Discerning in the End Times: Do you have the Holy Spirit?
Do miracles still exist? Can we trust Paul? Is it the end times or did Revelation already happen? These questions abound in the end times and are leading many to confusion and false doctrines.
Introduction
Today, I was browsing through some YouTube reels, much of which are Christian-oriented themes based on my subscriptions. Unfortunately, many of these are "false prophets", but I keep them on to analyze what they are telling the body of Christ in the end times - that way I am aware of their plots and schemes.
The newest false belief I came across this morning involved Cessationism - or the belief that God's miracles have ceased. Based on the comments, this was just another belief many have subscribed to, and the question is, is it correct?
As we are stumbling over the tremendous amounts of information presented to us on a daily basis, we have to be ready to use our Bibles as a tool and a weapon. In a moment, I will go back to the question, "Do miracles still exist?" and others mentioned above, but before I do, I want to discuss how to use the holy spirit to discern.
In fact, this post isn't just about all these false doctrines, but rather, how can we even trust that we can discern what is true and false in these times, when everything seems like a lie?
Do You Have The Holy Spirit?
The hardest part about writing this is that nobody wants to believe they don't have the holy spirit. After all, if we profess the name of Jesus Christ, don't we automatically have access to it in some way?
The answer is in part, yes, that we receive the holy spirit when we are baptized; however, while we may have access to it, it does not mean we have it all times - I certainly don't, but I am always working toward it!
The holy spirit is a complicated subject that will not be easily summed up in this post. In fact, when I just started writing about it, I made a mistake -
I went to man first for answers. I did a search on the holy spirit and what Derek Prince thought of it, and while his findings might be great, why didn't I go to the Bible?
The truth is - I wanted this to be easy to write, but now that I am doing it, I realize it is not easy. Accessing the holy spirit isn't easy either! Really - nothing we do for God is often easy, is it? So, I repent for my laziness, and I'm going to to do this the right way. Sometimes, I wish my hands were as fast as my thoughts.
In all honesty, I have never fully investigated the holy spirit myself, and now that is what I have to do. Though I have an intuitive understanding of the holy spirit, and I know when I have it, how can I explain to others?
Holy Spirit Rule 1: Always Go to the Bible FIRST - Not Man
The first way to gain access to the holy spirit is to go back to the Bible. The Bible is a living, breathing document, and I want to give a word of advice to every single reader here.
Read it even when you don't understand it. Just keep reading.
You will find that one of the reasons people give up on the Bible is there are times it gets overwhelming and complicated. That is because this knowledge is often higher than us, and we have to just attempt to read it and absorb it before we even understand it. While there are many truths to the Bible that are simple, there are other elements that take repetition, time, and reflection. This morning I was reading a section in Proverbs that God led me to, and I understood about half of it. I was wondering why God led me there, and I openly told Him that about half of it made sense. Still, I now know He led me there for a reason. Here is a relevant verse from this morning:
Those who trust in themselves are fools,
but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.
So in my investigation on the holy spirit, I went to man and my own thoughts first! How foolish. Though Derek Prince is a credible source, I still didn't go to the Bible first out of laziness. So, now I am going to amend my error and dive into more verses.
Holy Spirit Rule 2: Clean Your Temple!
Your body is a temple. If your body is defiled through sin in some way, God, and therefore, the holy spirit, cannot reside there.
Please really consider this when it comes to drinking and doing drugs while practicing Christianity. There is a reason the Bible tells us to be sober-minded. If you currently struggle with drugs, alcohol, marijuana, pills, etc., KNOW that these could be inhibiting the holy spirit.
Before anyone grows defensive, please know I used to really struggle with alcohol, and sadly, alcohol led me to bad choices where I couldn't truly discern what God was telling me. Now, I'm not speaking out against moderation, but really reflect on your drug and alcohol use and whether or not it is inhibiting your relationship with God. The Bible isn't a list of rules, and you need to honestly reflect on your relationship with God in regards to drugs and alcohol. For me, I will never drink again, and everything I write, I write sober - and substances can defile the temple of God, our bodies.
Any sin, of course, can defile our temple, and if we don't repent (or clean it out), then we may be subject to teachings of false prophets. In other words, when our temples are not clean and full of sin, we may be subject to false beliefs and itching ears.
For example, let's say you have a sin of lust. Well, then, you might really like those preachers who tell you pornography isn't really a big deal. Or, you may have a sin of desiring money. Well, you may really like those preachers who tell you that you're going to get rich quick!
Remember, too, self-righteousness is a sin! So you may love those preachers who cannot stop talking about how everything is a sin and you need to live in constant fear! Don't wear red on Fridays - you may burn in hell! : )
You see what happens? Your sin will lead you to want to believe things that suit you.
There are false spirits (demons) that can take over that FEEL GOOD and are like the holy spirit, but they are not.
So, in order to have the holy spirit, we need to read the Bible and keep your temple clean of sin. When our temples are muddied, the "channels" we are viewing can open us up to spirits.
Fruits of the Holy Spirit
Jesus told us, "You Will Know Them By Their Fruits":
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
So, anybody can claim to love Jesus. Anyone can claim to have the holy spirit. Anybody can claim anything they want! That is why it is so dangerous to just believe someone who says they believe in Jesus or that they know the Word of God. We must test all spirits, and Jesus says the best way to test someone is by their actions. Yes, actions speak louder than words. So, what are the fruits of the holy spirit? The Bible has an answer for that in Galatians 5:22 - 23:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
So, those qualities will show someone has the holy spirit. For example, I know a preacher is not full of the holy spirit when he is not kind to me. This happens all of the time in online comments, as I'm sure many of you are aware.
I'd like to go back to the whole chapter; however, because it is so beautiful, and it really gives us a feel for how to operate in the holy spirit on a daily basis:
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
To summarize, if we are operating in the holy spirit, we will:
1) Obey the Law of the Prophets. Love God with all your heart and others as yourself.
2) Avoid acts of the flesh. Do not sin.
3) Produce fruits such as love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Now, number 3 leads to me another point.
Holy Spirit Rule 3: Do Not Confuse Kindness with Tolerance:
Now, I know why God wanted me to read Proverbs this morning. Proverbs 27:5 says,
Better an open rebuke than hidden love.
There are times when we have to call someone out or rebuke them. However, when we rebuke others, it should be loving.
Unfortunately, the modern church has made Jesus into a hippie, one where he is always nice, always kind, and always smiling.
Jesus had times of righteous anger, like when he overturns the tables at the temple.
Still, if you consider his action, it was loving. He didn't harm anyone, but rather he showed an important point that could not be shown in any other way - not just by words. He had to act, and people paid attention.
We have to use the holy spirit to determine when an action is appropriate, and unfortunately, we are not Jesus.
I remember when I was mad at Witness 1 and I threw his bag of Cheetos out the car window to prove some point that I don't remember. This probably was not an action of the holy spirit but rather my bad temper.
So, what I'm getting at is don't use Jesus as an example to act poorly. He was perfect - we are not.
Still, the churches today have equated this "kind phoniness" with Jesus, which irritates me greatly. This false kindness is not really kind but pure evil because it leads people to hell. Your kindness should lead people to heaven not hell.
So ask yourself, "Is my kindness leading people to heaven or hell?"
Do you have the holy spirit?
As we all fall short of the glory of God, chances are, we are not operating in the holy spirit at all times. However, the less we sin and the more we read the Word of God and walk with Jesus Christ, the more we will find it is much easier to discern truth from lies, though there are an abundance of false prophets in the end times.
Now, there is nothing wrong with going to others to seek guidance on spiritual matters if you know the word of God and can test it. For example, you can test everything I have written in this post with the Bible to ensure I am giving you the correct teaching. So, NOW, I am going back to Derek Prince to see more about what he said about the holy spirit, and I believe this can all be backed up biblically now that I have explored the verses.
According to Derek Prince, now that we know how to access the holy spirit, it is something that needs to be developed and matures through time through our character. Our characters themselves are a reflection of the holy spirit in action. He talks about the seven stages of the holy spirit which ultimately lead us to a form of godliness. To quote an excerpt from this writing:
In the three remaining stages of development, the beauty of a truly Christian character unfolds. The first is godliness. It is the mark of a person whose life is centered in God—a person who has become a vessel for the presence of God. Wherever such a person goes, the atmosphere is permeated by a unique and pervasive fragrance. There may not be any preaching or other religious activity going on. Yet people become strangely aware of eternal issues.
The late British evangelist, Smith Wigglesworth, relates an incident which illustrates the impact of this godly presence in a non-religious atmosphere. After a time spent in private prayer, Smith stepped on a train and took his seat in a railway carriage. Without a word spoken, the man in the opposite seat—a complete stranger—blurted out, “Your presence convicts me of sin.” Smith was then able to introduce him to Christ.
The last two stages of development depict two different kinds of love. The first—brotherly kindness—describes the way believers in Jesus Christ should relate to their brothers and sisters in the Lord. Let me say something here which may shock you, but which is based on many decades of interaction with Christians from various backgrounds: It is not easy for Christians to love one another.
Two thousand years of Church history confirm this observation. Scarcely a century has passed that has not been marked by bitter strife and contention between rival groups of Christians—all of whom often claimed to be “the true Church.” Why is this so? Because the fact that a person has claimed salvation in Christ does not mean that his whole character has been instantly transformed. Certainly, change has been set in motion. But it may take many years for that change to be worked out in every area of a person’s character.
When David needed smooth stones to fit in his sling to slay Goliath, he went down to the valley— the lowly place of humility. There in the brook he found the kind of stones he needed.⁶ What had made them smooth? Two pressures. First, the water flowing over them. Second, their continual jostling against one another.
That is a picture of how Christian character is formed. First, there is the continual “washing of water by the word.”⁷ Second, as the stones jostle one another in personal relationships, the rough edges are gradually worn down until they become “smooth.”
It is a mark of spiritual maturity to sincerely love our fellow Christians. We must love them—not simply for what they are in themselves, but for what they mean to Jesus, who shed His life blood for each of them.
The final stage of development is agape love. This characteristic represents the full, ripe fruit of Christian character. This is no longer about loving only our fellow believers. It is God’s own love for the unthankful and the unholy. It is the love that causes us to “bless those who curse [us], do good to those who hate [us], and pray for those who spitefully use [us] and persecute [us]” (Matthew 5:44).
It is the love that Jesus demonstrated on the cross when He prayed for those who crucified Him, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”⁸ It is the same love that caused Stephen to pray for those who were stoning him, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”⁹
For my part, when I contemplate the Bible’s picture of the fully developed fruit of the Holy Spirit, I am both humbled and inspired. Humbled, because I still have so far to go. Inspired, because I have caught a glimpse of something more beautiful than anything this world has to offer.
As we close this series on the Holy Spirit, it is my prayer that your life has been deeply touched. I hope you have caught a glimpse of what your own life could be: full of the Holy Spirit, abounding in fruitfulness, and permeating the atmosphere around you with the fragrance of holiness. Let’s end this series by declaring these powerful words of Paul from Philippians 3:13-14:
“I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Notice he quotes scripture and all of what he says can be tested by you, the reader. Study it. Test it.
So, you see, the question "Do you have the holy spirit?" is not so simple, and it shouldn't be. When someone claims to have it, or we claim to have it ourselves, it should be tested by how our fruits. Do we not only talk the talk but do we walk the walk? Derek Prince certainly walked the walk, as far we as we know. Still, even then, people can lead double lives.
So, when browsing amongst the plethora of teachings out there, stop and ask yourself, are they manifesting the holy spirit? Are they backing up what they say with verses - not out of context verses - but in context verses? Remember, people can use verses and take them out of context. Satanists do that all of the time!
Once you look to the Bible, look toward their actions. How does this person act? Are they consistent or a hypocrite? Do they tell you to give to the poor but hoard wealth? Do they tell you to be kind than insult people in the comments below their video?
Now that we understand having the holy spirit, now it is time to test some end times doctrines that have arisen in these terrible times.
Testing End Times Doctrines
Do Miracles Still Exist?
This is the one that I mentioned at the beginning of this writing. Do miracles still exist? Well, now that I am equipped with the holy spirit, I am going back to the Bible - not man - for answers.
I read through all of these verses about miracles, and not one seemed to disagree with the fact that miracles still exist. So now, I am going back to the Cessationist argument to see what they are claiming, as when I go back to the Bible itself, I see no problem with the claim that miracles still exist.
When reading arguments from Cessationists, I saw a lot of verses taken out of context and a lot of confusion. For example, gotquestions.org, a favorite of many Christians, supports Cessationism (and doesn't like conspiracy theories, by the way) and focuses mainly on tongues, an extremely controversial subject that I will touch on in another post.
Honestly, my answer to readers is to search the scriptures yourself. From what I see, there is no "time limit" put on miracles in the Bible. Jesus talks so much about faith, believing, and never says that one cannot perform miracles through God only in His time. Jesus talks about faith that can move mountains and he doesn't seem to put limitations on that.
It seems that the Cessationists are getting caught up in petty quarrels of scripture, as Paul warned about.
When I go back to the Word itself, and the verses themselves about miracles, I believe miracles are still performed in these end times, and they don't just stop. If anyone performs a miracle, all glory is through God, and we have to remind ourselves that there are those out there than can use demons for false miracles.
That is where discernment comes in! If someone claims a miracle has happened to them, test it. If someone claims they were healed by the laying of hands, test them! You can test things and ask for proof. Every claim of a miracle should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Not all professed miracles are real, and most men will not be able to perform miracles due to their little faith.
In fact, the Cessationist's arguments are so confusing, I get lost in them, and remember, Satan is the author of confusion - not God.
So, what Satan does is present a strange new interpretation of scripture, even seemingly using verses to back up what he says. Then, there is a flock of people too lazy to just go back to the Bible and check out what it says for themselves. Instead, they become immersed in this new doctrine, cherry-picking verses and relying on other sources other than the Bible to support it - like gotquestions.org did with its case of history. In the end, people are more confused than ever.
When I went back to the Cessationist argument and not the Bible, I started to get lost and confused. Were they saying men couldn't perform miracles? Were they saying God doesn't perform miracles? Oh, wait, God performs them but not men? I mean, it just started becoming convoluted.
So, let's go back to the Bible. Do any of these verses say miracles cannot happen anymore? I do not see one.
So, a final sign of the holy spirit, is you will not be confused, and after all,
Luke 1:37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
God Gave Me a Miracle
Now, I would like you to test my story with the holy spirit. I would like you to pray, to discern, and go back to the Bible to test if I am telling the truth. If you have sinned, repent, and ask God for the holy spirit to dwell in you as you read. Am I telling the truth?
For years, I had severe back pain. I tried every single method to heal it, and nothing would work. At work, I often had to lie down and rest, and I hated it. I hated that I had to do this in the middle of work. Sometimes I was in so much pain I would cry. Witness 1 had to rub my back every night, but to little relief. I often couldn't participate in activities I really wanted to because of the pain, and it was a severe hindrance on my life daily. I would say I had this pain for about 10+ years, and some of it was due to a twisted spine, but I think other parts of the pain were a result of a physically abusive relationship and physical labor.
The point I'm trying to make is that I had severe back pain, and I tried everything I could to fix it. Nothing worked.
One night, after reading a book about heaven (A Cessationist would tell you not to do this because we have no new revelations about heaven), I saw something about a body parts "warehouse" in heaven. It sounded kind of funny, but endearing, and the author claimed that there were body parts available for miracles.
Now, here is the thing. We have to test what we read! From what I know about heaven biblically, there is a lot we just cannot fathom - the human heart cannot conceive. So, I figured, why not just the test it out? What do I have to lose?
For whatever reason, I never thought to ask God to heal me before. I don't know why. Maybe it was my lack of faith. Maybe I didn't feel deserving of it.
So, before bed, I prayed out loud in front of Witness 1. I said something along the lines of the following prayer, with the utmost sincerity and faith. I want to note that I have written this story before, so I am writing it again (not copying and pasting), and the words may not be exactly the same. Still, you we see consistency in my story if you recognize it:
Dear Father,
I was reading about the body parts store in heaven. I was thinking the end times are upon us, and I am wondering, how am I going to survive these times with my back like this? God, can you please give me a new back or spine and fix my back? I really need your help, and I don't know what else to do. I thank you God for everything you do for me." In Jesus's name.
There was more to the prayer than this, I think, but the point is, at that moment, I had faith that could move mountains. I was full of the holy spirit when I prayed, and I didn't have one piece of doubt or question in my mind. I even remember thinking, "This is going to happen."
And it did.
The next day I woke up, and I went to work, and my back was different. It didn't hurt. After that long day, I thought, "This is just a coincidence," but now it has been months. My back is still healed. It is a miracle. God answered my prayer, and I can't tell you how grateful I am.
Am I telling the truth? Test me. Test all I wrote. Discern. Oh, and ask Witness 1 to verify - who was skeptical at first but now can confirm.
Conclusion: A Warning
You don't know the amount of emails I get from people with strange beliefs. I seriously will get emails from people that say something like did you watch the video entitled:
Jesus was really a Cro-Magnon and we are going to be elevated in our consciousness during the Rapture according to Hebrew 2933:292.
Lol, I am joking but seriously! Those are things people believe. There are just insane doctrines out there, like how we can't trust Paul (we can!), or how Revelation already happened - it didn't!
This is a warning to everyone to not think you are safe from false doctrines. We all would like to believe that we can trust ourselves and our own hearts, but we cannot. We have to truly have the holy spirit, and we have to test if we have the holy spirit ourselves.
This is not an easy process, and wisdom of the Bible is not easily earned, as noted in my post here.
How many preachers ask you to test what they say? Very few. But we are reminding you to test us and all we write here, and I truly believe you will find we are telling you the truth.
You know why?
Our truth is uncomfortable and it really doesn't appeal to the masses. In fact, I'm pretty sure the Two Witnesses will not be very well-received for what they say, and you know, you need to test the millions of theories out there about them, too, because apparently The Two Witnesses are the Old Testament and New Testament to some, and Moses and Elijah to others, and us to a few readers out there. You test it! And who know what else? A dinosaur and a Cro-Magnon? At this point, I wouldn't be surprised!
You need to test it all because false beliefs can lead to hell.
Still, I hope this message is encouraging, that you, the reader, can manifest the holy spirit and its fruits and discern truth from lies - but only through Jesus Christ first.
- May God bless anyone reading - in Jesus's holy name!
- Witness 2