"Even Now are there Many Antichrists"
For the second night in a row I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about a phrase from the Bible. The first night was "wait on the Lord", and I understood for the first time a unique understanding of that phrase that I never thought of before. The understanding was that a good waiter attentively waits on those he serves. And a servant - (or "bond-servant") - of the Lord does just that. We can read about the parables the Lord gave us regarding stewardship (Matthew 25:14-30) and hopefully we can perceive by the grace of God that this is very serious business Bible believers are involved with down here as we sojourn in this world. Not to be taken lightly.
Last night, for the second night in a row I woke up thinking of another phrase in Scripture. This time it was "doctrines of devils" and I thought about the first appearance of the devil in Scripture and what his doctrine was. It was to pull Eve away from the ONE commandment of the Lord. Paul explains it this way, "I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ. " 2 Corinthians 11:3 (Berean Study Bible)
Highlight
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;" ~1 Timothy 4:1 (KJV)
“We know that everyone fathered by God does not sin, but God protects the one he has fathered, and the evil one cannot touch him.”
— 1 John 5:18 (NET)
Do you see what the simplicity in Christ is? It's one commandment. Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. And the second is connected to it forever through Matthew 22:34-40 which James called "the royal law" (James 2:8).
In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said keeping these commandments is "easy" (pleasant) if you:
A. Go to Him (Go, "Come Hither!" - deute)
B. Take His yoke upon you (and strive to menó)
c. Learn of Him (manthanó)
Examine yourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). Have you truly done A. Gone to Him? Have you truly ever come to the Lord as your Savior, understanding what it means if you DON'T go to Him? Do you understand the whole concept of Messiah being your Savior and WHAT He saves us from? Has the reality of hell ever truly fallen upon you? Have you ever received the revelation that Messiah died for you and shed His blood for you and have you experienced being forgiven for your sins by God through Messiah? And therefore truly love the Savior because you understand how much He loved YOU?
Have you ever B. Taken His yoke upon you? After coming to the Lord as described above, have you vowed to God because you realized you have no choice, its either that or hell? The fear of the Lord is indeed the beginning of wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10).
Or if you did throw off His yoke unintentionally because you went astray in ignorance, have you gone to Him again and again and again and sought God for understanding, knowledge, grace and power with all your heart in hopes to STAY yoked up with Him until the end?
And have you then after remaining yoked up with Him, C. Learned of Him? In a continuous, every day manner as we are commanded to do?
Through these steps, you would have become born again and that means, baptized in His Holy Spirit. And that is when you receive His power (Acts 1:8) to begin walking as He (Jesus) walked (1 John 2:6). That is when you are first made a saint (holy). And, a new creature (creation), receiving the Spirit of adoption and made a child of God! We cannot skip these steps. You must be born again by entering the door into the sheepfold. As Jesus said in John 14:20, "In that day you will KNOW that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I IN YOU." And Jesus also said, "Verily (Amen), verily (amen),I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber." John 10:1
It's quite "simple" as Paul said. It doesn't take a strong intellect or even common sense. It takes true faith from our Lord in heaven. The simplicity is that we owe the Lord our ALL. Paul said it's our "logical service" (Romans 12:1).
But the "doctrines of devils" will try and tell you otherwise. They'll say it's okay to ignore the first and greatest commandment. "Yea, hath God said...?" and "You will not certainly die" (Genesis 3:4) ... you see, this is the doctrine of devils.. The scriptures are all commandments, but it boils down the first and greatest and the royal law which is connected to it.
“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:40
The phrase "doctrines of devils" comes from the King James Version Bible which I studied with for 20 years. Here is the full verse:
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;" ~1 Timothy 4:1 KJV
"Doctrines" = διδασκαλία in Greek (Strong's G1319), and "devils" = δαιμόνιον in Greek (Strong's G1140).
The apostle Paul here is talking about people of faith who will be pulled away from the simplicity in Christ. The King James reads “some” will depart. But that word "some" is the English translation of the Greek word, "τις" (tis); meaning a certain one, someone, anyone. BDAG (Bauer's Lexicon) has "many a one/thing." and, "of an indefinite quantity that is nevertheless not without importance,". Thayer's Lexicon says "a certain, a certain one; used of persons and things concerning which the writer either cannot or will not speak more particularly;". However, we also know that Jesus used the term "MANY" when describing a very similar situation. Matthew 24:10: “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.” Jesus then says, "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead 'many'. 12 "Because lawlessness is increased, many people's LOVE will grow cold. 13 "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved." ... "For 'MANY' are called, but few are chosen." Matt 22:14 "MANY will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles ?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' Matt 7:22, 23 "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for MANY, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." Luke 13:24
Make Sure That Doesn't Include You! Seek God with all your heart and He says we shall find Him. And that means we find His love for us which God wants us all to know about. We in turn can then cleave to the Lord and love Him back with all our heart! Because God is love and Spirit, and His love and Spirit provide power and energy.
The Bible is a book of warnings and instructions and its good to exhort one another and to examine ourselves. And yes, I am doing this with all my heart and it's only by the mercy of the Lord and the faith He has given me that I do anything for Him. What makes us to differ one from another (1 Corinthians 4:7)? It's all the Lord's doing. So give glory and praise to Him and be as good children and hold onto the hand of God and never let go. Obedience is a requirement and sign that we are truly His and have true faith given from God!
We can all walk with the Lord or we CAN be disobedient. And so the exhortation is to be obedient to His word and not give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Keep the greatest commandments through faith in Christ. Because only He can do it through us. But we must seek His strength every single day. And THEN and ONLY then will you be sanctified and regenerated and grow in grace and bear a lot of good fruit. Otherwise we will be hewn down and cast forth like a dead branch. We must abide in Him. Don't compare yourselves among yourselves. Compare yourself to God's Word and allow yourself to be rebuked and reproved by Him. We compare ourselves to Jesus. HE said to do this. These are HIS instructions. He said, "follow me" and by His power in us anything is possible! His yoke is easy and burden is light. Those who have tasted of the powers of God, know this.
May God the Father bless you all with faith and understanding of the power He gives us through His Messiah within us. And how the Messiah will be active within us, teaching us all things as the Spirit of truth. "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?" 2 Cor 13:5 NASB in Yeshua's Name I pray, Amen
May God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you. Amen
Yours in Yeshua the Messiah, Thomas Richards
You can be saved!
if you have never repented of your sins and been saved and feel the desire to do so now please say this prayer. This is how I was powerfully saved 20 years ago!
Say, "My Lord and my God, Have mercy on my soul, a sinner, I believe Jesus the Messiah died on the cross and shed His precious blood for the forgiveness of all my sins. I believe God raised Jesus from the dead and Jesus is now on the right hand of God and can hear my prayer at this moment and wants to live through me and give me power to keep His Word. I open up the door of my heart and I invite You into my heart Lord Jesus. Please be my Lord and Savior in every aspect of my life. Thank you God for saving my soul and I vow to serve you with all my heart which is the first and greatest commandment. Amen"