False Spiritual Authority
Book of Daniel Series
CCCAG 1-12-25
Scripture: Daniel 2:1-12
Introduction:
I’m going to break up Daniel chapter 2 into two separate sermons.
It’s a long chapter, and it has two central subjects that are more than big enough to warrant two separate sermons.
The first part of this chapter that we will be discussing today deals with a subject that needs to be talked about in our day and age.
Because of where we are in the prophetic historical timeline, the bible tells us that we will see an increase of people claiming a false supernational ability which gives them spiritual authority.
Jesus warned us about this-
Mat 24:5 (In the last days) For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah (or your savior),’ and they will deceive many.
I personally have seen a lot of this being in the Pentecostal or Charismatic realm.
At one of my former church’s, the church board invited a guest speaker who was reported to have a “healing ministry”.
Being the interim pastor at that time, I spoke with the board about my reservations about this person coming.
My two reservations were this-
1. His doctrine was questionable to say the least and went against what our church generally believe- just way out there on the fringe- he was a name it and claim it type of preacher.
2. The second objection was a pragmatic one- is if this person is not legit- we would have dozens of people who were told they were healed and were not- but had a momentary endorphin rush during the service that temporarily made them feel better.
Now- I do,100% believe in God’s supernatural healing power. When I pray for a person to be healed, I pray in faith believing that I am being obedient to the Word of God.
But, don’t be fooled- there are people out there that are either evil or deluded, and will use your hope of being healed to enrich themselves.
The bible is clear- there are wolves among God’s sheep. Unfortunately, some of them carry ministerial credentials.
This is why false spiritual authority is dangerous to the individual believer, and to the church as a whole.
The sad truth is- if a person is gifted in public speaking, and has a bit of personal charisma, they can fool most people for a long time.
In Daniel’s day, this was true as well.
That’s what we are going to see in Daniel 2. The king needs help, but quickly realizes he has a bunch of false spiritual advisors. ________________________________________
I. The Distress of a King (Verses 1-3) (CSB)
Dan 2:1-3 During the second year that Nebuchadnezzar was king, he had such horrible nightmares that he could not sleep. (2) So he called in his counselors, advisors, magicians, and wise men, (3) and said, "I am disturbed by a dream that I don't understand, and I want you to explain it."
Prayer
In Daniel 2:1-16, King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the Babylon, finds himself plagued by a mysterious dream. Night after night, the same dream but what is really bothering him is that he can’t remember the specifics of the dream.
He finally turns to his advisors- who are supposed to be wise men; schooled in religion, magic, and even the dark arts for answers.
It should be noted that none of these men that he is consulting are followers of God.
Nebuchadnezzar’s reaction is a common reaction that we all have. When something is overwhelming us, consuming our every thought- we need answers.
It also shows us that even a pagan king knows that there is something outside of himself. That’s why he reaches out to those who supposedly have a connection with the supernatural.
1. All humanity senses and recognizes there is something else other than the visible and tangible world we live in.
We see that today with the increase of interest in psychics. I know tons of people who travel around to visit the latest meeting where people will tell them messages from “the beyond”.
I have mentioned this before, but I get a lot of spam phone calls.
Once in a while I get one from someone claiming to be a mystic or medium calls me and wants to tell me my fortune.
The last time, it was a woman speaking in a creepy and very mysterious monotone voice- they try to sound like Dracula or something, “Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with today?”
I answer, “You’re the psychic, you tell me” and hang up on them.
But the fact that they are having meetings, and calling people shows us that our culture is begging for supernatural information and insight, which false spiritual leaders and systems attempt to exploit.
2. Application:
o Modern parallels include horoscopes, fortune-tellers, and self-help philosophies, Hindu spiritualism or Buddhism.
o These may offer temporary comfort. It’s a placebo- something that may look and feel real, but in the long term doesn’t help at all.
o It fails to provide lasting truth.
o Even worse- it opens the door and gives access to the demonic to enter your life and spirit. Satan and his kingdom are experts in camouflaging themselves to look like angels of light to deceive you.
Let’s continue to read in Daniel 2.
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II. The Exposure of False Authority (Verses 4-9)
Two quick notes before we continue reading-
It’s noted that the king did not consult the entire council of advisors, but only those from his country- that’s why it says that only the Chaldean advisors were being spoken to here. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were probably just getting placed in their positions at this time, so they were considered too new to be part of the inner circle of advisors.
The second point- the bible was written in three primary languages- Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. From here through Chapter 7 of Daniel, the language switches to Aramaic, which was the language spoken in Babylon. It’s the only part of the bible written in this language. It switches back to Hebrew in Chapter 8. The Aramaic parts mostly deal with Daniel’s interactions with the rulers and people of Babylon and Medo-Persia, while the later chapters are written in Hebrew when they shift into prophecy about the future.
Just some bible trivia for you.
Let’s continue with our main subject- false spiritual authority.
Dan 2:4-9 The Chaldeans spoke to the king (Aramaic begins here): “May the king live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My word is final: If you don’t tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be made a garbage dump. (6) But if you make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you’ll receive gifts, a reward, and great honor from me. So make the dream and its interpretation known to me.” (7) They answered a second time, “May the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will make known the interpretation.” (8) The king replied, “I know for certain you are trying to gain some time, because you see that my word is final. (9) If you don’t tell me the dream, there is one decree for you. You have conspired to tell me something false or fraudulent until the situation changes. So tell me the dream and I will know you can give me its interpretation.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s demand exposed the inability of his closest spiritual advisors to deliver genuine insight.
Just like in Daniel’s day, this happens even now.
In the late 90’s, there was a guy who had a TV show, and he claimed he could speak to your dead relatives. I watched one episode, and it was obvious he knew a lot of psychology. Basically, he manipulated people to tell him enough facts for him to fill in the blanks, carefully watching their body language and expression, and then told them what they wanted to hear.
His so called power rested on manipulation, educated guesswork, and possibly demonic influence.
Don’t be fooled. There is a spiritual realm, and the spirits who are in service to satan can be accessed, and they will give you advice, knowledge, and power.
But their goal is to draw you away from God and into the same future that they know is coming- the lake of fire.
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How do we spot these people?
The bible gives us some guidance-
The first test of authentic spiritual authority- faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ-
Galatians 1:8-9 (New English Translation) But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell! (9) As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell!
That’s the first test of true spiritual authority- do they hold to the teachings of the bible?
Or
Do they claim a special knowledge that contradicts what the bible plainly teaches?
Do they believe in the teachings of Jesus the Christ, HIS substitutionary sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sins, and HIS bodily resurrection from the grave on the third day?
Do they believe that there is no way to heaven apart from believing in Jesus, repenting of your sins, and folllowing after HIM the rest of your life?
That is an absolute essential belief that all Christians need to hold onto. If a person cannot absolutely, without equivocation say yes to those beliefs- they are not Christian. Period.
This is what the bible says about these people-,
Rev 22:19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book (condemned to hell)
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So Faithfulness to the bible is the first test.
The second test-
Do talk mostly about themselves and their gifting?
I’ve seen this first hand.
In my past, the church were in was between pastors, and one our church leaders went to a church where that had a growing revival happening. That church leader spoke with the pastor of that church, and the pastor agreed to have a series of meetings at our church.
I didn’t get a chance to meet him before he spoke, but he was a dynamic speaker and really got the gathering going. The Holy Spirit seemed to be moving, but there was a hesitation in my spirit about this man. He had said several things during the service that were questionable at best.
I looked at Tammie, and she leaned over and whispered- “There is something off about him”
At the end of the service, I had a chance to sit down with him and the other leaders of the church. They were all excited and talked to him about becoming a satellite church of his ministry.
It was my turn to ask questions, so I asked for clarification about something he said during the service which was not biblical.
He looked at me and said, “Boy, don’t ever touch the LORD’s anointed, and due his prophets no harm.”
That was the confirmation for me- there is something wrong here. He deliberately misapplied a scripture to attack me to protect himself.
It’s spiritual malpractice and should never be uttered by any shepherd of God.
The Epistles to Timothy and Titus are the bible’s instruction manuals for pastors, and it says
2 Tim 2:24-25
24 The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach and patient, 25 instructing his opponents with gentleness.
If a person claiming spiritual authority reacts to a legitimate question like that to you from questioning what they said, particularly in a sermon, then they stand on questionable ground.
There is an old leadership saying- “If you have to remind people of your position or rank, you don’t actually hold that position in their heart.”
That quote is very true in the church.
So that is the second test- does this person in question point you to their position or to their gifting, or do they point you to Jesus?
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The third test- is whatever supernatural act they are performing proven to be true?
We can see this in two parts-
If they deliver a prophecy then it’s simple- ask yourself, “Did it come true?”
Deuteronomy 18:21-22 (21) (God speaking) Now if you say to yourselves, ‘How can we tell that a message is not from the LORD?’ – (22) whenever a prophet speaks in my name and the prediction is not fulfilled, then I have not spoken it; the prophet has presumed to speak it, so you need not fear him.”
So, did their prophecy come true? Does it match with what the bible teaches?
When a person attributes what they are saying to God speaking through them, God takes that very seriously.
How seriously? In the verses preceding the verse we just read, Hebrew law called for that person to be put to death if they were found to be false.
The same goes for demonstrations of spiritual power or giftings.
We used the example of supernatural healing earlier.
Again, this is simple. If a person lays hands on a person and proclaims that God has healed them, but then it’s found out they are still sick?
False prophet.
God takes false spiritual authority very seriously.
God takes this so seriously, that HE put it in the Ten Commandments-
Ex 20:7 "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
That Hebrew phrase literally means to lie in God’s name.
It’s primarily speaking to lying under oath. You are calling God to be your witness that what you are saying is true.
God will not hold that person unpunished.
Because falsehood and lies destroy faith. That’s the entire plan of the enemy - to destroy faith in the lives of all people.
Because faith is the currency of relationship (repeat)
Especially our relationship with God.
So, we’ve identified the problem of false spiritual authority, and looked at how to identify it,
So what are some practical steps to avoid falling under the influence of false spiritual authority?
Gullibility is not a fruit of the Holy Spirit- discernment is, so how do we develop discernment?
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APPLICATION
1. Know your bible.
There is no excuse for biblical illiteracy in our age. The device in your pocket has the ability to read you the bible if you don’t like to read.
For free.
You also have the entire library of Christian teaching and thought.
For free.
Some of you have long commutes to work or school. You can get through several New Testament books in a 30-40 minute commute.
The second way-
2. If you hear something that seems false, confront it.
Confrontation should be done according to the steps lined up in
Matthew 18-
These are the steps-
Confront privately first.
Pastors are human, and when you are trying to convey truth that is sometimes complex, it’s easy to misspeak, or to come to a wrong conclusion. (BIVO)
However, if the person in question does not repent, meet with them again but this time bring some other church members, preferably people mature in the faith to confront the person again, using the bible to show them their error.
IF they are still holding onto grievous error- take it to the church.
IN this case, the board may decide to confront a pastor on a Sunday morning publicly. If it’s a serious doctrinal error, they can also go to the denominational headquarters and get them get involved.
After knowing your bible, and confronting error, the last and most important step to avoiding falling under false spiritual authority is this-
3. Become people of deep prayer.
Prayer increases your closeness and intimacy with God through the Holy Spirit. This is not something that just belongs to the pastor- in fact the people I’ve seen with the deepest levels of discernment have been lay people who are known to spend hours in prayer.
The more time you spend in the presence of God, the more sensitive you will come to HIS leading, the more likely you will hear HIS voice, and know falsehood when you hear it.
All Rise
The last thing-
In order for any of this to work-
You need to be a Christian. Have you repented, or turned away from your sins?
Have you surrendered your life to the person of Jesus Christ?
John 3:16/Altar call
