Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:51-53)
The night after the crucifixion of Christ must have been unsettling for the ones who were responsible for the death of God’s Son. And how could they have slept with all the supernatural events occurring in the night? They must have considered that it was possible that they had crucified the Son of God. But after Christ rose from the dead, they tried to suppress that information as well. They continued to persecute Christians in an attempt to defeat the work of God in spite of the fact that miracles continued. This indicates that they were deceived beyond deliverance. They could not be delivered from the deception no matter how great the evidence that they were wrong.
Christ prophesied that another equally intense and deadly period of deception will arrive with the last days. The ones who fall into its snare will undoubtedly not be recovered. If that were not true, He would not have warned us so strongly about it and with implications of eternal consequences. It will be the final deception. Individuals will pass from this deception into delusion and then apostasy, a complete abandonment of faith in Christ. All of the ingredients for a malignant, worldwide, apostasy are present in the world today.
I believe that the period of great deception has arrived. Professing Christians that refuse to avail themselves of information are in denial about the great deception, apostasy and the possibility that we are in the last days. Their willful ignorance is part of the reason deception has worked so well, grown and spread so rapidly. However, if one is not aware of the enemy, he will certainly do him or her harm. To be without essential knowledge is to be susceptible. Not being aware of deception is an invitation to Satan to come forth as a devouring lion.
There are two solid facts about deception. The first is that no one knows when he or she is deceived. Second, no one can be delivered from deception that does not believe he or she is deceived. Therefore, one must be convinced that he or she is deceived before deliverance can occur. However, there are two types of deceived people. One type will continue to believe in their doctrine in spite of evidence normally sufficient to defeat or expose it. That is the definition of delusion. The other type is non-delusional and may be convinced that they are in error. The only factor that determines whether a non-delusional individual becomes delusional is love for truth. Loving ones belief system may appear as love for truth, but that is not necessarily true. One must love truth, and his or her belief system is the result, not necessarily the object, of that love. Individual’s that do not love truth can be convinced of anything but truth.
To illustrate how powerful and widespread the deception has become, consider the following statistics. There are approximately 41,000 Christian dominations and organizations worldwide. A statistic from the late 1980’s indicated that over 270 (about 5 per week) denominations were being added yearly. They are divided over at least one point of doctrine. Imagine 41,000 denominations and their constituents (2.1 billion people) believing beyond reasonable doubt that they are right, while equally believing that everyone else is wrong. At the onset, each of the groups of professing Christians declared that no existing denomination had correct doctrine, so they were led by God to form another one. These statistics indicate that a very large number of people including professing Christians are deceived to some extent. They cannot all be right and in God’s perfect will or else being wrong does not matter. Additionally, there are several billion people involved in non-Christian religions that also believe that they are right. In fact, of the over 7 billion people that populate the earth that are in their right mind and are old enough to reason about spiritual matters, nearly everyone has settled on a belief system and are certain that they are right.
How did Christianity arrive at this point? No doubt deception was a factor. To understand it more clearly consider that most of the division occurred over peripheral doctrine. Of course, it is common for most denominations to be right on the essentials, and wrong on peripheral doctrine. However, while all essential doctrine is explicit in the Scriptures, nearly all peripheral doctrine is inferred. When peripheral doctrine becomes essential doctrine or is added to essential doctrine, another denomination is born. Peripheral doctrine is difficult to determine and debate because there are no clear scriptures for its basis. Therefore, it is defended because of emotional attachment, or because it has become essential to denominational affiliation. After peripheral doctrine passes down to the third generation, it may be equated with essential doctrine.
Another danger of elevating peripheral doctrine to essential status is that it opens a door for heresy to be added to ones belief system. Having no clear scriptural basis, peripheral doctrine can be infiltrated by or merged with heresy including paganism. Without explicit scriptures to ward off heresy, peripheral doctrine can easily become “wild card” doctrine, mutating into doctrine that produces dangerous practices such as contemplative prayer. Only individuals that have discernment, or that understand the continuum of God’s divine order, are capable of recognizing such an infection of heresy. The soteriology of some professing Christians does not permit any eternal consequences of being doctrinally wrong. Thus, the banter about heresy and deception for them is more of a game than a battle of life or death.
The bottom line is that we dwell in a vast evil domain where powerful satanic forces prey at will on the masses of secular individuals, adherents of false religions, and professing Christians that are not grounded in truth, making no distinction. As the deception thickens and delusion spreads, it will become increasingly more difficult to detect it with our senses. We will have to rely more heavily on the leading of the Holy Spirit. It will be like walking through “the valley of the shadow of death” with our eyes closed. God is more than able to lead us through. However, we have to be diligent in preparing ourselves for this period. There must be truth in us in order for the Holy Spirit to be able to guide us. If one falls into the final deception, he or she may not be delivered from the deception no matter how great the evidence that it is wrong.
The deception among Christians is so widespread. A friend of ours posted a quote by Mike Bickel, IHOP on Facebook today. As John and I are Watchmen on the Wall, I prayed for God’s help in letting my friend know about this false teacher and IHOP. Giving her websites where she can find info on Bickel and IHOP. My message to her was very considerate, caring and kind with great concern. She sent a message to me that I need not be concerned because she and her husband are Christians and there is no need to be concerned.
This happens to us 99 9/10’s of the time we warn those who are following false teachers. It is so sad because almost every person I’ve talked to concerning apostasy, etc….are from our church. I feel like I’m banging my head against a concrete wall for no reason.
Our pastor is a man of God…Biblically based and Christ centered. Therefore, we stay…we love our Brothers and Sisters in Christ and we care. If at any time, our church begins to follow a false teacher’s ideas, books, etc.—we will leave and have church here at home. I do not think our pastor will be deceived, but Satan is a master at it…unbeknownst. Jesus come quickly. Thank you, Cedric, for this article. I encourage you to continue the path that God has laid out for you.
“There must be truth in us in order for the Holy Spirit to be able to guide us.”
Indeed.
Matthew 7
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
There is a wide gate. There is also a strait (or narrow) gate. The way behind the wide gate is broad, easy, and downhill. And looking at the American evangelical church (especially the younger generations) you would think that the way behind the narrow gate was broad, easy, and down hill as well. But that is a lie. Not only is the gate that leads to life narrow, but it is followed by a narrow way!
I believe that the night will soon be upon us, and shortly afterward gross darkness. However, as it stands now we seem to be in a dusk of mass confusion and a twilight of abominable filth. The darkness is approaching quickly. And as the days grow darker and darker, the narrow gate will remain the same… but the narrow way will become narrower and narrower. I would submit that the narrow way will become so narrow that it will become unmistakably apparent to those who are on that path that they are indeed on the narrow path. Just as the broad way will become easier and easier to walk as we enter into darkness.
God bless
This deception is the great imitator and deceiver establishing his own church, the synagogue of Satan. It is not what most think it is. It is not people running through the woods nude under a full moon, nor is it a cult practicing blood sacrifice. It is the church on the corner that works in the community, does good things, but preaches that which is pleasing to the ear. It is a humanist movement, which promotes self first. You know the type, they have seminars all the time on how to acquire wealth and how to improve self esteem. It was self promotion that got the devil in trouble to begin with, and now through the false front of a Holy Church of God, he is peddling his lessons to the masses and they are eating it up because they want to believe that God wants them to be better than Him. (Isn’t that what every parent wants for their children?) It is cleverly hidden though. They sing, and break the bread, drink the grape juice. They help the homeless and include the deviants in their fellowship. Every once in a while, the High Priest of Satan that presides over them will pull a verse out of the Holy Scripture and form a new doctrine for them to follow based on a single line of misquoted text. But they do so in a way, that even those who have the word written on their hearts will gasp and call it revelation. Yes, even those who have known God can be deceived, for they want to be a part of everything that feels good too. And the greatest deception is that they are in a church, which makes them more vulnerable to blind acceptance, even if there is a still small voice telling them to get out. It is easy to ignore that voice when the adversary is shouting out things that you love to hear.
Thank you Steve for your reply to Cedric’s article, “Deception so Powerful…” You are “spot on” with your comment! Sometimes, my husband and I think we’re alone in this calling to be Watchmen. Jesus said it wouldn’t be easy to follow Him…but oh my, the rewards that await us in Heaven makes our efforts worthwhile for God’s Glory. Therefore, we keep on keeping on in spite of the fact that few heed the warnings.
Sherry: They don’t listen…The ones who will listen are the ones who are searching for “the truth”. The ones that just want their ears itched will be in the churches listening to all the smooth talk of the pastor that is telling them what they want to hear. He is telling them that GOD wants them to be healthy, wealthy and wise. He wants them to sew the seed into their ministry so they will receive ten fold what they gave. It’s the “feel good” gospel, “the name it and claim it” gospel. It’s the gospel of whatever works to keep them coming each week, be it deception they don’t care. Isn’t it about the money in the offering plate? OH, my, judgment day is indeed coming and hell is going to be so full it will be running over. They may deceive now but GOD is a fair judge. Satan won’t win in the end. My GOD reigns.