Subject: Deception XIII: GOD DECEIVES Idolators Date: Thu, 29 May 2003 11:43:15 -0400 From: Jesus Christ is the ONLY Way to God To: tracy@jesus-is-lord.com Jesus Christ is the ONLY Way to God - Powered by InJesus Subscribe Unsubscribe Change E-mail View Archive Deception XIII: GOD DECEIVES Idolators sis. tracy May 29, 2003 "...the deceived and the deceiver are his." Job 12:16 Dear Christian Friends: Greetings in the name of the ONLY wise God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. On the afternoon of Wednesday 5-28-03 I checked my emails and was almost STUNNED to see people write angrily about the email I just sent out about false profits. Comments like, "How could you have so much hate?" "He that hateth his brother...", etc. Here's one excerpt-- "Dear Tracy, Please take me off your mailing list. I do not care to receive your letters anymore. You condemn God's servants. This is very bad!! The thing is, none of them is perfect... You have no right to condemn them as you have." I obviously still do not understand the depth of the deception because after seeing this, I walked around for hours almost in a daze. When I compiled the False Prophets/Profits email, I guess I figured that people would say, "The Bible DOES say that about rich men!" But when church people wrote saying I had an evil spirit I had a very hard time believing that they could read the scriptures I shared in those articles and then DEFEND false profits. It was like I got hit in the head by a two-by-four and tried for a few hours to get my bearings back. So far, I've probably received half a dozen complaints and plenty of unsubscribes (I don't mind that at all. All this could dry up at anytime.). Benny Hinn giving a bong (drug paraphrenalia) to his staff ON VIDEO and they write to tell me that he is a man of God. One man insisted that God wants us to have material goods. D-E-C-E-P-T-I-O-N. Yesterday evening I was still thinking about this as I returned home from running an errand. At some point in my meditations I said to myself, "Deception XIII is coming out," and I asked the Lord to "help me tell it". Although there were some who were wrote upset, there were more who said "Amen!". God used one these "amen" emails to give rise to the email you are reading now. I will reprint the article that Bro. Will sent, but first, *****A LITTLE BACKGROUND**** About a month ago I received an email entitled, "Strongholds and Stumblingblocks". The article deals with Ezekiel 14 and how **GOD WILL ANSWER** IDOLATORS **ACCORDING TO THEIR IDOLATROUS BELIEF SYSTEM** THAT THEY HAVE SET UP IN THEIR HEART. It was a revelation for me. It is now a month later, and Bro. Will (on this list) wrote me to say amen to False Prophets/Profits. The Lord had him to tack on an article that he wrote dealing with Ezekiel 14--how God deceives people--the same theme James Lloyd wrote about. Bro. Will's article gave me another aspect that I had not considered. (His article will follow the one by James Lloyd.) If you are on the way of understanding and holiness, the Lord will keep on revealing Himself, His ways, and His kingdom to you... *****BUT IF YOU ARE SIMPLE...***** But if you are SIMPLE and believe your own SELF and your likes, King Jesus will take from you that little bit that you SEEMETH to have (Luke 8:18). You will understand nothing but will keep on being deceived. SIMPLE (a good Bible word) people are like PLUCKED OFF, DRIED UP branches while the righteous are like trees PLANTED by the RIVERS of water. If you are SIMPLE today, you do not have to remain simple and ignorant. There is a divine solution--REPENT of your sins, BELIEVE the gospel, and **READ AND BELIEVE GOD'S WORD AS IT IS WRITTEN**, not as man has interpreted it and malled it-- Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: THE TESTIMONY OF THE LORD IS SURE, **MAKING WISE THE SIMPLE**. Psalms 119:130 THE ENTRANCE OF THY WORDS giveth light; it GIVETH **UNDERSTANDING UNTO THE SIMPLE**. SIMPLE ones believe whatever a man tells them-- Proverbs 14:15 The simple believeth every word... The simple-minded are like homeborn slaves whose masters are the false profits and false doctrines. The will of the false profits is their command. The false profits make merchandise of their slaves to fulfill their own lusty appetites-- Romans 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the SIMPLE. If you are going to simple about something, be simple about evil! (ref. Ro 16:19) *****THE ARGUMENT/THESIS OF THIS EMAIL***** Many false worshippers insist that God told them that their doctrine is right. They are not always lying when they say this. If you have a tradition that you love and won't let go of, GOD WILL DECEIVE YOU WITHIN THE LIE THAT YOU BELIEVE AND WILL SEND YOU STRONG DELUSION SO THAT YOU WILL REALLY, REALLY BELIEVE THE LIE "WITH ALL YOUR HEART". If you idolize hellivision preachers or Billy Graham, or dispensationalism or Calvinism, or whoever/whatever, GOD HIMSELF will make it so that you CANNOT SEE THAT PERSON OR THING FOR WHAT THEY ARE--NO MATTER HOW MANY SCRIPTURES SOMEBODY SHOWS YOU. Ezekiel 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; EVERY MAN OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL THAT SETTETH UP HIS IDOLS IN HIS HEART, AND PUTTETH THE STUMBLINGBLOCK OF HIS INIQUITY BEFORE HIS FACE, AND COMETH TO THE PROPHET; **I THE LORD WILL ANSWER HIM THAT COMETH ACCORDING TO THE MULTITUDE OF HIS IDOLS;** Many false worshippers say, "God told me..." I used to always think, "God didn't tell you that. You and Satan told yourself that." But now I see that sometimes God DID tell them that--He took them and ensnared them more in their own deceptions. Why? II Thessalonians 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; BECAUSE THEY RECEIVED NOT THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH, that they might be saved. 2:11 AND FOR THIS CAUSE **GOD SHALL SEND THEM STRONG DELUSION, THAT THEY SHOULD BELIEVE A LIE**: 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. God will send you an evil spirit to help keep you ensnared in your SELF-IMPOSED deceptions. When people trust in their own evil heart and their likes and what "seems" good to them they are in a dangerous position. When they go to inquire of God, HE ANSWERS ACCORDING TO THEIR DECEPTIONS. What are we to make of this doctrine of God deceiving idolators? We better look around and see if there is any "thing", any "manmade doctrines/traditions", any "man" that we cannot live without. Pray to the Lord and ask Him to show you any false understandings. And then when He shows them to you, get the idols out of your life! There is a way that "seemeth" so right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. You may have a "good" feeling about what you are doing, but if it does not line up with the word, you are in deception and God Himself may be taking you further down that pathway. May many read this and understand. The Lord be magnified. *****ARTICLE BY JAMES LLOYD***** STRONGHOLDS AND STUMBLINGBLOCKS CHRISTIAN MEDIA - March 31, 2003 In the course of seeking to understand why so many Christians that are seemingly productive citizens of the Kingdom of God can have so many diverse views, some time ago the LORD provided me with an answer. Not wanting to dismiss so many apparently Godly people as brazenly dishonest in their statements concerning the understandings they stated they had received from the LORD, I was bewildered as to how so many ostensibly faithful men could be so far off the mark in crucial matters of the faith. I could not understand how someone could tell me he intently sought the Lord on an issue of critical importance, and that the LORD showed him thus and thus. In most of these cases, the `finding’ the person received was in direct opposition to what I had learned from the LORD. The issues at stake are enormous as they are related to salvation, our identity and standing in Christ, and the immediate future of all believers. While I came to the conclusion long ago that the “truth” the LORD showed me was mutually exclusive to the “truth” others had come to, I was having difficulty in seeing how men that I had previously admired could actually be intentionally lying when they said that they sought the LORD, and `God showed me this…’ In seeking my answer, God led me to a wonderful discovery in the writings of the prophet Ezekiel. In chapter 14, we see that the LORD says to the prophet “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face. Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet, I, the Lord, will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols. That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.” – Ezekiel 14:3,4 This passage was like a ray of bright light shining in my heart, for it provided me with Scriptures that are directly on the point of my question. When God says this applies to “every man of the house of Israel,” He is speaking of His people. Ironically, the prophetic perception as to the identity of the party to whom the prophecy is addressed is itself part of the “stumbling block” that is referred to in the passage! The New Testament tells us that the “chosen” of the LORD are the Christians – as opposed to the Rapture Cult position that tells us the Jews are God’s people, and the Church is a separate entity. Thus, Cult teachers immediately dismiss this prophecy as not being applicable to them because they do not believe they are “of the house of Israel.” This tradition of men is a Stumblingblock to their ability to hear and learn what God is telling them in this very passage. The truth is, Jesus Christ plainly taught against the concept of two groups of believers. So while the Cult teaches that Israel is one group and the Church is another group, the Gospels say otherwise. Before the Gentiles were called into the salvation offered by JESUS CHRIST, He said “And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:16). When Ezekiel says that when the people “cometh to the prophet” to seek the will of the Lord,” they are inquiring of God through the authority of “the prophet” – who the New Testament tells us is JESUS CHRIST. For example, in the book of John we learn that when Jesus preached, the people said “Of a truth, this is the prophet.” (John 7:40). Peter also said that Jesus fulfilled the prediction of a great prophet that would arise in Israel when he stated “A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you….” (Acts 7:37). There are many Scriptural texts proving the Jesus is "the prophet." Ezekiel is told by the Lord that when “every man” comes to Him to seek His will and they “setteth up idols” in their hearts, God will answer them “according to the multitude of his idols” (Ezekiel 14:3,4). First we need to see that an “idol” that is in the heart can be anything that comes between the believer and God. Because idolatry is a concept (as opposed to a statue that one worships), we must realize that an idol can be any thought, belief, or even doctrine that we want to believe. When God says He will answer the inquirer “according to” the idol, He is saying He will not tear down the false beliefs that exist in the hearts of the believers. Remember, the text says the believers are the ones that have “set up their idols in their heart” (Ezekiel 14:3). Thus, the Lord plainly states that He will give you the answer you’ve already decided you want! This is a gigantic truth, and it is another area concerning God’s attributes that is commonly distorted by the false teachers. Pastors and Christian writers commonly tell us that God never deceives people – yet the Scriptures tell us that God allows us to continue in the deceptions that we’ ve ensnared ourselves in. The Bible says “the Lord knoweth how to…. reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished” (II Peter 2:9). In fact, the Apostle Paul plainly says that God will actually initiate deception when He writes that “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie….because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (II Thessalonians 2:11,10). What we’re seeing here should be frightening, because it is a scriptural proof text that indicates if we are not completely sold out to hearing the truth -- regardless of how unsavory the truth may be -- we are subject to be deceived. Furthermore, the very fact that this principle exists is tantamount to a prediction that there will be believers that think they are truly seeking the truth, but in actuality they have placed their idolatrous doctrines in their hearts, and are going before the LORD to ask Him to validate the “idol” that is their false interpretation. In the passage in Ezekiel, the Lord also refers to “the stumblingblock of their iniquity” as another obstacle to receiving the truth when seeking God. The text indicates that when the believer “putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face” when He seeks the Lord on a matter, this too will cause the Lord to “set my face against that man….” (Ezekiel 14:8). This aspect of the prophecy informs us that our iniquity produces a “stumblingblock.” Although we see variations on the term with the Scriptures sometimes calling it a “stumblingstone,” the idiom is not used much in the modern English vernacular. It might be useful to state that if we think of walking forward and tripping over a large stone that we did not see, we have a valid picture of what is being said. For example, I live out in the country where it is completely pitch black at night. If I am walking around in total darkness and can’t see a significant stone in my path, I’m likely to fall over it and be injured. A stumblingblock is not intrinsically evil as the Scriptures state that Christ was to “the Jews a stumblingblock, and a rock of offense….” (I Corinthians 1:23). What we see in this amazing prophecy from Ezekiel is that it is our sin that keeps us from seeing things that we need to see. To put it another way, our iniquity is directly proportional to our spiritual blindness, and God will not just override that sin and force us to hear His truth. In order to get past this vulnerable condition, we must consistently demonstrate our willingness to receive the truth – in short, we must LOVE the TRUTH. JESUS CHRIST told us that HE is the truth – “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6). If we genuinely love the truth, then we will find it. Indeed, the very fact that there exists a multiplicity of “Christian traditions” is an indicator that something is dreadfully wrong. Thus, the idea that `we can agree to disagree’ is completely unscriptural on any matter concerning the faith. There is only one truth, and everything else is a lie. This is an extraordinary perspective and it cuts like the proverbial two-edged sword. The idea of stumblingblocks is essentially synonymous with the New Testament concept of Strongholds. This is another way of describing a stumblingblock. A “Stronghold” is a place where someone or something may be defended. This term is commonly used as a military concept in the context of warfare – and the Bible frequently speaks of the war that is continuously occurring in the realm of the Spirit. In I Corinthians, we see “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing [read idol] that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ……” (I Corinthians 10:3,4). What this verse is so eloquently teaching us is that we are the ones that pull down the “Strongholds.” We are the ones that seek out the “Stumblingblocks” in order achieve the victory in Christ. And we do these things, not in our power, but “through God” as we become “sanctified through the truth” (John 17:19). To be sanctified means to be set apart for glory, but for those that are not sanctified of God, “…the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness…..” (Romans 1:18). To put this into perspective, whenever we fail to fully embrace the truth, we allow the Devil to establish a Spiritual Stronghold that enters into our lives -- and this is something that can eventually destroy us. When we refuse to see the truth that God wants us to see, that Stronghold becomes a Stumblingblock that causes us to stumble and fall further and further away from the will of the LORD. As this process continues, we are not abiding in the truth, and we then become subject to the wrath of God which is directed to all that “hold the truth in unrighteousness.” (Rom 1:18). Essentially, when we say that we love Him, and do not love the truth, we have become liars because He IS the truth. Through Ezekiel, God says that He has allowed this situation to progress because “they are all estranged from me through their idols” (Ezekiel 14:5). God desires our fellowship -- a fellowship that is true and unfeigned – not simply words, but deeds. God will hold all accountable, and the only way to ensure that we know Him is to be found in Him – in righteousness and in truth. “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? For the time is come that the judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God?” – Hebrews 4:18,17). -- James Lloyd *****ARTICLE BY BRO. WILL***** DOES THE LORD DECEIVE PEOPLE? EZEKIEL 14:9 There are many truths found in the Holy Scriptures that many present day Christians find unpalatable. Most Christians today do not read their Bibles, so they don't come across these truths, and the modern perversions are doing their best to hide them, if one should stumble upon them in God's word. Such is the case with Ezekiel 14:9. The context is clearly about a false prophet and the person who comes to him. Beginning at verse 7 "For everyone of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself; And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him." Eze. 14:7-11. God does deceive. 2 Thessalonians 2:11 tells of those who received not the love of the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness and "for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." Isaiah 29:10 "For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered." In I Kings 22:19-23 the LORD was sitting on his throne and all the host of heaven were about Him. He asked who shall persuade Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead. A spirit volunteered to go forth and be a lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets. "now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets." Job 12:16 tells us "the deceived and the deceiver are his." HOW DO MODERN BIBLE VERSIONS DEAL WITH THIS? [Sis. tracy note: Ezekiel 14:9 says, "If the prophet be DECEIVED when he hath spoken a thing, I THE LORD HAVE DECEIVED that prophet". The NIV renders this "if the prophet is ENTICED to utter a prophecy, I the LORD have ENTICED that prophet." A prophet being DECEIVED and being enticed is two different things. You cannot get sound doctrine and an understanding of God's economy based solely on the NIV or other modern Bible versions. They only OBSCURE and DELETE the word.] The NKJV departs even more with its "if the prophet IS INDUCED TO SPEAK anything, I the LORD have INDUCED that prophet." The NASB is the worst with "if the prophet IS PREVAILED UPON to speak a word, it is I , the LORD, who have PREVAILED UPON that prophet." Both the NKJV and NASB obliterate the sense of God's deceiving this prophet, and have blandly substituted the idea of God merely moving upon him to cause him to speak. With the NIV, we could well ask: With what did God entice the prophet? It doesn't say nor even hint at any incentive being given. Rather, the prophet is deceived by God as well as the man who comes to him because they have separated themselves from the LORD and set up their idols in their hearts. I personally believe a similar thing is occuring today with the Bible version issue. Many have set up their own intellects, respected men, and scholarship as an idol in their hearts, and God is handing them over to deception and unbelief. These modern "bibles" are per-versions of God's true, inspired words. Will Kinney *****CONCLUSION***** May the Lord help us to cast out all the idols that we have set up in our lives. May we be like Joshua and kill off all those heathen beliefs with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God and by belief of the truth. God commanded the Israelites to leave nothing alive in many cities because whatever was left alive could cause their heart to depart from the Lord. We have to look at that spiritually. Look at YOUR life and KILL ALL YOUR lusts and YOUR likes that run contrary to the word. Take the sword which is the word of God and kill/mortify the deeds of the body. Proverbs 14:15 The simple believeth every word... Proverbs 1:22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? A word from the Lord to the false profits-- Ezekiel 13:22 Because WITH LIES YE HAVE MADE THE HEART OF THE RIGHTEOUS SAD, WHOM I HAVE NOT MADE SAD; AND STRENGTHENED THE HANDS OF THE WICKED, THAT HE SHOULD NOT RETURN FROM HIS WICKED WAY, BY PROMISING HIM LIFE: 13:23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for **I** WILL DELIVER MY PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR HAND: AND YE SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD. The Lord be magnified. for Jesus' sake, tracy ----- www.jesus-is-lord.com Ezekiel 2:4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD. 2:6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Visit My InJesus to manage your subscriptions, change your profile, or check out thousands of other great ministry groups. If you do not have access to the web, you can use these addresses to unsubscribe or subscribe: Unsubscribe: jesus-is-lord-unsubscribe@MyInJesus.com Subscribe: jesus-is-lord-subscribe@MyInJesus.com