Counterfeits Are All Around Us

Beware! Counterfeits are all around us.

It is futile for my pen to list examples; there are too many. In the secular world we have counterfeit. We are aware of most of them, and we try to protect ourselves against them, and sometimes we fail and fall prey to them. In the religious world we have counterfeits as well, and this is one to which we are called to be especially cautious.

The first and main goal of counterfeit is deception.

Three times the Bible said, “Let no man deceive you” (Eph 5: 6, 2 Thes 2: 3, 1 John 3: 7)

So, who do you think came up with counterfeits? No, it’s not the infamous crook down the street. It is the best con artist that ever existed, Satan, that old serpent, the devil.

While in heaven, before this world was created, Lucifer entered the counterfeit business when iniquity was found in his heart (Ezek 28: 15, 17). There in heaven as the covering cherubim, the root of every kind of counterfeit began. Lucifer began his counterfeit business with worship; he wanted it for himself. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev 12:9)

Since then, we have all kinds of counterfeits, agents of Satan are in our world, full of deception. They flood people’s mind with counterfeit truth. They establish counterfeit worship. They have counterfeit spirits, counterfeit revivals, faith, gospel, gifts, offerings. These agents of Satan are counterfeit themselves, “…which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matt 7;15).

“The struggle between truth and error has always been a bitter one. No great light has ever shone upon this earth for which the arch enemy has had not a counterfeit, containing enough of the truth to make it palatable to those whose taste for spiritual food is not the keenest” (The Seer of Patmos, Stephen Haskell, pg.161).

We can fall prey to counterfeit money; it has happened to me and many people. We can fall prey to counterfeit friends, counterfeit brands, counterfeit gold but there is a counterfeit that we are cautioned not to fall prey. That is counterfeit truth, because we will be one of the many counterfeit Christians to whom Jesus will say, “I never knew you, depart from me,  ye that work iniquity” ( Matt 7:23).

Counterfeit truth leads to every other counterfeit and that leads us down the road of destruction. Eve was fed counterfeit truth, and told, “You shall not surely die”. Well, we all know what happened there.

Thank God, that Jesus is the truth (John 14:6) and our deliverer out of the counterfeit into His glorious undiluted truth.  There must be a standard of truth to measure the counterfeits. He is the yardstick. He is the door of truth. He is the way to truth. He is the Good Shepherd of Truth. He is the life in the truth. He is the resurrection of truth. The counterfeits will not measure up to Christ’s truth; they will fail the yardstick test. Jesus is the line of every eternal truth.

Satan is still working with counterfeits in our world. He wants worship and the only way is through counterfeits. Satan has a counterfeit Sabbath called Sunday. Jesus worshipped only on Sabbaths. Satan has counterfeits Pastors, called false prophets. Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Satan has counterfeit marriage, called same sex marriage. Jesus is the Bridegroom (male) and the church the bride (female). Satan has counterfeit resurrection, called spiritualism. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Satan has counterfeit truth, called deceptions. Jesus is the truth. Satan has counterfeit religions, called religion of works, “having a form of Godliness, but denying the power” of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (2 Tim 3: 5). We must pray for the Holy Spirit that we do not fall prey to deception.  

We have no excuse.

Moses warned us. “Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them.” (Deut 11:16)

Jeremiah warned us.  ^“For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.” (Jer 29: 8- 9)

Jesus warned us. He told us beforehand that the deceptions of the last days will be great, and only by His Spirit can we stand firm in Biblical truth (Matt 24:24). “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matt 24: 4)

Paul warned us in 2 Tim 4: 4 that many “shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned to fables”.

John warned us. “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. ( 2 John 1: 7).

John also said that the day is coming when “…the devil that deceived them [will be] cast into the lake of fire and brimstone) Rev 20:10.

However, before that day comes Satan will seek to do “…great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do…,” (Rev 13: 14).

Beware! Counterfeits are all around us…

…and the greatest counterfeit is within ourselves. “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.” (1 Cor 3:18)

Many of us like the Pharisees believe we have truth, and Jesus puts it perfectly, “Ye are of your father the devil [who] has no truth in him…because he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). Beware! Counterfeits are within us. Let us search the scriptures for God’s truths.

It is futile for my pen to list examples; there are too many. In the secular world we have counterfeit. We are aware of most of them, and we try to protect ourselves against them, and sometimes we fail and fall prey to them. In the religious world we have counterfeits as well, and this is one to which we are called to be especially cautious.

The first and main goal of counterfeit is deception.

Three times the Bible said, “Let no man deceive you” (Eph 5: 6, 2 Thes 2: 3, 1 John 3: 7)

So, who do you think came up with counterfeits? No, it’s not the infamous crook down the street. It is the best con artist that ever existed, Satan, that old serpent, the devil.

While in heaven, before this world was created, Lucifer entered the counterfeit business when iniquity was found in his heart (Ezek 28: 15, 17). There in heaven as the covering cherubim, the root of every kind of counterfeit began. Lucifer began his counterfeit business with worship; he wanted it for himself. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev 12:9)

Since then, we have all kinds of counterfeits, agents of Satan are in our world, full of deception. They flood people’s mind with counterfeit truth. They establish counterfeit worship. They have counterfeit spirits, counterfeit revivals, faith, gospel, gifts, offerings. These agents of Satan are counterfeit themselves, “…which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matt 7;15).

“The struggle between truth and error has always been a bitter one. No great light has ever shone upon this earth for which the arch enemy has had not a counterfeit, containing enough of the truth to make it palatable to those whose taste for spiritual food is not the keenest” (The Seer of Patmos, Stephen Haskell, pg.161).

We can fall prey to counterfeit money; it has happened to me and many people. We can fall prey to counterfeit friends, counterfeit brands, counterfeit gold but there is a counterfeit that we are cautioned not to fall prey. That is counterfeit truth, because we will be one of the many counterfeit Christians to whom Jesus will say, “I never knew you, depart from me,  ye that work iniquity” ( Matt 7:23).

Counterfeit truth leads to every other counterfeit and that leads us down the road of destruction. Eve was fed counterfeit truth, and told, “You shall not surely die”. Well, we all know what happened there.

Thank God, that Jesus is the truth (John 14:6) and our deliverer out of the counterfeit into His glorious undiluted truth. There must be a standard of truth to measure the counterfeits. He is the yardstick. He is the door of truth. He is the way to truth. He is the Good Shepherd of Truth. He is the life in the truth. He is the resurrection of truth. The counterfeits will not measure up to Christ’s truth; they will fail the yardstick test. Jesus is the line of every eternal truth.

Satan is still working with counterfeits in our world. He wants worship and the only way is through counterfeits. Satan has a counterfeit Sabbath called Sunday. Jesus worshipped only on Sabbaths. Satan has counterfeits Pastors, called false prophets. Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Satan has counterfeit marriage, called same sex marriage. Jesus is the Bridegroom (male) and the church the bride (female). Satan has counterfeit resurrection, called spiritualism. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Satan has counterfeit truth, called deceptions. Jesus is the truth. Satan has counterfeit religions, called religion of works, “having a form of Godliness, but denying the power” of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (2 Tim 3: 5).

We must pray for the Holy Spirit that we do not fall prey to deception.  

We have no excuse.

Moses warned us. “Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them.” (Deut 11:16)

Jeremiah warned us.  ^“For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.” (Jer 29: 8- 9)

Jesus warned us. He told us beforehand that the deceptions of the last days will be great, and only by His Spirit can we stand firm in Biblical truth (Matt 24:24). “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matt 24: 4)

Paul warned us in 2 Tim 4: 4 that many “shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned to fables”.

John warned us. “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. ( 2 John 1: 7).

John also said that the day is coming when “…the devil that deceived them [will be] cast into the lake of fire and brimstone) Rev 20:10.

However, before that day comes Satan will seek to do “…great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do…,” (Rev 13: 14).

Beware! Counterfeits are all around us…

…and the greatest counterfeit is within ourselves. “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.” (1 Cor 3:18)

Many of us like the Pharisees believe we have truth, and Jesus puts it perfectly, “Ye are of your father the devil [who] has no truth in him…because he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). Beware! Counterfeits are within us.

Let us search the scriptures for God’s truth. He has only one line of truth.

Get on the line and you will be sure to avoid the counterfeits.