Off The Beaten Path

“For false Christs and false prophets will arrive and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”  Matthew 24:24 NASB

To mislead – In the last days there will be plenty of misdirection.  It will be spectacular but it will still be misdirection.  Lies are often far more dazzling than the truth.  There is a certain human attraction to the spectacular but when it comes to spiritual awareness, the spectacular is dangerous.  The Greek verb planao means “to cause to wander, to lead astray, to deceive or seduce into rebellion.”  Most of the time people don’t intentionally wander off.  They have to be lead away from the truth.  And there’s nothing like a big show to grab their attention.

Of course, those of us who are aware of all the “big” lies don’t get caught in the folly of all that glitter, do we?  We don’t flock to the mega-meetings and the celebrity rallies.  We know that God’s hand is most often seen in places where the world has no interest and that God’s people are often anonymous.  After all, Yeshua gave us a warning.  “If it were possible,” He said.  But we are the elect and so it isn’t really possible, is it?  We can spot the false prophet in the Armani suit stepping from his Gulfstream a mile away.  (Maybe we might wonder why we are even within a mile, but there are good excuses for that).

But what if the false prophets are not quite so obvious?  What if they are so subtle that even the elect could be carried away?  What if the false Christ is sitting in front of the screen right now, reading this little message?

Perhaps the greatest of all deceivers is inside my own skin.  The one who is attracted to the “big show” just might be the one who thinks that knowing God is simply a matter of humble contrition sprinkled with large doses of religious fervor.  How would I know if I am deceiving myself?  What if that feeling of accomplishment that comes with putting the pieces together in the interpretation of Scripture is really an assertion of pride, cleverly disguised as religious dedication?  Am I really prepared to hear the truth?  Am I ready to have the shibboleths of my world torn down?  Could I confront the Lord on the Damascus road, have my carefully constructed religious world shattered, and emerge a whole man?  Or would I retreat to the protected zone of my sacred cows?

The truth is intensely painful because men are fiercely resistant.  “Truth confronts us as a behest, an insistent summons, austere, uncompromising.”  “Truth is severe, harsh, demanding.  We would rather hide out face in the sand than be confronted by it.  ‘To live means to be indebted’ – who wants to hear this? ‘I am commanded, therefore I am’ – who knows how to cherish it?”[1]  To encounter the truth in Scripture is to encounter the Holy, and no man is able to do this without exclaiming “Woe is me!”  Self-deception leaves me comfortable with my God.  Truth leaves me shattered.

Yes, even the elect may be caused to wander, but not by those false prophets of neon religion.  The elect are lead astray by a far more dangerous enemy – the enemy of comfortable assurance within.

When you come before the Lord, do you feel fear and trembling?  Does the truth scald you?

Topical Index:  deceive, mislead, astray, planao, truth, Matthew 24:24