Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Demonic Deception 2 Peter gives strong warnings about false teachers and mockers We must be able to defend ourselves and those around us from them Truth is "the state of being the case: fact" and "the property of being in accord with fact or reality."

Demonic Deception Ignorance of the truth leaves a person very vulnerable to those who pervert it A theological system with a rotten foundation will eventually collapse regardless of what is built upon it The foundational flaw is having a source of authority they consider to be superior to the

Demonic Danger Demonic deception will be at the root of all false religions, philosophies and cults - 1 Cor. 8:4; 10:19 Paul gives instruction in Ephesians 6:10-20 on the armor of God and standing firm against the devil Blinding the unbelieving to the truth and leading believers astray fits Satan’s goal of usurping God

Demonic Danger Satan, the father of lies, used lies, contradiction and slander to tempt Eve into sin - Genesis 3:1-6 Satan still uses the same strategy in attacking our trust of God to lead us astray and into sin If possible, Satan and demons will try to get people to worship him / them directly

Demonic Danger More often, Satan deceives people into worshiping a false god while thinking it is the true God In Galatians 1:6-9 Paul gives very strong warning about those that would proclaim a false gospel Jesus warned about false teachers in Matthew 7:15-23 including those who think they serve Him

Demonic Revelation God has revealed himself to man through many ways to the prophets - Hebrews 1:1-2 Angels have been the messengers of God’s revelation in both the Old and New Testaments Demons are fallen angels and can do what they do including directly revealing themselves to men

Demonic Revelation More often, demons influence the minds & emotions of people (2 Chronicles 18; Acts 16). They can also physically control someone they indwell (Matthew 17; Acts 19)

Demonic Doctrine 1 Timothy 4:1 - it should be expected that we will find people who follow the doctrine of demons Forbidding marriage and abstaining from foods as a means to spirituality is demonic - 1 Timothy 4:3

Demonic Doctrine The Corinthian church was fractured by false spirituality. Some speaking in tongues even cursed Jesus John warns about those who in the spirit of anti-Christ deny Jesus’ humanity - 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 7

How to Tell if a Source of Doctrine is Godly or Demonic Does it promote the worship of any other god than the God of the Bible? - Deut. 13:1-3 Does it deny either the humanity or deity of Jesus Christ? 1 John 4:1-3 Does it proclaim a gospel that is different from what Paul taught? Galatians 1:6-9

How to Tell if a Source of Doctrine is Godly or Demonic Is it in harmony with the rest of the revelation of God? Is it 100% accurate in its prophecies? Deuteronomy 18:20-22 Anything that has a source of knowledge and authority other than the Lord God of the Bible is false.

Satanic / Occult Satanic religions and the occult are obvious in this regard Most Satanists believe they will be empowered by Satan in the present and be a ruler with him in the future Most Satanists and occultists tend to be independent or in small groups instead of large congregations

Satanic / Occult The greatest danger of Satanists & occultists is the syncretic inclusion of their ideas into other religions Music Media – automatic writing Ghost Whisperer has popularized spirit channeling. Its Executive Producer is an active medium.

Islam Muhammad claims to have received revelation from the Angel Gabriel Allah is different from God being arbitrary instead of immutable and singular instead of triune Islam rejects the deity, atonement and resurrection of Jesus Its salvation is based on good deeds

Mormonism Joseph Smith claims to have received revelation from an angel, Moroni He used divination to produce the Book of Mormon Mormonism is polytheistic teaching: As man now is, God once was. As God now is, man may be

Mormonism The Mormon Jesus is the son of Elohim and Mary, and is the brother of Lucifer Mormon salvation is dependent on faith and good works including Mormon rituals

Conclusions Religions based in demonic or occult revelations are false. God has revealed Himself through His word and His Son so that we might know the truth and be set free

Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ