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Scripture Reading: Matt. 22:23-29; 1 Thes. 5:6
The Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection came to the Lord Jesus one day and asked, "Teacher, Moses said, If anyone dies and does not have children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife and raise up seed to his brother. Now there were seven brothers with us. And the first married and died, and having no seed, he left his wife to his brother; likewise also the second and the third until the seventh. And last of all the woman died. In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her" (Matt. 22:24-28). If we had been confronted with such a problem, we would surely have thought that this was a rare and strange question. There were seven brothers who married the same woman and had no children, and they all died one after the other. This is a very hypothetical question. The Sadducees were trying to catch Jesus with this question and disprove resurrection. But the Bible shows us that even if there had been such a case, it would not have put Jesus into a corner. Our Lord Jesus struck them with His opening remark: "You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God." The Lord Jesus said that they erred! The Sadducees erred! They erred in their view! They erred in their question! Why would they even think of such a strange thing and come up with such an absurd question through their own cleverness? Why would they not believe in resurrection? Why had they erred? The Lord Jesus pointed out clearly that they erred because they did not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.
Brothers and sisters, we are not focusing on the interpretation of this passage. Rather, we want to extract an important principle from this portion of the Scriptures. Although this passage is on the error of the Sadducees, it also points out the proper attitude of a Christian. Although a Christian has believed in the Lord, it is still possible for him to err. He can still err, and worse still, he can err without realizing it because he does not know the Scriptures and does not know the power of God. Brothers and sisters, in order to go on properly in the spiritual pathway, serve well in the Lord's work, and satisfy God's heart in the way we handle our affairs in the church, in expounding the Bible, or in our daily life, and in order to keep from falling into error, we must know the Scriptures and the power of God.
Second Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, "All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work." We cannot find a good Christian who has a desire to please the Lord but who does not know God's word. God's speaking to man today is based on what He has spoken in the Scriptures. The Bible has clearly unveiled God's will, desire, pleasure, and displeasure to us. Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet/And a light for my path." In order to avoid getting lost and stumbling on the spiritual pathway, we need light. The word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path. If we want to go on in the spiritual pathway and not fall into error, we have to follow the Bible. Another verse in the same psalm says, "In my heart I have treasured up Your word/That I might not sin against You" (v. 11). If we want to be one who does not sin against the Lord, we have to let His word dwell in our heart richly. If God's children would spend time to study the Bible, taking it as their unique guidepost and fearing the word of God, they would not fall into grave errors.
Today we have not only the Holy Bible but also the Holy Spirit within us. In the New Testament age, God has put His law within us. This law is the law of the Spirit of life in Romans 8:2; it is also the anointing in 1 John 2:27. This anointing teaches us all things. If we do not quench the Spirit and if we learn to obey the teaching of the anointing within us, we will not fall into error. God's children err in the spiritual pathway because they do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God. In the past, some have emphasized the matter of miracles and works of wonders exclusively. They publicize these miracles and works of wonders, and many people are attracted by these things. There are others who always talk about visions and dreams. They relate their visions and dreams to others, teaching others these things and assuming the role of a great prophet or great apostle. Sometimes they may even have supernatural powers and point out the hidden things in man. They may attract many immature believers who follow them and inquire of them like great prophets. Still others pray in a strange way, repeating one sentence over and over again, and praying this way hundreds of times. Some even claim that the Lord Jesus has come the second time already or that He will come on a certain date of a certain year. Brothers and sisters, if we search the Scriptures carefully, we will learn the questionable nature of these practices. In the following sections we will consider these practices.
I believe in miracles. I believe that the Lord Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons. He is the Son of God, and it is a natural thing for Him to perform miracles. He is the Creator of heaven and earth; healing and casting out demons are small things to Him. But in the Bible, when men tempted the Lord and asked Him for a miracle, He would not grant their request (Matt. 16:1-4). The Lord did not want people to believe in Him because of miracles (John 4:48). After He healed someone on earth, He would charge him not to publicize it and not to speak about it (Matt. 8:4; Mark 5:43; 7:36). Our Lord Jesus does not want men to follow Him out of curiosity. Even when many believed in Him because of the miracles, He would not commit Himself to them (John 2:23-24). In John 6 five thousand ate of the loaves and the fishes that the Lord gave, yet in the end they forsook Him. Real knowledge of the Lord is not based on outward miracles and works of wonders but on the word of God and the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that the seventy disciples were able to subdue the demons (Luke 10:17). We also believe that Peter, John, Stephen, and Paul all performed miracles, healed the sick, and cast out demons (Acts 3:2-8; 6:8; 9:36-41; 14:8-18; 16:16-18; 28:1-6). We believe the words of Mark 16:17, which says, "And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My name..." But the Bible shows us that we should not rally men around us or attract them by miracles, works of wonders, healings, and the casting out of demons, because these things are not the center of salvation; they cannot occupy too great of a place. The only thing we should exalt is the Lord's name.
It is not scriptural for anyone to exclusively seek after miracles and works of wonders or for anyone to exclusively speak about these things. Those who do can be easily deceived and obsessed by Satan because the false prophet and Antichrist can also perform great miracles and wonders (Matt. 24:24; Mark 13:22; 2 Thes. 2:9-12). Therefore, brothers and sisters, we should have a proper understanding of the power of God and not be curious about miracles and works of wonders.
It is true that in the Old Testament God taught His people by means of visions and dreams at times. But instances of this nature were not very frequent. In the New Testament, particularly after the coming of the Holy Spirit, there were even less occurrences. Although there are still cases of visions and dreams, this only happens for a special reason because in the New Testament age, the Holy Spirit is in us and God is teaching us all things through the anointing. God wants us to know His heart according to the Bible on one hand, and according to the sense of life on the other hand. The New Testament mentions a few cases of visions and dreams. For example, at the house of Simon the tanner, Peter saw the great sheet with all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and birds of heaven in it (Acts 10:9-12). Why did the Lord give Peter such a vision? It was because Peter had a deep prejudice against the Gentiles at that time. The Lord used the vision to remove his prejudice and open the way for the gospel to go to the Gentiles at that time. Paul also saw a few visions. Twice when he was in peril, God comforted and strengthened him through visions (18:9; 27:23-24). Another time Paul saw a Macedonian standing and entreating him in a vision, saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." After Paul saw the vision, he was ready to go. But the writer of the Bible added, "...concluding that God had called us to announce the gospel to them" (16:9-10). The use of the word "concluding" means that Paul did not consider the vision as the only means of guidance. Visions and dreams have their place in the Bible, but they cannot be our only guidance. Even after one has received a vision or a dream, the guidance must still conform to the Scriptures, the teaching of the anointing within, and circumstantial arrangements. After Peter saw the vision at Joppa, there was an immediate confirmation in the environment — Cornelius sent men to him. Hence, a vision or a dream is reliable only if it matches the words of the Scriptures, the teaching of the anointing, and the confirmation of the environment. Furthermore, visions and dreams must also be meaningful and purposeful. In the New Testament age, visions and dreams are not God's usual means of giving guidance to men. Even when a person has a vision or a dream, this does not mean that he must tell others about it. Paul had the experience of the third heaven, yet he spoke only reluctantly about it after fourteen years (2 Cor. 12:1-6). If a man always claims that he is seeing visions and dreams, there must be some problem with his mind.
We must realize that many sudden thoughts are injected into our mind by evil spirits from outside of us. Some believers experience flashes of thoughts in their mind which supposedly give them understanding, realization, and revelation of some special things or suggestions to do this or that. These thoughts should be rejected because they are not from the Holy Spirit.
The evil spirits not only inject thoughts into the believers' mind, but they display all kinds of images in their mind. Some are wonderful images that the believers love, while others are filthy ones that their conscience abhors. But whether they are beautiful or ugly, good or bad, as long as a believer does not have the strength to stop these images from coming into his mind, it means that he is already deceived.
There are natural dreams and supernatural dreams. Some of them are from God, and some of them are from the devil. Except the dreams that are produced as a result of man's physiological and psychological activities, all other dreams are supernatural. Some believers are mentally unstable as a result of shock or illness. They open their mind to evil spirits because they do not know the Bible, and as a result, they are filled with dreams. We must realize that dreams from God make a person normal, peaceful, stable, sensible, and conscious, while dreams from evil spirits are always strange, vain, absurd, foolish, and irrational.
Brothers and sisters, do not think that all visions and dreams are good. We must remember that many visions and dreams are not from God. We must not receive them; rather, we must reject them. Only then will we not be deceived.
Some people are psychologically ill or deceived by evil spirits. They may even be possessed by evil spirits or demons. In their mind they have some kind of illusion. They are often proud and subjective. They often think that they are great prophets or apostles raised up by God. We must realize that a man who is deceived by evil spirits is one who is very self-confident; he does not easily take the advice of others, and he does not easily believe in the feeling of other brothers and sisters. These visions and dreams attract ignorant, immature, and curious believers because they have a supernatural element. They think that they are great prophets and apostles raised up by God, and other immature believers also think that they are great prophets and apostles. Some even go to them and inquire of them as if they were God. This is absolutely unscriptural. The Bible shows us in the New Testament that there are only prophets in the church; God does not allow any of His children to be a prophet to an individual. In the New Testament, God's law is not written in outward tablets of stone but in our heart (Heb. 8:10). Everyone who has the life of God has this innate ability to know God's desire. In the New Testament, God does not allow anyone to be a prophet to an individual or to substitute for a believer's knowing of God's will. We must ask the Lord to deliver us from curiosity so that we do not fall into deception.
We believe in the second coming of the Lord Jesus. This is our fundamental faith. But the Bible does not tell us the day the Lord will come. "But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but the Father only" (Matt. 24:36). "And Jesus answered and said to them, See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray" (vv. 4-5). "At that time if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ! or, Here! do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen....Therefore if they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness, do not go forth; Behold, He is in the inner rooms, do not believe it" (vv. 23-26). "Watch therefore, for you do not know the day nor the hour" (25:13).
We can find similar words in Mark 13. The Lord told the disciples clearly, "See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ! and will lead many astray" (vv. 5-6). "And then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ! Behold, there! do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, the chosen. But you, beware" (vv. 21-23). "But concerning that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father. Beware, be alert; for you do not know when the time is" (vv. 32-33).
Paul said in 2 Thessalonians, "That you be not quickly shaken in mind nor alarmed, neither by a spirit nor by word nor by a letter as if by us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way" (2:2-3a). "The coming of whom is according to Satan's operation in all power and signs and wonders of a lie" (v. 9).
When the Lord Jesus spoke to the disciples concerning His coming, He reminded them again and again to "beware" (Mark 13:23, 33) or "take heed" (v. 9) or to "see" (v. 5). This word in Greek is repeated four times in Mark 13. He also reminded the disciples to be "alert" (v. 33) or to "watch" (v. 35, 37). This word in Greek is repeated three times in Mark 13. Therefore, brothers and sisters, concerning the coming of the Lord, we should beware, and we should watch. We should pray, and we should wait. We should be ready daily to welcome the return of our Lord and wait for Him by being watchful and praying. The Bible does not allow us to do any foolish things such as counting the days or predicting the time of the Lord's coming. If anyone says that the Lord will come on a certain day of a certain month, we have to beware and not be deceived by these words.
Some people pray with one sentence repeatedly, such as "praise the Lord, praise the Lord," or "hallelujah, hallelujah." They repeat the sentence over and over again and pray with a loud voice. It is easy to cause the mind to be blank in this way. It leads a person into all kinds of strange experiences, such as deception by evil spirits. All the time, however, the person thinks that he is being filled by the Holy Spirit. Ecclesiastes tells us that when we pray to God, we must not be rash with our mouth or let our heart be hasty to utter any thing before God (5:2). The Lord also teaches us not to babble empty words when we pray (Matt. 6:7). Prayer is not a kind of chanting of Scriptures. It is not to repeat a word over and over again. Prayer is telling the Lord what is in our heart (Phil. 4:6). The Bible teaches us to be quiet and to not be in confusion but to do things becomingly and in order (1 Cor. 14:33, 40). Therefore brothers and sisters, we need to be in fear and trembling and be watchful in prayer. We should not believe in ourselves too much but learn to be led by the indwelling Spirit within us so that we can learn to obey the teaching of the anointing. At the same time, we have to understand the Bible and reject anything that is not according to the Bible. We know that the Lord Jesus overcame the temptation of Satan with the word of God when He was tried in the wilderness. We should spend time to study the Bible and should allow the word of God to dwell richly in our heart, lest we be led astray by the many strange teachings.
We thank the Lord that He has given two great treasures to the church. One is the Holy Bible, and the other is the Holy Spirit. If we truly follow the Bible and the Spirit, we will not err. Brothers and sisters, how easy it is for us to err, and how easy it is for us to be deceived and cheated. We have to remember Paul's word in 1 Thessalonians 5:6, which says that we should not sleep but should watch and be sober. If we do not search the Scriptures carefully, if we do not take the Bible as the lamp to our feet and light for our path, if we do not submit to the authority of the Spirit in fear and trembling, watching and praying at all times, and if we do not have a fear of falling into error, we are indeed in poverty and darkness! We need to prostrate ourselves at the feet of the Lord and ask for His shining and His preservation. We have to ask Him to give us a firm determination to pay any price to please Him, to reject anything that is not according to the Scriptures, and to accept everything that is according to the Scriptures. At the same time, we should submit to the authority of the Holy Spirit and not make any proposals of our own or have any considerations of our own. We should not act according to our own will or teach others or serve the Lord according to the preference of our flesh. May the Lord be merciful to the church, and may He preserve the church.
