Many years ago, when I was a youth in school, the most dreaded events for me were the final exams. Most of the time I did just fine on these tests, but if I’m honest, there were some about which I was very worried. My angst came from the fact that sometimes I had not given myself thoroughly enough to prepare for the test. Often there were even hints along the way that I was not ready to face those exams, and yet I became distracted and still had not made time to study adequately. On these occasions, I came to the exam with a vague idea of the material, and I risked a failing grade by arrogantly relying upon my own intellect and wit to get me through.
Thankfully, I am far removed from my school years – And I have found in Christ something I delight to study. However, there remains a course of testing that all who profess faith in Christ must endure. This testing has nothing to do with ABC’s and 123’s – But rather it is a test of our faithfulness to Him. And this testing comes in various forms of trials, temptations, and persecutions. But perhaps the most difficult test comes in the form of deception. This test is allowed by God, but it is administered by the hands of our spiritual enemy. Take for instance Deut. 13:1-3 that says – “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
In our day it is sadly not uncommon to find those who claim the ability to work such signs and wonders – And they claim to do so in the name of the Lord! Of course, their doctrine on many issues is erroneous, and their understanding of the Gospel is outright heretical. Nonetheless, they often call themselves “prophets” and they proclaim their dreams and visions to masses of people. A lot of times they pronounce healing for bodily ailments, or declare protection from disease, or for some sort of financial blessing. But what if these charlatans’ proud declarations actually come to pass for someone that attends to their ministry? What if someone you know had a physical ailment disappear and they believe it was a result of the prophet they heard? Or what if an individual never catches a virus that is scouring the land just as their pastor told them they would be protected from? Or what if a person gets a new job, or comes into money in some other way, and they say it was a result of believing the words of a prosperity preacher? What if those false prophets accurately predict who is elected to public office, or the outcome of some global conflict, or some more personal matter? Ought we to think we too should attend to their ministry? The answer from the Word is clearly: No!
Even if God allows for a “word” from a false teacher to come true, this is not a justification for abandoning the truth. We must not allow rumor, or experiences, or even our own senses to be what determines what is true. By all of these, we can easily be misled – Especially when it comes to spiritual matters. We must rather allow the Word of God to be the final authority on all things. By that Word we must discern what is truly of God. So then it is only by our own study of that Word that will we be adequately prepared to face tests of this nature. What you need to know is that we are being tested in that way right now! There are countless heresies being propagated and an unending line of false teachers who, in effect, are saying: “Let us go after other gods.” They might call those other gods by the name of Jesus, but they are indeed “other gods.” And the fact that they call them by the name of our Lord only makes them even harder to distinguish.
All this is leading up to the great final test of mankind in the coming of the anti-Christ. And look how God describes his working in 2Thess. 2:9-12 – “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” If strong delusions abound in our day, an even stronger one is coming upon the world. O won’t you heed the warning signs? Don’t go to your own hour of testing unprepared with a merely vague idea of what is true. Don’t trust in your own wit and your own sense of right and wrong. Rather give yourself over now to diligently study the Word – Because, this is a test that you cannot afford to fail.
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