The danger of living in the social media age is that we can gather a following of like-minded folks, spend our days shouting into the echo chamber, and cancel anyone who dares to disagree with us. Devoid of any contrasting perspective, it’s easy to deceive ourselves into believing that our perceptions have become reality. And with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we can be sure that our electronic feed will remain full of voices that endorse and reinforce our illusion.
While this type of pattern is unhealthy on many levels, it is most dangerous from a spiritual standpoint. Throughout the scripture we are warned against leaning on our own understanding (Prov.3:5-7), about the deceitfulness of our hearts (Jer.17:9), and of the great deceivers and deceptions that will be visited upon God’s people (Matt.24:24). We are cautioned against focusing on what is seen, as it is perishing (2Cor.4:18). And most importantly, we are told to fix our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb.12:2).
I suspect that popular renderings of a singular “Anti-Christ” figure, from our depictions of the End Times, have clouded our understanding of the true spirit of anti-Christ, which manifests in many forms. While we’ve been taught to make bold declarations against such things, I have found that these spirits are not nearly as intimidated by our use of Jesus’ name as we might think. Like the sons of Sceva, the Chief Priest (Acts 19:13-16) or those people Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7:21-23, we can try to evoke His name while having no genuine connection to Him (John 15:5). In such instances, this word carries no spiritual authority.
Ultimately, attacking the authentic, life-giving connection to Christ is the aim of the anti-Christ spirit. It tries to redefine the “work of God” as being something other than believing in the One that He sent (John 6:29). It offers symbols and rituals and formulas and brokers as a substitute for a genuine one on one relationship with the person of God. It offers earthly prosperity and temporal gains as a substitute for genuine spiritual authority.
It encourages us to know ministers by their gifts instead of by their fruit (Matt.7:16). It fills the atmosphere with voices and things to look at, so that we don’t discern the still small voice of God (1Kings 19:11-13) or fix our gaze on the Giver of Life (Heb.12:2). It inspires religious leaders to build an earthly replica of the kingdom, so that the genuine Kingdom does not become manifest.
This spirit does not care that Jesus’ name is plastered all over our buildings, bumper stickers, t-shirts and letter heads, as long as we don’t look anything like Him (Rom.8:29). It does not oppose our gatherings, as long as people aren’t genuinely connecting with the Savior (or each other). It does not resist our endless Bible study, as long as the scripture remains little more than a tool for the rationalization of our own carnal interests (John 5:39-40). It is not against us viewing Jesus as a resource for strength, as long as cultivating an authentic relationship with Him never becomes the goal. In such cases, the inclusion of Jesus’ name actually lends a sense of legitimacy to the whole deception.
Evidence of this spiritual influence would be a people who call themselves “Christians” yet aren’t identifiable by their love and grace for one another (John 13:35); who aren’t concerned about the fact that they nor their leaders look or sound anything like Christ (Rom.8:29), and who are more concerned with current events (i.e., the seen realm) than eternity (i.e., the unseen realm) (2Cor.4:18). They would likely be a people who were known more for their divisions than their unity (Eph.4:4-6).
In the absence of Christ’s Lordship, such a people would be destined to idolize mere men, and likely to crown themselves an earthly king (1Sam.8). And apart from the guidance of Christ’s Spirit, they would be highly susceptible to hollow and deceptive philosophies, which depend on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world (Col.2:8).
It would be difficult to argue that this isn’t a fairly accurate portrait of Western Christianity.
There are so many scriptures that appear to be warnings for individuals who count themselves as believers, or followers, or even disciples. Passages referencing a people who possess a form of godliness but also deny the power thereof (2Tim.3:5), who honor Jesus with their lips, but whose hearts remain far from Him (Matt.15:8), and/or who will exchange God’s thoughts for the rhetoric that fuels their true passion (2Tim.4:3-4). Yet we can convince ourselves that these words don’t really apply to us because we are good and moral people, who hate what is evil and champion the proper value system.
Despite the fact that many Christians would say that we are fast approaching, or perhaps even living amid the “end times”, there seems to be little concern regarding the Lord’s admonishments to the churches in the book of Revelation. If we really believe His return is imminent, we should probably be mindful of what it looks like to forsake our first love for some other passion (Rev.2:1-7) and perhaps be on the lookout for the false prophets who threaten to lead us astray (Rev.2:18-29). We might also want to ponder what might cause Him to view us as “lukewarm” (Rev.3:14-22).
Jesus taught that He is the way, the truth and the life; and that there is no other path to the Father (John 14:6). But the anti-Christ spirit works diligently to separate our concept of these things from the person of Jesus. It invites us to fix our eyes on anything but Him. Unless Christ becomes the embodiment of our truth, we will never walk in the way He’s ordained for us, nor experience the life He died to give us.
Ultimately, God’s ways are much higher than our ways (Isa.55:8-9) and that pattern was so perfectly demonstrated by Christ that at the end of His life He was able to say that, if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father (John 14:9). Through this perfect reflection of the Father’s heart, Jesus became “The Way” for us (John 14:6), and now the only thing that keeps us from walking in that way is “the way that seems right” to us (Prov.14:12) instead.
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The Way
Posted in Commentaries, tagged admonish, anti-christ, authority, champion, connection, deceive, deception, discern, embodiment, end times, eternal, eternity, evoke, exchange, fix our eyes, focus, genuine, hate, illusion, image, influence, Jesus name, kingdom, life, manifest, Sceva, seen, Spirit, spiritual, substitute, temporal, transform, truth, unseen, warning, way on September 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The danger of living in the social media age is that we can gather a following of like-minded folks, spend our days shouting into the echo chamber, and cancel anyone who dares to disagree with us. Devoid of any contrasting perspective, it’s easy to deceive ourselves into believing that our perceptions have become reality. And with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we can be sure that our electronic feed will remain full of voices that endorse and reinforce our illusion.
While this type of pattern is unhealthy on many levels, it is most dangerous from a spiritual standpoint. Throughout the scripture we are warned against leaning on our own understanding (Prov.3:5-7), about the deceitfulness of our hearts (Jer.17:9), and of the great deceivers and deceptions that will be visited upon God’s people (Matt.24:24). We are cautioned against focusing on what is seen, as it is perishing (2Cor.4:18). And most importantly, we are told to fix our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb.12:2).
I suspect that popular renderings of a singular “Anti-Christ” figure, from our depictions of the End Times, have clouded our understanding of the true spirit of anti-Christ, which manifests in many forms. While we’ve been taught to make bold declarations against such things, I have found that these spirits are not nearly as intimidated by our use of Jesus’ name as we might think. Like the sons of Sceva, the Chief Priest (Acts 19:13-16) or those people Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7:21-23, we can try to evoke His name while having no genuine connection to Him (John 15:5). In such instances, this word carries no spiritual authority.
Ultimately, attacking the authentic, life-giving connection to Christ is the aim of the anti-Christ spirit. It tries to redefine the “work of God” as being something other than believing in the One that He sent (John 6:29). It offers symbols and rituals and formulas and brokers as a substitute for a genuine one on one relationship with the person of God. It offers earthly prosperity and temporal gains as a substitute for genuine spiritual authority.
It encourages us to know ministers by their gifts instead of by their fruit (Matt.7:16). It fills the atmosphere with voices and things to look at, so that we don’t discern the still small voice of God (1Kings 19:11-13) or fix our gaze on the Giver of Life (Heb.12:2). It inspires religious leaders to build an earthly replica of the kingdom, so that the genuine Kingdom does not become manifest.
This spirit does not care that Jesus’ name is plastered all over our buildings, bumper stickers, t-shirts and letter heads, as long as we don’t look anything like Him (Rom.8:29). It does not oppose our gatherings, as long as people aren’t genuinely connecting with the Savior (or each other). It does not resist our endless Bible study, as long as the scripture remains little more than a tool for the rationalization of our own carnal interests (John 5:39-40). It is not against us viewing Jesus as a resource for strength, as long as cultivating an authentic relationship with Him never becomes the goal. In such cases, the inclusion of Jesus’ name actually lends a sense of legitimacy to the whole deception.
Evidence of this spiritual influence would be a people who call themselves “Christians” yet aren’t identifiable by their love and grace for one another (John 13:35); who aren’t concerned about the fact that they nor their leaders look or sound anything like Christ (Rom.8:29), and who are more concerned with current events (i.e., the seen realm) than eternity (i.e., the unseen realm) (2Cor.4:18). They would likely be a people who were known more for their divisions than their unity (Eph.4:4-6).
In the absence of Christ’s Lordship, such a people would be destined to idolize mere men, and likely to crown themselves an earthly king (1Sam.8). And apart from the guidance of Christ’s Spirit, they would be highly susceptible to hollow and deceptive philosophies, which depend on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world (Col.2:8).
It would be difficult to argue that this isn’t a fairly accurate portrait of Western Christianity.
There are so many scriptures that appear to be warnings for individuals who count themselves as believers, or followers, or even disciples. Passages referencing a people who possess a form of godliness but also deny the power thereof (2Tim.3:5), who honor Jesus with their lips, but whose hearts remain far from Him (Matt.15:8), and/or who will exchange God’s thoughts for the rhetoric that fuels their true passion (2Tim.4:3-4). Yet we can convince ourselves that these words don’t really apply to us because we are good and moral people, who hate what is evil and champion the proper value system.
Despite the fact that many Christians would say that we are fast approaching, or perhaps even living amid the “end times”, there seems to be little concern regarding the Lord’s admonishments to the churches in the book of Revelation. If we really believe His return is imminent, we should probably be mindful of what it looks like to forsake our first love for some other passion (Rev.2:1-7) and perhaps be on the lookout for the false prophets who threaten to lead us astray (Rev.2:18-29). We might also want to ponder what might cause Him to view us as “lukewarm” (Rev.3:14-22).
Jesus taught that He is the way, the truth and the life; and that there is no other path to the Father (John 14:6). But the anti-Christ spirit works diligently to separate our concept of these things from the person of Jesus. It invites us to fix our eyes on anything but Him. Unless Christ becomes the embodiment of our truth, we will never walk in the way He’s ordained for us, nor experience the life He died to give us.
Ultimately, God’s ways are much higher than our ways (Isa.55:8-9) and that pattern was so perfectly demonstrated by Christ that at the end of His life He was able to say that, if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father (John 14:9). Through this perfect reflection of the Father’s heart, Jesus became “The Way” for us (John 14:6), and now the only thing that keeps us from walking in that way is “the way that seems right” to us (Prov.14:12) instead.
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