Does God Approve of the Use of Deception?

The commandment against lying in the bible is intended to combat evil. It is not an excuse to enable or commit evil. In fact, God does use deception to vanquish evil doers. Check this out!

[@cachinnation448]

Thank God for this Biblical Scholar: Rest in Peace, Rise in Glory!

[@cynthiacordell4639]

So simple when so stated by this man of GOD. The enemy spews trash in the effort to confuse and redirect.

[@DaysofElijah317]

Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves

[@champpit1]

Indeed!

[@mrarcade2504]

You've probably seen a lot of similar comments on his videos But yeah I really miss this man of God

[@cynthiashockley4171]

He's in our hearts. God bless you.

[@eriklee6786]

I love that we’re still getting new stuff from Mike, even though he’s with the Father!

[@AS-bl5qy]

This is my second video I watch from him, so it feels weird to know that he’s passed. What happened, did he fell ill?

[@eriklee6786]

@@AS-bl5qy Pancreatic cancer. High mortality, fast progression. The Lord decided it was time to call him home

[@sharonsteigers4162]

Well done Dr Heiser ! Thank you for sharing Dr Heiser's interviews with us. Do miss him. Prayers for his family.

[@cynthiashockley4171]

I'm so weary. Please 🙏 for me. Thank you. God bless you ALL.

[@brianj5495]

Me too! Blessings, sister. Father, I pray for your daughter that you strengthen her through your mighty Spirit. Amen.

[@whosthedaddification]

I’ll agree. In Jesus name amen 😎

[@alanadam718]

Jesus, please give Cynthia what she needs to have peace and joy.

[@alyssafreson9610]

Sister, you are in my prayers. May the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be with you. May He, in His infinite power and overflowing grace, strengthen you on your way. May He refresh you in your inmost being and be a Refuge to you. The peace of our Lord be with you sister. In Jesus' Name, amen💓🙏🌿

[@charliegirl42ify]

Simple lessons are the best. Easily understood, so that a child need not err. Thank God for Dr. Heiser. Rest in peace.

[@rachelhayhurst-mason7846]

Reminds me of Jael in Judges 4... she used misdirection to kill the general of the enemy army and was blessed by God because in doing so she accomplished God's will. If the truth is God's Word (Psalm 119:160) then a lie is anything that hinders God's Word.

[@jpgolda1900]

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹Please continue to 🙏🏻pray for salvation for Chris, Pete and Nick,who no longer believes in God.😥

[@rogercoleman8515]

Boy I needed to hear this..not that I'm gonna go out and start lying..lol. I've often wondered about certain scriptures and this simple and clear explanation clears it all up. Man..I miss you brother. I'll see you soon. Father I thank You for this man and the way You lived through him. Be with his family strong Lord.

[@VelvetJazz]

Honesty isn’t telling everything that is true, that can be stupidity. Honesty is ensuring that whatever is said, is true.

[@virginiasiders]

I'm thankful to God for Dr. Heiser, I truly am.

[@ericjohnston7663]

God can do whatever/ to whoever He wants....without mine or anyone's approval.... Fix that in your mind.......He is greater than all of His creation by magnitudes.... We are fortunate that He even notices us....that is the greatest honor to be noticed by God😊

[@brianbachinger6357]

That isn’t entirely correct. God can’t do evil by definition. If he could, it would be a divided house that can’t stand. Just making the statement doesn’t make it true. And if you are willing to say that the laws of logic don’t pertain to God then ultimately you have no ability to say what is or is not true.

[@p4radigm989]

Dr. Heiser certainly is the best scholar / apologist still today.

[@mr.jsendy2826]

He dead

[@p4radigm989]

@@mr.jsendy2826 doesn't matter

[@talithakoum1266]

Jesus came casting out demons Paul states we up against dark supernatural forces. God is supernatural Angels are all thru the Old Testament. Thank you Dr h for bringing this truth back to the church!! We need to know who we are fighting! 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@acem82]

I think we are missing something. Although these stories did happen, I just did a search of the NIV, and every time the word "deceive" or "deceived" is used, it's in a negative context. I will state there is *much* difference between fooling the enemy in war and deceiving others. There is also a big difference between deceiving someone and withholding certain info. I'm not sure, but I'm certainly not willing to say something like "It's OK to deceive others if your motivations are good", because that's what almost every deceiver thinks! (I'm not trying to Straw man this, so if there's a better way to put it, I'll listen.)

[@joeltchouala783]

I think Yahweh has the right to judge evil men and evil principalities, including the devil using the means available. It's His righteous way of accommodating to the existence of evil. I mean, Just take a look at how he scattered messianic prophecies through out the OT in such a way that everybody, including the devil expected a single coming of a warrior messiah. As Paul says, if the devil knew, he wouldn't lay a finger on Jesus. But God was too wise for them. Yahweh fooled (in other words, "deceived") the devil and his minions. It's His way of judging them. As to say, "He who kills by the sword will perish by the sword." What do you think?

[@acem82]

@@joeltchouala783 Best I can do is say that fooling someone isn't exactly the same thing as deceiving them. It seems God gave them just enough info to come to the wrong conclusion. Or, as Jesus put it, the Father has "hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children". But, remember, if deceit is a sin (and it very much looks that way), God cannot do it, because that violates his nature. "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind." “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech." Etc.

[@FAITHFULANDPROUD2GOD]

I understand what you're saying. I guess we got to look more at what's going on than the word being used. Yes, we have been taught to see decieve as a bad thing. So I'd say look past the word.

[@stevejordan2840]

I think we sense the difference but have a hard time defining it. You are right in that we will always use "the greater good" as an excuse to deceive or outright lie. We are fallen and will screw this up but setting that aside for a moment. I have defined lying as telling an untruth for personal gain. We are called to be tactful, for example, which frequently contains various levels of not quite telling the truth or at least the whole truth but is clearly the correct way to speak in many situations. We should not hurt people out of a misplaced directive to never lie. Basically the motivation is very important here as you mentioned but we need to be very careful to not lie to ourselves about our motivation. As our walk with Christ grows stronger I thing the vast majority of the time we will have the wisdom know what to do.

[@acem82]

​@ordan2840 I think it's quite important to distinguish lying from not saying things that are truthful. Jesus didn't respond to almost everything at his trial. That wasn't lying, it was simply not saying that was true. He said enough to the Sanhedrin to get convicted and enough to Pilate to prove he was innocent (and nothing to Herod). It is pretty clear in Scripture that we shouldn't lie ...though it seems the midwives get a pass in Exodus 1. Whether God thought it good to lie, or simply recognized they didn't know better yet and they were trying to do the right thing is beyond the scope of this discussion. So, is "deception" OK? It seems like a form of "deception" is all right, if it's done to defend one's self - against people trying to k!ll you. But, otherwise it's universally condemned. Note, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't even attempt deception against the Babylonians. They told the king straight to his face that they wouldn't bow, that God could save them, and that *even if he didn't, they still wouldn't bow!* And God honored that by saving them. I don't think I'm going to come to a perfect answer here, but our default should be to honor God, and avoid all deception. And if we think the only way to honor God is to deceive someone, we better make danged sure we're willing to stand before God and defend that action! (Also, the only obvious answer to the Nazi when they ask if you're hiding Jews is to shoot the Nazi. If you say you're not armed and can't, then you've made lots of mistakes already and are violating Jesus' words in Luke 22:36-28!)

[@suzanneflowers2230]

Sure do miss him. But I'm glad he is happy with the Lord in heaven. Keep studying, friends!

[@bornnaked01]

Thanks Mike, my brother. You continue to enlighten me to this day.

[@thatnightwind]

I agree with you, Michael. Thank you for this.

[@thealexgonzalezbiz]

This is God's universe and He does things His way. You may have a better way but you don't have a universe. - J. Vernon McGee You are missed Dr. Heiser...

[@BORGCHILD]

Genuinely sounds like an awful quote in my opinion. Would only make a rebel double down if they heard that.

[@Idkjustyet]

I don’t understand why ppl still think it’s okay to question God in an inappropriate way as if he’s obligated to do what they want.

[@halleluyah60]

Thank you for this Channel the legacy of MSH is treasure

[@fernandohenrique5320]

Amo o trabalho do Sr.Heiser! Muitos anos o acompanhando. Melhor ainda saber que os vídeos estão disponíveis com boas legendas em português! Infelizmente ele nos deixou, mas deixou um excelente legado teológico.

[@martymckay8978]

So great!

[@featurebroadcast297]

Excellent.

[@ericdanielski4802]

Interesting video.

[@TheSonsOfSimon]

I have often thought about this. The commandment says “thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” It seems that this commandment is violated when we say something false with the intention of wrongfully deceive, damage, defraud, or harm another.

[@theeternalsbeliever1779]

The spirit of that law goes far beyond saying things with an intention to deceive, defraud, or harm someone. It is sin to speak lies period, even if the intention behind it is good. Paul says that a Christian must put away lying, and that they must tell the truth(Eph. 4:25). God does not associate Himself with lies or the ppl who engage in spreading them. That is why He mentions lying as one of things He hates the most in Proverbs.

[@damyankuzmic5605]

Hallo greet and bless

[@risingstorm1]

Thank you…..

[@TroyStevens430]

We know God doesn't lie, so we'll to think deeply about what to call it when he gives misdirection to others.👇 "You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee. But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. John 7.8-10

[@AndersErichsen-rr7vs]

What is the very very best video Michael did on Jesus in the Tanakh?

[@j.m.4858]

Awesome 😎

[@isahunnybee]

God, Himself, has withheld some truths in the Bible until the latter days.

[@beppiek]

”And the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.“-JESUS

[@gianni206]

I think it’s best to stay honest, because if you don’t then eventually you believe your own lies and suddenly you don’t know what the truth is. So lying to a parents about their child’s suffering does not seem to be good. That being said, the triskster energy is very important for subverting abusive persons and bodies. God also reveals the truth at the end of each of these tests He presents.

[@FrankGrauStudio]

At first it made sense when he suggested that the commands are there to thwart evil. But after mulling it over, I realized that if “evil” is a violation of God’s commands, then it’s like saying that we are commanded to do ‘X’ so that we can thwart not doing ‘X’, which sounds a bit confusing. It would have made more sense if he appealed to and/or framed it in a hierarchical view of ethics where we can simply say that we have a duty to do the greater good when faced with a moral dilemma, so that lying to save the Jew from the nazi should be viewed, not as lying, but as an attempt to save an innocent life from an evil threat. In other words, saving an innocent life is a greater good than telling the truth. Apparently there are other things that are greater goods than telling the truth as well.

[@DaveGIS123]

Sometimes it's best not to give evil people the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It's not deceit or deception, it's dissimulation.

[@JohnDoe-fv9bg]

An omission of truth is not a lie, It's just an omission.

[@dustinpotter8312]

God does not use deceptive practices. His business is his business and he is not responsible to us. But for further understanding Proverbs 11:13 "A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter." Proverbs 25:2 "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter." As Samuel was about doing the Lord's business God could have told Samuel to say to any asking what he was doing "my business is with the Lord" which could have caused questions but as it was the Lord instructed Samuel to answer those making query "I come to make sacrifice to the Lord" which then put the people into "it's not by business" mode. God was not being deceptive when he told the serpent her seed shall bruise your head. Yet it was thousands of years from happening and the people of the generation that were there when it happened didn't even realize they helped facilitate the function.

[@andiroo42]

That means the Sabbath prevents evil.

[@redbill7154]

Deception is the devil's tool.

[@braddersfam1754]

Are there not passages in the OT in which YHWH is said to deceive and/or order people to deceive? Is YHWH not supposed to be perfect? How does one deal with these issues?

[@theeternalsbeliever1779]

God is not a deceiver or would ever lead ppl into deception because lying is contrary to His nature. That is why the Bible is 100% trustworthy. It comes from a Being that doesn't and cannot lie(Heb. 6:18, Tit. 1:2).

[@braddersfam1754]

@@theeternalsbeliever1779 1 Kings 22 is interesting, have a look. Try to look without presuppositions.

[@braddersfam1754]

@@theeternalsbeliever1779 there is no passage anywhere in the Bible, of any of the many versions, in which it states that everything in there is 100% accurate, inerrant, nor to be followed to the letter. I can't imagine any single human being alive who follows all the Bibles many instructions to the letter, especially with all the contradictions to say the least.

[@braddersfam1754]

@@theeternalsbeliever1779 Do you believe it's worse to lie or to kill? The God in the OT has apparently killed thousands, including children. I'm guessing that you will justify those deaths.

[@holyhyrax]

Isn't deception a strategy from weakness? Why would God be in a position of weakness?

[@akd289]

A difficult teaching, but probably true. Hmmm.

[@nanadeborah8717]

Probably??

[@akd289]

@@nanadeborah8717 yes. Probably. I am not 100% certain. There may be nuances or facets of this that I/we can't/don't see or understand. Remember Job? To the naked eye his suffering would have been said to be punishment from God. I think there are things we can't/don't see and will never understand. What we are tasked with is to trust and obey.

[@Adragos17]

Withholding information isn't the same as outright lying. And flat out not telling people whats going doesnt mean you are giving false information. I'm rather disheartened by some of this. But I get what he'd saying

[@jeffbarrett7497]

I love so much of Heiser's teaching. But this one is a big bad miss. It seems that he is reacting to an errant belief about truth telling without exegeting a better way. It ends up being a straw man argument. Still, I miss his teaching, and that's no lie.

[@Hadleigh2s222]

There is a huge amount of "christian content" makers using deceptive clickbait. They dont understand our God is a relationship one and trust is what we owe him. So if glory carriers justify deception to get people there, they are not represebting the same Jesus who says we are to walk in the spirit of all truth. ✌️

[@ShiniGuraiJoker]

God: No man should do these things, for it is sinful and repells me. God does the exact sin to humans: I weigh their heart and find sin was the best answer.

[@johngarvin8888]

It's called COVERT ACTION.

[@kyleby2]

Heiser at his best!

[@gangerolf5089]

I always thought deception was more an Allah thingy. This was most interesting

[@garytakvorian6204]

I don't need to answer a question and I don't need to give all information. I need only follow the direction of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will never prompt me to lie (even to "save a life"). He may use angels, deflection, etc. but never lies. Jesus Is the Truth. Satan is the "father of lies", not Christ Who teaches us to wear the "belt of truth". Interesting how this dear brother who taught on the supernatural tells us to rely on the natural (which is to lie when in a difficult situation to "promote God's good and perfect will"❤). Wicked man will find all manners of ways to excuse his falsehoods as "promoting" good. A very and fatally "slippery slope". "Do evil to serve God". I don't think so

[@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812]

In a way yes tho in his way. It is possible to deceive with the truth. Also God himself has deceived individuals, including the devil. Jesus made Satan doubt he was the Messiah. Or he never would have killed him. "My God my God why have you forsaken me".

[@terryolay4613]

But the Bible says God can not lie.

[@mikedee1]

Where can I find that?

[@InfoAddict26]

The main take away is don’t think of Holy commands as a strict deontology. Context is king as Mike often says. If someone asks you a straight forward question, you won’t get the luxury of withholding information. You will have to lie for the greater good. Deal with it.

[@user-zr6pl6nb6z]

We're on a slippery slope if you think God wants us to lie.

[@InfoAddict26]

⁠@@user-zr6pl6nb6zWell I’m glad to know when the cards are down and you don’t have much linguistic freedom, you’d let ppl get hurt because of your twisted deontology of ethics. You’re a real moral statute 👏

[@InfoAddict26]

@@user-zr6pl6nb6zIt’s literally the analogy Mike gave us dude. If the SS was to pull up to your house and ask if you’re hiding Jews, and in this situation theoretically you are, you’re not going to have the luxury of withholding info. You’re going to have to lie. If the dude asks you, “are you hiding ppl, or is your neighbor acting suspicious (hiding ppl), you will have to say a clear “no” to protect ppl. That’s a lie. Suck it up and accept the reality of the situation. Ask yourself what’s intrinsically bad about lying, is it giving falsehoods? Or is it giving false info to hurt ppl unjustly? Either morals make sense and work objectively or they don’t. Thats called arbitrary morals, they are stupid and don’t work.

[@user-zr6pl6nb6z]

@@InfoAddict26 You sound like a situational ethicist. Oh, and quit with the "dude" nonsense. What are you? Thirteen years old?

[@user-zr6pl6nb6z]

@@InfoAddict26 You're a situational ethicist. And lay off the "dude" nonsense. Are you still a teenager?

[@brendynmayo1897]

Our fathers name is YAHUAH! Our saviors name is YAHUSHA! They changed his name over 6000 times. "lord" means baal in hebrew and "jesus" means earth pig in Greek. The word "bible" is derived from the pagan fertility goddess "byblia" from the city "byblios". The "bible" has been corrupted in the worst ways possible. It truly is an alternate gospel, "jesus" and Yahusha are not the same person. The catholic jesus is a white man with a Greek name and many pagan symbols are associated with him. All Christians fall under Catholicism weather you like it or not. Christianity was created under Constantine, the man who changed the 10 commandments and the sabbath. The kjv is also a catholic/protestant translation. I would recommend finding an accurate translation, like the BYNV, and/or learning Hebrew. Above all learn his name.. YAHUAH! BARUK HABA BASEM YAHUAH!!! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of YAHUAH!!

[@garywhitt98]

Concealing truth is not a sin. Telling a falsehood is sin. Concealing truth by telling a falsehood is sin. I didn’t hear Mike say that God ever tells a falsehood or condones this. Did I miss something?

[@judithgreene5235]

Jesus said "dont tell anyone" because the higher healing frequency Jesus brought into that individual created an alignment with oneness and thats what healed that person and if the person told anyone about it the frequency would lower and weaken within his energy field and hed go back to experiencing whatever illness he had.

[@Dexter.001]

This Heiser guy really no different than Joel Osteen, clever with words and no Gospel message, so many are lead astray with Fancy talk to draw a person into a bunch of nothing......clouds with no water. Heiser is so much in error on his view of Psalm 82, he tries to answer the "gods/elohim" as non human when Jesus says the "gods/elohim" are human in John 10, Jesus answers this question long before Heiser was even born. Heiser writes a book the unseen realm arguing against Jesus. Osten writes books about prosperity and self gain, People like Hieser or Osteen should not be teaching becasue they do not point a person to Jesus and teach/preach the true Jesus, so many different forms of error within Christianity that people are unaware of. A person never hears of sin either from them two, they just lift themselves up with their own theology and people eat it up.

[@willielee5253]

​@mountainmover777 Yep, mysteries are difficult and his education cracked a lot of ignorance in me, that's after stumbling from under the daze. By letting the Spirit of God untangle the Prof's insights I grew 🙏 up some more. He uses scriptures quite well, but one must drive into ancient history to follow his lectures. ❤Be blessed❤

[@Dexter.001]

@@willielee5253 My point is both Osteen and Heiser are False and God allows error. Osteen is all about God blessing a person and prosperity, while Heiser had a fantasy and taught about a phony divine council of angels, he also degraded YHWH to species unique, when YHWH is Holiness unique. I'll point you to Jesus and dive into Jesus and let the Holy Spirit guide you. Jesus holds the answer of the gods/elohim of Psalm 82 in John 10. Israel are the "gods" in Psalm 82, the "gods" are human NOT nonhuman meaning angels/spirit beings. Israel was unique from the pagan nations that surrounded them, Israel had the law of God, 10 commandment, prophets and a Levitical priesthood. Since Israel had the law of God, it put Israel in the position of being "gods," (elohim), because God chose them, Israel was God's chosen people. They were chosen because of Christ. Psalm 82:6 I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; John 10: 34-35 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? 35 If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken)," 1. >>>>"I said, “You are gods” >>>>>ONCE by the God (Father) in Psalm 82. Aspaph is the Author and Psalmist of Psalm 82. Prophets of the Old Testament like Asaph the "word of the Lord" would come to Prophets like Asaph. Prophets were the "Voice" of God. God (Father) would communicate His words through the prophets, God does that here in Psalm 82:6 I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;">>>>>>>>Israel, Psalm 82 uses the word "all". This clearly is not about a bunch of watchers/super angels of a divine council. The Psalms were written to and for Israel. 2. SECOND time Jesus in John 10: 34 Repeats >>>> ‘I said, “You are gods” >>> Exodus 4:22 You are to say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Israel is my firstborn son." If you know your bible Jacob is Israel and there would be 12 sons borns to Jacob, which make up the 12 tribes of Israel. When a person reads Psalm 82:6 when it mentions "sons" it is referring to the 12 tribes of Israel in the physical world. In reality what a person can get from scripture is that Jesus tells us who the "gods/elohim" are in Psalm 82 when we read John 10 34-35. Jesus is the One who fulfills the words of the prophets from the OT in the NT, that is why Jesus REPEATED the exact words " I said, “You are gods, from Psalm 82 (God/Father) in John 10 (God/Son). The gods/elohim/divine council in Psalm 82 are not disembodied spirits, angelic or nonhuman spirit beings, they are Israel, all of Israel (Jacob's descendents) would be human, which includes judges, elders, rulers, kings, and the common Isrealite citizen.

[@willielee5253]

@Dexter.001 Thanks, I was awear of "ye are god" but over looked " all " Can't dispute your correction top to bottom again, thanks.