Back

How To Identify False Teachers

Discussing How To Identify Wolves in Sheep’s Clothes

 

false teachers

 

The late Dr. Walter Martin, author of The Kingdom of the Cult and co-author of The Kingdom of The Occult, told the story of interviewing a bank employee who was an expert at identifying counterfeit money.  One would presume that in order to identify counterfeit money that you would need a lot of exposure to counterfeit money, so Dr. Martin asked him, “How long did you have to study counterfeit money?”  The bank employee said he did not have to study counterfeit money at all.  Rather, he had to study original money so much that when a counterfeit was presented, it was easily identifiable.  The texture, the smell, the color pattern, and other identifiable factors of the original money must be studied well.

 

You are in a world full of commentaries and “Christian” books, documentaries, music, and events.  If your Bible and your communion with God is not taking precedence beyond the other advice presented in the marketplace (television, movies, books, music, radio commentaries, etc.), you will find yourself susceptible to many occult attacks ; wolves in sheep’s clothes.  His touch, His voice, His message and how He distinguishes His people should be studied so closely that when a counterfeit presents themselves, they are not deterring you away from God.

 

You are on this Earth to glorify the God of Heaven and Earth who shares His throne with His son Jesus.  Today, there are many false teachers presenting doctrines that are counterfeit to what the Bible says.  Unfortunately many people convert to these thought groups because they are not able to identify the difference in the theology in each.  Most False teachers will even use the Bible to transform your thoughts into a pattern opposite of the biblical context and biblical truth.  Dr. Martin said that False teachers twist the word of God so well as to put you in a “pretzel”.

 

You have to be careful!  2 Peter 2:1-3 says, “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.”  False teachers typically do not create a gospel of their own; rather, they take what is already created (the Bible) and the twist it; mixing truth with slight alterations and lies.   They present information that may make you feel good, but it is not true.  They typically inflate your authority as a believer and downgrade the authority of God, so you have to be discerning of spirits to identify the difference.  You may not understand that the difference is detrimental, but false teachers are sly, they mix truth with lies as the serpent did in the Garden of Eden.

 

I have accidentally run into many cults and occult teachings.  When I was deployed to Iraq, I noticed a lot of symbols that I did not understand.  The symbols sent me inquiring, and I found that a lot of the symbols that were on our base were connected to freemasonry and occult things.   On another occasion, I became heavily interested in astrology.  I began studying astronomy to understand it’s effect on people, but when I needed to learn, I would have to rely on Vedic teaching and other occult practices to even get insight about the study.  More recently, as I was studying prosperity, I found that many of the authors that write on prosperity are a part of the New Age movement.  For a short stint, their teaching seemed so interesting that I thought, “Why don’t I join this movement?”.  Then, as I dug deeper to understand the entirety of the movement, I found the doctrine of the demons that we will discuss today.

 

In their book, The Kingdom of The Occult, Jill Martin Rische, Kurt Van Gorden, and the late Dr. Walter Martin said that false teachers teach  the doctrine of the demons.  The Doctrine of the Demons that is presented by false teachers; may not be presented line by line, but at least one line is taught, so let me introduce the major parts of the demonic doctrine in summary from The Kingdom of the Occult.  Here is goes…

 

 

1. Jesus is “A” Way rather than “The” Way

 

Western society has become swamped with pluralist ideas.  As I was telling you earlier about the New Age Movement and my exploration of it; I found that their perspective on Jesus is different depending on which book you read.  Check the video out below for more information on how the New Age movement:

 

 

Protestant churches are merging with Roman Catholicism without addressing the biblical reasons why they separated, American government officials are gathering every religion in decision-making for the guise of “world peace”; while documents such as the 2030 Agenda written by the United Nations calls radical Christians terrorists.  The Bible declared that Jesus is “The” way, “The” truth, and “The” Life, and no one goes to the Father except thru Him (John 14:6). Despite the clarity of the scripture, false teachers attempt to compromise the teaching, and they do so commonly, so many people start to think that maybe they are right. Be careful!

 

2. Pursue “Secret” Knowledge

 

Secret societies give the presentation that they are close-knit communities, but at the same time, you have to be initiated, and go thru different phases to become a “true” part.  The Bible tells us that factions are a fruit of the flesh.  Our flesh desires to be a part of an inner circle, while the Spirit connects on the sole basis of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, and self-control (Galatians 5).  The Word of God is the absolute source, and needs no added doctrine to be understood.  “Secret” knowledge such as the study of the future without God’s consultation (in astrology, psychics, palm readers, etc.), the study of commentaries that claim to NEED to be read or practices that should be embraced in order to experience the complete gospel message or the fullness of life (such as Kabbalah, Quran, The Book of Mormon, Freemasonry, and others) are not needed to grow closer to God. These thought movements make themselves as an idol to be worshiped in the guise that they are needed for some added benefit.  Deuteronomy 27:15 says, “Cursed is anyone who makes an idol—a thing detestable to the Lord, the work of skilled hands—and sets it up in secret.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”  The word “Occult” means “Secret knowledge”. Be careful!

 

3. Explore Powers other than God

 

In 1 Kings 13, it tells of a false prophet and a true prophet.  The true prophet had come to the land of Judah to relay a message as instructed by God.  He was instructed not to eat or drink in the land of Judah, and not to leave the place the same way that he came there.  A false prophet came and told him that an angel had come to him and instructed him to invite him over to eat and drink.  Without consulting God, the true prophet believed the false prophet and ate and drank with him.  On his journey home, he was eaten by a lion.

 

Satan delivers false prophecy to steal, kill, and destroy you and the things that God has given you.  When you seek mediums, sorcerers, false dream interpreters, and others who use occult practices, they use the power of Satan and the fallen angels to introduce you to supernatural things.  The supernatural, while intriguing, may be used for good or bad.  Satan and the kingdom of darkness uses their power  to do harm to you (the Bible says so).

 

Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”  The word of God says that when you seek God, He will divulge secret things to you.  You do not have to explore other routes to find secret truths.  Even worse, when you do seek other routes, you are messing with the occult and witchcraft. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”  God does not disclose His entire plan (from beginning to end) to you and He definitely does not disclose it all to the kingdom of darkness.  They try to make you think that they know hidden things about the future, but as noted in the Bible, those (like Saul) that consulted the dead, mediums, or sorcerers wound up seeking them and meeting a destructive end.  Seek God for His power and His insight; no one else.  Abandon the idea that astrology should give you insight of the future, palm readers, secular dream interpreters, or psychics can give you insight that God will not.  He knows what is best for you, and what you should not know.  Trust Him! “This is what the Lord says—the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:  Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? It is I who made the earth
 and created mankind on it. (Isaiah 45:11)

 

4. Equate The Truth With Mythology

 

2 Timothy 4:3-4 says, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” In my recent blog post, How The Western Church Looks Today And How That Effects You, I discussed how the western church looks like the Laodicean church in the book of Revelations.  Christians are hearing what they want to hear– flickery lights, feel-good music, and diluted, motivational sermons”.  At times, people try to give added weight to science or experience over the Bible.  You need to stay with the unadulterated Word of God; not nice sounding stories and concert like music.  When you praise God, it should be an expression of your love for Him.  When you worship God, you should be cutting down enemy territory to enter into the pure presence of God.  When you hear a sermon, you should be growing closer to God.  Enough of the entertainment!  Make your focus on God!

 

5. Deny “Jesus Christ”

 

1 John 2:22 says, Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.”  The most prominent doctrine of the demons is the denial of Jesus Christ.  They deny that God came in flesh and bones as Jesus, then died for our sins, and rose again.  They deny that He sits on the throne in Heaven, and without Him, you cannot enter.  The Bible says that they are the antichrist.  The antichrist is not one physical person, but rather spiritual.  Be careful of anyone who tries to take away from what the Bible clearly states!

 

Action Steps:

 

1. Reformat your schedule. Spend less time on other than Bible reading and activities and add more time to study the Word of God. Balance the scale better; The Word of God (spoken directly to you and thru the Bible) should be the largest influence.

2. Commune with God about the future. Cut other consultations out!

3. Be intentional about your spiritual growth. Invest time with God and He will show up for you!

Leave a Comment

21 Shares
Pin
Share21
Tweet
Share