Hi Andromeda_Organa,
I've noticed from some of your PMs to me that you like brevity of response to certain questions, compared to having to read dozens and dozens of pages of response on the boards, so let me be very brief with the two main characteristics of a minister of Satan that's supposedly a minister of righteousness. And I could back this up with the rest of 1Corinthians, the rest of St. Paul's epistles, the Gospels, and other parts of the New Testament. The two main characteristics of a minister of Satan trying to come as a minister of the Gospel are:
1. speaking the truth from a lying and dividing spirit;
2. speaking the truth in a way that's not caring who it hurts and an unwillingness to match what you say to the level of your audience.
It's main characteristics are being abusive with the truth and trying to force on you more than you can bare. Lots of other things that I could get into to fine-tune these two points, but I want to close with a Scripture about what real ministers look like because often you can discern a counterfeit if you understand the distinguishing characteristics of the genuine. Can't counterfeit a $3 or a $4 bill in the U.S., right? Not unless there's some other country with those, so that the forgeries will have the slightest chance of fitting in, in terms of appearance. The moment they've gone abusive with the truth, they've disqualified themselves to be a minister. Lots of preachers wanna justify their lives and their abusiveness with Jesus taking a whip to Church a couple of times during His ministry and his message in Matthew 23 condemning the Pharisees to Hell, but their lives and lifestyles aren't the rest of the 4 Gospels. A parent's first job isn't to spank, although as the false will assert that "it does go with the territory." It does. But you don't just get up every morning with that being the intent of your words, etc. Here's a profile of the genuine:
7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. 1Thessalonians 2:7-12
Completely tune out anyone that's not verses 7 and 8 as well as 11 and 12 in the passage quoted above 'cause they're seeking after their own rather than the things of Jesus Christ and they fail the 2Corinthians 13 test of it being Christ Jesus speaking in them and are self condemned. In saying this, I'm not distinguishing between Arminian, Calvinist, and Universalist. I'd personally a whole lot rather spend my time listening to James Robison and Charles Stanley on television than [a small handful] of the Universalists that I've known at these boards over the last 8 years! Some Universalists that I've known, their words are like nails on a chalk board while they're supposedly defending the truth: nothing nurturing, it's their way or the highway, etc. A lying tongue that hates those that it hurts, as Proverbs says, isn't unique to Arminian or Calvinistic circles. So, you don't judge the issue of a minister of Satan, 6 or 7 times out of 10, based upon what their doctrine is, but based upon who they are.
