There are many warnings in the Bible about false teachers and teachings. Unfortunately, most Christians seem to think this is referring to someone else. Christ Himself warned several times: - “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are plundering wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.” Matt 7:15-16 “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” 24:4-5 “Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people” 24:11 “For false Christs and lying teachers will arise and will do great signs and wonders, so as to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.” verse 24. A blunt warning from their Master about the massive deception that would come, but does anyone take heed today? Where are these many false prophets? There’s a lot of false prophecies expounded in some churches these days.
“God is not a God of confusion but a God of peace.” 1 Cor 14:33 ‘Churchianity’ is riddled with confusion. One group teaches one thing, and another teaches something different. This is not of GOD’s doing, so who is causing all the confusion? “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,” 1 Timothy 4:1 “But reject Godless and old wives’ fables, and train yourself toward godliness.” verse 7. Pagan practices, observances and teachings were already creeping into the Church and intensified over the centuries under Rome. “If Paganism was conquered by Christianity, it is equally true that Christianity was corrupted by Paganism.” -Edward Gibbon: History of Christianity. It’s a mixture of truth and lies, and that will fail.
“Study and do your best to present yourself to GOD to gain His approval, a worker who has no need to be embarrassed, correctly teaching GOD’s truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 “For the time will come when people will not put up with correct teaching. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 4:3-4 NIV There’s a multitude of teachers today preaching false doctrines, and most won’t endure sound Biblical teachings. “Test the spirits” and test teachers with truth from the Bible. Point out the scriptures that contradict their teachings and watch how they react. 1 Timothy 6:5-10 discusses the money preachers back then. It’s worse now because they rort a lot more people through mass media. Money is their God.
“For if someone comes and proclaims another Christ than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different message from the original one you accepted, you put up with it quickly enough.” 2 Cor 11:4 “For such are fake apostles, lying workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no surprise for Satan transforms himself into an angel of light.” Vs 13-14 Wolves in sheep’s clothes.
“Therefore, it’s no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into Christ’s ministers, whose end will be according to their deeds” -verse 15. Is it any wonder church attendances keep falling? GOD won’t support any groups which are telling lies about Him. He will extract His chosen people from false teachings.
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who secretly shall bring in destructive teachings, even denying the Master who paid for them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their immoral ways, and because of what they do the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.”2 Peter 2:1-3. “I persevered in demonstrating among you the signs of a true apostle, including signs wonders and miracles” 2Corinthians 12:12. Has the definition of a true apostle changed? How many true signs, wonders and miracles do we see today? All these self-appointed ‘ministers’, where’s their credentials from GOD? “Some untaught and unstable people have twisted what he wrote to their own loss, just as they do to other scriptures too.” 2 Peter 3:16. Deception in the Church is nothing new, but it’s increased now. As with the world’s media, much of what they feed us is lies.
“I was delighted when some believers arrived and told me about your commitment to the truth, and how you continue living in the truth. Nothing makes me happier than to know my dear friends are following the truth.” 3 John 1:3-4 Denying, or twisting, any part of GOD’s Word is not living in the Truth. It’s partaking of Satan’s lies and aligning with him, not GOD. These false teachings are like idols, the way some cling to them and refuse to give them up. “Spiritual people investigate everything but are not placed under investigation themselves.” 1 Corinthians 2:15 FBV “If anyone comes and tells you about a different Jesus than the one we shared with you, you readily go along with them, accepting a different spirit to the one you received, and a different Gospel to the one you originally believed.” 11:42
“We are not like most teachers who trade in the word of God for profit. Quite the opposite: we are sincere in sharing the word of God in Christ, knowing God is watching us.” 2 Corinthians 2:17 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many lying teachers have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1 “The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into all truth.” John 16:13. What spirit is leading many into believing and teaching so many lies? It’s not God’s Spirit is it?
Where are all these false prophets, false Christs, fake apostles and ‘different spirits? We have been told that they will be amongst us. It’s not a small group, there are many of them, and many follow them. Test them with scriptures that contradict their teachings. Check their reaction – is it one of rebuttal, dismissal, or do they honestly search the Bible to see if it is so? Do they change their teachings to conform to what it says? It’s a rare thing to see this happen. “There’s no bigot like a religious bigot” someone once said.
It’s evident that God’s Truth was being altered and adulterated shortly after Christ’s death and the founding of His Church, even before the Bible was completed! One is left wondering if there is any church left which is not teaching falsely. Perhaps His Church is just a group of believers scattered like salt all over the World? He does say He will pull them in from all corners of the Globe when He returns. Will it include those who have been teaching lies about Him? “The great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other.” Matt 24:31 (GNT) No church is going to Paradise, only GOD’s chosen people.
Do these people who believe and teach falsely realize that their worship of GOD is a waste of time? “Their worship of me is pointless because their teachings are rules made by humans.’ Mark 7:7 (GW) What a waste of life and a betrayal of GOD’s grace. “They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’” Matt 15:9 NIV It’s obvious that a false spirit is guiding and orchestrating the lies that are being taught in far too many places.
“The coming of the wicked one will be in accordance with how Satan works with all types of displays of power through fake signs and wonders that support the lie and use all kinds of wicked deceit on those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 Believing Satan’s lies has serious consequences. It gives him the legal right to send more lies and deception, and he has, and will do more and more, until he’s eventually stopped by GOD. It won’t pay to be found teaching his lies.
Those who believe and teach falsely will be vulnerable to future deception when the Beast and False Prophet appear repeating the lies already believed. This, combined with the fake miracles which will be spectacular and CONvincing, will fool all but the Elect, or chosen. The deceived will worship these lying pretenders and bring great trouble on their own heads. “while evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:13. “How to Fake a Healing”-http://forgottenword.org/fakehealing.html
In the chapters that follow we shall see some of the lies they teach which will help to sort the sheep from the goats. This is not an exercise in nit-picking about minor differences. This is about getting major teachings of GOD’s Word correct. Remember, it’s ‘Satan deceiving the whole world’ Rev 12:9, and it’s obvious he also deceives the churches. Revel in discovering GOD’s Truth and believing it. “God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love, like Christ in everything.” Ephesians 4:15a “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8:32
Always be on the alert for false teachings.
“Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles.” 1 John 5:21 MSG
The following Chapters will highlight some of the more prevalent fake teachings.