Another spirit or the Holy spirit?

The Bible teaches there is another spirit, another gospel and another Jesus?[1] If God is God, why would such deception exist? The answer is very simple. Satan, the father of lies, is the great deceiver who wants to be God.[2] His plan is to deceive the world in the name of the Savior, Jesus Christ. [3] Therefore, if the Spirit of God leads the lost to the Son of God, could it be that that “another spirit” is how the devil leads the whole world to the antichrist? These are questions that every Christian should think about, especially in the Last Days when deception is on the increase.

For some time now, I have been thinking about these things. How does Satan deceive, and should a Christian be aware of how Satan works? The Bible is full of references that warn believers to wake up and to expose darkness.

Further, the concept of checking out the roots of a tree has been constantly on my mind. What does it means to check out the roots of a tree with reference to Christianity? Some time ago, a friend of mine gave me an illustration he believed had an important spiritual implication. The illustration was that of a simple drawing of a tree that was filled with ravens sitting on the branches. While some branches represented biblical truths, other branches represented teachings that had infiltrated the body of Christ and were clearly devious plans of Satan.

As for the roots of the tree, some of the roots were embedded in healthy soil and thus provided essential nutrients to the tree, while other roots were embedded in soil that was polluted with poison, and of course, did much harm to the tree. Further, the illustration showed that this tree was a hiding place for the ravens.

I will never forget this illustration as this is what is happening to fellowships and entire denominations within the Christian church today. Bad roots eventually produce bad fruit. While this should be obvious to those who say they believe the Bible, that’s not always the case. The human beings, who make up the tree, cannot see because they are part of the tree, and they have become blinded. It would be easy to recover from this blindness if they would only turn to the Word of God to gain understanding and discernment.

Christianity is full of examples of tree-like denominations full of ravens because Satan is the master deceiver, and he knows that men follow men instead of Jesus. While the Roman Catholic Church claims to be the Mother of All Churches we know this is not true. Jesus said His church would be built upon the true cornerstone. And He is that cornerstone. [4]. When we follow men instead of Jesus Christ, we have the ingredients for a spiritual disaster. Such is the case that we will try to analyze in the rest of this commentary.

A Counterfeit spirit is not the Holy Spirit?

Wouldn’t it make sense that if the Holy Spirit points the lost to the truth, then a counterfeit spirit called “another spirit” points those who are lost toward deception? This is the devil’s plan as recorded in the Bible. In our research, we have discovered this is one of Satan’s favorite strategies. How many have believed they have been led by the Spirit of God when later it becomes obvious that they had been seduced by a spirit of deception? This is why it is so important to have discernment, which only comes from knowing God’s Word and allowing His Spirit to lead us. [5]

For example, I have known people who believed they were being blessed by the Spirit of God because they laughed hysterically, barked like a dog, slithered on the floor like a snake, or even clucked like a chicken. At first, they said they were not sure if it was God that was causing them to behave that way. Their line of thought went like this: if it was God, they did not want to miss out on what God was doing; thus they were willing to take the risk.

As you can see this line of reasoning is not reasonable. What if it was not God that was causing them to behave in these unusual ways? Would that mean they had been deceived by Satan? This is a serious situation

History shows the danger there is in following a man or woman who claims to be a Christian because he or she has an ability of making people “feel” like they are being influenced by the Holy Spirit.

On a number of occasions, I have heard testimonies from people who were first-hand witnesses of the “Jesus Movement.” They give testimony that one of the leaders had the ability to make them feel like the “spirit” was “flowing all over them.” The person who is speaking in the following clip states there would never have been a Calvary Chapel movement or a Vineyard Movement without Lonnie Frisbee who acted very strangely:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E9vRXoxlwE&feature=related

Here is another example of a testimony from a person who claims that Lonnie Frisbee had an “anointing” called a mantle. Today, there are those who believe there is about to be another Jesus movement and that this so-called anointing that Frisbee had is about to be released.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iUOx7jkQ7o&NR=1

Now, here are the facts. Feelings can be very deceptive. Feelings or emotions should never be relied upon for determining truth and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Believing that one can receive a transferable anointing from a man or an object is nothing more than witchcraft. Following a man under the influence of drugs is not following Jesus and His Word.

Many who were under such an influence felt all kinds of things. They even saw things that were in their minds as the result of LSD. How much confidence would you put in a person who said he was a convert of Jesus Christ who was stoned Saturday night and then preached Sunday morning? Is it possible that “another Jesus” was often represented during this former Jesus movement?

Can Bad Roots Produce Bad Fruit?

While God saves sinners from all sin, does this mean that sin can be covered up by ignoring that sin never happened? Further, there is another piece of evidence that needs to be considered. It is possible to start out right and to end up wrong, isn’t it? What if a group becomes so proud of themselves they refuse to be corrected. Remember, pride comes before a fall.

Now that we are living in a time of great deception predicted by the Bible as the Last Days, is it possible that the ravens are coming home to roost in the dead branches of the trees? Could those branches have died because the roots absorbed poison by certain false doctrines that crept in unawares? Would the dead branches be the perfect nesting place for the enemies of God who are out to destroy all those who truly follow Jesus Christ?

Some time ago, after doing some research and gathering of the facts, I became suspicious because of some of the testimonies that I heard about the roots of the Jesus Movement. Here is one example that you can listen to and watch and see for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wBvnJ8RsOc

Furthermore, let us consider the connection of Kathryn Kuhlman with the Jesus Movement. She was a promoter of the Protestant Charismatic movement and in ecumenical unity with Rome. Does that sound an alarm? How can someone who has partnered with Rome be part of a true Jesus Movement?