Part Four - Counterfeit Anointing

The coming of the (antichrist) is through the activity and working (energeia) of Satan and will be attended by great power (dunamis) and with all sorts of miracles and signs and delusive marvels - all of them lying wonders - and unlimited seduction to evil and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing BECAUSE THEY DID NOT WELCOME THE TRUTH but refused to love it that they might be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a misleading influence, a working (energeia) of error and a strong delusion to make them believe what is false, in order that all may be judged and condemned who did not believe in and who refused to adhere to, trust in and rely on the Truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12.

We would be naive and gullible not to recognise the fact that there is the false or counterfeit of the true. Energeia and dunamis are words that are used of both God AND Satan and we are warned very clearly in the Word to beware. So what would a false anointing or anointed one look like? Like the true anointed ones.

The Israelites were not the only ones who anointed people and things in the days of the Old Testament. It was also a practice in pagan religions, it too was made of oil (of the spirit world & supernatural) and perfumed (smelt nice, appealed to the senses). Why are we warned so much to beware of deception in the New Testament? Because the false is very LIKE the true, it is in place of and INSTEAD OF the true Anointed One (anti-christ)! A counterfeit has to be almost exactly like the genuine in order to fool people, it is not something that is obviously wrong at first glance, it is a very clever copy in order to deceive.

This is why we are warned to be very careful because Satan wants to deceive even the chosen ones of God. False christs (anointed ones) and false prophets will arise and show signs and work miracles to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect, those God has chosen out for Himself. But look to yourselves and be on guard; I have told you everything beforehand. Mark 13:22,23. Satan is cunning, it would be no deception at all if these false anointed ones were obviously evil and of Satan! We must always keep our eyes fixed on THE Anointed. Jesus said, Be careful that no one misleads you, deceiving you and leading you into error. For many will come IN MY NAME saying I am the Christ and they will lead many astray. And many false prophets will rise up and deceive and lead many into error. Matthew 24:4,11. This warns us of people who come in the Name of Jesus, agreeing that He IS the Anointed One (or will say "I am the anointed" themselves) and yet they will lead people astray! We must be those who know and are obedient to the voice of our Good Shepherd and trust in and rely on the Truth which is Jesus Christ so that we will not be deluded or deceived.

It is when we deny or refuse to accept Truth that we are already on the road to deception. For the time is coming when people will not tolerate sound and wholesome instruction but having ears itching for something pleasing and gratifying, they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold, and will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions. 2 Timothy 4:3,4.

The Anointing of Elisha

Sometimes people say that someone has the anointing of Elijah, or Esther, or David, or Gideon or whoever. There is no precedent for this practice in the Bible. In the Bible this may be referred to as ‘in the spirit and power’ of whoever, and is only mentioned twice: And he (John the Baptist) will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah... Luke 1:17 When the sons of the prophets who were watching at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha... 2 Kings 2:15. The word Ruach which means spirit, also means mind, disposition, desire, and prophetic spirit. This is possibly what people are referring to when they say someone has the ‘anointing’ of a Bible character, but we must be very careful what we say. Saying that someone had the spirit and power of Elijah was not said frequently or lightly in the Bible.

We should also note that the phrase about the spirit and power of a person is not made again after Jesus left His Holy Spirit with us, enabling us to go out in the Spirit and power of Jesus Christ! John says in 1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing which you RECEIVED from Him ABIDES in you; so then you have no need that anyone should instruct you. But just as His anointing teaches you concerning everything and is true and is no falsehood, so you must abide, live in and never depart from Him, being rooted in Him and knit to Him just as His anointing has taught you to do. John refers to our receiving the anointing from Jesus and says we must abide (remain, stay) in Him.

A danger of ‘prophesying’ to people that they have the anointing of David or whoever, is that this may bring glory and honour to the person instead of to God. Surely it is far better to be going out in the Spirit and Power of Jesus the Christ than of any other man anyway! But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, our Righteousness, and our Consecration, and our Redemption. So then, as it is written, Let him who boasts and proudly rejoices and glories, boast and proudly rejoice and glory in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:30,31.

Instead of being told to be regularly anointed, we are told to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. Is the baptism of the Spirit an impartation of the anointing? It is not referred to as such in the Bible, however being baptised with the Spirit AND with fire is all about consecration which is also about being anointed because the anointing is for consecration.

Yet another practice which has become acceptable in churchianity today, is that of giving or receiving a ‘double portion anointing’. But what IS a double portion anointing? There is no such phrase in the Bible! It presumably comes from Elijah and Elisha once again. Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you. And Elisha said, I pray you, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. He said, You have asked a hard thing. However, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you - but if not, it shall not be so. 2 Kings 2:9,10. The phrase used is again about the spirit of a person, not anointing; and Elijah didn’t even give it to him, he said it was a HARD thing that he’d asked for! He left the whole giving of a double portion of his spirit, up to God. Aren’t we being rather presumptuous in claiming to give double portions of anointing or the Spirit of God to people? Even Elijah didn’t do this! This doesn’t mean that God can’t or won’t do this (it is up to Him after all) but I don’t think it would be a common thing or made a big display of or given to lots of people.

Unction for a Function

The anointing in the Bible was always for a purpose. When someone was anointed in the Bible it was either for commissioning or for a purpose; to DO something eg The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me TO preach the gospel to the poor, TO heal the broken hearted etc. How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with strength, ability and power; how He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by the devil for God was with Him. Acts 10:38. This anointing enables and pushes us out where no man has gone before!

Yes, individuals are still anointed today in whatever ministry or calling God desires for them. But who is it that appoints, ordains and anoints them to be these things? I found no instance of the apostles in the New Testament anointing or appointing ANY of the five-fold ministries, they only ordained, commissioned or appointed elders and those who would distribute food. This is because if they did anoint and appoint any of the ministries or appoint people to heal etc, they would have been presuming to take the place of God because the Word says; So GOD HAS APPOINTED some in the Ekklesia: first apostles; second prophets; third teachers; then wonder-workers; then those with ability to heal the sick; helpers; administrators; speakers in different tongues. 1 Corinthians 12:28 And His gifts were varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us, some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. Ephesians 4:11. It was not their job to appoint or anoint but simply to discern and recognise the function or outworking in a person's life. I did not find record of anyone being anointed by another person in the New Testament for a function. No record of Paul being anointed by a person as an apostle and teacher, or Agabus being anointed as a prophet, or Philip being anointed as an evangelist etc. These ministries were recognised as gifts from God and appointed by Him, not man. The apostles DID lay hands on people and pray for them to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and healing, though.

There is one case of a person being commissioned as an apostle, this was when Matthias was selected in Acts 1; but this was BEFORE the gift of the Holy Spirit had been given! The only instance that looks as though men were appointed and anointed (in the sense of being set apart and dedicated for a purpose) by men is, Now in the assembly at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon, Lucius, Manaen, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate now for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then after fasting and praying, they put their hands on them and sent them away. So then being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia... Acts 13:1-4. We have to note that they had already been anointed as prophets and teachers, what they were setting them apart for was being sent away from themselves for a purpose. They were simply following the instructions of the Holy Spirit, and the men knew very well that they had been sent out by Him because the instruction to do this had originated from the Holy Spirit and not from man.

This one Scripture has often been emphasised without balancing it with the fact that it is the only record of anyone being ‘set apart’ by man in the New Testament, and that the rest of the time the Holy Spirit did this work sovereignly Himself! Even in this one case it was very clearly the Holy Spirit Who sent them. Ministries which appoint men in this manner, often use this one verse as their justification for doing it while neglecting the many examples in the New Testament where the Holy Spirit sovereignly anointed and appointed. In teaching and practicing this, they put the focus on themselves instead of Christ as being the one who approves, appoints and anoints and sends people out, thus giving themselves a position of great control and power over people. For instance, Paul was sent away by God to be taught by Him alone for several years, rather than being approved or even taught by the apostles.

An interesting thing to note is that the New Testament speaks of the anointing as something which had already been given or done for a person. But YOU HAVE BEEN ANOINTED by the Holy One, and you all know the truth. I write to you not because you are ignorant and do not perceive and know the Truth but because you do perceive and know it and know that nothing false, no deception, no lie is of the Truth. 1 John 2:20. We suggest that when we have truly been baptised with the Holy Spirit AND with fire, that we are then consecrated, anointed, and commissioned by Him also. The anointing of the priests, prophets and kings, gave them the authority to do and to be that which they had been anointed for, and it is the same for us today! As His priests, we represent Him and we do what He requires and sometimes this will mean we minister to others as He leads us because WE are His Body here on earth.

Conclusion

From what I personally have witnessed, it seems almost as though some people rely on receiving an anointing from some anointed one instead of relying on their own personal walk with THE Anointed One. We’re not encouraged or told to seek the anointing, but THE Anointed One. We are told to also seek love and to desire the gifts, (1 Corinthians 14:1) but there does not appear to be any Scriptural precedent in the New Testament for a person praying for someone to be anointed, or ‘imparting’ the anointing.

It is certainly true that we are anointed, but WE are not the source of the anointing, Jesus the Christ is, and we must make people aware of this when He touches them through us. He can and does minister to people through us because WE are His hands and feet here on earth, WE are His Body and we are anointed as His priests to do what He tells us to as our Head. But, and it is an important but, we must be sure to do what He says, no less and no more. Even Jesus Himself said, I am able to do nothing from Myself, independently and of my own accord, but as I am taught by God and as I get His orders. I decide as I am bidden to decide. Even as I hear, I judge and My judgment is right and just because I do not seek or consult My own will, I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose, but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me. John 5:30

Through studying anointing in the Bible I found that:

• no where are we told or encouraged to seek the anointing
• no where are we encouraged to impart or give the anointing to others
• the anointing is not referred to as some thing we need to receive from man, but is Christ the Anointing within us
• the Holy Spirit Himself will anoint and consecrate us for that which He would have us do and say.

I'm aware that I need to be very careful as I don't want to encourage anyone to be against the anointing of God or the Holy Spirit in any way. However, I strongly suspect that in some cases seeking the anointing has become like a ritual or a man-made doctrine and there is no purpose or outworking of it (which is the Biblical meaning of an anointing; anointed to do...) It appears as though the anointing itself is sought, (or some sort of spiritual experience) instead of seeking the Anointed One Himself. We’re not to seek the anointing but the Anointed! True anointing would normally be done (since it is an act and NOT a mystical power) by Him sovereignly as opposed to when we want it or by our own self-will, so actively seeking an impartation of anointing would be an exercise in futility! There are only a few references to anointing in the New Testament, there are FAR more on Jesus the Anointed, HE is the One we must seek!

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