“Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”

Matthew 24:4-5

Shortly after Jesus told His disciples of the coming destruction of their Holy Temple, He was confronted by a few on the Mount of Olives and asked what they should be looking for and what would be the signs of the End. In one of the most complete descriptions of the events leading up to the End Times He famously talked about “wars and rumors of wars”, “nations against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms”, “famines and pestilences”, and “earthquakes in diverse places”. During the last several years I have written about each of these individually so we could observe their fulfillment in OUR generation.

• Jesus DID say we would have “…wars and rumors of wars.” 
• What are the differences between “Nations” and “Kingdoms” that Jesus told us about?
• Jesus DID say we would have “…famines and pestilences”,
• Jesus DID say we would have “…earthquakes”

Recently upon reading Matthew 24 & 25 again, I discovered I had never written about the very first thing He mentioned when asked by His disciples what they should be looking for. The first answer He gave was:

“Take heed to yourselves, that your heart BE NOT DECEIVED (capitals mine), and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;”

Deuteronomy 11:16

Throughout the Bible Satan is often referred to as the Great Deceiver. He lied to Eve and by her and Adam going against the will of God and eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden, mankind was therefore doomed to eternal death because of our willful sin. Of course, God being a Gracious God, then sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross as THE ultimate sacrifice for all our sins IF we accept His Gift of pardon. We must willingly accept this gift and acknowledge we are sinners and ask for His forgiveness. This is directly from the Bible. This is from God Himself. This is NOT a lie!

“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

John 8:44

Yes, we can all agree that due to our sinful nature, deceit has been around since the days of the fall of Adam and Eve. However, because of modern technology, I doubt anyone would disagree that on a massive scale, lying and deceit has never been as prevalent as it is today. Why do I believe this? Think of the impact on our global culture and beliefs today with social media (e.g. TikTok, Facebook, etc.), main street news outlets (e.g. MSNBC, CNN, and yes, even Fox News), international organizations (e.g. UN, WHO, EU, CDC, etc.), big businesses and corporations (e.g. pharmaceuticals), and of course, political leaders and their parties.

The mere fact whatever lies they are telling; their words are spread to hundreds of millions of people all over the world every single day! Think about the blatant lies being told about Hamas killing 1,400+ civilians in Israel and the ongoing protests by pro-Palestinian, antisemitic groups demanding the eradication of the Jewish state of Israel.  Do you remember the BLM “mostly peaceful” demonstrations reported by most news outlets which occurred after the death of George Floyd? You know, the ones that caused billions of dollars of damage and multiple deaths? Whether it be new, unproven drugs to reduce deaths because of a pandemic; ceasing the eating of red meat because of cow flatulence’s impact on global warming; and forcing fuel mandates in order to stop the sale of gas-powered cars and therefore force the purchase of expensive electric cars from America’s adversaries when there simply is not enough electric power today in the grid to fuel everyone’s cars. All of these things, along with the push for a coming global currency, are setting the stage for the rise of the anti-christ and a global world government. Couple that with the predicted end times, lukewarm “christian” church (Have You Ever Attended a Laodicean Church? Hopefully, you never will!!) and I believe you can see the VERY first sign of the beginning of the End Times starts with lying and deceit!

“The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.”

Proverbs 12.5

Don’t get me wrong. We have all lied at some time in our lives. Remember what they called “little white lies”? Does God say it is ok to spread “little white lies”? No! Yet lies are being told and I would speculate it is because there is a reason behind telling lies, especially when it advances the agenda of Satan, the father of lies.

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”

2 Thessalonians 2:3

Typically, when the Bible refers to a “falling away”, it is telling us that people will no longer practice their true faith in God but will depart from the core teachings of the Bible. God warned us specifically to be aware of the ongoing deceits of Satan and to know how to contradict them through the Holy Spirit and by knowing what God has told us in the Bible. If we are not aware of those, even if we are true and faithful to God, it could be possible to deceive EVEN the “very elect”.

“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

Matthew 24:24

While this could be scary that not only Satan but his minions, the fallen angels, will target those of us who believe in God and the death and Resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ, BUT if we take the “whole armour of God” (told to us in the Bible), we may be able to withstand Satan and his fallen angels (demons) deceit and lies. This takes knowing what the Bible says is true and allow the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of God’s Promises to protect us.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that YE MAY BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND (capitals mine) in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Ephesians 6:12-13

Perhaps most importantly to us today is the prophetic nature of what Jesus told His disciples on the Mount of Olives. Yes, we would have deceit and lies (just like famines, pestilences, wars and rumors of wars, etc.) but we need to be watching out for the intensity and frequency of all these things coming together at the same time. In the middle of the Tribulation spoken of by John in the Book of Revelation, Satan will be permanently cast out of Heaven. He knows his time is short to finalize his deceit of the world and to wreak havoc on Jews and Christians especially.

“And the great dragon was cast out (of Heaven), that old serpent, Called the Devil, and Satan, WHICH DECEIVETH THE WHOLE WORLD (capitals mine): he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the seal for the devil is come down unto you, HAVING GREAT WRATH (capitals mine), because he knoweth that he hath BUT A SHORT TIME (capitals mine).”

Revelation 12:9, Revelation 12:12

So, regardless of whether you believe in a pre, mid or post Rapture, be prepared! We will continue to see an increase in lawlessness, deceit, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, pestilences, famines etc. But we can all take comfort in knowing God has told us before these things happen that they will happen. By studying what the Bible says and by putting our faith in Jesus Christ and His gift of eternal salvation if we acknowledge our sins and ask Him for forgiveness, we can know with 100+% certainty we will be saved for eternity with Him. If you are comforted by this, then please make sure you continue to do what Jesus told us to do and that is to “…therefore comfort one another with these words.” Remember, not my words. His Word!

May God Bless you as we strive to differentiate between the deceit of Satan and the Truth of Jesus Christ!