In the Old Testament we see people whom the Lord had gifted
. . . people who could see what the times were, and how to avoid becoming
defeated by their enemy. In Elisha’s
time king Aram wanted to defeat the king of Israel. But time after time the Lord gave Elisha Aram’s
plans, and he told the king about traps set for him.
“Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of
Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” (2 Kings 6:12).
In David’s time, men
who were the sons of Issachar knew how to counsel the king about what the
seasons, or times were, and what Israel should do (1 Chron 12:32). Even foreign kings, such as Xerxes, had men
who counseled him; wise men who understood the times (Esther 1:13). It is clear that we must be wise about how we
fight our spiritual battles, and to be wise, we must understand God’s times.
Jesus talks about the times in which we now live. His words are recorded in the gospels, and in
the book of Revelation. Jesus told us
that people would be evil, but what He warned about was deception.
“For False Christs and false prophets will appear and
perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were
possible. See, I have told you ahead of
time.” (Mt 24:24)
“Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they
came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of
the mouth of the false prophet. They are
spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of
the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God
Almighty.” (Rev 16:13-14).
There is a time, a season advancing upon us, in which men
will try to deceive Christians, even using miracles to validate what they
say. We might think that God would send His
men, who value truth, to warn against these deceivers. If we look in the New Testament, it is full
of the words of good men who warned us to value the truth. Paul clearly lays before us the battle between
Christianity and satan, which is lost to those who did not value the truth:
“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with
the work of satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and
wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the
truth and so be saved . . . all will be condemned who have not believed the
truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (2 Thess 2:9-12).
Christians need to focus on the times, and prepare to stand
against what their enemy is doing. The times are amongst us when false teachers
will be preaching lies, encouraging men to be unholy, and demonstrating
miracles. And, instead of good men
teaching how to defend the truth, many ministers are teaching that miracles are
the evidence of God’s Kingdom. They
encourage Christians to build up faith for powerful demonstrations from God and
miracles that are determined by their own mind, and not birthed in the mind of
God.
If powerful works are a measurement of faith, then why is
Jesus coming as the Word of God? (Rev 19:13).
And why is His ammunition the sword of His mouth? (Rev 19:15). Our enemy is not impressed with our miracles. He is impressed by those who love the Word of
God and are formed by its resident power (Rm 1:16). Though satan encourages to flex our faith by
attempting miracles, it is merely a diversion from the true preparation of
God. Today, let us find ourselves
prepared to stand against the enemy of deception with our “feet fitted with the
readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15).
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