There is a story that was written a long time ago called The Hidden Hand.
In that story was a criminal named Black Donald. The story is full of interesting twists and turns but, suffice it to say, a few of Black Donald’s sidekicks ended up in jail. That is the setting.
The girl and her motherly chaperone went to the fair. There they found the revival tent of Reverend Grey. Reverend Grey was thin and frail and elderly. The chaperone was drawn to him from the start. Not in a romantic way but as to someone who was solid in the faith; as someone who spoke the truth with charisma. And spoke the truth of God’s Word he did.
The idea was put forth that he visit the town prisoners. They’d been there for several months now and they were as hardened as ever.
Reverend Grey was frightened and refused, at first. But, eventually, he worked up his courage and said he would go.
The day after he went, the prisoners escaped.
How do you think that happened?
It happened because the very “biblical”, self-effacing man called Reverend Grey was not a reverend at all but was, rather, Black Donald himself. He had starved himself until he looked just a shadow of himself and then he had carefully put a very convincing costume together, along with the right expressions and knowing the right words.
He did what he needed to do to reach his goal. And his goal was to get his friends out of prison. It worked just as he had hoped.
This is a story. Written in the dramatic, Victorian style, it is a bit far-fetched, at that (although a fun read, for sure!) But I cannot help but think of how many “Black Donalds” we have in our midst today.
People pretending to be something they are not. People with selfish goals of money and power (to name a couple) who will do anything to get them. There are other goals. Goals much more nefarious as there are those who are working to bring in the antichrist system and fully know what they are doing.
What is happening in Christianity today is a critical component of this deception. You cannot have a religion that is based on the Bible if you want to bring in the one world religion. You have to get people’s eyes off the Bible and on to their experiences (mysticism).
Satan, called the Angel of Light for a very good reason (2 Corinthians 11:14) has devised very subtle, very devious ways to work his way into our minds and uproot the biblical roots planted there by godly parents, pastors, and teachers from the past.
This is mostly done through very attractive, very “humble”, very “biblical-sounding” people. People very much like Reverend Grey, who come across sincere, self-effacing, and humble.
Our only hope—truly—our ONLY HOPE, is to compare everything to Scripture. Every. Thing. We cannot make a judgment about them based on their personality, their attitudes, their niceness, their charisma and way with words…and then simply choose to trust them.
As humans, we have a tendency to do that but it is so dangerous. Especially now. Instilling Mysticism in the minds of those who call themselves Christians is absolutely critical for Satan to succeed in bringing in what we read in scripture. We know many will be deceived in the last days. That time is now. We must pay attention.
Let me give you four recent examples from my own life of this deception and how it’s coming in from all directions—
First, I started reading a novel. It is by a “Christian” author whom I have read before. As I began to read, I noticed her penchant to add special revelation (God speaking, dreams, visions) in the lives of most of her characters. She is opening the door and her readers are walking through it. Contemplating this is moving the biblical reader from basing their faith on the Bible to just beginning to consider that perhaps there is more. Oh, she uses the Bible, too. The Bible is always around in these scenarios. But the most important thing is that Jesus Himself is talking to these people and this is more important than scripture.
Second, someone recently told me about a book they are reading for research purposes. It is a wildly popular book amidst the younger generation and the whole thing turns biblical Christianity upside down on its head. It completely turns “Christianity” into a form of Mysticism. One book. But not only this book. There have been many books doing this for the past twenty or so years. Books labeled “Christian” that are anything but. I caution you about reading anything that is on trend. There is generally a reason these books have made it to the bestseller list.
Third, there was recently a “Worship Night” on American Idol. I could probably write a whole post on this alone and I actually thought about it but I didn’t have the time to do the research that needed to be done for it. Suffice it to say, that at least three of the performers in that concert have been researched by myself in the past and they are not biblical in any way. They have wonderful voices and they may sing an occasional biblical song, but their lives are unholy and they embrace the world and its ways while claiming to follow Christ, something that we clearly cannot do, according to scripture. They remove people’s eyes from the Bible by living lives that give no heed to what it says whatsoever. And, yet, many Christians are declaring that we are having a REVIVAL. No, we are not. What we are having is an explosion of a false religion called by the name of Christianity that is moving people from the Bible into mysticism.
And, fourth, and finally, I think I’ve mentioned this before but there is this belief pervading the minds of so many now that we can’t really trust the Word of God. That we can decide how to interpret it. And the way I interpret it might be different than how you interpret it. Do you see how this, too, is instrumental in moving people from believing in the absolute Word of God to trusting in their own subjective thoughts about the Word of God?
Oh, I personally find the “Christianity” of today terrifying on so many levels. It’s chaotic. It’s confusing. How do you even share the Gospel in the midst of such deception and falsehood?
But God…
It’s not up to us to convince people to see the truth. It’s not up to us to change their minds. We just need to keep living our lives and speaking the truth, planting seeds as we get opportunity.
And we need to pray. Pray that God would keep us from deception in the midst of this tsunami of deception that is all around us everywhere. We need to pray for wisdom and discernment as we navigate all of this. And we need to know our Bibles.
Our only hope to survive all of this is through humble prayer and studying the Bible with a heart willing to submit and obey what it says, through the help of the Holy Spirit.
I may sound like a broken record, but I believe that with my whole heart and it’s the main reason why I am still here on this blog writing today.
On our own, we will be vulnerable to deception. But with God and with His Word, we will be equipped to travel through this modern-day “Christianity” and see the lies for what they are.
Stay strong, my friends, and don’t get discouraged. We are not alone, for God has promised to walk with us through this challenging time of history. And, one of these days, Jesus will return for us just as He promised and the battle will be over forever. Oh, I hope that day comes soon!
AMEN!