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Mark 13:6 "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am [Christ]; and shall deceive many." Mark 13:22 "For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if [it were] possible, even the elect." Colossians 2:8 "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Ephesians 4:14-15 "That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ." 2 Thessalonians 2:3 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." Clearly we need to be careful. It has been predicted that many false preachers will arise in the last days.

Matthew 12:22-24 "Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard [it], they said, This [fellow] doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils." This title is also found in Mark 3:20-22, "And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his friends heard [of it], they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils." And let us look at Luke 11:14-15, "And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils."

Beelzebub is obviously not a good name to have applied. Those of Beelzebub are of Satan and not of God. Something had to provoke the Pharisees, the scribes, and the people to associate Jesus with Beelzebub.

To help us understand why, let us look at the tests used by society today and see if Jesus would still be considered of Beelzebub?

1. Teaching doctrine different from the main stream. Mark 7:5-9 "Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with [their] lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, [as] the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition." Jesus definitely broke with tradition. Why? Because they were not teaching from the scriptures but instead doctrines that the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes created. But does breaking with tradition really make Jesus an associate of Beelzebub? No of course not. To follow a "Thus Saith the Lord" never makes one an associate of Beelzebub. Besides, notice what God told the Israelites, Deuteronomy 29:9 "Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do." Deuteronomy 8:3 "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every [word] that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live." And then note what is said in the New Testament, Matthew 4:4 "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." John 14:23 "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." From these references, clearly safety is found in the scriptures and not in the traditions of men.

2. Having a small ban of followers. Matthew 10:1 "And when he had called unto [him] his twelve disciples, he gave them power [against] unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease." Acts 1:15 "And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty." Jesus ended up with only one hundred and twenty followers. That is not many. But does that actually make Jesus an associate of Beelzebub? Not according to the Scriptures. 1 Peter 3:20 "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." Eight were saved in the time of the flood. Genesis 19:15 "And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city." Lot’s wife later was lost by turning back, but only three were saved out of all the towns destroyed by fire and brimstone. Small numbers are a frequent occurrence. Notice Jeremiah 31:7, "For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel." Only a remnant, that is, a small number of followers ever do what the Lord asks of them to do and thus are saved. In fact, if the vast majority of people are for something, then something must be wrong.

3. Preaching coming calamities. Matthew 24:29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." Jesus said this and much more. Does that make Jesus an associate of Beelzebub? No. If God is going to permit calamities, God said He would warn us. Amos 3:7, "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."

4. Teaching about the second coming. Matthew 24:30 "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." There are over 2,500 references in the Bible to the second coming. Does that make Jesus an associate of Beelzebub? No. Where should our hope be? Titus 2:13 "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Too bad the world’s hopes are upon earthly things. They do not want to hear that the Blessed Hope will soon appear.

5. Operating in secret. John 7:1-12 "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For [there is] no man [that] doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode [still] in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people." Jesus for one reason or another did practice in secret. Primarily He did it because people would judge Him improperly before hearing the message. Other references to Jesus working in secret include Matthew 8:1-4, Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-9, Mark 7:31-37, Mark 8:22-30, Luke 5:12-15, Luke 9:18-21, and Luke 8:49-56. He had His reasons for operating in secret, but is that reason enough to associate Jesus with Beelzebub? No. What principle is applied here? John 16:12 "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now."

By these same standards, many other people over the years and to this present day are labeled in association with Beelzebub, but are these standards Biblical? If they were, Jesus would be of Beelzebub. How do people know that Jesus truly was the Messiah and not a prophet of Beelzebub? How do people know if a teacher, group, etc. today is of Beelzebub? God has given us His set of tests.

1. Mark 7:13 "Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye." When a man’s teachings are placed above a "Thus Saith the Lord," that is the power of Beelzebub working. Note that John also stresses this test. 2 John 1:10 "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into [your] house, neither bid him God speed."

2. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 "[Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders." When the primary focus of a ministry is using signs and wonders, that is an opportune chance for the power of Beelzebub to work the greatest. That is why Jesus tells us not to put our faith in signs and wonders. Luke 11:27-29 "And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed [is] the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed [are] they that hear the word of God, and keep it. And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet."

3. Matthew 26:52 "Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." Using human solutions to solve the problems facing mankind instead of approaching God is the workings of Beelzebub. In fact, I hear more and more advertisements for how Christians can be equipped for the world calamities. The most common advertisements include how to stock up on food, water, shelter, and weapons. Where is our trust? Psalms 23:1 "A Psalm of David. The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want." 1 Samuel 17:47 "And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle [is] the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands."

4. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." When a man thinks he is in the place of God, that is definitely the working of Beelzebub. But wait a second. Jesus as a man claimed to be God. True, but He is God. How do we know that? First, God said that He would dwell among man as one of them. So that people would not be deceived God gave over 300 prophecies predicting that He would come in the flesh, what His manner of life would be, things that He would do, and other events which a mere human could not fulfill.

Below is a list of just a few to show how it would be impossible for a mere man to control the events pointing to the Messiah.

(1) Prophesied that God would send His son. (Proverbs 30:4)

(2) Born in Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2)

(3) Born of David’s lineage. (Jeremiah 23:5)

(4) Born of a virgin. (Isaiah 7:14)

(5) In attempt to kill Jesus at a young age, many infants would die. (Jeremiah 31:15)

(6) Date of His anointing. (Daniel 9:25)

(7) A friend would betray Him. (Psalm 41:9)

(8) Be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. (Zechariah 11:12)

(9) Would remain silent during the trials. (Isaiah 53:7)

(10) Purpose of His coming the first time. (Daniel 9:26)

(11) Date of His Crucifixion. (Daniel 9:27)

(12) Suffering a death of being lifted up and being pierced. (Zechariah 12:10)

(13) Garments parted and lots cast for the vesture. (Psalm 22:18)

(14) Not one bone broken. (Psalm 34:20)

Let us look briefly at the predicted time that the Messiah was to arrive and see if in fact Jesus fulfills it. It is recorded in Daniel 9:25. "Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times." The Messiah would arrive in 7 weeks, plus 60 weeks (remember that a score is 20), plus 2 more weeks for a total of 69 weeks. With 7 days in a week, that would be 483 days.

When does the clock begin ticking? According to Daniel 9:25, it is when the command goes forth to rebuild Jerusalem. When was that? Ezra 7:12-13, 20 "Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect [peace], and at such a time. I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and [of] his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow [it] out of the king's treasure house." King Artaxerxes not only made a decree for them to go back to Jerusalem, allowing the captives to rebuild it, but he even financed the operation.

What year was the decree? Ezra 7:8 "And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which [was] in the seventh year of the king." During the seventh year of the king’s reign, he made the decree. According to the Concise Columbia Encyclopedia, King Artaxerxes ruled from 464BC until 425BC. The seventh year would be 457BC. This is when the 483 days would begin. Before we starting counting until the Messiah, we need to cover an important issue.

God signifies events in prophecy by symbolism: the dragon is Satan, fallen stars are fallen angels, etc. Even days in prophecy are symbolic of something. Numbers 14:34 "After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, [even] forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, [even] forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise." Ezekiel 4:6 "And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year." So God has a day for a year principal in prophecy. During these studies, you will see this application made consistently to all of God’s prophetic time lines. So calculating the current prophetic timeline, 483 years (not days) after 457BC plus 1 more year because there was no zero year yields the date as 27AD.

Did anything significant happen in 27AD? Luke 3:1-2 "Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness." From all of these people in position, God pinpoints the date of a special event. What was the event? Luke 3:21-22 "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." Jesus being baptized is that special event which is the anointing of the Messiah, and according to Newsweek, April 8, 1996 and The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co., this event occurred in exactly 27AD. Praise the Lord.

So, either Jesus is truly who He claimed to be or His parents, friends, and the entire leadership of Israel were all involved in the greatest deception of all time.

Clearly, we must use only the Biblical tests and not society’s test. Those tests were born out of being uncomfortable, such as, no one likes to be in the minority group so "we will make numbers a test." No one wants to give up all their sins so "we will make tradition a test." And so on. Further, this study also proves that all scripture must be taken into consideration or people, even today, could use the Bible against Jesus. In addition, these tests need to be applied to all who preach, even in the name of the Lord.

Isaiah 45:22 "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else." Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." First, turn to Jesus and follow Him, His Word, and all that He commands, and let no one pull you away. It must be a "Thus Saith the Lord!" Amen?

Matthew 7:13-15 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." Strait means strict, i.e., follow a "Thus Saith the Lord" in all things and be not given to compromise and rationalizing. In fact, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Ephesians 6:10-18 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." Note that we must put on the whole armor of God if we want to gain the victory in all cases. It consists of holding onto the truth which if we do not love it enough to follow, we will be lost. Only Jesus’ righteousness will save us. Open our hearts to the gospel of Jesus’ love for us. Have faith. Salvation is free. And do not forget the Word of God because that is the only way we are going to cut through Satan’s lies and deceptions -- especially those based on a text or two from the Bible taken out of context. And prayer is extremely important.

Consider something else. God will never fault anyone who strictly follows the Bible. However, forcing others to follow in pursuit is where the line is crossed. Further, we should be aiming right at the bulls eye instead of seeing how wide a shot can be made and yet still hit the target (be saved). Amen?

Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death." Believing that one is above being deceived can lead to deception.

2 Corinthians 11:14 "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." Expecting the deceptions to be obvious when indeed they are not.

2 Peter 2:1 "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." Anybody that believes that there are no false teachers among their own body of believers can be deceived.

1 John 4:1 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." By not testing the teachings is opening the mind to deception.

John 8:40 "But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham." John 8:43-47 "Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell [you] the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear [them] not, because ye are not of God." John 3:19-21 "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." Many do not like being told that they are following error. They do not want to change their lives. Because they are so stuck on self, they cannot see the light before them.

Matthew 10:25 "It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more [shall they call] them of his household?" True Christians should expect the whole world to falsely label them with things worse than being an associate of Beelzebub. In fact, people do not use this word any more. They improperly use the words satanic, fanatic, heretic, cultic, lunatic, and others. This could really "tic" some people off, but what did Jesus say? Matthew 5:39 "But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." Matthew 5:11-12 "Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Matthew 18:21-22 "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." Matthew 5:44 "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."

As we see, God has prophesied that many false prophets will come. We studied the Biblical tests, which are contrary to society’s tests. Only by God’s Word will we will be able to see through the errors.

As God keeps you in His hand, may no one entice you to choose to fall away from Him and His Word. ¤