May 27, 2023
It is no new thing, that much false religion should prevail, at a time of great reviving of true religion, and that at such a time multitudes of hypocrites should spring up among true saints. It was so in that great reformation, and revival of religion, that was in Josiah's time; as appears by Jer. 3:10, and 4:3, 4, and also by the great apostasy that there was in the land, so soon after his reign. So it was in that great outpouring of the Spirit upon the Jews, that was in the days of John the Baptist; as appears by the great apostasy of that people so soon after so general an awakening, and the temporary religious comforts and joys of many: John 5:35, "Ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light." So it was in those great commotions that were among the multitude, occasioned by the preaching of Jesus Christ; of the many that were then called, but few were chosen; of the multitude that were roused and affected by his preaching, and at one time or other appeared mightily engaged, full of admiration of Christ, and elevated with joy, but few were true disciples, that stood the shock of the great trials that came afterwards, and endured to the end. Many were like the stony ground, or thorny ground; and but few, comparatively, like the good ground. Of the whole heap that was gathered, great part was chaff; that the wind afterwards drove away; and the heap of wheat that was left, was comparatively small; as appears abundantly, by the history of the New Testament. So it was in that great iii outpouring of the Spirit that was in the apostles' days as appears by Matt. 24:10-13. Gal. 3:1, and 4:11, 15. Phil. 2:21, and 3:18, l9, and the two epistles to the Corinthians, and many other parts of the New Testament. And so it was in the great reformation from Popery. It appears plainly to have been in the visible church of God, in times of great reviving of religion, from time to time, as it is with the fruit trees in the spring; there are a multitude of blossoms, all of which appear fair and beautiful, and there is a promising appearance of young fruits; but many of them are but of short continuance; they soon fall off, and never come to maturity. Not that it is to be supposed that it will always be so; for though there never will, in this world, be an entire purity, either in particular saints, in a perfect freedom from mixtures of corruption; or in the church of God, without any mixture of hypocrites with saints, and counterfeit religion, and false appearances of grace with true religion, and real holiness: yet it is evident, that there will come a time of much greater purity in the church of God, than has been in ages past; it is plain by these texts of Scripture, Isa. 52:1. Ezek. 44:6, 7, Joel 3:17. Zech. 14:21. Psal. 69:32, 35, 36. Isa 35:8, 10, chap. 4:3, 4. Ezek. 20:38. Psal. 37:9, 10, 21, 29. And one great reason of it will be that at that time God will give much greater light to his people, to distinguish between true religion and its counterfeits. Mal. 3:3, "And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness." With ver. 18, which is a continuation of the prophecy of the same happy times. "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not."
It is by the mixture of counterfeit religion with true, not discerned and distinguished, that the devil has had his greatest advantage against the cause and kingdom of Christ, all along hitherto.
-Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards (pp. ii-iii)
Making Sure We’re Not Unaware of Satan’s Schemes
Being aware of the devil’s schemes, we must put on our full battle armor as followers of Jesus Christ, and not only fight the enemy of sin within but also stand guard against the enemy without. And to do that, we need to know what to look for.
The devil is posing very fiercely in this hour the challenge to many Christians, "Did God really say???"--even as he did to Eve in the perfect Garden of Eden. He is using to his advantage what we already know about ourselves: that we are dependent on the higher wisdom of the spiritual realm to understand what this earth is about, who we are, and what we’re doing here. Without that spiritual wisdom, we grope about in darkness. Unfortunately, Satan is very clever at disguise and wants to “prove” that Yahweh God’s wisdom cannot be trusted. Blasting our foundation out from under us can come in various forms, including skewing what we observe in life to destroy the true understanding of suffering and make God appear impotent or evil, robbing Him of glory by blinding our eyes to what is plainly seen of Him in the created order (e.g., evolutionary dogma), calling into question the source of His truth–the Scriptures, sabotaging Bible translation so that people start to wonder if they can believe it at all (of course without cluing us in to the great blessing God has provided us with modern Bible-study tools that enable us to easily go back to original Greek and Hebrew words*), or convincing us there’s no harm in compromise. I’m sure there are a lot more ways the devil undermines faith. These are the prominent ones I have personally faced a lot.
Satan also wants to remind us how “simple” and “uneducated” we common people are so that we fear studying the Scriptures for ourselves. Of course he doesn’t help us to remember that those in Christ have been provided with the Holy Spirit, who is the “Counselor” who “teaches us all things” (Jn 14:26)--meaning that our wisdom is super-human. But failing to recognize this, we can easily fall into this reasoning trap: “If I cannot trust my senses and my faulty educational background, then I should trust that person, preacher, supernatural experience, etc. that has ‘demonstrated’ higher wisdom.” Unfortunately, “that person” that we’re trusting is often someone as common as a close friend or family member. Unless we are walking in step with the Spirit, we are all easy targets for Satan to use as a pawn. (That doesn't mean we should not seek the wisdom of others in Jesus' body, for He has chosen to use His body to teach us, but we should prove their words.) And the devil doesn’t always come to us as a red fiend with a pitchfork. He comes to us as an “angel of light.” He uses those who can get to our hearts most-intimately to drop seeds that will manipulate us in a direction he wants us to take. His main target: the elect saints of Jesus Christ. “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible” (Matt 24:24). If his target is the Elect, then he would have to be pretty clever indeed, because the Elect are well-trained in the Scriptures, in spiritual warfare, and in the power of God through the Holy Spirit. So the false “christs” and “prophets” of which Jesus warns us are not people going around saying, “I’m God.” They’re probably also not the people that the orthodox church all agree are heretics. That’s too obvious. They are likely the devoted, loving, zealous, warrior-type Christians. They are people who look like spokespeople for the Christ (Messiah) but are actually speaking for the devil, probably in many cases, unawares, having been blinded and deceived themselves. In Jesus’ day, they were the respected teachers of the law whom Jesus called “blind guides” and “whitewashed tombs.” One of the best ways Satan (ultimately God, who gives Satan this power and permission in order to test and purge His gems) tries to snare the Elect through such teachers is by allowing them to teach a deep understanding of the truth so that the Elect are attracted to their “meat” level of Scriptural understanding. Then, the devil slowly adulterates the teaching in little bits like a drop of poison in a well. Thankfully for us, he usually overplays his hand because the evil he is tapping into in these hearts cannot be hidden for long; it will multiply like a wildfire, like yeast in dough, like contamination in a river, etc. "'Watch out!' Jesus told them. 'Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees'...Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matt 16:6, 12). Sin and unbelief is a taskmaster, and those giving it the slightest reign, cannot control it anymore than the similies I just listed in the last sentence; therefore it will spill out in the teaching sooner or later. Only Yahweh God restrains sin, and He can open the dam gate at any time He chooses to expose the true heart of a person. "With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be! 11Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?" (James 3:9-11). "Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit" (Matt 7:15-17).
Understanding the nature of Satan’s battle against us therefore, we must fight for truth! “We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor 10:5).
*Two sources I use profusely: blueletterbible.com and biblehub.com. Look at the “interlinear” view of a verse for a closer look at the original language with English translation references to all Scriptures that use that word. The Strong’s Concordance documents every word of Scripture and numbers each one, making it easy to study a single word and all its uses.
A Key Litmus Test for Spotting Enemy Spies: Compromise for Fleshly Appetites
One of the drops of poison Satan uses through these pawns of his (let’s look inward) is the idea that there's a higher wisdom that we missed, which is not in the Scriptures. One prominent demonstration of that “higher wisdom” has to do with a throwing off of the law, in a way that causes us to fully give freedom to the flesh. “Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, ‘Let us do evil that good may result’? Their condemnation is deserved!” (Rom 3:8). A lot of times, this doesn’t display in full-fledged idolatry or promiscuity. It’s usually subtle, like the many ways Christians “fudge” on holiness. Let me name a few things: not turning off a movie that is profaning God’s name either verbally or in content, even though our conscience is accusing; wearing promiscuous clothing that either our own conscious is condemning us for or others have told us is causing them to stumble (1 Cor 8); taking dips in porn because the devil has convinced us it’s a “harmless” escape from the pain–a dopamine rush that doesn’t hurt those around us–which is all a lie, by the way, for a lot of reasons, the paramount being God’s command (Eph 5:3, 1 Thess 4:3, Heb 13:4); eating mindlessly and not for the glory of God but to satisfy the appetite (Luke 12:45-46, Phil 3:19, 1 Cor 10:31); caving to “medical” pressures because its socially convenient and not because its stewarding our bodies (1 Cor 6:19-20); skipping out on or cutting short the day we’ve dedicated to Sabbath rest because the Super Bowl is on or we want to extend our vacation (Isa 58:13-14); and on and on and on. Oh how the devil loves this word: COMPROMISE.
“What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? 3Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:1-4).
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. 15Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic” (James 3:13-15).
“I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut. For you have only a little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name. 9Look at those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews but are liars instead. I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I love you” (Rev 3:8-9).
“But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat” (1 Cor 5:11).
“I know your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and you have tested and exposed as liars those who falsely claim to be apostles” (Rev 2:2).
“Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked” (1 John 2:6).
The truth of the matter is that the law is the standard and example of true freedom, which comes from Jesus, by way of the Holy Spirit whom the Father has sent to His saints in Jesus’ name. While Satan through his false prophets wants the elect to believe that they have been “jipped” out of higher knowledge and wisdom, the truth is that the ultimate wisdom has already been given to us in the Scriptures, and the Spirit is now unpacking them for us moment-by-moment as we walk with God in Spirit and in truth. This is the great miracle of grace given to us, because only as the Spirit opens our eyes to apply what is written, does it come alive and lift us to heavenly places of understanding in a way that applies God’s truth to the personal calling He’s ordained for us (Eph 2:10). “The Law of YHVH is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of YHVH is trustworthy, making wise the simple” (Ps 19:7).
1 Cor 2:1-10: And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
6Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
Satan claims a secret and hidden wisdom to us, as he did to Eve in the dawn of creation. But that wisdom closes the door to the true understanding of God’s love and leads to darkness, hopelessness, and death. So how do we distinguish between the actual truth and the false "truth" that Satan is presenting as actual truth? The truth of God saves the soul and gives freedom from those fleshly appetites that lead to the destruction of ourselves and those around us. Just follow the breadcrumb trail in your thoughts: Where do the teachings and actions of the “wisdom” I am contemplating lead? Can I see a staircase to eternal life in the fruits that spring forth from it? Do the fruits unbind me from addiction or bind me to things of which I am ashamed? Do the fruits lead to an ever-fearful concern of self-reputation (which becomes a non-issue when we are hidden in God and His reputation) or freedom to follow the commands of the Holy Spirit whatever the earthly cost, knowing that His promise is true–-that the great reward of knowing Him, who is the source of all goodness, is beyond comprehension compared to what we now lay down on the altar. Do the fruits increase focus on the flesh or on the hidden beauty of the heart?
Our brother Edwards from the 1700’s (the opening quotation) has explained the devil’s tactics much better than I fear many in the modern church have perceived the matter, and we would do well to absorb his insights. Wherefore, since the Apostle Paul assumed that “we are not unaware of [the devil’s] schemes” (2 Cor 2:11), which he wrote in the context of discussing those put under church discipline and forgiveness of the repentant, we should seek to apply an understanding of how to rightly discern enemy infiltration.
As we have already seen, holiness is the key litmus test, and Jesus Himself affirmed this for knowing what fruit is true and what fruit is false that is coming out of people, and we should not avoid this topic for fear of “judging” in a self-righteous way. We must be discerning who we should walk with!
Matt 7:15-23: “Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”
But They Have Spiritual Gifts
Matthew 7 alerts us to the fact that there is a distinction between “gifts” and “fruit” in Scripture. We should not let spiritual gifts in people blindside us to second-guess what the Spirit in us is calling into question concerning the fruit of righteousness in others. The account of Moses before Pharaoh in Egypt is a very good example of the two side by side.
Exodus 7:10-12, 20-22; 8:6-7, 16-19:
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.
11But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts. 12Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.
Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood. 21The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.
22But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as YHVH had said.
6So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
7But the magicians did the same thing by their magic arts, and they also brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.
16Then YHVH said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’ ”
17This they did, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, gnats came upon man and beast. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt.
18The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.
19“This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as YHVH had said.
Here, we have a live accounting of two parties performing the exact same miracles: the one party was sent by God, I AM (YHVH); the other party were magicians of the devil. Both could perform the same miracles, up to a point. There came a time when God’s miracles superseded the magicians’ miracles. But the point remains, that Satan can perform miracles, and he can deceive people with them. That is not to negate the fact that God Himself, through His prophets, performs the exact same miracles. Just because Satan performs a certain miracle does not mean that God does not do so and will not do so as well. How do we know, then, what is of God and what is of Satan? FRUIT. While both parties in Egypt (Moses and Aaron, versus Pharaoh's magicians) had spiritual GIFTS, only Moses and Aaron produced the fruit of righteousness. They were acting on behalf of I AM, and their concern for the people of Israel–their love and holiness–proved it. Pharaoh’s complete lack of concern for the people and continual hardness of heart proved his alignment with the devil. And that is exactly what Jesus said. He said that it is by the FRUIT of the miracle workers that we know from whom they come: does what they do produce repentance from sin, faith in Jesus, holiness, and righteousness? Jesus’ seething remarks at the Judgment Seat against the “goats” were on the basis of the fact that they were workers of “lawlessness” and did not care to love their brethren.
It seems that God has given miraculous gifts to people, sometimes to test hearts, and He sometimes gives them to those whose hearts are not in alignment with His will, who are not meek, and who are ripe for discipline and judgment. “So you see, YHVH has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours, and YHVH has pronounced disaster against you” (1 Kings 22:23).
What then does this mean for us? Surely we must fear the Lord, YHVH (I AM)! We must fear our hearts corrupted by sin in its deceitfulness, and the natural recompense of judgment that we deserve, while resting in the promise that in Jesus, nothing can snatch us from the Father’s hand. Nevertheless, we must not grow complacent. We must fall on our faces in repentance and beg God to purge us of our abominations, lest we truly fall under His curse while yet thinking we are in His favor and gifting! “So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to YHVH your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster” (Joel 2:13).
Furthermore, we must fear being led out of the Lord’s wisdom by the herd of false prophets (have you noticed while reading the Old Testament that there were always herds of false prophets and usually only one or a few true prophets of YHVH?). The same is true today in the churches. (“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able” [Luke 13:24].) How many do you know who teach the Word, whether officially or unofficially, while possessing a spirit of meekness and fear of God and exhibiting the fruit of one who is walking closely in step with the Spirit of Christ? On the other hand, how many are puffed up, easily provoked and offended when questioned, given to little prayer or a rent heart that is metaphorically groveling in dust and ashes? How many deeply feel their neediness for moment-by-moment power and grace from on high? In which category do we fall? Which fruit do we see in those we are walking with (we will likely imitate, if not imperceptibly, those we are walking with)? The answer to this is serious.
It is our responsibility to be awake! We must be fruit inspectors and then take what seems to be false fruit in ourselves and others to Jesus in the prayer closet. We must ask Him to show us how to handle the false fruit. Is the fruit revealing a false heart? Or is it just diseased? When burdened about others, should we stay near those trees in order to bring support and healing or run to a new orchard where we will not be infected by the same disease? There is no clear-cut answer, because Scripture tells us to do both! In one case it says, “He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Prov 13:20), but in another case it says, “If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over” (Matt 18:15). The only way to know what to do and when is by being in tune to the Spirit, and what that looks like is another lesson altogether.
Jude sums it all up:
“But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.
22And indeed, have mercy on those who doubt; 23save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh” (Jude 1:20-23).
Next time, I plan to delve into why the true church of Jesus is so fractured, even among those who bear the fruits of the Spirit.
*I am using the BSB (Berean Study Bible) translation unless otherwise noted.
**I have replaced the typically used word “LORD” in Scripture, among modern translators, with His true Name as written in the original manuscripts. It is transliterated into English as “YHVH,” which may have been pronounced in the ancient Hebrew as “Yahawa” and is pronounced most-commonly as “Yahweh” in English. It is translated “I AM” and means, “The self-existent one.” For more on this, see: The Name of God & The Ancient Hebrewand Archaeological find: The Earliest Mention of the Israelite's God, "Yahweh"