General Articles

The Epidemic of Deception :: By Jonathan Brentner

Published on: by RR10

As the spirit of the antichrist gains more strength in our world each and every day, it helps to remember what Jesus said about the one behind it, the devil himself.

In John 8:44, Jesus characterized Satan as “a murderer from the beginning” and “a liar and the father of lies.” The news headlines of our day bear witness to the truth of Jesus’ words. The killing of innocents and deceitfulness go hand in hand.

When the disciples asked Jesus about the signs of the end of the age and of His coming, the first words were, “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:4). A little later in the same discourse, the Lord spoke of the great deception that will happen during the Tribulation period (Matthew 24:24):

“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.”

The Apostle Paul, when he began to speak of the appearance of the antichrist in the last days, echoed the words of Jesus in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, “Let no one deceive you in any way.” A little later in the same chapter, He said this about the coming “man of lawlessness”:

“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (2:9-10).

In 1 Timothy 4:1, Paul warned of “deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” that would appear in the last days.

Scripture is remarkably clear about this: the time leading up to the seven-year Tribulation, as well as the period itself, will be marked by overwhelming and widespread deception.

As we look around us, it’s unmistakable that this has reached epidemic levels, which signifies that we live in the shadow of the coming seven-year Tribulation.

The Duplicity of the Globalists

We witness the deceitfulness of the powerbrokers in the way they say one thing but behave in a radically different manner. Below are several examples of their duplicity.

In my post, Deadly Delusions: 5 Lies the Globalists Want you to Believe, I demonstrate that while the globalists say they want “democracy and freedom,” their goal is a Marxist Communist state that will enslave the people of the world.

The seventeen goals of the UN’s Agenda 2030 unveil their purpose to control the lives of everyone on the planet. The Great Reset of the World Economic Forum presupposes a world swallowed up in chaos and lawlessness from which they can construct a world order that will enslave humanity.

The elite repeatedly tell us that their goal is to save the planet. They would have us believe that they care deeply about the environment, and thus they instruct us to change our way of life based on this.

Do their actions match their words? No, and it’s not even close. Many of the globalists build or purchase mansions on the waterfront; they have no worries about rising sea levels. They fly everywhere in private jets consuming a great amount of fuel and emitting a lot of CO2.

I have come to the conclusion that the deep state in America is purposely attacking the environment. The train accident in East Palestine, Ohio, is just one of many incidents where trains have spilled hazardous materials into nature during the past several weeks. As I write, there’s a barge carrying methanol that’s slowly sinking into the Ohio River.

The growing number of fires at chemical plants is also alarming. The one that happened two years ago, several miles from where I live, appears to be just the beginning of a rash of such incidents around the world.

There are far too many fires and “accidents” involving hazardous substances for me to accept that they are all coincidences.

The ones crying the loudest to preserve the environment are the ones currently attacking it. (I haven’t yet mentioned the spraying of chemicals into the air to supposedly block the sun.)

After every school shooting, the left would have us believe they really care about the safety of our children and that guns are evil. However, they fiercely support the murder of children in the womb, vote against all measures protecting infants who survive abortions, and surround themselves with people carrying guns for their protection while denying that same protection for our school children.

Furthermore, how can President Biden call for limitations on guns when he left behind billions of dollars’ worth of far more deadly weapons for the murderous terrorists in Afghanistan?

(Update: The Biden administration has turned the Nashville school shooting into just the opposite of what happened. Somehow a transgender killing Christians became a message of the transgenders needing protection against those who see it as sin.)

The globalists refer to those who refuse the COVID-19 injections as “murderers” while ignoring the fact that these shots have killed and maimed a huge multitude of people. Every day, young adults and teenagers suddenly drop dead as a result of this so-called “vaccine.” Yet the media constantly lies to us by telling us they are safe and effective. They are anything but that.

The globalists in the U.S. tell us that our economy is strong while at the same time, we see banks failing, rampant inflation, and skyrocketing credit card debt as families fall behind trying to keep food on the table. The U.S. dollar faces a serious crisis as nations move away from it in their purchases of oil.

I could list several more instances regarding the duplicity of those that seek to control our lives. They clearly represent the spirit of the antichrist.

Jesus Is Coming Soon

The deception pandemic is but one of many signs pointing to Jesus’ soon appearing to take His Church up to glory. Is it not remarkable how it’s preparing the world for the arrival of the master of deceit himself, the antichrist?

In 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, Paul tells us that this man of lawlessness can’t appear on the world stage until the Restrainer is removed. Most prophecy writers and speakers, along with myself, believe that the Restrainer is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in New Testament saints. He will not leave the earth when Jesus comes for His Church, but His work at holding back the antichrist, and far worse trickery, will end.

World events seem ready to explode with nuclear wars, pestilences, and hyperinflation. Warnings abound of future deadly earthquakes, the volcano at Yellowstone Park that could potentially kill tens of millions, and the pole shift that could set off a series of cataclysmic events all around the globe that will shock all those not killed in the aftermath.

When will the world see the full force of such disasters? I believe the Lord is restraining the onset of these things until He removes His church and the day of His wrath begins.

I’m sure some regard me as the “boy who cried wolf.” However, the Bible says all these catastrophes, and many more, are coming to our world in the future. For now, God is warning those who will listen and providing more time for people to respond to the Gospel and miss the worst time in the history of the world.

I would rather warn people and have there be a delay than remain silent and not repeat what Scripture says about the days in which we live.

Jesus is my risen Savior; He can give you bright hope for tomorrow regardless of the threats that come our way from a fallen world. His Word, the Bible, is our source of truth in a world where deceit reigns.

If you have not yet put your trust in Jesus (or are reading this after the Rapture of the Church), please see my post, Jesus Is the Only Path to Eternal Life. In it, I explain how you can know for sure that Jesus has forgiven all your sins and that you possess eternal life.

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My books: I have a couple of books available for purchase.

My newest book is Cancel This! What Today’s Church Can Learn from the Bad Guys of the Bible. In it, I explore what we can learn from less-than-stellar biblical characters that help us live in today’s cancel culture.

I provide a detailed defense of the Pretribulation Rapture in: The Triumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times.

Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/. Thanks!

 

Not of This World – By Steve Schmutzer

Published on: by RR10

I’m guessing a lot of you are like me. You see very little – if anything – in our world right now that subscribes to common sense and sound judgment.

Those of us who have diligently prayed for wisdom and spiritual discernment sense a suffocating cloak of evil that is enveloping all that is virtuous and proper. What’s good is bad, and what’s black is white, and what’s up is down.

“Confusion,” on the best side of this entire assessment – is not of God. And nobody who is rational should question the source of evil.

It’s self-evident that we live in times when those with “depraved minds” are calling the shots (Romans 1:28). The Greek term used here essentially means these are minds “that no longer function as they are supposed to.”

I think that much is obvious to anyone with an IQ higher than a fencepost.

The bad guys are routinely getting away with every form of corruption, every show of injustice, and every display of fraud. Meantime, those of us who believe in law and order are being systematically painted as the ones in the wrong.

The same political chaos that has torn our own nation apart is viciously attacking the foundations of other countries’ governing structures. Israel is a great case in point. Insanity has marinated the mindset of the deluded liberals who rabidly protest under the guise of ‘saving democracy,’ even as their own violence and statements show their real motive is to remove all responsible institutions of leadership.

Lies abound and multiply daily. It is impossible to keep up with all of them. It used to be that our leaders were publicly shamed for telling a lie. Now they are roasted for speaking the truth.

Deception has become the darling of a world order that no longer wants to be accountable to the facts.

Even the most basic elements of common sense are being tossed out the window with enthusiastic abandon. Those that instruct us one moment to trust “science” (“The jab is what you need”) are the same folks who excoriate anyone who DOES trust REAL science on matters of gender (“No, men cannot get pregnant”).

Every institution and industry whose heritage and ‘ethos’ has been focused on supplying, caring for, and meeting the welfare needs of humanity is being eroded and assaulted. The new globalist agenda amounts to an evil effort to boost the bottom line of undertakers.

From jabs to genitals, from healthcare to agriculture, from doctors to teachers, and from bugs to eggs – – one thing is clear: it’s all a highly choreographed machine that is intent upon reducing the human population.

The most basic tenants of the integrity of law, elections, and justice no longer apply. Rules are covertly bent – and if necessary, overtly broken – to put down, put out, and put away anyone or anything that is a threat to a radical and depraved agenda.

It is abundantly apparent to EVERYONE this is what’s happening. One group sees it and cares deeply about what is going on. The other group sees it just as clearly, and they celebrate the patently obvious corruption (Romans 1:32).

Make no mistake about it – the things in our society that were once considered fringe or marginal, and the passions that were once kept ‘in the closet,’ have since become mainstream. Indeed, they are now endorsed! What’s truly wrong has now become right.

Yep – it’s a messed-up world, and it’s only going to get worse. Nope – I’m not a wet blanket.

I’m a truth-teller.

Anyone like me who responsibly reads and studies the Scriptures knows that all these things – and others like them – are only going to worsen over time. Jesus likened the chaos and erosion of our planet and our societies to “birth pangs” (Matt. 24:8). They will come more frequently and with greater impact as His Second Coming draws near. The bottom line is our present world is in a death spiral.

For me, as I know it is the case for many of you, the reality of our depraved times is a stark reminder that we are indeed “aliens and strangers” in this world if we have chosen to follow Jesus Christ (John 17:16; Philippians 3:20; 1 Peter 2:11; Et al.).

This world is not our true home. Any efforts to make it that will only invite ruin and disappointment. It is the faithful believer that places their greatest hope in the soon appearing of our Lord and Savior to take us out of this fallen world (Titus 2:13).

Or, as Larry Norman once sang it:

“What a mess the world is in; I wonder who began it.
Don’t ask me; I’m only visiting this planet.”