Evangelical Deception and Lying Spirits
Why would the Lord God send lying spirits to a bunch of “prophets?” There is an amazing story in the Bible (1 Kings 22:1-37) that you won’t read in children’s Bible story books! The Lord allowed an evil spirit to enter into the mouths of all 400 of the prophets that tended to King Ahab, the wicked king of Israel (formerly married to the evil Jezebel before her deathly demise). These prophets all tell the king that he will succeed in battle if he goes forth.
However, the one true prophet, Micaiah, tells the king about his vision of an evil spirit standing before God, volunteering and being sent out to deceive the prophets and cause the king to go into battle and die. Of course, the king ignores Micaiah and goes into battle, and despite all precautions is killed.
This story raises lots of questions, but my question today is this: why did all these prophets become easy prey for an evil spirit? I believe it’s the same reason so many Christians are being deceived. These prophets wanted to be popular with the king. They wanted to be in his good graces and they probably had their own rationalizations, but by putting their allegiance to the king before their allegiance to God, they were susceptible to deception.
The major current deception of many of God’s people today (certainly not all) is very real and it’s because they have put their faith and allegiance in a man who has been known for years as being self-serving, known for his immoral sexual escapades and abuse, about which he had laughed and bragged and the one who had lied continually about President Obama’s place of birth, despite evidence to the contrary.
This is a man, who after praying with Christian leaders to “become a Christian,” was asked if he had repented and he said, “No. I have nothing to repent of,” not exactly the humble response of someone who truly has become a man of faith! Salvation does not come as a result of praying a prayer! It is true faith dwelling in one’s spirit.
However, many Christians wanted to believe this strong man was really the man of the hour, even though they were totally ignoring the teachings of Jesus about the qualities of Christian character they should look for in a leader and His warnings against a “wolf in sheep’s clothing" (the wolf will look and superficially sound like a sheep).
One Christian leader rationalized that this man could be used by God like King Cyrus in the Old Testament. Christians don’t need a non-repentant leader to do the will of the Lord! Yes, Roe vs. Wade has been reversed (and I am pro-life), but now we have violence in the land, much of it pro-life against pro-choice. Is that Christian?
So now we have Christians still following a man who has lied and continues to lie about the election without any evidence (the mostly conservative Supreme Court refused to hear Trump's appeal because of a lack of evidence!). He’s a man who turns against very loyal followers with a vengeance, when all they are doing is obeying the law and following their conscience.
How did all these Christians become deceived? Is it by becoming too emotionally attached to one leader? Is it putting man before God? Probably both. However, I can’t and don’t judge Christians on an individual basis. Many good Christians have become deceived. Many will make it to Heaven, but we will all stand before the Lord in the judgment of the righteous and we will be rewarded and/or suffer his loving, but very painful judgment for all the ways we have disobeyed or ignored His Word (Romans 14:10-12; I Corinthians 3:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10).
My appeal to my fellow Christians is to plead: if you truly value truth (Jesus is the way, the truth and the life), don’t be afraid of the truth! We have all been deceived at one time or another. I have! It’s time to pray and ask the Lord: am I wrong? I personally pray that prayer continually as I seek His will and search God's Word. If God is in charge we don’t need to be afraid of the truth! Don’t make man into your idol! Our country will never be great if we follow an idol instead of the Lord.