Spirit of Discernment

Many false Christs shall arise December 5, 2011

Today we live in a time of great deception when many false Christ’s, false Jesus’ and false Messiah claimants have appeared and are appearing on the scenes and are deceiving many people. The question that a Christian should ask themselves though is that if a “Messiah” claimant should appear to them today how would they know that he is who he claims to be? Is there a biblical basis for proving whether someone claiming to be the second advent of Jesus Christ is telling the truth? In order to answer this question it is necessary to look at some of the warnings given in scriptures. The problem with some Christians in particular though is that they refuse to accept that they can be deceived yet the warnings in scripture were in fact given to Christians or followers of Jesus. Some Christians however, instead of exercising discernment, take a blasé approach believing that God would not allow them to be deceived. As a result many are being deceived in the church today because of such blasé attitude of not exercising due diligence as scripture admonished.

As Christians we need to be attuned to the times we are living in. Jesus commanded us to watch and pray but many are praying and forgetting to watch. One of the signs we are to watch for is the rise of false Christs. Jesus said in Matt 24: 4-5

“4…..Take heed that no man deceive you. 5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”

Jesus was speaking directly to His followers here. These false Christs are already here however and many do not know it. They may not all claim the name “Jesus Christ” but nonetheless they purport to be the “anointed ones” who sit in the loftiest places in the church – they are on the Internet, in our pulpits and on Christian TV networks. They are everywhere and their messengers (“prophets” and “teachers”) are everywhere seeking to draw disciples after them. These “ministers” are leading many to believe in a false Christ by projecting a false image of Jesus Christ. So how then should we respond if one comes to us saying, “I am he who was promised!” or even saying, “he is in yonder place, lets go and meet him!” The answer lies in Jesus’ teaching in Matt 24:

23Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25Behold, I have told you before. 26Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

One of the problems with many church goers is that they love signs more than the Word and therefore have developed a false perception that signs are a confirmation of one’s anointing. For example, many are of the mistaken view that if one speaks “in tongues” that this is a sign that such a person is filled with the Spirit. In this regard they fail to properly apply scripture to examine if what they witness is actually a move of the Spirit. This is not to discount the fact that the charismatic gifts are still evident and active in the church but not every sign that occurs in church is a move of the Spirit. This is a vital point that many seem to miss. Perhaps this is as a result of a fear of not wanting to question the Spirit. However the scriptures teach that we should test the spirit to see whether or not it is of God. How do we test the spirit? We do this by examining their works against the scriptures. The scriptures say in 1 John 4:

1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

This scripture highlights some very important implications for our world today and for the future. Today many different religious and pseudo-religious groups are awaiting a “saviour” or “messiah” of one sort or another. The implication of the above scripture however is that they have the spirit of anti-christ because though they await a “messiah” in this they have denied that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. So though they may call their awaited “saviour” or teacher, Jesus, Christ, Maitreya, messiah or anointed one, such an individual is no more than anti-christ in so far as their being represented as a denial that Jesus Christ already came in the flesh. In a world which is increasingly leaning towards a one world faith through ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue the imagination does not need to be stretched to see how anti-christ might be accepted by both Christians and non-christians alike.

The key thing to note about the second advent of Jesus Christ is that he will not come in secret unbeknownst to the world but His coming will be such a great event that no one will be in any doubt. Before that time however anyone else who appears on the scene claiming to be Christ will be none other than anti-christ. We have the assurance of Jesus Christ that is coming will be thus:

“..as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”  Matt 24:27

Let us therefore with patience wait for the true Messiah of the world and not seek after a false one.