Pilgrim Baptist Church

1 John 4:1–4 • God gave the church a test for false prophets. Most Christians have never used it. Nobody gets deceived by a wolf that looks like a wolf. They get deceived by a wolf that has learned to bleat like a sheep. The devil isn't sending drunkards into pulpits — he's sending preachers. Right words. Right tone. Right tears. Wrong doctrine. Wrong spirit. In this verse-by-verse exposition of 1 John 4:1–4, Pastor Fortunato walks through the exact test the Apostle John gave the early church for identifying false prophets — and shows why feelings, crowds, signs, and wonders are not the test. The doctrine of the incarnation is. Every cult, every counterfeit gospel, every false Christ fails at the same point: who is Jesus Christ? Did God actually enter human flesh, or didn't he? From Genesis 3 to Deuteronomy 13 to 2 Peter 1, the Bible builds a consistent warning: the spirit of Antichrist doesn't come breathing fire. It comes breathing Scripture. And if you can't identify it by doctrine, you will not identify it at all. This verse-by-verse exposition walks through 1 John 4:1–4 and connected passages, explaining: • Why "believe not every spirit" is a command for every church member, not just discernment specialists • Why feelings, crowds, and signs and wonders cannot be your test for a true man of God • What Deuteronomy 13 says about prophets whose signs actually come to pass — but whose doctrine is wrong • Why the written Word of God outranks even the audible voice Peter heard on the Mount of Transfiguration (2 Peter 1:18–19) • What it means that Jesus Christ "is come" in the flesh — and why the present tense matters for the resurrection

Isaiah 14 & Ezekiel 28 • This expository preaching through two Old Testament texts uncovers why Lucifer lost everything — not because he was bad, but because he fell in love with being good. He was the anointed cherub that covereth — stationed at the throne of God, draped in nine precious stones and gold, filled with wisdom, perfect in beauty, the very instrument of heaven's worship. God gave him everything. And that's exactly what destroyed him. Five times in Isaiah 14, Lucifer says the same two words: I will. Not once. Not twice. Five times — as if God didn't hear him the first time. And in those five declarations, the greatest created being who ever existed sealed his own damnation. He fell not because he was wicked. He fell because he was glorious — and he loved himself for it. This expository message walks through Isaiah 14:12–15 and Ezekiel 28:12–17, revealing: • Where Lucifer started — heaven itself, not a fallen state • The five "I wills" that made self-exaltation his religion • His original role as the anointed cherub that covereth — making the invisible God visible • His endowment: wisdom, beauty, precious stones, gold, and music built into his very being • Why he fell — not because of something bad, but because he loved the gifts more than the Giver • The mirror illustration: what it means to reflect God's glory vs. turn away from it • The dopamine culture connection — why self-exaltation is the oldest addiction on earth • The warning for every gift God has given you: Do you love the stuff or the One who gave it?