Script embedded in HTML

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately…[1] Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many…[2] And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many…[3] Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before[hand].[4]

These scattered verses within Matthew 24 relate to the same topic and issue. The Lord Jesus has just spent some time describing the future of the people of Israel.

If you go back a couple of chapters to chapter number 21, the Lord Jesus had given a parable to His disciples, the chief priests, and the Pharisees in which He described the condition of the children of Israel. A householder owned some land and sent messengers to evaluate those whom the landowner had placed in care of the crops. Those left in charge of the crops killed all of the messengers that the landowner sent to assess the managers and the crops.

Finally, the landowner sent his son to check up on the property and those who tended it. When those left in charge of the property saw the son coming said, “Hey, this is the son of the owner. Let’s get rid of him, and then everything will be ours.” Therefore, they destroyed the son as well.

At the end of the parable, Jesus asked them, “What do you think the landowner will do when he comes back himself and checks up on those who had supposedly taken care of the land that he entrusted to them.”

Immediately they shouted back, “He will destroy them, and he will take away that which he had entrusted to them and give it to someone else.” 

Jesus...I imagine he pointed his finger...spoke to them and said, “That will happen to this generation. The kingdom that was given to you will be taken away from you and given to someone else.” 

Then it says they knew He talked about them. They knew the meaning of that parable.  

At the end of chapter 23, Jesus concluded a strong sermon against the scribes and Pharisees and denounced them for their hypocrisy. He closed His message to them with the reminder that He had sent unto them prophets and messengers to speak to them, and they had killed and persecuted them. Then Jesus told them,  “Because you have done that to My messengers, the very blood of everyone from Abel up through the Zacharias, all of the blood of all those prophets and messengers that I sent unto you, will come upon you, because you have rejected the messengers that I has sent unto you. It shall happen to this generation,” the generation to whom He was speaking.

That provides the background to verse number three. Next, Jesus foretold of the destruction of the Temple. After hearing these messages, Christ's disciples went apart to Jesus and asked Him, “When will this happen? How will it come to a conclusion?”

This brings us to where Jesus said, “Take heed, listen...” He gave them a warning regarding false prophets. He told them of the presence and the increase of false prophets. That happened. In fact, we have seen over the series of these studies that it has happened for centuries. It did not just occur to the time that Jesus described in Matthew 24. It has happened over the centuries. Since we still have false prophets and teachers today, we can learn from Christ's warning. We can learn from what the Lord Jesus told them, apply it to our day, so that we can take heed that no man deceive us. 

Before we examine the warning about false prophets, we need to recognize two things. First, the phrase “Take heed” not only means “Beware, watch out, look out for” but also “Discern.” His warning carried two meanings. On the one hand, it says, “Beware. Watch out. Be on the look out.” On the other hand, it means “Discern.”

As He presented His warning, Jesus provided several characteristics about false prophets that will help the Church today resist them. First, His warning assumed their presence. He did not say that false prophets might come. He said they would come. It was a certainty. Biblical and Church history has confirmed this statement. God's people have always faced false leaders, centuries before Christ and after Him as well. They still exist today.

Second, Jesus warned them of the prevalence of false prophets. Some might think that they would come from time to time, a few “kooks” and “nuts” with mental conditions or emotional instabilities. In that case, you might just dismiss them easily. However, Christ warned that many would come. Again, the condition of the Church today not only verifies their presence but their prevalence. Many false teachers and leaders confuse believers and lead them astray.

Third, these instruments of evil will exhibit great persuasiveness. With their impressive manner, they will sway multitudes. They will deceive many, many people who will follow them. The flocks and the crowds will clamor after them. Their deceits will prove so effective and winsome that the true children of God will almost fall for their deceptions. These false leaders will enjoy great popularity.

I have seen it come true in our day. I have watched men and women practice their deceitfulness to huge crowds. In city after city, multitudes swarm their meetings with enthusiastic responses, following them like sheep to a slaughter. Their books climb the bestseller lists. Some have even formed international denominations. Without question, the warning of Christ applies to our day. We must heed it.

Fourth, Jesus warned us that these emissaries of evil would come in His name. He said, “Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ.”[5] Some will come who will claim to be Christ. Throughout history, many have made this claim. They take the name of Jesus for themselves, completely rejecting, denying, denouncing the Jesus presented to us in Scripture. Others will state that they come as the messenger of Jesus, declaring validity for their messages. They come in a variety of means: the internet, television, and radio. They proclaim their evil in books and magazines, telling people to follow them, the “messenger of Jesus.”

Why should anyone believe on the Jesus presented in the Bible? We should follow the One presented in the bible for two reasons. The Bible describes the characteristics and actions that only one person has fulfilled: Jesus. No one else has fulfilled all of the signs, prophecies, and the predictions given to us in the Bible regarding the Messiah except the Jesus described for us in Scripture. Further, historians have recorded His life and have described Him exactly as the Bible has described Him. Therefore, the Scriptures give to us confirmation that Jesus satisfies all criteria, not some other false christ who comes along and assumes the title. Jesus as described for us in Scripture is the true Messiah. 

Furthermore, we should believe on the Jesus presented in the Bible because of the proof of experience. Everywhere men and women have proclaimed the gospel of Christ it has produced the same response, without regard to color, nationality, society, education, or wealth. People throughout history, who have called upon the name of Jesus as described in Scripture, have experienced the exact same life change, without variation or change, always, always, always.

Fifth, false prophets and teachers will give demonstrations of power. Jesus warned, “There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders…”[6] What does Jesus mean by this description?

The word “great” comprises two meanings. One of them describes quality, like a great meal, tasteful as well as healthful. Further, it means quantity, abundance. Thus, a great meal can include the quality of the food as well as the amount of the food. So, false prophets and teachers will provide signs and wonders of high quality and abundance. They will not give some trick or slight of hand, but high quality actions, and many of them.

What does the word “signs” mean? It describes some unusual occurrence that transcends the common course of nature. These false christs will do magnificent things, something beyond what can ordinarily happen. They will use those occurrences and multiple occurrences as evidence of their calling. “See, I told you. I told you I was the Christ. I told you I was from Jesus, and I had his message. Look what I have done.”

Not only will they have these attesting signs but wonders, too. The wonders talk about the miraculous. A false Church leader may have the ability to perform miraculous things, supernatural things, things not commonly done by people. Some false leaders will do miraculous manifestations and claim a special anointing of God upon them.

Now, you can see why they will sway many people to follow them. No wonder many conclude, “Oh, he is so good, clever, and comes in the name of Jesus. He even uses His name every now and then. In his message, he talks about Jesus, and he does all wonderful things that no human can ordinarily do. Surely, he must be a good man. Surely, she must be a good woman for me to follow. Most assuredly this one is a prophet of God.”

Moses gave to us a description of this very thing in Deuteronomy 13 centuries before Jesus did. Long before anyone rose up and did it, Moses described this exact occurrence to help us know how to make the distinction. How do we know? How can we discern the difference between the false and the true, the true messenger of God and the false messenger of God? Sometimes they say similar things. So how can we know? 

Moses issued this warning: “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass...”[7]  That describes what we just considered. Did not Jesus say that this would happen?

Then Moses gave the discerning moment. If along with the sign and the wonder and that (s)he performs, if (s)he also says, “Let us go after other gods,”[8] don’t’ follow that one, because (s)he is a false prophet.

Note the point that Moses makes here. When someone comes in the name of Jesus and calls out to you to follow his/her teachings, examine what this leader teaches in addition to the supernatural demonstrations. Do the teachings lead you to Christ? Do they develop the doctrinal truths of Scripture and point out to you what the Bible says? Does (s)he give another gospel, something not presented in Scripture?

Isaiah the prophet counseled God's people on this issue, too. He said, “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?”[9] Then Isaiah described how to evaluate these circumstances: “To the law and to the testimony.”[10] When he mentions the law and the testimony, he means the Scriptures, called the law and the testimony in that day. In essence Isaiah instructed the people of God to go to the Scriptures. “If they (the false prophets) speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”[11]

The Scriptures are the final authority. Take the message that they proclaim and evaluate if it agrees with scripture. What do they say about the gospel? Frequently, this point identifies the first point of deviation. They reject the cross. They reject salvation through Christ alone. They reject salvation through his blood. They reject the payment of blood of Jesus for the penalty of sin for people like you and me. They teach you something else.

Jesus loved His disciples, and He gave to them a warning, “Take heed that nobody deceive you. For many shall come to you with my name saying, ‘I am Christ.’” They shall come in the name of Jesus saying, “I am the messenger of Christ. I am His prophet. I am His apostle. I am His teacher and messenger. Listen to me. Follow me. Look at all of the things I can do. I must have the anointing of God upon me. That certainly is the confirmation that I am his messenger because look at what I am doing.’”

The Church today needs to heed this message of Jesus. False prophets, pastors, and teachers abound. They influence multitudes with their deceits and apparent confirmations from God. The evil one uses them to divide and destroy the Church. With increasing occasions, the followers of Christ must regard His warnings. We need to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to discern the false from the true so that we may again experience God's glorious manifest presence in our lives.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for giving us this lesson and preserving for us these instructions that you gave to your disciples hundreds of years ago. They still apply to us today and can serve to warn us and open our eyes that we might discern that which is false from that which is truth. Open our eyes, Holy Spirit, to see the true and the living Christ as revealed to us in the Scriptures. We ask you, Spirit of God, to bring forth that into our lives for I pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Amen.