The Bible is clear that there will be great deception in the last days. Jesus warned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, “Take heed that no one deceives you.” And Paul wrote by the Spirit that some would “depart from faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils” in 1 Timothy 4:1. I believe that we are watching this take place in our time. Many are being led astray because they are not prepared spiritually. They do not know God’s Word as they should. They have neglected prayer and fellowship with the Lord. Because of that, they are open to deception.
One of the greatest dangers is this hour is the trickery of deception. It does not come wearing a label warning that says, “This is false.” It comes through teachings, and social media, that sound good in the natural mind but are not rooted in the Word of God. It comes through emotional experiences like feelings that are mistaken for the Spirit of God. It comes through ministries that draw people after themselves instead of after Jesus.
The Spirit of God has said repeatedly that through prophecy and written word that many would be deceived in the last days. Yet many act as though this could never happen to them. They believe they are too mature or too grounded to fall for it. This is pride, and it opens the door wide open to deception.
Deception comes through lack of spiritual preparation. Many believers fail to spend the time with God that they neglect His Word. They become spiritually dull because thru neglect prayer. When they are in that condition, they cannot discern truth from error.
God always prepares His people if they listen. But many do not listen. They choose entertainment over time with Him. Thru choose the opinions of people over the truth of the Word. Because of this, their spiritual discernment is poor. When false teachings or false movements arise, they are swept along because they are not well grounded.
They can be deceived by the wrong associations. The Bible says, “Do not be deceived, evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Corinthians 15:33). If we continually listen to voices that are not speaking truth, it will affect us. Even if we think we are strong it can dull our spiritual edge. Many have been sitting under wrong teachings or being influenced by believers who are not walking in truth.
Some believers are deceived because they desire manifestations more than they desire God’s Word. They run after signs and wonders but do not judge what they see by the scriptures. Remember satan counterfeits everything God does. He will produce lying signs and wonders. If we do not know God’s Word, we will not know the difference. The Holy Spirit will never lead us contrary to the Word of God. If we stay full of God’s Word, we will not be deceived.
Many believers will be deceived by rejecting sound doctrine. They want messages that please their flesh. They want to hear about blessings and prosperity, not holiness, obedience, and the fear of the Lord. We need to seek out churches that are seeker-scary, rather than the ones that are seeker-friendly. If we’re not getting convicted by the truth, it’s not a true church. If we only feed on messages that appeal to our flesh, we can be an easy target for deception.
There is only one way to safeguard ourselves against deception – a strong foundation in the Word of God, a life of prayer, a heart that is humble and teachable before the Lord. We have to judge everything we hear by God’s Word. We must “test the spirits.” If we don’t stay till of the Holy Spirit we will be in danger.
Don’t open a door to pride, through neglect, or wrong associations. Don’t ignore checks in our spirits. When we ignore the checks by the Holy Spirit, we override the warnings of the Holy Spirit and will open ourselves up the deception.
Today it is more important than ever to stay spiritually alert. Don’t assume you cannot be deceived. Test everything by the written Word of God, and listen to our inward voice.
God is speaking to all believers clearly, but we just have ears to hear Him. It’s more important than ever to stay close to Him and stay on the right path.
From Pity to Praise 