Daily Devotional For October 1, 2025
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great River Euphrates, and its water was dried up in order that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be prepared. And I saw, out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are the spirits of demons, doing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited world to gather them for the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Rev 16:12-14.
Harvey got a call from a friend of his. “Have you heard what’s happening to Joe?” he asked.
“No,” Harvey said, “What’s wrong?”
“Well, I think you’d better give him a call, he may need a little encouragement right now.”
Harvey didn’t hesitate to make the call. He and Joe had been friends for many years. Harvey found out that Joe was under severe accusation of sexual harassment and was about to lose his job, working in a church administrative office.
Harvey was really puzzled by all this. He had always known Joe to be especially careful in the way he treated the women around him. Harvey’s wife told him that Joe was one of the few pastors she knew that didn’t look at her the wrong way.
Upon further investigation it became clear that the accuser had never been properly confronted, the charges were just taken at face value. People were willing to believe a story simply because it got passed around so long it sounded true.
At the end of time, deception will be a major factor in the world. But it is not only the beasts of Revelation that cause deception. Sometimes even Christians are too willing to believe slander or gossip. All it takes is the barest hint of sexual impropriety, and a pastor’s reputation is ruined. At other times deception is used by sexual predators to cover up their crimes and appear to be spiritual mentors. False accusations are devastating at a local level, imagine what it will be like when deception is a universal phenomenon!
It is imperative as we approach the End that Christians strive to be as transparent as the sunlight. We should never believe accusations without clear evidence and after hearing both sides of the story. If we do not learn to deal in truth now, while things are relatively calm, we will be in grave difficulty when the final crisis comes.
Lord, I want to commit myself to operate in truth at all times. If I cannot speak what is clearly true, help me not to speak at all. Give me a passion for the truth.