Do Not Be Deceived!

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:5)

Satan’s first lie continues in many different forms to this very day.  If you have the time watch "The Age of Deceit," an excellent video that provides a comprehensive overview of the many ways that Satan has attempted — and continues to attempt — to deceive man and disqualify him from ruling and reigning with Christ Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom.   

If you are already familiar with these concepts it will be a review for you.  You may want to recommend the video to others in your community, particularly those who are being deceived by New Age doctrines.  But be prepared to be dismissed as a “fringe” believer.

When these truths were first presented to me, I was quite skeptical.  Despite being a church-going believer, I knew nothing about prophecy.  So I made it a priority to study Scripture and learn.  If you are new to prophecy, I urge you to do the same.  I pray that God will give you eyes to see and ears to hear.

After watching this video, I felt led to go to the Book of Jude.  It is such a small book, yet so rich with prophetic warnings:

Jesus will be denied as God, even within our own churches, as the tares (deceivers) have slipped in amongst the wheat.  Some of these tares are openly preaching that man can be as gods, just as Satan promised Eve.

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 4)

Those who remain steadfast in Christ Jesus and the Bible will be mocked and scorned:

But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. (Jude 17-18)

Jude 6 also speaks to the fallen angels who cohabitated with women in an attempt to corrupt the seed that would produce the Messiah (Genesis 6:4), which prompted God to cause the great flood:

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

The video will show you how this is happening once again, just as Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:37:

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

There is so much more, which is why the video is 2½ hours long.  As you watch, I hope you find strong comfort in the knowledge that everything that is happening has been foretold in Scripture.  While these events are incredibly evil, their emergence means that the Lord will be coming for us very soon.

Tested Against Body, Soul, and Spirit

While studying the book of Matthew, I came upon an interesting commentary by the late Ray Stedman.  He wrote about the three parts or levels of man — body, soul, and spirit — and that Jesus was tested against all three by Satan.

The Body — Matthew 4:1-4:

¹Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” ⁴Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus had not eaten for 40 days and nights and He must have been starving.  Stedman questions whether we would have had such fortitude? 

The Soul — Matthew 4:5-7:

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”  ⁷Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Here Satan tries to attack by appealing to Jesus’ ego and pride.  Jesus proved Himself true and steadfast.  I shudder when I think of the times when Satan has appealed to my ego and pride — and how easily I was deceived.

The Spirit — Matthew 4:8-11:

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” ¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” ¹¹Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Here Stedman writes that the spirit is always looking for something to worship.  That the spirit of man craves to find someone or something to idolize and follow.  Perhaps this explains why so many believers today are being deceived by false prophets and man-driven church leaders.

Instead of hearing about kingdom truths, and “seeking first the kingdom,” church pews are overflowing with people who are hearing about having their best lives now.  And instead of learning about what it means to store up treasures in heaven, believers are hearing sermons about getting out of debt!

What is so heartbreaking is that they have no idea that their greatest debt will be the incredible loss that they will suffer when they come before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Signs of the Times: As in the Days of Noah

Lately I have been thinking about Matthew 24:37-42 where Jesus provides a clue as to when He will return to rapture believers:

³⁷But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  ³⁸For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,  ³⁹And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  ⁴⁰Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  ⁴¹Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  ⁴²Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 

I went to Genesis to study more about what was happening during Noah’s time.  Genesis 6:1-7 tells us much of what we need to know:

¹When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. ³ Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”  ⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.  ⁵ The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. ⁶ The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. ⁷ So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” (NIV)

The Nephilim — which are also referred to as giants in other translations — are the offspring of the sons of God (fallen angels) and mortal women.  Unger writes: “This utterly unnatural union, violating God’s created order of being, as such a shocking abnormality as to necessitate the worldwide judgment of the Flood.”¹  Some argue that the Nephilim² are the result of the intermarriage between the godly line of Seth and the ungodly line of Cain.  But if mortal men mated with mortal women, how did we end up with a race of Giants?  And why single them out as Nephilim?

I agree with other writers, like Chuck Missler, who believe that Satan was attempting to alter the human gene pool to prevent the birth of a perfect Messiah.  Our Almighty God thwarted Satan’s plan by flooding the earth and killing every human and every animal, bird, and creature that moved along the ground (except for Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark).  I bring this up because this week there have been news reports in the media that British scientists have created more than 150 human-animal hybrid embryos.  Since Genesis 6:4 tells us that the Nephilim were still on the earth after the flood (we read about them again in Numbers 13:33) I can’t help but think…as the days of Noah were.

Satan may have been foiled temporarily, but his plan has always been same: to prevent man from ruling and reigning with Christ in His Millennial Kingdom.  When we read the kingdom parables in Matthew, Jesus says in the parable of the sower that the birds of the air represent the evil one (Matthew 13:19).  Comparing Scripture with Scripture, in the parable of the mustard tree, we learn that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches of the tree (Matthew 13:32).  Those who know Scripture have eyes to see the apostasy that is growing like a cancer in visible churches.  What better way to deceive professed believers than to stand beside them in the pew (just as Jesus prophesied in the parable of the wheat and tares) and get them to question, “Did God really say?”

I believe that the signs of our times are telling us that the Kingdom of Heaven is near, and it is definitely time to repent.

¹Unger MF.  The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary.  Harrison RK, Vos HW, Barber CJ, eds.  Chicago, IL: Mood Press; 1988.

²To learn more about Nephilim, you might want to start with  "As the Days of Noah Were" and "Mischievous Angels or Sethites?" by Chuck Missler.

Beware of Deceivers

How can a believer know when he is being deceived? 

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 warns: 

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. (NIV)

If Satan masquerades as an angel of light, how are we able to discern truth?  I believe Genesis 3:1 provides the start of the answer:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (NIV, emphasis added)

Scripture states that Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44), and Genesis 3:1 shows us that when Satan questions God’s Word, he always mixes in a little truth with his lies. Those who do not know God’s Word, remain in God's Word, and test every belief against God's Word are more vulnerable to his deceptions. 

Sadly, Satan has more knowledge of Scripture than many believers do today, including leaders of highly visible churches who are introducing false and dangerous doctrines and shepherding their sheep right to the slaughter. Spiritual blindness prevents them from seeing that they are playing into Satan’s hands by focusing on the attainment of earthly rewards instead of the promise of our future reward, which is to rule and reign with Christ Jesus when He returns to establish His millennial kingdom.

But this has all been foretold in Scripture:

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; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

A preparing bride takes heed of the sound advice provided in Thessalonians 5:19-22:

Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. 

Test everything. 

Hold on to the good.    

Avoid every kind of evil.

Run to the shelter of God’s Word, beloved, and abide there.

Loss of Salvation of the Soul (Part 2)

What is the loss that is referred to in
1 Corinthians 3:14-15?:

  

¹⁴If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. ¹⁵If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 

Let's start by looking at the rewards that are gained by those whose works survive the fire:^1,2

• Crown of life — for the faithful martyrs of the tribulation period (Revelation 2:10)

• Crown of glory — for church leaders who feed the flock of God with the Word of God (1 Peter 5:2-4)

• Crown of rejoicing or the soul winner’s crown — for those who will rejoice when the Lord returns because they have led others to Jesus (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20)

• Crown of righteousness — for those who love His appearing
  (2 Timothy 4:8)

• Incorruptible crown or the victor’s crown — for those who do not yield to lusts of the flesh or worldly amusements (1 Corinthians 9:25-27)

I think that the believers who earn these rewards receive salvation of the soul and are the “overcomers”  Scripture refers to.  This “overcoming” is our final victory over the battle that often wages between our spirit and our soul.  Those who do not receive salvation of the soul still have the gift of eternal life, but they will not gain any rewards.²  Many churches steadfastly believe that all Christians are overcomers, but I don't see where Scripture supports that.

Overcomers and the bride of Christ

The marriage of the Lamb occurs after the judgment seat of Christ (Revelation 19:7-9).  I think those overcomers whose works survive the fiery test, and receive salvation of their soul, will be the bride of Christ that returns with Christ Jesus to rule and reign with Him during the millennial kingdom.  Adam is a type for Christ, and Adam’s bride was taken from his body, which supports the idea that the bride of Christ will also be taken from the body of Christ (the church at large).

The book of the Revelation tells us what overcomers will gain:

• Revelation 2:11: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

• Revelation 2:17: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

• Revelation 2:26: And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

• Revelation 3:5: He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

• Revelation 3:12: Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

• Revelation 3:21: To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

• Revelation 21:7: He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

I think this inheritance that the Lord speaks of is the same thing He wanted at the beginning of the ages, which was for Adam and his bride to have dominion over the earth.  Due to Satan’s cunning, man was disqualified from this, but we have the hope of achieving this inheritance when Christ Jesus returns and establishes His millennial kingdom. 

Romans 8:17: Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Satan did not want man to rule over the earth at the beginning of the ages, and he does not want man to rule and reign with Christ during the 1,000-year period of the millennial kingdom.  He will do everything he can to prevent this!

Because Satan is doing such a good job of distracting believers from their true purpose, I think he will keep many believers from being overcomers, and they will not be able to rule and reign with Christ in His millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:1-6).  Some authors I have read feel that these believers will be able to see the kingdom, but not be able to enter it, but that’s a discussion for another time.

Reference:

1.  Larkin C.  Dispensational Truth, or God’s Plan and Purpose in the Ages.  Originally published in 1918.  
2.  Harman JT. The Kingdom.  Prophecy Countdown Publications.  Maitland FL, 2009.

Jesus Will Separate the Wheat From the Tares at His Judgment Seat

God is never inconsistent.  He always says what He means and He means what He says.  But often we need to compare Scripture with Scripture, particularly when looking at Jesus’ parables, to completely understand what the Lord is telling us.  We will do this as we look at Jesus’ parable of the wheat and tares.  

In early biblical times, the Hebrews used wheat as a main staple in making their bread.  They also roasted the grains and ate them.¹  Scripture reveals more about wheat through the Lord's words in Matthew 13:24-30:

²⁴Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:  ²⁵But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.  ²⁶But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.  ²⁷So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?  ²⁸He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?  ²⁹But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.  ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. 

In this passage, wheat symbolizes God’s judgment,² which every believer will face at the judgment seat of Christ (see older post on loss and rewards).  In the King James version, the Greek word zizanion is translated as tares, not weeds.  A tare is a darnel that looks exactly like wheat while both are growing as blades.  When the fruit from an ear of wheat is ready to be harvested, the tares can finally be distinguished by their lack of fruit, and they may be separated easily.^1,3  Unfortunately, much of this rich meaning is lost in more modern translations that use the word weeds.*

Later in Matthew 13, Jesus explains the meaning of His parable:

³⁸The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; ³⁹The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. ⁴¹The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; ⁴²And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 

Jesus is clearly saying that the enemy who sowed the tares is Satan, that the harvest is the end of the age, and that the reapers are angels.  The King James Version uses the phrase “end of the world,” but a more accurate translation is age,* which describes the end of this present dispensation.  Jesus is also warning believers that there will be those among us who look, talk, and act like true followers of Christ.  But they are actually tares who will go to any length to distract us from believing God's Word about the millennial kingdom.³ 

Going back a little earlier to the parable of the sower, Jesus says in Matthew 13:3-4:

Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

  

In Matthew 13:19, Jesus explains that the fowls he speaks of are the wicked one.  If we use Scripture to interpret Scripture, the meaning of the fowls in the parable of the sower must be the same in Jesus’ later parable about the mustard tree:

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. (Matthew 13:31-32) 

The same Greek word, peteinon, is used in both parables for fowls and birds.

Now a mustard plant is an herb, so its growth into a tree implies abnormally large growth.³  If the birds are lodging in its branches, that means there are tares sitting right alongside true believers!  I believe these tares have been seducing entire churches to move away from God's Word and to focus more on “experiencing” Jesus in ways that contradict God's Word.  They are also high-profile pastors who are promoting man-made doctrines that have absolutely no basis in Scripture.  Since Jesus tells us that these tares are children of the wicked one, it is unclear whether they were once faithful believers who Satan has successfully deceived or whether they are aligned with Satan and know exactly what they are doing.

The bride of Christ, however, remains firmly grounded in Scripture, which allows her to discern everything she hears (what Scripture refers to as “testing the spirits”) so that neither Satan nor the tares will be able to deceive her. 

Beloved, are you firmly grounded in Scripture?  Or are you relying on others to tell you about Scripture?

*I have become convinced that there is no "one best translation," which is why I often compare several translations when studying Scripture.  The NET bible online provides a great way to do this.

References: 1. Merril F. Unger and R.K. Harris, ed.  The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary  (Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1988), 217, 1341.  2.  Brand C, Draper C, England A, eds.  Hoffman Illustrated Bible Dictionary.  (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003): 1670.  3.  Herbert J.  Matthew 13 Parables Part 4, The Parable of the Wheat and Tares.