Deception of the masses
Propaganda has become facts while facts have become propaganda
It boggles my mind how much propaganda is pushed out to use via the media and other online sources. What is even more mind blowing is how some Bible teachers can point out the propaganda being spewed from the pulpits in the form of psychological and behavioral sermons, to the complete omission of the reason Christ died and rose again. Some go as far to point out all the errors in other believers thinking and understanding of the Scriptures simply because it does not fit their understanding or accepted narrative. What is even more revealing of the critics of Christians, and the propaganda spewed from the pulpit is that the discernment of secular propaganda eludes them all together. We are warned in the scriptures about such people, even if their retorts are done in ignorance. Let’s look at some of the scriptures that warn us of those who looks at others with disdain and hostility. All the scripture verses used is from the Message translation for readability unless otherwise noted.
Matthew 7:15-20 “Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned. ”
Matthew 24:24 “Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I’ve given you fair warning.”
Galatians 1:6-9 “I can’t believe your fickleness—how easily you have turned traitor to him who called you by the grace of Christ by embracing a variant message! It is not a minor variation, you know; it is completely other, an alien message, a no-message, a lie about God. Those who are provoking this agitation among you are turning the Message of Christ on its head. Let me be blunt: If one of us—even if an angel from heaven were to preach something other than what we preached originally, let him be cursed. I said it once; I’ll say it again: If anyone, regardless of reputation or credentials, preaches something other than what you received originally, let him be cursed.
1 Timothy 6:2-5 “These are the things I want you to teach and preach. If you have leaders there who teach otherwise, who refuse the solid words of our Master Jesus and this godly instruction, tag them for what they are: ignorant windbags who infect the air with germs of envy, controversy, bad-mouthing, suspicious rumors. Eventually there’s an epidemic of backstabbing, and truth is but a distant memory. They think religion is a way to make a fast buck.”
2 Peter 2: 1-2 “But there were also lying prophets among the people then, just as there will be lying religious teachers among you. They’ll smuggle in destructive divisions, pitting you against each other—biting the hand of the One who gave them a chance to have their lives back! They’ve put themselves on a fast downhill slide to destruction, but not before they recruit a crowd of mixed-up followers who can’t tell right from wrong.
Revelations 19:19-21 “I saw the Beast and, assembled with him, earth’s kings and their armies, ready to make war against the One on the horse and his army. The Beast was taken, and with him, his puppet, the False Prophet, who used signs to dazzle and deceive those who had taken the mark of the Beast and worshiped his image. They were thrown alive, those two, into Lake Fire and Brimstone. The rest were killed by the sword of the One on the horse, the sword that comes from his mouth. All the birds held a feast on their flesh. (MSG)”
2 Peter 3: 3-4 “First off, you need to know that in the last days, mockers are going to have a heyday. Reducing everything to the level of their puny feelings, they’ll mock, “So what’s happened to the promise of his Coming? Our ancestors are dead and buried, and everything’s going on just as it has from the first day of creation. Nothing’s changed.”
1 John 4:1-3 My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world. Here’s how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person—comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. This is the spirit of antichrist that you heard was coming. Well, here it is, sooner than we thought!”
As you can see, we have been well warned. For me, a person who claims to be a follower of Christ will teach in accordance with the scriptures, not something they perceive from their minds. And a person who cannot see the deceptions from both the secular and religious lacks credibility as a teacher of the scriptures. Brothers and Sisters if Christ listen to what the Holy Spirit tells you, what you hear from this world may mimic the Bible and alter the understanding or even the text ever so slightly to deceive the elect. Recall Jesus’ temptation in the desert where the adversary the devil attempted to use scripture on our Lord? In Matthew 4:5-6 the devil tempted the Lord using Psalm 91 verse 12 and twisted: “For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, “Since you are God’s Son, jump.” The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: “He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone.” However. Psalm 91 verse 12 reads: “They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. (AMP)“ You can see how subtle the deceptive change was, and today, we must be familiar with the scriptures to catch these slight twists in the scriptures.
I’m not going to continue with my opinion here; there is just too much to be said and I do hope and pray that you will take the time to study the Scriptures so you will not be taken unawares. One final note: be cautious with newer translations of the Bible.
God bless and protect you.
Mike Kovach
August 2021
Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Re 19:19–21). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.
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