an inside job

The Word for today:
1 Kings 13

Today we read the tale of a man of God who guarded against any compromise with an idolatrous king, but then was deceived by a prophet from within the "church."

The Apostle Paul specifically warned of this detour into danger:
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned. (1)

The man of God had been given the clear Word of the LORD. Then he acted upon it. He stood firm against the outside world, against the king himself.

But he was not on guard against forces from inside the so-called "church"--in this case a prophet who claimed a special angelic visitation.

If someone claims, “An angel spoke to me," or "A vision has been given to me,” then his claims must be tested against the clear Word of God. Is it the scriptural Truth, the whole scriptural Truth, and nothing but the scriptural Truth?

If not, then reject it. Don't follow him down that road--or you, like the man of God we read about today, will find yourself being torn up by the "lion" that Peter identifies as Satan (2).

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(1) Galatians 1:8; (2) 1 Peter 5:8