Vigilance
for Imitation
The deceptive imitation, easily underscores the need of
spiritual vigilance. The enemy hath dainty
poisonous sweet to the taste which he administers to God’s people. The main aim is to take the person (all humanity) to
his own residency, against what God has intended.
Strong's
Greek: 3402. μιμητής (mimétés) -- Imitator, follower
3402 mimētḗs (the root of the English term, mimic, "one who imitates, emulates") – properly, the positive imitation that arises by admiring the pattern set by someone worthy of emulation, i.e. a …[i]
Strong's
Greek: 539. ἀπάτη (apaté) -- Deception, deceit, delusion Original Word: ἀπάτη Part of Speech: Noun,
Feminine Transliteration: apaté Pronunciation: ah-PAH-tay Phonetic Spelling:
(ap-at'-ay) KJV: deceit(-ful, -fulness), deceivableness(-ving) NASB[ii]
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 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; 2 Cori. 11:14-15.
Only few Christians of today want to deal with the fact that there are many
false apostles and deceitful workers among Christians. They transform
themselves into apostles of Christ. The truth is no one can transform themselves into a true apostle of Jesus;
unless they realize the true cost! The true cost is surrendered life in Christ, and continue to
marvel at the Cross! This work is of God and not of man.
We humans can be
easily deceived by outward appearances. Often, we recognize evil only if it openly declares
itself as evil. The danger here is we end up embracing Satan, who transforms
himself into an angel of light. If Satan were to appear before us, the fallen humanity will be strongly
tempted to worship him as almost divine beauty. He is an angel of
light.
Poole says, “They were never
apostles of Christ, only they put themselves into such a shape and form, that
they might have more advantage to deceive.” [iii]
Jesus warned us one of the signs of end times as deception.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive; Matt. 24: 4.
Satan has three forms under which he tempts men: The subtle serpent; The roaring lion; The angel of light.
He often, as the angel of light, persuades men to do things under the name of religion, which are subversive of it. Hence all the persecutions, faggots, and fires of a certain Church, under pretense of keeping heresy out of the Church; and hence all the horrors and infernalities of the inquisition. In the form of heathen persecution, like a lion he has ravaged the heritage of the Lord. And by means of our senses and passions, as the subtle serpent, he is frequently deceiving us, so that often the workings of corrupt nature are mistaken for the operations of the Spirit of God.” (Clarke)
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ;
2 Cori. 11: 13.
Angel of light can be easily described as one not meant to describe an authentic heavenly being not aligning with God’s truth. The genuine truth (God’s Pure Word) can be easily counterfeited. The root cause is deception. The deceptive imitation, easily underscores the need of spiritual vigilance. There is terrible condemnation reserved for these false apostles, to be judged based on their wicked, deceptive deeds!
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour;1 Pet. 5: 8.
Do not, therefore, indulge the thought, that the main purpose of Satan is to make you miserable. He is pleased with that, but that is not his ultimate end. Sometimes he may even make you happy, for he hath dainty poisons sweet to the taste which he administers to God’s people. If he feels that our destruction can be more readily achieved by sweets than by bitters, he certainly would prefer that which would best effect his end.” (Spurgeon)
The enemy of our souls tries the beleivers in all possible directions, till he is utterly destroyed. The enemy wants to destroy the beleivers if possible rend the body, and take the person to his own residency, against what God has intended. The enemy in the Garden of Eden (Ref. Gen. 3), still works with deceptive schemes, differently till today.
But, we do not have to despair. This is because the hand writing that was written against humanity in the Garden of Eden was rewritten on the Cross of Calvary, for redemption and eternal life with God. So, we marvel at this cost, because of one man’s obedience. That is our Lord Jesus Christ! The grace of God is able to, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle us.
But the God of all
grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye
have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you; 1 Pet. 5: 10.
[i] Bible Hub https://biblehub.com ›
greek
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimesis#:~:text=Mimesis%20(/,%5B2%5D
[ii] Bible Hub https://biblehub.com › greek
[iii]
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/2-corinthians-11/
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