AJ when did God tell you this? You can't use God's expressed thoughts in the bibles. This lie is not there. Did God really say.....I don't use dreams and visions to instruct my people anymore...it would be too confusing.
When you understand what the gifts of the spirit were sent to demonstrate, and why they were used by Jesus and his apostles in the first century, you will see what Paul meant when said....
1 Cor 13:8-11, 13...
“Love never fails. As for prophecies, they will be brought to an end. As for tongues, they will stop. As for knowledge, it will be brought to an end. We know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, what is partial will be brought to an end. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, reason like a child, think like a child. But now that I have become a man, I’ve put an end to childish things. . . . Now faith, hope, and love remiain—these three things—and the greatest of these is love.” (CEB)
When Christianity was one faith, all those things experienced by the ones who received the spirit, benefitted the whole congregation. The gifts were given so that all could build their faith on the same beliefs, but we don’t see that today.... close now to the “end” of this corrupt world system, Christendom is split up into many fragmented denominations with various beliefs and practices....if Christ came back tomorrow, who would he claim as his own? Who would qualify as his one flock? He knows his sheep, but do his sheep know him?
Matt 7:21-23 illuminates the dilemma.....who are these ones offering their excuses to Jesus and receiving his complete rejection? It does appears as though they were confident that they were serving their “Lord” appropriately? Yet he didn’t think so....saying “I never knew you”....and calling them “workers of lawlessness”. Who then are the genuine “believers?
Did God tell you directly in a vision or a dream? Or like many other people did you get this from someone else?
If I did get a vision or dream, I would probably wonder about demonic activity as I have experienced that.
But if it persisted, I would go and have my mental health evaluated.
I do not believe that God operates that way anymore. The apostolic period was the time for those things and they are long past.
I got it from the Bible (quoted above). Visions and dreams, like the other gifts of God’s spirit were for a time and a purpose...they were to cease because these gifts were for spiritual infants who had to grow up and learn to become Christ-like in their words and actions. God’s prophets of old and his apostles were given these gifts.....but those who claim to have them these days, more often than not are not mentally well.
The devil is a mimic as well, and he can do tricks that we might assume are from God. He can “transform himself into an angel of light”.....fooling those who are not awake to his methods....we should not under estimate him....
The reality, God has never stopped communicating through visions and dreams. I love receiving visions from Christ and living my life by them. They reveal new truths of our Creator, Who He is and what He does and will do in our future.
That is for you to evaluate for yourself.....I personally operate by Scripture, not by supernatural occurrences.
If all who received those “gifts” were cohesive in their beliefs and practices, that might be a different story.
So no, Satan hasn't caused God to abandon His ways and means of expressing truth. No one and nothing could come anywhere close to being that powerful and affective. Sorry, I'm certainly not elevating Satan beyond the position, influence and role God has assigned to him.
What position has he been assigned that means he cannot fool people who fall for his deceptions? He is a mimic and he has demonstrated that he has power....more power than humans do.
What God did in Eden was hand over rulership of the human race to the one they chose to obey....there was a purpose to that....and it had a time limit.
Question - Who is sovereign? The Creator of angels or an angel refered to as the devil, satan?
Our Sovereign is the one we choose to rule over us. But not everyone chooses the right ruler.
If the devil received world rulership and even offered “all the kingdoms of the world” to Jesus in exchange for one act of worship, how much of the world does he rule? (Luke 4:5-7; 1John 5:19)
Through whom does he rule?
My encouragement is to give glory to Whom it is due. The sovereign Creator of everything that has ever existed or will exist is worthy of praise not some created being.
Who is “some created being”? Are you referring to “God’s only begotten son”?
We know that God created all things, but the only creation he performed alone was his “firstborn”.
Paul tells us that Jesus is “the firstborn of all creation” (Col 1:15-17) which makes him part of that creation.
It also says that God created all things “through” the agency of his Son. So Father and son were a team in creation...the “us” and “our” in Gen 1:26.
Jesus speaking in Rev 3:14 calls himself
“the beginning of God’s creation”.....I believe him.
If their relationship was not that of a “father and son” then why not call themselves by name?
What Father is his own son? What Son is his own father?
How is Jesus a “mediator between God and men”?...
if he is God, why don’t we need a mediator between us and him?
How is God his own High Priest? Or his own apostle? (Heb 3:1)
How is God his own servant? (Acts 4:27, 30)
Can you explain?
