CHRISTIAN MEDIA RESEARCH - Profiles - False Prophets

he Reverend Joseph Chambers is the senior pastor of Paw Creek Ministries based out of Charlotte North Carolina. Chambers, 66, has been a minister since 1957, and since 1972 has hosted a weekly radio call in program that is heard nation wide and on the Internet entitled Open Bible Dialogue. The ministry also publishes a prophecy newspaper called End Times Newsletter. Chambers is a self described "Old Fashioned Classical Pentecostal" and is a key member of what can only be described as the Rapture Cult Rat Pack of fast friends, Grant Jeffrey, Tim Lahaye, Dave Hunt and others.

Controversy erupted in 1992 when Chambers and his flock elected to withdraw from the ranks of the Church of God based out of Cleveland TN, over a conflict involving classical vs charismatic doctrinal issues. Subsequently, Chamber's ministry was sued by the mother church in a nasty and protracted court battle : a legal conflict that resulted in the seizure of Chamber's 20 acre 3 million dollar complex. Chambers has stated in writing on his web site that the Church of God was in collusion with the government and the Methodist judge who ruled against his ministry.

To his credit, Chamber's claims that his separation from the Church Of God was due to its departure from the King James Bible and the promoting of evangelists such as Benny Hinn. Chambers had legitimate reasons for his leaving the Church of God and his subsequent renunciation of that sect; however in the process he has blatantly ignored his own extreme apostasy and departure from the truth.

Chambers can best be described as a Rapture Cultist Extraordinaire, as the good Reverend has no less that 3 Raptures occurring within the non-existent 7-year tribulation. Chambers falsely teaches those who are "raptured" first, a group he calls "first fruits" Christians, are favored by God above all others, as only they will be allowed to enter in and dwell in the new city of Jerusalem on a permanent basis.

"Rapture" group number two, according to Chambers, are the tribulation saints and martyrs, who pay the ultimate price for their belief in Christ. This group is supposedly comprised of reformed "carnal Christians," and they get saved during the tribulation under the terms of the Old Covenant and not by the Holy Spirit.

Joseph Chambers, like many other Rapture Cultists, erroneously believes that the Holy Spirit is the "Restrainer" of II Thessalonians 2, and thus is no longer present on Earth during the tribulation. These "tribulation saints," according to Chambers, are only allowed to "just visit" the new city of Jerusalem and never get to live there permanently. This group is ostensibly taken at a mid to latter point during the tribulation.

The aberrational doctrine of the Holy Spirit being absent during the Tribulation is a by-product of the false doctrine of pretribulationism, and is in direct conflict with the words of our precious Savior Jesus Christ. In Mark13-11, Christ plainly referred to tribulational events when he said "But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but what so ever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost."

Not only has Chambers impugned the Saints of God - the very elect - by saying they cannot enter into New Jerusalem, but he attributes their conversion to salvation to another power other than that of the Holy Ghost. This denies believers the supernatural Spiritual power that is afforded to the believers during this final period of testing. This distortion of the truth is blasphemy verging on the unpardonable sin - the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus plainly indicated that the Holy Ghost would be present during the tribulation. Unfortunately the many scriptural refutations of the pretribulation "rapture" teaching have not stopped the likes of Tim Lahaye, J R Church, Grant Jeffrey, Hal Lindsey, and the Reverend Chambers from continuing to assert their false doctrine in the face of the words of Jesus Christ Himself.

Rapture group number three in Chamber's aberrant paradigm, is that elusive and dispensationally favored ethnic group known as the Jews. Chambers, like most Jewish Supremacists, has manufactured a special provision for this group to be Raptured at the final trumpet in the book of Revelation. Like most Rapture Cultists (to say nothing of the Pope and his recent pronouncement that Jews are saved apart from Jesus), Chambers is not above twisting and distorting the Word of God to accommodate the Jews. Like other teachers of this tripe, he says that large portions of Scripture apply only to the Jews. With these racist dogmas, Chambers has clearly demonstrated that he is abiding in complete APOSTASY - as he continues to refuse any form of correction based on a balanced scriptural exegesis of eschatology.

Like other dispensationalists (Rapture Cult), Chambers believes that Babylon is being rebuilt in the Iraqi desert by none other than Saddam Hussein. He believes this future city will be, as he says "A palace for the Antichrist." In this respect, Chambers has painted himself in the same corner as all Jewish Supremacists. Since they insist on a literal identity for "Israel," they are forced to posit a literal identity for "Babylon" : in spite of all scriptural evidence to the contrary (see Romans 9:6 & Revelation 18:9,10 for the truth).

Moving into a positively surreal fantasy world of prophetic conjecture, Chambers contends that an Assyrian Antichrist will sit in an Iraqi-built Babylon, and that he will be in collusion with a Satanically revived Catholic Church. Perhaps Chambers needs to learn a few things about infrastructure, for if the ruins in the Iraqi desert are going to lead the world's financial and military New World Order, they'll probably need a few more parking lots, plumbing, and power lines - to say nothing of some fiber optics and a separate office for the False Prophet and his secretary.

In the assertion that a literal Babylon will be rebuilt in the ancient sands that sit South of Baghdad, Chambers has apparently refused to read about the little matter of a few bombing raids that will likely occur in Iraq in the near term. Even as he joins other Cult members in the ridiculous prediction of a literal "Babylon" running the world, he continues his forays into the theater of the absurd by saying America has absolutely no association with the term Babylon.

America, in Chamber's mind, is what he calls a "sheep nation" favored by God because of its support of Israel and its spreading of the Gospel. Ignoring the obvious apostasy that has swallowed our country, Chambers believes America has been given a special dispensation from her sins because of its "good Christian people." Removing any doubt as to his overwhelming ignorance, Chambers has also stated that there is a link between anti-American sentiments and those who hold a Post-Tribulational view of Bible prophecy.

Recently, Chamber's radio ministry has been losing a number of stations in major markets due to a lack of listener support. This has forced him to concentrate an increasing amount of his efforts on the world-wide spread of his apostasy via streaming audio on the Internet. Chambers can be heard every Saturday 12 pm to 2 pm EST on his program "Open Bible Dialogue" - where he routinely cuts off callers who disagree with him - or in a booming voice simply talks over those who try to make a point. Even as Chambers rudely cuts people off the air for trying to confuse him with Scripture, he feigns that sickening candy-coated affection the Cult is notorious for by saying "He is a dear brother - he just doesn't understand."

In contrast, those who do agree with Chamber's aberrant views are so obviously devoid of scriptural discernment that most of these callers almost seem to be under the influence of some mind-altering substance. Like the sycophants they are, they praise Chambers as he pontificates on his blasphemous delusions.

Open Bible Dialogue could almost be considered comical if it wasn't a glaring microcosm of the level of stupidity and delusion that has infected the body of Christ through the deadly fiction propagated by the Rapture Cult.

In summary, Christians encountering Joseph Chamber's apostasy should be warned of the danger of his brand of virulent, Jewish Supremacist Rapture Cult doctrines. Like others of his ilk sitting in the sanctified pews of the Republican right wing, Chambers cloaks his ungodly and racist political views in the veneer of old fashioned religion.

Joseph Chambers and his followers represent a sanctimonious and self-righteous conservative faction of the Rapture Cult - totally convinced they are the last bastion of truth. As they adhere to the false doctrines, precepts, and customs of the Cult, they manifest the same whited sepulchre "conservative" delusion that characterized the Pharisees during the era of the Gospels. The Bible says from such turn away.