3 While He was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately and said, Tell us, when will this take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end (the completion, the consummation) of the age? 4 Jesus answered them, Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error]. 5 For many will come in (on the strength of) My name [[b]appropriating the name which belongs to Me], saying, I am the Christ (the Messiah), and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened or troubled, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in place after place; 8 All this is but the beginning [the early pains] of the [c]birth pangs [of the [d]intolerable anguish]. 9 Then they will hand you over to suffer affliction and tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended and repelled and will [e]begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred. 11 And many false prophets will rise up and deceive and lead many into error. 12 And the love of [f]the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity, 13 But he who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end. (AMPC, Matthew 24.)
I have purposefully highlighted the words in red, because they are of great importance in these last days. This is not to say the rest of this passage is not urgent. It is. The Lord Jesus could have started with any of the above sayings first but chose directly to answer with these words Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error].One of the greatest travesties in the assembly of believers today is this, error and deception. Lies taught as if they are the truth. There are a vast array of false teachers and false prophets proclaiming lies And many false prophets will rise up and deceive and lead many into error. And this has have done masterfully. This is so, mostly because we have been sleeping. We have not been alert or watching. To use an expression, "we have been caught with our pants down" says much to our shame and embarrassment.
A little leaven (a slight inclination to error, or a few false teachers) leavens the whole lump [it perverts the whole conception of faith or misleads the whole church] . (AMPC, Galatians 5 v 9) These words of Paul are loud and clear, they carry a weight that demands our attention. How much is a little bit of leaven? One thing is for certain, that little is already too much..... never mind the continued inclination to error or a few false teachers.
What do you believe and why do you believe it? A dual faceted question that requires an answer. Take the time and examine this, note your findings well. Much of what we believe is because we have been taught it by those who inspire us, from our respective denominational affiliations and not because the Spirit of Truth has revealed it to us.... Ponder on this, until next time.
Grace be with you all.
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