“You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.” Isaiah 62:3 ESV
Reflection: how can you know if you are being deceived?
One of the points that was so important for Jesus to get across to His followers was “not to be deceived”. In fact, when the disciples asked Him about the end times, that was the first point He raised. Why was that? It must of course indicate that the deception will be so prevalent and difficult to spot in the end times, so cleverly disguised, that many will be deceived. And secondly, that the result of being deceived, of following the wrong path, has possibly eternal consequences for those deceived. That is very serious! Now, we all want to think that we are not one of those, right? That we have not been deceived, and all is well with us. But, if we take a simple example, looking at all the church denominations, they cannot all be correct. In fact, you can look at their doctrines and compare that to the Word of God, you might see elements that do not align with what God has said at all. Some have added their own elements into their doctrine that you will not find in the Bible, such as how a service is to be held, how they manage money, and so on. Some even go so far as replacing the Word of God with their own doctrine. That their own interpretation and doctrine has higher value than the Word itself.
So what and who are you following? Your church, or the Word of God?
It is actually not so difficult to figure out. Think about, and try to answer for yourself who and what have “authority” in your life? What do you listen to, to decide and set direction for you, and those you have responsibility for? This requires some honest self reflection. As a Christian, we hopefully say our authority is from God, through the Word of God. But the truth is that many don’t know the Word of God because they do not study it. Many get their information and knowledge from other people; a priest, a pastor or teacher, Christian music, Christian books and devotionals, Christian films and series, and so on. While all of these might be good for edification, they are not the source. So, the question then becomes,
how can any of us know those who we listen to, are right and not deceiving us?
The focus verse today from Isaiah 62, is an interesting example, with multiple voices of interpretation. In fact, the entire book of Isaiah has many interpretations; and they cannot all be right since some of these interpretations contradict each other. Let’s read a few verses from the beginning of the chapter for context. “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” Isaiah 62:1-5 ESV.
A beautiful prophecy, but who is the Lord talking about here, when He says “You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.” Isaiah 62:3 ESV? On the surface, we see a reference to Zion, which we have learned before is another name for Jerusalem. But, again, what and who is that? Well, that depends on who you listen to. So why is that important to understand? Isn’t this just Old Testament writings, not that relevant to us Christians today? Because this may help us to understand whether we have been deceived. The truth is that many people make their living from the interpretation of the Word of God, in the form of preaching, teaching, writing, singing, etc., The more popularity they have, the more money they make, and the more popularity and power they also get. So they may act in a role of an intermediary of the Word, telling you what is truth. But, we must remember that
we have one source; the Word of God, and one intermediary, Jesus Christ.
“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” 1 Timothy 2:3, 5-6 ESV. Let’s follow what Jesus said to His disciples, “And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray.” Mark 13:5 ESV. Are we in the last days? In the end times? Even more so, we must study and know the Word of God for ourselves, not rely on others to tell us what it says or what it means, and let the Holy Spirit guide us. We must never elevate any man above God.
