Angel of Light

February 28

Read: 2 Corinthians 11:1-15

Not all that glitters is gold. Similarly, not everyone that claims to be a follower of Christ is what he claims to be. We are frequently warned in Scripture to beware of the counterfeit, the false and the apostate. Jesus mentioned the deceivers in Matthew 24:4-5. Peter covers the same ground in 2 Peter 2:1 and John in 1 John 4:1 says “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 warns of deceitful workers who transform themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for the devil himself is transformed into an angel of light. It follows that his servants would present themselves as ministers of righteousness. We must be constantly on guard to ensure we are not deceived by the powers of darkness posing as preachers and teachers of righteousness.

Whenever I am reminded of that I think of the Old Testament prophet in 1 Kings 13. The prophet was sent by God with a message for Jereboam the king. Delivering the message, God authenticated it with special signs. Jereboam invited the prophet to go home with him, but the prophet informed him that God had instructed him neither to eat nor drink while on his mission and to return home via a different route.

The Bible continues to tell of an old prophet in Bethel whose son told him of the man of God who visited Jeremiah. The prophet of Bethel followed after him and invited him to come aside and sup. The man repeated God’s instructions, that he must neither eat nor drink until he had returned home, but the prophet from Bethel told him, in 1 Kings 13:18, “...I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.” The first prophet believed him and went with him, not discerning that the message was not from God, but from his enemies. Because of his disobedience, the prophet was killed by a lion on the way home.

The old prophet from Bethel was a lion in sheep’s clothing, or a devil cast as an angel of light. He had the right look, he said the right things, but he was a liar. Through deceit, he diverted the prophet of God from his appointed path to a road that ultimately destroyed him.

In spiritual warfare, there is an enemy and there are casualties. Day after day, lives are destroyed, ministries ruined and souls condemned to a Christless eternity through the efforts of the master of deceit. Today, brethren, let’s be alert to the enemy and his devices. Keep your life pure. Let your spiritual senses be honed sharp by the Word of God and amplified by the work of the Spirit in your life. As is so succinctly written, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

Just a servant,

Bro. Tom