How to not be Deceived or Devoured by an Apostasy
DECEPTION AND LIES ARE THE FIRST SIGNS OF NEARING THE END OF THE AGE
Jesus said in Matt 24: 4 that the first sign of His coming is a great deception. The first of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is deception, riding on a white horse. The first rider appears pure and clean but is full of lies and deception. Christ said that we do not need be troubled by these early signs. They are just the beginning. The end is still not yet. We have definitely entered an age of lies, and now live in an age of ‘SPIN’ and propaganda. Verse 11 says that many false prophets shall arise to deceive MANY. Deception shall be the rule not the exception. We don’t know how enormous the great apostasy is going be but it will be significant in its impact on the Church as well as mankind. Most of the world will believe a tremendous lie and declare a man as God.
POST MODERNISM IS DEVOID OF ANY STANDARDS OF MORALITY
In 1989 when the Communist Empire collapsed partly because the truth of their colossal economic failure and other lies were clearly getting thru to the oppressed people of Eastern Europe. We thought truth would shine all over the world. The people of the Soviet Bloc were hungry for the truth. However shortly after those years the postmodern movement gained momentum. God and any true foundation of truth and morality was forbidden from the public square. If God is dead all sorts of things die too, including truth, and character. It is now ‘whose truth’ and who stands to gain by it that is important. Grey is the color of truth. We are now defining deviancy down including lying. See Isa 59:1-3 says that society’s sins have forced God to turn His face from us, and therefore we have spoken lies and perverseness. Verse 10 indicates society’s vast blindness to the truth and verse 14 that truth has fallen in the streets.
LOVE OF THE TRUTH IS DISSAPPEARING EVEN IN ‘CHRISTIAN’ AMERICA
Paul warns in II Thess 2:1-5 that a great deception is coming on all the world. Many people are truth and Biblical illiterates. They do not know their own history. Those especially under 50 are ripe and open for great deception. Verse 6-8 indicate that God is holding back this full great end time deception until the time is right. How close are we to that pivotal point in history? Is the time right? Verses 9-12 proclaim that the major reason it will work and people will worship a man ALL THE WAY TO THEIR DEATHS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT LOVE THE TRUTH. Paul teaches that we need to keep a tight grip on the true doctrines that we have been taught. A lot of deceptions and clever lies and liars are roaming the streets and the internet these days. Group pressure is part of deceiving people. The bandwagon effect persuades people in groups to believe what they would not have believed by themselves. Do not let group conformity lead us into apostasy.
DEIFICATION IS DANGEROUS
THIS IS A PROPAGANDA TECHNIQUE used by the most vile and evil dictators of our age. Clever propagandist can make even ordinary human beings seem like a god. Hitler is very ordinary looking person. Stalin used an actor who looked like him but much more impressive and handsome for all newsreels and movies about him. Hitler, Stalin and Mao all who murdered many millions of their own people used state run media to deify themselves. That is pure evil. The communist world replaced God with Stalin, Mao and Castro. What a grotesque substitute. The Beast is going to be even worse and more blinding with his deception. This will soon be the future of a truth challenged world. Will we be deceived? Many of our former brethren in WWCOG are now out in the world and very vulnerable. Many who left with other unstable groups may be vulnerable as well. They are following the world. We need to stay spiritually in love with God and His laws and His truth. Paul said not to put any man on a pedestal and worship them. See I Cor 3:4-6, 9-10, 21. This is the mark of a spiritual weakling. Be mature and respect and honor leaders and past successful leaders. But not put them on a pedestal. Some can use leaders to manipulate and control and divide people as they were doing in Corinth. Those leaders then share some of that pedestal position themselves and lead many astray.
THE CURE FOR DISHONESTY AND DECEPTION
They say you cannot con an honest man. Those most vulnerable to deception are those who practice lying for various selfish purposes. They believe that the truth is relative to them and is certainly not loved. Christ said that those who love Jesus would also love His Father. They would keep Christ’s sayings and obey the Father. They would love the Father’s words. See John 14:23-25. Jesus further said they would keep the Commandments and abide in His love. Loving God and keeping His commandments are equated. So continue in my love He says. See John 15:9-10. The cure is to ask God for help in repenting and turning away from lying. People lie because they want to keep believing that sinning is appropriate for them. Repent! In Christ’s last prayer for us he asked God to keep us from evil. See John 17:11, 1-17. Claim His help in saving us from evil, lying and deception. Remember God’s word is truth. See Prov 23:7.
Ask God for help to renew our minds in honesty and truth. See Romans 12:2. We need to focus on truth and pure thoughts. See Phil 4:8. This positive, faith driven focus will make us spiritually stronger. We should glory if in fact, we know God. Knowing the true God is better than power, fame, knowledge or money. See Jer 9:23-24. Look for the deep truth underneath. Ask why God made that decision. Knowing God will help immunize us from deception. What are some ways that will enable us to stand and not be deceived?
. Below is a short checklist on how to avoid deception:
• Have a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ yourself. We are responsible for our own spiritual destiny.
• Satan is the Prince of this world. This is his territory and he is the master deceiver! Expect the media, educators and others to lie and be biased against the truth.
• Don’t be afraid to question information and sources. We answer to and are accountable to God alone. Remember the Bereans are praised by Paul for checking the scriptures. No one will be with us at the judgment seat of Christ.
• If we blindly accept what contradicts the Bible or calls the Gods O.T. or N.T. decisions wrong, we are being led astray.
• Be open in your mind and heart (because it is ultimately a spiritual matter requiring revelation) to God. We need to have an open heart so God can reveal the truth to us from His Word. Love the truth.
