And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. —2 Corinthians 11:14.
While we wait for God’s great victory for us to be fully realized, we also need to know that we are in a very intense battle. Our most brutal struggles are not with flesh and blood people, but spiritual powers and wickedness in spiritual places (Ephesians 6:10-12). These evil powers often use “false apostles, deceitful workers” and people “masquerading” as Jesus’ servants (2 Corinthians 11:13). God will win this battle with all who are false through Jesus Christ when he returns. The outcome is certain. Jesus won that battle on the cross (Colossians 2:15), and he will return and reign until every one of his enemies is defeated (1 Corinthians 15:24-25). Christ has already won, however, let’s not be fooled; the evil one will do everything possible to deceive all people, use false teachers, and confuse the lost. Let’s stick with God’s plan — living his truth, listening for his voice in Scripture, and following the lead of his Spirit (1 John 2:20-27).