“Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us when will all of this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?” Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines, and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.” Matthew 24
Wow…What do you think about this? Do you think the stage is being set for the ushering in of the end times? Just by watching the news and seeing current events, can you see things unfolding? What do you think about all the different world religions, theologies, and ideologies? Jesus’ first response was, “Don’t let anyone mislead you.” There are many false prophets around with counterfeit signs of spiritual power and authority…
”Many will follow after their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.” 2 Peter 2:2
“I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the terrors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 3:17-18
The only way not to be deceived is to focus on Christ and His words. The better we know Jesus, the less attractive false teaching will be. I don’t know how I can sound any more urgent when I say…”If you don’t know the Word, you’ll fall for anything.” We cannot spend time looking at other people. Look at Christ… because time is of the essence. Knowing God’s Word is the best way to recognize and expose false teaching. It doesn’t matter where we are in our spiritual journey, and it doesn’t matter how mature we think we are in our faith ~ we still have much room for growth. Daily drawing near to Christ will prepare us to stand in truth in any and all circumstances.
How many wars and threats of war are occurring today? Let’s talk about natural disasters…aren’t earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, floods, happening more frequently and occurring in parts of the world that never has seen these types of disasters? “But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.”
To be continued…