“And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”
Matthew24:4-5NKJV
There has been great debate about the end times. From a historical perspective the end times have been predicted multiple times but has yet to come to pass. There are many that are looking for the antichrist or the mark of the beast. Most would agree we are living in the last days because of the signs Jesus speaks about in Matthew 24.
The disciples asked Jesus to tell them the sign of His coming and the end of the age. Jesus responds first by telling them not to be deceived. After that statement Jesus said that many will come deceiving people. When we look at the text closely the word deceive here refers to “cause to wander”. In essence Jesus was warning the disciples not to wander from the truth – Jesus’ word.
When we look at the world today we see a lot of deception. We know that there are false prophets, false teachers and people claiming to be Jesus. However, Jesus’ warning was in the time of deception we cannot wander from Him – the truth.
Many may think deception is simply having the “wool pulled over our eyes”, but Jesus warns that people will actually be led astray from Him. This is one of the major signs we will see in the last days – people falling away from Jesus.
It is important that we guard against all deception that would cause us to wander from the truth of Jesus Christ. We must know that Jesus is the word made into flesh, so the words of Jesus are the truth that we live by. We must guard our hearts in Jesus’ word and keep our minds stayed on Him.
Deception is only going to increase in the last days. Jesus goes on to tell the disciples what will happen. There are also other scriptures that warn us about various types of deceptions that we must guard against. Keep in mind the warning of Jesus in that no matter what deception is cast before you do not wander from the truth. The truth is what will protect us in these last days and help us to endure. Heed Jesus’ warning – Do not be deceived!
Reflections 