It is written: "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." 1 Timothy 4:1-2
To some in the religious world it’s not a popular topic; but it’s not a topic that the Bible shies away from talking about. As a matter of fact, there’s not a single writer in the New Testament who didn’t warn about false teachers or false doctrine in one way or another: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul, James, Peter, John and Jude all speak up, and they speak the same thing!
BE ON GUARD AND WATCH OUT FOR FALSE DOCTRINES AND TEACHERS:
Matthew 7:15, Mark 13:22. Acts 20:28-30. 2 Timothy 4:3-4James 2:17-18, 2 Peter 2:1-2. 1 John 4:1 Jude 4."
Amen!
A general litmus test for any sign or wonder you may see, since some may not be from God but from the evil one instead.
Does it benefit the people it is done to in any way? Does it point them to God?
When Jesus did healings they benefitted the person being healed physically. The healing improved their life while also giving them faith.
When God did miracles like the feeing of the 5,000 he provided for the physical needs of the people.
Signs and wonders it would seem them need to meet a physical need for people.
If they seem arbitrary they may not be from God.
Satan can do signs, wonders and miracles too. So we need to have discernment and be alert to this.
Test everything with Scripture. If it doesn't seem to line up with Scripture it may not be of God.
"Jonathan Edwards gives 5 “tests” to determine if a manifestation is a genuine work of the Holy Spirit:
- Does it honor the person of Jesus Christ?
- Does it produce a greater hatred of sin and a greater love for righteousness?
- Does it produce a greater regard for Scripture?
- Does it lead people into truth?
- Does it produce a greater love for God and man?"
"I was visiting Bethel Church a few months ago when a “Glory Cloud” appeared during worship. I had heard of this happening, but never had seen it, or really believed it. In short, a cloud of gold-like dust was hovering up by the roof. It caused some hysteria during worship and I found people crowding together and gathering underneath it.....
I felt I had to ask the question: “Is there room for something like this? God showing up in a way that the Bible doesn’t describe?
In all honesty, I didn’t feel anything special that evening. As I sat down I desperately wanted to know what every one else was experiencing. The manifest presence was quite obvious to everyone in that room, except me. While the majority of the room met the ‘presence’ with laughter and praise, I met it with doubt and skepticism. I asked the question, “if the LORD physically manifests in a room, wouldn’t everyone know it??!” I mean seriously, a cloud of gold dust showed up in church while we were worshiping Jesus… why in the world didn’t I feel an ounce of the Presence?"
The problem often with these kinds of signs and wonders is that rather than leading people TO the Bible, they distract people from the Bible. The people seeing them then think the experiences can supplant God's Holy Word, which is very wrong. People can't get so caught up in signs and wonders that they forget to study God's word.
Would a "sign" like this make people love God more? Does it say anything about the nature of God or teach people about who God is?
Miracles in the Bible did because they showed that God has power over nature.
But what benefit does a cloud of gold dust do for those who see it? Not sure.
The reason I am skeptical of any "sign" that is gold related is that it may invoke a love of money in those who see it. But "the love of money is the root of all evil." Therefore it would seem that such instances where signs involving gold appear are not of God but of Satan; to distract, to entice, to get people to run after things of this world rather than God.
This is a great article on the topic of gold dust....http://www.bibleprophecymagazine.com/golddust.html
Always test everything you see or hear against the Word of God. Always.
God bless :)
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