II Corinthians Chapter 11 "Vindication, Indirect." This Bible Study is written by Roger
Christopherson, and made available with written
permission by http://www.theseason.org II Corinthians 11:1 "Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me." In the older manuscripts, "to God" is not written there. It is better to leave God's name out of this verse because of the nature of the verse. Paul is saying, "I would that you would bear with me, while I speak of these false preachers that have misled you." By your listening to them, they have created a real mess in Corinth. In fact these false preachers have caused divisions to enter in, and cause error in the church there. This was the result of their comparing themselves to men, and taking their eyes of Jesus Christ. Now Paul is going to spend some time in this chapter telling us how much harm accepting the traditions of men can cause. Friend, it hasn't changed from Paul's day to our generation. If you cannot rise above denominationalism in the way that you think, you are setting yourself up in these end times to be deceived. This is what this eleventh chapter is all about. II Corinthians 11:2 "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Paul had converted these Corinthians and taught them enough to get their church on the move. Paul is speaking here about and directing attention to those people that are meddling with the church that he has established. Paul is having righteous jealousy over the converts that he brought to salvation, and he is telling them that he has made each of them part of "the bride of Jesus Christ", the anointed One. This isn't hard to understand, for most everyone knows what a virgin is. A virgin is an untouched woman. Paul is saying that he wants to present each of these Corinthians as a chaste virgin to Christ, in as much as they are the bride of Christ. Paul is saying that He doesn't want Christ's bride messed with by any of these super-preachers that are causing the divisions within the churches. For a young woman to be "espoused" to her husband means that she is completely committed to him, even before the vows have been exchanged. Paul is using this relationship whereby we could understand the emotions of Christ towards His bride. The feeling and commitment goes both ways, and applies to the man as much as it applies to the woman. It is no great secret what causes virginity to be lost, for it is being unfaithful sexually to the one you are espoused to marry. If a woman has been unfaithful, and is with child, how could she expect that she could be accepted by the man she was espoused to, when she is carrying another man's child? Paul is afraid that if Christians start listening to these fairy-tale preachers, they will be taken by the wrong christ, or Satan the Antichrist [the instead of Christ]. Then when Jesus Christ returns at the seventh trumpet, they will be found unworthy to be part of "the bride of Christ". Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 24:19; "And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!" He was not referring to a mother with a child in her womb, but spiritually speaking, Christians that have given themselves over to the wrong husband. In ignorance they will have been deceived into climbing into the spiritual bed of Satan, and their hearts have been given over to the Satan. If you are one of the whores of Satan, than you cannot be one of the virgins of Christ waiting with your lamps full of oil [which is the truth from God's Word] that is waiting for the coming of the bridegroom, which is Jesus Christ. Paul now is putting it into a language that most anyone can understand. Paul is saying; "I'm afraid that one of these false teachers is going to seduce you." II Corinthians 11:3 "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." What is Paul afraid of? Now Paul is getting very detailed on a matter that we ought to take a deeper look into. Do you know who the "serpent" is from the Garden of Eden, and how Satan [the serpent] "beguiled Eve"? Most churches today that are all wrapped up in apples and apple orchards and they just don't care about the truth from God's Word, for they feel that this is not directed to them. Those churches think that they are just to pure for God's Word. We know from Revelation 12:9 exactly who the "serpent" is that beguiled Eve. Revelation 12:9 "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Satan is the devil that played the role of the deceiving serpent in the Garden of Eden. Satan is not an apple, but a man with supernatural powers, and he was with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, just as God was in the role of "the Tree of Life". Don't let anyone tell you different. Satan was the old devil; it was Satan in the role of the serpent [the deceiver] that beguiled Eve. To make it plain and simple, Satan was in the role of a deceiver [serpent] when he had sexual relations with Eve, and Eve lost her virginity. There was no eating of apples and wearing of bibs, but there was a sexual relationship and following that physical event, Adam and Eve both made themselves "aprons", and not bibs. Genesis 3:6 "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." Eve gave herself to both Satan and to her husband Adam. A sex orgy took place between and with Eve and the two men Satan and Adam. Satan beguiled Eve through his subtlety and he out-smarted her. This act which we call "seduced" is speaking of sexual relations. How is this possible? Satan is the most beautiful being that God had ever created. Ezekiel 28:12-15 tells us that Satan, the "tree of good and evil" was the most beautiful tree created by God, and Eve desired to take from that tree. Eve took of the fruit of that tree [which was the man Satan], which is another way of saying, "she lost her virginity". Genesis 3:7 "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." Once this sin was committed, both Adam and Eve's eyes were open to wickedness, but close to truth. Lets think on this for a moment! Jesus told us to learn the "parable of the fig tree" in the gospels. This warning is given in Matthew 24:32, Mark 13:28, and Luke 21:29, yet most churches of today are completely ignoring God's warning to them, and have chose to follow after fairy tales that the Kenites, Satan's children are teaching them. Adam and Eve were in a fig orchard, and not an apple orchard. Do you think that they made apple masks from apple tree leaves to cover their mouths? How silly can you get! Yet this is the type of ignorance being preached from most pulpits today. Adam and Eve made aprons out of fig leaves to cover their private parts, for their sin was the sex act with Satan. Once this sinks into your mind, then you will start to understand the truth that is winding through the entire scriptures; and you can see why it was important to the Kenites to hide their identity, and for them to virtually take over the duties of the scribes, as it is recorded in I Chronicles 2:55. I Chronicles 2:55 "And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez [Jerusalem in a fallen state]; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hamath, the father of the house of Rechab." These Kenites, which are the sons of Satan's son Cain. They are the offspring of Satan from the garden of Eden, and they are the ones that took over the duties of the scribes in Jerusalem after the captivity in Babylon. They took over the duties of doing the interpretation of the Words that God spoke to His children through the prophets. It was through these Kenite scribes that their traditions took priority over the laws of Moses, and are the ones that listed their names among the children of Israel. They are not of Moses, nor Israel, nor of Judah, but of the house of Rechab, an offspring of Cain, from the land of Hamath. Kenites are oriental peoples. Lets see exactly what the word "Kenites" means in the Strong's Hebrew dictionary. The number for "Kenites" is given in # 7014; "Qayin, kah'-yin; the same as 7013, (with a play on the affinity to 7069,) Kajin, the name of the first child, also of a place in Palestine, and an Oriental tribe:- Cain, Kenite (s)." When Cain was born as Recorded in Genesis 4:1, and then in verse two it reads; "And she again bare his brother Abel, And Abel was a keeper of sheep but Cain was a tiller of the ground." Its strange that Cain would have the duties which Adam was created for, and then those rights were taken from him because of his murdering his brother. The word "again" in this verse two in the Hebrew dictionary is #3254; "Yacaph, to continue, to conceive again, to continue to do the same thing." What happens when a woman has just given birth to a baby and she continues to do the same thing she has just done? Of course she has twins. These are not identical twins that Eve conceived, because they had two different fathers. Lets go to # 7017; "Qeyniy, kay-nee', or Qiyniy (I Chron.2:55), kee-nee'; patorn from 7014, a Kenite or member of the tribe of Kajin:-Kenite." When you come to understand what took place in the garden of Eden, then you will understand the "parable of the sower and fig tree" of Mathew 13 which is the key to most of the prophecies of both the Old and the New Testament. To this day the fig leaf is to symbolize that which is hidden, and hidden within Eve was an evil thing. At birth the first to be born was Satan's and Eve's son "Cain". The next of the sons to be born was "Abel", the son of Adam from the affair that took place nine months earlier. The brothers were twins because of what took place when Eve was seduced. The conception took place at the same time. Sin entered the Garden and mankind at this time, and because of that sin God gave us His promise in Genesis 3:15. Genesis 3:15 "And I [God] will put enmity between thee [Satan] and the woman [Eve], and between thy [Satan's] seed [the Kenites] and her Seed [Jesus Christ]; It [Christ] shall bruise thy [Satan's] head, and thou [Satan] shall bruise His [Christ's] heel." Eve's "Seed" [Jesus Christ] did not come through Abel because Cain killed his brother Abel in his youth, but Jesus came through the lineage of Seth. While Satan's seed, to the last generation, are called the "Kenites". Kenites are the children of Cain, the first murderer, who was born to the sexual union between Satan and Eve in the garden of Eden. Most "men of God" acknowledge that Genesis 3:15 is talking about the death of Jesus Christ, when He was nailed to the cross for our sins. They realize that the "Seed" is referring to Christ, and the offspring of Eve through Adam, but somehow they want to spiritualize everything else that happened in the Garden of Eden between Eve and the two men Satan and Adam. The "seed" in the Hebrew is called "zimah", and in the Greek it is "sperma". We in the English call it "sperm", and in the Strong's Hebrew Dictionary it is # 2233; "Posterity, carnally, child, fruitful". Friend, it can't be any clearer. The seed of Satan's "posterity" are the Kenites, while Adam's "Posterity" is in Christ through the lineage that went through David, Judah, Abraham, Noah, Seth and Adam. The complete lineage is given in Luke 3:23-38. You will never really grow up in God's Word, until you can understand the reality of what took place in the Garden of Eden, and why; It will be difficult for you to mature in the Word of God and in true Christianity. Paul is bringing this event out here in II Corinthians 11:3, where the serpent deceived Eve, and being very subtle about it Satan lied to her. When Satan seduced Eve, a son came from that sexual union named Cain. Paul is saying, "...so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." Your "mind" is something that you think with, and it determines everything you say and do. If your mind is corrupted, then what you say and do becomes corrupted, and the "simplicity" that we have in Christ is also corrupted. Paul is saying that "as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety," it then becomes necessary to know what the Greek word for "beguiled" means. In the Strong's Greek dictionary it is # 1818; "exapatao, ex-ap-at-ah'-o; from 1537, and 538; to seduce wholly: beguile, deceive." "Exapatao" has one meaning and that one meaning is "to seduce wholly". It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand what "to be seduced wholly" means. It means to be sexually seduced completely to where your virginity is take from you. It means that the woman has lost her virginity completely. It is one of those things that you either have or you do not have, for there is no in-between. So the analogy that Paul is using in this verse relating to "exapatao" is also being translated into the English as "beguiled", and "deceived", when it should read, "being wholly seduced". So if you could understand what Paul is saying here, then you would understand completely why the Kenites wearing the priest's robes, and sitting in the seat of Moses. The whole time these scribes were judging Christ, they were so mad they wanted to kill Jesus. Jesus had revealed their secret when He said in Matthew 23:2; "Saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat"." The fact is that they were not of God, nor of any part of Israel and Judah, but of their father the devil, who is Satan. Jesus had exposed their identity, as written in John 8:44. John 8:44 "Ye are of your father the devil, [Satan] and the lusts of your father ye will do. He [Cain] 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." Jesus had just identified these Kenite priests and scribes as being the offspring of Cain, the first murderer, who came from that sexual union between Satan and Eve. Satan is the father of lies, and his son Cain was the first murderer. That can't be all that hard to understand. Genesis 4:8 "And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." These two twin half brothers talked about the offering each had given to God, whereby Cain's offering was refused by God. Cain became jealous of Abel, and after talking with him, he premeditated, plotted and murdered Abel in the field. Jesus let these Kenites know exactly that he knew their hidden secrets, and that he knew who they were, and now so do you. The Kenites can do nothing to God's people unless it is done through deception, and the truth is hidden from them. When you allow the Kenites to do your interpretation for you, then how in the world do you ever expect to know the truth. This is why it is essential to learn the Word of God by taking it back to the languages that it was written in, and we do this by the use of tools like the Companion Bible, the Strong's Concordance whereby the words are numbered to the original meanings from the language it was first written in. When you ask God's Spirit to lead you in your studies, He will open your mind to the understanding. It is for this reason Paul and Jesus Christ did not want you seduced either, but they want your spiritual eyes open to the truth. Jesus said in Matthew 24:19, and Mark 13:17; "But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days." Jesus was giving His response to the disciples question; "What will it be like at the end", Then Christ gave seven things that would come to pass in the end generation. These seven things are parallel with the seven seals of the book of Revelation. "Those days" are the days that Jesus Christ returns at the seventh trumpet. In II Corinthians 11:2 Paul had told these Corinthians that he had espoused them, by converting them into Christianity, and they had become Christ's bride. Each of them, man and woman alike were now engaged to be married to One Entity, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Husband. Now Paul is telling them that as a bride of Christ, he does not want them to be seduced wholly as Eve was seduced completely by Satan. Now in this warning, "woe to you that are with child.." Jesus was not talking about mothers having a child in their wombs on the day of His return, because we are instructed that we are to replenish the earth. But Christ was speaking in a spiritual sense. When you take the "mark of the beast", who is Satan, in your mind it means that you were not loyal to Christ. It means that you did not wait for the True Christ's return at the Seventh trumpet, but you were taken at the sixth trumpet, five months prior; and of course you would be standing five months pregnant spiritually at his return. Many today teach that Satan will rule in the role of Antichrist either seven years, or three and a half years, however Jesus set the record straight in Mark 13:20. Mark 13:20 "And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom He hath chose, He hath shortened the days." We know from Revelation 9:5 that those days were shortened to five months, and that is why the reference to "..those that are with child". Mark 13:21 "And then if any man shall say to you, 'Lo, here is Christ;' or, 'lo, He is there;' believe him not:" This is the warning from Jesus Christ to you, if you plan to remain true to Him until He returns. Many today think that they are going to be raptured out of here, and fly-away in some fairy tale, but God wants his elect to remain here on earth and true to him until He returns for his bride. If you are all set on flying out of here, then you have not been listening to Jesus warning given here to you. The Bible doesn't teach a rapture of any sorts, but you are to remain a virgin bride for Christ until the day of the wedding at His second coming. 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." Jesus is now warning us, just as Paul is here in II Corinthians 11:3, "to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect." The elect will not be seduced because we are sealed in our foreheads with the truth, but if you are off in strange doctrines and teaching, you will be seduced. When Satan comes with his fallen angels very shortly he will come showing many supernatural signs and wonders that only God can perform. However God is going to give Satan the right and authority to perform those signs and supernatural wonders at his coming at the sixth trumpet. Are you aware of those things that are to happen that are written in God's Word? Have you rejected those parts of the bible because some false preacher has told you that it just wasn't necessary for you to understand because you will not be here? Are you going to be spiritually "with child" when Christ returns? Mark 13:23 "But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all thing." This is why it becomes necessary of us to study the entire Word of God, for through the prophets as well as his apostles, like Paul, we are alerted to what shall take place in the last days. Jesus warned us that Satan the Antichrist would come first. The false Jesus will come saying, I have come to rapture you away. Many will jump on Satan bandwagon of the rapture, for it is taught openly in most Christian churches. Satan loves to use Churches, and the pulpits are his favorite place. So Paul has made it very clear that we are to be aware of this deception that shall take place. II Corinthians 11:4 "for if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." If a teacher, preacher or elder comes to you preaching another Jesus, other then the True Christ, Paul is saying, you swallow it all up. Many Christians today have itching ears, and they just can't wait to take in some new idea or doctrine that one of these super-preachers has dreamed up. Some one-verse-Charlie reads one verse out of the Word of God, and uses that verse as his stepping stone to dumping his entire mind on you. Rather than keeping things in context, they go bananas over his new idea. You want to be very careful when some spirit speak to you, or if someone tells you that the Holy Spirit has spoken to them. The key to understanding if it was the Holy Spirit, or some seducing spirit, is that the Holy Spirit will never say or do something that is contrary to the Word of God. Religious evil spirits take the Word of God and twist those words into a lie. That is how the false christs operate. The operate under the disguise of a savior, they pretend to be a savior, but that person simply cannot save his own soul, much less yours. Don't listen to anything that differs from God's Word. If you are biblically illiterate in our generation, you are in bad shape. It is not to late yet for you can do something about it, you can get into God's Word. You can get into God's Word daily and gain knowledge so that you will not be deceived by these false preachers. Many today enjoy being seduced by these false preachers, as they prepared Christ's bride for the false wedding that will take place first. The gospel is the good news of Christ from the Word of God, and if what any preacher or teacher says does not go along with what is written in God's Word, than it is a lie, and "another gospel" as Paul is warning us against here. When you have the simplicity gospel of Christ in your mind then no one can seduce you spiritually, because you know what your Father has said. II Corinthians 11:5 "For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles." Paul is telling us that there is no apostle that is more familiar with all of God's Word than I am. This is why Paul is telling these Corinthians to bear with him a little bit. We know from Acts 22:3 that Paul was a student of the most learned teacher of His day. Paul was in Jerusalem speaking before the Christians there, and telling them of his background. They all know who Gamaliel was, for like today, those that are the best in their field are very well known by everyone. They also knew Paul, whose name was Saul, for his acts of persecution of Christians. Acts 22:1 "Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you." Acts 22:2 "(And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)" These Christians and disciples in Jerusalem thought of Paul as a foreigner, and not polished in the Hebrew, but he spoke the Hebrew with the most educated and learned men of that day. Acts 22:3 "I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day." Gamaliel was one of the best Hebrew scholars of that day, and it is proven in the advise that he gave in Acts 5:35, during the trial of Peter before the chief priests. Paul was well educated in the Hebrew tongue under Gamaliel in the complete law and the prophets. We know this well because Paul continually goes back to the Old Testament to back up what he says in his letters or epistles. Paul spoke colloquial Greek, which was the language of the streets, and that is what He wrote his letter in. II Corinthians 11:6 "But though I be rude in speech yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifested among you in all things." Though Paul spoke only colloquial Greek, the Greek of the common man, he is saying, I am not crude in knowledge, for I have proven over and over everything that I have taught from God's Word, and that is how he teaches, line by line, and precept by precept. II Corinthians 11:7 "Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?" Paul is reminding these Corinthians that he has continually taught and given his knowledge to them freely, without taking any money from them. He did this for a reason, and that is because these money grabbing preachers were accusing Paul of preaching for the money. As those super preachers would accuse Paul before the Corinthian church, the Corinthians reminded them that Paul doesn't take money. Paul was not a beggar. Any money that was collect for Paul was not for a wage, but to be taken back to the poor and the saints in the church in Jerusalem. Those saints were living right under the noses of the very ones that crucified Christ, and their punishment that they received for the sake of Christ was great. Paul knew very well of that persecution for he was the leader of those men before his conversion. II Corinthians 11:8 "I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service." Paul did not want any of the other preachers to be able to say, all Paul was in it for was the money. Paul was in it for the love of God, and the doing of His Work. II Corinthians 11:9 "And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself." Paul was saying that when I was there and even hungry, I didn't ask any man for any handout, nor did I take anything. Paul is saying that just as I did it then; I will always do it that same way. Paul did not want it stated that he was in it for the money. II Corinthians 11:10 "As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia." Achaia is a place in Greece and Paul is saying that as he did in Corinth, he is also going to teach this same way in Achaia. II Corinthians 11:11 "Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth Is it because I don't love you that I don't take your money? God knows that I love you Corinthians deeply. II Corinthians 11:12 "But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we." Paul is saying that I do what I do so I can pull the carpet right out from under them that are accusing me. Paul is taking the ammunition away from those so called preachers of God that would like to use this to discredit Paul and his teaching. Anytime people set themselves up on what this person said, or what that person said, it sets the basis for the traditions of men, and brings about the one verse pastors, and their fly-away doctrines. Paul knew what it would bring about if he had these Corinthians hooked on him personally, and not turning to God's Word for their instructions. If any church does not teach as the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia taught, they are lost in our generation, and are being deceived. Revelation 2:8 "And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; 'These things saith the First and the Last, Which was dead, and is alive;" Jesus Christ is the First and the Last, Which was dead from the cross, and He arose from the dead and is now seated on the right hand of the Father in heaven. This is Jesus addressing his pleasure in Smyrna, and in Revelation 3:9 He address the church of Philadelphia with the same message. These are the only two churches of the seven types of churches in the end times that He was pleased with. Revelation 2:9 "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich), and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." The Churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia taught who those of the synagogue of Satan were, and they knew who the Kenites were, and all about them and their teachings. They knew who Satan's church was here on earth, and it is completely different than what most churches today teach. Paul knew that what he taught was the truth, and he did not want any false teacher to discredit any part of his message because of some physical comfort or help that he received from those that he taught. II Corinthians 11:13 "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ." "Apostles" means "Ones sent forth", and God did not send false apostles to do any of his work for they are not of God, but of their father the devil. Though many of them claim that God talks to them, the spirits that they are in tune with, is not the Holy Spirit, but the spirits of devils or what we refer to a demons. They tell you that God told me to tell you this or that, and then they give you something that goes against what the Word of God teaches. These deceitful workers or teachers claim to be of Christ, when in actuality they teach something that goes against what Christ taught. When you teach Christ's Word, it is to be taught chapter by chapter and verse by verse with understanding. Is that the way your pastor teaches? Do you check out what your pastor teaches with the Word of God, or do you really care what the Word states? Today many Christians are more satisfied with having their ears and minds entertained than knowing what God is telling them. When ministries keep coming around to the money part of their ministry, it should become clear that money must be the focus of their ministry. Your main concern should be keeping your mind focused on God's Word, and being protected from the deception that Satan and his angels are going to give. II Corinthians 11:14 "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." Paul is saying that we should not let these false preachers be a marvel to us, "for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light". How can Satan be "transformed into an angel of light", when the Word of God says many times over and over that if you are of Satan, you are a child of the darkness? Something is terrible wrong here. Many people say that we are not to worry because Satan himself is going to be transformed into an angel of light, and they show their complete ignorance of God's Word. Lets read for ourselves what the Strong's Greek dictionary has to say about this word "transformed". The number in the Strong's Greek dictionary is # 3345. "Metaschematizo, met-ask-ay-met-id-zo; from the Greek #3326, and a derivative of #4976; to transfigure or disguise; fig. to apply (by accommodation): -transfer, or transform (self)." So lets put this in the way that Paul actually said it in the manuscripts of his letter to the Corinthians. "Satan himself is coming disguised into an angel of light." That is how he will appear to those that are going to see him at his coming at the sixth trumpet. They will see him as they expect to see Jesus coming at the seventh trumpet, but they will be deceived by him, because he will appear to be what they expect to see Jesus to be. To "disguise" anything is to change and hide what it truly is, and make it appear to be that it is not. Satan is coming disguised as an "angel of light", and the true "Angel of Light" is Jesus Christ. He is coming disguised as the Savior, and that is what this warning of Paul's is all about. Paul doesn't want you seduced by Satan spiritually, like many of the virgins of Christ will be. This is from the very parable that Christ put forth. Are you starting to understand a little more of our Heavenly Father's Word? II Corinthians 11:15 "Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." Paul is telling us that these ministers of deceit have disguised themselves also as the ministers of righteousness, when in fact they are setting you up to be taken by Satan, and not Jesus Christ. They present themselves as the apostles of Christ, only they never get around to teaching the entire Word of God. But they teach in the context that would prepare you for the first christ that comes, who is Satan. Paul is saying don't marvel at these false preachers that are deceiving you, because Satan himself will be cast out of heaven by Michael, and then he will be coming disguised as Jesus. As is pointed out in Mark 13:5, 6, this Antichrist, which in the Greek reads "instead of Christ" is coming. And when they tell you that he is here or there don't you believe them. Mark 13:5 "And Jesus answering them began to say, "Take heed lest any man deceive you:" Mark 13:6 "For many shall come in My name, saying, 'I am Christ;' and shall deceive many. " Paul has told us in I Corinthians 15:50-54 what we should never believe anyone that claims to be Christ while we are in our flesh body. The reason for that again is that we will not see Jesus Christ coming while we are in our flesh bodies, however we will see the false Christ, the "instead of Christ" who is Satan. Satan is coming with all his lies and supernatural powers and wonders. If you are expecting a supernatural show of the messiah, then Satan will give you everything you hoped for. When the true Christ returns at the second advent, all flesh, good and bad alike will be turned from their flesh bodies to their spiritual body, faster than you can wink your eye. I Corinthians 15:51 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed," I Corinthians 15:52 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." We discussed this in the study of the first book. How many Christians today don't know what is going to happen at Jesus coming? Those that have no idea of what Paul was saying about this change will be seduced at Satan's coming. It can get you in trouble when you compare yourself with any man, for we are to compare ourselves with Christ. When we look to Christ we come to realize that all the gifts that we have come from God, and it isn't us that performs the service, but Christ's Spirit that is working through us. All of the glory that may come our way is not our, but Christ, and He gets all the glory. When a man takes glory for the work of God and His Spirit, he is a thief. Did those old boys that tell you that all you have to do to be saved is believe; Did they warn you of how Satan would come? Even though some preachers tell you that parts of the Bible, and the Book of Revelation is not to be understood, it is time for you to wake up. You are going to give an account for the foolishness of your ignorance; not your preacher. You better not listen to this man or any other man without checking it out for yourself in God's Word. You are the only one that answers for your actions. It was for this reason Jesus said in Matthew 7:22, 23: Matthew 7:22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? an in Thy name done many wonderful works.' " Mathew 7:23 "And then will I profess unto them, 'I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity." How could our loving Jesus say something about this to anyone who did what the pastor said to do, and believed? After all they gave just like he said to give, and did the work of the church just like he said? Now at the time of Christ's coming Jesus is saying "I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity." You see the pastor and those other false prophets were preparing you for a different Jesus, one that all you have to do is believe, and you are acceptable to him. Then for the next forty years they stuff the spiritual baby bottle of the milk of the Word in your mouth, and set you in the corner and change your spiritual dippers now and then, to make you willing and ready to accept their Jesus when he comes at the sixth trumpet. It is time to be potty trained in Christianity, and get into the meat of the word to where you will be mature enough to stand on your own two feet. Put on the whole armor of God, and learn to stand against those fiery spiritual darts of Satan. Learn to be a man or woman to where God can use you as a witness at that time, rather than a powder puff Christian that is completely ignorant about God's Word. Those that love the Lord know the events that shall transpire in these end times. Nobody knows the second, but the wise in the Lord know the seasons and sequential event of our times, and we stay clear of the deception that is upon us. It is time to be filled with the knowledge of our times, for we are living in the final generation of this earth age of the flesh. This is why Amos warned us that the famine in the end times is not for food, but for the hearing of the Word of God. Amos 8:11 "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:" That famine is on us now. The end of those false preachers, and those that follow them, "is according to their works". It is a tragedy for one to think he is saved, and then forget about their works. Salvation is the first step of many steps to be saved, and it is free and doesn't cost you a thing. However Christ paid a very heavy price so you could have salvation. It is like the first slap on the babies bottom at birth to get him to breathing good. Is that the way that you want to stay all your life? It is up to you if you want to mature in His Word so you can be useful to Him. II Corinthians 11:16 "I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little." Paul is saying here, "you like to listen to those other blow off and their foolishness, and you like to take it all in and believe it; now listen to me for awhile." It is not necessary to tell a man or woman of God how great they are. It isn't necessary because they know that what they have is not theirs but it is God's gift placed in them so they can do God's work. Humans like to get credit, and the true man of God knows that the credit, if there is any, is not his or hers, but God's. God is the one that changes lives, not some man. People will know whether you are a valid teacher and pastor or not by whether you have the gift to teach God's Word with understanding. The Corinthians had gone so far overboard in their attention to these false preachers, that Paul was getting fed up with them. II Corinthians 11:17 "That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting." If you are going to listen to them, now listen to me for a moment. II Corinthians 11:18 "Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also." The glory that the others seek is a glory after their flesh. You know the type, they love to wear their long robes, and be called the "very right reverend". They say "God speaks to me", now give me your money. This is building up the flesh, which is the "glory after the flesh". Paul is stressing this to make it clear exactly what those false teacher's goals are. II Corinthians 11:19 "For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise." "Fools" as used in the Greek here is # 878; "aphron, af'-rone'; mindless, i.e. stupid, (by implication) ignorant, (specifically) egotistic, (practically) rash or unbelieving." Paul is telling these Corinthians that they enjoy listening to those that are ignorant, egotistical, rash, stupid and mindless. You like to sit there an hear their foolish lies. He is saying that maybe if I talked that way, you would like to listen to me for a moment. Paul is telling them, you are suppose to be wise. I was there and taught you the truths of God's Word, and now you listen to those fools. Paul taught them Christ, they had accepted Jesus Christ, and now they had drifted all the way back to where they were in the first place. They knew better, but they never kept their guard up. Do you know better? Did you ever stop to think on what some of these false preachers are actually saying. Use common sense now, you are an individual who has claimed the name of Christ and said that you believe His Word, and that means that you will be Judged according to that Word. If you don't know anything about God's Word, it should scare you into the study of it. II Corinthians 11:20 "For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face." Paul is telling them that when these false teachers and preachers place you into bondage, bind you up with their do's and don't, and promote themselves over you, and even smite you on the face; you don't seem to mind it at all. We walk by faith and not by sight, not by what you can see. This is why we should never worship any man that you can see, and allow him to place his name or face over you in reverence, for it is only God that deserves our worship. Those in the church that are over us in authority are not there to be worshipped, but we give obedience in the service to our Lord Jesus Christ according to His Word. It is Christ that gets the glory. We are to be in bondage to Christ and not any man, and that is what Paul is saying here. These spiritual guru's of today go around pushing people over, blowing them down, and promising Christians all sorts of things. What kind of God is this that they serve that knocks people down and causes all sorts of confusion. Our God holds people up, and with the gospel armor on and in place, you don't have to play silly parlor games and put on side shows. This religious one-up-man-ship is not Biblical, and yet it goes on and on. II Corinthians 11:21 "I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak, Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also." Paul is saying, I'm boasting a little bit, but speaking foolishly about them. Paul is telling them, if you like to suffer fools; there is one coming that is going to put you in bondage by deceiving you, and he is talking about Satan seducing you, just like he seduced Eve. Kinky spiritual people seem to enjoy being beaten into submission. II Corinthians 11:22 "Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I." Paul is now comparing himself to those so called super-preachers. Do they brag about being Hebrews? So am I. Do they brag about being Israelites? So am I. Do they brag about being of the seed of Abraham? So am I. We can find Paul's credentials in Romans 11:1; "I say then, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid, For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin." II Corinthians 11:23 "Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in person more frequent, in deaths oft." Do they brag about being ministers of Christ? I am more than they. We see that Paul is warning us that he is speaking a little silly about those false ministers now. Paul says that he faced death daily for the sake of Christ, what about those little powder puffs that you have amongst you there? II Corinthians 11:24 "Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes same one." Paul received thirty nine stripes five times, and by law, Paul got the maximum for preaching the gospel. II Corinthians 11:25 "Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;" So we see that Paul had other shipwrecks, other then the great one spoken of in the book of Acts, off the coast of Malta. II Corinthians 11:26 "In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren." When we look up the word used here for "false" we find that it is # 5569; "pseudadelphos, spurious brother, i.e., pretended associate: false brethren." "The spurious brothers" are just like the spurious christ that shall also come very shortly. Paul is saying that I have suffered all of these things just to bring these people the truth. It is obvious that those believers just didn't appreciate Paul, and would rather have their ears tickled by these false brethren. You can see this same type even today in those pastors that claim to have the Word of God, yet spout off their traditions of men. II Corinthians 11:27 "In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness." Paul is not saying all this to build himself up, but to show them what he went through to bring them the truth. Paul suffered great loss to bring the gospel to the Corinthians, and he was happy to have done this for them. Paul is comparing himself to the false brethren, and when the going gets rough, they get going in another direction. Starved, hungry, in thirst and standing watch during those nights in my travels, and this kind of separates the true Christian for that false believer. II Corinthians 11:28 "Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches." All of my suffering hit me in the flesh body, from without; but the problems and care of all the churches came at me from within. In my mind is the thought, love and care that I have for those churches that I have established. Paul had established many churches, and we have Paul letters back to many of them recorded in the New Testament for us to read and follow their instructions. II Corinthians 11:29 "Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?" This is speaking of spiritually of righteous indignation. When those false preachers face spiritual difficulties they run, but when the fire is lit under Paul, it is time for him to start the fight. II Corinthians 11:30 "If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities." If you want me to brag a little, then I will give you only the things that are my weakness. I will tell you only of the pain that I have suffered for you. II Corinthians 11:31 "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not." The heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ has been with me every step that I have traveled, and He know that I have told you the truth. II Corinthians 11:32 "In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:" While Paul was in Damascus, Aretas the king, who was the father-in-law to Herod Antipas, kept an entire garrison for the sake of apprehending Paul. II Corinthians 11:33 "And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands." Paul had many dangerous travels and many enemies along the way, but Christ was always with Paul. So Paul has warned these Corinthians, and to us today to be careful who you are listening to. If you don't know whether they tell the truth or not, check them out in God's Word, and be assured for yourself. There is a great deception coming and many are going to be confused and deceived on that day. Paul told them that he really suffered physically and mentally to bring the gospel to you, but the reason that Paul would rejoice in his weakness, is because when a Christian is at his weakest, he or she knows that Christ is walking with him every step of the way. That means that he or she is at his strongest because it is Christ that is leading the way. If it is death that we are facing, then God takes care of it. So now in the next chapter Paul will discuss his vision or trip to the third heaven, and II Peter 3 declares that the third heaven is the eternal heavenly age. So Paul was afraid that in foolish boasting or speaking of himself, people would lose sight of what he was saying and focus on Paul the man instead. Paul didn't feel that it made him any better than anyone else that he was taken to the third heaven and given some instructions while he was there. This is why there is a definite separation between the eleventh and twelveth chapters. He had been boasting in the eleventh chapter, and Paul wants to make sure that what he said here is not attached to what he will now say to them.
Home .~ Plough .~ Seeds .~ Vine .~ Potter .~ Seasons .~ Sonshine .~ Rain .~ Field |