Before the End Comes the Deception

Scripture:

Matthew 24:4 -8 and 26 – 28 and 24 and 25

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,^[a]‘ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains. So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time. (NIV)

 

Observation:

In today’s reading we are reminded of the end times and what is connected with them – deception. The warnings presented here by Jesus are in response to the question: “When will the end of the age happen?” Jesus first response is: “Watch out that no one deceives you!” Deception is the key principle here. Many will come claiming to be Christ. They may not say; they are Jesus, but that they are Messiah, Savior, the Answer, the Way, the Hope, the Wisdom. Today there are many who claim their way is the best way and their god is the god to follow and dedicate your life too. Sometimes they speak of the power of self and the ability to create within yourself, without God anything you desire. During this time (and that time may well be now) people will say; “we have seen the Christ, come and see Him too!” People in their desire to be saved, to have prosperity, to be delivered and to have it go well with them, may believe and gravitate to finding and following just about anyone. This is not someone sharing their thoughts and assumptions; this is Jesus warning us of the deceptive power of promising hope and peace to people who are desperate for it. This is Jesus saying, “others can fake the power of God and perform miracles – but don’t be impressed.

Application:

The warning is clear that even the strong can be brought away and even those who hunger for God can follow the “false food” of others. In this time of many voices, many promises, we should quickly use discernment and not even gravitate to seeing and learning what these false teachers are offering. What we need to do is know the truth and understand when Jesus comes, He won’t set up shop and take us on a journey to the desert. He will come and we won’t know when. Our assignment is to be ready for His return and not be driven like the vultures to having something satisfy them in their need but to have Jesus be our source and power and strength even until the end of the age.

 

Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, help me to encourage others to stay close to you and follow you. Help all of us to never wander and cut and run from the calling we have to be your faithful followers. No matter what the future brings, may we stay close to you and never be lead astray. In your name and by your power, Amen