The Deception is Already Here
The Deception is Already Here
When we hear the word “deception” mentioned in the Bible, most of us immediately think, or should, of Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24. I suggest you read the chapter first and then continue here:
4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. – Matthew 24:4-5
When we read this, we get the impression that this is a deception that is still to take place in the future. However, what Jesus is pointing at here is the deception firstly about false Christs. This has already taken place for a long time, but there will be a time when the severity increases. Let us have a look at the first mention of the devil’s plan of deception focused on driving man away from God. I am not going to give all of the verses here; just the references. I want you to look in your own Bible and read them for yourself.
In Genesis 3 the devil comes to Eve in the form of a serpent. He tricks her with a question posed at a statement. Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? The sentence is phrased in such a way that it is difficult for Eve to give a clear answer. The devil creates confusion and in this midst of this, she actually replies correctly in verses 2 and 3. However, doubt has already been sown. She ends with “…neither shall you touch it, lest ye die.” This is the truth. The devil brings the lie: “…Ye shall not surely die.” The argument he delivers is fateful; she is deceived and sins. The sin that then entered the world would take the death of One Person to rectify and redeem man.
Paul addresses the church in Thessalonica and responds to their questions following his teaching in the first letter, explaining the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18). It is clear that after the first letter there were people who wrote a false letter in the name of Paul (verse 2) to confuse people. Paul states that this letter was not from him (“nor by a letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”). It required him to write a second letter and set the record straight. See 2 Thessalonians 2. What we see here is that already in Paul’s time there were those who wanted to deceive believers through false media (handwritten letters). Read the chapter first and then continue here.
Paul gives us a timeline of the events that are to follow still in the far future for him, but today in our time very present. He says the day of Christ (verse 2) will not come unless there is a falling away (apostasy) first. The question is what “falling away” refers to. Some argue that this is the sign of serious apostasy, while others say it refers to the rapture. We are convinced that “falling away” refers to a falling away from the truth of what people had already been told. That this falling away takes place in the church, is very clear. Eve had the truth and allowed it to be taken from her and replaced with a lie. The Church has the truth in the Word, but they allow it to be taken from them and replaced with deception.
Once the falling away has started, it opens the way for the man of sin to be revealed, who is also called the son of perdition. However, there is also an event that will take place before the man of sin (the antichrist) is revealed: the removal of the Church at the time of the rapture. See verse 7. The church, along with the working of the Holy Spirit, is the restrainer that still holds back massive global deceit. Once the Church is out of the picture, the man of sin moves in and takes over.
How does he do it? Through signs and lying wonders (verse 9) and with deceivableness in them (unbelievers) that perish. What agent does he use to accomplish this? Simply the fact that they will not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved (verse 10). He leaves them to do the dirty work themselves first and then he capitalises on them. They made a conscious choice not to accept the truth, and now they reap the consequences. These people are in a real predicament now. They have already turned their backs on the truth (John 14:6) and so cannot return. To make it worse, God Himself will send them a delusion to believe a lie, and cannot believe the truth anymore, so that they are damned because they did not believe the truth but enjoyed the lie of unrighteousness.
Again, the question is whether this is still in the future or is already happening in our time. Deception is everywhere. Just look at the media. There is hardly a television or radio channel that does not push a leftist, satanic, and woke agenda. The attack is not even against the Word of God anymore. Anything that has been normal up to now is condemned as wrong. The masses are bombarded with lies every single minute of the day, and social media channels are filled with so-called “influencers” that push an anti-Christian agenda. They believe it because they do not want to measure it against the real standard, the Word.
Worst of all, many (fortunately not all) of our churches are run by pastors and “leadership teams” who are mostly not saved, poorly qualified and experienced, definitely not called, and not fit to hold the office of pastor, elder, or deacon. These are the people that are responsible for the falling away inside the church as they are misleading their members. They removed the ministry of elder and deacon, accepted women on the pulpit as pastors, and stopped preaching doctrine, replacing doctrine with man-made motivational speeches.
The apostasy starts in the church. Why? Because this is where the truth was upheld, but the truth has been replaced with a lie. The masses that remain after the rapture of the Church (“them that perish”, verse 10), will be deluded to believe the biggest lie of all, when Antichrist sits in the temple and proclaims himself to be God (verse 4). This is the man that is going to crush them, before he himself is eventually crushed by Jesus Christ on his return (Revelation 19).
Paul ends the chapter with the second part, namely that God has chosen them to salvation (to be saved) through sanctification (a constant process of holiness). In the context this refers to the recipients of his second letter but it has a wider application and also applies to believers today. However, there is an acid test for you to measure yourself against. This test is sanctification. Are you allowing God to do a work in your life to become more holy, or are you resisting Him every day because of your worldly attitude and unrepented sin? Maybe you should read Leviticus 19:2 and 1 Peter 1:16 in this regard and take it as a well-meant warning.
What Should You Do?
As the clock speeds towards the final second before the current dispensation of grace ends, do not allow yourself to be deceived even by so-called safe social media reports. Test them against the Word. Earlier this year (2025) there were many who said that the rapture was going to take place. It did not happen, and it shook the faith of many. You are required to look at the circumstances around you as evidence that the end is near, seen in the deception that is all around us, but it is not for you to determine the date Jesus will gather the Church. Live in faith, allow yourself to be conformed through the Holy Spirit, and be increased in holiness, which only God can produce in your life (verse 13).
While you can, turn away from the lie of deception (the media) and return to the truth, the Word of God.
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