CHAPTER FOUR –CHRIST'S GREAT WARNING
Back to The Rise of False Prophets
The parallel chapters of Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 ALL are generally referred to as the Olivet Prophecy. We will see that there are several powerful warnings in Matthew’s account, all referencing either deception or false prophets, or both.
Three times, in Matthew 24 ALL, Christ warns of those who would come and “deceive many.” Notice Matthew 24:5 “For many shall come in My name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Surely none will doubt that this has happened—both in the world and in the Church. Many have, in fact, come “in [Christ’s] name,” which means by His authority, and many—actually vast millions—have been deceived. But this is also true of God’s Church. About 80 percent of the WCG have left the truth. Certainly “many” were deceived there!
But Matthew 24:11 is more specific. While it also warns of “many” being deceived, the difference here is that the deception is at the hands of “false prophets.” This unquestionably is a warning to the Church!
How do we know?
Matthew 24:12-13 speak directly to the Church. It is only in the Church where people may not endure to the end. It is only in the Church where iniquity (lawlessness) could abound in such a way as to cause godly love to grow cold (normal brotherly love will certainly disappear in the world). These are conditions in the Church!
Do not miss this crucial point. False prophets are foretold to deceive THE CHURCH at the end!
Keep this fundamental truth in mind: THERE HAS NEVER BEEN AN IMPORTANT WARNING THAT CHRIST HAS GIVEN TO HIS CHURCH THAT HAS NOT BEEN LARGELY IGNORED!
Ponder this! Will you ignore the stunning warning of the next four-verse passage? Remember, Christ is warningthe Church about deception at the end.
The world has always been deceived (Rev. 12:9)! So, only with the above starting point in mind can we properly address the specific nature of Matthew’s warning. It speaks of conditions in the world and in the Church just before Christ’s Return: “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 show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. 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” ('Matthew 24:23-26).
Several elements stand out here, and each requires consideration. First, Jesus warns His disciples that theycould be deceived. Notice the repeated use of the word “you.” But think. Since the disciples did not live in the end time, but we do, the warning was not for them but rather for us. See Matthew 24:3!
The splinter leader who claims to be That Prophet has been telling his followers that “God’s very elect can NEVERbe deceived.” Because Christ uses the phrase “if possible” ('Matthew 24:24), this man cites this phrase as proof that deception, for the very elect, is impossible. He tries to make a distinction between the “elect” and the “veryelect,” when the Bible makes no such distinction! So many have asked me about this passage that it must be clarified and understood. The idea that it is not possible to deceive the elect is absolutely ludicrous. But we need to understand why it is so preposterous—and why it is such a dangerous trap!
Consider! What is the point of Christ warning His disciples—or the “very” elect—about false prophets and false Christs if they cannot possibly be deceived? Think hard about this. Jesus also reminds them that “Behold, I have told you before” (Matthew 24:25). This means He had previously warned them about this same danger. What is the point of multiple warnings, if there is no danger? It insults God to suggest that free moral agents cannot be deceived (particularly when the god of this world has not yet been bound). This is because it makes His warnings pointless. This faulty reasoning parallels classic, long-time Protestant thinking of “once-saved-always-saved.” Just substitute this with “once enlightened, can’t be deceived.”
Those accepting this man’s line of reasoning simply have not understood their Bible. Such people are alreadydesperately deceived! Realize that it also serves a false prophet’s purpose to tell you that if you follow HIM, you cannot be deceived. If someone follows a false prophet or a false Christ, he is already terribly deceived. Understand what has happened.
This extremely clever deception proves in itself the truth of Jesus’ words. His reference to potential deception (“if possible”) is not a hollow warning—it is not Bible “filler material.” Actually, Christ’s instruction in Matthew is one of the greatest warnings in the New Testament!
Deception at the end is apparently so great that the potential exists for God’s people to follow not only false prophets, but also FALSE CHRISTS! Jesus is saying that the subtlety and sheer deception necessary for such a false prophet or false messiah to succeed must be staggering! To brush off this greatest of all warnings as not a warning at all (because it cannot happen to the “very elect”) is one of the GREATEST DECEPTIONS I HAVE EVER HEARD!
If you have bought into this—WAKE UP!
Understand. A false prophet, let alone a false messiah, is already a deceiver. He is not slowly becoming one. He is already a proven, cunning deceiver! It is in his interest to convince you that following him eliminates all danger of deception. Do you understand this? Will you consider it? I repeat, if this means you, WAKE UP! All who follow this man are in grave jeopardy—NOW!
It has been my experience that people always start by assuming that other people are either deceived or in danger of it. Like the old saying “accidents only happen to others,” most seem to unconsciously suppose that this is true of deception. This becomes its own enormous deception!
In summary, if one claims to be not only a true prophet, but also That Prophet, then you are in the presence of afalse prophet and a FALSE CHRIST! I cannot state powerfully enough the serious peril that you are in! It is hoped that by now you have been sobered by Mr. Armstrong’s words and the words of your Bible. They are absolutely compatible! If you are part of the organization following That Prophet, you are in the presence of a false, blasphemous human idol who seeks to “steal your crown” through directing your worship to himself. If this man tells you that he is trying to help you, then remember Satan told Eve that if she would do what he said, “Thou shalt not surely die.”
I tell you, do not believe either your false leader, or me alone, believe your Bible and Mr. Armstrong!
When faced with those saying that Christ is “here or there,” Jesus warns, “believe it not” (Matt. 24:26). Yet, today, many former brethren now follow another, different false prophet who purports this very thing. Will you believe false prophets and false Christs, or the true Jesus Christ, who states that deception will get much worse (Matthew 24:24) and that some false prophets and false Christs will perform miracles, deceiving many, including manybrethren—some of whom now believe that it is impossible for this to happen to themselves?
Does this concern you? It should. The Head of the Church foretold that this would happen and that many people—some of your brethren—would be duped when it does. None could have believed that more than 110,000 people (75%) would walk away from the truth, and yet they did! But perhaps the most astonishing fact is that they did this much more easily than most could have ever dreamed.
Will you believe that Jesus Christ meant what He said?
Back to The Rise of False Prophets