The Unholy Trinity
Revelation 20:10 NKJV — The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The Devil, the Beast, and the False Prophet
The devil is the evil one. He is sometimes called an adversary. He is seen as a dragon and as a serpent. I don’t think we always recognize him when he appears as the subtle serpent, but he is always evil and he is always an adversary to the true believer and to the Lord Himself. He is a murderer and a deceiver. He is the one that this world system worships. Paul calls him the god of this world in 2 Corinthians 4:4.
He uses humans to do his work. In Revelation 13, a political leader representing a political system is called a beast. He arises out of the sea (the Mediterranean sea) and his political roots go back to the Roman Empire. He has a second lieutenant who arises out of the land (the land of Israel), who uses his power to get the Jews as well as the rest of the world to worship the first beast. The devil appearing as a dragon energizes these two men. They are the trinity of evil. They win battles but lose the war. They end up in eternal torments. Their influence is seen spiritually today, but it will be seen literally in the Tribulation period.
The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit
This is another trinity. These three persons speak with one mind and have one purpose but different functions. The Father gave His Son to die for our sins and the Holy Spirit convicts us of our need for the Lord. Once we are saved, that is, once we trust the Son, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us. First he seals us (marks us out as the Lord’s property), then He wants to control us. The Holy Trinity also uses humans to do God’s work. But sometimes what looks like the work of the Holy Spirit is really the work of the Devil. Balaam seemed to have an inside track with Jehovah in the Old Testament and knew what the Word of the Lord was. He prophesied it correctly, but used his knowledge of God to show the Moabites and the Midianites how to defeat the Israelites. He sold out for money and power. (See Numbers 22-24).
Discernment
How does one know whether we are following a religious deceiver or a faithful spirit filled prophet? It really shouldn’t be that hard to discern but because all of us are “sheep going astray” at times, we need to pray about who we are believing and following. In general, a false prophet who is energized by Satan will be “popular.” He will mix truth with error in order to control his followers. In the Bible, the crowd is nearly always wrong unless the Lord is feeding them. The crowd that wanted to make the Lord King on Palm Sunday was likely the same crowd that wanted to crucify the Lord the next Friday. Matthew 7:13-14 says, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” This is true with regard to salvation, but it is also true with regard to most of the decisions we make in life. If a crowd is involved, beware! If it is a religious crowd, REALLY BEWARE!
Who are we Believing?
Satan is a great adversary and He wants us to follow Him into the Lake of Fire. He will use great political and religious leaders to get that job done. The Lord is a great Savior. He has prepared a place in the Father’s house for those who believe in Him. The Holy Spirit is in the world convicting people of their sin and He is drawing people to the Lord. But can truly saved people be deceived? Can they be led to follow men who use religion to control people? I believe it is possible and even probable when we forget that we are not here at the present time to establish a nation that represents the Kingdom of God. That will have to wait until the Lord comes to establish His righteous Kingdom. Then and then only will Israel as a nation repent and realize they murdered their Messiah. Through them, the Lord will establish an earthly Kingdom of righteousness. That is not our day and it is not our commission.
We are here as believers to preach regeneration of individuals and not reformation of a society that is presently under the control of the “god of this world.” If enough individuals trust the Lord, society will be changed for the better. But more importantly, destinies will be changed for eternity.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of September 27, 2020