“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14
The Scriptures teach us that Satan is a created being. He was initially one of the highest angels in heaven, but he fell through pride and seeking to raise himself up to the same level as God (Isa. 14:14). Paul tells us that even today, he masquerades as an angel of light. Satan makes sin very attractive to people – telling them they’ll enjoy it (which they will), that ‘it doesn’t hurt anybody’, that ‘everyone’s doing it’, and so forth. Similarly his false teachers, Paul says, masquerade as Christians (2 Cor. 11:13). They do good things, they go to church.
We can’t go by what something looks like. Many people try to, and are deceived. We need to check it out according to God’s Word. A preacher may have ten thousand people attending his church every week, but he may be a false apostle. His popularity, the number of books he has sold, and the size of his house, are not indicators of whether what he says is true or not.
We need to be aware of these things. There is a spiritual battle going on, and as believers we are in enemy territory. Now is not the time to let our guard down. Check out everything according to the Bible. A true teacher won’t mind this at all, but a false teacher will be shown for what he is.
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