TITLE: Demonology Pt 10
SUBJECT: Fruits of a False Prophet
SPEAKER: Ron Peterson

15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

You find it wherever you go, you find a national spirit. I went in, and they have different ways. It's so strange. If I had the time, I'd just like to skip through some of the nations and show you.

90    When you go in, you go into Germany, you find a military spirit. Everything is military. You have to stand straight, walk straight, cut your corners, and everything. It's military.

91    You go into France, you find an immoral spirit, just women, and wine, and liquor, and--and stuff like that. See?

 92      You go into Finland, you find a loyal spirit, kind of like, everything is honest. "We must pay off everything."

93    You come into America, you find a big, "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" That's what it is. Yeah. That's the American spirit. Somebody tell a dirty joke on the radio, and everybody laugh at it. Ernie Ford, or--or some of them, cracking jokes that they have, you know, everywhere, Arthur Godfrey and that group like that, see, that's--that's American spirit. You find it that way.

 9-1    The same applies of choosing a church. Now, you must pray over the church that you are fellowshipping in. Remember, churches have spirits. Now, I don't want to be critical, but I realize that I'm an old man, and I got to leave here one of these days. I've got to answer at the day of the judgment for what I say tonight or any other time, and I--therefore, I've got to be dead earnest and truly convicted. But you go into a church, and if you'll watch the behavior of that church, you just watch the pastor awhile, and you'll usually find that the church acts like the pastor.

Sometimes I wonder if we just don't get one another's spirit instead of the Holy Spirit. You get to a place where a pastor's real radical and carrying on, you'll find out the congregation's the same way. I'll bring you to a church where I seen the pastor stand, jerk their heads back and forth. You watch the congregation; they do the same thing. You take a pastor that'll just gulp down anything, usually the church will do the same thing. So if I was choosing a church, I'd choose a genuine, fundamental, full Gospel Bible church, if I was choosing one to put my family in.

 "Thou hast tried them that say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars."

 My, that is a blunt statement. "Thou hast tried them who call themselves apostles." Isn't that presumptuous? What right has a people to try those who call themselves apostles? And how do they try them? Oh, I love this.

 "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have (already) preached unto you, let him be accursed."

 It was the apostles who brought the original Word to the people. That original Word could not change, not even a dot or dash of it. Paul knew it was God Who had spoken to him so he said, "Even if I come and try to give a second revelation, try to make one little change in what I gave originally, let me be accursed." You see, Paul knew that first revelation was correct. God can't give a first revelation, then a second revelation. If He did, He would be changing His mind. He can give a revelation and then add to it, as He did in the Garden of Eden when He promised the Seed to the woman, and then later designated that Seed had to come through Abraham, and then later said it would come by the same blood lines in David. But it was the same revelation. It only gave the people more information to help them receive and understand it.

But God's Word can't change. The Seed came exactly as revealed. Hallelujah. And see what those false apostles were doing. They came with their own word. Those Ephesians knew that Word as Paul had taught it. They were full of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of Paul's hands. They looked those false apostles in the eye and said, "You are not saying what Paul said. You are, therefore, false." Oh, that sets my heart on fire. Get back to the Word! It is not you that really tries the apostle, and prophet and teacher, IT IS THE WORD THAT TRIES THEM.

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.

 "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.

 "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.

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.

 "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."

 "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."

 "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.

·         ANTICHRIST SPIRIT IS ALWAYS IDENTIFIED WITH FALSE PROPHETS

·         SEDUCING SPIRIT – SEDUCING CLERGY SPIRIT

·         NOT KNOWN BY THEIR SIGNS AND WONDERS BUT BY THE FRUIT OF THEIR MINISTRY

·         PRIVILY (SECRETLY) BRING IN DAMNABLE HERESIES – SO CLOSE – DECEIVE THE ELECT

·         THE TIME WILL COME WHEN THEY WILL NO LONGER ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE – BUT AFTER THEIR OWN LUST (UNCLEAN SPIRIT) HEAP UP TEACHERS HAVING ITCHING EARS

·         THEY WILL TURN THE PEOPLE FROM TRUTH UNTO FABLES