Many deceptive people get themselves into positions of truth and bring it into disrepute: you have liar exorcists, erroneous false prophets, false teachers, corrupt judges, unjust police, etc. Let us also know that this is the work of satan because our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the unseen powers of the unseen world in the spiritual high places. In discernment, you only need to ask where does this come from? If it comes from the world, we know it is evil — we have no need to ask if it is even evil because if it comes from the world, it comes from the evil one. We also should ask: what are the outcomes of believing something to be true?; or in other words, what is their agenda? If their agenda is good, then good; if it is bad, then we know it comes from the devil. Most evil agendas trick people into living lawlessly: all sin is lawlessness. We also should know that only God is Good. If they claim good, but do not have God then it is evil and comes from the world. There is no in-between: either something comes from the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of darkness.
We should remember Moses and the deception of Egypt’s magicians (Book of Exodus). They did the same works that Moses did, but Moses did them by the power of God. In the end times, the Scriptures say the antichrist will flash down fire from heaven and do other such marvels like bringing life to a statue (Book of Revelation). Bring also into remembrance the 7 sons of Sceva who tried to cast out demons in Jesus’ name, but fled from the home naked and beaten by such evil spirits (Book of Acts). Yes, these spirits are powerful and do wonders. We must remember that these evil spirits can also speak the truth. For many of the evil spirits proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God, and following Paul they said, “This man brings you the Gospel and the way to be saved” (Gospels and Acts). These are all in line with how satan works, masking as an angel of light. So we see how hard it is to discern spirits. This shows how much we ought to be in the Word of God.
The Egyptian magic was not as powerful as God’s power. When they threw their staff on the ground and it became a serpent, God’s serpent ate up their serpents; this shows God can swallow up evil in an instant as He did with Korah and those that rebelled, opening up the mouth of the earth and swallowing them up. And again, when God turned the water of the Nile into blood, so did the Egyptian magicians. However, they only did so with a little of the water, where-as God did it in all of the land of Egypt and the entirety of the Nile — even the cooking pots in the Egyptians homes turned to blood if it came from the Nile! This shows God’s sovereignty by scale — in totality, not in part. Then Moses conjured up frogs from the Nile but so did the Egyptian magicians. However, God made the mind of the frogs change to hop in the Egyptian homes, on their beds, and in their pots! The Egyptians were not able to control the mind of the frogs. God has sovereignty over all of His creation and by His mighty name even evil spirits are subjected to Him and tremble in fear — how mighty is our God!
Even in the realm of exorcism, the devil has infiltrated this sphere into making us think an individual has power over them. Can satan cast out satan? No, otherwise his kingdom is divided and how can it stand? Many false teachers put on shows of entertainment in churches claiming they’re exorcising demons, but they are not: they merely show two demons entertaining the crowd and putting on a show, captivating the audience with deception. I have no doubt that some of them brought on stage are possessed, but the one doing the ‘exorcism’ is also possessed. Let us not be immature being blown about by the wind by every false doctrine, but let us test the spirits. If they confess Jesus as Lord, they are from God. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Anything ‘new’ is not from God because He has been the same from the beginning. There isn’t anything truly new under the sun, but all is old; that ancient serpent called the devil who deceives the whole world, has always been this way — he has been a liar since the beginning. This is another way we can discern the truth: by going to the beginning. For this is where truth lives: In the beginning, God...