Are you sure what you have in your wallet is actually worth what you think? Have you accepted something counterfeit? Have you been deceived?
The Holy Spirit helps us to recognize counterfeits. He helps us see lies, and discern truth. Everyone who has the Holy Spirit can learn to hone their discernment skills.
God has given some members of the Body of Christ a strong ability to see things, so they can teach others in the Body how to do the same. We might call them the "eyes" of the Body, but what we call them does not matter. We need to love all of our brothers and sisters in Christ and submit to one another because together, we are Jesus here on earth.
If someone in the Body "sees something," we must take it seriously, test it to make sure it is true, and then take appropriate action to defend the Body from deception. Everyone has blind spots. We must humble ourselves and accept help to see what we do not see. This is part of the Body's immune system, and is essential for its health.
Lydia
Years ago, the Holy Spirit taught me some things about this, and they have stuck with me ever since. I was having a discussion with someone who claimed Lydia was the leader of a church. I went home to check it out and got out my exhaustive concordance. I only found her name in Acts 16...From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.Skipping the story about the jailer...
On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us. (Acts 16:11-15 NIV)
After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left. (Acts 16:40 NIV)That is all I found about Lydia. Her name appears nowhere else in the New Testament, including Paul's letter to the Philippians.
So, if she was the leader of a church, the evidence for her being a leader of the assembly of believers in Philippi looked slim. Meeting in someone's house does not automatically make them a leader, especially if they are a new believer. I thought perhaps she was a leader of the assembly of believers in the town where she came from, Thyatira, so I looked up the name of that city in my concordance and only found it in Acts 16:14, as discussed above, and Revelation. I looked in Revelation and found this...
“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:Now, that woman was certainly leading people, but not in a good way! Suddenly, I realized Lydia was the "Jezebel" in Thyatira, and that the Holy Spirit had used the person I was conversing with to guide me into that revelation. Today, I still believe Lydia was the Jezebel of Revelation, although the Bible does not explicitly say so and I have never heard anyone else make that connection. You can believe what you like, but it caused me to wonder if Lydia was really converted. Here is another look at the text in Acts 16...
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelation 2:18-29 NIV)
One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us. (Acts 16:14-15 NIV)It says Paul and his companions were persuaded to believe something, but says nothing about her actual belief. Compare this to what happened a short time later with the jailer...
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”In the jailer's case, the text explicitly states he and his family believed. They saw miracles and the jailer was terrified. He repented. Lydia only heard Paul's teachings, and Jesus said...
The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household. (Acts 16:25-34 NIV)
“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” (John 4:48 NIV)Paul later wrote to the Corinthians...
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NIV)If we believe the book of Acts was inspired by the Holy Spirit and he speaks to us through the text, then he is telling us something here by making this comparison. He is telling me Lydia did not really believe, and therefore did not repent, and she may have eventually taught error in her hometown. This is the danger of just preaching words without demonstrating God's power -- people don't experience the fear of God, and they don't really repent. Then, thinking they have something to share with others about God, they unwittingly become false prophets and lead them away from Jesus. They are the blind leading the blind, and both will fall into a pit. Is this what we want? Of course not! We must do things the way Jesus taught us. Even the early disciples did not always get it right, as demonstrated here in the case of Paul. This is very sobering, in my opinion.
Of course Jesus will ultimately judge who is actually converted and saved, but the Bible says we are supposed to make judgements about those who claim to be in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 5). I believe Paul and his companions were deceived into believing Lydia was converted, and I think many Bible translators, church leaders and scholars have been deceived, as well. She was not Paul's first convert in Europe; the jailer was, along with his family. I believe this happened because Paul did not have all the help he needed when he got to Philippi, and he did not recognize what was going on.
John Mark
Before he left on his second missionary journey, Paul had an argument with Barnabas about John Mark. Earlier, John Mark had been with them at the start of Paul's first missionary journey, when they were on the island of Cyprus, but he went back to Jerusalem for some reason after they returned to the mainland.The first missionary journey started after Barnabas and Saul (Paul) returned from delivering a gift to brothers and sisters in Judea (Acts 11:27-30)...
When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission [to Judea], they returned from Jerusalem [to Antioch], taking with them John, also called Mark... (Acts 12:25 NIV)The text of Paul's first missionary journey starts here...
...The two of them [Saul and Barnabas], sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.This seems to be the only time in the book of Acts, and in the whole Bible, where Paul directly confronted a false prophet. The summary at this link seems to have a pretty good list of the false prophets in the Bible, and it only lists two in the New Testament: Elymas and the Jezebel of Revelation. John Mark was with them for only a short time, which happened to be when they encountered Elymas. Here is where Paul's second missionary journey begins, and eventually reaches Philippi and Lydia...
They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. (Acts 13:4-13 NIV)
Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus [perhaps to encourage Sergius Paulus1], but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.So, were Paul and his companions deceived in the Lydia encounter because John Mark was not with them? The Bible does not say directly, but years later, when Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, he asked him to send "Mark," because he needed his help. This was after Paul had been to Rome (2 Timothy 1:16-17), and therefore was also after his three missionary journeys -- in other words, after Paul had been through many experiences, and had encountered many different people and situations...
Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. [This is apparently where Paul first met Timothy.] The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. [It appears Troas is where the author of Acts joined Paul's party, presumably Luke. This means the author had first-hand knowledge about the encounter with Lydia.]
From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us. (Acts 15:36-16:15 NIV)
Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.Is this the same "Mark" we have been discussing? The Bible doesn't say, but I believe it is. This Mark was helpful to Paul in some way, which implies he had capabilities that Paul did not have. I also believe it is likely he was the cousin of Barnabas, and eventually got reconnected with Paul...
Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:9-18 NIV)
My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) (Colossians 4:10 NIV)
I believe John Mark may have had a spiritual gift of discernment, or something similar, and God used it on Cyprus to help defeat Elymus the false prophet so the procounsul, Sergius Paulus would see the Power of God and believe. The Bible doesn't say what John Mark did because the Book of Acts is mostly about Paul, but he may have been the one who recognized what Elymas was doing and warned Paul. Whatever happened, The Darkness undoubtedly took note and did what it could to separate John Mark from Paul. We don't know why John Mark returned to Jerusalem after Cyprus, but we do know there was conflict within "the Family" of Christ that created division and caused a breakup before the second missionary journey. This is nothing new, and I have seen it before. In fact, it happened to me.
Personal Experience
Years ago, after I repented and was baptized in water and Spirit, my spiritual capabilities in the Body of Christ started to become apparent. If you read some of my earlier posts, you know I had foreknowledge of some things that occurred, and in some cases prayed God's will for them to come about. After the "big one" happened, which you can read about in Spirit of Elisha and Burned Toast, The Darkness put some resources directly on my case within a week.I had left my job as a chemical engineer, and had begun using my time to learn about film-making and television production. I had signed up to learn how to use broadcast-quality video equipment at the local cable TV public-access station, and it was a day-long class. During the lunch break, two guys who were also taking the class asked me to go to lunch with them. They made me uncomfortable, but my motto at the time was, "Give to those who ask," so I went. It was an awkward meal, and I really did not like them at all, but I tried to be nice. A few weeks later, the manager of the TV station told me one of them had checked out some equipment and did not return it, and the station had to take special steps to get it back. That's pretty bad "fruit." Last June, I learned I had "spiritual hitchhikers." Did I acquire some of them during that lunchtime encounter back in 2001? I do not know the answer to that, and it really doesn't matter, but I do think the question is quite intriguing.
We were members of a church at the time, and I ended up being marginalized and persecuted for no apparent reason. I became very distraught and upset about it, and could not understand what was happening, but I have a very good understanding about it now. Of course, I forgave them and have moved on, and I rejoice at being counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name (Acts 5:41).
At home, all of the neighbors we knew moved away in a relatively short period of time, and most of those who replaced them showed little interest in getting to know us. I realize now that the Holy Spirit was teaching me what it is really like to live as a disciple of Jesus in this fallen world. It was a hard lesson, but one I cherish. Several years later, God led us to sell our house and move across town to what has turned out to be a much better place. We love it here. God is good.
First Strike
In war, when attacking an enemy, the first thing to do is blind them so they are at a disadvantage. When the U.S.2-led coalition of forces began their attack to "liberate Kuwait" in 1991, the air raids during the first night were targeted at "command and control." They wanted to take out the enemy's eyes. When the Babylonians captured Zedekiah, King of Judah, they put out his eyes before they took him to Babylon (2 Kings 25:7), and when the Philistines captured Samson, they gouged out his eyes, probably thinking it would neutralize him for good, although they were mistaken (Judges 16:21).
This is what Satan does when he deals with God's people -- he goes for the eyes. Don't fall for it. Love your brothers and sisters, and respect what you hear them say, and what they see. Test it, of course, but trust them because they are Jesus, and they are his way of helping you. More importantly, it is how he protects his Body from attack, and if you ignore the "military intelligence" he provides, you risk being cut off, overrun, and destroyed.
Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.
All glory to God!!!
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UPDATE, April 27, 2022...
1Barnabas was from Cyprus, so he may have just gone home.
UPDATE, May 10, 2022...
2The "U.S." is/was an out-of-control government-services corporation, and the wars in Iraq had nothing to do with actual Americans or the actual American Government. I discussed this in more recent posts.
There is a pyramid on the side of the Abrams tank (U.S.) in this picture. That symbol shows who those soldiers were actually fighting for and who was really in control. The soldiers and the public had no idea what that meant. I certainly didn't, but I noticed it and wondered.
When I wrote this post in 2016, I was still under the belief that the government of my country always did what was right, and that the cause of that particular adventure was a just one, but it turns out I had been groomed by propaganda from the Media. I think it is interesting that all three of the examples I gave of "first strikes" are associated with Satan in the subsequent paragraph. Apparently, the Holy Spirit knew what I did not know when I wrote this post. All glory to Him!!!