Radiant Living

disobedience, it does not follow that God
is working through them. On the contrary,
it is the miracle-working power of the
great deceiver.
Are they pointing people to Jesus and
the Bible, or are they trying to draw attention
to themselves and their miracles?
Do they express to the world the love of
Jesus in life and character, living lives
of self-denial and sacrifice, well-ordered
and godly? Is their example such as to
convict sinners and convert them from
the error of their ways to the truth? Watch
well the indications that tell of the state
of the heart.
Wearing the insignia of Christ, they serve
the Lord’s worst enemy, and heed not the
command, “Let everyone that nameth the
name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
Take care that you are not misled by
these false teachers, and found fighting
under the black banner of the adversary
of God and man.
The book of Revelation describes Satan’s
last-day deceptions this way: “He
doeth great wonders, so that he maketh
fi re come down from heaven on the earth
in the sight of men, And deceiveth them
that dwell on the earth by the means of
those miracles which he had power to
do” (Revelation 13:13-14).
As the crowning act in the great drama
of deception, Satan himself will impersonate
Christ, healing the diseases of the
people, and professing to present a new
and more exalted system of religious
faith; but at the same time he works as a
destroyer leading multitudes to ruin.
If we do not love God’s truth, we may
be among those who will see and believe
the miracles wrought by Satan in these
last days. s
In the latter days Satan performs
great wonders, including
miracles of healing. (See Rev.
13:13,14; 16:14).
Therefore not every miracle
is of God. We can distinguish between
divine and satanic miracles
only by cultivating a deep love
for God and His word. (See Matt.
24:24; 2 Thess. 2:4-17).
Satan’s most effective agents in
deception are those who profess
to honor God’s cause and seem
like dedicated Christians, some
of whom exhibit gifts of apparent
power to heal. Their service is often
connected with the accumulation
of great wealth and indulgence
in luxurious living. (See 2 Cor.
11:13-15; 2 Pet. 2:1-3,13-20, cp. 1
Cor. 3:16-18).
These religious agents of deception
can be detected by their
disobedience to God’s law or stated
rejection of some part of it. (See
Matt. 7:21-24; Isa. 8:20; 1 John.
2:5,6). Satan labors to seduce the
world into paying homage to him
by turning people away from an
intelligent knowledge and worship
of their Creator, the only one who
can truly heal and restore our diseased
minds and bodies. (See Lk.
4:18; 1 Pet. 2:22-25; Ezek. 11:19,20,
in contrast to Ezek. 11:21; 2 Thess.
2:4; Rev. 13:1-8; 16:1,2).
RADIANT LIVING s 53