Jesus said to
him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6
03/29/2019
My friends let me express to you how
important it is to be ALERT at ALL TIMES in your daily walk with the LORD JESUS
CHRIST, because our ENEMY SATAN is always looking for a way to subtly enter
your life and get you off track {1 Peter 5:8-9; Genesis 3:1; 2 Corinthians 11:14}.
Recently I was reading a friends post on
Social Media when I came across this question from one of their followers:
“White people, you don’t really think
about your ancestors do you?” {This was posted by a Native American}
I was not shocked by the question as
much as I was by the response of one of my friends who is a “Christian”. Their response to this question
was the fact that they “prayed” to their ancestors. I absolutely was floored to
think that a person who claimed to be a “Christian” would think it would be
okay for them to “pray” to DEAD PEOPLE when the Word of God is against trying
to speak to the dead. So I started to research and found out that people
from all different cultures throughout history have practiced this pagan
behavior. Of course people think about those who have gone before them but to
worship or even pray to the dead is in violation of God’s Word.
The
veneration {reverence, respect, worship, adoration,
homage, exaltation, adulation, glorification, extolment, idolization, devotion;
honor, esteem, regard, high regard, praise; respectfulness, worshipfulness,
obeisance, submission, deference, awe; rare
laudation, magnification}
of the dead,
including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In
some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued
existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living.
Some groups venerate their direct, familial ancestors. Certain sects and
religions, in particular the Roman Catholic Church, venerate saints as
intercessors with God, as well as pray for departed souls in Purgatory{DOES NOT
EXIST}.
In Europe, Asia, and Oceania, and in some African and Afro-diasporic
cultures, the goal of ancestor veneration is to ensure the ancestors' continued
well-being and positive disposition towards the living, and sometimes to ask
for special favors or assistance. The social or non-religious function of
ancestor veneration is to cultivate kinship values, such as filial piety,
family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. Ancestor veneration
occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological
complexity, and it remains an important component of various religious
practices in modern times.
Veneration of those who have deceased has been practiced since the time
of Ancient Egypt and Rome. Read the rest of this article here. Note: When a person honors the
DEAD to the point of praying to them they enter the realm of paganism which God
abhors. YOU cannot as a “CHRISTIAN” honor God when you are praying to the DEAD.
This why we find in God’s Word that God encourages His followers to
REFRAIN from these “Traditions of Man” ignoring His Word and Commandments.
In order for a dead person to receive
prayers, the dead individual has to hear the prayer, possess the power to answer
it, and know how to answer it in a way that is best for the individual praying.
Only God hears and answers prayer because of His perfect essence and because of
what some theologians call His “immanence.” Immanence is the quality of God
that causes Him to be directly involved with the affairs of mankind {1 Timothy 6:12-16}; this includes answering prayer.
Romans 8:26-27 describes the Holy Spirit interceding for us. With the 2nd and 3rd
members of the Trinity already interceding for us before the Father in heaven,
what possible need could there be to have Mary or the saints interceding for
us?
God allows a strong delusion to blind
those who refuse to believe in Him instead trusting in the lies of deceitful
man {2 Thessalonians 2}.
We learn from 2 Timothy 4:3-4
about the believers who fall under these “Deceitful Men and Women”.
For the time
will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s
truth]; but wanting to have
their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for
themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own
desires and to support the
errors they hold, and will turn their ears away from the truth and will wander
off into myths and man-made
fictions [and will accept the unacceptable]. 2 Timothy 4:3-4
The Bible nowhere instructs believers in
Christ to pray to anyone other than God. The Bible nowhere encourages, or even
mentions, believers asking individuals in heaven for their prayers. Why, then,
do many Catholics pray to Mary and/or the saints or request their prayers?
Catholics view Mary and the saints as "intercessors" before God. They
believe that a saint, who is glorified in Heaven, has more "direct
access" to God than we do. Therefore, if a saint delivers a prayer to God,
it is more effective than us praying to God directly. This concept is blatantly unbiblical.
Hebrews 4:16 tells us that we, believers here on earth, can
"approach the throne of grace with confidence."
First Timothy 2:5-6 declares, "For there is one God and one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." There is no one else
that can mediate with God for us. If Jesus is the ONLY mediator, that indicates Mary, the saints,
even our ancestors CANNOT be mediators. They cannot mediate our prayer
requests to God. Further, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ Himself is
interceding for us before the Father: "Therefore He is able to save
completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to
intercede for them" {Hebrews 7:25}. If Jesus Himself is interceding for us, why would we need Mary, the
saints, or our ancestors to intercede for us? Whom would God listen to
more closely than His Son? Romans 8:26-27 describes the Holy Spirit interceding for us. With
the 2nd and 3rd members of the Trinity already interceding for us before the
Father in heaven, what
possible need could there be to have Mary, the saints, or our ancestors interceding
for us?
While Catholics argue that praying to Mary and
the saints is no different than asking someone here on earth to pray for us, other religions like Indonesia, Native Americans, the Orient and other Pagan religions are praying to their Ancestors.
Let us examine that claim.
(2)
The Bible mentions
only ONE PERSON, CHRIST JESUS in Heaven praying {interceding} for those of us
on earth {Romans 8:34}.
(3)
The Bible gives
absolutely NO indication that Mary, the saints, or our ancestors can hear our
prayers. Mary, the saints, and our ancestors ARE NOT omniscient. Even glorified
in Heaven, they are still finite beings with limitations. How could they
possibly hear the prayers of millions of people? When a person dies the body
returns to dust and the spirit returns to God {Ecclesiastes 3:20; Ecclesiastes 9:5; Ecclesiastes 12:6-7}
(4)
Whenever the Bible mentions praying to
or speaking with the dead, it is in the context of sorcery, witchcraft,
necromancy, and divination—activities the Bible strongly condemns {Leviticus 20:6; Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-13}. In the one instance when a "saint" is
spoken to, Samuel in 1 Samuel 28:7-19, it should be noted that the “spirit of Samuel” a
medium conjures is NOT the
spirit of a deceased person. We learn later in 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 that Saul dies because he disobeyed God by going to
a medium who communicated with demons NOT the dead. The reason for that is because once you die
you have no more dealings with the living {Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10}; therefore it is clear the medium had called up a
demonic spirit which made itself into the form of Samuel to let Saul know he
would be joining him in hell. Asking
people on earth to pray for us has a STRONG BIBLICAL BASIS {James 5:16};
asking the SAINTS or MARY or our ANCESTORS to pray has NO BIBLICAL BASIS
WHATSOEVER.
God does not answer
prayers based on who is praying. God answers prayers based on whether they are
asked according to His will and NOT for your personal gain {1 John 5:14-15; James 4:3}. There is
absolutely no basis or need to pray to anyone other than God alone. There is no
basis for asking those who are in heaven to pray for us. Only God can hear our
prayers. Only God can answer our prayers. No one in heaven has any greater
access to God's throne than we do through prayer {Hebrews 4:16}.
Because the spirits who respond to the channelers are
satanic, channeling is abhorrent to God. There are few
who have any true conception of the deceptive power of spiritualism and the
danger of coming under its influence. Many tamper with it merely to gratify
their curiosity. They have no real faith in it and would be filled with horror
at the thought of yielding themselves to the spirits' control. But they venture
upon the forbidden ground, and the mighty destroyer exercises his power upon
them against their will. Let them once be induced to submit their minds to his
direction, and he holds them captive. It is impossible, in their own strength,
to break away from the bewitching, alluring spell. Nothing but the power of
God, granted in answer to the earnest prayer of faith, can deliver these
ensnared souls. {Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-12; 1 Chronicles 10:13-14; Isaiah 8:19-22}
Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus it
is important to know the TRUTH of God’s Word so we can overcome and RESIST the
subtle evil Satan tries to bring into your our lives. In order to keep from
falling into Satan’s traps it is important to be armed and ready {Ephesians 6:10-18}.
Study the Word of God {2 Timothy 2:15}
and know that the Word of God is SHARPER than a two edge sword {Hebrews 4:12}
and it will expose the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.
Study and do your best to present yourself
to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed,
accurately handling and skillfully
teaching the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15
For the word of
God is living and active and
full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper
than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and
spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the
deepest parts of our nature], exposing and
judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
With that I leave you with a list of
Scriptures to study to help you overcome the subtle lies of Satan. If you are
now or have been praying to anyone other than your Heavenly Father, Jesus
Christ, or the Holy Spirit you need to stop now, repent and get back into a
right standing with God.
May the Holy Spirit of God teach you and
strengthen you through the study of God’s Word creating in you a Heart that
only glorifies the Lord God.
Forever in Christ Jesus Service,
Scriptures to study
1.
1 Timothy 1:3-4 -
As I urged you when I was on my way to Macedonia, stay on at
Ephesus so that you may instruct certain individuals not to teach any different
doctrines, nor to pay attention to legends (fables, myths) and endless
genealogies, which give rise to useless speculation and meaningless arguments rather than advancing God’s program of instruction which is grounded in
faith [and requires surrendering the entire self to God in absolute trust and
confidence].
2.
1 Timothy 6:12-16 - Fight the good fight of the faith [in the
conflict with evil]; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called,
and [for which] you made the good confession [of faith] in the presence of many
witnesses. I solemnly charge
you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and [in the presence]
of Christ Jesus, who made the good confession [in His testimony] before Pontius
Pilate, to keep all His precepts without stain or reproach
until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about in His
own time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign [the absolute Ruler], the
King of those who reign as kings and Lord of those who rule as lords, He alone
possesses immortality [absolute exemption from death] and lives in
unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and
eternal power and dominion!
Amen.
3.
Romans 8:26-27 -
In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our
weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows
our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words. And
He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the
Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of God’s people in accordance with
God’s will.
4.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 - For there is [only] one God, and [only] one
Mediator between God and mankind, the Man Christ Jesus, who
gave Himself as a ransom [a substitutionary sacrifice to atone] for all, the
testimony given at the right and
proper time.
5.
Titus 3:9 -
But avoid foolish and
ill-informed and stupid
controversies and genealogies and dissensions and quarrels about the Law, for
they are unprofitable and useless.
6.
Leviticus 20:27 - A man or woman who is a medium [who pretends to
consult the dead] or who is a spiritist shall most certainly be put to
death, and be stoned with stones; their blood is on them.
7.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12 - There shall not be found among you anyone who
makes his son or daughter pass through the fire [as a sacrifice], one who uses
divination and fortune-telling,
one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or
one who casts a charm or spell,
or a medium, or a spiritist, or a necromancer [who seeks the dead]. For
everyone who does these things is utterly repulsive to the Lord; and because of these detestable
practices the Lord your God is driving them out before you.
8. 1 Samuel 28:1-25 - In those days the Philistines gathered
their forces for war to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “Understand
for certain that you and your men will go out with me to battle.” David said to
Achish, “All right, you shall know what your servant can do.” So Achish said to
David, “Therefore I will make you my bodyguard for life.” Now Samuel had died,
and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And
Saul had removed the mediums and the spiritists (soothsayers) from the land.
The Philistines assembled and came and camped at Shunem; and Saul gathered all
the Israelites and they camped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the Philistine army, he
was afraid and badly shaken. So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him, either
by dreams or by Urim [used like lots by the priest to determine the will of
God] or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Find for me a woman who
is a medium [between the living and the dead], so that I may go to her and ask
her advice.” His servants said to him, “There is a woman who is a medium at
En-dor.” So Saul disguised himself by wearing different
clothes, and he left with two men, and they came to the woman at night. He said
to her, “Conjure up for me,
please, and bring up [from the dead] for me [the spirit] whom I shall name to
you.” But the woman said to him, “See here, you know what Saul has done, how he
has cut off (eliminated) those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. So
why are you laying a trap for my life, to cause my death?” Then Saul swore [an
oath] to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this.” So the woman said,
“Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” When the
woman saw Samuel, she screamed with a loud voice; and she said to Saul, “Why
have you deceived me? You are Saul!” The king said to her, “Do not be afraid;
but [tell me] what do you see?” The woman said to Saul, “I see a divine
[superhuman] being coming up from the earth.” He said to her, “What is his
appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, wrapped in a robe.” Then
Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid
respect [to him]. Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed
me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed; for the
Philistines are making war against me, and God has left me and no longer
answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you
to make known to me what I should do.” Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me,
since the Lord has left you and has become
your enemy? The Lord has done [to you] just as He
said through me [when I was with you]; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor,
to David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will also put Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines,
and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me [among the dead]. Indeed, the Lord will put the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.” Then
Saul immediately fell full length on the earth [floor of the medium’s house],
and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words; and he was thoroughly exhausted
because he had not eaten all day and all night. The woman came to Saul and saw
that he was greatly troubled, and she said to him, “Look, your maidservant has
obeyed you, and I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to everything
you said to me. So now, please listen to the voice of your maidservant, and let
me set a piece of bread before you, and eat, so that you may have strength when
you go on your way.” But he refused and said, “I will not eat.” But his
servants together with the woman urged him, and he [finally] listened to them.
So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed. The woman had a fattened calf
in the house; she quickly killed it, and took flour, kneaded it and baked
unleavened bread. She brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate.
Then they got up and went away that night.
9. 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 - So Saul died for his
trespass which he committed against the Lord, for his failure to keep the
word of the Lord; and also because he
consulted a medium [regarding a spirit of the dead], to inquire of her, and did not inquire of the Lord [instead]. Therefore the Lord killed him and turned the
kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
10. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 - If I shut up the
heavens so that no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or
if I send pestilence and plague
among My people, and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves,
and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and
heal their land.
11. Isaiah 8:19-22 - When the people
[instead of trusting God] say to you, “Consult the mediums [who try to talk to
the dead] and the soothsayers who chirp and
whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on
behalf of the living? [Direct those people] to the law and to
the testimony! If their teachings are not in accord with this word, it is
because they have no dawn. They [who consult mediums and soothsayers] will pass
through the land deeply distressed and hungry, and when they are hungry, they
will become enraged and will curse their king and their God as they look
upward. Then they will look to the earth, they will see only distress and
darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they
will be driven away into darkness and
overwhelming night.
12. Isaiah 19:3 - and the spirit of Egypt shall fail in
the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek
to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and
to the wizards.
13. John 14:6 -
Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth
and the [real] Life; no one
comes to the Father but through Me.
14. John 11:25-26 -
Jesus said to her, “I am the
Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, relies
on) Me [as Savior] will live
even if he dies; and everyone
who lives and believes in Me [as Savior] will never die. Do you believe this?”
15. John 8:12 -
Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the
darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
16. Hebrews 9:27-28 -
And just as it is appointed and destined for all men to die once and after this [comes
certain] judgment, so Christ, having been offered once and once for all to bear [as a burden] the sins of many, will
appear a second time [when he returns to earth], not to deal with sin, but to
bring salvation to those who are eagerly and
confidently waiting for Him.
17. 2 Corinthians
5:1-9 - For we know that if the earthly tent [our physical body] which is
our house is torn down [through death], we have a building from God, a house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed
with our [immortal, eternal] celestial dwelling, so that by putting it on we
will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan, being
burdened [often weighed down, oppressed], not that we want to be unclothed
[separated by death from the body], but to be clothed, so that what is mortal
[the body] will be swallowed up by life [after the resurrection]. Now He who
has made us and prepared us for
this very purpose is God, who gave us the [Holy] Spirit as a pledge [a
guarantee, a down payment on the fulfillment of His promise]. So then, being
always filled with good courage and
confident hope, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent
from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner
consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises] - we are [as I was
saying] of good courage and
confident hope, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home
with the Lord. Therefore, whether we are at home [on earth] or away from home
[and with Him], it is our [constant] ambition to be pleasing to Him.
18. Revelation 20:11-15 - And I saw the dead, the great
and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another
book was opened, which is the Book
of Life; and the dead were judged according to what they had done as written in
the books [that is, everything done while on earth]. And the
sea gave up the dead, who were in it, and death and Hades (the realm of the
dead) surrendered the dead who were in them; and they were judged and sentenced, every one according to
their deeds. Then death and Hades [the realm of the dead] were thrown into the
lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire [the eternal
separation from God]. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of
Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire.
19. Hebrews 7:23-25 -
The [former successive line of] priests, on the one hand,
existed in greater numbers because they were each prevented by death from
continuing [perpetually in office]; but, on the other hand, Jesus holds His
priesthood permanently and
without change, because He lives on forever. Therefore He is able also to save
forever (completely, perfectly, for eternity) those who come to God through
Him, since He always lives to intercede and
intervene on their behalf [with God].
20. Luke 16:19-31
- Now there was a
certain rich man who was habitually dressed in expensive purple and fine linen,
and celebrated and lived
joyously in splendor every day. And
a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores. He [eagerly] longed to eat the crumbs
which fell from the rich man’s table. Besides, even the dogs were coming and
licking his sores. Now it
happened that the poor man died and his spirit was carried away by the angels
to Abraham’s bosom (paradise); and the rich man also died and was buried. In
Hades (the realm of the dead), being in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham
far away and Lazarus in his bosom (paradise). And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus
so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I
am in severe agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received
your good things [all the comforts and delights], and Lazarus likewise bad things [all the
discomforts and distresses]; but now he is comforted
here [in paradise], while you
are in severe agony. And besides
all this, between us and you [people] a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to come over
from here to you will not be able, and none may cross over from there to us.’ So the rich man said, ‘Then, father [Abraham], I beg you to send Lazarus to my
father’s house— for I have five
brothers—in order that he may solemnly
warn them and witness to them,
so that they too will not come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, they have [the Scriptures given by] Moses and the [writings of the] Prophets; let them listen
to them. He replied, No, father
Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent [they will change their old way of thinking and seek God and His
righteousness].’ And he said to him, ‘If they do not
listen to [the messages of] Moses
and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the
dead.
21. Kings 22:23 -
Now then, behold, the Lord has put a
deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these prophets; and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.
22. Leviticus 19:31 -
Do not turn to mediums [who pretend to consult the dead] or to
spiritists [who have spirits of divination]; do not seek them out to be defiled
by them. I am the Lord your God.
23. Leviticus 20:6 -
As for the person who turns to mediums [who consult the dead]
or to spiritists, to play the prostitute after them, I shall set My face
against that person and will cut him off from his people [excluding him from
the atonement made for them].
24. 1 John 4:1 -
Beloved, do not believe every spirit [speaking through a
self-proclaimed prophet]; instead test the spirits to see whether they are from
God, because many false prophets and
teachers have gone out into the world.
25. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 -
But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn
away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines
of demons, [misled] by the hypocrisy of liars whose
consciences are seared as with a branding iron [leaving them incapable of
ethical functioning]
26. Ephesians 5:11-12 -
Do not participate in the worthless and unproductive deeds of darkness, but instead expose them [by
exemplifying personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character]; for it is
disgraceful even to mention the things that such people practice in secret.
27. Zechariah 10:2 -
For the teraphim (household idols) speak wickedness
(emptiness, worthlessness), and the diviners see lying
visions and tell false dreams; They
comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like
sheep; they are afflicted and suffer because there is no shepherd.
28. Galatians 5:19-21 -
Now the practices of the sinful nature are clearly evident: they are sexual
immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of
self-control), idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger,
disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies], envy, drunkenness,
riotous behavior, and other
things like these. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those
who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
29. Exodus 22:18, 20 -
You shall not allow a woman who practices sorcery to live. He, who
sacrifices to any god, other than to the Lord alone, shall be put under a ban
(designated) for destruction (execution).
30. Romans 8:38-39 -
For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced—beyond any
doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things
present and threatening, nor
things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing,
will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
31. Mark 7:7-9 - They
worship Me in vain [their worship is meaningless
and worthless, a pretense], Teaching the precepts of men as doctrines [giving their traditions equal weight with the Scriptures]. You disregard and
neglect the commandment of God, and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men.” He
was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting
aside and nullifying the
commandment of God in order to keep your [man-made] tradition and
regulations.
32. Mark 13:20-23 -
And if the Lord had not shortened the days, no human life would
have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose [for Himself], He shortened the days. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is
the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it; for false Christ’s and false prophets will arise, and they will
provide signs and wonders in order to deceive, if [such
a thing were] possible, even the elect [those God has chosen for Himself]. But be
on your guard; I have told you everything in advance.
33. 2 Peter 2:1-3 -
But [in those days] false prophets arose among the people,
just as there will be false teachers among you, who will subtly introduce
destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift
destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways, and because of
them the way of truth will be maligned. And in their greed they will exploit you with false arguments and twisted doctrine. Their sentence
[of condemnation which God has decreed] from a time long ago is not idle [but
is still in force], and their destruction and deepening misery is not asleep [but is on its way].
34. Romans 16:17-18 -
I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep your eyes on those
who cause dissensions and create obstacles or introduce temptations [for others] to commit sin, [acting in
ways] contrary to the doctrine which you have learned. Turn away from them. For
such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites and base
desires. By smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the
unsuspecting [the innocent and the naive].
35. Matthew 7:13-14 -
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that
leads the way to destruction and
eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who
find it.
36. Matthew 7:21-23 -
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day [when I judge them], ‘Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name, and done many
miracles in Your name?’ And then
I will declare to them publicly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].
37. John 14:13 -
And I will do whatever you ask in My name [as My representative], this I will do, so
that the Father may be glorified and
celebrated in the Son.
38. 1 Peter 5:8-9 -
Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy
of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry],
seeking someone to devour. But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable],
knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your
brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]
39. Genesis 3:1 -
Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit)
than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had
made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, “Can it really be that God has
said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
40. John 8:44 -
You are of your
father the devil, and it is your will to practice the desires [which are characteristic] of your father.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because
there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks what is natural to him, for
he is a liar and the father of lies and
half-truths.
