The signs of the end of the church age are evident. We are in the very final days of this era. Before judgment comes upon the world, God shall send Jesus to get His bride, His church—to bring her home. In the meantime, the enemy is doggedly and actively pursuing his evil agenda to deceive the blood-bought church of Jesus Christ.
Over the past two thousand years, Satan has discovered that the Holy Spirit-driven church has successfully withstood his attempts to steal, kill, and destroy the Gospel message. He has employed every tactic and used every weapon in his arsenal to belittle its unwavering faith and destroy its purpose. He has attempted to discredit the church from the outside, only to find that in doing so, it becomes more resilient and purposeful. Consequently, he has resorted to attempting to discredit the church from within—not only through discord and dissension, but also through deception. The enemy’s goal is to sow division and unbelief, thereby stripping the church of its power.
The church is commissioned to carry God’s Word—His unconditional love and grace revealed in Christ’s dying on the cross for all of mankind. When received in the human heart, Jesus exchanges sin for God’s righteousness. He imparts a new life of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Jesus overcomes the enemy’s agenda to steal, kill, and destroy before it’s too late. If Satan can deceive and divide the church from within, he can weaken the church's purpose and the strip it of power to spread the Gospel. And his deception will keep people who have never known the love God from experiencing the love of Jesus and eternal life.
Spiritual deception can undermine our allegiance to the Father. It can make us question the message we have received and question ourselves in sharing it. It’s easy to recognize blatant sin, but evil is devious. It comes in where least expected and misleads those who don’t know the Word of God. Revelations and experiences are not truth. The Word of God is truth. All prophetic revelations and personal experience must be judged by the Word. There are true prophets, but false prophets rise to deceive the body of Christ. You should humbly pray and seek God’s Word about any word or prophecy you hear before believing and declaring its truth. If it is from God, the Holy Spirit will confirm it with Scripture, imparting His wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of it.
In Matthew 24, we read that nation will rise against nation. There will be wars and rumors of war. There will be famines and earthquakes. Many will turn away from their faith, filled with bitterness and hate. False prophets will come and deceive people. Wickedness will increase, and the love of most will grow cold. We read of these things, but do we really grasp how great the deception of the enemy will be?
Be prepared for the enemy’s deception in these final days. Things that are revealed will frighten the world to its very core. If we, the church, allow what is revealed to instill fear in us, then we are weakened. These disclosures and the explanations concerning them may appear truthful. But don’t be deceived by events or disclosures. The Word is our truth. Satan is working overtime to deceive and divide the brethren. He knows his time is short. He has an evil agenda, and he trembles at the power of a unified church.
Whatever you see happening in this world, whatever knowledgeable people reveal, and whatever you hear about what you have seen, don’t believe the enemy’s deception. Don’t give in to fear. Defeat it with faith in Jesus. We are the church so we are the enemy’s target. When we submit to God’s truth, the devil can’t stay in our presence. He flees from the truth that is in us. We have the power of the blood of Christ, and the word of our testimony. We have the resurrection power of God, and a pastor, who takes his responsibility to pray and lead us into the truth of God’s Word very seriously. The Holy Spirits co-labors with us to share the love of Jesus to a lost and dying world. The enemy wants to destroy our testimony. He uses fear to torment and destroy God’s work in us. But we won’t be deceived. We have the perfect love of Jesus Christ that casts out fear. We have the love of God that overcomes.
No matter what you see—no matter what you hear—no matter what you experience, you don’t have to be shaken to the core. You have Jesus. Be careful no one deceives you—that includes me, any preacher, teacher, or prophet. Hold whatever you see or hear or read up to the measure of God’s Word, and trust what the Word reveals to you. To trust His Word, you must know it. To know the Word, read it until it talks back to you.
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
Are you washed in the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb? If you are, you were made for such a time as this. Sow the Word faithfully into the lives of other people while it is still day. Whatever you sow, you will reap. May we all reap Jesus.
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