BIBLE TEXTS:
“But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep…” (2 Thes. 5:4-6)
“But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as the Angel of Light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.” (2 Cor. 11:14-15 GW)
The purpose of this writing is to awaken the possessors of eternal life in Christ to what is coming ahead. We are at the very end of the last days. In fact, we are in the night of the last days, waiting for the breaking of the day of the Lord, when there “…shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Mat. 24:30).
God loves His children so much that He would not leave them in darkness of confusion. He will make His plan known to them. “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amo. 3:7). The eternal plan of God is summed up in God’s dear Son—Jesus Christ. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of God’s eternal purpose. To understand the beginning of the purpose of God is to know Jesus, and to know how the whole plan will play out in the end is to know Jesus. All prophecies will find their fulfilment in Christ, and that is why the testimony of Jesus Christ is the Spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10).
The satanic deception that is coming, which already is beginning to play out, is part of the events of the last days which God’s children must be aware of, and they are to position themselves rightly to be able to withstand it (Eph. 6:11 & 13), because it will shake the entire world. It is part of what must happen before the appearing of the Great King—Jesus. This deception was the first statement of Jesus when His disciples asked Him of what the sign of His coming and the end of the world shall be.
“And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when shall these things be?’ And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, “Take heed that no man DECEIVE you.” (Mat. 24:3-4)
No prayer will avert this deception from happening; it is this deception that will usher in all the evil that will eventually play out in the last days; however, the saints can endeavour to position themselves rightly not to be overcome by it. We are to be aware to “take heed”, as Jesus forewarned (Mat. 24:4). Peter the apostle said, “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 Pet. 2:1). This deception that will be revealed in the night of the last days will combine all of Satan’s strategies in the world to unfold. These strategies are “…the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life…” (1 Jn. 2:17).
The lie that is masquerading in this deception is not going to be defined as just the opposite of truth but as something very close to the truth, which is not THE TRUTH. To make the dispensation of this deception more subtle, there will be counterfeits of the gifts of the Spirit, especially the power gifts, that will produce undeniable results. The deception will be directed at the saints who are keeping the testimony of Jesus Christ to attack the very core and ground of their faith in Jesus Christ. The deception will come with undeniable proofs with the manifestation of miracles, signs and wonders (Mat. 24:24). Saints whose focus is on the “things of God” (materialistic consumables) and not on Jesus Christ Himself will easily be deceived. During this darkest moment of deception, people will follow anything that has the shining appearance of light, especially the ones looking for signs and miracles. People shall “…wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek…” for the light of life (Amos 8:11-13; John 8:12). Satan will release his seducing spirits into the world; he will present them deceitfully as angels of light. It will then be fulfilled that which was said by Paul the apostle: “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Cor. 11:14).
The kind of crisis this deception will bring in, though orchestrated by the devil, will, however, be used by God to blow away the chaff from the wheat—the Bride of His beloved Son. Jesus said, “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor and will gather the wheat into his garner, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.” (Luk. 3:17). This crisis will shake the entire body of Christ to separate the things that are temporal from the eternal realities. The writer of Hebrew said, “Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.'” And this word, “Yet once more”, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain” (Heb. 26:27). The crisis generated by this deception will become that which God will use to separate the things that are ordained by God from things that are not initiated by Him.
This darkest moment of the last days will be filled with confusions, tribulations, pains, frustrations and distractions that will all shake the entire system of the world. This shaking will make the world vulnerable to deception. When this happens, agents of darkness will deceitfully grant succour to the world, which is another attempt to further reinforce this evil deception to mislead people (including the chosen ones) into falsehoods, apostasy and destruction. The Word from the LORD will become rare in this darkest night, and revelatory visions will be infrequent (1 Sam. 3:1). And that is why God will raise in these last days New Testament “Eli(s)”, who will teach and instruct the young “Samuels” of this generation (1 Sam. 3:7-11):
1. How to remain in God’s presence
2. How to recognise the voice of God
3. How to respond to the Voice of God
4. How to understand the Word of God’s eternal plan
5. How to know that it is God talking and not man or Satan.
The prophecy revealed that “Darkness now covers the earth, and thick darkness covers the nations…” (Isa. 60:2 GW). This darkest moment of the last days will be just as Amos has prophesied that there would be “…a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.” (Amos 8:11-13).
The Word of God will always be available, but it will not come in the way many people are currently used to. That is why it will appear as if the Word of God is no longer forthcoming. People are used to the Word of God coming forth in a charismatic or dramatic way. But in the night of the last days, the Word of God may not come with charismatism, because deception would have wrapped itself in charismatism (with counterfeits of spiritual gifts) to mislead many, especially in the religious circles (church denominations), because that is what they respond to and are used to.
“And he said, ‘Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice” (1Kg. 19:11-12).
Earthquake and stormy or windy experiences will not be used to reveal the intentions of God like we are used to in the last days. God will speak and reveal His plan in a way we are not used to. Charismatic big gatherings with sophisticated sounds, lighting and decorations may not be the avenue where God’s intentions are revealed. God will speak to His children in a way that only those who have been with the Lord will be able to recognise His voice, which is different from the conventional. Just like the recorded experience of Elijah the prophet, he had been with the God; he was able to recognize and hear God in a “still small voice”. There were voices in the earthquake, but he didn’t hear the Voice of God in the earthquake; there were voices in the wind and in the fire, Elijah could not recognize the Voice of God in those dramatic experiences, which are synonymous with the current charismatic move in the Christian communities. Of course, God at times had spoken in the midst of earthquake, wind or fire (Exd. 91:16-19), but will in these last days speak to His children through His Son, living in them by His Spirit of Truth (Heb. 1:1-2; Jn. 16:13-15). Only the true sheep will be able to know and follow the voice of the good shepherd in the last days (Jn. 10:14). The true sheep won’t follow the voice of strangers no matter how charismatic these voices may sound (Jn. 10:5).
“The Holy Spirit has explicitly revealed: at the end of this age, many will depart from the true faith one after another, devoting themselves to spirits of deception and following demon-inspired revelations and theories. Hypocritical liars will deceive many, and their consciences won’t bother them at all! (1 Tim. 4.1-2. TPT).
This piece concerning the battle against seducing spirits is not to scare the saints but to enable the saints to become aware of what is to come and to be prepared for victory as we remain in and with the person of truth — Jesus Christ. As stated, no prayer or fasting can avert the deception of the last days, and we cannot run away from it. Revealing how the deception will unfold is God’s way of preserving the saints to help the saints know what they are up against in the night of the last days and to awaken them to the truth so that they will be able to stand on the evil day (Eph. 6:11), that they don’t sleep but stand their ground in Christ—the Ground of Victory (Jn. 16:33; 1Jn. 5:4-5).
In the night of these last days, many of the faithful ones who have not been lured into deception will be tired of soul winning. The falsehoods paraded by the false messengers of light with signs and wonders will dissuade many from following Christ. The deception will make evangelism difficult. The messages from the seducing spirits will appear very true to the people, which will build strong demonic strongholds in their minds. This will make soul winning difficult for the faithful ones in Christ, and to penetrate the hearts of men with the Word of God will be a warfare. The resistance to God’s word will be massive, because it will be so hard to distinguish true light and darkness masquerading as “false light”. The only way to clearly differentiate the truth from falsehood in the last days will be to watch out for the fruit of the Spirit and not the gifts of the Spirit, even though the gifts of the Spirit have their place in the plan of God. (Mat. 7:16; Gal. 5:22-23). This is because the gifts of the Spirit can be mimicked by the seducing spirits, with undeniable proofs (especially miracles, signs and wonders)—(Mat. 24:24). Therefore, gifts of the Spirit and church–charismatic–life will not be considered the basis of differentiating the Spirit of Christ from the spirit of antichrist. Discerning spirits through the manifestation of gifts will be difficult in the night of the last days. The experience of soul winning will be characterised by toiling, just like the experience of Simon Peter, when he had toiled and caught nothing. This is because the counterfeits manifested by the seducing spirits will also produce undeniable proofs, which will dissuade many into error and lead people away from Christ, like the magicians in Egypt did before Pharaoh and Moses when Aaron’s rod turned to a serpent. The magicians reproduced the same result (Exd. 7:11-12). The harvest of the false apostles of Satan will be abundant, which will fulfil what Jesus said, that the false prophets will deceive “many” (Mat. 24:5).
The chosen ones in Christ will go out in the night of the last days as “fishers of men”; with the mind that the best time for kingdom harvest is in the night of the last days, they will forget that they (the chosen) are the children of the day and not of the night; the night is the time when the evil ones will execute their operations. Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” The night of the last days is not for the work of harvest; it is for something profound in the eternal plan of God that will usher in a bountiful harvest in the breaking of the day. The Gospel of Luke gave a prophetic account to illustrate this:
“And it came to pass that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret.” And saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.’ And Simon answering said unto him, ‘Master, we have TOILED all the NIGHT and have taken nothing; nevertheless, at thy WORD I will let down the net.’ And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net broke.” (Luke 5:1-6)
On the night of the last days, all the evangelistic strategy designed by men to bring souls into the Kingdom will fail. Only the Lord will usher in the harvest by His divine power. It is a time of gross darkness. The messengers of darkness will vehemently launch attacks to destroy the work of God on earth, but their operation is only for the night. There will be weeping in the night, but great joy will come at the breaking of the day (Psa. 30:5). The night of the last days is the time for the faithful ones in Christ to be watchful in faith and prayers. Jesus said, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:36). The saints are to wait on the Lord—who is the Bright and Morning Star—for instruction (Rev. 22:16); He will destroy the works of the devil when His light appears in the morning (1 Jn. 3:8). If the saints work in the night trusting or depending on their human strategies for harvest, they will end up toiling. In the night of the last days, the chosen ones in Christ are to prayerfully and patiently wait on the Lord of harvest himself to bring a great Kingdom harvest. Harvest in the last days is dependent on the instruction from the Lord, not on human wisdom or strategy.
John the apostle forewarned and said, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 Jn. 4:1 KJV). In John’s day, the basis for discerning spirits was based on the confession of the Lordship of Christ and the incarnation of Christ. John said, “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.:And 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” (1Jn.4:2-3 KJV).
In the night of the last days, the false prophets will confess that Jesus is the Christ—the Anointed One sent by God; they will profess Jesus as the Lord and as Christ, meaning that they will declare His incarnation to be the truth. But the Lord Jesus Himself had already given us the basis to discern the Spirit of Truth from the lying spirits. Jesus Christ forewarned in the Gospel of Matthew and said:
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. YE SHALL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUIT. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not everyone that says unto me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?’ and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mat. 7:15-23).
The fruit of the Spirit will be the basis to discern the true from the false and the good from the evil. The Fruit of the Spirit is the exact character of Christ that reveals His life and nature.
Paul wrote:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22-23).
The operations of the Spirit of Truth will be recognised by:
1. The love of Christ
2. The joy of Christ
3. The peace of Christ
4. The long-suffering of Christ
5. The gentleness of Christ
6. The goodness of Christ
7. The faith of Christ
8. The meekness of Christ
9. The temperance of Christ
Why did Jesus tell us to look for the fruit in discerning the nature of spirits?
1. Fruit cannot be mimicked. A tree produces a kind of fruit which cannot be mimicked by a different tree.
2. Fruit is a visible expression of the life of a tree (and the source can be recognised).
3. A tree is called by its fruit. The fruit tells us about the tree.
4. Fruit is solely produced for others. This reflects the selflessness of Christ.
5. The seed of the tree is found in the fruit. When others pluck to eat, the seed in the fruit goes with them and is planted in their lives.
6. People don’t throw stones or sticks at fruitless trees. When a tree is constantly attacked, it is because of the fruit. The work of Satan is to battle against the truth.
7. Fruit takes time to grow before harvest (this reflects the patience of Christ).
8. Fruit doesn’t appear by magic. It is a product of growth in the knowledge of Christ (2 Pet. 3:18).
The saints will be able to recognise the operations and manifestations of the Spirit of Truth by the Fruit of the Spirit (the character of Christ). Gifts can be mimicked and be manifested in the flesh, but the fruit of the character of Christ cannot be mimicked and can only be produced or manifested by the Spirit.
The Bible also recorded how to distinguish between the wisdom of God that is from above and demonic wisdom that is earthly, which is by recognising the kind of fruit it produced.
“This wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife are, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good FRUITS, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the FRUIT of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” (Jam. 3:15-18).
James in the above scripture revealed that the fruit will reveal the wisdom of God in Christ; that is, the wisdom from above will manifest the righteousness of Christ, the gentleness of Christ, the peace of Christ, and the purity of Christ. The wisdom from above can easily be entreated. All these attributes reveal the character of Christ.
Saints, we must not be found sleeping in the night of the last days, “…knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Rom. 13:11-14 KJV).
Grace Always