THE DEADLIEST TEMPTATION

False Doctrine that Removes the Context of the Word of God

In Luke 4:9-12, the devil tempted Christ by removing the context of Psalms 91:11-12. After the devil told Christ to cast Himself down from a pinnacle of the temple, he quoted Psalms 91:11-12. This verse states that God will give His angels charge over you to watch you in all your ways. How did the devil take this out of context? The devil cut off the rest of the passage. Psalms 91:13-14 reveals the context of that promise; for Psalms 91:14 states that only if we set our love on God, then God will deliver us. By cutting off the context of Psalms 91:13-14, the devil presented a false meaning of Psalms 91:11-12.

Luke 4:9-12..'And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Psalms 91:11-14 ..'For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name."

This is an important warning. Why? Christ warned us that false prophets would deceive many, even, if possible, the elect. (Matthew 24:24). How would false prophets deceive so many? They would use false doctrine, because Christ warned us to beware of false doctrine. (Matthew 16:11-12).

Matthew 24:24 ..'For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.'

Matthew 16:11-12 ..'How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.'

John and Jude confirmed this warning. John warned us that antichrists would deny the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22-23) by deceiving people to stray away from the doctrine of Christ. (2 John 9-11). Jude warned us that these antichrists have already crept into the church to deny the only Lord God, and the Lord Jesus Christ; and thus we need to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 3-4).

1 John 2:22-23 ..'Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.'

2 John 9-11 ..'Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.'

"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father; [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also ... He who denies the personality of God and of His Son Jesus Christ, is denying God and Christ." (RH, March 8, 1906 par. 17, 19)

Jude 3-4 ..'Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.'

"Those who seek to remove the old landmarks are not holding fast; they are not remembering how they have received and heard. Those who try to bring in theories that would remove the pillars of our faith concerning the sanctuary or concerning the personality of God or of Christ, are working as blind men. They are seeking to bring in uncertainties and to set the people of God adrift without an anchor." (MR 760, 1905)

The apostles warned us that antichrists would infiltrate our churches in order to deny the Father and the Son. Have false preachers taken the promise of the Comforter out of context? Nearly every denomination focuses only on the first part of the promise, which is John 14:16-17. In doing so, these pastors, ignorantly or intentionally, cut off the rest of the passage, which is John 14:18-23. Read the full passage for yourself:

John 14:16-23 ..'And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 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.'

If John 14:18-23 is cut off, this presents a false meaning of the Comforter promise. In the cut-off version, the Father and the Son do not make Their abode with us, because it gives the impression that the Spirit of truth is not really Their Spirit, but someone else instead of Them. Does this deny the Father and the Son? If we prayerfully use the Biblical definitions for the terms used in the Comforter promise, then, and only then, can we see the full context and answer this important question:

(Question) - John 14:16 - Who is the "Comforter" (Greek: parakletos)?

(Answer) - 1 John 2:1 ..'My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate (Greek: parakletos) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:'

"Let them link up with one another and with Christ. Let them study the seventeenth of John, and learn how to pray and how to live the prayer of Christ. He is the Comforter. He will abide in their hearts, making their joy full. His words will be to them as the bread of life." (RH, Jan 7, 1903 )

(Question) - John 14:16 - What did Christ mean by 'another?'

(Answer) - Mark 16:12 ..'After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.'

"Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally; therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them, go to His father, and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent." (14MR 23.3)

(Question) - John 14:16 - Who will 'abide with you forever'

(Answer) - Matthew 28:20 ...'Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.'

"While Jesus ministers in the sanctuary above, He is still by His Spirit the minister of the church on earth. He is withdrawn from the eye of sense, but His parting promise is fulfilled, 'Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.' Matthew 28:20. While He delegates His power to inferior ministers, His energizing presence is still with His church." (DA 166.2)

(Question) - John 14:17 - Who is 'truth?'

(Answer) - John 14:6 ..' Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.'

(Question) - John 14:17 - Who is the 'Spirit of truth?'

(Answer) - Galatians 4:6-7 ..'And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.'

"The only safeguard against his power is found in the presence of Jesus. Before men and angels Satan has been revealed as man's enemy and destroyer; Christ, as man's friend and deliverer. His Spirit will develop in man all that will ennoble the character and dignify the nature. It will build man up for the glory of God in body and soul and spirit." (DA 341)

(Question) - John 14:17 - Did Christ ever refer to Himself as 'He?'

(Answer) - John 10:2-4, 16-18..'But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. ... I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.'

"But little did they yet suspect who their traveling companion was. They did not think that the subject of their conversation was walking by their side; for Christ referred to Himself as though He were another person." (DA, 800)

(Question) - John 14:18 - Does Christ 'come to you?'

(Answer) - Revelation 3:20 ...'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.'

"Only Christ can cleanse the soul temple. But He will not force an entrance. He comes not into the heart as to the temple of old; but He says, 'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him.' Revelation 3:20. He will come, not for one day merely; for He says, 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them; ... and they shall be My people.' 'He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.' 2 Corinthians 6:16; Micah 7:19. His presence will cleanse and sanctify the soul, so that it may be a holy temple unto the Lord, and 'an habitation of God through the Spirit.' Ephesians 2:21, 22." (DA, 161)

(Question) - John 14:20 - What does 'in my Father' mean?

(Answer) - John 14:10 ..'Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.'

"The Father himself suffered with the Son; for 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.' Man, with his human, finite judgment, cannot safely question the wisdom of God." (ST December 30, 1889, par. 2)

(Question) - John 14:20 - Is Christ 'in you?'

(Answer) - Galatians 2:20 ..'I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.'

"When God's people take the position that they are the temple of the Holy Ghost, Christ Himself abiding within, they will so clearly reveal Him in spirit, words and actions, that there will be an unmistakable distinction between them and Satan's followers." (Ms100, July 14, 1902)

(Question) - John 14:21-22 - Does Christ 'manifest Himself?'

(Answer) - 2 Corinthians 3:14-17 ..'But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.'

"He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.' Jesus read the future of His disciples. He saw one brought to the scaffold, one to the cross, one to exile among the lonely rocks of the sea, others to persecution and death. He encouraged them with the promise that in every trial He would be with them. That promise has lost none of its force. The Lord knows all about His faithful servants who for His sake are lying in prison or who are banished to lonely islands. He comforts them with His own presence. When for the truth's sake the believer stands at the bar of unrighteous tribunals, Christ stands by his side. All the reproaches that fall upon him, fall upon Christ. Christ is condemned over again in the person of His disciple. When one is incarcerated in prison walls, Christ ravishes the heart with His love." (DA 669)

(Question) - John 14:23 - Christ said "we will come" - Who comes with Christ?

(Answer) - John 17:20-23 ...'Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.'

"If you continue to believe and obey the truths you first embraced regarding the personality of the Father and the Son, you will be joined together with Him in love. There will be seen that union for which Christ prayed just before his trial and crucifixion: 'That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." (RH, Mar. 8, 1906, par. 18-19)

(Question) - John 14:23 - Who made "our abode" with us?

(Answer) - 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 ..'Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.'

"By the Spirit the Father and the Son will come and make their abode with you." (BEcho, Jan 15, 1893)

Finally, why is this important? See for yourself: John 17:3 ..'And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.'

"The Holy Spirit is constantly at work, teaching, reminding, testifying, coming to the soul as a divine comforter, convincing of sin as an appointed judge and guide. Christ was the spirit of truth. The world will not listen to His pleadings. They would not accept Him as their guide . They could not discern unseen things; spiritual things were unknown to them. But His disciples see in Him the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And they shall have His abiding presence. They shall have an experimental knowledge of the only true God and of Jesus Christ whom He hath sent." (SW, October 25, 1898, par. 1)

"Let the brightest example the world has yet seen be your example, rather than the greatest and most learned men of the age, who know not God, nor Jesus Christ whom He has sent. The Father and the Son alone are to be exalted." (The Youth's Instructor, July 7, 1898, par. 2)