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. Matthew 24:4, 5.
As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has long professed to look to the Saviour’s advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation…. The shout of triumph rings out upon the air, “Christ has come! Christ has come!” The people prostrate themselves in adoration before him…. In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed….
Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures, and who have received the love of the truth, will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive.
The Saviour has warned His people… , and has clearly foretold the manner of His second coming. “There shall arise false Christs…. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:24-27. This coming, there is no possibility of counterfeiting. It will be universally known—witnessed by the whole world….
Are the people of God now so firmly established upon His Word that they would not yield to the evidence of their senses? Would they, in such a crisis, cling to the Bible, and the Bible only?
The Faith I Live By p. 346
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Prayer Requests
—-I somehow put my back out and am pretty miserable. Please pray that it will get better soon. Rose
—-My friend’s husband filed a restraining order against her. I don’t understand what he is trying to accomplish but she said she is trapped and scared and needs prayer. Rachelle
—-A coworker of my husband, his son, in his 20s, was hit in the head with a nail from a nail gun at work.
He has been flight lifted to the hospital and is having seizures! Please pray for healing and for his family. Cynthia
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Dear Friends,
Have you ever felt lonely in a crowd? We all have at times. Have you ever felt homesick for your childhood home and wished you could go back? Often I feel homesick for the home of my childhood. I sometimes go online and look at the home of my childhood and wish I could knock on the door and ask if I could come inside and walk through the rooms and remember. Many times I wish I could sit on my grandfather’s daybed and listen to his stories again.
Our Heavenly Father yearns to have us home with Him even more than I wish that I could go back to those days and be with my grandpa again. Often we say we wish Jesus would come and put an end to the sin and misery of this old world. Yet, how easy it is for us to get so busy, so caught up in the things of this world that we forget that He is longing for the same. We forget to make the needed preparation and by our actions we say “my Lord delayeth His coming.” Luke 12:45
One day as He was with His disciples, Jesus spoke a parable that is good for us to remember, “ye yourselves (are) like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” Luke 12:36-48
Peter reminds us, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” 2 Peter 3:9-14
Our Master has asked us to put self aside and follow Him fully and completely that we may meet Him with joy. It is natural to shrink back from sharing a word in due season for fear of being ridiculed, but He bids us to share the good news of salvation with others that they, too, may be glad at His coming. It is normal to want a life of ease instead of hardship. But our Dear Saviour has promised, “lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Matt 28:20 Now is the time to forget the pleasing of self in order to do a far more important work, the work of bringing others to Jesus. Now is the time to deny self, looking forward to the time when our Great Redeemer will say, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matt 25:34
How often we forget where our priorities should lie. How many times we want the time for rejoicing to be in this present world as well as in the world to come. How vital it is that we have the Heavenly eyesalve that is ours for the asking. (Rev 3:18,19) How much we need to pray, “Show me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.” “Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.” Ps 25:4,5;119:33 James assures us, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” James 1:12
Let us pray that we may serve Him with our whole heart and soul and strength all the way to the end. Let us lay aside the pleasures of this world and “fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” 1 Tim 6:12 Let us be faithful and watchful servants, keeping our Lord’s work always before our eyes giving diligence to make our calling and election sure, that we may go home to be with the One Who loves us so. (2 Peter 1:10)
Rose
The Crowning Act of Deception