At the end of the age there is going to be a Mt. Carmel type of conflict that will take place within the church itself. Jesus prophesied that there will be false prophets that will rise up and deceive many (Matthew 24:11) and will perform signs and wonders (Matthew 24:24). To some denominations, this is misinterpreted to mean that there will be no more prophets and apostles and anyone who performs a sign or wonder is a false prophet. However, the Apostle Paul stated that He gave some to be apostles some to be prophets and so on, for the edifying of the body of Christ until we come the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man (Ephesians 4:12-13). This has clearly not taken place yet; there are thousands of denominations, most of whom preach that no one can be perfect. Ironically those same denominations do not believe in apostles and prophets, and the ones that do are ransacked with numerous false apostles and prophets.
The Apostle Paul’s words have eerily come true today, when he said that “in the last days many will depart from the faith giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1) and “they will no longer endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires…heap up for themselves teachers.” (2 Timothy 4:3). Now this is not to say that there are no more true apostles and prophets, for there is no Scripture that states that. On the contrary Jesus stated, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;” (Mark 16:17). Which brings me to this question: if one believes that there are no more signs, wonders or miracles anymore, does that mean there are no more believers? Unless Jesus falsified in what He said, in which that is a blasphemous belief that no true believer will adhere to. We can safely say that signs and wonders do not define a true or false prophet; it is the teaching’s that mark a true apostle or prophet. For this reason, the Apostle John said, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits,” (1 John 4:1). Ignatius, a disciple of the Apostle John, made this astonishing warning against false prophets:
But some most worthless persons are in the habit of carrying about the name [of Jesus Christ] in wicked guile, while yet they practice things unworthy of God, and hold opinions contrary to the doctrine of Christ, to their own destruction, and that of those who give credit to them, whom you must avoid as ye would wild beasts. For “the righteous man who avoids them is saved forever; but the destruction of the ungodly is sudden, and a subject of rejoicing.” (Pro_10:25, Pro_11:3) [1]
In other words; confessing the name of Jesus, or just coming under the name of Jesus, is not enough for one’s own salvation. Ignatius clearly remembered the words of Messiah when He said “”Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?‘ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!‘” (Matthew 7:21-23). This scripture shows us there will be many performing wonders in the name of Jesus, but that is not enough to enter into the kingdom of heaven, and yet this message is not being preached in Pentecostal circles. Ignatius goes even further to elaborate the false prophets will have an appearance of godliness:
Everyone that teaches anything beyond what is commanded, though he be [deemed] worthy of credit, though he be in the habit of fasting, though he live in continence, though he work miracles, though he have the gift of prophecy, let him be in thy sight as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, (Comp. Mat_7:15) laboring for the destruction of the sheep. [2]
People get deceived just by seeing the outward appearance and make their judgment exclusively on that. If someone has the appearance of a good person; they fast and do miracles and so on, acts as a qualification for most people to believe them, as a result leading them into a deception. To most a false prophet needs to have an ugly scar, or eye patch, wearing all black, or some type of physical marker to tell them “this guy is bad news.” You will often hear of people going by their feelings. Feelings are often misleading. Truth is what gives you discernment. There is an account of a false prophet by the name of Montanus, who had infiltrated the church, having these experiences of being “caught up into heaven” and being seized by a frenzy of ecstasy (similar to the “Toronto Blessing”) would prophesy things that were contrary to what the church was taught. We can see in this excerpt those who were ready to defend the truth and the ones who were deceived.
And among those who were present on that occasion, and heard those spurious utterances, there were some who were indignant, and rebuked him as one frenzied, and under the power of demons, and possessed by the spirit of delusion, and agitating the multitude, and debarred him from speaking anymore; for they were mindful of the Lord’s distinction and threatening, whereby He warned them to be on their guard vigilantly against the coming of the false prophets. [3]
Those who were vigilant and were aware of the teachings of Christ concerning these types of men were able to rebuke this false prophet. They understood that he was not operating out of the Holy Spirit, but under the power of demons. However not everyone in the church was strong enough to resist the seductive spirit.
But there were others too, who, as if elated by the Holy Spirit and the prophetic gift, and not a little puffed up, and forgetting entirely the Lord’s distinction, challenged the maddening and insidious and seductive spirit, being themselves cajoled and misled by him, so that there was no longer any checking him to silence. And thus by a kind of artifice, or rather by such a process of craft, the devil having devised destruction against those who were disobedient to the Lord’s warning, and being unworthily honored by them, secretly excited and inflamed their minds that had already left the faith which is according to truth, in order to play the harlot with error. For he stirred up two others also, women, and filled them with the spurious spirit, so that they too spoke in a frenzy and unseasonably, and in a strange manner, like the person already mentioned, while the spirit called them happy as they rejoiced and exulted proudly at his working, and puffed them up by the magnitude of his promises; [3]
Does this sound grimly similar to the “Toronto Blessing”? If anyone is not familiar with this, it goes by another term, the Kundalini spirit. If you were to watch any video on those two you can see the similarities along with this description of Montanus. Now that’s not to say that what happened in Toronto was all bad, no. I believe it was God, however it took a turn, a wrong one at that. You can watch John and Carol Arnott sing the praises of Pope Francis… yes, the 112th pope that was prophesied that would lead the church into apostasy, that guy. Carol Arnott gushed about the Pope saying “you can see the Holy Spirit on him, he’s a man of God” in a video describing their experience visiting Pope Francis. The ones who fell away from the truth and seduced by this spirit of error were those who were disobedient to the Lord’s warning. Notice how this deceiving spirit gives them a feeling of joy and happiness. Therefore, going by your feelings will always lead you astray. These people were prideful, and they were at a high level of the prophetic gift and filled with the Holy Spirit, and yet they departed from the truth.
These are the last days and we can see how there will be those who will lead the children of God into perfection, and there will be those who will lead them away by lying signs and wonders. This Antichrist spirit comes from within the church (1 John 2:18-19), not some outside source. We must be on guard and vigilant saints. The truth must never depart from us for it is the very entity that will protect us. To God be the glory, amen.
References:
- Ignatius-Epistle to Ephesians Bk. 2 Vol. 1
- Ignatius-Epistle to Hero Ch. II, Vol. 1
- Asterius Urbanus-Extra Writings Book 1 Ch. II, Vol. 7