A Bible study poster featuring Simon Brown studying the Scriptures, exploring the serious questions surrounding Christian deception, denominational divisions, and the importance of testing every belief against God's Word to discover the One True God and the true Christ.
HOW DOES A FALSE GOD AND A FALSE CHRIST HEAR AND SAVE?
A Biblical Examination of Christian Deception, the One True God and the One True Christ
THE DEVIL DECEIVES THE WHOLE WORLD
The Bible gives us an extraordinary warning in Revelation 12:9:
“And the great dragon was thrown out, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, deceiving the whole inhabited world.”
Think carefully about those words: “DECEIVING THE WHOLE INHABITED WORLD.”
Does Christianity somehow stand completely outside this warning? Can Christians also be deceived?
Jesus gives us a very serious warning in Matthew 24:24:
“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”
Notice those words: “EVEN THE ELECT.”
Therefore, no Christian should ever simply assume: “I am a Christian, therefore I cannot possibly be deceived.”
Jesus Himself warned us about religious deception. In fact, His warning tells us that deception can become so powerful that even those who consider themselves God's people must remain watchful.
This is why every Christian—including me—should continually examine what we believe against the Word of God.
CHRISTIANITY TODAY IS ENORMOUSLY DIVIDED
Look at Christianity throughout the world today.
There are tens of thousands of Christian denominations and rites when counted globally. We should be fair about what this statistic means: it does not mean that there are tens of thousands of completely different theological systems, because many denominations are divided geographically, organizationally or administratively.
Nevertheless, the central fact remains undeniable: Christianity is enormously divided.
Christian churches and denominations disagree about some of the most important questions imaginable:
Who is God? Who is Jesus Christ? What is the Holy Spirit? What is salvation? What happens when we die? What is hell? What is baptism? What is the Gospel? Did Jesus personally exist before His birth? Did Jesus create the universe? Is Jesus Almighty God? Is Jesus Michael the archangel? Is God one person or three persons? Is the Father the Son?
These teachings cannot all be correct where they directly contradict one another.
If one denomination says God is three persons and another says God is not three persons, both statements cannot be true in the same sense.
If one group says Jesus is Almighty God and another says Jesus is not Almighty God, both cannot be correct.
If one group says Jesus existed before His birth as Michael the archangel while another rejects this completely, both cannot be correct.
So we must seriously ask:
COULD THE ENEMY HAVE SUCCEEDED IN BRINGING ENORMOUS DECEPTION AND CONFUSION EVEN INTO CHRISTIANITY?
Could Revelation 12:9 apply much more widely than many Christians would like to believe?
If Satan is described as “deceiving the whole inhabited world,” surely Christians should not automatically assume that they are completely immune from deception.
THREE VERY DIFFERENT CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS
Consider just three well-known Christian traditions.
Traditional Trinitarian Christianity teaches that there is one God existing as three distinct persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Oneness Pentecostalism rejects the traditional three-person Trinity and understands the Father, Son and Holy Spirit differently, generally identifying them as manifestations of the one God rather than three distinct divine persons.
Jehovah's Witnesses reject the Trinity and distinguish Jesus from Almighty God, but teach that Jesus existed before His human life as Michael the archangel.
These teachings cannot all be correct where they contradict one another.
This demonstrates something extremely important:
SINCERITY DOES NOT GUARANTEE TRUTH.
There can be sincere, loving and devoted people within completely different denominations who nevertheless hold contradictory beliefs.
A person can sincerely believe something with all their heart and still be mistaken.
Therefore, our final authority cannot simply be:
“My church teaches it.”
“My pastor told me.”
“My parents believed it.”
“My denomination has always taught it.”
“Millions of Christians believe it.”
“This is what Christians have believed for centuries.”
Our question must always be:
WHAT DOES THE WORD OF GOD ACTUALLY TEACH?
ONLY ONE CONTRADICTORY TEACHING CAN BE TRUE
This is something we cannot escape simply by saying that every denomination is Christian.
Where two teachings directly contradict each other, they cannot both be true.
Of course, different denominations can agree about many things. They may all contain sincere believers, and they may share many biblical teachings.
But if they teach contradictory things concerning the identity of God and Christ, those contradictory teachings cannot all represent the one truth.
This raises a very serious question:
IS THERE REALLY ONE TRUE FAITH?
The New Testament speaks of “one faith” (Ephesians 4:5), and Jesus prayed that His followers would be one.
Yet today Christianity is divided into countless organizations, traditions and theological systems.
Surely this should make us humble rather than confident.
Instead of automatically assuming, “My denomination must be right,” perhaps every one of us should ask:
“Could I have been deceived?”
That is a question I have had to ask myself.
I KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE DECEIVED
I am not writing this article as somebody looking down upon Trinitarians or Christians belonging to other denominations.
I was deceived myself.
For approximately TEN YEARS I believed in the Trinity.
I sincerely believed it was true.
I did not wake up every morning thinking I was following a false doctrine. I believed I was following biblical Christianity.
But when I was eventually shown biblical evidence challenging the Trinity, something happened very quickly.
My eyes were opened to questions and Scriptures that I had never properly considered.
Instead of simply asking, “What does the Trinity teach?” I began asking a much more important question:
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE ITSELF ACTUALLY SAY?
Once I began examining the evidence in that way, I became convinced that the Trinity was not what Jesus and His apostles taught.
However, not everything changed immediately.
Other beliefs took considerably longer for me to reconsider.
For example, it took me several years of further study before I became convinced that Jesus did not personally exist as a pre-human divine or angelic being before His miraculous conception and birth.
This taught me something extremely important:
IT CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT TO ADMIT, “I WAS WRONG.”
COULD PRIDE KEEP CHRISTIANS DECEIVED?
Sometimes we have believed something for ten, twenty, thirty, forty or even fifty years.
Our family believes it. Our friends believe it. Our church believes it. Our pastor preaches it. Our favourite theologians defend it. Perhaps generations of our family have believed it.
Eventually those beliefs can become part of our identity.
Then somebody presents biblical evidence against them.
What happens?
Unfortunately, sometimes instead of opening the Bible and carefully examining the evidence, the immediate response is:
“HERETIC!”
But calling somebody a heretic does not prove that their biblical argument is wrong.
This raises another uncomfortable question:
COULD PRIDE PREVENT CHRISTIANS FROM ADMITTING THAT THEY HAVE BEEN DECEIVED?
Nobody enjoys saying: “I was wrong.”
It can be even harder for a pastor, preacher or Bible teacher to say: “I have taught thousands of people something that I now believe was incorrect.”
But surely truth must matter more than our pride, reputation, denomination or previous teaching.
If Scripture proves me wrong tomorrow, then I must change.
SCRIPTURE MUST NOT CHANGE TO ACCOMMODATE ME.
Our attitude should be:
If I am wrong, show me from Scripture.
If you are wrong, allow Scripture to show you.
If we are both wrong, may God correct us both.
We should never be afraid of biblical evidence.
Truth has nothing to fear from investigation.
DO NOT SIMPLY BELIEVE ME
And I want to make something very clear before continuing this study.
I am not asking anyone simply to believe Simon Brown.
TEST WHAT I SAY.
Search the Scriptures.
Check the context.
Compare translations.
Examine the original Hebrew and Greek where necessary.
Test your pastor.
Test your denomination.
Test your favourite theologian.
Test my research.
And most importantly:
TEST YOUR OWN BELIEFS.
Because I know from personal experience that it is entirely possible to sincerely believe something for years and later become convinced from Scripture that you were wrong.
That realization should not produce pride.
It should produce humility.
And it should make every one of us determined to discover:
WHO IS THE ONE TRUE GOD?
AND WHO IS THE TRUE CHRIST WHOM HE SENT?
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Revelation 12:9
Berean Literal Bible
And the great dragon was thrown out, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, deceiving the whole inhabited world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
A Tree and its Fruit
(Matthew 12:33-37; Luke 6:43-45)
15 Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruits you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So every good tree bears good fruits, but the rotten tree bears bad fruits. 18 A good tree is not able to bear bad fruits, nor a bad tree to bear good fruits. 19 Every tree not bearing good fruit is cut down and is thrown into fire. 20 Then surely by their fruits you will recognize them.
21 Not everyone saying to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of My Father in the heavens. 22 Many will say to Me in that the day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare unto them, ‘I never knew you; depart you from Me, those working lawlessness.’
Matthew 24:24
For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
As we read the shocking truth in Revelation 12:9, how the Devil has and is deceiving the whole inhabited world.
But what about Christianity, does Revelation 12:9 include most, or just some, or all Christians, or are they all excluded from being deceived from the whole inhabited world?
Well there we see a clue in the verse saying (WHOLE)!
On examination, in the Strong's Concordance we find the meaning of the Greek word: holos: whole, complete
Original Word: ὅλος, η, ον
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: holos
Phonetic Spelling: (hol'-os)
Definition: whole, complete
Usage: all, the whole, entire, complete.
As we read saying: all, the whole, entire, complete.
And just to add to this answer, is to look at Christianity today, and see what we see, by hearing what most Christians believe and preach?
And one of the many more answers is in what Jesus said in Matthew 24:24 Berean Literal Bible
For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
There we see: so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
Lets examine the Greek word for elect.
Strong's Concordance
eklektos: select, by impl. favorite
Original Word: ἐκλεκτός, ή, όν
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: eklektos
Phonetic Spelling: (ek-lek-tos')
Definition: select, by implication favorite
Usage: chosen out, elect, choice, select, sometimes as subst: of those chosen out by God for the rendering of special service to Him (of the Hebrew race, particular Hebrews, the Messiah, and the Christians).
So according to what Jesus said, that means a chosen (elect), could still be deceived, proving a true Christian is not excluded from being deceived
I know one thing for sure, and that is the fact that my wife Emma and I were certainly not excluded from the Devil deceiving us when we were in the TRINITY faith for 10 deceived years.
Thank GOD I did what Jesus said and taught, that we must pray and seek Matthew 7:7, instead of doing what most Christians do who simply believe what they were taught by the countless false teachers, and simply remain deceived.
Let's continue to understand this shocking and simple truth, by understanding what MOST of Christianity believe, teach and preach!
So in this article we will have a quick look at just three of the most popular Christian faiths to understand what they believe, teach and preach, to see if Revelation 12:9 still applies to most of Christianity.
We will see again the accuracy in the word of GOD as written in Revelation 12:9 saying: the devil and Satan, deceiving the whole inhabited world.
Let's start at what is probably the largest Christian faith called Trinitarian's who believe there is ONE GOD, who is THREE persons called the TRINITY, but correctly do not believe the Father is the SON.
We then have the Oneness Pentecostal faith who believe GOD the Father is the SON, but correctly do not believe GOD is THREE called the TRINITY.
Followed by the lovely sincere Jehovah witnesses, who correctly do not believe GOD is THREE called the TRINITY, or that the Father is the SON, and correctly believe GOD the Father is GOD alone, but sadly are still deceived into believing in a false Christ who they say, preach and teach is actually Michael the Angel.
As we have seen in the THREE very popular Christian faiths, who are completed decided, and absolutely divided by what they each believe, teach and preach, regarding the Biblical teachings and true identity of GOD and the Christ.
Jesus tells us the very importance of what we MUST believe and know regarding the true identity of GOD and the Christ.
John 17:3
Berean Literal Bible
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
In John 17:3 we read a life saving statement by Jesus saying how eternal life comes by knowing the One True GOD and knowing Himself as the One True Christ.
And going back to the ancient days in the pages of the Old Testament of Deuteronomy 6:4 says: Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God; Yahweh is ONE. Meaning ONE (PERSON),
We read about how GOD told His people how they MUST believe Yahweh is their GOD and Yahweh is ONE (person).
And yet as we have seen in the THREE popular faiths like the TRINITY faith, and the Oneness Pentecostals faith, and the Jehovah witnesses, how they all know a different God or a different Christ, and are utterly deceived, divided and decided.
So with all that in mind, according to the Biblical facts, the THREE popular Christian faiths in this article confirm the absolute accuracy of Revelation 12:9 saying how the Devil has and is deceiving the whole inhabited world, and that they the TRINITY, and the Oneness Pentecostals faith, and Jehovah witnesses, are of no exception.
Could the fact that most of Christianity are deceived into believing in a false God and a false Christ be one of the main reasons why this world is in such a mess?
Not only do most Christians fail to practice what they preach, but practice and preach a false Gospel, that GOD died on the cross, when GOD cannot die, and when it was GOD's SON who died on the cross, and not GOD.
How many times have you heard of Christians saying they will pray for you?
That's very nice to hear people be concerned and pray for us, as we could all do with some help and support at times.
But who are they praying to?
There are so many different faiths who believe in a different God and Christ.
How many times have you heard of Christians saying God told them to do this and do that?
And then later, what they said God told them to do ended up in failure, tears or disaster.
How many times have you heard of Christians saying GOD has healed them from Cancer, and yet so many end up tragically dying of Cancer, just like the well known presenter on Revelation TV, Doug Harris who said to have had TV interviews with EX Occultists, https://youtu.be/QD72nZeAryk
and believed he would be healed.
Or like the sad and tragic story of Chuck Missler's wife Nancy, who believed she was healed, and yet also died of Cancer.
Have you heard of Christians saying they will pray over the wars, earthquakes, and famines, that things will get much better, and yet things instead get worse and worse, as the Bible says would?
How many times have you heard of all different Christian faiths saying they know their God is the One True God because of their blessings and miracles they have seen happen in their own lives?
And yet each different faith all say they are the ONLY true faith who knows the One True GOD and One True Christ, but that every other faith is deceived.
How many times have you read about the countless different faiths having an inspiring story of their healing, despite the fact they all have a different faith and different God and different Christ?
How many times have you heard of different Christian faiths singing and praising their own God, which is a different God to what other faiths believe in?
How many times have you heard of how nearly all the Christian songs are not Holy Biblical, by the fact they sing and praise GOD as the SON, and the SON as GOD and as the same being.
How many times have you heard of different Christian faiths singing and praising their own God with a song written by a different faith they do not believe in?
For example, there is a Christian song by the Oneness Pentecostals faith called: Worthy Is The Lamb - by Hillsong Worship.
It is sung by the Hillsong Worship, who do not believe in the Trinity, and yet Trinitarian's who do not believe what Hillsong believe sing their song.
My wife and I sing and praise our GOD and Jesus with this beautiful song on the Sabbath day, but sadly we have to change the words they use, to make the song Biblical.
Let's look at one of many unbiblical songs which millions of Christian sing every week by going to this song by Hillsong Worship:
Their Lyrics are in red.
And my comments will follow:
Thank you for the cross Lord.
Who are the Hillsong saying and praying to?
Because both GOD the Father and the SON are called Lord.
And they do not define one or the other.
And this may be because they are singing what is not biblical, that GOD and the SON are the SAME ONE Lord and GOD.
Thank you for the price You paid.
Who are the Hillsong Worship singing to or thanking?
Because they do not define the actual person.
We know Jesus paid the price for our sin on the cross.
So the Hillsong Worship must be singing and praying about Jesus.
But if that's the case, they are acting in a way where the Father GOD does not exist, this is because it was GOD the Father's plan to send and give His SON as a ransom for our sins, and therefore means BOTH GOD the Father AND the SON paid the price for our sin, as the Father and the SON who act as ONE.
Bearing all my sin and shame
In love You came
And gave amazing grace
As we see again how the Hillsong Worship are singing as though GOD and the SON are the same being, because they are not defining who is the actual person who was Bearing all our sin and shame, when it was Jesus who was Bearing all our sin and shame on the cross, and they did not say it was GOD the Father who also came and gave amazing grace by giving us His Only Begotten SON, as we read in John 3:16, and how Matthew 1:23 tells us GOD was with His people by and in Jesus.
Thank you for this love Lord
Thank you for the nail pierced hands
Washed me in Your cleansing flow
Well, here again the Hillsong Worship are singing and praising Jesus alone, as the one who Washed us in His blood, but the one who washes us with Jesus blood is GOD the Father with His SONS perfect Blood, as written in Acts 20:28
Contemporary English Version
Look after yourselves and everyone the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be like shepherds to God's church. It is the flock he bought with the blood of his own Son.
Now all I know
Your forgiveness and embrace
Worthy is the Lamb
Note here how the Hillsong Worship: Worthy is the Lamb, and no mention of GOD the Father as if GOD the Father does not exist.
This is probably because they believe in the unbiblical teaching that the Father is the SON.
Seated on the throne
Notice here how the Hillsong Worship say: Worthy is the Lamb. Seated on the throne.
The truth is that GOD the Father is Seated on the throne, and the Lamb next to GOD the Father.
In fact how do the Hillsong Worship and Oneness Pentecostals faith explain this, because there are actually TWO SEPARATE BEINGS together who are Seated on the throne, when the Oneness Pentecostals faith believe the Father is the SON!
Crown You now with many crowns
Crown WHO with many crowns?
The Father or the SON or both?
They again sing as if there was ONE PERSON alone, when the truth is there are TWO PERSONS working as one who are Father and Son.
You reign victorious
High and lifted up
Jesus Son of God
Notice here they now correctly sing: High and lifted up Jesus Son of God.
And yet in their other hand Jesus IS GOD which would mean Jesus lifted Himself up from the Dead, when the Bible tells us it was GOD the Father who raised His son UP from the DEAD.
The Darling of Heaven crucified
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb.
Yes, the Lamb is truly WORTHY, but what about GOD the Father who gave His only Begotten SON John 3:16, why not define BOTH, the Father and the SON, who worked together as ONE?
CCLI #: 3217555
© Hillsong Music 2000
Words & Music by Darlene Zschech
Could one of the main reasons why so many Christians today suffer so much be because of their false faith's, false God and false Christ, and false Gospel?
Because so many Christians sing and praise to a false God and false Christ?
We know Jesus did say we would suffer, but He also said if we pray, and ask God He would hear, bless and save:
Ask, Seek, Knock
(Luke 11:5-13)
7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened unto you. 8 For everyone asking receives; and the one seeking finds; and to the one knocking, it will be opened.
9 Or which man is among you who, if his son will ask for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or also, if he will ask for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 Therefore, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in the heavens give good things to those asking Him!
In fact when my wife Emma and I were Trinitarians, and we went to our TRINITY church, we discovered how there seem to have been more people with problems who were called Christians, then there were with non Christians.
And knowing what we now know with the countless false faiths believing in a false God and false Christ, that seems to explains why there may be more so called Christians with more troubles then most.
Because I now know that most faiths who call themselves Christians, do not actually practise and believe in true Christianity, and are therefore instead also UNBELIEVERS, because as unbelievers, they refuse to believe the truth.
Saying we are a Christian actually means nothing when we are deceived into following a FALSE God and a false Christ.
So How Does A False God And False Christ Hear And Save?
It seems to me at least how false Christians prove with their own hands how their God and Christ is, or is not the ONE TRUE GOD or the One True Christ who does Hear, heal and Save.
Just as Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-20, how we will know false teachers and preachers by their fruits, its obvious to me at least how we can also know false faiths by their God.
That now answers WHY there are so many so called Christians who have more troubles then most, which must suggest their God or Christ is one of many false Gods and false Christ's, by the fact a false God and or a false Christ cannot HEAR, HEAL or SAVE ANYONE!
We not only need to pray for unbelievers who do not believe there is a God or Christ, we also need to pray for the countless different faiths who do believe there is a God and Christ, but have sadly been deceived into believing in a false God and a false Christ.
Instead we MUST keep praying that the whole of Christianity becomes ONE, in unity, agreement and purpose, just as Jesus prayed for His disciples in John 17:21.
We MUST keep praying that the whole of Christianity will come to know the true Gospel, and The One True GOD and The One True Christ, and become ONE TRUE faith, just as Jesus said in John 17:3:
Berean Literal Bible
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
What God and Christ do you know?
There is good news, and that good news is the One True GOD and His One True Christ, certainly do HEAR, Heal, bless and save us, when we know and follow the One True GOD and His One True Christ, which my wife and I can declare and say with our hand on our heart's just as Jesus said in Luke 11
9 And I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone asking receives; and the one seeking finds; and to the one knocking, it will be opened.
11 And which father among you, if the son will ask for a fish, and instead of a fish, will give to him a serpent? 12 Or also if he will ask for an egg, will he give to him a scorpion? 13 Therefore if you, being evil, know to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those asking Him!”
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