Take care, don’t be deceived! Deception is dangerous. Ignorance is not bliss. Unfortunately deception is very difficult to detect. Deception mimics truth and remains as close as possible to truth. It is close enough to be convincing, but far enough to be wrong. This is what makes deception very dangerous. By definition deception is any declaration, artifice or practice which misleads another or causes him to believe what is false or not to believe what is true, and thus ensnare him. Essence of deception is you are unaware that you are being deceived. You think you are going on the right track, but in reality you are going on the wrong path. There are 3 categories of deception. First is intentional, second unintentional and third is self-deception. There are people who intentionally, maliciously trying to deceive people. This is the kind of deception Satan himself employs. Then there is unintentional deception when someone thinks he is giving the good, when in reality he is not. They don’t even know what they believe is wrong. The most dangerous is self-deception. When we read Matthew 24, according to Jesus deception will be rampant in the last days, just before his return. When his disciples ask him what will be the signs of his second coming and end of the world, first thing he says is “Take heed that no one deceives you.” (v4). So here Jesus is saying there is a real danger of deception just before his return. In verse 5 he says “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” So how many will be deceived? Only few ignorant people! No, but many! Verse 11 says “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” Verse 24 says “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” So Jesus knew that for people living in the last days, the deception is a real danger. False prophets never admit they are false prophets. Sometimes they themselves might not know that they are false prophets. They will be self-deceived. Jesus describes these prophets as wolves in sheep clothing. Paul announces that “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” (2 Cor 11:14). The caricature of devil as somebody with horn, tail and pitch fork, was made by the devil himself to deceive people. If devil is going to deceive religious people, he is not going to look like against religion, but he is going to look religious. What does book of Revelation say about deception in the last days? It says deception will reach epidemic proportions in the last days. Chapter 12, verse 9 tells “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world”. So according to this verse, how many will be deceived – the whole world. When you go to Revelation 13:14 “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.” Note here: when he goes out to deceive he uses signs and wonders and miracles. Miracles or wonders or supernatural phenomena do not show that they are necessarily or only from God. They can be as well from devil also. When Moses was sent to the Pharaoh’s court, when Aaron threw down his staff it became a snake. But the magicians of Pharaoh also threw down their staffs, and made them into snakes too. That tells us that devil can work miracles. So if you go to a retreat or charismatic convention or the so called Bible and healing conventions, if you witness a miracle, don’t be deceived. It need not be from the God only, but as well from devil also. Devil has the power to produce disease (as Jesus talks of the woman bent by devil for many years) and heal the same disease miraculously. Remember Jesus words to those people who claimed that they have “cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name”, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Here claiming to be Jesus’ followers they were breaking God’s commandments. So they shall be known by their fruits and what they believe, preach and practice. Don’t think you can break one of God’s commandments with impunity. Remember Jesus’ words “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15). This is exactly how Satan deceived Eve to do, to break one of God’s commandments. The tree may look the same, just like other trees. The day may look like just any other day. But Satan by making you break the seventh day Sabbath commandment, by not keeping it holy, deceives you and makes you a law breaker, which is exactly his purpose. As James when you break one commandment, you are accused of breaking all the commandments - “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10). In Revelation 16, verse 13 & 14 says “three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet…. they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to…. the whole world, to gather them”. So they use miracles to gather people. So miracles, signs and wonders will be used. Does God work miracles today? Yes surely. But greatest of all God’s miracle is to heal a broken heart. Make somebody hate sin, and obey him. Many Christians who spend very little time on the word of God, but majority of their time on television watching games and movies, when they see a miracle they are duped. In their ignorance of God’s word they believe that these miracles are from God. Miracles necessarily do not mean that it is from God. Revelation 19:20 says “the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.” You see that deception has a role to play in those who receiving the mark of the beast. There are all those crazy an idea about which is the mark of the beast. But directly from the Bible we can know exactly what is this mark. You need not worry about whether it is some computer, or some social security number. Many people are led to receive the mark of the beast because they will be deceived by miracles. Dragon or Satan uses deception. It is his hallmark or strategy. He used it on the heavenly angels. He used it even in Eden. Today, no surprise, he continues to employ deception. In fact his deceptive power will only increase as we near the end of time. Jesus, Paul and John make it clear that miracles, signs and wonders will be used by Satan, the master deceiver, to deceive people just before Jesus’ return. 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul shares Jesus’ concern “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” There is a falling away first or apostasy. Notice here Paul talks of the antichrist. In the end time worship is the issue. If he shows himself as God, surely he is a religious figure. Can an antagonistic religious figure go into the temple of God and say I am God and deceive any one. When a guy comes to the scene who hates Jesus, antagonistic to Jesus, defies Jesus, stand against Jesus, is there any need to say that don’t be deceived. The problem here is that this guy goes into the temple of God pretending that he is God. Moreover he works miracles. So he looks more like God’s representative. So Paul says like Jesus, don’t be deceived. From verse 6 it reads “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work…And then the lawless one will be revealed…The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” Here Paul says that Satan is behind the coming of the lawless one (who don’t obey all God’s commandments), the Antichrist. And this Antichrist comes into the world showing all power, signs and deceptive miracles. Who according to Paul who will be deceived? Those who are going to perish! According to this passage what is the cure for deception? Truth! Not just truth, but love of the truth. Whether my heart will deceive me? Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” Perhaps the most dangerous type of deception is self-deception. James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” Galatians 6:3 says “For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Self-deception is a very potent reality according to the Bible. The most powerful chapter about how people deceive themselves is Romans chapter 1. Heart is full of sin and selfishness. Thus it longs to accept that which accommodates and caters to its undegenerated nature. Otherwise heart is looking to be deceived. Unconverted heart loves to hear that which flatters it. It is almost as though our heart wants to be deceived. This is especially true, when the lie we are told frees our heart and mind to indulge in unrighteous pleasure and sins. So what is the cure for deception? The Bible! It alone can free us from deceptions, its power and influence. Think for example, Eve in the Garden of Eden. How different it would have been, if Eve like Jesus in the wilderness has stood on a plain “thus sayeth the God”? Just imagine that scene. Eve was near that tree. There is that clever serpent. He says “I have a question for you”. “Did God really said (“God is keeping something from you.”) that you shall not eat from every tree in the garden?” She wanted that fruit. Now she is thinking “Oh really! That is interesting”. She says “God said we can eat of every tree, except this which can’t eat or touch it”. Then Satan says “Listen! It is good for you. In fact if you eat of it, you will become like gods knowing good and evil.” She is being easily deceived, because devil has tricked her into wanting something, which God knows is not best for her good. Our hearts are naturally going to gravitate towards things which sound pleasing to the ears. But we are not to test things by how nicely they sound, but how did they sound in comparison with the word of God. So only cure for deception is God’s word! Eve should have trusted the word of God. It would have dispelled the darkness of Satan’s power. In John 1:1-3 Jesus is referred to as “logos”, that is the word. Consider the following verses which equate truth with God’s word. Jesus is the word. Jesus says on one occasion in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 17:17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” In 1 Timothy 3:15 Paul writes to Timothy and he calls the Church “the pillar and ground of the truth.” We don’t find a church which suits us and then hope they preach the truth. Hope we find the truth and then find the church which preaches what is true. People choose churches for some of the most foolish, insane, ridiculous reasons. “I like the choir.” “I like the people coming there.” “My grandparents went there.” “I like the building.” We are not here choosing your health club or your recreation center, but we are talking about eternal truth, where you can find it. Rather you must choose worshipping in a simple building according to God’s word, than choosing the most ornate Cathedral with the best music with all the accompaniments, if you are following the error. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” There it is heart is deceitful of all things and desperately wicked. So what can guide our heart that is prone to deception, that is prone to lying wonders, that is prone to errors? We need something which can control our hearts and keep it from going astray into error. Only thing which can do that is the word of God. It discerns your thoughts and intents. God is speaking to you through his word. If you are not daily reading the Bible, you are setting yourself up for deception. There was a time when being a Christian meant something. You can read the book “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs”. Stories of men and women standing for truth, under the most severe persecution – so grotesque and cruel! William Tyndale in October 1536 was martyred under the king of England’s decree, by the Roman Church. Do you know what crime of Tyndale was? He translated the Bible into English! His last words were “O God! Open the eyes of the king and queen of England!” They strangled him to death and burned his body. That book in your hand, the Bible is a blood bath book. Thousands of men and women down the ages shed their blood, so that you can have it in your hands. Those pages in that book are stained with blood! Those people thought that people should have that book. Those pages were locked up in language which common people don’t understand, chained to monastery walls in Latin language. But Tyndale, Huss and Jerome thought, we will get this out into the common man’s circulation. People need to see what Roman Church is leading people astray. If they get the word for themselves, they have the cure for the deceptions of the Antichrist. There was a time when it was illegal to own a Bible. You can be stoned or burned or far worse. If you go to the Waldensian Museum in Piedmont, Italy, you can see the copy tables where these Waldensians will write sections of scriptures, which when they go out to sell their merchandise, give pieces of scriptures trying to get the word out in those dark, dark ages. By the grace of God, a man named Gutenberg in 1455 printed the Bible. So Bible became the first book to be ever printed – first it was the New Testament and second the Old Testament! God’s timing was accurate. Just before this Bible was very expensive! Somebody has to handwrite it down. Only the very elite or wealthy can have a Bible. Now the Bible starts to spread like the wildfire, at the same time getting translated into common man’s languages like English, German and others. That was not a coincidence. God knew it. So the printing press came into the picture. Now we come to Martin Luther. He was the monk who discovered the great truths of scriptures and rejects the Roman traditions. Against all the institutional paraphernalia of the huge religious establishment, he found those 4 words in the Bible “just live by faith”, which changed everything. Those 4 words changed the world. In his defense before the Council of Worms in April 17, 1521 he said “Unless I shall be convinced by the testimonies of the scriptures or by clear reason…I neither can nor will make any retraction, since it is neither safe nor honorable to act against conscience. God help me.” And he walked out. God miraculously preserved Martin Luther. He died in his old age. We need that kind of boldness today. The 4 essential questions of life: 1. Where am I From? (Origin) 2. Why I am here? (Meaning) 3. How should I live? (Morality) 4. Where am I going? (Destiny) Bible has the answers to those questions. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:13 “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Deception will reach epidemic proportions. There is only one magical elixir against deception. Read the word! Study the word! Believe the word! Obey the word! Share the word! Cherish the word! If you find something in the Bible, different from what you used to believe, if it is in the word, believe it and obey it. You may ask “How can I leave my church going after truth in the Bible? I was born and raised up in this church. Whole culture is different.” But listen, before you were a ‘x” denominational Christian or ‘x” national or belonging to a particular family, you were a child of God. There is a stronger call on your life, than that denominational or national call. There is a stronger call on your life, than your parental call or your cultural call. God knew you, made you, before you were any of these things. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” (Jeremiah 1:5). So your first responsibility is to God. God will surely give you strength. We are all creatures of habit. We always love to be in our comfort zone. Once you follow Him soon, he can make it enjoyable. Even when our friends are abandoning us, when our families are abandoning us! But God will provide “who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands… in the age to come, eternal life” (Mark 10:30). God not only provides eternal life, but a better fuller life in this world itself. You will be the happiest man on this earth. Don’t be afraid. When God is calling you to something new, He is calling you to something great. He wants you to be the citizen of heaven, his son or daughter! May God bless you! You are welcome to visit this page for more messages https://facebook/SomeTruthsThatYouShouldNotMiss
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 22:25:03 +0000
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