Mat 24: [SUP]4 [/SUP]And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. [SUP]5 [/SUP]For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
Jesus tells us that everything He reveals in the Olivet Discourse (Mat 24: 4-31) happens to one generation, the generation of the fig tree. For those who believe, as I do, we could be in this generation. The first thing that Jesus mentions is the above deception of many claiming to be Christ. We are told that they deceive many. So, what can we learn from this?
1) There will be an event where many will come in Christ's name claiming to be Christ. The first rule of understanding prophesy is to check to see if it has already been fulfilled. I can find no historical event where masses of entities arrive claiming to be Christ at the same time. It would take a major conspiracy of well planning for a large group of people to go out claiming to be Christ at the same time. Let's say that millions went out knocking on doors claiming to be Christ and told the person who answered to follow them. Most would think they were looking at a nut job and slam the door. So, it has to be more than that, and it is.
Mat 24: [SUP]24 [/SUP]For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive... So we see that those claiming to be Christ also perform miracles to aid in their credibility. Normal people cannot do this, but angels or demons can. As crazy as it sounds, do we have any prophesy of demonic angels coming to earth? Turns out we do. Not only are we told Satan and his angels are cast out, a warning is given to those who dwell on earth.
Rev 12: [SUP]9 [/SUP]So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. [SUP]12 [/SUP]...Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
We see that Satan and his angels will be permanently thrown out of heaven and that they come to earth. Satan has great wrath and logic would tell us, so do his demons. So, what do they do with this great wrath and why do earth's inhabitants have to fear?
Rev 12: [SUP]17 [/SUP]And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
They make war with the Woman's (which is Israel) offspring. Those who keep God's commandments and have the testimony of Jesus can only be Christians. So Revelation 12 is telling us that Satan and his demons come to earth and wage war with Christians.
2) That many will be deceived. To believe Christ has come, you must first believe in Christ. If you believe in Christ, you are a Christian (perhaps very lukewarm but you still believe). If one doesn't believe in the existence of Christ, can one really be deceived by someone claiming to be Christ? Probably not.
Jesus further warns us that we will be approached by false christs and prophets.
Mat 24: [SUP]23 [/SUP]“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it...[SUP]26 [/SUP]“Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
We are specifically told to not go out, not to follow them and not to look where they want us to look. Again, many don't heed this warning and they are deceived, they go. It should be obvious that nothing good can come of being deceived and going after a false christ. I don't know where they go or what happens to them, but it appears they are killed in vast numbers. While we are short on details, we do know where they end up.
Rev 7: “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”[SUP] 14 [/SUP]And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation..."
So a whole lot of deceived Christians end up in heaven in a short period of time. John reveals something else about them in the next Chapter. He give us an idea of how many are killed.
Rev 8: [SUP]7 [/SUP]The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
If you know your OT symbols you know that "grass" is symbolic of regular people while "trees" are symbolic of leaders. If you add "Green" we know they are spiritually alive or saved. So at the first trumpet (which corresponds with the first sign Jesus gives in the Olivet) we see that all "common" Christians are killed along with one third of all wise Christians. They are deceived and God allows them to be killed because they lack the scriptural knowledge that would have saved them.
Jesus reminds us of one thing that if we remember, we would never be fooled by miracle performing false christs.
Mat 24: [SUP]27 [/SUP]For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Just remember that when Jesus comes, He comes as fast as lightening. He doesn't announce it or ring your doorbell or appear to you some other way. I know this all sounds fantastic and that many who read this will think I'm off my rocker, but trust me, crazy things will take place in the end times. It will be like the days of Noah and like the days of Lot. During those days people were going after "strange flesh" which were angels. Bad angels or demons used to walk the earth and interact with humans. It happened before and it WILL happen again.
Jude: [SUP]6 [/SUP]And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; [SUP]7 [/SUP]as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Earlier this week, I received an impression of immense pending evil that is coming soon. It was just a general feeling with nothing specific. I often get such feelings about big events before they happen but never know what it means until the big events happen (World Trade Center, Katrina, Paris attacks, etc). This was as strong a feeling as I ever had and when I had it, what I am discussing came to mind. I hope this reminder blesses those who read it and that we remember what Christ taught so that we don't end up ashamed in heaven as part of the Great Multitude.
Jesus tells us that everything He reveals in the Olivet Discourse (Mat 24: 4-31) happens to one generation, the generation of the fig tree. For those who believe, as I do, we could be in this generation. The first thing that Jesus mentions is the above deception of many claiming to be Christ. We are told that they deceive many. So, what can we learn from this?
1) There will be an event where many will come in Christ's name claiming to be Christ. The first rule of understanding prophesy is to check to see if it has already been fulfilled. I can find no historical event where masses of entities arrive claiming to be Christ at the same time. It would take a major conspiracy of well planning for a large group of people to go out claiming to be Christ at the same time. Let's say that millions went out knocking on doors claiming to be Christ and told the person who answered to follow them. Most would think they were looking at a nut job and slam the door. So, it has to be more than that, and it is.
Mat 24: [SUP]24 [/SUP]For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive... So we see that those claiming to be Christ also perform miracles to aid in their credibility. Normal people cannot do this, but angels or demons can. As crazy as it sounds, do we have any prophesy of demonic angels coming to earth? Turns out we do. Not only are we told Satan and his angels are cast out, a warning is given to those who dwell on earth.
Rev 12: [SUP]9 [/SUP]So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. [SUP]12 [/SUP]...Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
We see that Satan and his angels will be permanently thrown out of heaven and that they come to earth. Satan has great wrath and logic would tell us, so do his demons. So, what do they do with this great wrath and why do earth's inhabitants have to fear?
Rev 12: [SUP]17 [/SUP]And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
They make war with the Woman's (which is Israel) offspring. Those who keep God's commandments and have the testimony of Jesus can only be Christians. So Revelation 12 is telling us that Satan and his demons come to earth and wage war with Christians.
2) That many will be deceived. To believe Christ has come, you must first believe in Christ. If you believe in Christ, you are a Christian (perhaps very lukewarm but you still believe). If one doesn't believe in the existence of Christ, can one really be deceived by someone claiming to be Christ? Probably not.
Jesus further warns us that we will be approached by false christs and prophets.
Mat 24: [SUP]23 [/SUP]“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it...[SUP]26 [/SUP]“Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
We are specifically told to not go out, not to follow them and not to look where they want us to look. Again, many don't heed this warning and they are deceived, they go. It should be obvious that nothing good can come of being deceived and going after a false christ. I don't know where they go or what happens to them, but it appears they are killed in vast numbers. While we are short on details, we do know where they end up.
Rev 7: “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”[SUP] 14 [/SUP]And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation..."
So a whole lot of deceived Christians end up in heaven in a short period of time. John reveals something else about them in the next Chapter. He give us an idea of how many are killed.
Rev 8: [SUP]7 [/SUP]The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
If you know your OT symbols you know that "grass" is symbolic of regular people while "trees" are symbolic of leaders. If you add "Green" we know they are spiritually alive or saved. So at the first trumpet (which corresponds with the first sign Jesus gives in the Olivet) we see that all "common" Christians are killed along with one third of all wise Christians. They are deceived and God allows them to be killed because they lack the scriptural knowledge that would have saved them.
Jesus reminds us of one thing that if we remember, we would never be fooled by miracle performing false christs.
Mat 24: [SUP]27 [/SUP]For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Just remember that when Jesus comes, He comes as fast as lightening. He doesn't announce it or ring your doorbell or appear to you some other way. I know this all sounds fantastic and that many who read this will think I'm off my rocker, but trust me, crazy things will take place in the end times. It will be like the days of Noah and like the days of Lot. During those days people were going after "strange flesh" which were angels. Bad angels or demons used to walk the earth and interact with humans. It happened before and it WILL happen again.
Jude: [SUP]6 [/SUP]And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; [SUP]7 [/SUP]as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Earlier this week, I received an impression of immense pending evil that is coming soon. It was just a general feeling with nothing specific. I often get such feelings about big events before they happen but never know what it means until the big events happen (World Trade Center, Katrina, Paris attacks, etc). This was as strong a feeling as I ever had and when I had it, what I am discussing came to mind. I hope this reminder blesses those who read it and that we remember what Christ taught so that we don't end up ashamed in heaven as part of the Great Multitude.
