R4. Testing the Spirits. [Make a Comment]
We are test every spirit to see if it is from God.
This precept is derived from His Word (blessed be He):
Key Scripture
*1 John 4:1-3, 6
Dear friends, don't trust every spirit. On the contrary, test the
spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have
gone out into the world. Here is how you recognize the Spirit of God: every
spirit which acknowledges that Yeshua the Messiah came as a human being is
from God, and every spirit which does not acknowledge Yeshua is not from
God - in fact, this is the spirit of the Anti-Messiah. You have heard that
he is coming. Well, he's here now, in the world already! ... We are
from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God
doesn't listen to us. This is how we distinguish the Spirit of truth
from the spirit of error.
Supportive Scriptures
Matthew 15:7
Beware of the false prophets! They come to you wearing sheep's
clothing, but underneath they are hungry wolves!
Matthew 24:4-5
Yeshua replied: "Watch out! Don't let anyone fool you! For many will
come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah!' and they will lead
many astray.
Matthew 24:10-11
At that time many will be trapped into betraying and hating each other, many
false prophets will appear and fool many people
Matthew 24:23-27
At that time [of tribulation], if someone says to you, 'Look!
Here's the Messiah!' or, 'There he is!' don't
believe him. For there will appear false Messiahs and false prophets
performing great miracles - amazing things! - so as to fool even the chosen,
if possible. There! I have told you in advance! So if people say to you,
'Listen! He's out in the desert!' don't go; or,
'Look! He's hidden away in a secret room!' don't believe
it. For when the Son of Man does come, it will be like lightning that
flashes out of the east and fills the sky to the western horizon.
Mark 13:5-6
Yeshua began speaking to them: "Watch out! Don't let anyone fool you!
Many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and they will fool
many people."
Mark 13:21-22
At that time, if anyone says to you, 'Look! Here's the
Messiah!' or, 'See, there he is!' - don't believe him!
There will appear false Messiahs and false prophets performing signs and
wonders for the purpose, if possible, of misleading the chosen.
Acts 17:10-11
But as soon as night fell, the brothers sent Sha'ul and Sila off to
Berea. As soon as they arrived, they went to the synagogue. Now the people
here were of nobler character than the ones in Thessalonica; they eagerly
welcomed the message, checking the Tanakh every day to see if the things
Sha'ul was saying were true.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
The fact is that such men are pseudo-emissaries: they tell lies about their
work and masquerade as emissaries of the Messiah. There is nothing
surprising in that, for the Adversary himself masquerades as an angel of
light; so it's no great thing if his workers masquerade as servants of
righteousness. They will meet the end their deeds deserve.
1 Thessalonians 5:19-21
Don't quench the Spirit, don't despise inspired messages. But do
test everything - hold onto what is good ...
1 Timothy 4:1-2
The Spirit expressly states that in the acharit-hayamim some people will
apostatize from the faith by paying attention to deceiving spirits and
things taught by demons. Such teachings come from the hypocrisy of liars
whose own consciences have been burned, as if with a red-hot branding
iron.
Commentary
The assumption of Scripture is that professions, teachings, and exhortations of men are made in response to spirit influences that are either from God or from the adversary. If a spirit bringing a teaching is God's Spirit, what he says will be true; if not, it will be false. We must therefore test the spirit of everything that is proffered to us so that we are not misled; 1 John 4:2-3 tells us how:
Here is how you recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit which acknowledges that Yeshua the Messiah came as a human being is from God, and every spirit which does not acknowledge Yeshua is not from God - in fact, this is the spirit of the Anti-Messiah.
Classical Commentators
This Mitzvah is not addressed by any of the Jewish classical commentators.
NCLA: JMm JFm KMm KFm GMm GFm