False Hopes

IMAGINE FINDING OUT that the business partner you invested your money with ran off with all the capital; or, that the recruiter you paid to help you get a job messed up; or, that the expensive watch you saved for and bought turned out to be fake.

           

            Such disappointing situations are what we want to avoid in life. It certainly hurts to put your trust in someone and expect something good only to be deceived in the end. So, we strive to be careful with the people we deal with as they, for all we know, can be agents of deceit ready to ensnare us with dangerous lies.

            But deception comes not only in the guise of honest people whom we transact or do business with. Also abounding these days are people who claim to have supernatural powers, offering false hopes of spiritual guidance, cure, and salvation. We need to be extra cautious in dealing with them for, more than the financial and emotional investments, it is our soul that is ultimately at stake.

‘I had a dream!’

            News about so-called divine apparitions has become an ordinary event that stirs the interest of many nowadays. Every once in a while, self-styled prophets would come forward from out of the blue claiming that God appeared and spoke to them through dreams and visions. Such prophets are similar to what the Lord God forewarned long ago as recorded in the Book of Jeremiah:

“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds?” (Jer. 23:25-26, New International Version)

            Unfortunately, many preachers today are exactly like these false prophets. They dare to preach messages of hope and foretell the future, for allegedly they dreamt that God mandated them to do so. Armed with courage and full of enthusiasm, they oftentimes sound sincere and convincing. The Lord, however, has only bitter words for them, calling them lying and delusional.

            That such false prophets are able to attract hordes of followers is not an indication that God had sanctioned them. If they do have such a potent and convincing power, it is because of the material content of their message:

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace’. And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you’.” (Jer. 23:16-17, Ibid.)

            False prophets speak of beautiful and pleasant messages meant to attract people. They proclaim gratifying promises that most people are pleased to hear. Thus, they say, “You will have peace,” “No harm will come to you,” or, “You will become rich!” “You will be healed!” – much to the delight of their unwary audiences.

            God warns us, however, that the engaging words self-proclaimed prophets speak are but products of their own minds and do not come from the mouth of the Lord. Those sweet-sounding pledges, therefore, are nothing but false hopes set to deceive and break people’s hearts in the end:

“Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams’, declares the Lord. ‘They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least’, declares the Lord.” (Jer. 23:32, Ibid.)

            Self-appointed prophets or preachers lead people astray. Hence, destruction awaits not only them but everyone enamored with their sugarcoated lies. People, therefore, should avoid falling for the treachery of these preachers whom God did not send or appoint, lest they become His enemies, too.

‘In the Lord’s name …’

                Exploiting the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is another selling point used by false prophets to influence and victimize innocent people. These deceivers identify themselves as Christians by using the Lord’s name in curing the sick, casting out evil spirits, and performing miracles and wonders. This method is not surprising since Christ Himself foretold about it during His time. But apparently, the only thing that these cunning tactics prove is the certainty of God’s punishment to fall on them on the day of Judgment:

“At the Judgment many will tell me, ‘Lord, Lord, we told others about you and used your name to cast out demons and to do many other great miracles’. But I will reply, ‘You have never been mine. Go away, for your deeds are evil’.” (Mt. 7:22-23, Living Bible)

                Many people tend to be so amazed by miracles and signs that they easily give ear to and follow any professing prophet who claims to have such powers. They mistakenly assume that such wondrous signs are proofs that such miracle-workers are God-sent. The Lord Jesus, however, blatantly rejects them even as they utilize His name and perform wondrous works. This only proves that miraculous powers do not necessarily translate to divine authority. For, even the devil can pull off marvelous wonders:

“The Wicked One will come with the power of Satan and perform all kinds of false miracles and wonders, and use every kind of wicked deceit on those who will perish. They will perish because they did not welcome and love the truth so as to be saved.” (II Thess. 2:9-10, Today’s English Version)

                Not all miracles come from God, just as not all miracle-workers are sent by God. In fact, Apostle Paul warned that false miracles, signs, and wonders are some of the tools satan and his advocates would use to deceive people in these last days. Thus, the assertion that preachers are heaven-sent by virtue of the miracles they perform is as counterfeit as the miracles false prophets perform.

                Pitiful are the great number of people duped by the miraculous undertakings of such preachers. The Bible states that they will “perish” for not adhering to the truth that really matters for salvation.

                True enough, in this life alone, the ill-fated consequences of trusting in false hopes incur observable manifestations. Many exposés have unmasked numerous frauds involving alleged miracle-workers and their bickering victims. Religious followers who have sensed the hoax carried out by self-proclaimed preachers have either sent the matter to court or publicly demanded vindication.

‘But it’s real!’

                Some swear by their hearts that the miracles they witnessed from certain preachers are for real. Tears roll down their faces in awe as they recount how the predictions came to pass, how the promises of material success took place as foretold. How should such situations be confronted?

“If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Dt. 13:1-3, NIV)

                Human emotions should not be used to measure the authenticity of a miracle. To detect whether a miracle is genuine or not, it is necessary to discern where the sign leads. If a prophet’s visions and wonders come to pass, yet head toward the worship of other gods, they are clearly not from God. This is commonly found in most miracle stories today. We hear of reports about a statue of a “saint” weeping blood, the alleged face of Jesus appearing in a tree branch or marble floor, and so on. Behind every healing and prophesying usually stands a graven image or idol to which all those who desire hope are to bow down.

                Refusing to acknowledge the Lord God and obey His laws end in eternal punishment (II Thess. 1:8-9). If it is to this end that miracles, signs, and wonders ultimately lead, then all the hopes they generate in the hearts of blind followers can only be classified as false.

                Thus, we should not be enticed into putting our faith in religions that turn people away from the one true God. In case their promised miracles do happen before our very eyes, we should look at them as a way by which the Lord God tests the faith and loyalty of His servants. We must not be blinded by the wiles and trickery of satan. Our hope and trust should remain in no one else but God:

“It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.” (Dt. 13:4, NIV)

A matter of truth

                The best defense against any form of deception is the truth. Going back to Apostle Paul’s message to the Thessalonians, we should note that those who will be deceived and perish are the ones who “did not welcome and love the truth so as to be saved.” One must, therefore, abide by the truth in order to evade the deadly trap of religious deceivers.

                Thus, in his letter, Apostle Peter encouraged the members of the Church of Christ to always be firm in the truth they have already received (II Pt. 1:12, Ibid.).

                A truth that many have not known is that God elects His chosen people:

“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (II Pt. 1:10-11, New King James Version)

                In the Christian era, the ones called are the members of the Church established by Christ. It was to this divine calling that Apostle Peter exhorted the brethren to be diligent for them to assure a triumphant entrance into the heavenly kingdom.

                The true Church elected by God cannot be faked, for it is backed not by deceptive human claims but by the prophetic word of the Scriptures:

“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (II Pt. 1:19, Ibid.)

                So, just as there are licenses that vouch for the authority of professionals and trademarks that guarantee a product’s worth, there is likewise a distinctive trait that people must look for in religious preachers and organizations in order not to be cheated. The truth of God’s election through biblical prophecy is the genuine mark of the true religion.

                If people meticulously guard themselves against counterfeit products and professionals, all the more should they guard themselves against false religions and preachers. People should find time to scrutinize their religious preferences and search for the true path so that their souls would not be torn by the fangs of deceit.

End...

False Hopes

Published in GOD’S MESSAGE

By Marlex C. Cantor

November 2000

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