Human deceptions are expanding, becoming more massive and even more “convincing.” One wonders how one can recognize such deceptions as such and, above all, overcome them. After all, the goal of these deceptions is one’s own destruction in eternal death. The answer is actually quite simple.
Refrain from “cancel culture”
An essential reference point for understanding why the world is the way it is today and what is yet to come is the Old Testament (OT). Many consider the OT obsolete anyway, in the context of what they declare to be an “invalid Old Covenant” and the correspondingly invalid laws of God. They fail to recognize that the OT is, in many areas, the description (type) of what has been “tangibly” fulfilled in the New Testament (antitype), and that the “rest” will also be fulfilled.
Anyone who believes the OT is “old hat,” suitable at best for reading stories aloud, has already succumbed to a delusion. An extremely miserable starting position for being able to withstand what is yet to come. For the impending deception of humanity will be enormous, and “only” those who do not stand firmly on the foundation of the gospel will fall. And this gospel, to put it simply, consists of the New Testament AND the Old Testament.
This “cancel culture” is a “postmodern fad.” Only superficially, it’s the domain of the so-called left-leaning rainbow faction. But the principle of cancel culture is also quite common practice among (national) Christians described as conservative-right. The virtual abolition of the Old Testament and God’s laws are such results. The irony is that many of the preachers of a “lawless gospel” will soon impose their own “Christian laws.”
As then, so now
History repeats itself, as already announced in Ecclesiastes 1:9:
“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”
Therefore, in the present and future times, things will continue to unfold as they are already described in the Old Testament. One example is the extremely widespread rejection of the Word of God by many people who actually belong to God’s people. They refused to listen to God’s warning and admonishing words and even labeled them conspiratorial. Today, the accusations of “divisiveness and hate speech” are also expressed as an expression of this rejection.
At that time
The prophet Amos had to experience this when he wanted to proclaim the words given to him by God to the people of Israel, Amos 7:10
“Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.“
Amaziah was a priest and thus a “high official,” a figure of authority among the people, who enjoyed widespread respect due to his position. His words carried far greater weight in the eyes of King Jeroboam than a “random” prophet. This also applies to the attitude of the (gullible) people. Certainly, independent study of the written Word of God would have provided clarity as to whose words and deeds are righteous and whose are not. This applies to a king as well as to the common people. A truly timeless problem.
Can’t we also observe today that “higher-ups” in a community admonish those who insist on the Word of God and also present it, i.e., bear witness?
Today and soon
Paul predicted in his letter to Timothy that these conditions of “credulous unbelief” would continue and eventually reach a new peak. Indeed, it has long since become a norm in modern “Christianity,” 2 Timothy 4:3-4
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.“
The deceptions and seductions, not (yet) through easily detectable, blatant lies, but through the mixing of truth with untruth, have long been omnipresent. This is usually proclaimed by those who present themselves as “pious and holy” but actually deny the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:5
“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.“
Proof of God’s justice
God wants and will prove His righteousness. Romans 3:25
“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”
And this happens because the course of events is designed in such a way that every single person (the individual, not the collective! – Info) will be proof to the watching world (1 Corinthians 4:9) whether he is a true believer, a hypocrite, or a complete godless person.
For God to simply speak a “word of power” to proclaim His love and justice is (as experience shows) not enough. His love and justice are to be held before every living creature, so that everyone can recognize that God’s love is true and His judgments toward each individual human being are truly just. It is not God’s goal, nor His nature, to achieve obedience through fear, but rather through experienced and self-practiced love. The law of God (the Ten Commandments) is an expression of His character. Romans 7:12
“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.“
Ongoing dilutions
The pervasive deception, which aims to drag all humanity into ruin, will continue to escalate. And God even allows this. A truly astonishing process. But not everyone will be deceived, and this requires something essential: true faith in the written Word of God. Deceptions are inextricably linked to lies. Therefore, the only way to be armed against these lies is to cling firmly to the truth.
In order to dilute even this simple and easily practiced insight, truth was simply declared “relative.” There is no such thing as absolute truth. Relativism has indeed become widespread. It even goes so far that blue doesn’t necessarily have to be blue, but can also be perceived as green, depending on one’s position. Anyone who has fallen for such philosophy can still reflect on the eternal and absolute truth:
Jesus Christ is the truth – John 14:6
The Word of God is the truth – John 17:17
The law of God is the truth – Psalm 119:142
Thus, the entire Gospel is the written truth, whose primary goal is to show people the way out of their lostness. It is an “urgent” possibility, but not an absolute must, for God leaves people free to choose and to make their own decisions.
Not all will fall
The great temptation that is yet to come upon humanity will therefore only be able to deceive those who have not cared about the truth, who have been too lazy, too disinterested, too “hypocritical,” whatever the reason, for not taking the Word of God at what it really is.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-12:
“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.“
God keeps a way out open
Could it be that even the true believer, who has fully surrendered himself to Jesus Christ, will still fall when these seductive forces become so strong? In short: No! For God knows each of His creatures and has also promised that, in principle, only those who have not believed the Word of God will become a snare to themselves. 1 Corinthians 10:13
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.“
Such a temptation won’t just come out of the blue. Anyone who studies and internalizes the prophecies of the Bible simply needs to look at the present world with open eyes, and they will recognize that God’s promises are true. This confirmation is all the more reinforced when history is also taken into account. Anyone who follows events with a watchful eye, with firm faith and even blind trust in God’s Word, will hardly be surprised, but rather will be able to roughly estimate what adversity will be at their door next.
Bible describes who will fall
While the beast from the sea (Revelation 13) received a (supposedly) fatal wound, and the whole world is amazed at how this beast could return to its former vitality with a swollen chest, the believer is left with only a pragmatic acknowledgement. Revelation 13:3
“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.“
In Revelation 17, in which the fiery red beast (satanic power) plays a key role, it is described more specifically which people will be astonished by what is happening before their eyes. Revelation 17:8
“The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.“
Standing on the foundation of the gospel
Those who are written in the “Book of Life” and are not removed from it therefore stand on the foundation of the gospel. These are the ones who will not be surprised by the developments in this world. For the knowledge, “thus says the Lord,” is anchored in their hearts. Furthermore, God will not take drastic measures without prior announcement. Amos 3:7
“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.“
These are the very servants and prophets whose messages are described as threats, divisions, hate speech, and conspiracies intolerable to the people. The current and, above all, future treatment of these messengers of the unadulterated Word of God is also correspondingly similar. As then, so now.
It is not at all surprising that the term “fundamentalism” has long been stylized as an expression of an enemy image (Info).
The essence: Only those who firmly hold to the Word of God, who firmly believe in it, and who live it will be able to survive. This can be done without any compromise (keyword: ecumenism).
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 12:17
Bible verses from King James Version (1611)
