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As I studied the entire book of Matthew last year, I was amazed at how much teaching there is about false teachers, false doctrine and false prophets.
Let’s start in Matthew 7 verses 15-21. “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ….by their fruit you will recognize them….Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven…I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.'”
The parable about the weeds in Matthew 13 explains that the weeds are among believers and that the kingdom of God will have yeast, and the yeast is worked through the dough.
Of course Matthew 24 is full of various end-time warnings to watch for deception. Verse 4 says “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”
Verse 11 and 24. “and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people…For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect — if that were possible.”
There many verses in the New Testament, so here is a list…I implore you to take the time and look up every verse and prayerfully read through them. At one time we have all read these verses, but focusing a few minutes on a subject that was obviously very important in the Bible, will give you defense.
2 Corinthians 1:14
2 Corinthians 4:1-5
2 Corinthians 11:4,13-15
Galatians 1:8-9
Galatians 5:7-10
Ephesians 4:6-7
Colossians 2:8
2 Thessalonians 2:7-12
1 Timothy 1:3-4, 7
1 Timothy 4:1-2
1 Timothy 6:3-10
2 Timothy 2:17-18
2 Timothy 3:12-13
2 Timothy 4:14-15
2 Peter 2:1-3
2 Peter 3:17-18
1 John 2:18-23, 26
1 John 4:1-3
2 John 1:7-8
Jude 3-16
Paul, Peter, Jude, John. Are these men divisive? Yes they are. They are dividing truth from lies. They are warning us to divide ourselves, to stay away from the false prophets and to avoid and not listen to them. We are told to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness.
Ephesians 5:11 says “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
An interesting aspect to the end times is that good, will be called evil, and evil, good. There will be a reversal of thought. Those who are trying to point out and expose the heresies of today are the ones being accused of division. But in truth it is the false prophet who is being divisive by introducing false doctrine into the church.
Romans 16:17-18 says “I urge you brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching that you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”
This verse tell us something quite contrary to what many are saying today. Many are saying that we need unity in the church no matter what and doctrine is not an issue. Those who compare the new teachings against the Bible are called heresy hunters and dividers. But this verse tells us that the opposite is true. It is those who are teaching contrary to scripture, that are the dividers, not those bringing it to the attention of the church.
The Personal Testimony of Cathy Fowler.————-
I was a trueblue New Ager for 20 years. Over those years I
had many experiences with spiritual powers — or “forces,” as
they say. And I know they exist and are extremely powerful. If
someone had told me at that time that I was tampering with
Satan’s kingdom, I would have laughed in their face!
In fact, the reason I moved to Sedona, Arizona, was because
it is such a strong metaphysical area and community. Sedona is
advertised widely in metaphysical and occult circles as one of
the few “vortex areas” in the United States. (A “vortex area” is
an area where the veil between this world and the spiritual world
is allegedly very thin, so to speak. New Agers believe there is
a higher concentration of psychic or cosmic energy in such
areas.) I thought I could really find and experience “higher
consciousness” in Sedona. And guess what! I did. But through a
totally unexpected source — the Lord Jesus Christ!
The funny thing is that I grew up attending a Baptist church
and spent the first 18 years of my life going to church at least
three times a week. I was even baptized. But I never had a
personal relationship with Jesus. How do I know? Because I have
one now — and I know I’ve never had this before.
Many Christians ask me how I ever could have left the church
for “New Age” thinking. Didn’t I realize what I was mixed up in?
The answer to that is a big NO! I was always the curious sort and
even when I was very young, I sensed the spiritual side of life.
However, when I asked too many (or “wrong”) questions in Bible
studies or at home — or asked for genuine, credible reasons for
the Christian faith — I was always hushed with blanket answers
like, “Because the Bible says so, that’s why!”; no further
explanations were ever given. What all this really sounded like
to me was, “Shut up and don’t ask questions.”
So I started looking for answers elsewhere. And I thought I
had found answers too — in astrology, eastern religion, yoga,
reincarnation, crystals, channeled information, and meditation.
_I had arrived in the New Age._
As I look back over these years, I can say that channeling is
probably the most dangerous of the New Age practices from my
experience. New Agers take every word that comes out of the
channeler’s mouth as the “New Gospel.” I was no exception to
this.
It took me 20 years to build up a New Age belief system, with
new ideas being added all the time. Would you like to know how
long it took the Lord to knock this belief system down? Just
three months! I was led to books written by Christians about the
New Age movement, and I also had a very close Christian friend
who prayed for me on a regular basis. The books quoted Bible
verses and led me back to God’s Word which I hadn’t looked at a
single time in 20 years.
My Bible was on the bookshelf along with my more than 180 New
Age books. And guess what I found inside it when I opened it up
for the first time? A little daily devotional book opened to a
page entitled, “Test The Spirits.” All those 20 years, the
warning was there waiting for me to see it.
I could go on and on, but let me just wrap this up by saying
that I praise God every day for loving me enough to rescue me —
even though I had turned my back on Him by my involvement in the
occult. How gracious the Lord is! My life has totally changed
since a year ago last summer.
My daughter, who is now 16, was also interested in some of
the occult activities I was involved in and showed some genuine
ESP-type abilities. But now she’s deeply involved in a youth
ministry here which is an extension of the Bible church we now
attend. She has accepted Jesus Christ and can see the evil
deception going on under the guise of the New Age movement.
One last thing. Many church-going Christians either ignore or
are afraid of people involved in the New Age movement. Many
Christians are so wrapped up doing their church activities that
they rarely attempt to tackle the “outside world.” But New Agers
are easier to convert than most people might think. Why? Because
unlike the average person, they already have a strong belief in
the spiritual world; they just don’t realize exactly _what_
spiritual world they are mixed up in.
So please don’t ignore New Agers or laugh at them or give up
on them. Give them one of the many fine books on the New Age
movement written from a Christian perspective as well as a pocket
Bible. Miracles happen every hour of every day through Jesus.
—————————————————————-
Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute.
—————————————————————-
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This data file is the sole property of the Christian Research
Institute. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may
be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as “freeware,”
without charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain
the copyright notice (i.e., “Copyright 1994 by the Christian
Research Institute”). This data file may not be used without the
permission of the Christian Research Institute for resale or the
enhancement of any other product sold. This includes all of its
content with the exception of a few brief quotations not to
exceed more than 500 words.
If you desire to reproduce less than 500 words of this data file
for resale or the enhancement of any other product for resale,
please give the following source credit: Copyright 1994 by the
Christian Research Institute, P.O. Box 500-TC, San Juan
Capistrano, CA 92693.
—————————————————————–
“Rescued from 20 Years in the New Age Movement” (an article from
the Christian Research Newsletter, Volume 2: Number 6, 1989) by
Cathy Fowler.
The editor of the Christian Research Newsletter is Ron
Rhodes.
DiscernIt 
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