“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron” 1 Timothy 4:1, 2
In my last blog, I warned against the dangers of demonic spirits that can wreak havoc in the Church, ev
en as they do in the world, howbeit to far less a degree. In verse 2, the Apostle focuses our attention upon the instrumentality (viewed in the term “by means of”) of evil spirits who use hypocritical liars to bring their message to the masses.
All false religions are energized by men who themselves are being deceived by evil spirits, whose conscience gives evidence that they do not know God. The person who knows God, hears the voice of Christ and follows Him. His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. The person that wants to identify a false prophet needs to repent of sin, believe in Christ, and be born again.
The born again believer can know the truth, but the man born only to Adam’s race cannot. “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:21)
Salvation makes sense of the non sense of this present world. It opens the eyes of the natural man and gives sight to the blind, who was formerly bound by sin. “but just as it is written, “things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. ” (1 Corinthians 2:9, 10)
Only after a person has repented of his sins and believed the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ can he, by the wisdom of God, identify those that profess to be religious, but actually are instruments of evil spirits. Until a man is born again, false prophets will lead him to the eternal punishment of God, that comes upon all men born to Adam’s race.
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