Counterfeit

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;...heresies..."

Galatians 5:19a & 5:20i

Deception is the single greatest sign of the last days in scripture.  Most who dwell on prophetic events miss this sign while looking for wars, earthquakes, and events in Israel.  Jesus, however, started and finished each of His discourses on His second coming with a warning about the rise of heretical teaching and deceit.  Add to these the  warnings from the Epistles and we should begin to see the seriousness of this great sign.  Yet, most Christians can't seem to detect men's concepts taught as Bible truth.  Why?  Because deception does not effectively work if it is detected easily now does it?  Furthermore, deception works best when it seems to be the very thing one desires. 

For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

Mark 13:22

Most know that the Antichrist will be a master deceiver.  However, most do not consider that there are many in the church sowing false doctrine in an effective campaign to neutralize the truth and conceal Christ.  Deceivers were at work in the early church sowing false doctrine and they caused much grief. Yet, the teaching of false doctrine is happening at an even greater degree today and few clamor against it.  Furthermore, some are actually caught up in the very same heresies that the early church worked so hard to expose. The sad thing is that many will not listen when they are shown that a man or woman is teaching lies in the name of Christ.  Those who do try to uncover the false teachers make themselves a target of ridicule and scorn by the very people they are trying to protect.  Isaiah points out that when truth fails those who would depart from evil often make themselves a target (Isaiah 59:15).  Again, why is heresy not seen for the falseness it is?

Counterfeiters work countless hours perfecting their craft of printing false money.  The more it looks and feels like the real thing, the better the ruse.  The governments of nations worldwide also spend millions of dollars devising means and methods to counter the damage to their economies that comes with counterfeiting.  It is the same with spiritual things.  In order to make them work their damage, they have to appear spiritual though they are not.  The more it looks and sounds like a genuine teaching the better the demonic results will be.  Also, the Holy Spirit worked hundreds of years authoring the Bible so we could discern the truth from fables.  

Hunters don't kill turkeys with a moose call, nor do fishermen catch fish with deer calls.  Hunters kill turkey with calls that mimic a turkey so effectively that the prey thinks that it is a turkey.  Fishermen use lures that flash and act like the food that a fish craves most.  This is why Paul's warning above is so important.  False doctrine--heresy--appeals to the flesh while aping the things of the spirit.  This is the very reason that it is so deadly, subtle, and effective.  Heresy is appealing simply because it is packed with appeal that seems spiritual.

False doctrines are so common today that most cannot detect what is true and what is false anymore.  It is a sure sign that the times Christ and the Apostles warned us about are here. In some circles all one has to do is run and shout and whoop and holler and most think that he is walking in the Spirit.  It doesn't matter what is taught since only the appearance of an "anointing" is all that is needed.  All one has to do is deliver a lie with a tear in the eye and some will believe it is true.  In other circles we just need busyness in the house and God is involved.  Each night is jam packed with events for the whole family.  "Surely God is in this!", they reason.  For some we just need teaching that strengthens them in their lack of humility, commitment, and service.  "Just leave me with a compromised walk and don't speak against the vices (sin) that is in my life preacher," they say.

Who wrote the Bible?  Was it just the priests, prophets, and men of GOD whose names appear on a given book?  Was it not also the Holy Spirit?  True anointing follows the Word because a true anointing comes from the one who authored the Word.  It doesn't matter how passionately the message is delivered if it is not Bible based.  Emotion is great when that emotion is balanced by truth.  When it is not we tend to follow feelings and not walk in faith.  Busyness for the sake of doing something is not the overall mission of the church.  Many of the events that churches are using to keep people in their pews are actually destroying the people by leading them into deception.

The mission of the true Spirit filled church is to be the loving hands and feet of Christ the King reaching out to a lost and dying world.  One who is truly guided by the things of the spirit is working overtime with God guided by the word and is allowing the Holy Spirit to conform them to the image of Christ so that Christ alone is always seen.

Be careful!  We are in the last days and there is a lot that is counterfeit out there.  This is yet another sure sign that Jesus Christ is Soon2Come!!

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2 Peter 2:1