If you don’t study the Word on your own, not only are you allowing others to tell you what it means, you are giving up one of the best ways you have of communicating with the LORD by means of His Word and His Holy Spirit.
Hello Readers, hope all is well with you. It’s time for another Friday post in my End Times series.
Quick side note. This week I posted the final chapter of Cast Down Jezebel, my 9-part miniseries on the Jezebel spirit. Check it out if you get a chance!
Today I was going to write another post on the topic of how no one knows the day nor the hour (Matthew 25:13). We have no idea when Christ will return in the Second Coming, so we had better be ready all the time (Luke 12).
But I wrote about that same topic very recently in Part 6 of this series. I know I’ll come back to the topic over and over as time goes on. It’s a topic we simply can’t escape from when discussing the End Times. But today it’s time for something different.
Today I’m going to talk about the responsibility we have as Christians to engage with God’s Word right now. We need to read our Bible every day. It’s never been more important to study God’s Word than it is right now.
On top of that, I’m going to talk about why it’s vital that besides any group reading you might do, you must read the Bible on your own too.
Now Is the Time to Read the Bible
In last week’s post, one of the things I talked about was the great falling away. It hasn’t happened yet, but we know from Scriptures that a time is coming when a great many believers will abandon the faith.
They will fall for a great deception. This deception will mislead an astounding number of believers astray. Whatever it is, it will be unmistakable when it happens. It will be drastic, unprecedented. The whole world will change that day, when we see that deception.
I can only imagine what that deception might be. We know Satan is the “prince of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) and he’s a liar. He has the power to concoct all sorts of convincing illusions in the air. They will look and seem completely real. So what tricks could he play with that power?
How about “aliens” descending to earth, in every country of the world. When they land they say something like, “We came to stop the violence on earth. All religions are based on the same truth. We gave all humans religion by sending different teachers to every ancient culture.” Any kind of message along those lines.
For many people around the world, that kind of message is exactly what they’re waiting to hear. Hey, it wasn’t long ago that even I wanted to hear that exact message! But the people who want to hear that are those who don’t want there to be only one way to salvation. They’ll embrace the deception of the aliens’ message because of confirmation bias. Christians of weak faith will also fall for this message, because their knowledge of Christ is weak. I’ll come back to this point in a second.
Obviously any such message denies the divinity of Christ, and the goal of demons is to lead people away from Christ, so any such message would come from demons. Satan, the original deceiver, has such immense powers of illusion and trickery that he’s capable of fooling the entire world with a spectacle like this. At the same time this world is also under his power (which I wrote about in Part 7), so agents of the world such as the media would knowingly or unknowingly play into his deception.
Again, I can’t stress enough that we won’t know exactly what the deception will be. But we should recognize it for what it is when we see it. It will be unprecedented and world-changing. And it will be so convincing that all will at least wonder about it and be afflicted with doubts of our own.
So here’s the question, fellow Christians: Is our faith strong enough to resist the great deception? Are we sure? If it’s so convincing that 8/10 Christians fall for it, how do we know our faith is strong enough to be part of the 2/10 believers who don’t betray Christ?
Remember that Peter had very strong faith, and said that he would never deny Jesus Christ. But Jesus told him that before the rooster crowed, he would deny Jesus three times (Matthew 26:34). And that’s exactly what happened.
No one should ever think themselves immune to trickery. People who think they’re too smart to get scammed, for example, often end up getting scammed. Knowledgeable predators can exploit that overconfidence. Satan has incredible powers of deception like no other. Anyone who believes themselves immune to his lies is in deep trouble. No one is immune!
When the great deception happens, whatever it is, it will mislead most of the world. It will even tempt the believers with the strongest faith. So how do we stand strong against such a thing?
Well we need to have a strong relationship with Jesus Christ, for one. If that’s something you’d like to know more about, be sure to Subscribe to my blog using the form at the bottom of the post. That’s something I’ll talk about a lot on here, especially on Mondays.
For another, we need to study God’s word every day. We need to be in our Bibles, now more than ever before. The Bible warns us of these upcoming events. It doesn’t tell us exactly what will happen. If we knew exactly what to look out for, then the great deception would not test our faith at all. But the Bible does give us a good idea of what’s coming.
We can read Daniel, the Gospels, and Revelation to make sure we have a good knowledge of what’s going to happen. Before these terrible events occur, we can pray to Jesus for the wisdom to avoid deceptions and the spiritual fortitude we need to stand firm in our faith when the world turns against us.
Most importantly, by reading our Bibles now during these End Times, we have time for a final review of the true teachings of Jesus Christ. If we do that, then when we are confronted with blasphemous demonic messaging like what I hypothesized above, we will know which messages are heresy and which aren’t.
We will still be tempted and challenged by the supernatural deception. But we’ll be much stronger in our faith and more likely to resist if we take the time now to get into God’s word and grow in our knowledge of the faith.
Now is the time to get into God’s Word. The deceptions are already starting, actually. New Age ideas such as the lie of “Christ consciousness” are getting popular and infiltrating the mainstream of our culture. The idea that we can become Christ ourselves through enlightenment is of course blasphemy. It’s the exact same lie that Satan told Eve in the Garden of Eden.
The bible warned us in 1 Timothy 4:1 that in the final days people will listen to the doctrines of demons. Lies meant to mislead people away from Christ. Now look at the spread of blasphemies like “Christ consciousness.” What do you think is going on?
These are the End Times. Now is the time to get into the Bible. Read it every day—no excuses! Wisdom will come upon you, and you’ll be better equipped to stand in the truth.
Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.
(1 Timothy 4:1, NLT)
The Importance of Reading Alone
When I say “read the Bible,” what comes to mind? Do you imagine reading it in a group? Or do you picture yourself reading it alone? Do you imagine sitting in a church pew and having it read to you?
There’s a time and place for all those. But it’s that second option, reading the Bible by yourself, that I want to stress the importance of.
Think of reading the Bible by yourself as one way you can have some “quiet time” with God. Prayer being another way. If you only engage with God’s Word while in a group or in church, then you aren’t fully experiencing God’s Word.
If you read it by yourself when you’re alone, you create an opportunity for God’s Holy Spirit to speak to you, to grant you insight and revelation through Scriptural insights. It’s hard to explain. Basically you’ll be reading Scripture and something will hit you a certain way. You’ll gain wisdom and insight into some situation you’re in or have been through.
These insights hit you less often when you’re in a group with others.
And it should go without saying that if you read the Bible in a group with others, you’ll be influenced by what they think and say. You’ll be influenced by their opinions.
Same thing in church. Any opinions about what the Scriptures mean that you hear in church are filtered through the lens of who’s preaching. You’re hearing their interpretation, which is colored by what they believe and who they are. Their background. And so on.
Reach Your own Conclusions
You don’t need the Bible to be filtered for you! Get rid of all the filters from others! What do YOU think the Scriptures mean? What do they say to YOU?
This is the most important part of reading the Bible alone. Being able to read it and judge for yourself what it means. Being able to form your own opinions on it. You have that power, and if you don’t read the Bible for yourself then you’re giving that power away.
God gave you two eyes for reading (or other ways to read) and a mind for understanding! What do the Scriptures say to YOU when YOU read them? Your opinion on what they say is as valid as any other.
It’s not like you must reach a certain level before you’re allowed to have an opinion on Scripture. That’s your opinion. Your reaction to what you read is filtered through your own lens. Your background, your life, what you’ve been through. Your reaction may be more appropriate for you than what another thinks. Regardless, your reactions and opinions of Scripture are valid, because they’re coming from you.
Interpretation is a somewhat different matter, because it’s possible to go off the rails there. If we read the Bible in English then we must always remember we’re reading translations of the original. Some meanings and nuances often get lost when translating between two languages.
Don’t let that stop you from trying to interpret Scripture on your own. But be aware that this is one area in which others could be justified in correcting you if you’ve gone off the rails.
The point is, if you only experience the Bible filtered through the views of others, then you’re not thinking about it yourself like you should be. You’re allowing others to dictate it to you. You’re allowing others to tell you what it means. You’re allowing others to filter it. You’re giving up your power and your right to know God’s Word for yourself, which is not what God intended when He left us His Word.
You don’t need anybody to read the Bible to you. And you don’t need anybody to filter it’s meaning for you. It doesn’t matter if they’re a preacher or bishop or pope or whatever. God gave you a means to read His inspired Word, and a mind for understanding it.
Read the Word for yourself. Learn it for yourself. Come to your own conclusions and opinions on it. If you allow others to do this for you, you allow the possibility of them misleading you.
Also, if you don’t have a strong understanding of the Word for yourself, you’re much more likely to fall for the kind of demonic deception I hypothesized above. The great deception. We must all be on guard against that. We can’t do that without a strong foundation in God’s Word. The very people you depend on to interpret the Bible to you now could be the very same Christians who fall for the great deception. If so, they’ll lead you to damnation with them.
Read your Bible!
If you don’t study the Word on your own, not only are you allowing others to tell you what it means, you are giving up one of the best ways you have of communicating with the LORD by means of His Word and His Holy Spirit.
Don’t give that up! God’s Word is a gift from Him. It was meant for us all.
That said, if you’d like a few words on how to get started engaging with and experiencing the Bible, check out my post on the topic.
In a world where the truth is getting harder and harder to see, God’s Truth is a shining beacon of light cutting through all the chaos. God’s Word is a gift, a tool, and a weapon (it’s the Sword of the Spirit). Learn it well.
Learn it well, and know it on your own. Don’t let anyone else tell you what it says or means. There’s far too much at stake going forward.
Well that’s all for this week. If you enjoyed today’s post, please be sure to Subscribe using the form below. And please consider Supporting My Blog using the Tip Jar. Any amount is much appreciated!
Until next time, be strong and do good!
Your new best friend in Christ,
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