Let No One Beguile You
10/12 Reading Portions: 1 Kings 15; Colossians 2; Ezekiel 45; Psalms 99-101
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
10/12 Reading Portions: 1 Kings 15; Colossians 2; Ezekiel 45; Psalms 99-101
Colossians 2:18
Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,
DISQUALIFIED
This verse was also translated,
Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, KJV
If you don’t read Greek, having both the King James and English Standard versions of the Bible will help to convey the meaning of this verse much better than each one alone. With regard to the detail about visions (ESV) and intruding into those things which he hath not seen (KJV), both combined provide a better interpretation of the Greek phrase’s intent. Some beguilers will attempt to present the details of a vision, yet they pervert the truth of spiritual things they haven’t actually seen with natural eyes.
Years ago, in bush Alaska, there was someone who claimed to have a near-death experience, flat-lining on the emergency room table from injuries sustained in an ATV accident. He also claimed that, while he was dead, he was taken to hell; and after seeing the place of eternal torment, he further claimed God sent him back to warn others. His experience is probably no different from other books written about claims of visions or visits to either heaven or hell (and yes, there are many Bible verses to refute such claims). Is the gospel of Jesus Christ so pathetic that it needs to be helped by our own supernatural experience of going to hell or heaven in order to convince wicked men to believe in God? Jesus is God who became perfect, sinless Man, living the righteous life you and I cannot live. Jesus went to the cross to bear our iniquities, suffer God’s unbridled wrath, die as a Man, and shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus then rose from the dead and ascended into heaven with the promise of coming again. Is Christ’s testimony so weak and worthless it also requires the testimony of another man to go to heaven or hell in order to somehow efficaciously coax sinners into repentance and receiving Christ by faith? God forbid!
With regard to angels or visions of supernatural phenomenon, they are disqualified when they proclaim the fancies of a sensuous mind. Be not beguiled by them or by the messengers who carry their messages.