We must identify the “leaven” impacting The Body of Christ!
Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in 1st Timothy chapter 4:
1 The Holy Spirit has explicitly revealed: At the end of this age, many will depart from the True faith one after another, devoting themselves to spirits of deception and following demon-inspired revelations and theories.
2 Hypocritical liars will deceive many, and their consciences won’t bother them at all!
3 They will require celibacy and dietary restrictions that GOD doesn’t expect, for HE created all foods to be received with the celebration of faith by those who fully know the Truth.
4 We know that all creation is beautiful to GOD and there is nothing to be refused if it is received with gratitude.
5 All that we eat is made Sacred by the Word of God and prayer.
My wife and I pray over our meal no matter where we are at… in public and private. Publicly, it is a profession of our faith, and we are not embarrassed to pray in any venue.
6 If you will teach the believers these things, you will be known as a faithful and good minister of Jesus, the Anointed One. Nurture others in the living Words of faith and in the knowledge of grace which you were taught.
7 Be quick to abstain from senseless traditions and legends, but instead be engaged in the training of Truth that brings righteousness.
On the political front, there are so many lies and deception that they leave many with conflict about what will happen in the future. The deception of propaganda spewed out by the various forms of social media is reaching a crescendo. We must protect ourselves from those spirits of deception and following demon-inspired revelations and theories.
This is not a recent phenomenon.
Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in his final greetings in Colossians chapter 4:
14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.
And in Philemon chapter 1:
23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you,
24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
Later he wrote by The Holy Spirit in 2nd Timothy chapter 4:
9 Be diligent to come to me quickly;
10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.
Demas had ministered side by side with Paul and Paul had identified him as a fellow worker. Later, Demas deserted Paul and returned to his love for the present world. He fell away from the Truth and returned his focus to the worldly trappings. His name means “governor of the people” thus he had been exalted by the people as a leader. It is believed that Demas was from aristocracy, privilege, and wealth.
Paul was in a serious situation and Demas forsook (abandoned) him. He sent Timothy word to “come quickly”. Demas had not gotten the world out of his heart.
There are those who have not removed the leaven out of their hearts who will abandon us in these last days. Those who were thought to represent us will have their hearts revealed and the Truth of what is in their hearts will be exposed. Don’t be surprised! Expect the unexpected. Don’t allow yourself to be captivated by anyone who in the past seemed to be on the same page as you. As Paul wrote, many will fall away and depart from the True faith.