TITLE: SIGNS AND LYING WONDERS

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I am increasingly disturbed by the number of people who email telling about the dreams, visions, prophecies, etc., etc., "god" has shown them. Their sincerity is not the issue--because I have no doubt whatever that they are sincere--but I do have grave concerns as to the supernatural origin of the communications they receive!

Now listen, folks--think before you react. By what authority are these things passed on to others and how is it that they do not violate the admonitions of Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:18-19 about not adding to nor taking from the Word of God? The Scriptures have been complete for the better part of two thousand years and everything God wants His children to know is contained therein. So for anyone to presume to add to it is to invite spiritual confusion and chaos--something of which the Lord is certainly not the Author! (1 Cor.14:33). Many thousands--perhaps into the millions--of people all over the world are now insisting that what they have to say is "from god" and we are convinced the ultimate result will be nothing less than catastrophic. The Holy Spirit is quenched, genuine revival has not been seen since 1858--the last "Great Awakening" in America--and Gnosticism is eating the spiritual heart out of Christendom, paving the way for the one-world "church" of antichrist.

I know this is overstating the obvious, but people who are deceived are blissfully unaware of it! That being the case, is it possible you may be among their number where the subject of spiritual gifts is concerned? If so, is very likely you share the same basic blind spot. What could that be? Simply stated, it is the belief that: If it is supernatural--it has to be of God!

But as the title of this article states, Satan is quite capable of performing any miracle God will allow him to do. Scripture contains several instances where he did some amazing things: (the following are just a sample).

(1) He miraculously appeared to Eve in the form of a serpent (Gen.3:1).
(2) He manipulated the Sabeans and led them to kill Job's servants and take his farm animals (Job 1:14-15).
(3) He convinced one of Job's servants that it was "the fire of God" that fell from heaven and killed both the sheep and their shepherds (Job 1:16).
(4) He manipulated the Chaldeans and led them to steal Job's camels and kill those tending them (Job 1:17).
(5) He killed all of Job's children (7 sons and 3 daughers) by controlling the weather (Job 1:19).
(6) Then with God's specific permission, he smote Job with sickness (Job 2:7).
(7) He miraculously appeared to Jesus in the wilderness and tempted Him to act contrary to the Father's will. (Matt.4:1-11).
(8) He miraculously took Jesus into Jerusalem and "setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple." (Matt.4:5).
(9) He miraculously took Jesus "into an exceeding high mountain" (Matt.4:8).
(10) The Book of Revelation tells us of miracles he will perform during the Tribulation Period--such as making "fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men" (Rev.13:13) and healing the "deadly wound" of the beast (Rev.13:3).

So just from these instances we all should be able to see that he can control the weather, cause fire to fall from heaven, and both cause and cure sickness! And if he can appear out of nowhere and carry on a conversation with Eve and the Lord Jesus Christ--he can certainly cause visions, dreams, and "prophecies" that many are convinced come from the Holy Spirit Himself!

But does not the Bible tell us many in the early Church possessed miraculous spiritual gifts such as these? And were they not used for the glory of God? Of course the answer is "yes" in both cases. So why am I questioning their validity today and raising the claim they are being counterfeited by Satan? Well, for one thing he wants to take God's place and be worshipped by the world. So guess what?--God is going to remove the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit and allow the devil to "do his thing" for the space of seven years--the Tribulation Period!

As I mentioned earlier, there has been no genuine heaven-sent, Holy Ghost revival in this country--or the rest of the world, for that matter--since 1858 (despite claims of some to the contrary). And that glaring absence is proof positve God's hand of restraint is already well on the way to being completely removed--not to mention the reality of two world wars with continuous smaller conflicts in the interim, with another world conflagration looming on the horizon. Wicked men are "waxing worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Tim.3:13) and the situation  is going to get much worse before it ever gets better! So in view of these truths--things that are as obvious and up to date as the latest news--why should anyone think God is going to "reveal" something in addition to what He has already said? Especially when common sense should tell us Satan is only too happy to fill the vacuum as the Holy Spirit withdraws!

Old Testament Israel was led out of Egypt by God as He spoke to them through Moses and worked miracles to get their attention. They were ignorant slaves and the miracles authenticated that which most were incapable of discerning intellectually. Then after Moses, God continued to use prophets to speak on His behalf  to the people. And in some instances their ministries were validated in the sight of the people through the use of miracles. But as the written Word was collected and increased in importance, the miraculous decreased proportionately. Why? Because the Psalmist says:

"I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name" Psalm 138:2 (KJV, emphasis mine)

So by the time of Malachi, Israel had not witnessed a miracle for centuries! The canon of the Old Testament Scriptures was complete. Then four more centuries passed before the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ was authenticated by a revival of the miraculous. His earthly ministry was punctuated by miracles, and then His Bride, the Church was born amid signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit--to lead His kinsmen after the flesh to come to Him as their long-awaited Messiah. They were led out of Egypt by sight--through the use of miracles--and finally God used miracles to lead them to Christ. But as the written Word was collected and grew in importance, the miracles once again decreased proportionately until they finally ceased altogether!

"Love never fails--never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end. As for prophecy [that is, the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose], it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [that is, it will lose its value and be superceded by truth]" 1 Corinthians 13:8 (Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible commentary).

The New Testament canon was complete and the Bride of Christ was instructed to walk by faith and not by sight.

"For we walk by faith, not by sight" 2 Cor. 5:7 (KJV)

Today some of God's people are convinced the Holy Spirit is leading them and miracles are being demonstrated on every hand, but may I be so bold as to point out the next thing on God's prophetic "calendar" is the Tribulation Period and not the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ? So stop and consider how that God used miracles in the past (and even overlook the fact their primary purpose was for Israel's benefit) to lead His people into something good! Friends, there is nothing good about what the devil has in store for this world and you need to question the source of the "miracles" you are witnessing.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is going to display miracles the likes of which this world has never seen when He comes back to lead His little flock of Tribulation survivors into something wonderful and not just good.

So in closing, I want to reiterate something I mentioned in my previous article "Heavenly Reward." The on-line book entitled "I Speak In Tongues More Than You All" was written by a Charismatic for Charismatics and should be required reading for all concerned. It can be found at the following address and I urge all to read it if you have not already done so:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/joeflorence/tongues.html

If you have been born again and received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.

If you have never placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, but have come to sense His reality and the approaching End of the Age, and want to receive His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you can do so now, in the privacy of your home. Once you truly believe in Him as Lord and Savior, you are spiritually Born Again, and are as assured of Heaven as if you were already there. Then, you can rest assured that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not touch you spiritually. If you would like to become Born Again, turn to our Salvation Page now.

We hope you have been blessed by this ministry, which seeks to educate and warn people, so that they can see the coming New World Order—Kingdom of Antichrist—in their daily news.

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God bless you.