27 How can we escape being deceived in the last days?

By taking up our cross and following the Lord Jesus Christ.

By taking upon ourselves the shame and disgrace associated with Christ, going outside the camp of acceptability with Him. By allowing the Holy Spirit, who is God among us, to build and operate the Body of Christ rather than placing the head of man on the Body of Christ in order to please the educated and influential of the present age.

Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. (Jeremiah 17:5)

By keeping ourselves separate from the world, remembering that the world will hate us when Christ is in us. By keeping ourselves and our family under the blood of Christ, in the ark of safety.

By walking in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to Christ.

By regarding ourselves as strangers and pilgrims on the earth. We are in the world but not of the world. By not allowing ourselves to become yoked together with unbelievers no matter how much concern they may show for our welfare.

By coming out from among the peoples of the world and not touching unclean, unholy things, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II Corinthians 7:1).

By the above actions and attitudes we keep ourselves from the wicked one and resist his "friendly," "kind," "considerate" approaches to us. When we are hanging on the cross with Christ we can see through the friendly face of Satan to the black heart in which is burning the Lake of Fire—the eternal torment God has prepared for the devil and his angels.

When the serpent speaks to us words of "love" and "concern" we can smell on his breath the odours of corruption, of demons, of the murderers of Christ.

Such discernment and perception are given only to those persons who are crucified to the world and the world to them.

How about you, dear believer in Christ? Is the world one big happy garden to you, filled with friendliness and concern for your physical welfare? Or is it the shadow of death in which Christ was murdered by His own people; in which the Christian families of the early centuries were tortured and murdered by the bloodthirsty, demon-possessed, insane government of which they were citizens?

Do you think the world actually has changed from the days in which the men, women, boys, girls, and babies of the churches, of the same Body of which you are an integral part, were eaten by lions in the arenas of Rome?

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