"For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones."
Matthew 24:24
Things aren’t always as they appear.
I recently saw Oprah interviewing a prominent politician; they were both sitting in tall, wingback chairs in front of a fireplace at her Harpo studio in Chicago. There was nothing unusual about this program. She had conducted hundreds of interviews over the years as part of her multimedia production corporation.
It was revealed two days later, however, that this was not a typical in-studio filming. At the time of the interview Oprah was at home in Santa Barbara, California and the interviewee was at a studio in Washington, D.C. Using green screens and CGI technology, the images were manipulated to appear as if the two were having a face-to-face conversation. They weren’t in the same time zone, let alone the same room!
What a world we’re living in. This reminds me of a famous quote from Edgar Allan Poe in the mid-1800’s, “Believe nothing you hear, and only half that you see.”
We shouldn’t be surprised when everything is not as it appears. Throughout Scripture, we’re warned against being deceived—particularly in the last days. The verse above is scary because it implies that even God’s chosen ones can be misled.
Why are we so easily deceived in this age? I believe there are several reasons. The Bible predicted that there would be a dramatic increase in 1) information, 2) imposters or false teachers, and 3) wickedness. All of these factors combine to make it much more challenging to find the truth.
The tragic reality is… it’s not just evil people who will be deceived in the last days, it’s lazy people too.
The best defense against believing lies is to actively seek the truth! God has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us “into all truth” (John 16:13). We’re instructed to ask for wisdom and keep knocking on the door until we get it. He provided the answers to the test before we even sat for the exam.
Do you rationalize that “I don’t know what to believe any more” is a good excuse to not believe anything? Don’t be deceived. God desperately wants to reveal His reality to you and me, but we have to search for where the truth lies.
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