Tag: deception
“Watch out that no one deceives you.”
Scripture reading for October 11: Matthew 24-25
These chapters of Matthew contain the last major teaching of Jesus to his disciples as recorded by this Gospel writer. Jesus remarked to His disciples about how not one stone would be left upon another at the temple. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” (Matthew 24:2-5)
Deception will be a mark of the last days before the return of Jesus Christ. The world we live in is full of counterfeit religions and cults that claim that they are the only way to God. In the church there are numerous false teachers who are deceptive and seductive. Jesus pointed to wars and rumors of wars among the nations as signs. There would be famines and earthquakes in numerous places and great distress. Persecution of Christians will result in the death of the saints and hatred toward God’s people. Many will turn away from following Jesus and their love for God will grow cold. (Matthew 24:6-13)
As for when this would take place, Jesus had a different warning. Jesus emphatically taught that no one will know the day or hour of His return. (Matthew 24:36) It will be like the days of Noah when the flood came suddenly and swept the world of that time away. It would be like a thief coming to a house suddenly at night. It would be like a master coming back to find his servant neglecting his duties and doing evil. The point of these illustrations was that each person must be in a state of readiness at all times. Jesus would return at a time when we least expect it.
To illustrate this point, Jesus told two parables. The first was about the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom. The virgins consisted of five who were foolish and five others who were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps, but did not take any oil for them. The wise took oil along for their lamps and were ready. The bridegroom was delayed and they all fell asleep. The midnight cry woke them up to prepare for his arrival. Only the wise were prepared and got to go with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. The foolish were late and missed the party!
Our Lord just emphasized the need to be prepared for the immanent coming of our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Are you prepared? Is your lamp burning bright and have you purchased plenty of oil? May the truth of this message cause faith to arise to watch and work in expectation of the wedding banquet!
Satan is behind the lawless one
Scripture reading for November 22nd: 2nd Thessalonians 2, Psalm 83, Proverbs 16
2nd Thessalonians 2: 7-12 “And you know what is restraining him (the man of lawlessness) now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of His mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Paul carefully explains a final lawless ruler who will come on the world scene after the restraining influence of God through His Spirit-filled church is removed. Lawlessness is the mark of this leader and all that follow him. This is because Satan is the ultimate rebel and that evil spirit will be allowed to raise up a lawless leader. The mystery of lawlessness was already at work in Paul’s day! (How much more today!) But believers are not to live in fear because God has everything under His control. The Lord Jesus will destroy this ‘lawless one’ with the breath of His mouth at the glory of His return! Paul warns the church not to succumb to the false signs and wonders of this lawless one. Satan is a deceiver and only the Truth of Jesus Christ and God’s eternal Word will keep people from deception. Those deceived by this false leader will end up eternally punished because they refused the Good News of grace through Jesus.
Psalm 83:17-18 “Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever, let them perish in disgrace, that they may know that You Alone, Whose Name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.”
Prayer: Father God, it is comforting to know that You already know how Your plans will work out. Although You want none to perish, You have allowed the wicked to choose the day of destruction. Fill me with the Holy Spirit today in all wisdom and discernment. Empower me to avoid deception and to share the Good News with those in the grips of Satan and the lawlessness filling our world in this last time.
Proverbs 16:4 “The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.”
Beware: Deception in the Church
Scripture reading for October 20th: Jeremiah 47-49, Psalm 80, 2nd Peter 2
2nd Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master Who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
Peter’s final letter to the Church contained warning similar to other apostles and Jesus and even the prophets of Old Testament times. False teachers and false prophets would arise among God’s people and seek to draw believers away from Christ. They would encourage greed and sensuality and bring disrepute on true believers living in the way of Truth. These deceivers would preach and teach heresies–teachings that divide and cause strife–rather than bringing love and unity and peace. Peter cited examples in Scripture of God’s judgment on the sensual world in the case of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah. He cited Balaam as a false prophet motivated by greed instead of truth. Swift destruction awaits those deceiving and being deceived if they don’t repent.
Psalm 80:17-19 “But let Your hand be on the Man of Your right hand, the Son of Man Who You have made strong for Yourself. Then we shall not turn back from You; give us life, and we will call upon Your Name! Restore us, O Lord God of Hosts! Let Your face shine, that we may be saved!”
Prayer: Father God, we live in deceptive times with many voices seeking to influence us that are not from You. Fill me and Your Church with the Holy Spirit and gifts of discerning of spirits. Use me to warn and be a prophetic voice to this generation concerning the present dangers of deception and idolatry. Restore us, O Lord God of Hosts! Let Your face shine on us for we trust only in You!
Jeremiah 48:6-8 “Flee! Save yourselves! You will become like a juniper in the desert! For because you trusted in your works and your treasures, you also shall be taken; and Chemosh shall go into exile with his priests and his officials. The destroyer shall come upon every city and no city shall escape; the valley shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord has spoken.”
Deceived by the serpent!
Scripture reading for September 30th: 2nd Corinthians 11
Key Scriptures: 2nd Corinthians 11:1-4 “I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the One you received or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.”
Paul, as a pastor, was concerned for the spiritual welfare of the church in Corinth. He was aware of the spiritual warfare going on with the forces of darkness who were using false apostles and false teachers to undermine the true Gospel and pervert the people from a sincere devotion to Christ Jesus. He shared his concern likening the deception to that that the ‘serpent’ (Satan) used to deceive Eve in the Garden of Eden. The serpent cast doubt on God’s authority and twisted God’s Word. The serpent implied God was holding out giving them knowledge that would enable them to be God. He offered ‘forbidden fruit’ to eat and Eve ate it up. Paul’s concern was that these believers would swallow the lies of false apostles, preaching ‘another Jesus’, not Jesus Christ the Son of God, crucified and risen as Lord. They had another spirit, not the Holy Spirit and preached another gospel, not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Deception must be exposed by truth and pastors must watch over the flock of God.
2nd Corinthians 11:13-15 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
Faith confession and prayer: Father God, thank You for pastors who are watchful over Your flock. Protect me and Your Church from the cunning and deception of these last days and use me to warn and protect the flock by teaching truth and modeling a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Give Your people a discerning appetite to avoid swallowing deception and receiving a different Jesus, an unholy spirit, and a false gospel.
Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.“
The call to holy separation!
Scripture reading for December 24th: Job 28-30, Revelation 18
Key Scriptures: Revelation 18:4-8 “Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, My people lest your take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed. As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit like a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’ For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God Who has judged her.””
John hears another angelic voice from heaven calling out to the people still on earth who belong to Jesus Christ. The call is for a holy separation to God and His kingdom. They are warned that the sins of this corrupt world system of humanism and false religion have risen to the point of judgment. That judgment will come in a single day from the Lord God Almighty through the fire of His wrath. The people living in the world system of “Babylon” are living in greed and luxury, thinking proudly of themselves and their great accomplishments. They are deceived by their own pride and do not realize that their destruction will come suddenly.
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for sending someone to warn me of my need to repent and come out of the man-centered world system of ‘Babylon’. Keep me in the fear of the Lord and use me to warn others of the coming judgment and way of escape through Jesus Christ.
Job 28:20, 28 “From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?” . . .”And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.”
Winning a full reward!
Scripture reading for November 27th: Zechariah 12-14; Psalm 94; 2nd John
Key Scriptures: 2nd John 6-9 “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. For everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”
Deception is a mark of the devil and his agents in this world. Lying is the antithesis of God the Father and Jesus the Truth and is the native language of the devil. John again mentions those false teachers and calls them ‘antichrist’ as well as deceivers. This word means ‘counterfeit’. They were in the visible church but really not believers in Jesus Christ, Son of God. They advocated false doctrines and were under a deceiving spirit trying to rob believers of their full reward. The true believers could stay safe by abiding in Jesus’ love and showing love for Him by obedience to all His commandments. These were summed up in two: love God and love your brothers and sisters.” This is our “work” of faith, to believe and follow Jesus’ teaching in His love. Watchfulness is needed over our own souls and those of other believers because the ‘antichrist’ is already here.
Psalm 94:12-13 “Blessed is the man whom You discipline, O Lord, and whom You teach out of your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.”
Faith confession and prayer: Father, deliver me from the evil one! Fill me each day with Your Word and Spirit, and discipline me if needed. Give me the watchful eyes of an under-shepherd to help brothers and sisters live in Your love and abide in Your Word, receiving their full reward.
Zechariah 13:9 “And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon My Name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My People’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.'”
Conceit can bring deception!
Scripture reading for October 1st: Jeremiah 11-13, 2nd Corinthians 12
Key Scriptures: 2nd Corinthians 12:7-10 “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.”
Paul carefully explained how God had given him great revelations, even catching him up to the third heaven. He heard things that he could not reveal or explain. God allowed a thorn in Paul’s flesh from Satan, to keep him from conceit. Conceit is pride that puffs up a person and allows deception. Paul sought God for deliverance, but God assured him that His power would be made perfect in weakness and His grace would be sufficient to keep him. Paul’s boast now was in his weakness so Christ’s power would flow through him.
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your amazing grace that can keep me from pride and deception. Help me to boast only in You and my many weaknesses that Your power may work through me to accomplish Your will.
Jeremiah 13:15-17 “Hear and give ear; be not proud, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the twilight mountains, and while you look for light He turns it into gloom and makes it deep darkness. But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.”
Christ destroys the Devil’s works in us!
Scripture reading for November 21st: 1st John 3, Psalm 93-94, Proverbs 17
Key Scriptures: 1st John 3:7-10 “Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil: . .
John tenderly tells the members of Christ’s church how to keep from being deceived. Everyone born of God has God’s seed in them. God’s seed, the Word, produces good fruit and not continual sinning or violation of His Word. It destroys the devil’s works in them. If someone claims to be born of God and lives in sin, they are lying for they are still under the devil. Don’t be deceived, look at the fruit!
Faith Confession: I am thankful that I am born of God through the living Word, by faith in Jesus Christ. I live now by the indwelling Holy Spirit Who applies God’s Word to my life. Lord keep me from deception this day!
Psalm 93:5 “Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits Your house, O Lord, forevermore.”
Holding firm our confidence!
Scripture reading for October 16th: Hebrews 3, Psalm 57, Proverbs 22
Key Scriptures: Hebrews 3:12-14 “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”
This letter contains a warning against unbelief and falling away from the living God. It is possible to let go of our confidence in Christ Jesus and again be overcome by the sin of unbelief. We are charged by God’s Word to exhort one another to stand firm and watch over each other and our own hearts for hardening through the deception of sin. Today is the day to be watchful!
Faith Confession: I am watchful today for sin’s deception in my life. I do not want to be hardened by the sin of unbelief and fall away from the faith. Help me to watch over my own heart and others in my life who believe and exhort them today.
Psalm 57:1 “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in You my soul takes refuge, in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.”
Truth delivers from Deception
Scripture reading for September 20th: Ecclesiastes 9-11; 2nd Thessalonians 2
Key Scriptures: 2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12 “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing; because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
In the last days, unbelievers will be deceived by Satan through a man called “the lawless one.” This individual will have power and use false signs and wonders to dazzle and deceive. God will send this delusion upon those who refuse salvation and trust in His Word, the Truth. Believers will be protected by truth!
Ecclesiastes 9:1 “But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before Him.”
Prayer: Lord, thank You that You know all things are in control. Give me Your Truth each day as my daily food and drink! Amen.