Take Heed That No One Deceives You

The Lord Jesus Christ gave a somewhat curveball to Peter, James, John, and Andrews to their three part question:

Matthew 24.3, "Tell us, they said, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" Jesus answer was a warning, "Watch out that no one deceives you." What follows were the "no signs" until you get to verse 15 which will be taken up later as you will see. Let's take a closer look at our Lord.

1) “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1.14)

2) “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means God with us). (Matthew 1.23)

3) “This Jesus God raised up; of that we are all witnesses.” (Acts 2.32) Fact: The Koran denies this.

4) "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, with we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the words of life.” (1 John 1.1)

5) “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” (Mark 8.31)

6) “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12.38-39)

7) “You yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10.37-38)

One of the biggest evils we face in the world today is political correctness (PC) which has reached epidemic proportions. Political correctness is a fact of life and in my opinion is nothing more than the theology of the highly educated in many cases the unsaved and sadly many who say they are saved. A fact that is particularly the case in the United States is to bow a knee before the godless Humanist Manifesto envisioned PC.

Author and Professor William Deresiewicz states rather distinctly, “Let us eschew the familiar examples: the disinvited speakers, the Title IX tribunals, the safe zones stocked with Play-Doh, the crusades against banh mi. The flesh-eating bacterium of political correctness, which feeds preferentially on brain tissue, and which has become endemic on elite college campuses, reveals its true virulence not in the sorts of high-profile outbreaks that reach the national consciousness, but in the myriad of ordinary cases—the everyday business-as-usual at institutions around the country—that are rarely even talked about.”

What PC has done is leaving a majority of people in the world who feel PC has stilted important discourse between those that practice self-censorship of Christianity preventing intelligent conversation with anyone who is not a believer not being offended. A recent poll by the Cato research group reflects how important discourse is prevented. Seventy one percent feel PC has gone too far and left a lot of people drifting.

In some respects, PC has plagiarized the Word of God. What I mean by this is that the principles found in the Bible are taken within PC without giving proper credit to the Book that has weathered storm after storm and remains as strong today as it ever has in the past. If anyone used their principles without giving proper credit there would certainly be lawsuits.

We are to love those who are in sin but always try to bring them out of the darkness into the light of love. After all, someone did the same for you, and I at some time in the past. Multiculturalism is well established under PC which in part is trying to nudge out the Judeo-Christian ethic and a Christian worldview. Multiculturalism, carefully examined, is the new Stalinist communism.

Christian principles on the other hand, authentically applied, prevents a person walking in the light of practicing improper behavior without defining their actions as being wrong. Christians by nature have a new heart complete with a “changed mind” which allows them to treat people with respect and kindness.

Christianity when a person is walking as the Christians from the past produces a man or woman of character and discipline to do the right thing. Every Jew and Christian together need to fight back against this seemingly benign evil or face the consequences. It is my goal to deliver the truth in love for those that are seeking it.

What is the average Christian giving up? They are giving up a life of sin. Jesus sacrifice on our behalf was unimaginable in proportion. And when we know who He was and what He willingly gave up it should begin to help make the difference to each of us when coming to terms with the enormous magnitude of His sacrifice and produce a go 24 hours a day 8 days a week.

Let us take a close look at our Lord and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: He had the same kind of body as ours by historical records. He experienced hunger when he fasted (Matthew 4.2), and our Lord had thirst (John 19.28), and fatigue after a long walk (John 4.6). Jesus suffered physically and died a horrible death. Hebrews 2.10 tells us Jesus was made perfect through His sufferings. Can we say the same?

Hebrews 2.9 tells us “But we see Him who for a little while was make lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowed with glory and honor because of the suffering of death so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”

Jesus felt strong emotions for those around Him (John 11.5; 13.23; 19.26) Jesus felt compassion and pity for those who were affected or hungry and spiritually afflicted as well (Matthew 9.36; 14.14; 15.32; 20.34). He was distressed and troubled about His forthcoming suffering and death (Luke 12.50; John 12.27). He also was deeply sadden and troubled when considering that Lazarus would betray Him (John 13.21).

Jesus intellectual abilities clearly reveal He had knowledge of the past, present, and future far beyond that of the average person of the time. He stated, “I can do nothing on my own” (John 5.30) that is, nothing supernatural on His own. At 12 years of age he knew the Scriptures (Luke 2.46-47) in His discussions with teachers in the Temple. He knows the thoughts of His friends (Luke 9.47) and His enemies (Matthew 9.4).

He knew the Samaria woman had five husbands and living with a man she was not married (John 4.18). Jesus knew of Lazarus had died even though miles away (John 11.1; 11-14). He knew of Judas betraying and would then turn Him over to those who wanted to kill Him (John 6.70-71). Jesus told Peter of his deny of Him three times and the rooster crow three times after Peter’s denial (Luke 22.34).

Finally, the so called Olivet discourse of Matthew 24, where Jesus held a briefing with Peter, James, John, and Andrew. So, the group ask Jesus three questions, and He then gives them a two-chapter answer. The next verse gives a flavor of His answer. Jesus said,

“Take heed that no one deceives you"

The first Pentecost after the death and resurrection of Jesus sees the coming of the Holy Spirit to create the Church by baptizing believers into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). The age of the Church runs its course within the times of the Gentiles between Pentecost and the rapture.

This is the great parenthesis. The seven Feasts of Moses are not only commemorative, they are also prophetic. Remember, Colossians 2.16-17 states, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” The first three, in the month of Nisan, are predictive of the First Coming of Jesus.

The last three, in the month of Tishri, are associated with His Second Coming. Remember this, "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4.16-17)

It is this one, in between, which is associated with the Church. The course of the Church age is pictured in Matthew 13 and Revelation 2 and 3. The close of the Church age is seen in 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 4:3-4; and 2 Peter 2:1-3; 3:3-4. A false (harlot) Church dominates the tribulation period after the rapture of the true church (the Bride of Christ).

There are two sieges of Jerusalem in view in this tremendous foretelling of Jesus Christ in His last visit to the Temple before His death. He sits on the mountain with His close associates. The group of future Apostles are told that the beautiful Temple they admired will be destroyed by the invading Roman general Titus Vespian in 70 AD. I can only imagine how they felt knowing it would come true.

In April 70 CE, about the time of Passover, the Roman general Titus besieged Jerusalem allowing pilgrims in the city but refusing to let them leave. This strategy strategically depleted food and water supplies in Jerusalem. Josephus, a Jew who had commanded rebel forces but then defected to the Roman cause, attempted to negotiate a settlement, but, because he was not trusted by the Romans and was despised by the Jewish rebels. The talks went nowhere.

The Zealots, the militant anti-Roman party, struggled with other Jewish factions that had emerged, further weakening the resistance even more. The Romans effectively encircled the city with a wall cutting off supplies to Jerusalem completely and thereby driving the Jews to starvation.

There is so much more to say, but I have given you a lot to look up and ponder. God’s blessings, Gary