In Matthew 6 Jesus put the danger of counterfeits in perspective when He said, “If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness?!” I believe what He was saying was there would be more hope for those who had not come to the light, yet would be open to it, than for someone who had come to the light but was then deceived in to embracing a counterfeit. Thinking it was the light, that person would have little reason to think anything was wrong or needed to change.

The flame of hope is but a flicker for one who thinks he is walking in the light when, in fact, he is not. The way Jesus felt about the church at Laodicea reveals that. Deception is a far greater danger than ignorance in most cases. People who are ignorant can learn while people who are deceived often cannot. People whose hearts are ignorant of the truths of God can be opened to them. People who are deceived as to the truths of God present a much more difficult proposition.

It only makes sense, therefore, the enemy would give us a false gospel the kingdom of man could use to make us errantly believe we followed God when we did not, instead of the true gospel Jesus preached and was. A counterfeit was the reason so many who thought they knew God were left lost in His own house in Jesus’ day. It is also why I believe there are so many in the same predicament today under a system that is modeled after the one Jesus encountered.