The Great Deception

Deception (or maybe the Great Deception)

Written By Matt.S February 10th 2016

We all know what deception is, don’t we? Yep! It’s telling lies to cover our backsides, or make us look impressive, or to gain something we are not entitled to. It is part of and number 9 on the list of the 10 Commandments God gave the Israelites (Exodus 20:16) (and still applies)

So why is it so important to know about deception? There are numerous bible references to deception and there could be numerous studies done to cover just a few of these references. It is not my intention to look at all these references, but to focus on a specific area of deception mentioned in Matthew Chapter 24.

Before we go into that let’s quickly look at the definition of the word deception. When you do your research (and I hope that you all do because I don’t want you to take my word for it), you will discover many meanings. Here are a few. Deception means; falsehood, untruth, misrepresentation, falsification, conjuration, illusion, trick etc, (you get my drift).

What is the opposite of deception? Very simply the opposite of deception is truth. Jesus made it very clear that He is the truth (John 14:6). So who or what is the root or author of deception? This is made very clear in John Chapter 8 (John 8:44)

“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 the 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.”

Okay! So that is very clear that the devil, satan, lucifer is the root of deception and lies. Now that we have some simple but clear biblical references to truth, and deception, let’s have a look at Matthew Chapter 24.

In Matthew chapter 24 (Matt 24:4) the disciples ask Jesus how they would know he was returning, and of the end times. The first thing Jesus said was “Take heed that no man deceive you”, in other words “Watch out, ensure, see to it” that you are not deceived. I will say it again; this is the first thing Jesus says, so it must be a big deal. From my perspective, it says that deception will be a major issue in the last days, prior to the return of Jesus. In my opinion we are in those days, if not heading rapidly into them.

You may say “so what” we know the devil will attempt to deceive us, he has always done that right from the beginning, (Genesis 3:13) and that is so, but (had to put in a “but”) there is an another verse in Matthew 24, that seems to create an additional depth to this deception. Matthew 24:24 (Matt 24:24) has Jesus stating that false Christ’s and prophets will arise, doing amazing and miraculous things that will be so miraculous, and amazing, that they may even (if it is possible) deceive the “elect”.

Okay stop right there. “The elect”! Who are the elect? I am going to play it a bit safe here. I don’t know who the elect are specifically but the translation for “the elect” is the “chosen ones” (Matt 24:24). There are some who say this is the Jews, or some who say it is born again Christians, or some who say it is messianic Jews. Speculatively it may be all three groups; I am really not clear on this one. However if they are chosen ones of God, then I would again hazard a guess that they have a solid relationship with Him, and a solid knowledge of Him. If these folk are deceived then you can bet that the deception is very very convincing, even to those who are well acquainted with the truth.

What could be so deceiving that it could fool the chosen ones of God? Something technological and supernatural? This is a possible answer to this question, as we now live in a world where technology is advancing at such a rapid pace, it is almost impossible to keep up with it.

“I think it’s about time we reached for the tinfoil hats”

There are some who claim that the elite, covert, scientific community has developed technology many decades beyond what we see now. It would seem they have been at it quite some time, (many decades and possibly centuries) and they have had help. Here are some of the possible ways a great deception could be brought upon humanity;

• With extremely advanced holographic images and the use of (so called) “alien” technology, project “Bluebeam” (nup! no hyperlinks, you look it up)
• Large space craft that would normally exist only in the realms of Sci-Fi movies.
• The possible use of psychoactive drugs sprayed in the atmosphere, to make people more amenable to accepting deceptive and illusive ideas.
• The complete breakdown of society leading to unimaginable chaos, that will have people begging for order and very open to deception.
• The quiet intrusion of small deceptions into biblical and Christian doctrine, that will go largely unnoticed because the world now has these deceptions in abundance, and they are commonly accepted by the secular masses.
• The appearance of supernatural beings or very advanced humans/ non humans, who promise and demonstrate incredibly advanced science, almost indistinguishable from magic.
• Mesmerising individuals and organisations that promise immortality, wealth, health, super physical attributes etc. The narcissists paradise in other words (but that’s another story)

There is another thing that comes to my mind regarding this great deception, and that is a passage of scripture in 2nd Thessalonians. Although I think by the time this happens, people are either going to be for God or against him. 2nd Thessalonians 2:11 says that God is going to send a deception “deluding influence”, so that people will believe what is false (the “lie”), the great deception, or in other words , all of satan’s clap-trap. If you reach this point and reject God I think you’ll be a goner.

So what I am asking of you is that you watch out for deception. The deception coming is going to be so great, that it is going to fool the vast majority of people, (for a time anyway). Satan is probably now in his final years of reign on this planet, and he is going to pull out all the stops to deceive and doom as many as he can. Deception is one of satan’s most outstanding skills, (that’s not a compliment by the way), he is really good at it. So how can you give yourself a fighting chance to avoid being deceived? Get yourself right with God, accept his Son Jesus as your Lord and saviour, and seek his forgiveness for your sins. Learn to handle the truth by reading Gods Word (the bible), and ask God to show you any deception in your life, and in the world around you. Ask God for the gift of discernment and knowledge, and get used to knowing the truth, so when the deception comes along you will be ready.