The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1
A friend sent me a meme the other day, and it still resonated with me today. The bottom statement of the meme said “Most people don’t really want the truth. They just want reassurance that what they believe is the truth.” The meme was a picture of a man who had just painted a fireplace with a roaring fire and he sat in front of the painting with his arms outstretched like he was trying to warm his hands by it. There is so much out there stating empathically that whatever they are saying is the ‘truth’. Yet … is it really? Can you ‘test’ the supposed ‘truth’ they are stating? Does the same ‘test’ that John speaks of for spirits work for statements of truth as well? How exactly is the best way to determine a ‘false prophet’? Many would say whether or not the prophecy they give has been fulfilled? Has every prophecy been fulfilled given by the prophets in the Bible? Determination HAS to be more than a linear logical method. If one actually has the Holy Spirit within them He should be able to confirm to you which is a ‘right’ spirit and who they are part of, and the whether they speak the Truth or not, otherwise we are left to our own determination and thinking. And I’ve gotten so many things wrong so many times I know I can’t only trust my own knowledge and experiences. I must have His wisdom, discernment, and confirmation to really ‘know’ a spirit or truth.
There is so much truth in the statement that people just want reassurance in what they believe. My lifelong journey with the Holy Spirit has shown me that so much of what I thought I knew … was wrong, or incomplete. And that there is so much more out there in God’s universe, and His ways are SO much greater, that I really am an ‘infant’ in knowledge in comparison to the eternal things, and His knowledge. But because of years of intimate relationship with Him I absolutely know I can trust what He tells me. Do I try to tell others what to do because of what He told me? No. I just invite others to begin their own conversation with Him. Each person has their own path laid out for them — and they must walk with Him .. in HIS yoke to discover what He wants for them. I am not the Holy Spirit for them nor will I ever accept that role for them, I’ve learned it’s just not my place.
The increase of absolute falsehoods being spread now everywhere is greater than I’ve ever experienced before. The lies are so much more prevalent now than the truth. Which makes the Truth so much more rare and scarce. How do you discern what is the truth or not? Too many people rely on their own logic, thinking, experiences to determine what they think or know. Real Truth is given by God to the individual. Who can discern that? Only the Holy Spirit, who should be residing within you, and teaching you, and guiding you, and instructing you. Otherwise it’s only the wisdom of other humans you are learning, or the lies cast by the ‘fallen’ to draw you away from God. How can one tell the ‘false signs and wonders’ from the ones from God? Can you give me a formula for that? Or maybe we should be learning how to have the Holy Spirit teach us what is what, and what is true and real? Beloved… you must increase your relationship with the Holy Spirit! You must get better at discerning His Voice!