Day of Deception

September 1

“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect,” Matthew 24:24.

“He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.   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,” Revelation 13:13-14.

“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’   And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"  Matthew 7:22-23.

"If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.   You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.  But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst,” Deuteronomy 13:1-5.

There’s an old saying, ‘Everything that sparkles isn’t gold,’ and an application of that truth can be made in the spiritual realm.  We are admonished by the God who loves us and who gave His perfect sacrifice to save us (see John 3:16) that we must, “Try the spirits to see if they be of God,” I John 4:1.

The above verses make it abundantly clear that there is a coming day when deception will be profound’ it will be a day when, as Jesus said, even the elect would succumb to diabolical delusion if it were not to be that God Himself would prevent it.

The evil one is a master of deception.  Of himself he has stated, “I would be like the Most High,” Isaiah 14:14, and he has practiced his delusion since man has walked the planet.  It is impossible to watch current events unfold without being aware that a significant portion of our race live under his aberrant version of truth.

From those in the seat of power who legislate against the law of God that is eternal, bringing upon themselves His wrath—“Woe unto them who call evil good and good evil,” Isaiah 5:20, to those who terrorize the world with their vitriolic hatred of everything that is in opposition to their perception of how the world should be, we see an ever-increasing noose of lawlessness wrapping itself like a constrictor around our lives.

And that makes us ripe for a ‘savior,’ for an ‘answer-man,’ for someone who can sort through the strife and bring us peace.  And the antichrist will seem to fill that expectation.

 

The time of his reign is normally divided into two halves. The first three and a half years are characterized by some degree of apparent world peace as the false Messiah (Revelation 13:11-18, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10, Matthew 24:15) in Israel negotiates a favorable Middle Eastern peace treaty.

That peace treaty, described by Isaiah as Israel's covenant with death, will fail--and terrible war will break out in Israel. The second half of the tribulation period is usually called The Great Tribulation (see Matthew 24:21).

Jeremiah calls it "the time of Jacob's trouble," Jeremiah 30-31, (See also Daniel 12:1).

The Book of Daniel, chapter 9, states, "the ruler who will come" will confirm a covenant, presumably with Israel.  This evil one will confirm a covenant with many, but in the middle of the seven year period, he will put an end to sacrifice and offering and he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him." (Daniel 9:26-27). 

This "ruler who will come" is the Man of Sin.

When mankind realizes the snare of lies in which he has been trapped, the only way to escape the fiend will be through martyrdom as described in the Book of Revelation.

Knowing that the age of deception is upon us and realizing the horrific end that awaits those who are found in the clutches of the evil one, should we not turn to Christ now?  Should we not give our lives to Him, for as Paul said, “Behold now is the accepted time; behold, today is the day of salvation,” II Corinthians 6:2.