How to Keep from Being Deceived: Deception in the End Times
by Betty Miller
“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, 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.” Matthew 24:3-5
Jesus was asked some very important questions by his disciples and among them was, “What shall be the sign of his coming and the end of the world?” From His answer we can deduce that the most important sign of his coming is a warning that deception will be prevalent in the earth and especially religious deception and that we, as Christians, must be on guard that we are not deceived by other men. This being the case, we need to understand what to look for and also know how we can be deceived.
Let us start with a definition of the word “deception” from the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
- The act of making someone believe something that is not true : the act of deceiving someone
- An act or statement intended to make people believe something that is not true
So, actually we are dealing with “truth” versus “lies.” This being the case, we must first establish what “truth” is. As Christians, our standard is the Bible, so we must look at the Bible to determine what the truth is. Jesus, Himself, said he was the truth and the way and the life; however, if we chose to follow Him, truth will be revealed to us through our relationship with Him and His Word and then we can be set free from all sin and its penalties.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32
From this verse we are told “if” we continue in God’s Word we can know the truth. This means we must seek God and study the Bible if we are going to know the truth and be free from all deception. It is knowledge of the Word of God and our obedience to it that keeps us free from deception. Deception leads to destruction so in order for us to walk in life and victory, we must look to the Word of God and line up our lives with it to avoid living a defeated life.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Hosea 4:6
From this verse we know that we can experience destruction in many areas of our lives, which will ultimately affect our children as well, if we do not have the knowledge of the Word of God or if we reject it. This is why it is important to read and study the Bible daily and get involved in a Bible study. Doing this, we can begin to know what to do about our problems in life and how we can solve them by applying the Word of God to them. The Bible has the answer to every problem we face such as:
- How to raise our children
- How to have a happy marriage
- How to manage our finances
- How to overcome relationship problems
- How to be free from torment
- How to walk in health
- How to witness to others
- How to farm or garden
- How to run a business
- How to know what to eat
- How to become a servant of God
- How to hear God’s voice
- How to deal with any problem in life
- How to keep from being deceived
This list is really endless as God has an answer for every problem we could possibly face so that we can walk in victory and overcome it. Nothing is too difficult for God if we believe. My husband and I have witnessed so many miracles in our lives and the lives of others over the years; I could not begin to name them all. These miracles were the result of following the Lord in obedience to His Word. Here are just some of them as we prayed for and witnessed to people over the years. When we ministered for the Lord in our home and our meetings we saw:
- Many miracles of healing of all manner of diseases
- Tumors and cancerous growths disappearing
- Broken bones healed instantly
- Blind eyes opened
- Deafness going as hearing was restored
- Shrapnel disappearing from a man’s body
- Children returning home who had run away
- Tormenting demonic thoughts leaving people’s minds
- Addictions broken over people’s lives
- People set free from emotional pain
- Children delivered from rebellion
- Marriages healed
- Wells that had gone dry being restored with an abundance of water
- Infestations of bugs diverted from our garden and other’s crops
- Hail storms stopped
- Rain coming to drought areas
- Forest fire stopped from coming on our property
- Tornado diverted from hitting our property
- Friend’s house spared from the destruction of a hurricane
We are humbled that the Lord would use us to bring salvation, deliverance and healing to so many people over the years. I do not recount these things to boast, but rather to declare the mighty works of God so that you can be encouraged to know that God honors His Word and answers prayers. The requirement to be used of God is to die to our ways and live unto His. We must commit totally to the will of God and yield to anything He would ask us to do and then He can use us to do His works. We have no power in ourselves to see any of these things happen; they were done by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit! We praise and give God the glory for all He has done and continues to do.
“O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.” Psalm 105:1
This brings us back to the subject of this teaching which is how we can keep from being deceived in the end times? The very first thing we must do is to commit totally unto the will of God. We must be willing to give up anything or go anywhere He leads us and do anything He commands us to do. That means the hard things, like staying in an unpleasant situation so that we can be a witness of the love of God to those who despise us. In these end times, as evil is compounding in the world, there is only one safe place to be and that is in the will of God. We can be in dangerous places in the world, but God will protect us as we look to Him in faith if we are committed to Him. If we are not in the will of God, we leave ourselves unprotected and open to the attacks of the devil to deceive us and destroy us right where we are. We only have His grace to the degree we are committed to His will.
“For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11
“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” John 7:17
In order to recognize Christ’s doctrine, we must know and do the will of God. This is the bottom line to keep us from being deceived. We must line up with the Word of God. A total commitment to God and doing His will, keep us from being deceived in these end times. I am going to do a series of teachings about the many false doctrines, false prophets, deceiving spirits and other things that can lead us into deception. Please join me and pray for me as I share these teachings in the next few blogs. Here is my prayer for all of us in these critical times.
“Dear Father in Heaven, We are thankful to be Your children, and we know as we commit our lives to You that You will keep us from all evil and deception that is in the world. We are asking you to protect us and give us discernment to know when the devil is attempting to lead us in a way that is not Your will. Give us eyes to see the truth and reveal to us what we need to do in each circumstance that we face. We need your wisdom and guidance. You promised that if any of us lacked wisdom that if we asked, You would give it to us liberally. Lord, help us to know and to submit to Your will at all times. Give us Your revelation to know the truth and to walk in it in all things. Most of all, give us Your love for all of those who oppose us and give us your grace to overcome in all areas of our lives. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.”
To delve into further details concerning these topics we suggest reading Exposing Satan’s Devices by Betty Miller. Exposing Satan’s Devices is a spiritual tool chest of the many devices Satan uses to keep people under his lies and deceptions which eventually destroys them. It is an exposé of Satan and his methods and how to overcome him through spiritual warfare. As overcomers we have the victory.
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Topic: Deception in the End Times: How to not be Deceived
Related Topics: What The Bible Says about End Time Warnings; False Prophets; Lying Signs & Wonders; False Religions & Cults; Forgiveness; Repentance; Healing; Scripture Prayer for Healing; Scriptural Prayer for Protection
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