Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
False Messiah
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Jeremiah 17:5-7
If our trust, faith, or confidence is in any person—and this would certainly include ourselves—God says that we are cursed! Such a wretched belief system cannot help but bear diseased and poisonous fruit. If we depend on human abilities—ours or someone else's—to overcome Satan and recognize and resist his devices, he will sooner or later pull one over on us. If our trust is misplaced, the verse says our heart departs from the LORD, meaning we are surrendering our best and only true defense against the deceiver. Sometimes, he goes for our weaknesses, yet at other times, for our strengths. Sometimes, his ploy is in plain view, but at other times, he plays an indefinite waiting game. Who can anticipate all his methods of deception? We simply cannot foresee where he will come from—or when or how. Clearly, on our own, we are outmatched and outgunned. We need what no mortal can provide. A couple of verses later, God gives the flipside, the only means we really have against deception: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD" (Jeremiah 17:7). Recall what God has done and is doing for us. While the world lies under the sway of the wicked one, God has freed a little flock and is actively protecting His sheep. We should not live in terror—we have not been given a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:6). Alone, we cannot stand against Satan, but our source of strength is Jesus Christ. Walking in that relationship causes us to adopt the character image of the Father and the Son. The more we think as They do and act as They do, the less likely we are to be taken in by Satan's subtlety, cunning, or one of his long cons. Just as we are no match for Satan, so the Devil is no match for the Father and the Son. In fact, They have already defeated him and desire to make Their home with us—which They will do if we love Them and keep Their words. This protects us from deception—our growing relationship with God and submitting to the truth at every turn. The people who will survive the deceptions of this end time are those who have the Father and the Son as their focus—in their very being—so much that the false messiahs and prophets cannot get in the door. The ones who are kept from deception have a love of the truth (see II Thessalonians 2:9-12). Their security comes not because of personal strength but as a result of the protection that God gives because they have consistently demonstrated that their heartfelt desire is to live with the Father and the Son for eternity, no matter the cost in the present. So, they will engage in frequent prayer, focused study of the Word of God, and occasional fasting to humble themselves and work on dislodging the hooks. Those who will survive Satan's deceptions have their hope in God because they already know they can trust Him with their lives, regardless of what happens. Because their hope and trust are in the right place, they are blessed—and part of that blessing is the spiritual strength to resist and overcome the father of lies.
David C. Grabbe
The Truth About Deception (Part Three)
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Matthew 24:3-5
It is no coincidence that the first warning Jesus gives about "the sign of [His] coming and the end of the age" is, "Take heed that no one deceives you" (Matthew 24:3-4). In fact, warnings about deception are frequent throughout His Olivet Prophecy (verses 4-5, 11, 23-26, 48). The time of the end, it seems, will be one of falsehood and deceit. In the book of Revelation, this same warning appears as the first seal, also known as the first of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Now I [John] saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." And I looked, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. (Revelation 6:1-2) Comparing Jesus' comments in Matthew 24 with these verses in Revelation 6, it becomes apparent that this horseman is not Christ proclaiming the true gospel but a counterfeit spreading the news of a false Messiah. For instance, this horseman carries a bow, but in every case, Christ is pictured with a sword (see Revelation 1:16; 19:15). Jesus interprets this horseman for us in Matthew 24:5: "For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many."
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Let No One Deceive You
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Matthew 24:23-26
Throughout the end times, we can expect frequent efforts to deceive us. People will believe they have “found” Christ in some secret place. False messiahs and prophets will rise and exhibit great signs and wonders—perhaps “magical” things like sleight-of-hand and distractions?—that have us looking in one direction while our very salvation is being threatened from another. Will we want to “see” them, believing that, if we can witness what the false teachers are up to, we will be able to determine if they are believable ourselves? To the contrary, Jesus says flatly, “Don't believe it.”
Ryan McClure
Seeing Is Not Believing
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John 10:1
Old Testament prophecies of the coming of the Messiah prepared people to think of Him as a Shepherd (Psalm 23; Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:11-16, 23; 37:24). In John 10:1, Jesus explains that the shepherd enters by the gate, the lawful way of going into a sheep pen as opposed to some other way. By this, He contrasts himself with false messiahs, who by deceitful claims seek to steal sheep or who presumptuously try to exert control over the people. Jesus Christ came as the legitimate Heir of the chosen seed and fulfilled the promises of the Old Testament.
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Good Shepherd (Part One)
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2 Corinthians 11:4
Paul speaks here of "whom we have not preached." A person can preach in the name of Christ, but they may preach the wrong Jesus. He can make references to God yet be completely off the track. The apostle uses a bit of sarcasm here. He does not want the Corinthians to "put up with" that false teacher at all. We have to be very careful about what we allow into our minds. Many church members turn on radio and television preachers they know do not have God's Spirit, yet they listen to them, knowing such preachers are teaching a false message. They justify it by reasoning, "Well, every once in a while, I get something good out of it." This requires a very blunt response: That is stupid! Foolish! By doing this, they are putting themselves in the line of fire! It is asking to be deceived! We must be especially cautious about what we allow into our minds because whatever we take in is capable of producing a faith, that is, a belief. A faith or belief does not have to be true! And we act on what we believe. We do not say to ourselves, "What this preacher is saying is stupid, idiotic, and dumb. I don't believe it. I think I'll do it." No, we act on what we believe. The danger for us lies right here. Because if what we believe is not right and we are acting on it, we will reap the consequences. Whatever we sow, we reap (Galatians 6:7). We must be careful about what we let ourselves hear and read. All of us have been impacted by this danger before our conversion when we were absolutely defenseless. We did not know; we did not understand. But now we are aware that this principle is a very pervasive influence, and when the information we take in is false, it is not good because its roots are sunk in the sinful world and Satan the Devil, not in God! So, we must be careful, recognizing that it has already affected us, especially those who have gone through school in the last few decades. Those of the older generation escaped a direct, frontal attack from our teachers simply because we went through school when the changes were only beginning to be made. What we were taught has not affected the way we behave nearly to the extent as has happened to the younger generations. Senior citizens are blessed to have escaped the worst of this evil influence in their formative years. It did not enter the public school systems until they had finished their schooling or nearly so. The current worldview being taught had an insignificant impact on their minds. But they are still affected by it because it is all over television and the Internet. We are being drowned in it through entertainment and politics. We must be ever vigilant about what we allow in our minds!
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Wisdom of Men and Faith
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1 Timothy 6:15
With a description like this, we have only begun to scratch the surface of the sovereignty of God, especially in its importance to our Christian life and growth. Understanding even a tiny portion of God's glory, wisdom and power is much needed because the god of this world's "Christianity"—a miserable, blasphemous creature and a travesty of the truth—has given us a deceptive picture of Jesus Christ, causing us a great deal of misdirection. Some of the concepts of that false Christ, planted before conversion, remain in our minds, influencing our attitudes and choices. He has presented a portrait of a helpless effeminate, a maudlin, hand-wringing sentimentalist who is desperately trying to save humanity. If He is as He is portrayed, then He must be constantly disappointed, dissatisfied, and discouraged! In His ineptitude He is being defeated by the very creatures He is supposed to have created and be greater than. Is God so weak that Satan and sin in recalcitrant man thwart His purpose for mankind at every turn?
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Sovereignty of God: Part Two
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