Scripture: 2 Timothy 4 v 3: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears."
Matthew 24 v 4: "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you."
1 John 4 v 5 - 6: "They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."
We are living in a time of fake news, hoaxes, and scams at the mercy of those who prey on the unwary. The majority of people are unaware of the existence of demons and pooh pooh any information to the contrary.
However newscasters and sports commentators can be heard daily referring to the 'demons in his head' or 'there are no demons on this pitch'! They are not enduring sound doctrine. They have itching ears that only want to hear things that appeal to their status and way of life. They find being diagnosed with arthritis more acceptable than hearing they are bound by a demon of bitterness. And would rather suffer the pain and disability than be set free of demonic bondage.
In the verses above, Timothy and Jesus were referring to this period of time called "The End Times" also known as "The day of the Lord" or "that time". When that time shall come there will be tribulation. Jesus knows that when we enter this time frame, Satan will be desperate to keep holding on by deceiving many that he is the good guy. In Mormonism, Lucifer was a better brother than Jesus!
One of the signs of the end times, is Apostasy, when there is a falling away from the truth concerning Jesus. Congregations would rather believe pastors who appeal to them because they never challenge the sin in their lives. The meteoric rise of Interfaith, which blends idol worshipping false teachings with Christianity, shows the depth of deception growing in the church. The Interfaith movement is soaking up those who are not rooted and grounded in the true Word of God.
2 Corinthians 4 v 1 - 4: "Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
The 'god of this world' is Satan who causes spiritual blindness, and twisting God's Word out of shape. When we make a determined effort to manifest the truth, it will help us when the real crunch comes. Our Father will honour us as we honour Him. We will be filled with boldness! We will preach the Word honestly in the face of persecution.
Self-preservation will be unheard of. Jesus said if you want to be saved be ready to lose your life! It could mean martyrdom, or losing our way of life to walk in His shoes. Either way, we do not fail or dishonour Him. We discern deception and discover truth and proclaim it.
People prefer their own fleshly lusts to be pandered to and cannot endure the truth. They go looking for philosophy or a lifestyle that leads them away into darkness and uncertainty. They think they are being enlightened but Jesus said, If the truth that is in you is darkness, how deep is that darkness? If what we adamantly believe is totally wrong then we are truly lost.
On the one hand we see great moves of God in dark countries like China and India and South Korea, while just over the border in North Korea, 70,000 Christians are in the most horrible prisons, where their cells are like dog kennels which are too small for them to stand or lie down. They are constantly bombarded with communist propaganda from loudspeakers.
North Korea was a gift handed to General Kim by Joseph Stalin after WWII. The Kim Dynasty is the Kim cult, a totalitarian nightmare where any disrespect of any Kim results in death. The population are brainwashed into believing the rest of the world is just like them.
To correctly discern deception we need to have heart knowledge of our Bibles. Do you know that some well-known versions of the Bible are referred to as "New Age"? The best English translation of the Bible is the King James version, which is available in modern English, its called the New King James Version published by Nelson.
Some versions have substituted in many places the name Jesus Christ for "he", so that when the Antichrist comes to declare himself God, he can deceive people with those verses. Many millions will believe him and follow him to Hell.
To walk on the right side we need to be ruthless seekers after truth and to be well acquainted with what constitutes spiritual error. God has given us freedom from oppression and told us, in yesterday's blog, to leave behind the first oracles of the gospel and go on to perfection. Hebrews 6. He says the milk of the Word is for babes and strong meat is for mature believers. As long as we conform to the guidelines of truth, we can prophesy a fresh Word from Him. Some say because it's ex scriptura it's not from God!
Others teach that the gifts of the Holy Spirit petered out when Peter died and now that we have the written Bible we don't need tongues, prophecy, miracles, healing, discerning of spirits etc. Actually, we need those gifts more today than ever before. They are our sure way of sorting truth from error. We must have the oil of the Holy Spirit in our lamps to keep them burning when Jesus comes, so we don't get left behind.
It is time to put away the false religious security we cling to and throw ourselves at the merciful feet of Jesus Christ. Follow Him into eternal life and the riches of His Kingdom. Do not be deceived and follow the crowd, but find the strait (disciplined) and narrow (moral) path that leads to life.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You sent Jesus to overcome all the deception of the devil to show us how to defeat him for ourselves. Help us Lord, to learn this lesson well and apply it to every part of our lives. Then we will be able to help those who are deceived and in error to know the truth that leads to life. In Jesus' name. Amen.