22 “Many will say to Me in that day,`Lord, Lord, have we not (προεφητεύσαμεν) prophesied in Your name, (ἐξεβάλομεν) cast out demons in Your name, and (ἐποιήσαμεν) done many wonders in Your name?’
23 “And then I will declare to them,`I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matt. 7:22-23 NKJ)
The verbs “prophesied, cast out, done” are aorist indicative, a snapshot of what they did in the past, not what they were doing when Jesus came. The affectionate ‘lord lord’ followed by the claim to have done these “In your name” is a claim to have done them with Christ’s full participation and knowledge.
“That day” puts this event in the end time (Mat. 25:31-32), right after the prophesied false Christs and false Christians would do signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if God permitted it (Mat. 24:24). Christ identifies these TARES as LawlessOnes, just as Paul identified the false Christ miracle working LawlessOne appearing end time fallen away church the Temple of God (2 Thess. 2:3-12). The apostle John is astonished by the parallel to the End Time. Miracle working TARES had cast off orthodox doctrine about God and Jesus, and left the church. John calls them Antichrists. They are so similar to the Antichrists leaving Christ in the end time, that he says it is like “the last hour before Antichrist come” (1 John 2:18-19; Rev. 6:2; 13:1-5; Mat. 24:10-11).
That give us the implied context surrounding the juxtaposition in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-15.
Christians (2 Thess. 2:13-15; 1 John 2:20-27 ) versus Antichrists (2 Thess. 2:9-12; 1 John 2:18-19, 26). Satanic energy of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:7, 9-12; 1 John 4:1-3) versus Holy Spirit energy of lawfulness (2 Thess. 2:13-15; 1 John 4:4-6).
Put all these clues together their identity becomes certain, the sign and wonder workers are Beast followers who apostatized from their confession of Christ. These TARES believed themselves Christian at one time. On judgment Day they claim to still have affection for Christ, calling Him ‘lord lord’. They are arguing “don’t cast us into the fire prepared for the Devil and his angels” because “we know you Jesus, you did powerful works through us”:
“‘Lord, Lord, we spoke for you, and through you we forced out demons and did many miracles.’ (Mt 7:22–23 NCV).
Prophesied in your name means “we spoke for you and through you, by your spirit.”
These former “Christians” had become followers of the Beast, Antichrists. TARES never do signs or anything by the Spirit of Christ. Christ NEVER knew them. They received “another Jesus…another spirit” (2 Cor. 11:4). They always operated by the energy of Satan, spiritism.
But the signs and wonders were real, so “Christian like” it could almost fool even the elect:
“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect (Matt. 24:24 NKJ)
Some object claiming: “Everyone who asks God for supernatural powers, can ONLY receive that from the Holy Spirit”:
9 “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
10 “Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Matt. 7:9-11 NKJ)
But they misunderstood the context, if a child of God ask for a fish, he will get only that.
If a TARE planted by the devil (Mat. 13:24-30) asks, God doesn’t answer.
Guess who does?
For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (Rev. 16:14 NKJ)
9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thess. 2:9-12 NKJ)
Because signs and wonders can be done either by the Spirit of Christ, or the Energy of Satan and his demons, scripture does NOT ask us to compare miracles, look for differences between them. What it does is present logical OBJECTIVE tests of the “fruit” of the prophet or miracle worker to determine whether the tree is good or bad. Their personal conduct is a fruit, so is their “teaching” (1 John 4:6) or predictions about the future (Deut. 18:21-22).
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16 “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 “Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (Matt. 7:15-20 NKJ)
Another objective test that must be performed WHILE the prophet is speaking “by the spirit”:
Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 12:3 NKJ)
When not under direct influence of the spirit, men can lie and confess anything they want.
Another test, while “speaking prophesy” by a spirit, if they cannot confess Jesus Christ came in the flesh, its not God the Holy Spirit speaking:
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. (1 Jn. 4:1-3 NKJ)
When the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by Satan’s power, Jesus didn’t say that was impossible, rather He cited OBJECT reality, how it was OBVIOUS Satan was not doing the casting out:
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26 “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. (Matt. 12:24-27 NKJ)
As the Old Covenant was still in effect, the obvious answer; their sons cast out demons by the Holy Spirit of God. Their bias was uncovered when Jesus then asked why they didn’t question how their children were casting out demons.
But elementary logic was the objective test they should apply, as Satan is intelligent he would not work against himself. Therefore, it was impossible Jesus destroyed his kingdom by Satan’s power.
Back to the point, Satan is able to work Christian like miracles signs and wonders through TARES, and ONLY objective tests exist to know the difference between his signs and those from God. The duplication may be so perfect, its indistinguishable from the original.
16 “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
(Matt. 7:16-20 NKJ)
EVERY born again believer has an anointing, God the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:20). God immediately grants His children PERCEPTION whenever an antichrist spirit is doing the sign or wonder through a TARE. Christians “know” when something is wrong, when something is “not of God” BUT, Bible Believers must seek OBJECTIVE indications of the spirit behind the phenomena. The prophet’s lifestyle, teaching or accuracy of prediction are the only fruits by which we can know if its “of God.” Only the sure word of Prophecy is 100% reliable, even better than an apostles’ spiritual experience (2 Pet. 1:16-21).
Therefore, do NOT resist the gentle witness of God the Holy Spirit to your conscience (Acts. 7:51). Pay Heed to the Holy Spirit’s leading, apply objective tests to anything supernatural claiming to be from God.
Study the Bible to show yourself approved (2 Tim. 2:15), therein is everything you need to know. God will grant you the answer you seek because that is the very reason why God inspired wrote all Scripture, IN ORDER THAT (2443 ἵνα hina) YOU be fully equipped, FOR EVERY good work, which includes discerning spirits:
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that (2443 ἵνα hina) the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16-4:1 NKJ)
Test the Spirits in Dreams Visions or Abductions (1 John 4:1)
God Will Send a Strong Delusion: The Coming Tsunami of the Mystery of Lawlessness
The Katechon Restrainer of the Mystery of Lawlessness: Who is He?
The Antichrist: His Names Titles and Descriptions
What did the apostle John reveal when he said: “It is the last hour”?
Where Is The Judgment Of Fallen Angels?
The Coming False Christ and His Followers Revealed