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Truth about Prophets andMiracles 2Loving Truth or Loving a Lie?

How not to be Deceived!So far, we have seenthat Eve was deceivedbecause she chose tobelieve something thatcontradicted the Wordof God!God told her and Adam clearly that they would die ifthey ate that fruit. Satan disguised himself (He lovesto do this to fool people!) and he comes out and tellsher that God is a liar and what He said is not true!

How not to be Deceived!What is an even worselie that he told her, wasthat God was selfishand was keeping it fromthem because it wassomething wonderfuland He wanted it forHimself. This liedeclared that God didnot want what was bestfor them!Eve chose to believea stranger, think evilof her loving Creator,and doubt His Word!

How not to be Deceived!So the Word of God iswhat we need so wewill not be deceivedtoday!Does the Bible reallytell us how to spotfalse prophets?

How not to be Deceived!Oh yes! The Bible gives us a whole set ofrules to use to measure these things! Herewe will look briefly at them and then learnmore details in our following lessons.But how do we know the Bible is truly theWord of God? We will learn all about thattoo—be sure not to miss any of theselessons!

Let’s look at some Bible texts:"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness inthem that perish; because they received not the loveof the truth, that they might be saved. And for thiscause God shall send them strong delusion, that theyshould believe a lie: That they all might be damnedwho believed not the truth, but had pleasure inunrighteousness." 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.Notice: ‘They received not the love of the truth’.Why did they not love the Truth? Because theydesired something that was ‘unrighteous’! Thatmeans something that was wrong for them to have!

God seeks to lead us to ‘love the Truth‘; actually the abilityto love the truth is given to us by Him, it is not somethingthat we have to do on our own.We couldn’t do it on our own, because since man fell, it isnatural for him to hate the truth.But if we don’t love and accept the truth we can’t be saved.Have you ever had something that you knew was not true,but you really wanted it to be true—so much that you feltangry when someone told you is was false?Well, that is an example of not loving the truth!

The reason why people don’taccept this ability to lovetruth from God is aninteresting one, it says ‘buthad PLEASURE inunrighteousness’.I’ll put it in simpler terms;they refuse to believe thetruth because it’s more fun tobelieve the lies.Watching, hearing, reading,or believing, untrue thingsgives them pleasure; theyenjoy it.

This is not only referring todoctrines, it refers to all truth;accepting the truth about the sinin our life and what we need toconfess and repent of.It refers to facing the truth thatthe world with its fascinations iswicked and rapidly heading fordestruction.It refers also to fiction andfantasy in entertainment; it alsorefers to all those little ‘lies ofconvenience’ that we indulge in.

It refers to trusting in the word ofpsychics, fortunes tellers,healers, and ‘prophets’ eventhough we see they do not followthe Word of God, but we wantwhat they offer us whether it isGod’s will or not!It refers also to untrue storiesand fairy tales we tell to ourchildren.There are many folk who arereally fooled because they do notknow the truth; God has mercyon them and tries to lead them tothe truth.He forgives them whenthey turn from thesefalse things. But whenthey know and stillrefuse, they are classedas loving a lie morethan God’s Truth.

God deals with 100% truth. He will teach us only 100%truth. We find truth about salvation and all these otherthings in the pages of the Holy Bible. If we don’t want tohear God’s truth, He finally has to leave us to our ownunhappy destinies.Notice this sad verse:"For without (out ofheaven) are dogs, andsorcerers, andwhoremongers, andmurderers, and idolaters,and whosoever lovethand maketh a lie.“Revelation 22:15That is what it means when itsays ‘God shall send themstrong delusion, that they shouldbelieve a lie’. God doesn’tdeceive them, No, of course not!They insist on being deceived,so God has to withdraw Hisprotection and the liar, Satansweeps in and they are carriedaway by the muddy torrent ofdelusions.

Exposing the LiesI want to make this point clear,anything out of harmony withthe scriptures is not truth.Satan is putting forth theconcept that man is immortal inhimself. And he tells hisfollowers that he is able to givelife and do anything for themthat they want. Why does hetry so hard to make us believewe are all powerful andimmortal?

The TRUTH is that only God, that is God the Father, the Sonand the Holy Spirit, have underived life. All other lives in theuniverse are dependent upon the life of God. If we think thatwe have life in ourselves, then we are not so worried aboutGod’s authority. "He’s just bluffing when HE warns us, "Thewages of sin is death!" After all, we can’t really die." But Godonly deals in truth, He never bluffs.Satan is a powerful angel,he has great power toinfluence our minds andbodies, great hypnoticability and can do thingsthat to us seem impossible;but he has no life inhimself.

This is a truth he knowsbut refuses to accept. Hecannot give life to hisfollowers. He cannot evenheal when it is a casewhere real life-giving poweris required. He can hypethem up with hypnotismand feelings for a while, buthe has no power to give lifeor to re-create; only theLife-giver has this power.

So now we will look at the Bible Rules to know ifsomeone is a real Prophet or not. Remember, eventhe person claiming to be a prophet may himself befooled by Satan IF he does not use the Bible to testhis so-called ‘gift’!

Bible rules for TrueProphets:1. A true prophet does not lie. Hispredictions will be fulfilled. “The prophetwhich prophesieth of peace, when the wordof the prophet shall come to pass, thenshall the prophet be known, that the LORDhath truly sent him.” Jeremiah 28:9

Bible rules for TrueProphets:2. A true prophet prophesies in thename of the Lord, not in his own name.“For the prophecy came not in old time bythe will of man: but holy men of God spakeas they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2Peter 1:21.

Bible rules for TrueProphets:3. A true prophet does not give his ownprivate interpretation of prophecy.“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of thescripture is of any private interpretation.” 2Peter 1:20.

Bible rules for TrueProphets:4. A true prophet will point out the sinsand transgressions of the people ofGod. “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voicelike a trumpet, and shew my people theirtransgression, and the house of Jacob theirsins.” Isaiah 58:1.

Bible rules for TrueProphets:5. A true prophet warns the people ofGod’s coming judgment. “Behold, theLORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh itwaste, and turneth it upside down, andscattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.”Isaiah 24:1.These first five tests alone are enough to damagethe reputation of most so-called prophets, but withthe second group of five, they are truly devastating.

Bible rules for TrueProphets:6. A true prophet edifies (instructs) thechurch, counsels and advises it inreligious matters.“But he that prophesieth speaketh unto mento edification, and exhortation, and comfort. . .he that prophesieth edifieth the church.” 1Corinthians 14:3, 4.

7. A true prophet’s words will be inabsolute harmony with the words of trueprophets that have preceded him in theBible. “To the law and to the testimony: if theyspeak not according to this word, it is because thereis no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20.

Bible rules for TrueProphets:“And the spirits of the prophets are subjectto the prophets. For God is not the author ofconfusion, but of peace, as in all churchesof the saints.” 1 Corinthians 14:32, 33.True prophets agree with each otherbecause they all agree with the Bible andtheir messages come from the samesource.

Bible rules for TrueProphets:This test is very important! It is not just byquoting a Bible text or two that a ‘prophet’ isshown to be from God.NONE of their messages will contradict theBible, ALL must agree together. The Bibledoes NOT contradict itself, so all trueprophets will not contradict the Bible either!

8. A true prophet recognizes theincarnation of Jesus Christ, that Heactually came in human flesh not somekind of ‘spiritual body’.“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spiritswhether they are of God: because many falseprophets are gone out into the world. Hereby knowye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth thatJesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: Andevery spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ iscome in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spiritof antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it shouldcome; and even now already is it in the world.” 1John 4:1-3

“For verily he took not on him the nature ofangels; but he took on him the seed ofAbraham. Wherefore in all things it behovedhim to be made like unto his brethren, thathe might be a merciful and faithful high priestin things pertaining to God, to makereconciliation for the sins of the people.”Hebrews 2:16, 17.There are many claims today that Jesus was bornof a sinless mother, or that He just pretended to behuman, or that He could not have sinned—thesethings are all denied by the Bible! He could havesinned, but praise God! He never did!

9. A true Prophet can be recognized bythe results of his work. Does their work andteaching help people to be more like Jesusand obey His Word?

“Ye shall know them by theirfruits. (results of their work.) Domen gather grapes of thorns, orfigs of thistles? Even so everygood tree bringeth forth good fruit;but a corrupt tree bringeth forthevil fruit. A good tree cannot bringforth evil fruit, neither can acorrupt tree bring forth good fruit.Every tree that bringeth not forthgood fruit is hewn down, and castinto the fire. Wherefore by theirfruits ye shall know them.”Matthew 7:16-20.

10. A true prophet acts in accordance withthe will of God. “When thou art come intothe land which the LORD thy God giveththee, Thou shalt not learn to do after theabominations of those nations.

There shall not be found among you any one,. . .that useth divination [fortune-teller], or anobserver of times [astrologer], or anenchanter [magician], or a witch, Or acharmer, [hypnotist] or a consulter withfamiliar spirits [medium with a spirit or a‘guide’], or a wizard [clairvoyant or psychic],or a necromancer [medium who consults thedead].

For all that do these things are anabomination unto the Lord: and because ofthese abominations the LORD thy God dothdrive them out from before thee.”Deuteronomy 18:9-12.Based on these texts, not everyone whoprophesies is a prophet of God. Theactions of a true prophet will not contradictbasic Bible doctrines.

So what if their predictions do come true, orthey do some miracle, and yet they are notin harmony with the Bible and the prophetsthat have gone before them?

“If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamerof dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, Andthe sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof hespake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods,which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of thatprophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for theLORD your God proveth you, to know whether yelove the LORD your God with all your heart andwith all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD yourGod, and fear him, and keep his commandments,and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, andcleave unto him.” Deuteronomy 13:1-5.