“If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto you, saying, Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them; 3 you shall not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proves you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 You shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear Him, and keep His Commandments, and obey His Voice, and you shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him.” Deuteronomy 13:1-4

The Lord will allow false preachers and teachers to succeed for a while in order test His people. These false teachers and preachers may indeed perform miracles but they are not of God. The devil can perform perceived “miracles” but they will never edify God nor line up with His Word.

The “other gods” do not appear as another but are presented in order to corrupt our faith in the Cross of Christ as the Source and the means by which we receive from God. Once corrupted, our faith is swept to and fro with every wind of doctrine. The source is ourselves and the means is the method…the latest vain philosophy presented by the false teachers. The “other gods” are us, the individual, therefore it appeals to our flesh. The philosophy is cloaked in religion and Scripture so we deem it scriptural merely because “we” approve and not because it is in fact Scriptural. The reality is, we don’t know if it is Scriptural or not because sadly, we don’t truly know the full counsel of the Word of God, rightly divided. It sounded right, therefore, we deemed it to be right.

False preachers and teachers prosper because God’s people support them. God’s people support them because they have not tested the Scriptures. The success of these false preachers and teachers are allowed by God to prove His people; to test them. To be sure, God knows our hearts…it is we who do not know our own hearts. Our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.

If we do not receive the love of the Truth that we might be Saved; God will see to it that we are sent a lie…a strong delusion (2 Thess. 2:10-12). That is not this writer’s opinion but the Word of God. The endtime apostate church is alive and well. The harlot is on every street corner seducing God’s people into her den and they know not that the dead are there (Proverbs 9:18).

If you do not see the false teachers and false preachers being used of the devil as “ministers of righteousness”, the chances are you are sitting under the teachings of one and in your flesh deemed it acceptable. Prayerfully ask the Lord to show you if you have been led astray. When the Lord shows you, proves your heart and reveals it unto you, there will come a point of decision…humility or pride will swell up inside. Heed the warning and repent. Come back to the Cross of Christ and find life and life more abundantly. There is healing in the Cross; liberty in the Cross; everything that we need from God comes through Jesus Christ and what He did on Calvary’s Cross. Failure and shame are laid waste when the deceived Believer comes back to Calvary for victory over sin.

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11

Heed the warning. Search the Scriptures. Be determined to know nothing else among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

-Donna Clark Warren