homework.) She also noted a good page from a website we have linked to for quite some time (www.answering-islam.org) which highlights the differences between the Jesus of the Bible and the Isa of Islam. I have placed a link to this resource at the bottom of this article.
The Apostle Paul emphatically warned about those who would come presenting counterfeit Jesus'.
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." (II Cor. 11:3-4)
Instead of becoming spiritually sharper in these perilous days, it would seem that alarming numbers in the Christian world are instead drifting further out to sea. Many have adopted the misconceived notion that any mention of the word "God" must automatically mean that Jehovah is being referred to. This confusion is even more obvious when the name "Jesus" comes into play. Regardless of the fact that Mormonism's "Jesus" isn't the biblical Jesus or that Islam's Isa is just another spiritual deception many Christians appear unequipped to give an apologetic defense of even basic Christian beliefs. The bulk of the church has adopted sloppy study habits and even worse, the majority in the pews are slowly being seduced into accepting ideas that run clearly counter to the absolute truth of Christianity. There is little heed to Paul's admonition to "test everything." found in II Thessalonians 5 let alone to call out those who are leading the flock down the garden path with half truths and often blatant errors. Many are sadly just chicken when it comes to insisting on the pure proclamation of Jesus Christ. Remember, close is only good enough when playing horseshoes and hurling hand grenades.
This now brings us to another problem with Warren's inaugural prayer. The word Jesus was spoken but where was Christ? Though he didn't miss including the name of the demonic anti-Christian deity Isa, did anyone else notice that during his prayer Warren did not invoke the Messianic title of "Christ?" There is only one "Christ" and these days without specificity the name Jesus could just as easily refer to countless Hispanic kids with the same name. Though he'll probably never comment, one has to wonder about Warren's inclusion of Isa and exclusion of Christ. They both make sense if you're looking for finely tuned political correctness with a twist of veiled one-world religion.
Does Dr. Warren not know about Isa? If he truly doesn't then shame on him. Rick Warren accepted the false premise that Jehovah and Allah are the same deity when he joined in signing "Loving God and Neighbor Together: A Christian Response to a Common Word Between us and You" with a number of ill-advised liberals, heretics and pseudo-evangelicals at Yale University in 2007. Supposing that Jehovah and Allah are one is certainly the affirmation of a form of limited universalism at best. I won't revisit all of that here but from judging the contents of his inaugural prayer it is obvious that Dr. Warren hasn't amended his position. (See my articles "I Can't Sign the Letter","Their God is NOT our God." and "Evangelical Meltdown - Islam and Christianity at Yale")
My friends, I perceive that the "Isa incident" we witnessed at the 2009 presidential inauguration to be just the sort of misleading theological shenanigans that will occur as the Antichrist becomes prominent. The Bible doesn't seem to indicate that the Antichrist's rise to power will be iron fisted. Instead, it could be somewhat incremental, maybe subtle and without a doubt very crafty. This is similar to what we are seeing today lead by Warren and the gang - a little inclusiveness here; a little universalism there; don't commit to any absolutes; just smile and say "God bless you" and pretty soon the spiritual discernment of the majority is glazed over like a donut and the seduction becomes fully blown. Its talk the talk to those who want to hear Christian rhetoric and sing a different tune when the world is watching. When you listen to the Warren's, Osteen's and Schuller's around us you get a sense of just how truly sidetracked and noncommittal some in the alleged evangelical Church have already become. Instead of focusing on the souls of mankind, it would appear that the end goal is to be non-confrontational to other religions and non-offensive to as many people in society as possible - even at the cost of absolute truth. It is sick and yet many of our friends and loved ones are buying what these guys are selling and then think that we're nut cases for insistently being so "narrow."
Though I am not saying that any of the people mentioned in this article is the actual Man of Sin himself, we had better listen very carefully when someone stands up to pray. This is especially so when the one praying claims to be an "evangelical" and his prayer is to be offered before an audience of a billion+ people worldwide. Words like "sincere," "passionate," "persuasive" have been written today in describing Warren's inaugural prayer. Before being swept up in the hype however, remember that these words are being used to describe someone whose ideology insists that Christianity, its God and its Savior are somehow allied with a demonic god and the pure evil which is found in Islam.
For information on Isa visit: http://www.answering-islam.org/Intro/islamic_jesus.html