Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” – Matthew 24:3

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!” – Isaiah 5:20-21

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Wow!

I don’t know what you’re looking at but I see a world that is being turned upside down and inside out. A time where growing numbers call evil good, and good evil. A world increasingly looking like what Paul describes in 2 Timothy, chapter 3*

More and more I am hearing Christian leaders citing signs of Biblical end times. What are those signs? Matthew 24:6-8 records the signs that the end is coming as, “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

But before that list Jesus declares in verses 4 & 5, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” I had always taken this as a precursor or warning that we should pay attention to the signs then listed in verses 6-8. Yet, many of those signs (wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, etc.) we’ve seen happening over the years to varying degrees. What I recently realized is the deceiving itself is perhaps the greatest sign of all. The real key to recognizing the “beginning of sorrows” is the incomprehensible growth of the level of DECEPTION in our world.

With all the ludicrous ideology being foisted on people today, I keep thinking, Surely rational thought will take over, and the world will come to its senses. If we can just elect the right people!

But, then I’m reminded this is not about conscious rational intellect deciding to do the right thing. It is so evident that it is a Spirit of Deception overtaking growing numbers of people who have been convinced they can go to any extent to destroy what is decent and good.

Israel Versus Hamas

This war between Israel and Hamas/Palestine is evidence of masses of ignorant people justifying demonically evil acts as a righteous fight over land and freedom.

I watched people tearing down pictures of innocent Jewish victims of terror and kept asking myself, Why? What could possibly motivate people to do that? And then one day one of these people caught in the act said the “why” out loud: “It is Israeli propaganda. The Israeli’s have staged all this as a pretense to attack the Palestinians.”

It struck me that despite all of the evidence to the contrary we have a generation of people being deceived or believing they are being deceived. For them, what is evidently the truth must be a deception. If it is good and righteous, it must be evil. Somehow we have created Generations of skeptics for anything that is good.

As best I can discern this particular battle is about the Jewish people defending themselves against others carrying out their stated desire to destroy them. As one commentator said, “If the Palestinians laid down their weapons, there would be peace and prosperity. If the Jews laid down their weapons, they would be destroyed.”

Do Not Be Deceived

In Matthew 24 when the Disciples ask Jesus about His return, He speaks to not being deceived four times using the Greek word Planēsē – To be led astray, caused to wander.

It is the Enemy of this world using deception to confuse and make what is good look evil and vice versa. He only seeks to steal, to kill and to destroy. In Revelation 12:9 Satan is called “the one who deceives the whole world.”

Unfortunately, I’ve heard Matthew 24:4&5 used to warn of evil within the church – being led astray by bad churches preaching bad doctrine. I don’t necessarily agree. I may not like some Christian doctrine and see some Christian doctrine as really bad, but I don’t believe in this case Jesus is talking about Christians being deceived by bad doctrine.

No, it seems clear to me that these particular scriptures are referring to an enemy from without. The deceivers who are trying to tell us that the “Christ” is someone other than Jesus – that there is another way to salvation. Matthew 24:5 says, “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” “Come in My name” means coming in Jesus’ identity as Savior.

Verse 11 says, “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many” The Greek word for false prophets is Pseudoprophētai, meaning a spurious prophet, a Pretended foreteller or religious impostor. It likely does not mean a Christian who seeks to exercise the gift of prophecy.

And then in verses 24 & 25 Jesus repeats “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” These are deceivers who fraudulently point to another way to salvation. (a recent phenomenon in Christian circles referred to as Christian’s Deconstructing Their Faith often seems to lead to the adoption of a different Gospel)

Personally, I think we best stop beating up on one another within the Elect and band together to battle the enemy to the core Gospel – the Good News we all agree upon.

We do have some instruction from Jesus in this regard. Jesus taught the following in Mark 9:38-40, “Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.” But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is on our side.”

What Is Truth?

With all the deception, counter-deception, fraud, disinformation, conspiracy theories, false flags, and political games, who can tell what is true? What I see as plainly evident as truth is seen by seemingly rational others completely differently. Is it just the news outlets we watch? Am I the one being deceived? l all seems so amorphous these days. Like Pontius Pilot, we ask, “What is Truth?”

Jesus stood silent before Pilot, not speaking a word in response to his question. Why? because Hefore us bruised and beaten for our sins as the embodiment of all that is Good, right, was the answer. Jesus stands be and True.

To make it perfectly clear, Jesus boldly declared to His Disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) While Isaiah prophesied of Jesus that “He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9) Jesus is the truth, and He does not deceive.

For me, the growing level of deception and confusion in our world today is the clearest indication that we are entering the beginning of the end of this age.

For those of us who know personally the living God, Jesus says in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

We actually can be of GOOD CHEER in the midst of a world spinning out of control. But how?

My first inclination is to physically escape from the craziness. I’ve posted before about a growing desire to escape to another place (January 28, 2021, Go Ahead . . . I Triple Dog Dare You! ). But where to? Where in the world can you escape to avoid the turbulence of the times?

Our only escape is by and to the truth that is in Christ Jesus.

• Ephesians 2:2 – “in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,”
• Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation (there is freedom) to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
• 2 Corinthians 5:6-7 – “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight.

It is becoming increasingly evident that Christians need to walk in the Spirit—to break the chains of deception, look past the deceit of this physical realm, and see the truth through spiritual eyes while relying on the rock-solid foundation of God’s word.

In this season of Thanksgiving, be of Good Cheer! Do not be deceived and give thanks for the victory our Savior has already won!

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*2 Timothy 3:1-9  But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.