The basic and most disturbing problem of the end time is the demonic intent to deceive people and then to lock them into that deception.
Much of the warfare we face involves the assault by demons of deception, as false prophets and false Christs arise and persecutions mount up against us.
Already, the persecutions have become so intense that when you hear what is said against us, you think, “If I didn’t have a revelation from the Lord, and if I didn’t know differently, I would almost be convinced by the lies that the enemy brings.” Never before have false prophets had such a good image and so many good press agents; and never have the true people of God walked in more reproach. All of this results from the deception that Satan is trying to bring forth in the end time.
When John the Beloved saw mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots, in that great vision of Revelation 17 and 18, it was with great wonder. He was impressed and awestruck by her beauty. Religious Babylon appeared so attractive to him that he marveled at how tricky and deceptive it can be. We do not yet understand it either, and we will not truly understand it until God gives us revelation and we see beyond the facade, the glittering veneer that the enemy presents to cover what he actually is doing. When we have revelation we can see that Satan is presenting a fake, false, religious front which is very appealing to the heart that has no revelation from God.
Within the past few years, something has happened to the truth until it no longer seems attractive or important. Instead, opinions and the way things are presented have become the important thing. Because of that, deception is abounding.
John 7 and 8 record a portion of the ministry of Christ in the Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles. At this time He was very much concerned about the deception that was being perpetrated by the Pharisees, causing problems for the Jews who were trying to reach in and become believers.
As Jesus was teaching in the Temple, He dealt with the question, “How will you know the truth?” The Jews therefore were marveling, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?” Jesus therefore answered them, and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.” John 7:15–17.
The willingness to walk in the truth actually determines whether or not you will even know the truth. Two men can hear the same sermon with completely different results. One will walk away a total unbeliever, while the other walks away having had a real meeting with God. How can the same sermon have such different effects? It is like the sun shining upon wax and clay. The wax melts, but the clay hardens. The same thing happens when God sends His Word. If a man’s spirit is not open, the Word hardens him; but if his spirit is open, then God meets Him. If any man is willing to do His will, then he knows, “This teaching is of God. This is truly of God.”
If a man is willing to walk in the truth, God will see that he gets it; but if he has no dedication to walk in the truth, rarely does he receive anything. You may protest, “But God has saved a lot of persecutors.” That is true. Saul of Tarsus was a persecutor. He held the robes while Stephen was being stoned (Acts 7:58). He was a vicious persecutor of the Church; but later he said, “I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (I Timothy 1:13). When God met him on the road to Damascus, there was no question in his mind whether or not it was God. After that he changed his course completely and set about to do just as much for the Lord as he had tried to do against Him. Although he had persecuted ignorantly in unbelief, yet he had a heart to do the will of God; and therefore God saw to it that he received the light.
Perhaps you have made a lot of mistakes and done many things wrong. That is no problem if you still have a heart that wants to do God’s will. Just do not lock yourself in with unbelief or withdrawal. Instead, say, “Lord, I want to do Your will. Anything You want me to do, I want to do it with all my heart.” When that is your attitude, God will show you His will. He will show you that some things which you thought were wrong are actually right. And concerning other things which you thought were right, He will say, “Let go of them. You are holding on to ashes.”
After explaining to the Jews how they would know the truth, Jesus confronted them with their unwillingness to do the will of God. “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you carries out the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?” Jesus penetrated to their hearts, saying in effect, “If you really wanted to do the will of God, that would be fine; but you don’t—you would like to kill Me.” The multitude answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one deed, and you all marvel. On this account Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers); and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Therefore some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill?” Jesus knew what was happening, and so did the Jews. First they asked, “Who is seeking to kill You?” Yet a few verses later it indicates that they did know. They said, “This is the man whom they are trying to kill.”
“And look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they? However we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.” John 7:19–27. Then Jesus proceeded to explain, “I came from the Father; He sent Me. But you do not know Him” (verses 28–29).
How do people react to the Lord when He speaks the truth? The eighth chapter of John reveals a great deal about this. In verses 31–32 we read, Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
We do not realize how many of the presumptions and assumptions in our thinking are absolute lies. It is difficult for us to move into the miracle power of God when we are entertaining things that are absolutely false, that are not true at all. Notice the old prejudices and responses that came up when the Lord made the statement, “You will be free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone.” (What a lie that was!) “How is it that You say, ‘You shall become free’?” Verse 33.
Only a few hundred years earlier, the Jews had come out of captivity and exile in Babylon. Even Daniel, one of their greatest prophets, had been a slave, taken to Babylon at the approximate age of seventeen. Besides their captivity in Babylon, they had been slaves of the Egyptians, the Philistines, the Medes and Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. At one time or another they had been slaves to most of the surrounding nations. How could they say that they had never been enslaved?
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is the slave of sin.” They had missed the whole point. He said, “If you commit sin, you are a slave of it.” “And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s offspring; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.” Verses 34–37. Because Jesus’ Word had no place in them, these ideas of killing Him had taken over. They were not receiving the truth. Nominal Christians today are the same as those Jews then. They want to “kill” what they reject.
What is in your spirit? If you are receptive in your spirit to the Word, you will never be deceived. What is it that causes some people to reject and not believe anything that has been taught them from the Word, while others believe that same Word and are so eager to walk in it that they cannot hear enough of it? It is not a matter of our not being able to win everyone. The person’s spirit determines whether or not he opens up to the Word.
How does a person become one of the apostles and prophets, one of the mighty men of God who do exploits? Just hearing the Kingdom message is not enough. Many people hear it, and even give mental assent to the truth of it, but they do not really believe it because the Word has never had a great enough place in their lives. Many cannot handle the truth.
Are you having a problem with the truth? Like the Jews, you would not be having that problem if your spirit were more open for the Lord to show you the truth. An individual whose spirit is open to the Lord does not have a problem accepting the extremes in worship or intercession which may occur in a church service, because he senses the Spirit of the Lord in it all. On the other hand, someone who merely sits and evaluates the various things that are happening will have many problems. It all depends upon the place that the Word has in the heart.
The fact that you are ready to defend one particular expression of worship does not necessarily mean that the Word has any place in your heart. It could be that you like to be involved in a conflict. Whenever you take sides on any issue, whenever you focus on anything except the Lord’s presence, you have missed the point. Then no matter which side you take, you are wrong. Let the Lord give you an open heart to receive the truth.
After confronting the Jews with the fact that His Word had no place in them, Jesus continued with something that is really a play on the truth: “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.” They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.”
The Jews were aware of the virgin birth of Christ, but they interpreted it to mean that Christ had been born of fornication. They accused Mary of having borne Him out of fornication, while they boasted of themselves, “We have one Father, even God.” Christ established clearly who their true father was and who His true Father was; and for that they tried to kill Him.
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me; for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.” (Notice that—“you cannot hear My word.”) “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.” John 8:38–45.
You cannot know the truth unless you are willing to walk in it. This is a basic principle which governs the entire universe. If you are willing to walk in it, God will give you the truth; but if you are not receiving His Word, if the Word does not have a place in you, then you do not even have the capacity to know what is the truth.
This is true of human beings, and it is also true of spirits. Because Satan is a liar and the father of lies, he actually is not capable of knowing the truth. From the very beginning in the Garden of Eden, he twisted the truth and it became a lie. Everything that Satan says becomes a lie. When he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted the ninety-first Psalm. He told Jesus, “Just cast Yourself down. He will give His angels charge over You” (Psalm 91:11; Matthew 4:6). Even when Satan quotes Scripture, it becomes a lie the minute he says it because he cannot know the truth. And if he cannot know it, then he cannot convey it.
Revelation 12:9 tells about the great deceiver who deceives the whole world, and that is an exact picture of what Satan is doing. Wherever there is satanic activity, wherever demonic oppression is prevalent, it is difficult for people to receive the truth. We will not reach all the people with the message of the Kingdom by writing books that present it logically. That will not work. The Word will only be received when people’s hearts are open to know the will of God and to walk in it.
The Jews’ hearts were not open to walk in the will of God. Therefore Jesus said, “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.” (What would you say if He spoke this to you?) The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” John 8:45–48.
How far they were from the truth! There was no question about the fact that Jesus was a Jew, yet they could not admit that He had even been born into their race. That is how totally their hearts were set to reject Him. These were the Jews who were supposed to believe on Him, but they were double-minded. They had a little faith and also unbelief. If they had truly believed, they would have done the works of Abraham. Jesus told them, “You do not believe. You are trying to kill Me.” To that they responded, “Oh no, we are not trying to kill You. We believe. Who’s trying to kill You?” Nevertheless, four verses later they said, “This is the man they are trying to kill.” They were confused in their thinking. They were trying to believe that Jesus was the Son of God, but they did not have a revelation of it; and in the end they decided, “We were right. You are a Samaritan and have a demon.” There is quite a difference between being the Son of God and being a Samaritan who has a demon.
Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.” The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon.” All that Jesus had to do was to make one true statement, and they were ready to kill Him. That is the way His Word was received in His day, and today the Living Word will have the same reception. There is and will be much persecution against the Word and against those who speak it.
The Jews continued, “Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he shall never taste of death.’ Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know Him, and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad.” (At this statement, their blood pressure probably began to rise.) The Jews therefore said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” John 8:49–57.
How could they say anything else? They had no revelation; they did not know who He was. They did not know that He was the Son of God. No matter what He said to them, they were not going to listen because their opinion of Him was steeped in unbelief. They were locked in by their unbelief, their disobedience, and their unwillingness to do the will of God. If they had been willing to do the will of God, they could have had revelation. They could have received Him as the Son of God.
What happened when a Jew who had a good spirit came to Jesus? When Philip brought Nathaniel to Him, Jesus said, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.” There was no guile, no trickiness, no deceit in him. Nathaniel asked, “How do You know me?” That was not an egotistical statement. Very humbly he acknowledged that he was without guile. He was dedicated to be honest, instead of being tricky and full of guile. Jesus replied, “When you were sitting under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Nathaniel received revelation of the Lord, and he said, “You are the Son of God” (John 1:47–49). He could leap over all the steps of reason and come into revelation because he had a spirit that could learn, a spirit with no guile. He could become one of the disciples because he had a spirit that would listen and learn, a spirit with no guile, no bitterness, no unbelief, no reservation. He was willing to do the will of God, whatever it might be; and he became one of the disciples.
The Jews questioned Jesus, “You are not yet fifty years old and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” That did it! The phrase “I AM” ties into the name Yahweh, the name of Jehovah, I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:14). That was too much for them. Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple. John 8:58–59. Perhaps this means that He made Himself invisible. In some way He concealed Himself.
There is one issue which you must face in your heart: What is the truth and what is my relationship to the truth? How do I relate to the Living Word that comes from God? Is there something in me that will throw it aside? Am I always resisting it and withdrawing from it? Do I resent the Words from the Lord? Or is there something in my heart that says, “It is a hard saying, but I will listen. It is contrary to my thinking and reasoning, but I want to do the will of God so much that I will let Him explode my past conditioning and my responses that are wrong. I will be open to hear what God has to say.”
The Jews did not respond this way. The Lord threw one truth after another at them; and just about the time they were on their feet, He hit them with the truth again. Finally they said, “That does it,” and they picked up rocks to stone Him.
Think this over carefully. Think about your reaction to the Word. To someone who has learned to think logically, the Word does not always seem logical. Paul tells us that the world by its wisdom does not know God (I Corinthians 1:21). If the princes of the world had just known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (I Corinthians 2:8). But they did not know. They did not understand God’s wisdom. Paul then explained, “We receive not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things which are freely given to us by God” (I Corinthians 2:12).
The truth is always more than mere facts, and how facts are abused! Facts seem to speak for themselves, and putting all the facts together with reason will lead to a conclusion; but only with revelation can you interpret those facts accurately. Reason becomes the servant of revelation; but reason rarely reaches revelation.
The world will never reach God by its reasoning. The only way that you can know God is by revelation. Who do you think Jesus is? Some of the Jews thought He was Moses, others said He was Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. However, when Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “There is no question about that. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus blessed him, saying, “Flesh and blood did not reveal that to you, but My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:13–17).
You must have a revelation of the Lord before you can believe that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Then when you read the Scriptures, everything will fit into place; every fact will have meaning and significance. If you try to prove that Jesus is the Christ by presenting a sermon in which you analyze all the facts about Him, people will not see it because you are trying to do what cannot be done. You cannot receive revelation by taking the facts and reasoning them out; but if you start with a revelation, then you can apply reason to the facts and reach the correct conclusion.
If you have a revelation of the Lord which brings you into a relationship with Him, then all the facts of His life that are found in the Word will add up to the conclusion that He is the Son of God. But if you present all of those facts to try to prove to someone else that Jesus is the Son of God, it will not work. That person will not see it. You cannot reason a person into a conclusion that he can receive only by revelation.
How do we pray? Like Paul we say, “I came in meekness and trembling, afraid lest your faith should stand on the wisdom of man and not in the power of God” (I Corinthians 2:1–5). He preached so that the Holy Spirit revealed the truth to the hearts which were open. Then they became real believers. Paul knew that arguing point by point would not be effective. The saying is true: “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” You can rarely convince a man by arguing the facts. Instead, the Holy Spirit has to reach by revelation to the spirit which is open to God.
A man can hear wonderful reports of the way God is moving in the earth, but if his heart is not open to God, he will insist, “No, it is not so. It is a lie.” Conversely, a heart that is open to God cannot be deceived. When he hears a wrong conclusion made by the devil, he knows that it is not true. He has a revelation of the truth, even in the midst of false reports. His heart leaps within him, just as John the Baptist leaped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary came to her. Elizabeth exclaimed, “What is this, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” (Luke 1:41–43.) No one had to tell her. Because she had such a tender heart toward God, the revelation came.
Do not let bitterness enter into your spirit, for it cuts off the flow. Instead, keep your spirit open and right before God. That is the key of revelation.