The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 24 Part 2: Warning Against Deception And Antichrists

Matthew 24:1-2  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2  And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 

Jesus uttered a prophetic declaration that all the massive, beautiful stones and magnificent architecture of the Temple, would be thrown down.

As Jerusalem has been excavated, archaeologists uncovered a street below the temple wall, where massive stones fell and cracked the pavement below.

Vespasian was the Roman emperor and his son Titus led the conquest of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple.

Thus, Jesus' prophecy was fulfilled thirty or so years after the Church was birthed at Pentecost. 

Matthew 24:3-5  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 

After this, Jesus walked to the Mount of Olives which was in close proximity to the Temple.

His disciples asked him privately three questions.

First, they asked "When shall these things happen?"

Second, they asked "What signs will precede Christ's return?"

Third, they asked "What shall the end of the world entail?" 

Jesus immediately warned His disciples to "take heed" which means to understand through careful observation. 

He wanted them to discern the true nature of things by comparing it with scripture truth, so that they could be on guard against the evil that will come.

Jesus warned the disciples to be on guard against deception.

The word translated "deceive" means to lead people astray, to guide someone away from the right direction. 

Metaphorically, it means to lead people away from God's truth, into error and sin.

This connects with Jesus' teaching about two gates, two paths of life and two opposite eternal destinations (See Matthew 7:12-14).

It also connects with Jesus teaching us to build our house upon Him, our solid rock, rather than on the shifting sands of a culture that brings ruin and destruction (See Matthew 7:24-27).

We must remember that Satan is the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning.

He deceived Eve by changing the truth of scripture into a lie.

God said that if they ate the forbidden fruit "Thou shalt surely die" (See Genesis 2:17).

Satan came in the guise of a wise serpent and said "Ye shall not surely die" (See Genesis 3:4).

Eve and Adam listened to a voice other than the infallible voice of God. 

They died spiritually, and died physically after many years passed.

This is the beginning of mankind's trouble and sorrow and it was caused by the Devil who added one simple three letter word to the scriptures. 

He added the word "not" as his act of hatred, rebellion and defiance against God.

This is why Jesus called Satan the father of lies and a murderer, because by Satan's scheme, sin entered the world and death (See John 8:44; Romans 5:12).

Therefore, Jesus warned His disciples to be on guard against deception because we must all learn to listen to the voice of God as recorded in the scriptures. 

If we hear another voice claiming to speak for God saying something God does not say in His Word, then we must reject them and turn away from their lies.

Jesus warned about the spirit of antichrist that is in the world.

Matthew 24:4-5  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 

Now that we understand what Jesus warned His disciples about, we can see specifically what He warned against.

Remember the three questions because Jesus is answering the question "What shall the end of the world be like?"

As the end of the world draws near, it will be marked by certain traits.

First is the rise of people falsely claiming to be Christ, which means they are of the spirit of antichrist. 

Christ is a title of Jesus that means the anointed one, the Messiah of Israel and the Son of God.

Men will arise and claim to be Christ and people will be deceived into following them. This is a sign of the end times.

Some scholars say that many dozens of people have claimed to be Christ while others say that thousands have claimed to be Christ. 

In our time of digital media and instant communication, it is easy to see how many people are able to gain a following by claiming to be Christ.

What is the antidote to avoid such deception? 

It is knowing the Word of God from the Old and New Testaments. 

It is listening to Moses, the prophets and the Psalmists.

It is listening to the teachings of Jesus and His apostles.

It is becoming thoroughly convinced in our heart that what God says is true, so that we fully trust His Word and won't be led astray. 

God's truth gives us protection against spiritual error.

1 John 2:18-22  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 21  I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22  Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.  

John was the last apostle when he wrote his gospel, three letters to the churches and the book of Revelation.

He walked with Jesus and witnessed all of His mighty ministry, sufferings, death, resurrection and ascension. 

He witnessed the coming of God's Spirit and the birth of Christ's church and the subsequent persecutions.

Here, John reminds us that the church was warned about antichrists who falsely claimed to be Christ.

In his time, there were many imposters who claimed to be Christ.

Those who claim to be Christ are denying the reality that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. 

Therefore, they are liars and we turn away from such error because it is the spirit of antichrist at work promoting deception among God's people.

We must try the spirits of what men teach by comparing their words with God's Word.

1 John 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 

John gave us more prudent truth to follow.

Do not believe everyone who claims to be speaking for God. 

If their preaching or teaching does not align with what God says in His Word, we must turn away from them.

False prophets were a problem when John lived and they are still a problem in the church today.

Many false prophets also claim to be Christ and if people believe what they say without vetting their words by scripture, then they will be easily be led astray.

Thus, the spirit of antichrist has been operating in the world since the inception of Christ's church.

Jesus warned His disciples that this spirit of antichrist and false Christs is a sign of the end of the world.

It will be more noticeable as the end of the world draws nearer.

Because these things are true, we must put on the whole armor of God and a vital part of that is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (See Ephesians 6:17).

Let us note the exhortation of the Psalmist as these are words we can pray to God in seeking His help and guidance for our lives.

Psalm 5:8  Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. 

We can ask God to lead us in His righteous paths because our enemies seek to lead us astray and to destroy our lives.

Psalm 25:4-5  Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. 5  Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. 

We can ask God to show us His ways and to teach us how to walk in His paths.

We can ask Him to lead our steps and order them as we read His Word. He will teach us and guide us into all truth as He promises to do (See John 16:13-15).

Psalm 86:11  Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. 

We know that a double minded man is unstable in all his ways (See James 1:6-8). 

A double minded man is full of duplicity and deceit. 

A double minded man tries to serve two masters and fails miserably (See Matthew 6:24). 

A double minded man claims to love God while loving the world (See 1 John 2:15-17).

Therefore, we must pray, asking our God to unite our heart so that we love Him with all our heart, all our mind, all our strength, all our soul and being (See Matthew 22:36-40).

So far, Jesus warned us against being deceived by  that spirit of antichrist which is in the world.

He has given us a mighty resource in the Word of God and in sending His Spirit to live in us.

We know evil is waxing worse and worse, just as Jesus said it would.

We must know God's Word thoroughly so that we stay grounded and rooted in His truth.

This is our great defense against spiritual error.

Bob