Tag spiritual discernment

THE BLIND ELECTORATE

Allen Frederick Leave a comment
A Prophetic Teaching on Spiritual Drift, Seduction, and National Vulnerability

Introduction: When a Nation Forgets Who Leads It

Jesus declared, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” (Matthew 12:25). His words are not merely a warning; they are a spiritual law. Division is not just a political condition — it is a symptom of deeper spiritual sickness.

Every election season reveals more than political tension. It exposes the spiritual condition of the electorate. A nation is never simply choosing leaders; it is revealing what it trusts, what it fears, what it values, and what it believes will save it. When people place ultimate trust in secular leadership instead of God’s leadership, they lose discernment. They become vulnerable to manipulation, seduction, and emotional persuasion. They become, in Elijah’s language, a people “limping between two opinions” (1 Kings 18:21) — unable to see clearly, unable to choose wisely, and unable to discern truth from deception.

But to understand the prophetic parallels, we must revisit the biblical story itself — the divided kingdom, the rise of Ahab and Jezebel, the infection of Judah, and the remnant God preserved.

THE BIBLICAL BACKDROP: THE DIVIDED KINGDOM AND THE HOUSE OF AHAB

After Solomon’s death, the kingdom of Israel fractured. Ten tribes formed the Northern Kingdom, called Israel, ruled from Samaria. Two tribes formed the Southern Kingdom, called Judah, ruled from Jerusalem. What God intended to be one nation under His covenant became two nations divided by politics, idolatry, and spiritual compromise.

In the North, Ahab rose to power. Scripture says, “Ahab… did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.” (1 Kings 16:30). He married Jezebel, daughter of the king of Sidon, a woman devoted to Baal worship. Under her influence, Ahab built altars to Baal, erected Asherah poles, and filled the land with false prophets. Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD and replaced them with her own spiritual machinery.

This was not merely political corruption.
It was spiritual seduction.

Meanwhile in Judah, King Jehoshaphat walked in the ways of the Lord. But he made one fatal mistake: he formed an alliance with Ahab. His son Jehoram married Ahab’s daughter Athaliah, bringing Jezebel’s influence directly into the Davidic line. Scripture says, “He walked in the way of the kings of Israel… for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife.” (2 Chronicles 21:6).

The infection spread.

Jehoram’s son Ahaziah became king, and the Bible says, “His mother was his counselor to do wickedly.” (2 Chronicles 22:3). That mother was Athaliah — Jezebel’s daughter. Ahaziah followed the counsel of Ahab’s house, not the counsel of God. He aligned himself with the Northern Kingdom’s corruption and died in judgment.

Athaliah then seized the throne of Judah and attempted to wipe out the entire royal line of David. But God preserved a remnant. The priest Jehoiada hid the infant Joash in the temple for six years until the time was right to restore the rightful king. Through Jehoiada’s leadership, Judah returned to the covenant — but only for a season. After Jehoiada died, Joash drifted, listened to corrupt counselors, and fell back into idolatry.

The pattern repeated:
When leaders drift, the people drift.
When leaders are seduced, the nation is seduced.
When leaders abandon God, the electorate becomes blind.

The Electorate Has Lost Its Spiritual Center

Scripture teaches, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5). But when people begin trusting charisma over character, emotion over truth, personality over principle, promises over repentance, and institutions over Scripture, they become spiritually conditioned to follow the loudest voice instead of the truest voice.

Israel drifted when it trusted Ahab’s charisma instead of God’s covenant. America drifts when it trusts secular leadership as savior instead of God as Lord. Isaiah warned, “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help… but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 31:1). The electorate becomes blind when it seeks salvation from human systems rather than divine truth.

Undisciplined Leaders Produce Undisciplined Followers

Elijah confronted leaders who knew about God but did not see God clearly. They practiced rituals, maintained traditions, and invoked religious language, but their hearts were undisciplined and their vision dim. Scripture says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18).

Ahab knew the rituals. Ahaziah knew the traditions. Jehoram knew the temple. Joash knew the priesthood. But none of them walked in obedience or clarity. Their leadership produced confusion, compromise, and corruption. Hosea declared, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6). When leaders drift, the people drift. When leaders lose discipline, the people lose discernment.

Reform Without Repentance Creates National Instability

Israel attempted reform without repentance. They built new alliances, adopted new policies, embraced new religious expressions, and followed new cultural movements, but they never returned to God. God spoke through Isaiah, “This people draw near me with their mouth… but have removed their heart far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13).

America mirrors this pattern. We create new programs, adopt new slogans, form new coalitions, and pursue new reforms, but without repentance, reform becomes cosmetic — a fresh coat of paint on a rotting foundation. The Lord warned, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it.” (Psalm 127:1). Reform without repentance is labor in vain.

Faulty Foundations Make the Electorate Easy to Mislead

Jesus taught the parable of the two builders: “The rain descended, and the floods came… and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:27). A house built on sand cannot withstand pressure. A nation built on faulty foundations cannot withstand deception.

Israel built on Baal worship, political marriages, cultural assimilation, and emotional religion. America builds on secular moral relativism, therapeutic spirituality, political tribalism, and cultural seduction. Paul warned, “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2). Faulty foundations produce emotional voting, ideological seduction, personality worship, fear‑based decision‑making, and propaganda vulnerability.

The Jezebel Spirit Seduces the Electorate

The Jezebel spirit is not gender; it is seduction, manipulation, idolatry, and false teaching. Revelation warns, “Thou sufferest that woman Jezebel… to seduce my servants.” (Revelation 2:20). Seduction is the weapon of spiritual blindness.

In Elijah’s day, Jezebel seduced a nation through false prophets, emotional religion, political influence, and cultural pressure. In America, the same pattern appears in seductive ideologies, high‑sounding philosophies, emotionally charged narratives, and spiritually empty traditions. Paul warned, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine… and shall turn away their ears from the truth.” (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

When People Stop Listening to God, They Become Blind Voters

This is the heart of the teaching. When men and women stop guarding their homes, stop teaching their children, stop listening to God, stop walking in obedience, and stop practicing discernment, they become persuadable, misled, emotionally reactive, spiritually blind, and geopolitically unstable.

Jesus said, “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” (Matthew 15:14). The electorate becomes blind not because leaders are powerful, but because the people are spiritually undisciplined. Paul warned, “Be not deceived.” (Galatians 6:7). Deception enters through drift.

The Electorate’s Blindness Is a Theological Crisis, Not a Political One

America’s vulnerability is not a party issue, a candidate issue, or a policy issue. It is a theological issue. When a nation loses its spiritual center, it loses its geopolitical stability. God warned Israel, “Ye have forsaken the LORD, and he hath forsaken you.” (2 Chronicles 24:20).

Israel drifted theologically and fractured politically. Judah drifted spiritually and weakened militarily. Ahab drifted morally and alliances corrupted the nation. Joash drifted internally and institutions collapsed. America’s instability mirrors this pattern. Jesus said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25).

The Remnant Principle: God Preserves Clarity in a Blind Nation

Even in Elijah’s day, God preserved clarity. Seven thousand remained faithful (1 Kings 19:18). Obadiah hid prophets (1 Kings 18:4). Jehoiada preserved Joash (2 Kings 11). God preserved the Davidic line. In America, the remnant is the believers who see clearly, the churches that remain faithful, the leaders who refuse seduction, the communities grounded in Scripture, and the individuals who walk in obedience.

Paul wrote, “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:5). God always preserves a remnant.

The Call: Return to God With Whole‑Hearted Obedience

The only cure for electorate blindness is repentance, not reform. A nation cannot be saved by politics, ideology, institutions, traditions, emotionalism, or cultural narratives. Only by returning to God with whole hearts can a nation regain discernment and stability.

God declared, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven.” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Repentance restores clarity. Obedience restores vision. Truth restores stability.

Conclusion: The Elijah Warning for America

America is not blind because its leaders are corrupt. America is blind because its people have drifted. The electorate is not misled because voices are loud. The electorate is misled because discernment is lost. The nation is not unstable because politics are chaotic. The nation is unstable because theology is compromised.

Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation.” (Matthew 12:25).
Elijah said, “How long halt ye between two opinions?” (1 Kings 18:21).
Isaiah said, “Return unto Him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.” (Isaiah 31:6).

Do Not Trust in Man: A Modern Parable of Discernment

Allen Frederick 1 Comment

Introduction

There are seasons when the world feels like it is shouting at us from every direction. The COVID years were one of those seasons. Experts contradicted each other. Agencies shifted their guidance. Politicians changed their positions. News outlets amplified fear and confusion. Ordinary people were left standing in the middle of the storm, trying to decide who to believe and what to do.

That period is not the focus of this article, but it serves as a vivid modern parable. It exposed something deeper than public health policy or political maneuvering. It revealed how fragile our trust becomes when it is placed in human beings instead of in God. Scripture has warned us about this all along, but many believers only discovered the weight of those warnings when the world went into crisis.

The Biblical Warning About Trusting Man

The Bible does not whisper about the danger of trusting in human strength. It speaks plainly and directly. In **Psalm 146:3 we read, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.”Jeremiah 17:5 adds, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD.” Isaiah 2:22 says, “Stop regarding man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for of what account is he?”

These verses are not angry lectures. They are protective warnings. God is not trying to shame His people; He is trying to shield them from disappointment and deception. Human beings, even the most educated and well‑intentioned, are limited. They do not see everything. They do not know everything. They are influenced by pressure, fear, politics, money, and reputation. Even good men make serious mistakes. Even sincere leaders can be wrong.

God is not like that. He is not limited. He is not pressured. He is not biased. He is not confused. He is not swayed by public opinion or personal gain. When He speaks, He speaks truth. When He leads, He leads rightly. When He warns, His warnings are accurate. When He comforts, His comfort is reliable.

A Modern Parable: Confusion in the COVID Era

During the pandemic, people were desperate for clarity. They wanted someone to stand up and say, “This is the truth. This is what you must do. This is what is safe. This is what is dangerous.” Many turned to experts and agencies and assumed that whatever came from those platforms must be correct. Over time, however, it became obvious that not everything being said was consistent, honest, or even logical. Guidance changed. Narratives shifted. Motives were questioned. Trust began to erode.

That erosion of trust is not just a political or social issue. It is a spiritual lesson. When we lean on human voices as if they were infallible, we set ourselves up for confusion. Confusion is the natural fruit of trusting man. It does not mean every person involved was evil or malicious. It simply means that human beings cannot carry the weight of divine trust.

In the middle of that noise, you chose a different path. You prayed. You asked the Lord directly what you should do. You did not have all the data. You did not have access to every study. You did not sit in the rooms where decisions were being made. But you had something better. You had access to the One who sees everything. You sought Him, and He answered you. He gave you peace instead of panic. He gave you assurance instead of confusion. He gave you a specific Scripture—the account of Paul being bitten by a poisonous snake and suffering no harm—as a personal anchor. That was not hype. That was not spin. That was not a narrative. That was a clear, factual, truthful word from God to your heart.

That is the parable. That is the contrast. Human voices produced confusion. God’s voice produced clarity.

The Difference Between Letter and Spirit

Many believers today are taught to live on “Scripture alone” in a way that unintentionally shuts out the living voice of the Holy Spirit. They are told that the Bible is sufficient, and it is, but they are also told—directly or indirectly—that God no longer speaks, no longer guides, no longer reveals, and no longer moves in the gifts of the Spirit. The result is a kind of spiritual dryness. People read the text, but they do not receive fresh manna. They know the letter, but they do not experience the Spirit.

Jesus did not say, “My sheep read My book.” He said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Hearing implies that He is still speaking. Following implies that He is still leading. Comfort implies that He is still near. Guidance implies that He is still active.

When believers are taught that God no longer speaks, they are left with only human voices and printed words. The printed Word of God is holy, true, and essential. But without the Spirit breathing on that Word, without the living voice of God applying it to specific situations, people can end up with stale bread instead of fresh manna. They can quote verses and still miss the heart of God. They can know doctrine and still lack discernment.

Wholehearted Trust and Total Surrender

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” That verse is often quoted, but rarely lived. Trusting God with all your heart means more than saying a quick prayer in the morning or reading a devotional before bed. It means that your confidence, your decisions, your reactions, and your interpretations are anchored in Him, not in the shifting opinions of men.

Following the Lord is not a part‑time activity. It is not an hour on Sunday. It is not a religious habit tucked into the margins of life. It is a total surrender. It involves your mind, your emotions, your body, your strength, your spirit, and your will. It means that when the world shouts one thing and God whispers another, you choose the whisper. It means that when experts insist on a path that does not sit right in your spirit, you pause and seek the Lord instead of blindly complying. It means that you refuse to make fear‑based decisions and instead wait for the peace of God to rule in your heart.

Total surrender does not mean recklessness. It does not mean ignoring wisdom or rejecting all human counsel. It means that human counsel is weighed, tested, and filtered through the presence and voice of God. It means that you never give to man the trust that belongs only to God.

A Call to Discernment in a Noisy World

We live in an age of constant information. News feeds, social media, podcasts, and commentary are always available. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has a platform. Everyone has something to say. In that environment, discernment is not optional; it is survival.

Discernment is not suspicion. It is not paranoia. It is not cynicism. Discernment is the ability to recognize the difference between human noise and divine truth. It is the ability to sense when something is off, even if the words sound polished and convincing. It is the ability to wait on God instead of rushing with the crowd. It is the ability to say, “I hear what they are saying, but I need to hear what God is saying.”

The COVID era exposed how easily people can be swayed by fear, pressure, and authority. It also revealed how safe it is to be anchored in God. Those who trusted in man were tossed back and forth. Those who trusted in God had a place to stand.

Conclusion

The lesson of this modern parable is simple and sobering. Human beings, even the best of them, can be wrong. They can be misinformed. They can be pressured. They can be deceived. They can deceive. They can change their minds. They can change their stories. They can fail.

God does not.

He does not lie. He does not change. He does not mislead. He does not manipulate. He does not speak out of fear or self‑interest. His Word is truth. His Spirit is faithful. His guidance is sure.

In a world that will always have loud voices, confident experts, and persuasive narratives, the believer must decide where ultimate trust will rest. If it rests on man, confusion will follow. If it rests on God, clarity will come.

Do not put your trust in man. Do not lean on human understanding. Seek the Lord with your whole heart. Listen for His voice. Surrender fully to His leading. When you do, you will find that even in the loudest seasons, His guidance is steady, His peace is real, and His truth is dependable.

AS A MAN THINKS: THE FOUR AIS, THE TWO CLOUDS, AND THE COLLAPSE OF GODLESS INTELLIGENCE

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

There is a single thread running from the wilderness of Sinai to the digital wilderness of the twenty-first century. It stretches from Joshua’s battlefield to Jeremiah’s prophecy, from the chambers of the Sanhedrin to the servers of Silicon Valley. It is the thread of human intelligence without God, a pattern as old as Eden and as modern as the cloud. And that thread is not historical trivia; it is a warning rope stretched across the path of a generation sprinting toward its own brilliance.

“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)

Everything begins with thinking, because every city, nation, institution, technology, and worldview is formed in thought before it becomes action. When that thinking is wrong, the resulting ruin can be great.

The Bible gives us two Ais, two cities named Ai, and our generation has created two AIs, artificial intelligence and academic intelligence. And between them stands the contrast of two clouds: the cloud that led Israel, and the cloud that leads us.

Together, these parallels offer a cautionary pattern: societies risk ruin when human brilliance becomes a substitute for divine wisdom rather than a tool governed by it

THE CLOUD THAT LED ISRAEL AND THE CLOUD THAT LEADS US

In the wilderness, Israel was led by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
“And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.” (Exodus 13:21)

Israel moved or remained in camp according to the movement of that cloud.
“At the command of the Lord the people of Israel would set out, and at the command of the Lord they would camp.” (Numbers 9:18)

The cloud was not mere information but a sign of God’s guiding presence.

Today, our lives revolve around a different kind of cloud, an invisible artificial cloud we cannot see but trust without question. We follow algorithms the way Israel followed God. We move when the cloud updates. We stop when the cloud buffers. We rely on digital direction more than divine direction.

And hovering above both is a third cloud, the cloud of human pride, a fog that blinds a generation convinced it sees clearly.

The ancient cloud led Israel to freedom because God was in it. The modern cloud can lead society into dependence when God is absent from its direction.

This is the backdrop for the four Ais, ancient and modern, that reveal how thinking shapes destiny.

JOSHUA’S Ai: HUMAN STRATEGY WITHOUT GOD

The first Ai appears in the book of Joshua. Israel’s spies judged the city small enough for only two or three thousand soldiers, but the attack ended in defeat.
“So about three thousand men went up there from the people, and they fled before the men of Ai.” (Joshua 7:4)

Yet Scripture identifies the deeper cause as covenant unfaithfulness.
“Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them.” (Joshua 7:11)

Israel’s confident assessment mattered, but the narrative does not reduce the defeat to defective strategy. It roots the failure in disobedience that had broken fellowship with God.

Their intelligence was not submitted to God. Their strategy was not anchored in obedience. Their confidence was not rooted in the Lord. And so the city named “heap of ruins” temporarily defeated the people of God.

Ai did not defeat Israel. Disobedience did.

After the sin was judged, the Lord again spoke to Joshua and supplied the ambush by which Ai would fall.
“Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.’” (Joshua 8:18)

The lesson is not that planning is faithless, but that strategy must operate under God’s command and within covenant obedience.

JEREMIAH’S Ai: NATIONAL PRIDE WITHOUT GOD

Centuries later, Jeremiah names another Ai within an oracle concerning Ammon.
“Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste.” (Jeremiah 49:3)

The oracle exposes Ammon’s boasting.
“Why do you boast of your valleys, O faithless daughter? Your valley is flowing away.” (Jeremiah 49:4)

Jeremiah’s Ai represents the collapse of nations that trust their own strength more than the God who judges nations.

Every nation that trusts its systems more than its Savior eventually becomes its own heap of ruins.

Across two prophets, two eras, and two cities named Ai, one message emerges: human intelligence apart from God becomes a heap of ruins.

THE SANHEDRIN: THE ORIGINAL ACADEMIC AI

The Sanhedrin was a leading religious and legal authority in Jesus’ day.
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat.” (Matthew 23:2)

Jesus condemned leaders who shut the kingdom in people’s faces.
“For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.” (Matthew 23:13)

They were the ancient data center of religious knowledge, but without the Spirit of God powering it.

They were experts in Scripture but strangers to the God of Scripture, a danger as real in universities as it was in Jerusalem.

Jesus charged them with searching the Scriptures while refusing to come to the One to whom those Scriptures testified.
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me.” (John 5:39)

Academic intelligence without revelation hardens into arrogance, and arrogance collapses under the weight of its own certainty.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: HUMAN INNOVATION WITHOUT HUMILITY

Modern AI mirrors the ambition of Babel.
“Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves.” (Genesis 11:4)

AI becomes Babel when brilliance becomes a substitute for obedience.

The danger is not the machine. It is the misplaced worship of the minds that built it.

Scripture commands believers not to lean on their own understanding.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)

Human innovation without humility becomes idolatry, and idolatry collapses because it asks a created thing to bear the weight of ultimate trust.

THE WRONG BATTLE: ISRAEL VS Ai AND HUMANITY VS AI

Society has already ceded many habits of mind to digital systems. GPS supplies direction. Search engines substitute for memory. Notifications interrupt prayer.

People are fighting the symptom, not the system.

Israel lost because it fought the wrong enemy. We lose because we trust the wrong cloud.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Proverbs 9:10)

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” (Psalm 127:1)

When Israel aligned with God, Ai fell. When we anchor our intelligence in God’s wisdom, artificial intelligence becomes a tool, not a tower. Every Ai built on pride collapses. Every Ai grounded in God stands.

THE UNIFIED MESSAGE: THE FOUNDATION DETERMINES THE FUTURE

Joshua’s Ai warns individuals, Jeremiah’s warns nations, the Sanhedrin warns institutions and modern AI warns cultures. Every Ai begins as a system of thought. Every thought system not built on God’s Word becomes a heap of ruins.

The future does not belong to the brilliant, it belongs to the faithful

DAMNABLE HERESIES & THE LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES

Allen Frederick Leave a comment
A Modern Exposé of an Ancient Plague

Introduction: When Leaven Masquerades as Doctrine

There is a reason Scripture warns us repeatedly about leaven. Leaven is subtle. It works quietly, invisibly, and inevitably until the entire loaf is swollen with mixture. Paul warned, “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” (Galatians 5:9) Jesus warned His disciples, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.” (Matthew 16:6) Peter warned of “damnable heresies” secretly introduced among the people. (2 Peter 2:1) These warnings were not aimed at pagans or outsiders. They were aimed at religious contamination — the kind that looks holy, sounds authoritative, and feels familiar, yet carries the poison of human influence.

The tragedy of modern Christianity is that we have inherited a system built on commentary, tradition, denominational identity, and seminary interpretation, all presented as “sound doctrine.” But Jude’s command to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3) refers to the apostolic gospel, not the inherited systems we now defend. The faith once delivered came long before King Jimmy, long before English translations, long before catechisms, councils, and confessions. And yet generation after generation has swallowed these systems whole, regurgitated them, added to them, and passed them down until the loaf is no longer unleavened truth but a mixture of Scripture and human additives.

The Shepherd’s Voice vs. the Voice of Men

Jesus made a statement that should have shaped the entire structure of the church: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27) He also said, “A stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” (John 10:5) But modern Christianity replaced the Shepherd’s voice with the pastor’s voice. Believers were trained to sit in pews, listen passively, absorb whatever was preached, and call it illumination. In reality, it was indoctrination. They were never taught to discern. They were never taught to test the spirits. They were never taught to hear God for themselves.

And when you cannot hear the Shepherd, you will follow anyone who sounds religious, educated, or authoritative. This is how false shepherds gain influence. This is how Pharisee leaven spreads. This is how damnable heresies take root.

False Shepherds and Religious Noise

The Pharisees knew Scripture inside and out. They memorized it, categorized it, analyzed it, and expounded it until the people were exhausted. But Jesus said, “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29) He also said, “This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.” (Matthew 15:8) And then He delivered the indictment that defines religious leaven: “In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:9)

Modern Pharisees do the same. They preach long sermons, quote Greek and Hebrew, wield seminary degrees, and elevate themselves as the final authority. Meanwhile, the people sit silently, never questioning, never discerning, never hearing God for themselves. This is not discipleship. It is religious conditioning. And conditioned people cannot recognize false shepherds because they have never learned to recognize the True Shepherd.

Man‑Made Doctrine Disguised as Sound Doctrine

Jude’s command to contend for the faith once delivered is a call to return to the apostolic gospel, not the inherited systems we now defend. Paul warned, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men… and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8) Jesus confronted the Pharisees with the same truth: “Ye have made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.” (Matthew 15:6)

When English translators inserted Easter — a word not found in the Greek — they imported Egypt into the bread. And once leaven enters, it spreads. If one word can be altered, what else was shaped by culture, politics, or tradition? The people defend their inherited doctrine fiercely, believing it is pure, never realizing it is leavened. They swallowed it whole, regurgitated it, added to it, and passed it down until the loaf became swollen with mixture.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread: A Spiritual Detox

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was not merely a memorial of Israel’s haste. It was a prophetic picture of purity — a call to remove mixture, eliminate additives, and eat the Word without contamination. God commanded Israel, “Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread… there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee.” (Exodus 13:7) Paul echoed this when he wrote, “Purge out therefore the old leaven… therefore let us keep the feast… with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:7–8)

The modern church needs this feast. We need a season of purging mixture, rejecting man‑made doctrine, returning to Scripture without filters, and hearing the Shepherd’s voice without interference.

“You Have Heard It Said… But I Say Unto You”

Jesus confronted religious interpretation with a phrase that shattered Pharisee authority: “Ye have heard that it was said… but I say unto you.” (Matthew 5:21–22) He was not correcting sinners. He was correcting religious teachers. He was purging tradition, commentary, interpretation, and doctrinal scaffolding. He replaced the voice of men with the voice of God. The modern church needs this phrase again. Not “you have heard it said,” but “I say unto you.” Not the pastor’s voice. Not the seminary’s voice. Not the commentary’s voice. Not King Jimmy’s voice. The Shepherd’s voice.

Why Apostles and Prophets Were Removed

Paul wrote, “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets…” (1 Corinthians 12:28) He also said the church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone.” (Ephesians 2:20) Apostles correct direction. Prophets expose corruption. Both threaten man‑made systems. Without apostles, the ship drifts. Without prophets, leaven spreads. Without both, pastors become the final authority, teachers become the doctrinal gatekeepers, and the Spirit’s voice is replaced by institutional control.

This was not accidental. It was strategic. The removal of apostles and prophets created a vacuum that pastors and teachers were never meant to fill. And once they became the final authority, the church drifted into Egypt.

Why the Gifts of the Spirit Were Silenced

Paul commanded believers, “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.” (1 Corinthians 14:1) He explained, “He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.” (1 Corinthians 14:3) And he warned, “Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19–20)

Prophecy is the anti‑leaven gift. It reveals false teaching, false authority, and false tradition. It bypasses human control and restores the Shepherd’s voice. So the system had to silence it. Tongues were dismissed. Interpretation was ignored. Discernment was discouraged. Prophecy was forbidden. Apostolic authority was replaced with pastoral hierarchy. Because if the gifts operated freely, the entire structure of leaven would collapse.

The People Wanted It This Way

Paul warned Timothy, “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” (2 Timothy 4:3) Isaiah described the same spirit: “Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things.” (Isaiah 30:10) People prefer predictability, routine, tradition, comfort, and control. They prefer a pastor who thinks for them, interprets for them, decides for them, and filters truth for them. They prefer indoctrination over revelation. They prefer the public‑school model of Christianity — sit, listen, absorb, conform.

But Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice.” (John 10:27) Not the pastor’s voice. Not the commentary’s voice. Not the catechism’s voice. Not the seminary’s voice. His voice.

Conclusion: Returning to Unleavened Christianity

The Spirit is calling His people back to the simplicity of Christ — back to the Shepherd’s voice, back to Scripture without additives, back to truth without mixture, back to the faith once delivered, back to the feast of unleavened bread. Jesus said, “If any man will hear My voice…” (Revelation 3:20) And again, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” (Revelation 2:7)

This teaching is not an attack on pastors. It is an attack on leaven. It is not a rejection of Scripture. It is a rejection of contamination. It is not rebellion against authority. It is obedience to the Shepherd. It is not a critique of the church. It is a call to purification.

The Spirit is saying, “Purge the leaven. Return to the Shepherd. Keep the feast. Hear My voice.” And those who hear Him will obey no other.


This has been “A View From the Nest” and that is the way I see it! What say you?
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The Deceiver Who Doesn’t Look Like One

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

A Teaching for an Age of Cultural Unrest

We live in a time when people expect evil to announce itself loudly. Many imagine the devil in a red suit, tail swishing, pitchfork in hand, smoke curling around his feet. It is a comforting caricature because it makes deception easy to spot. If the enemy looked like that, no one would fall for him.

Scripture tells a very different story. Genesis describes the serpent as “more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made” (Genesis 3:1). Subtle—not grotesque, not terrifying, not obvious. The first deception in human history did not come through fear. It came through beauty, persuasion, and a voice that sounded safe enough to trust.

The serpent did not frighten Eve. He flattered her. He appealed to her desire for wisdom, insight, and elevation. Genesis 3:4–6 shows the strategy clearly: “Ye shall not surely die… your eyes shall be opened… ye shall be as gods.” And when Eve looked at the fruit, she saw that it was “pleasant to the eyes” and “desired to make one wise.”

The serpent did not come with a scythe. He came with a compliment.

The Modern Face of Deception

In our cultural moment, deception rarely marches in wearing a villain’s costume. It arrives dressed in glowing language—words like justice, compassion, identity, authenticity, progress, unity, freedom, inclusion. These words are good in themselves, which is precisely why they are so effective when twisted.

Paul warned the church about this very thing. He wrote that false teachers come “with good words and fair speeches [that] deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:18). He also said that Satan himself “is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). The enemy does not need horns when he can wear light. He does not need a pitchfork when he can use high‑sounding words.

This is why Paul cautioned believers: “Let no man beguile you with enticing words” (Colossians 2:4). Enticing words are the serpent’s favorite tool. They sound noble. They sound enlightened. They sound compassionate. And because they sound good, people rarely stop to ask whether they are true.

Why Flattery Works So Well

Flattery bypasses discernment and goes straight for identity. It tells people what they want to hear:

  • You’re enlightened.
  • You’re compassionate.
  • You’re morally superior.
  • You’re on the right side of history.
  • You’re brave for believing this.

Once a person receives that affirmation, they will defend the ideology that delivered it—even if that ideology contradicts Scripture, truth, or reality itself. They are not defending ideas anymore; they are defending the version of themselves the ideology promised.

This is why some people react so strongly when confronted. Truth does not just challenge their beliefs; it threatens their identity. Paul described this dynamic in 2 Timothy 3:7 when he spoke of people who are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” They are not wicked people. They are unanchored people—people who drift toward whatever voice sounds the most affirming.

Eve was not foolish. She was human. And humans are vulnerable to the voice that tells them what they want to hear.

The Cultural Moment We’re Living In

Our society is not divided because people love evil. It is divided because people have been seduced by beautiful lies. Isaiah warned of a time when people would “call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). Paul foresaw a generation that would “not endure sound doctrine” but would instead gather teachers who tell them what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

We are living in that moment.

The deceiver does not need horns when he has hashtags. He does not need a tail when he has slogans. He does not need a pitchfork when he has influencers, pundits, and charismatic personalities who speak with confidence and charm.

The serpent’s wardrobe has changed, but his strategy has not.

The Call for Discernment

Discernment is not suspicion. It is not cynicism. Discernment is the ability to recognize when something sounds good but is not true. Scripture calls believers to this kind of maturity. John wrote, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1). Hebrews 5:14 says mature believers have their senses trained to “discern both good and evil.”

In an age where every ideology markets itself as righteous, compassionate, and enlightened, the people of God must learn to test the fruit, not admire the packaging. The serpent’s words were beautiful. The fruit was deadly.

A Final Word

If someone accuses you of being “mean” for challenging deception, remember Paul’s question in Galatians 4:16: “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” Truth will always feel abrasive to those who have been comforted by lies. You are not being harsh. You are being anchored. And anchored people will always look unkind to those who are drifting.

The deceiver does not come dressed in red. He comes dressed in whatever the culture currently calls good.

The task of the believer is not to admire the costume, but to discern the voice.