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He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. ~ Luke 21:8
We come back to the last Wednesday of the Lord Jesus' earthly life. His day of teaching in the Temple area was over. From now on He will speak only to His disciples who are gathered around Him on the Mount of Olives.
In response to the disciples question, "When will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?," the Lord Jesus says, "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them."
The disciples expected the Lord Jesus to set up His eternal kingdom, then and there. But, He is about to adjust their understanding of what He had said in His word leading up this point in time.
The Lord Jesus knew that the disciples would soon be in the position to be easily deceived. When we have insufficient theology, we can easily be deceived. This is why we must be ardent in being in His word daily. We must be careful to learn it from Him as our teacher. We must read His word while listening to His voice as we study it. And, what He teaches us must frame up our understanding of all that is going on in our lives and in this world.
In this one verse, Luke 21:8, the Lord Jesus hints that His coming is a long way off. It had to be a long way off because in the meantime the disciples would be in danger of being deceived.
I have discovered down through the years that we Christians often sacrifice the good on the altar of the perfect. In our desire for perfection, we fail to factor in the fact that we live in a fallen world and there are forces that we must be shrewd with as we deal with them. For example, during World War 2, many disliked General George S. Patton for he was brash and rude with his words. However, history has shown us, if the USA had decided to use Patton's skills more than we did, we would not have suffered as many casualties as we did. With all of his brashness and rudeness, Patton served an important role in turning back the evil of Nazism in the world.
It is said that future predictive prophecy occupies one fifth of Scripture, not a small amount. Of that one fifth of Scripture which is predictive prophecy, one third of that speaks of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to judge sinners and to reward and reign with the righteous. So one third of the one fifth is focused on the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are about 660 general prophecies in the Bible. Half of them are about the Lord Jesus Christ. Of the 330 that are about Christ, 110 of them are about His first coming and 220 of them are about His Second Coming. So, there is a huge amount of Scripture that focuses on the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus.
Out of the forty-six Old Testament prophets, ten of them spoke of matters related to His first coming. Thirty-six of them spoke of matters related to His Second Coming. One out of every twenty-five verses in the New Testament relates to Christ's return. For every time Christ mentions His first coming, He mentions His second coming eight times. That is, every time the New Testament mentions His first coming, it mentions His second coming eight times. The Lord Jesus referred to His Second Coming twenty times and there are over fifty times in the New Testament we are warned that He's coming.
In our text and the verses that follow, the Lord Jesus is identifying the preliminary events that lead up to His Second Coming. Mind you, His Second Coming is not the same as the Rapture of the Church. More about the Rapture at the end of this blog.
From the beginning there have been counterfeit messiahs, national and international upheavals, and religious persecution. But these things will increase and intensify as the time of the Lord Jesus’ Second Coming draws near.
Today's text shows there will be religious delusion, and even God’s people will be in danger of being deceived. Satan is a counterfeiter who for centuries has led people astray by deceiving minds and blinding hearts. Israel was often seduced into sin by false prophets, and the church has had its share of false teachers.
Most people are naturally concerned about the future, especially when world events are threatening; therefore, religious racketeers can prey on us and take advantage of us. In every age, there are those who either claim to be the Christ or claim to know when He will return. These false prophets often use the Scriptures to prove the accuracy of their predictions, in spite of the fact that Christ clearly stated that nobody knows the day or the hour of His return.
“Be not deceived!” is the Lord’s admonition. The only sure way to keep from being deceived in this world is to know the Scriptures and obey what God has told us to do.
The promises of God require the Second Coming of Christ. All four gospel writers record the promise of the Lord Jesus that He is coming back. And, in the book of the Revelation, six times the Apostle John quotes the Lord Jesus, "Behold, I come quickly."
According to Luke 21:8, "Many," not a few, "many will come in My name," meaning claiming to be Christ. And, many have come and many are still to come. I find it interesting that no one claims to be the resurrected Buddha. Or, Mohammed has come back. There is no sense in counterfeiting the counterfeit.
Having said all of this, today, we wait for the Rapture. In John 14:1-3 we read, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In My Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so I would have told you and I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive it in myself that where I am there you may be also."
Notice that there is no judgment connected to this prophecy in John 14. It is simply a time when the Lord Jesus comes to get His people and take us up to heaven to be in the place that He's prepared in the Father's house for us. This is not the Lord coming back to set up a kingdom on earth. This is an event in which He comes for His redeemed people, Jew and Gentile, all who are a part of the church gathered from all the nations. It could happen today. Are you ready?
Going to heaven is as SIMPLE as ABC.
A. ADMIT YOU ARE A SINNER
"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
B. BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED FOR YOUR SINS, ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND THAT YOU TRUST IN HIM ALONE FOR YOUR SALVATION.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." Acts 16:31
C. CONFESS YOUR SINS TO GOD.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." 1 John 1:9
You only need to tell Jesus that you have sinned and ask for His forgiveness. Then He will forgive you, no matter what sins you have committed. Then ask Him to come into your life. And, once you have done this, you will be amazed at what He will do as you learn to let Him run your life. Welcome to the family of God. If I can help you, send me an email at byoungministry@gmail.com
