This prophetic word through the Apostle Paul speaks of the times in which we are now living. We have seen folks who once loved Jesus and
walked with Him who now have fallen from grace and how sad that is. Because we are told this can and will happen it should not come as a
surprise when we see it. The second warning Paul gives in this prophecy speaks of what he calls, “doctrines of demons.” The covenant people
of God need to understand what this means in order to avoid being lured into these demonic teachings.
The first thing to consider is that these evil beliefs are taught inside the Church by men who profess to be ministers of the Gospel. They are
in fact not men of God who are merely mistaken in their doctrines but rather evil representatives sent by Satan to undermine truth in the
Church and lead people away from Jesus right into hell. Paul says of these evil teachers they are liars. Such “ministers” are actually false
prophets, false apostles, false pastors, and false teachers. These are counterfeits disguised as men of God.
Some of their tactics are to teach such things as forbidding marriage and abstention from certain foods which of course are in direct
opposition to the will of God. Paul warns us in other passages of Scripture to be wary of men who speak of “another Jesus” or preach “a
different gospel.” We are able to detect these false teachings simply by comparing what is being taught by these counterfeits with what is
written in the Holy Scriptures. For example, the followers of the infamous Jim Jones should have seen him to be a false prophet because of
what he taught. Jesus would not have instructed them to commit suicide and no where in Scripture are we taught to do so. The Word of God
[not the teachings of a man] is our measurement of truth since it is Truth. (John 17:17)
The technological media has proven to be an effective tool Satan is using to distribute his evil teachings. We must be careful to rightly judge
the teachings of anyone and everyone who is supposedly teaching the Word of God. The good news is the Holy Spirit is right here with us 24/7
helping in this regard, so listen to Him and remain safe from this evil. Do not assume that because someone has a religious title (Reverend,
Doctor, Pastor, Bishop, etc.) that he/she is legitimate. Satan masquerades as an angel of light and he instructs his evil ambassadors to do the
same. Do not look for horns and pitchfork; discern by the Holy Spirit what truth is and what is not.
Some have said that the phrase “doctrines of demons” refers to teachings about demons. It is possible that the evil one would introduce false
doctrine through teachings about demons since he will use any measure to lure people away from truth. However, this seems unlikely since
the devil’s method is deception and he would avoid using the term “demon” altogether so as to not bring his evil cohorts to the forefront of
our thinking. I believe the phrase “doctrines of demons” refers to teachings that originate in the demonic realm and are proliferated by
demons working through human emissaries. Their sole intent is to divert the attention of people away from the Word of God. Paul writes about
how they think in
II Corinthians 10:5 “…casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into
captivity to the obedience of Christ.” The “arguments” are teachings that counter truth and they are delivered to exalt themselves above the
knowledge of God. This is precisely what Lucifer (Satan) did when he was extricated from heaven. The evil attack is always against God Himself
and against His word.
The subject matter of a particular evil teaching can be almost anything, especially one that counters who Jesus is and His centrality to the
Gospel. Satan attempts to lure people away from Jesus because He is the way to salvation, He is truth, and He is life.
Understand how the devil operates and he will be unable to deceive you. Let’s look at some of his tactics:
1. Fear. Fear is not from God; fear is the opposite of faith, so it is not holy. Satan introduces the fear of God, fear of failing to please God, fear
of the things of the Spirit of God, or fear of not being good enough, etc. in order to derail our faith. God has not given us a spirit of fear;
therefore, we must defeat fear in all of its forms; fear has no rights to the child of God.
2. Confusion. Confusion is actually double-mindedness which counters faith and disrupts the will of God for His children; therefore, confusion
is an evil tool used against believers. False teachings counter truth and bring confusion. The one who is born of the Spirit should never have
confusion since we have the Teacher Himself living in us and walking alongside us always leading us into all truth.
3. Doubt. Doubting is an affront against truth since it rejects truth that should be accepted with a childlike faith. Satan plants seeds of doubt in
the victim’s mind which if left to germinate and grow and has the potential to choke out truth. There is no excuse for doubting in a child of God
who has the mind of Christ.
4. Unbelief. Unbelief is the willful rejection of known truth. Satan desires to separate people from truth because the knowledge of truth is the
means to freedom. His method is to get the victim to outright reject what they see written in Scripture. He may use such tactics as these: “that
doesn’t make sense,” or “that is too good to be true”, etc. If our hearts are truly after God, there is no excuse for rejecting anything we see in
Scripture.
5. Ignorance. Ignorance is the absence of knowledge. Unlike unbelief ignorance simply doesn’t know. This is an effective weapon against
children of God. If the evil one can keep us in the dark about some truth in the Word, the power in that truth is ineffective for us. Remember: it
is the knowledge of truth that sets us free, not just the fact that it is there in the Bible sitting on our coffee table. If we own a Bible, there is no
excuse for ignorance.
6. Reasoning. Human tendency is to understand “Why?” Satan uses this human tendency to get us to challenge truth that is clearly written in
the Bible. The truth is things of the Spirit of God cannot be understood by the carnal mind, they are supernatural, not natural; therefore, human
reasoning cannot grasp these spiritual things. Satan keeps this victim in the natural realm by using the weapon of reasoning against him. The
child of God does not have to understand all truth, his task is to receive it by faith as a child.
7. Counterfeit. Counterfeit “truth” is not truth at all it simply has the initial appearance of it. Counterfeiters do not print $3.00 bills because
there are no true $3.00 bills; they copy the real thing. Satan does the same thing. He cannot usually deceive Christians with outlandish and
farfetched teachings, he uses more subtle tactics that veer from the truth just a little at first and then progressively widening the gap between
truth and error as the “teacher” gains the confidence of the victims.
8. Carnal Charisma. Deception is often the work of following men rather than following Jesus. Clever men designed to lure people into false
teachings may be amiable, friendly, good-looking, they seem knowledgeable and well-educated, and have strong attractive personalities. Their
charisma is the bait used to overshadow their evil motives and erroneous teachings.
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References for further study:
Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 24:8-24, Acts 20:28-32, Galatians 1:6-12, Galatians 2:4, Galatians 3:1-4, Galatians 5:1-12, Colossians 2:4-23, I Timothy 5:
24, I Timothy 6:1-5, II Timothy 1:13-14, II Timothy 2:14-18, II Timothy 2:23-26, II Timothy 3, II Timothy 4:1-4, Titus 1:10-16, Hebrews 3:7-19, Hebrews 4:
1-11, Hebrews 5:11-14, Hebrews 12:18-29, James 3:1, James 3:13-18, I Peter 2:1-5, II Peter 1:16-21, II Peter 2, II Peter 3:1-7, I John 2:18-23,
I John 4:1-6
Doctrines of Demons
By Bishop Randy Barnett
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I Timothy 4:1-3
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the
faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking
lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3
forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God
created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the
truth.”