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 to entice Israel.
This chapter speaks to those who live in a ‘see/believe’ world. It is not a world in which truth is embraced. The visible, be it virtual, fake, or real, becomes more important. How we feel and what we see become the standard measure of 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 mislead God’s community into believing them.
Israel is commanded to reject these prophets and completely destroy them. Reject and have absolutely nothing to do with the false prophets and their teachings.
The New Testament expands 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. You ask a couple of questions and you know. Check the fruit.
The contest is over. The LORD God won’t field another team to work against the magicians of Egypt. There was, is, and will ever be only one team, team Calvary—always the winning team.
The saints can always face their battles with this team. Never mind the false prophets and whatever team or weapons they come up with.
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