In his “Olivet Discourse” Jesus spoke of things to come both in the near future of the disciples’ lives and in the far future. When they asked him, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3b) his first words were,
“See to it that no one misleads you” (verse 4b NASB).
This is just the first warning Jesus gave in his discourse. Verse 11 reads,
“ And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people”.
Verses 24 and 25:
“For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance”.
Deception, said Jesus Christ, would be a significant problem for his followers in times to come.
FORMS OF DECEPTION
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Deception takes a multitude of forms in our present time. A.I. promises to bless humanity in many ways, but it also holds the potential of major deception. It has the capability to make Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu or any politician or leader appear to do or say things they’ve never said or done. It could make aliens “appear” and talk to us. It can mimic your voice or reproduce your signature and your biometric information. It could be used to re-write history, pinning blame onto political targets of today, and it probably will take away the jobs of multitudes.
A.I. has the potential to lead millions into delusion. It is man playing God, or man creating a digital spirit: a humanistic or demonic version of God’s Spirit. It can fulfil the prophecy of Revelation in which an image appears to be alive while having the power to control arms of world government (Revelation 13:14-17).
MEDIA BIAS
Closely associated with this potential of A.I. is the power and the will of news media including independents. Now that truth has been thrown to the ground (Daniel 8:12) and bias permeates every institution we can no longer believe what we’re told by our authorities or those representing them in the media: we have to look into things ourselves and weigh up different reports in order to try to come to some measure of truth.
EVOLUTIONISM
Evolutionism has claimed the minds of tens of millions of people who have not given themselves to the word of God. There is no evidence that life came from non-life, yet people around the world believe that it did. Even in the Church the word of God is being twisted to fit what godless, unbelieving scientists say. If these revisionists were to be consistent they would say that there is no God at all, because that’s what the majority of mainstream scientists believe. Meanwhile children in the Church who are told that the Bible doesn’t really mean what it says are being deeply misled and confused, while being told in the godless school system that they are related to slugs and spiders, and of no more value. These are lies from the pit of hell.
THE CHURCH UNDER ATTACK
The Church is under attack. While it’s inevitable and even healthy to have different denominations, even in the evangelical world deception is wreaking havoc. An obsession with the Holy Spirit has taken hold so that a common belief now is that if you fall over in church and babble you are a good Christian, and you have “arrived” spiritually. This is godless, pagan nonsense. Arrogant and deluded people are claiming to be apostles. False miracles are being searched for and performed in every corner of the world, making a mockery of the true Spirit of God. The reality is that God is not looking to make everyone healthy and wealthy now: He wants to prepare us for His future kingdom where all of this will be realized.
There is, as Paul stated, “another spirit” at work (2 Corinthians 11:4) masquerading as the Holy Spirit of God, and drawing attention and glory away from the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It’s misleading millions into thinking that when people are not falling over and babbling God is not present and not at work. This is not just a theological mistake it’s deception and mass delusion. The truth is shown in the words of Jesus, “ For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” (Matthew 18:20).’
PERSUEING INSANITY
Never in human history until now have people insisted that men could have babies, or that men have menstrual cycles, or that men should compete in women’s sports. Certain political parties such as the Democrats in the United States have accommodated, celebrated and even promoted such views. This is a demonstration of just how far humans have willingly strayed from truth and common sense: it’s a self-deception to the nth degree. It’s a rebellion against God’s created order.
WE HAVE BEEN WARNED
In the Olivet Discourse Jesus warned of an entire spectrum of deception, ranging from simply being misled on something small all the way up to believing someone claiming to be an anointed one -anointed as a prophet, an apostle: someone anointed by God. There have been and are today false Christs in the world.
Other New Testament figures besides Jesus were also keen to prepare believers for a departure from the truth. Paul spoke to the Thessalonians of an ultimate and devastating future time of deception, in which a future leader will delude the entire world. As is often the case Biblically, deception is allowed or even sent by God upon a people who have been determined to reject truth: it’s a judgment from God. Paul tells us that the deception of Antichrist will be the ultimate divider between those of faith and those who knowingly reject salvation. It will be marked by all kinds of miracles purporting to be divine but actually coming from the father of lies instead. The lie to trump all lies is foretold here by Paul:
For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12).
So then, deception will be a major feature of life in the times immediately prior to the return of Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Those who are not rooted in the truth of God’s word but insist that it’s somehow fluid or open to interpretation or extrapolation are opening themselves up for the lies to come. If you can’t tell a real miracle from a fake one, or if you’re convinced that all miracles come from God, or if the spirit you are following is not the Holy Spirit of God, you may be on the wrong path. People who are trusting in false apostles and a certain spirit claiming to be the Holy Spirit, rather than trusting in the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection, are going astray.
How many professing Christians are aware of this warning of Scripture? Unfortunately, much of the deception in our world today is within the Church itself. It’s our obligation therefore, to be personally aware of things which are leading literally millions of people away from the true God into lies.
THE DIVIDING LINE BETWEEN TRUTH AND LIES
How do we tell the difference between God’s truth and what isn’t? The initial answer is simple, because Jesus and his apostles, and before them the prophets, have told us clearly. Jesus, praying to the Father, said this:
“Your word is truth” (John 17:17).
He was echoing David who declared,
“The sum of Your word is truth,
And every one of Your righteous judgments is everlasting” (Psalm 119:160).
When confronting the father of lies in the wilderness Jesus used Scripture in order to stand against the temptations of the devil, and he said:
“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).
Without going into a lengthy study we can state the solid fact here that for the Christian believer the Bible is the word of God. It is our guidebook, our instruction manual, our measure with which to judge all other “truths” we come across in life. We must as professing Christians take a firm stand on this. Without holding this position, the believer is not only calling Jesus, the Father and the apostles liars, he or she is like a ship adrift on an ocean with no dependable navigation and no clear destination.
IDENTIFY YOUR ENEMY
Having been warned of deception, we need to, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). It’s my conviction that we can’t fully trust anyone. Our church leaders may or may not have good intentions and good hearts, but they can get things wrong, and sometimes very wrong. We need to help keep them on the narrow path of Truth. Taking this thought further, there are people within the professing Church who are “wolves in sheep’s clothing” which Jesus warned us of:
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15).
Sheep are mostly harmless. They look innocent, placid, cuddly and soft. Therefore, according to Jesus’ warning, the one who wants to devour us – spiritually speaking – is able to appear benign, harmless and friendly. He or she may even seem to be a great Christian. It’s down to us as individuals to be wary, and to judge a person or a belief by what we know to be the word of the living God. Don’t follow a man or a movement, follow Jesus and the word of God. We don’t want to judge people unnecessarily, or to break away from people who are just making mistakes: it’s the motives and the intentions which matter.
THE WAY TO TRUTH
As I noted above, Jesus and Paul focused on deception as taking a central role in the world of the end times, and here we are now, in a world with more deception than you could ever catalog or even notice. This to me is more conclusive evidence that the Day of the Lord is very close. I also noted that God allows or even sends deception in order to separate the sheep from the goats. Those who are truly His will follow His word, and those who are really not, even if they appear or claim to be believers, will not be guided by God’s truth – they can be led astray.
Where is that dividing line, precisely? Many things will be forgiven at the judgment seat of Christ. Foolish things we’ve chosen to believe will not always condemn us, if we confess them to God and put them behind us. We don’t have to tick all the right boxes of theology and practise in order to be accepted into God’s eternal Kingdom. He knows that we are dust, fallen, weak, foolish and flawed, and He’s going to accept us anyway, even if we’re ashamed of our views and beliefs and lifestyles when we see Him.
However, the one dividing principle is the gospel of Jesus Christ, as taught by the first apostles. It involves turning from your old way of life in which you were living in willing ignorance of God and serving your fleshly desires, and it means turning to His only son instead. This is what you need to believe and live out as your “ticket” to eternal life. Rejecting this truth is the way to destruction. Paul defined the gospel clearly. Here it is:
“… if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).
Even beyond that, Jesus Christ identified Himself as Truth personified:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
Fuel for Faith, Food for Thought 