Counterfeit Religion

Today the mysteries of heathen worship are replaced by the secret association and seances, the obscurities and wonders, of spiritistic mediums. The disclosures of these mediums are eagerly received by thousands who refuse to accept light from God's word or through His Spirit. Believers in spiritism may speak with scorn of the magicians of old, but the great deceiver laughs in triumph as they yield to
his arts under a different form.


There are many who shrink with horror from the thought of consulting spirit mediums, but who are attracted by more pleasing forms of spiritism. Others are led astray by the teachings of Christian Science, and by the mysticism of Theosophy and other Oriental religions.


The apostles of nearly all forms of spiritism claim to have power to heal. They attribute this power to electricity, magnetism, the so-called "sympathetic remedies," or to latent forces within the mind of man. And there are not a few, even in this Christian age, who go to these healers, instead of trusting in the power of the living God and the skill of well-qualified physicians. The mother, watching by the
sickbed of her child, exclaims, "I can do no more. Is there no physician who has power to restore my child?" She is told of the wonderful cures performed by some clairvoyant or magnetic healer, and she trusts her dear one to his charge, placing it as verily in the hand of Satan as if he were standing by her side. In many instances the future life of the child is controlled by a satanic power which it seems
impossible to break.

Prophets & Kings pg 211, 212


We laugh at this sort of thing don't we? We scoff at it and shake our heads. This sort of thing doesn't happen. But it does. We are supposedly more enlightened today, that book was written back in the early 1900's so it's very out of date. Surely it is out of date in some respects but think about it. Today we have the NEW AGE religion. Today we have ENLIGHTENMENT. Today we have SELF ACTUALIZATION. We have SCIENTOLOGY. We have ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES. We have YOGA Cults. We have Spiritism in such abundance we can't turn tv on or watch movies without finding a show or two involved in Spiritism.


spiritism (spîr´î-tîz´em) noun
1. The belief that the dead communicate with the living; spiritualism.
2. The practices or doctrines of those holding such a belief.


We have so much to lure our minds from God, the ONE True God, a God who wants us to worship Him, our creator and redeemer. We don't want to say the name of the one in charge of other religions and practices because that's just us being short-sighted and narrow-minded. We are fools and crazy if we dare name the one who leads the others under the guise of supposed goodness. Besides, how could Satan do so much good? Because surely a lot of those religions and practices do much good there is no question there, but at what price is eternal life bought? Even those television/movies shows mostly seem to use spiritism itself as something good. The great lie Satan told from the beginning to Eve- 'Thou shalt not surely die.' If we just pass over to a different life upon dying there is no death, but that's not what death is. Death is a sleep until Christ returns and raises those that are His from the grave.


1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.


If Satan can lure and seduce us with good deeds then he will. All that matters to Him is the end result. Have you ever heard the words- I don't care how you do it, just do it? Satan doesn't care how people are lured away from the ONE true God, just so long as they are. All those *other* religions with other Gods, with practices that are not Godly, with deeds that underneath the shiny coat of purity are corrupt, Satan exalt himself in them fooling so many. Remember the counterfeit has to look exactly like the original or it fools no one. Only an expert in detection can spot a counterfeits ways and then they tell others what makes the thing counterfeit and then they are wise to the false thing. There will be many false religions, many will say to Christ in that day-


Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.


Why would those people say that if they didn't truly believe they were working for Christ? They believed they were. They believed they were doing good and doing it for the Lord.


So how do we know we worship the One true God especially when other religions claim they have the One true God? There is no other God than the God revealed in His word, the Bible. The Bible which is supported by thousands of years of history, prophecies in the Bible that have come unerringly true over and over. There is no other God like our God. We need to read the word of God constantly, we need to study His truths. We need to look at what others believe and weigh them against the Word of God and the Word of God only.


We do know outright that God gave us His ten commandments and Jesus reaffirmed them with His life. God doesn't make mistakes, when He gave those ten commandments they were all true until the end of time not one of them would be scratched out or rewritten, not one of those law for God and Man would be changed by God.


He even wrote this--


Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.


The power that would dare to speak great words against the most High, against God will think to change TIMES and LAWS.


We are warned. We are told that evil would think to change times and laws, not God. No where does it tell us God would change His law. Jesus even said this--


Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.


And Jesus did fulfil every single commandment of God, breaking not a single one of them. The Pharisees didn't get Jesus crucified over breaking any laws, but rather they took Him to the civil authorities and claimed He was a king, when the civil authorities only allowed for one king- Caesar. The High Priests of the temple didn't have Jesus stoned under their own laws because He didn't break their laws and knew the multitude of people would know that, they couldn't have the multitudes turning against them.


When we think about God's law we have to realize that it is something we all have to believe in as followers of God. The One True God gave us His laws and we can look to that law and know that all who do not follow that law are not of God, no matter how wonderful, sweet, good-hearted, loyal, kind, generous, they may seem. When we have an enemy who will stop at nothing to deceive us and we have Jesus' own words telling us that there will be people thinking they are doing His will when they're not, we really have to study and pray for discernment to understand the truth from the counterfeit.


One of God's laws was changed by man- the Sabbath was changed from the seventh day to the first day of the week without a single bit of authority to do so from God. God's law was unchangeable, Jesus kept that law completely. God did not make a mistake when He wrote those laws forever they would point to the One True God. The counterfeit is in place and the majority will be fooled by it completely under the guise of goodness they don't believe Satan is capable of using.


May God bless us all and keep us in His truth now and forever knowing His will, His truth, His laws and may the Holy Spirit keep our eyes opened to all truth able to discern between right and wrong so that Satan cannot fool us. By the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ now and forever... in His love.


Amen.