Why does this teaching matter?
In this 1990 sermon, Wilkerson warned that Satan's top priority is to 'silence all reproof, to shut the mouths of all prophets and watchmen, and to discredit all preaching against sin by saying it is too judgmental.' He described how a younger generation of preachers told him: 'Brother Dave, none of these kids listen to old prophets like you anymore. We're the new prophets of this generation.' He also blasted 'Christian television stations that parade before the church today a whole generation of celebrity believers.' Wilkerson preached that 'while they slept the enemy crept in and planted a counterfeit gospel of mixture!' — a gospel that mixes a little truth with a lot of flesh, a little Scripture with a lot of entertainment, a little Jesus with a lot of self. The counterfeit looks almost exactly like the real thing — and that's what makes it so dangerous.
What did David Wilkerson teach?
"There is no more 'bark' in the pulpit! Too many shepherds are lazy, too preoccupied with their own dreams and personal gain, refusing to cry out against the lying spirits, the phony faith, the counterfeit spirituality."
Speaker: David Wilkerson
Source: David Wilkerson, 'Counterfeit Spirituality' — Times Square Church, January 15, 1990. Full text: http://www.tscpulpitseries.org/english/1990s/ts900115.html
What does Scripture confirm?
Isaiah 56:10-11
"His watchmen are blind, they are all ignorant; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yes, they are greedy dogs which never have enough. And they are shepherds who cannot understand; they all look to their own way, every one for his own gain."
— NKJV
Isaiah describes watchmen who are BLIND and 'mute dogs that cannot bark' — they should warn of danger but instead lie dreaming! Wilkerson used exactly this imagery: 'There is no more bark in the pulpit!' The shepherds have stopped barking — they no longer warn of wolves, false doctrines, sin. Why? Because, as Isaiah says, they have 'turned to their own way, each one to his own gain.' They're more interested in their own careers than the safety of the sheep.
Ezekiel 34:2-4
"Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock."
— NKJV
exploit the most generous givers) — but do NOT shepherd the sheep. Wilkerson criticized these 'celebrity believers' parading on Christian TV. The weak are not strengthened, the sick not healed, the lost not sought after.
2 Corinthians 11:13-14
"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light."
— NKJV
A COUNTERFEIT looks like the original — that's the whole point! Satan doesn't disguise himself as a dark demon; he comes as 'an angel of light.' False spirituality looks like real spirituality: there is worship, preaching, prayer, 'manifestations of the Spirit.' But Wilkerson warned: 'While they slept the enemy crept in and planted a counterfeit gospel of mixture!' The mixture is the key — a little truth, a little lie, a little Spirit, a little flesh.