If you think you won't be deceived, you are in a place to be deceived.
I want to say something about deception.
We talk about the concept of end times "birth pangs," how things that will be grow in frequency and intensity. Amidst the earthquakes and wars and famine is the trickiest sign of all: deception.
It's a sign you can see, but also may not realize you're a part of.
In Matthew 24 and 25, we read about the tribulation. But in 24:4, we see Jesus telling his disciples not to be deceived. Over and over, we are reminded in the Bible to be careful about deception.
It's easy enough to tally up the earthquakes, wars and bombings, pestilence, the volcanic eruptions, the near-miss asteroids, the rising push for digital currency, the growing globalism, WEF—but you can't do the same with deception. Deception catches all of us, even the most astute and aware, off guard. At some point, in some way, to some degree, it takes our breath away.
Fallen leaders. Self-proclaimed prophets whose predictions don't come true but still have a public following. Whistleblowers who reveal every single human truly is fallen, as our heroes fall.
The words about such things are plainly written in the Bible, but we seem to think it doesn't quite apply in our modern situation.
Deception cannot be detected by common sense. It can't be detected by your "gut feeling." It can't be detected by tradition, or what's worked in the past. It can't be detected by following someone you trust. It can't be detected by being part of some "secret knowledge cult" that is not limited to Illuminati or Masons, but now includes popular liberal and conservative podcasters and content producers on the internet. It can't be detected by the U.S. Constitution. It can't be detected by who identifies as what, and how that compares to you. It can't be detected by endorsements, bumper stickers, or fact-checkers.
Satan is the father of lies, and he is active. Very active.
He wishes to deceive and destroy everyone, whether conservative or liberal, religious or atheist.
He is always spinning and weaving deception in some new way every day, finding the gaps where we don't expect to be deceived. How you were deceived last month, and by whom, has changed. He knows how to piece together video and image and electric elocution, sprinkling the images and phrases of faith and fight, of patriotism and Bible, all to fool you.
It's that moment where a trusted source publishes an article and a small voice inside you warns you that something isn't right, that moment where you can choose to ask God about it, or plunge on ahead because hey, they've been your go-to source in the past.
I saw one video in which a popular far-right conspiracy theorist/activist had interposed her face in a video where, at one point, the word "repent" flashed across the screen followed by an American flag. The end of the video used crude language to rile her troops.
No true follower of Jesus Christ, filled and guided by the Holy Spirit, should have anything to do with such things, yet her podcast and social channels are full of flippant use of Bible verses, crudities, mockeries, slander, and division. She is not unique. Satan specializes in putting just a bit of truth in the mouths of those who would lead you away from Christ. He knows we love knowledge.
That woman's followers?
They are deceived, but think they are the ones who are in the know.
There is only one way to detect deception. There is only one unchangeable truth, one place you can run to, one place to rest.
It's not with an American flag. It's not at a political event. It's not listening to a conspiracy podcaster. It's not following the trends on social media. It's not the people you could trust a week ago. It's not your favorite YouTube channel. It's not even aligning yourself with the contrarian who seems to be pushing back against the obvious deception.
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| From Elon Musk's Twitter account. |
No, it's in Jesus.
"Yes, yes, I get that," you might say, rolling your eyes, but then you rush off to your favorite NOT-JESUS INFORMATION SOURCES.
Your favorite preacher, your favorite podcaster, your favorite YouTube channel, your favorite prepper, your favorite forum, your favorite social media channel, your favorite insider, your favorite news media, your favorite social media thought leaders. THEY ARE NOT JESUS. THEY ARE NOT GOD'S WORD.
We aren't in peak deception, but we are in exponentially growing deception. Corruption has always been present in everything and everyone, in every government and every corporation, but Satan is gleeful to have it revealed so extensively because now there is chaos as everyone vies for your vote and your dollar while assuring you that they know what is true.
"Look at how evil these people are," he says as he hands you the apple. "Don't you want to know more? Don't you want to have all the knowledge? Don't you think you should do something about all of it?"
That is for God alone. A constant firehose of knowledge leads us away from Jesus, and you will not make it through unscathed if you don't go to Jesus first and always. Oh, you won't lose your salvation. But you might share or speak things that distract another from Christ to their eternal loss. You might put out words that hurt, that end up being untrue.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it, and they are saved.
It does us no good if we KNOW that but do not do it, if we BELIEVE that but do not do it. We must DO it.
The more news, the more chaos, the more division, the more fighting and riling up on all sides that there is, the more we must get to that strong tower.
What does God say in his Word, not what does he say through those calling themselves modern prophets. What does God say in his Word, not what does someone think the front page news has in connection with the Bible. What does God say in his Word, not what do the pundits on both sides think is the best way to understand an event.
What does God say we are to do? We are to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are to bring him glory. Does our quest to know more scandal and intrigue bring him glory?
Get to the strong tower. Every day, all day. Not the tree of knowledge of good and evil, where you can never know enough but the more you know the more you are easily deceived. No, get to the strong tower.
Consider Noah, whose days we are fast living in yet again. What makes you run to the place of safety?
Does the abject lows of morality do it? The sick feeling in your stomach when you see the evil, and the hurting people? The lawlessness in leaders at every level, quick to compromise and make deals for their own selfish benefit? The grifters of all political and religious persuasions who learn what pushes their audience's buttons the most, and ride that gravy train to infinity? The savvy manipulators who find those with an idea or identity of faith but not Bible knowledge, and then twist scripture, or adhere and align it to something not at all from God?
Satan uses his own evil workings to trick us into turning "from dark to light" to "lesser" evil so we think it is good.
In 1 John 4 we are told how to test the spirits, and how to identify who is with the world and who is with God.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Don't be fooled by a person who claims to agree that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, and sticks a cross on a flag. That is not confessing Jesus. It's not what the mouth confesses, but what does the spirit confess? What spirit is driving them? What are the fruits they display, because that tells us what their spirit is.
We know the fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
The person you trust to get your information from, what does the spirit confess? Who do they confess? Themselves, their achievements, their battles, their opinions? Or Jesus Christ crucified and risen, our only hope and salvation, the one we look to as we look up here at the end? Do they point to chaos or to Christ? Do they tell you they will show you the way, or do they show you The Way?
In some sense, the past two years has made many of us complacent. It was almost too easy to spot the globalism, the deception, the people who were brainwashed. But Satan has stepped up his game, and now he's tripping up those who think they've got it all figured out, those who are sure they know right from left.
Call out to Christ Jesus. Run to the strong tower. Every day, all day. More Bible, less internet. Every piece of information you consume, you take it to the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern. You stop following those who are leading you into deception, even if earlier on, they led you to what was true.
THE DECEPTION WILL BE SO POWERFUL.
THE DECEPTION IS ALREADY POWERFUL.
If you are sure you're not being deceived. If you are sure that you came through the past two years and weren't brainwashed. If you are sure the sources and people who got you through those two years are safe to follow unquestioningly...YOU ARE ALREADY DECEIVED.
At the very least, you're well set up to be so.
