TITLE: Demonology Pt. 9
SUBJECT: Earmarks of a Religious Devil
SPEAKER: Ron Peterson

Acts 20:28-30

28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

2 Cor 11:13-15

13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

1 John 2:18-19

18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

1 John 4:1

4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

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241    Don't you see how religious the devil is? The devil's not no anti-, great big thing like communism, all against Christianity. That's not. That's just all of the devil, sure, but it's not the antichrist. The antichrist is very religious, very religious. It was a religious spirit that crucified Jesus. It's always been a religious world, a religious people, that crucifies. It's the religious people that was against the true Christ. It was the religious prophets that was against Micaiah. It's the religious people of the day that's against the Message of God.

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I said, "If they once receive the knowledge of the Truth and then they won't receive It, the Bible said they've crossed the separating line and they'll never be forgiven in this world or the world to come. They call It 'the Devil' and they can't help it. They're possessed with a religious spirit which is the Devil."

227    How many knows that's true, that a devil spirit is religious? Yes, sir, just as fundamental as they can be. And so, then, that didn't go very good when I said "fundamental," but that's true. "Having a form of godliness and denying the Power thereof." That's right. Signs and wonders is what vindicates God, always. And He said it would be in the last days the same thing. And notice!

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  88-3    That's how adultery--that's how adultery is committed spiritually. When you, knowing better by the Word of God, by the intercourse of the mind, take in a lie of the devil against the Word of God: that's exactly what Eve done. With a spiritual intercourse first that come by believing Satan's lie into the womb of her mind, that polluted her soul, set death in the soul; then the natural act taken place. And that's the only way that a woman ever can commit adultery against her husband, is to first let some man talk her into it and then receive another man that's not her husband. Then she's committed adultery. And when the Bride of Jesus Christ lets man-made creeds and dogmas take the place of the Word of God, she is committing adultery.

Jude 3-13

3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

2 Peter 2:10

10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

70-2    EPHESIAN.CHURCH.AGE  -  CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.3

I want to carry this thought all the way through, so let us go a step further. Have you ever studied the history of revivals? Now a revival signifies a move of God in power. And every time God moves, Satan is there to move also. It never fails. In the days of the great Welsh revival (and most people don't know this), the insane asylums filled up quickly, and there was a great display of devil power to take away the attention from God. It is written that in Wesley's day the people would do most peculiar things that were definitely of Satan to try to mock the goodness and power of God. In Luther's day it is said that the miracle of his ministry did not lie in the fact that he successfully protested the Roman Catholic Church, but the miracle lay in the fact he could, and did, stay sound and sane amidst the fanatics who were often filled with, and guided by, wrong spirits. And if you have been aware of this last day ministry, you will have noted the same invasion of false and wicked spirits. It has to be that way. Now I hope and trust you are spiritual minded enough to get that, and capitalize on it.

  70-3    EPHESIAN.CHURCH.AGE  -  CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.3

Just to seal this point on the True and false vines mingling and demonstrating the two spirits that are at work, let us look into I John 4:1-4, and Jude 3, 4, 12.
It cannot be denied in the face of these Scriptures that the True Church and the false church are intertwined, having been planted together but of different seeds.

  71-1    EPHESIAN.CHURCH.AGE  -  CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.3

Now then, I think there is something else you ought to know. The seven churches which are addressed by John are in Asia Minor and are all Gentile churches. He does not speak to the church at Jerusalem which was mostly Jewish with perhaps just a few Gentiles in it. The reason is that God had turned from the Jews to the Gentiles. Thus the whole of the church ages is God dealing with the Gentiles, and calling out a Gentile Bride to Himself. That makes the 'Church Ages' and 'The Fulness of the Gentiles' the one and the same thing……………
These seven churches located in Asia Minor contained certain characteristics within them, at that ancient date, which became the mature fruit of later ages. What were just seed plants back there came out later in a mature harvest, even as Jesus said,
 "For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?"
 

Luke 23:31.

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  122    Someone said not long ago (I believe I quoted it here before, I don't know.), said, "Why in the world don't you leave them women and men alone," to me. Said, "Why, then, the people believe you to be a prophet."
I said, "I am not."……………….
Like Jesus said to Nicodemus, "If you can't believe earthly things that I tell you, how could you believe heavenly things?" How you going to believe spiritual things that enter into the Spirit, and knowing and seeing visions and things like that to set a school in order like that, when they don't even believe earthly things, can't even believe to wear clothes right, can't even believe to quit their smoking, and quit their lying, lay their temper aside, and all them things, do all these things, or quit lusting? How can you teach people to enter into the Spirit when they got all those things still hanging on them? Yes. Oh, my.

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  125    False prophets have false words: creeds, denominations, sensations. "Oh, bless God, only thing you have to do... You want to wear Elijah's garment? Glory to God. Only thing you have to do is just be blank in your mind, don't think of a thing, and say, 'Oh, fill me, fill me, fill me.'" The devil will sure do it. And then you rely upon that? "Oooh, It run all over me, Brother Branham. I felt It. Oooh, glory to God, Hallelujah. Jumping up and down like that, oh, I got It." And live like you live? "By their fruits you shall know them," (See, see, see?), not sensations.
"Oh, brother, you want to receive the Holy Ghost, just get down at the altar and say, 'Glory, glory, glory, glory, glory, until you speak in tongues.'" Uh-huh, go back out and live any kind of a life, lie, steal? When they tell you about being baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, "That's fanaticism, my church teaches different," and say that you are born again, washed by the waters of the Word? Something wrong somewhere. See?

YOU.MUST.BE.BORN.AGAIN_  61-1231M

  129    Now, false teachers will bring false births. True prophets will bring the Word, the birth of the Word, Christ. False prophets will bring false birth, the birth of churches, the birth of creeds, the birth of denominations. And here you are, Pentecostal brother, false sent--or sensations, and tell a man he's got the Holy Ghost 'cause he speaks with tongues. I've seen devils speak with tongues, pencils lay down and write in unknown tongues. That don't mean a thing. See, it's got to be a life: by their fruit you shall know them. "Brother Branham, do you believe in speaking in tongues?" Yes, sir. "You believe in shouting?" Yes, sir. To be a Christian, I believe that. I believe God's Word. But if the life isn't there to back it up...

329-1    LAODICEAN.CHURCH.AGE  -  CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.9

The second thought that must be impressed on our hearts is that the seven church ages started out with the antichrist spirit as well as the Holy Spirit Who is to be blessed forever.

I John 4:1,

 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."
 Did you notice it? The antichrist spirit is identified with false prophets. The ages came in with false prophets and they will go out with false prophets. Now of course there is going to be a REAL FALSE PROPHET in the grand sense of that man mentioned in the Revelation. But as of now before his revelation there are to appear many false prophets.

Matthew 24:23-26,

 "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Behold, I have told you before.
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not."
 These false prophets are earmarked for us in various other Scriptures such as the following.

II Peter 2:1-2,

 "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord That bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of."
 

II Timothy 4:3-4,

 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."
 

I Timothy 4:1,

 "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils."
 Now in every case you will notice that a false prophet is one who is outside the Word. Just as we showed you that 'antichrist' means 'anti-Word' so these false prophets come perverting the Word, giving it a meaning that fits their own devilish ends. Have you ever noticed how the people who lead others astray bind them closely to themselves by fear? They say that if the people don't do what they say, or if they leave, then destruction will follow. They are false prophets, for a true prophet will always lead one to the Word and bind the people to Jesus Christ and he won't tell the people to fear him or what he says, but to fear what the Word says. Notice how these people like Judas are out for money. They get you to sell all you have and give it to them and their schemes. They spend more time on offerings than the Word. Those who attempt to operate gifts will make use of a gift which has a margin of error in it and then ask for money, and neglect the Word and call it of God. And people will go to them, and bear with them, and support them, and believe them, not knowing it is the way of death.

Yes, the land is full of carnal impersonators. In that last day they will try to imitate that prophet-messenger. The seven sons of Sceva tried to imitate Paul. Simon the sorcerer tried to imitate Peter. Their impersonations will be carnal. They won't be able to produce what the true prophet produces. When he says the revival is over they will go around claiming a great revelation that what the people have is exactly right and God is going to do bigger and more wonderful things amongst the people. And the people will fall for it. These same false prophets will claim that the messenger of the last day is not a theologian, so he ought not to be heard. They won't be able to produce what the messenger can; they won't be vindicated by God as that last day prophet is, but with their great swelling words and with the weight of their world-wide notoriety they will warn the people not to hear that man (messenger) and they will say he teaches wrong. They are running exactly true to their fathers, the Pharisees, who were of the devil, for they claimed that both John and Jesus taught error.