Matthew 24:4 "Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many."
I wanted to share my wife's dream about one of these false messiah's that Jesus warned us about. My hope is that everyone will come to understand how powerful that deception is going to be, and how easily people can fall into the trap of believing the lie.
In her dream my wife and I were watching a crowd of people. Many people were gathered around a man that locked just like Jesus Christ must have appeared 2,000 years ago. Everyone in the crowd believed this was truly Jesus Christ because he was doing so many miracles. He did not only look like the exact image of Jesus Christ, he was also healing the sick and the lame, just as it is described in the Bible. This is exactly what people must have witnessed 2,000 years ago, but in her dream this was happening in our days. We were both present.
My wife and I were watching at a distance. We did not share in the joy and the commotion of the people in the crowd. We both knew this was not really Jesus Christ.
Everything looked so genuine, but there were little details that did not seem right. If you know the Word, and if you know the Lord intimately, these little details would catch your eye.
For example, in some cases this false Jesus refused to heal someone that was hurting, because he said he had already healed several such cases, and he wanted to heal someone with a different type of sickness.
My wife and I knew: Jesus would never had said that! But all those people were deceived anyway.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, that false Jesus was so genuine that without a solid knowledge of who Jesus really is it would have been easy to be deceived.
In Matthew 24 Jesus gave us a clear timing of when these false messiah's would show up, and warned they could even deceive God's elect. They will come when the desperation of God's people is the greatest, which will make the deception much stronger. The false messiah's will appear during the days when many of the judgments are wearing down the people, but before the real Jesus Christ comes in the heavens to gather his elect:
Matthew 24:21-31:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
So please be aware of this coming deception. We know that some will be called home early, but the remnant will probably still be here when these false messiah's come to deceive God's people.