2. Overcoming the Lying Spirit
Lying Spirit
Manifestations: Murder, Revenge-Spite, Anger-Rage, Jealousy, Hatred, Cruelty, Strife, Contention, Competition, Envy, Cause Divisions Scriptures: (Genesis 4:4-6; 37:3,4,8; Proverbs 6:34; 10:12; 13:10; 14:16-17,29-30; 22:24-25; 27:4; 29:22-23; Numbers 5:14,30; 1 Thessalonians 4:8; Song of Solomon 8:6; Galatians 5:19)
Roots: "The Works of the Flesh," Galatians 5:19–21.
"By their fruits, you will know all men." Matthew 7:20. According to Matthew 6:10; 11:12; 12:29; 16:18; 18:18; 28:18 Bind: Spirit of jealousy
Loose: Love of God, 1 Corinthians 13; Ephesians 5:2
Overcoming the Lying Spirit Overcoming the Evil, Strong Men Overcoming evil spirits and demolishing strongholds of Satan, which fight against the soul of man
Lying spirit
"I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in My name. They say, 'I had a dream! I had a dream!' How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their fathers forgot my name through Baal worship. Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has My Word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declares the Lord. "Is not My Word like fire," declares the Lord, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
"Therefore," declares the Lord, "I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from Me. Yes," declares the Lord, "I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, 'The Lord declares.' Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," declares the Lord. "They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least," declares the Lord. Jer. 23:25–32 NIV
The lying spirit is a religious spirit. It is a superstitious spirit. That is why false prophets prophesy in the name of the Lord. Lying prophets dream false dreams because they are under the enemy’s delusion. They swap dreams with one another and feed on each other's delusive dreams. Concerning this, the LORD declares, For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel. But I, the Lord, will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious house, I will fulfil whatever I say... Ezek 12:24–25 NIV
The Bible reveals that the antichrist will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. One of the evil strongholds of the antichrist is a lying spirit. Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power, signs, and lying wonders 2 Thess. 2:9 KJV
He will deceive many with counterfeit miracles and with unlimited seduction to evil. He will be able to do this because he is “the man of sin” who will perform ‘after the working of Satan,’ and his ‘lying wonders’ will be'strong delusion.’ This means he will have a great, misleading influence on the world when his time comes. All who disregard and refuse the truth of God's word will believe 'the lie'—they will believe and agree with the lie of the devil. And with all deceivability and unrighteousness in them, they perish because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (vv.2:10-12 KJV)
The manifestation of the lying spirit works accumulatively to the point of amounting to “great deception” or “great delusion.”
Under the lying spirit is the religious spirit.
A lying spirit deceived the prophets of Ahab, as prophesied by Micaiah. Ahab was enticed to attack Ramoth Gilead, where he perished (II Chron. 18:18–22). A lying spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, "I will entice him" (v. 20). It said, "'I will go and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets (v. 21). The LORD then said, “You are to entice him and prevail also. Go and do so.”
The lying spirit seduces those heading to perdition. Its aim is to control the mind. All forms of superstition, falsehood, and the spirit of recognition-seeking are under the domain of the lying spirit. God’s judgement is coming on the false prophets, who operate by ‘lying spirit’ I have also seen in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Therefore thus saith The Lord of Hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood and make them drink the water of gall, for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. Thus saith The Lord of Hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you; they make you vain; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of The Lord. Jer 23:14-16 KJV
How to overcome the lying spirit
Jesus said to Pilate, "I came into the world to testify to the truth."Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." (John 18:37). He came to bear witness to “the truth." Everyone who is of the truth [who is a friend of the truth, who belongs to the truth] hears and listens to His voice. All who love the truth are Christ's followers, for He came to bring truth to the world—a world infiltrated with the lies of Satan. This is why our Lord Jesus Christ prayed to the Father to sanctify us by the truth (17:17).
Paul instructed the Ephesian elders to watch out and be on guard against people who would rise from within their fellowship to distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them (Acts 20:30–31). He warned them through a period of a whole three years, night and day, in tears because such men were under the control of lying spirits. The lying spirit strives to distort the truth in the midst of God’s people. And this evil spirit usually operates through false prophets, false seers, false teachers, and false dreams. It corrupts idle minds and hearts to become opposed to the truth.
Paul, in his epistle to the Corinthians, made them acknowledge that true spiritual leadership would not try to get anyone to believe that the Bible teaches what it doesn't. Anyone who confesses to be a Christian but who is lacking in knowledge of the written word in an area regarding spiritual things can be easily fooled by a lying spirit.
Only the truth can confront and overcome the lying spirit. "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32 NIV And the Son is the Truth that sets free (v. 36). So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free. (v.36) It is not just knowing the Bible that sets us free; it is knowing and embracing Jesus Christ—the One Who is the personification of truth. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” John 14:6 KJV
Lie is the native language of the devil, while the truth is the message, the teaching—the Testimony of Jesus. When you hear the voice of Jesus, you cannot obey the voice of the enemy. Why?
Because the two voices are two different languages. The one is in agreement with the written word, but the other is not.