(Article Submission) For Publication

Spiritual Discernment

   As this Age of Grace hurdles toward its inevitable conclusion, one of the most important skills that today’s Christians need to master is spiritual discernment. The Bible clearly delineates that Satan, the arch-enemy of God, can appear as an angel of light, mimicking God’s authority, divinity, and especially His miracles, wonders, and signs. God’s written Word implores the human race not to be deceived by this counterfeit spirituality, even as His Word also acknowledges a significant “falling away of believers during the epilogue of human history.

   The timeless spiritual battle for the soul of every human being needs to be accepted as self-evident and firmly grounded in inerrant Biblical scholarship. This is a critical first-step toward attaining and mastering the essential skill of spiritual discernment. It must also be understood that modern cultural standards, man-made religious doctrines, and the religious hierarchy itself, are inadequate substitutes for a believer’s fundamental Biblical knowledge and ability to accurately assess spiritual authenticity. The Word of God counsels believers to line everything up with scripture, to accurately assess whether or not its sourcing is truly heavenly. The latest prophetic utterances, spirit manifestations, and works of the flesh theories that prove unable to pass this alignment test are of a decidedly demonic origin, a by-product of spiritual deception.

   The power and breadth of this demonic masquerade is what I hope to convey, and I offer my experience in conjunction with repentance and an acknowledgement of my personal history of gullibility and susceptibility to the dark side. Years before I became a committed Christian and an avid student of the Bible, I was myopically focused on solving a fifty year old aviation mystery that had claimed the life of a close relative. I was consumed with the task, totally results-oriented, manifesting emotional intensity that eventually morphed into outright obsession, resulting in wanton disregard for my personal safety, spiritual well-being, professional status, and eternal destiny. The magnitude of my obsession and results-oriented mantra that was driving me, were countered and at times surpassed by the unwavering commitment of the sources withholding the information to keep the facts hidden and the mystery unsolved.

   Censorship, disinformation, and deliberate stonewalling over a number of years, were the precursors to my other-worldly pursuit of alternative sourcing for the information I was seeking. As a result of my reckless pursuit, I unwittingly opened a door to powerful, Satanic forces, entirely convinced that my quest for information was of such importance that the Creator of the Universe was making an exception to the Biblical directive against such activity. I offer this illustration of self-delusion from a present-day vantage point, which includes my absolute realization that the God of the Bible does not make exceptions to His Biblical directives. The overwhelming and absolute power that I experienced while I was unknowingly allied with the dark side is the cornerstone of my message, and I offer it with a profound warning predicated on first-hand experience.

   In spite of efforts to deny me access to the documents I was seeking, the power of the dark side ultimately prevailed, and utilizing what is best described as a demonic counterfeit miracle, I actually experienced a visionary replay of the historical event in question. With this first person insight, I was able to successfully solve the mystery and eventually share it publicly. Demonic spiritual sources, masquerading as angels of light, provided this intensely alluring short-cut during a stalemate and emotional low-point in my investigation. This short-cut completely eliminated my need to access any and all forbidden documentation. Instead, the absolute power of the dark side elevated me to the stature of eyewitness to the event itself, in spite of the fact that the event had occurred before I was born.

   What must be repeatedly emphasized to today’s Christians is that the dark side retains dominion over our Earthly realm. It does not share this dominion with governments or other entities, and certainly not with the religious hierarchy. Although Satan is defeated spiritually, there will be no armistice until the Son of God returns to set up His Kingdom on Earth. In the meantime, the father of lies and his legions of fallen angels know that their time to deceive humanity is short. The antidote to their coercive, unrelenting spiritual deception is spiritual discernment predicated on Biblical knowledge and insight. You will not find an effective spiritual antidote anywhere outside the written Word of God. The adage that knowledge is power has never been more relevant, especially in deference to the fact that the stakes in this ceaseless spiritual battle for your soul will determine your destiny for all of eternity.                    

                 

   “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise. Redeeming the time because the days are evil.”

                                                    Ephesians 5:15-16

   

Mark A. Vance

© 2019

Author

 “Angels of Light - Beyond the Veil”

“Flight of the Forgotten - A True Story of Heroism and Betrayal”

Member

 (ACFW) American Christian Fiction Writers

www.markavance.com