Deception is one of the chief operating spirits in the last days that is taking many people captive. The kingdom of hell loves the idea of people going through the motions of Christianity including speaking the proper language but being deceived into thinking that Christianity does not require a holy lifestyle. When the disciples asked Jesus about the signs of His coming the first sign He gave was a major warning of deception that would be extremely prevalent in the last days. The most frightening part about the last days is that you could be getting deceived through doctrines of demons that are even being preached in the local church.
Matthew 24:1-4 says, “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.”
The word deceived you means to beware lest anyone delude you or impose a misleading belief on you. To go astray, to get off course, to deviate from the correct path. Allow me to give you six paths that the kingdom of hell will use deception to get you off of.
1. HELL WANTS YOU OFF THE PATH OF HOLINESS
The devil is persistent in the last days to use deception to get believers off the path of holiness. Satan does not mind if you attend church, engage in prayer and worship, and pay your tithes as long you do not live a life of holiness.
Isaiah 35:8 says, “A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray.”
2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear
of God.”
1 Peter 1:15-16 says, “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
Romans 12:1 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
2. HELL WANTS YOU OFF THE PATH OF PRAYER
The kingdom of hell knows that prayer changes things and shifts spiritual atmospheres. The last thing he wants is for the church to expose his deception through the power of prayer, therefore he will attempt to get you off the path of prayer. E.M Bounds said that “Prayer, in one phase of its operation, is a disinfectant and a preventive. It purifies the air; it destroys the contagion of evil.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 John 5:14 says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
3. HELL WANTS YOU OFF THE PATH OF SOUL-WINNING
Satan wants you off the path of evangelism. He has deceived people into thinking that evangelism should only be done by a special group of Christians. The truth is that every Christian on the planet should be evangelizing! Every believer has a testimony that they were once dead in all of their trespasses and sins but Jesus Christ has set them free. This testimony should be heard everywhere you go so that souls can be saved.
Acts 2:21 says, “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Acts 4:12 says, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 16:31 says, “So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Mark 16:15 says, “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Proverbs 11:30 says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.”
Mark 8:36 says, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”
Be sure to watch the video podcast connected to this article as I will discuss the devil’s weapon of religious deception and doctrinal deception. These two weapons of hell are extremely effective against the believer when they are not properly discerned.
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