THOUGH GOD is always working in different ways and with different means, it is still only by the Spirit of God that the Church will grow. Over the past 50 years particularly originating in Western countries there have been such excesses and abuses of what is considered Spirit- filled Christianity that many true believers have been repulsed completely from even seeking the Lord for the true filling of the Spirit. This is not only a tragedy but one of Satan’s tactics323 to hinder the growth of the true Church of Jesus Christ. The genuine believer should never feel scared to call out to God for fresh infusions of the Spirit of God for service 324 and to foster a dependence on the Holy Spirit of God daily in his life.
We have to remember that Satan is the father of lies. He is a murderer from the beginning and dwells in falsehood.325 He never wants the glory to go to Jesus Christ but rather twists the truth and deceives those in the Lord’s work to take glory to themselves.326
He is also the master counterfeiter who has been deceiving God’s people since the beginning. He spoke to Eve and deceived her by twisting the truth of God saying: “Has God indeed said?”327 Such twisting of the truth is his normal activity.
Since the earliest days of the Apostles, even with our Lord Himself there were deceivers and false brethren present. Those who secretly come into God’s flock for personal gain and to infiltrate the liberty328 of the believers. Betrayers,329 deceivers,330 false brethren,331 false prophets,332 and those desiring preeminence among the saints. We must have a strong trust in the Lord to see these individuals purged away from the flock of God as believers meet in gatherings under the Headship of Jesus Christ.
One key to understand is that if the Spirit of God is working in a meeting then Jesus Christ will be glorified.333 If men, manifestations and even the Holy Spirit Himself is glorified then you can start to know that this is not a pure work of the Lord. A brother said this same truth in this way: “Any spirit that focuses on the Holy Spirit and glorifies the Holy Spirit is not the Holy Spirit. It is contrary to His whole nature and purpose. Once you’ve grasped that [truth] it will open your eyes to many things which are going on in the church that are otherwise difficult to understand.”334 The Scripture states: “He will not glorify Himself.”335 Those that worship, honor, and glorify the Holy Spirit more then Jesus Christ are not led by the Holy Spirit to do that. The Holy Spirit will always honor Jesus Christ, thus the true working of the Spirit can be distinguished in measure.
“With the spread of truth and liberty have come a million false lights—men who like ‘clouds without water’336 speak ‘great swelling words’337 without substance; those ‘perilous times’338 prophesied by the apostle Paul have long set in. As people give way to ‘itching ears’ and as their fleshly appetites grow, opportunities multiply to new heights for skilled deception from the enemy. Today, Satan takes advantage of centuries of experience in creating his cunning devices, even disguising his wolves as ‘angels of light.’339 The airwaves are filled with those who ‘call themselves by His Name,’340 but who do not know Him. Multitudes follow them because they have not been willing to fully surrender to the absolute Lordship of Christ. They continue to secretly embrace some sins, and in doing so they run the unthinkable risk of God sending a strong delusion341 so that they should believe a lie.”342
God brings judgment and expresses His displeasure over those who disobey even while deceived by Satan. As a Church we must be on guard from this deception so that we will not be deceived by the evil one, but rather follow the simplicity of truth and obedience found in Jesus Christ and His glorious Gospel.343
As we are in the end times there will be an influx of those in the Church teaching doctrines of demons to deceive even the elect of God. There will be many false teachers who claim to be of the truth but are not. Perhaps one of the most dangerous weapons against the Church is not persecution, but apathy and deception.344
At times the deception in teaching is not obvious but in character it becomes more obvious. Does the minister live like Christ or is he full of greed, selfishness, self-exaltation, soulish and carnal? “The opposite of Christ is called the antichrist in the New Testament. If Christians do not see this clearly, then when the antichrist turns up on the world’s stage, with his false signs and wonders, they too will blindly accept him.”345
A brother from the past century said of this demonic counterfeit: “When Satan gets into the pulpit, or the theological chair, and pretends to teach Christianity, when in reality he is corrupting it; pretends to be teaching Christian evidences when in reality he is undermining the very foundations of faith—then look out for him; he is at his most dangerous work.”346
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.347 But where religious flesh is, we can almost always find evil spirits parading as anointed vessels. Without keen discernment we will be taken in by one with a false anointing. The devil’s servants know how to act and talk like the Lord’s servants—but they are counterfeit, and we must learn to recognize them by their fruit. They are all around us and will continue to increase in number as the coming of the Lord draws near.”348
We must be on guard against Satan’s coworkers349 who appear to have a form of godliness,350 who seem impressive with a show of power but are devoid of the truth. We must be on guard against Satan as he can transform himself into an angel of light to deceive us. This calls for a need of discernment in the body of Christ especially as it relates to the end times. As we near the end of the age there will be many false prophets and teachers using supernatural miracles351 and healing to deceive even God’s elect.352 Our prayer must always be for discernment353 and a love of the truth as we near the coming of our Lord354 and as we gather under the Headship of Jesus Christ.