“The Truth about Deception”
Matt S December 2017 Part 11 (False teachings/heresy series).
Will you take the Red Pill or the Blue Pill?
“You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” (Quote Morpheus, “The Matrix”)
Before I continue with the theme of false teachings and heresy, I would like to explore the idea of why we as humans fall so readily for deception, deceptive teaching, and deceptive people.
I will be very clear in saying that I have been personally subject to a good deal of deception in my life, from people, from religion, and from self deception. The source of all deception I believe, is the father of lies, satan John 8:44. However, many people choose to remain deceived even after they know the truth, or they willingly allow themselves to be deceived, they willfully reject the truth because it suits them to believe a lie.
So why, as humans, do we do this?
It always amuses me when you sign up for something, perhaps a new blog that websites ask for verification of your humanity. You know what I mean; you have to tick the little box that says “I AM NOT A ROBOT”, or add up a few numbers and insert an answer. So why is it that robots don’t know how to tick the box or add the numbers (at least at the moment anyway), but YOU do? I will hazard a guess and say that it has something to do freewill and sentience, the former option being the main reason.
It is my belief that God gave us a distinct and independent personality, and the ability to operate with freewill. How do I know this? Well it happens to be in the 3rd Chapter of the Bible. Genesis 3. Eve was approached by the slimy, slippery, evil, devious, deceiving now on its belly, dust eating snake. When questions were posed to Eve by the bright and shining one (Nachash) about eating the forbidden fruit, she knew that she should not do that. She told that serpentine slime-bag that God had told her not to eat from “that” tree. However Eve decided to listen to the dull and darkened one, and eat of the fruit. Big mistake Eve for listening to that evil dirt-bag.
It’s been a wee while since I started this article. Unfortunately it got interrupted for various reasons and in some ways this has been a good thing, as I have had some expanded insights since I last wrote anything here.
The thing that has really hit home with me just recently, is just how much deception within the Church has increased in such a short time. I am also aware that the vast majority of Christians are completely unaware of much of it. This really irks me, and what irks me even more is that when I attempt to discuss certain concerns about deceptions they may be entertaining, they get a little defensive with me. You may be asking the question, “Matt, is it that you are coming on too strong?” The answer to that is no! I have learned through hard experience that if you want to get people to consider things, (especially if it involves them harboring a somewhat erroneous view, contrary to scripture); I need to tread softly and not make them look foolish or incompetent, and give them time to perhaps explore something of what I have mentioned to them. I still mess this up at times, but I’m doing better.
There are some who will choose to listen, and they will be blessed with a soft landing. The others are going to fall hard when the light switch finally gets turned on. Oh and I forgot to mention the third group who will choose to float in the ethereal rarified air of the light and fluffy delusion that God will send them for not accepting His truth. It will seem to be a light fluffy delusion at the time, but that ethereal rarefied air is going to explode one day with God’s judgment igniting that bad boy. This will only end badly with this third group very much destined for Hell.
So you best Choose you this day whom ye will serve, but as for me and my house , we will serve the Lord. (verse abbreviated)
None of us like to be wrong! Me included! But it happens a lot. So how do we deal with it? Our pride takes over and we tend to ignore the error, sweep it under the carpet, shove it somewhere we will never see it again, lie about it, and blame someone or something else for it. Rarely do people fess up and say “I was wrong” (me included). However if the Holy Spirit confronts us with something, “ya know, when ya get the pang of conviction” (spoken with a slow John Wayne drawl). Of course you can just ignore the conviction, but it’s best not to.
You may be aware that I was raised in the Catholic Church, from what I have written in some of my other articles. As a young Catholic teen I challenged God. I told him how boring and lifeless it all was and that if he did not have a better alternate for me, then atheism was my preference. He responded, knowing that I was curious and desperately in need of the truth. God piqued my interest with Bible prophecy and the knowledge that I could have a real and personal relationship with him. When I had someone (yes a real flesh and blood person) tell me that the book of Revelation was soon to be taking shape, and why it was soon to be, something inside of me jumped for joy. There was something inside of me that acknowledged the truth of the Word of God. When I cried out to God/Jesus and the Holy Spirit (yes all three) not long after this, I have a clear recollection of thinking of God as a cold distant old man one day, and the next he became a real, loving, kind and personal Father. The thought I had was, “I have a Father in Heaven!!”
I have to add here for those Catholics who may be reading this and are still with me, thank you for staying with it. I have a deep care and concern for Catholic folk. There are many that are still in the Church who know Jesus in a personal way but who are not sure of how they may proceed. Please ask God to show you what you are to do. I can tell you from my own personal experience that He will do it. The first thing that I would ask you to do is to start reading your Bible on a regular basis.
When God became real and alive to me after I cried out to him, I started to read my Bible (I think it was a Good News Bible). There was no person telling me that my Catholic doctrine was wrong, but I started to see that what the Bible said and what Catholic teaching (catechism) said, were at odds. At this point I took what I call a “God inspired logical step”. I concluded that God had inspired the Bible, but the catechism was inspired by man, the Bible won the battle of preference for truth and accuracy. At this time I had to shed many years of acquired doctrinal beliefs. Some of this was quite painful. I was distressed to learn that so many of the doctrines (teachings) of the Catholic Church were man-made and pagan in nature, and not Biblical at all.
It was very hard for me to admit or accept that I had been under deception, I felt foolish and stupid at first, however this became something of gratitude that God’s word was showing me the truth, was shedding light into the dark places. This took a while and certainly did not all happen at once, and it gave me an appreciation of how easy it is to be blissfully deceived, and be completely unaware of it. There are many millions of Catholics (maybe more than a billion even) that accept what is taught to them mostly without question.
After my teen years as a Christian, I walked apart from mainstream Christianity and Churchianity for a while. When I returned, I noticed quite a few changes (my article “Time Capsule” covers some of this). One of the things that stuck out most was an apathetic attitude, unwillingness from Christians to discuss Bible prophecy, especially pertaining to End Times. I made myself something of a pariah on a number of occasions with certain Christians and Christian groups, when I questioned the state of Christians and the state of the world.
I was really struggling to understand what had happened, no one seemed to think demons existed anymore; people would not discuss the things happening in the world, even though this was looking distinctly like the themes of Matthew Chapter 24. I was also hearing odd expressions of thought, odd doctrines. One that really got me was that Christians were saying that the God of the Jews and Christians was the same as the god of Islam, this just did not sit well with me. People went very quiet when I raised thoughts on End Times themes, some people even got a little hostile. There was even a softening to things such as homosexuality, which the bible clearly identifies as sin. It was defended and condoned by saying that we are not to judge such things. My little spiritual discernment alarm bells were going off all over the place here, even though I was unable at that time to articulate the root errors. This led me into researching scripture around these issues to see what the Bible (God’s Word) had to say on these matters.
“Christians are falling asleep at the wheel.”
I was alarmed and perplexed that not only did Christians seem NOT to care, but they were either ignoring or coming against those that were daring to raise questions and concerns, about heresy and deception invading the Church. There is a lovely term called “Normalcy Bias” which says it all,
It was a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit a few years ago that kicked me back in to a serious walk with Jesus. I believe the Holy Spirit urged me to read Matthew chapter 24, and in doing this I got a sharp reality shock. Some of the conditions of the “birth pangs” were beginning to be fulfilled. In New Zealand, we were starting to get some big quakes. The world as a whole was starting to experience an increase in much stronger quakes. We have certainly seen wars, particularly in the Middle East and currently there have been increased tensions on a global scale of the larger nations. There has been an increase in racial and ethnic tensions and there has been a huge upsurge in the persecution of Christians, particularly in the Middle East. There has also been the threat of serious pestilence with outbreaks of Ebola. The plans for New World Order are plainly in the open now, there seems to be no pretense about this anymore.
“So, if you are a Christian and can’t see the times we are living in, it is my opinion that you have your head firmly buried in the sand, and don’t read your Bible, or both.”
I wondered what else the Bible had to say about these times and about what was occurring.
Jesus makes reference to being “mislead” (NASB) (“deceived” KJV) FOUR times in Matthew Chapter 24. This is very significant because it clearly indicates that there will be a problem with deception in the end days before Jesus returns.
Matthew 24:4 – “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.”
Matthew 24:5 – “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”
Matthew 24:11 – “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”
Matthew 24:24 – “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
Three times, Jesus warns about false prophets and false Christs that will lead people astray, even the “very elect”. These warnings are listed in the verses above and this just has to be a serious problem for Jesus to mention it so often.
This also ties in with what Paul writes to the Thessalonians in 2nd Thessalonians Chapter 2:1-12.
Paul starts out by saying that there may be an attempt to deceive people into believing that Jesus has already come, but there are certain things that need to happen first, just as Jesus himself outlines in Matthew 24. Paul talks about the apostasy, rebellion or falling away from faith that will occur before Jesus returns. This is also in conjunction with the revealing of the Antichrist and all the deceptions, lying signs and wonders that will accompany this final gasp by satan to control the peoples of the world in this age. Paul also states that God will give people over to deluded thinking in order to seal their fate; this is because they refused to accept the love of the truth. (Remember the light and fluffy ethereal rarified air delusion?)
Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapters 3 and 4,about the type of person that will be prevalent in the last days. This type of individual might be a seen an almost classic narcissistic personality. The description in the first few verses of chapter 3 could be almost lined up narcissistic diagnostic criteria; it also describes someone who is unable to comprehend truth and is strongly self deluded. In chapter 4, Paul writes to Timothy about people who will not “endure sound doctrine”. Instead they will only want to hear the things that please them or in other words “have their ears tickled”. People will simply not want to hear the truth. Is this sounding familiar?
There are plenty more scriptural references regarding deception and the times we are now in, but for brevities sake I will conclude things here.
“Deception is a KEY feature of this age”
I hope that you are getting a picture of the importance that Jesus and Paul placed on deception being a key feature of this age. Both deceptions from false prophets and self deception with a great deal of planning and implementation from the psychotic fallen angel, will underpin the unwillingness to abide by the truth, making deception a hallmark of this time. I cannot stress this strongly enough.
Jesus says in Matthew 24:4 “take heed that no man deceive you”. Jesus makes it “OUR “responsibility to not be deceived. In Luke 21:36 (the corresponding chapter in Luke, to Matthew 24) Jesus says to “keep on the alert at all times”.
Folks, did you know that Jesus is asking you to keep alert and watch out for deception. If you have read some of my other articles you will know that I repeat this warning often, and the reason I do this is because I see this deception happening right in front of my eyes on a daily basis. It alarms me to see good Christian folk of longstanding, walking headlong into these heresies. The reason I am writing these things is that I want you to be alert and watching for these deceptions, going in “eyes wide open”.
So, as the line in the Matrix Movie goes, you have a choice. You can take the BLUE pill and believe whatever you want to believe and stay in deception, or you can take the RED pill and see things for what they really are and embrace the truth.
In order to know the truth you must handle the truth, which means that you need to read your Bible regularly and talk with Jesus on a regular basis.
Here is my gmail address, if anyone has a question or a comment they can send it to me. I am not on Face Book; I struggle to keep up with emails at times as I work full time. If you do send me an email I will do my best to respond to you however it may not be quick response. My gmail address is as follows; mattsamtm@gmail.com
RESEARCH. (The author of this article may not necessarily agree with all the views expressed in the research material)
https://www.gotquestions.org/God-allow-deception.html
http://liespotting.com/2010/06/10-research-findings-about-deception-that-will-blow-your-mind/
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