Deuteronomy 13 Commentary: The battle of the gods continues
The man by whose hand the LORD battled the Egyptian gods knew the battle wasn’t over. The gods would still show up and display their power here and there. Israel should not be misled. As Moses was used by the LORD to perform miracles, so false prophets would be used by the gods to perform signs in order to entice Israel.
This chapter speaks to us who are living in a ‘see/believe’ world. It is not a world in which truth is embraced. The visible, be it virtual or real, becomes more important. How we feel and what we see become the standard measure for truth. Moses speaks to such a world in very clear terms. False prophets must not be believed even when their predictions come true.
Moses seems to be saying that the LORD would allow challengers to arise. By their dark magical powers they can perform big signs. The signs they perform, big or small, should not misled God’s community into believing them. Israel is commanded to reject these prophets and completely destroy them. The equivalent today would be to completely reject and have absolutely nothing to do with the false prophets and their teachings.
The New Testament expands on this command by showing us how to know who the antichrist is. We know them by their fruit. The saint is commanded to examine the fruit. It shouldn’t take long. If only the saint asked a couple of questions, she would have found out that the innocent looking man wasn’t even a believer in the first place. Just check the fruit.
The LORD is calling His people to a point of faith. What they have received is good enough even when satan puts up a ‘good’ show.
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