In the previous posting I quoted Amos 3:3 where God asks if two can walk together without agreeing? The answer is a two-parter: 1) no, and 2) the lesser must agree with the Greater. Those in the Counterfeit Church not only fail both parts, but are involved in two additional deadly errors: 1) they believe they are on the right track, and 2) they lead others along the false track. There is only one right track–God’s Word as stated–THE ONLY TRUTH MANKIND HAS ABOUT HIS CREATOR AND THE TRUTH BY WHICH HE WILL JUDGE EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER LIVED. Question: how did billions of people, all striving to follow God, get so far off God’s track? Answer: Satan, beginning in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were on the right (God’s) track until being side-tracked by the devil’s smoother, more user-friendly track. Nothing has changed. Since that time 99.99% of all God-seekers have taken the wrong track by blindly following Satan’s ministers whom God calls FALSE PROPHETS who, we are told, are cursed by Him (Mal. 2:1-4). Those who follow them are also cursed. The problem is that the cursed do not know they are cursed. Like their Laodicean ancestors, they believe they are “… rich, increased with goods and in need of nothing,” and do not realize that they are “… wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Rev. 3:14-17). Who has caused multiplied billions to believe this about themselves in spite of God’s Word? Satan’s undercover agents–false prophets–who do not know they are false prophets, but believe that they are serving God.

A false prophet is anyone who claims to represent God but speaks contrary to His Word/way/will–the Bible. The Lord warns about these men in Colossians 2:8: “Beware lest anyone cheat you (out of your salvation) through philosophy and vain deceit (pride), according to the tradition of men (church doctrine), according to the basic principles of the world (church paganism) and not according to (the teachings of) Christ.” Paul, knowing that he would not live much longer, warned the church that after his death “… savage wolves (false prophets) will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse (antiScriptural) things to draw away disciples after themselves” (create denominations). John warns: “Whoever transgresses (sins) and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. (Only) he who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring (only) THIS doctrine (the gospel), do not receive (listen to) him” (2 Jn. 9,10). In verse four John equates God’s commandments with the Truth. In verse six he says that we show our love for God and the brethren by walking in (obeying) His commandments. Question: how does a false prophet become a false prophet? Answer: deception. Question: how is a God-seeker deceived by false prophets? Answer: Assumption. Question: how has assumption remained in force to this day? Answer: Laziness. Let us see how this process has played out over the past 2000 years.

One who is deceived does not know he is deceived, otherwise he would not be deceived. When the Truth is available to the God-seeker and he refuses to study, believe and obey it, but assumes that what he is hearing from his leaders is the Truth, he becomes low hanging fruit for the devil. From the formal establishment of Catholicism between 150 to 170 A.D., the church hierarchy made certain that the people believed only what they were told by forbidding them to own or have access to the Bible. Owning or reading a Bible was punishable by arrest, imprisonment and death. During the Inquisition millions of God-seekers were martyred by the apostate church for breaking that rule. To better separate the people from God, priests taught them in the Latin language so that they could not understand what they were being taught. In this way the priesthood kept their followers ignorant of God’s Word. The Protestant Revolution helped to some degree. Due to the printing press, the Bible was made available to parishioners. However, the availability of the Scriptures did not have the effect one would expect in that the so-called protesters had brought with them many of Catholicism’s traditions. One of those traditions was that their leaders were not to be questioned relative to their teaching–if the minister said it, it was from God. Which is exactly what those church leaders had been taught. Which is exactly what each generation of parishioners taught the following generation. In this way each generation of parishioners and ministers were deceived by the Great Deceiver. The process that began in the Garden of Eden remains in full force to this day. As a result, both leaders and followers are deceived. God tells us this in Revelation 12:9: “Satan has deceived the whole world.” How has this deception remained in force?

Laziness. The average churchite spends more time each day reading secular material than he spends studying God’s Word. The same can be said relative to the amount of time he spends recreating, watching tv, talking about such things as the weather, politics, sports, etc. Listen to a conversation involving church people and what you will not hear is God’s Word being discussed. Indifference toward His Holy Bible, and therefore the Lord Himself, has created the great gulf that continues to separate the Counterfeit Church from her supposed Savior. To be continued. L.J.