Reading… and Thinking

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.

— Deuteronomy 13:1-4 (NIV)

First, God held Israel accountable to believe that He is, because of the signs that they had seen. Then, He says, “But if someone from another religion shows you signs, then don’t believe them.” Is this fair?

Besides this, God says that the signs from the other religions are given as a test. The same point is made in the New Testament: “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.” (Matthew 24:24) And, “The coming of the lawless one will be… in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders…. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11)

“So there’s a double standard – believe my signs, but not the other signs? And He deliberately attempts to deceive us? And yet God still holds us accountable!”

Coming to these conclusions is based on superficial reading, not taking the trouble to think things through. If you ever find yourself concluding that God isn’t playing fair, you have probably fallen into this trap.

What is the nature of the signs put forward by the Living God? Parting the Red Sea. Giving sight to the blind. Raising the dead. Can any other religion or sect claim signs such as these? Absolutely not! What they have are vague and inaccurate visions, unverifiable secret “miracles”, unintelligible mutterings, and “healings” that are either questionable from the start, or are very temporary in nature.

It’s not hard to distinguish the real signs. The “signs” offered by false religions can be offered in very convincing packaging, but they are in no way equivalent to what is offered by the Living God. Whether we are taken in by these things therefore provides a test: have we thought it through? Are we convinced of the Living God, or blown around by every puff of wind?

Actually these tests, far from being an unfair joke by a cruel God, are a real benefit for us. If we have ever been taken in, once we get straightened out we will be stronger. And they provide us with an opportunity to use the ability God has given us to discern right from wrong. We need to be exercised, in order to grow.

There is also a divine principle at work. When people have demonstrated that they will not believe in the one true God, He gives them up to the natural inclinations of their minds. It becomes very obvious who has followed Him, and who has strayed away. This is also for our benefit. At the judgment, there won’t be anyone who barely misses or barely makes it. We are being given the opportunity to make a clear statement of where we stand, one way or the other. The shepherd has no trouble distinguishing the sheep from the goats! It is very clear which is which.