Why, one may ask, did God repeatedly warn His people about being deceived by Satan and his false prophets? For example, when the disciples asked Jesus about His coming kingdom–the subject of His ministry–His first words were: “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Mat. 24:4). Note that His first Words came in the form of a warning. He warned them and us about those who would come to God-seekers claiming to be sent from His Father. The deception He was referring to was personal as well as corporate. The corporate, as we have seen, always comes first. Each of the apostic organizations sets itself up as THE church that puts forth THE truth while representing THE Lord. These are the cults of Catholicism/Protestantism. I have already written much concerning corporate apostasy. This posting concerns the individual’s falling into Satan’s religious trap through self-deception which is always based on either Biblical ignorance or Biblical rejection, usually both.

The question one must ask himself is, “Am I being deceived?” Those who are the most religious are the least likely to undergo such a self-evaluation. Pride and fear prevent most people from questioning what they have “always been taught.” It is much easier to go with the religious flow than to buck the religious tide, which always ends up with the questioner being chastised, rejected and ostracized. This posting is dedicated to those who want to know the Truth at all cost. And there is always a cost.

You can hear and read the Word of God continuously and still be deceived, as is evidenced by the hundreds of millions of self-proclaimed Christians world-wide. How is this possible? Self-deception is based on deceit. The one suffering from deceit is a Biblical goat who already has the truth and need not “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). As I was told by an uber-religious goat who happened to be a relative, a goat knows “… all I need to know.” What she knew was church doctrine, the same doctrine I grew up hearing and later rejected upon coming to the knowledge of God’s Truth (Heb. 10:26). How can one know if he/she is being deceived. The answer is found in James 1:22: “Be ye DOERS OF THE WORD, AND NOT HEARERS ONLY, (thereby) DECEIVING YOUR OWN SELVES.” Anything outside of God’s Word is deception. We all hear His Word, the problem involves obedience to it. For the past several years I have publicly exposed numerous church doctrines that are obvious Satanic deceptions. Thousands have received God’s Truth concerning these deceptions. Yet less than a half-dozen people have chosen to follow the Lord. Why? The answer lies in the attitude expresed by the woman who said to me, “It’s too much trouble to obey God.” And why should she? She need only go to church and be told that she is already saved, born again, etc. Indeed, Satan has deceived the whole world (Rev. 12:9).

Jesus Christ led an exemplary life, leaving us a pattern to follow (1 Jn. 2:6). Hear His Words concerning our life’s walk: “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to (shown) you” (Jn. 13:15). In verse 17 He warns: “If ye do these things (follow His example), happy are ye if ye do them.” “But I’m happy,” Bible-rejecters say. Just as there are false prophets and false Bible teachings, there is also false happiness. How else could Satan convince people that they are saved, etc? Some of the happiest people on earth are the most evil, many of them occupying the highest positions in “the church.” Jesus said: “Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and KEEP IT” (Lk. 11:28). Hearing God’s Word is not enough; we must guard against it’s manipulation– “wresting” (2 Pet. 3:16). Here Peter is warning the church against those ministers who are untaught and unstable, who “twist”/”wrest” God’s Word. In the next verse He warns the saints about being led away by their “new and improved” truth, as Satan so led Adam and Eve.

Those who know all they need to know are expressing arrogance of the highest order. Like the world’s masses who “knew” that the earth was flat because it looked that way from their vantage point, churchites who refuse to compare what they are being taught to “… all the counsel of God” are viewing Biblical truth through the prism of “what I’ve always been taught,” which is based on what man thinks God would have said if only He could have seen the big picture. Satan has convinced man that only he (man) can see that picture, and that the picture is different for each cult/church/denomination, etc. Not only is churchman deceived, he is deceived in several hundred ways, each of which is “right.” But there are those, though very few in number, who want the Truth and are willing to pay the cost of embracing it. It is to those few hearty souls that this ministry is dedicated.

Throughout history God has set His watchmen before the people to warn them both individually and corporately. Ezekiel was one such watchman. In 33:7 God speaks to him: “So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the WORD AT MY MOUTH, and WARN THEM FROM ME.” God’s watchmen must hear the Word from God’s mouth–the Bible–and relay that Word to the people. This was brought out by Jesus Himself when He said: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDETH OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD” (Mat. 4:4). On the Mount of Transfiguration God said: “This is my beloved Son, HEAR HIM.” Jesus said: “The Words that I speak are not mine, but His Who sent Me” (Jn. 14:24). He went on to say that all men will be judged by those Words (Jn. 12:44-50). Here Jesus tells us that His Words were given to Him by the Father and that they, and they alone, lead to eternal life. To be continued. L.J.