spirit of error
DECEIVING SPIRIT, SPIRIT OF ERROR
Jesus warned us, the elect, against being deceived by false christs, false prophets and antichrists and by demonic doctrines in the last days. Mathew 24:24-26. Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him. "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. "Behold, I have told you in advance. 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,…(I Tim.4:1-2)
In the last days, we do face false Christs and false prophets who preach doctrines of demons and who perform miracles just to deceive the elect. The elect are saved people in churches. A German architect had found the way to Jesus through the preaching of a minister who was a drunkard. The minister was often drunk but when he was sober, his preaching was sound. God can bring people to new life even by means of unworthy witnesses.
There are false teachers in our midst who preach from the Bible. No surprise, sinners get saved through their gospel ministries. Recently, I saw a commercial advertisement from Tatas, the most ethical business empire. They have now started producing “I Shakti”, unpolished pulses. They now market the same through businessmen who are not ethical. But, their products come in packets with their seals and monograms intact and the customers ultimately enjoy their original products. To quote another example, an apple tree produces edible apple fruits but such fruits are marketed by unscrupulous traders and are even sold by thieves who steal apples from the orchards. Ultimately, customers enjoy the fruits. Similarly, the gospel of Jesus Christ is being preached by false Christs, false prophets and Antichrists. Sinners get saved’ the sick get healed in the Name of Jesus Christ. This is what happens in our evangelical crusades and ministries through corrupt and fallen ministries of persons who had once come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and started their ministries through the power of the Holy Spirit but later fell by the wayside due to popularity and Mammon of Unrighteousness.
But these fallen ministries would never lead the saved people to discipleship or perfection. It is the work of the local churches being administered by a body of elders for making disciples for the Lord.
The Jezebel spirit is very active in our churches. It is a false spirit of prophecy. This spirit does not possess the bodies of believers redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb but influences their minds and seduces them to follow another gospel or to follow the spirit of error. In the book of revelation, we find that the elders in the church of Thyatira allowed the woman Jezebel who calls her a prophetess to teach and seduce God’s servants to commit (spiritual) fornication. When a preacher who is given a free access to a church pulpit makes the audience believe in a different gospel or in a different spirit, then spiritual fornication takes place.
I recently came across a young believer who was being influenced by the false doctrines of some fallen ministers because she relied on their books rather than on the Bible. Such books presented a “holy” spirit who is different from the Holy Spirit of the gospels. One of her admirers is a world famous evangelist whose ministry has been corrupted. This evangelist reportedly received the anointing of the Holy Spirit on the grave of a woman evangelist who had been influencing the mind of the world famous evangelist. A corrupt tree cannot produce a genuine edible fruit. Any ministry which glorifies the Holy Spirit without glorifying Jesus Christ and which presents the Holy Spirit as distinct from the Son of God falls into a grave doctrinal error. No doubt, this girl has brought some people to Christ and preaches the gospel from the Bible.
The Holy Spirit was the central theme. The Holy Spirit does not allow himself to be given a central place; the Holy Spirit makes Jesus central (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit does not allow himself to be the main person. Jesus says in John 16:14, "He will glorify me."
Recently, in a Pentecostal church in Tamil Nadu, the pastor allowed a woman to prophesy and to preach in his church. Ultimately, the eyes of some elders of this church were opened by a elderly woman of God who had the gift of discernment of spirits. When she and other elders prayed, the woman with the counterfeit gift of prophesy fell down.
When the spirit of error or the spirit of Jezebel works in our midst, we cannot simply cast out this spirit in the name of Jesus Christ or His blood. It is the deceiving spirit of the Antichrist. This deceiving spirit influences our mind. The pastors or the elders who deal with this kind of a spirit in their midst need to pray for such preachers and should not allow an access to church pulpits to such preachers. If this spirit of false prophecy i.e. falsely interpreting the Scriptures instead of rightly dividing the word of truth is allowed to manifest in the midst of the congregations, the Lord’s sheep will be put into a terrible bondage. It will be a bondage to believing in extra-biblical and false spiritual encounters with the “holy” spirit. The whole church will be lead into a great delusion. The thief comes only to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10)
The pastors or the elders of the local church have to be very careful in discerning the spirits of preachers who are being influenced by this false spirit of prophecy. They have to deal with persons who operate their fake gifts by means of the word of God. It is the prophetic ministry (meaning ministry through the Word) through which we can minister to those who are under the spell of this demonic spirit. You have to deal with the doctrines of demons through the word of God only. The deceived preachers quote the Bible from one angle only just to put the Lord’s sheep to the bondage of ignorance.
- Job Anbalagan