Deceivers | Daily Devotion
“I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist.” 2 John 7 NLT
As the apostle John turns his letter toward the false teachers, the deceivers, that he is warning Christians about, he in his advanced age in approximately AD 90, shows his care and concern for the well-being of Christians and their walk with Jesus Christ and he is not the only apostle to do so.
Paul did in AD 57, Jude in AD 65 and Peter in AD 67.
The fact multiple apostles warned of false teachers is telling of the ways of right leadership, identifying the specific needs of Christians – namely spiritual protection in a deceptive world.
There are many deceivers in the world.
When Paul warned Christians of false teachers, he said in 2 Corinthians 11:2-4 NLT, “I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband – Christ. But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.” Paul then goes on to speak of himself, comparing himself to these other apostles who were teaching false ways, which indicates the unseen but felt power play regarding spiritual authority and truth. It’s not new. This takes place today, still, and began in the Garden of Eden, when Satan enacted a power play, using manipulation to persuade Eve away from the Lord.
Therefore, deceivers – those who are false teachers – those who pose as angels of the light enter the church to get in between people and their personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
These deceivers in speech or conduct or spirit counter order in the church. They counter the ordained pastor, desiring power over, but they counter the ordained pastor by seeking out individuals – just like Satan countered God by seeking out Eve.
This puts the pastor or spiritual leader who is in position on the defensive, as took place with Paul.
False teachers may also counter ordained pastors or spiritual leaders by addressing them directly in a type of power play, either seeking to manipulate them or force them by way of intimidation with words, conduct or demonic spirit persuasion to their desired way of living. The false teachers can also be the pastors over churches desiring unruly power over God’s people, turning the people into slaves and subjects to be used for their own pleasure and glory – never respecting the people and their ordained autonomy over their own life.
Moreover, many false teachers want people to deny Jesus Christ.
These apostles' warnings throughout the years imitate Jesus as He said in Mark 13:22-23 NLT, “For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. Watch out! I have warned you of this ahead of time!”
And each warning was ahead of the destruction, which is an example to us Christians to be so in tune with Jesus Christ, so aligned with Him and current events in the unseen realm that we too can speak out a word of warning prior to it’s destruction so that people can be on guard, remaining right with Jesus Christ, who perfectly guards our heart, soul, mind and spirit.
Deceivers create a “truth” in their mind, their own ideology that counters the word of God, desiring authority over God and His word and authority over God’s people. Deceivers prey on believer’s knowledge of God, how they live out their knowledge of God, and it makes people question what they know of God.
False teachers’ behaviors are ungodly, filled with sexual immorality. Their spirit might even attack your spirit, wanting a type of dominance over you or desiring some type of sexual immorality. If you experience it, it is not seen, it is felt and it is a type of spiritual assault that is demonic, indicative of a false teacher. You feel a spirit coming over you, so to speak wanting to dominate you, and times it appears to be supposed Christians posing in the church. Happens when people are simply living their life and then an unruly person with wayward spirit is trying to dominate them – which tells me they need a job. It’s happened to me even as I have been recording these devotions. It is a demonic assault by a false teacher.
See, every Christian should have their spirit in check, filled with self-control focused on Jesus; not focused on others, not meditating on others, or pridefully desiring something from others. The experience of these deceivers is quite horrible, and many unfortunately tend to get away with their unruly behaviors that are hidden and more spiritual in nature. The horrible experience is not a figment of a person’s imagination; it is a demonic experience that reveals a spiritual power play – an experience people can live without, as it pushes people away from the church. It does not unify the church, it divides the church.
Now, these specific deceivers the apostle John speaks of challenged the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ. Thus, it’s fitting for the apostle John to address this false teaching as he himself walked and talked with Jesus Christ, saw him perform miracle after miracle, watched him die on the cross, listening to Jesus entrust His mother Mary into his care, ran to the tomb and saw that it was empty, stood in the room when Jesus appeared out of nowhere and saw his nail pierced hands, saw Jesus standing along the shoreline calling out to him and the other disciples who were fishing and then ate breakfast with Jesus, and saw him ascend to heaven. John’s eyewitness account dispels the false teachers wrong teaching and holds more authority.
Will you pray with me?
Abba, thank You for the many times You warn us of deceivers and false teachers. Your loving protection is found in Your warnings. Please open our eyes to Your will for our lives today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
