(N.K.J.V used throughout).

I believe we are on the cusp of a great wave of deception which will flood the church of the western world, with fallen angels manifesting as angels of light being one of the first signs of this.

Introduction: The lack of real revival in the western world plus the movement of our secular societies away from Christian values surely reflects the fact that things have been deteriorating here spiritually for some time now. Many watchmen believe, as I do, that a great wave of deception is now imminent in the west that will impact people from a wide range of denominational backgrounds. I don’t believe that this enemy wave will centre on any particular ministry but will instead spread online and then at grass roots level between individuals. Following this word, (link), I believe that the initial thrust will come as fallen angels manifest to people claiming to be angels of light. This type of deception is already prevalent within some Christian streams in the USA and often appears to deceive even those who are normally more cautious. This is likely to be followed by a multitude of other deceptions and a false New Age/occult anointing as things polarise towards the end times. Many of the believers who don’t weigh things against scripture will end up moving in this false anointing believing it to be the Holy Spirit. Satan has being infiltrating the church of the western world with a slack attitude towards discernment for decades in preparation for this great surge from the kingdom of darkness. I believe this wave could be upon us very soon making it vital that we test all spiritual manifestations against scripture.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God,” (1 Jn 4: 1).

Deception: As any informed observer will know deception has been on the increase in the church of western world over the past few decades. Many leaders have promised, and falsely prophesied, revival almost on an annual basis but instead congregations have been shrinking overall. Many believers have also moved away from a scriptural form of spirituality ignoring the bibles indication as to what is of the Spirit. Any great wave of deception will probably impact the USA first and then spread to Western Europe and other places too, anywhere in fact that draws from the largest Christian online media organisations. Most of these organisations do not move in discernment or test things against scripture, they are not really accountable to anyone and have been repeatedly deceived themselves in the past. Despite their errors some have kept self confidently promoting each new thing as “the great revival,” and many undiscerning Christians have believed these claims. These errors have been sapping the resolve of many who have been disappointed and let down time and again. The next wave of deception could lead many into huge discouragement. We could then see many abandoning the faith in the western world due to either loosing heart or outright confusion. This may be the start of the great falling away and apostasy predicted by St Paul in 2 Thess 2; 3, or at least a precursor to it.

“according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,” (2 Thess 2; 9).

False revivals: The majority of revivals are a mixture. Most genuine revivals contain an element of New Age/occult deception at the periphery as the devil tries to lead people astray and cause the revival to falter. This is well reported in historical accounts of past revivals. What we are often witnessing today however are the manifestations that were once identified as deceptive dominating these moves and being viewed as evidence that they are of God. These false revivals excite people with promises of personal blessings and triumph for the church in this world but have little emphasis on sharing the gospel with unbelievers. Not surprisingly they never bear any fruit. Historically the main test of a revivals fruit has been how many unbelievers were saved. Today however many judge a so called “revival” by how many Christians have been healed, (or appear to be healed as Doctors reports are almost always absent). The bible also warns us that Satan will deceive the elect with counterfeit signs and wonders as the end draws near so we cannot assume that healings are necessarily a sign from God. As both the Lord and Satan will move in healing power we need the gift of discernment of spirits, (1 Cor 12: 10), more than ever as we head towards the last days. Satan is more than willing to heal people if it results in the masses receiving a counterfeit New Age/occult anointing. Once people are in such a deceived state they are then more open to falling away.

“false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect,” (Matt 24; 24)

A mixture within a false revival: As a genuine revival will almost always contain an element of deception so a false revival will contain some things which are of God. This is because no matter how deceived believers become they still have Gods Spirit, access to the gifts and the ability to pray. So the coming wave of deception will have elements in it that are of God but the dominant features will be deceptive. In the two false revivals I have witnessed the congregations became excited and even more zealous for God for a season. However, after it became clear that their expectations were not coming to pass discouragement prevailed and people started leaving those churches with some falling away from the faith. Some observers may be led astray if they see this type of misplaced zeal as a sign of God moving. We therefore need to weigh such moves against scripture not by people’s initial enthusiasm during the first few months. It could take a year before the fruit of a false revival becomes apparent to those who do not move in discernment or test manifestations against the bible. Unfortunately by then many will have been drawn in, been deceived and lost any ability to discern.

“Test all things; hold fast what is good,” (1 Thess 5; 21).

Other likely manifestations within this false revival: Deception may vary between individuals and churches, tailored to what a particular congregation is willing to receive. I knew of one church where strange fallen angels, imitating angles of God, appeared to many members of the congregation and gave them false words of knowledge promising that revival was about to break out there and then. This was accompanied by the counterfeit anointing that is already present in some churches today. People then started experiencing manifestations that neither Jesus nor anyone else in the N/T ever experienced when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Such manifestations can be for e.g. people making animal noises, shaking and convulsions but without any demon’s being driven out, hysterical laughter and people falling about as if high on drugs or strong drink, none of which are scriptural.

Vivid New Age visions and dreams are also likely to increase, promoting deceptive unscriptural prophesies along with counterfeit visitations to heaven becoming commonplace. Today people such as Bob Jones and Todd Bentley already believe they can visit heaven at will whenever they want. Occult miracles such as gold dust or feathers may appear which, unlike Jesus miracles, will not be serving any practical purpose. Probably the most convincing manifestation will be occult based healings, many of which will be real but probably won’t last for longer than Satan wants them to in order to promote the fake revival.

After initial interest these churches will probably become a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. My guess is that after about a year leaders will emerge from within this deceptive wave. People like Rick Joyner and Bob Jones who are likely to hold major conventions calling for the spirits of deceased saints to return to earth to help them in their battle. These ministries already practice such spiritualism and are gradually introducing it to the body of Christ already. My expectation is that at this point many of those deceived will suddenly realise something is wrong, that this is not of God and then be thrown into huge confusion and discouragement. Many could then start doubting the faith altogether being unable to differentiate between which things were of God and which were not. Such discouragement will be intensified as they see the secular society, that they had been told would be transformed by the power of God, instead becoming darker and more evil as pagan beliefs become more popular instead of Christianity - the fruit of a counterfeit not genuine revival.

Our response: Those who don’t get deceived by these things will nonetheless have to submit more deeply to God in order to remain free from deception, discouragement, apathy and the danger of falling away themselves. In this difficult spiritual atmosphere God will also call some to reach out and help those who have been deceived which will require a lot of patience. In the UK we may end up as a small underground grassroots minority in our nation as we head toward the end times. I do believe that a genuine move of Gods Spirit will follow the deceptive wave though, to strengthen those who remain faithful and help bring in Gods end times harvest. The bible also encourages us to set our mind on things above where Christ is and await His return. We mustn’t lose sight of this no matter how discouraging the next short season of deception may turn out to be.

For other warning prophecies try this link.

S. Dobbs, July 2011, www.wordconnect.org