The Surprising Sayings of Jesus Christ: 'Many False Prophets Will Arise and Deceive Many'

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The Surprising Sayings of Jesus Christ

'Many False Prophets Will Arise and Deceive Many'

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When Jesus Christ's disciples asked Him what would herald His coming to rule all nations, He answered by first relaying a series of developments that would lead up to the grand climax of the present age: religious deception, wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes (Matthew 24:3-8; Mark 13:3-8; Luke 21:7-11).

Jesus said that these were just the "beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:8, emphasis added throughout)—or, as the New International Version better renders this, the "beginning of birth pains." As birth pangs—or labor contractions—get stronger and closer together as delivery approaches, so these trends would appear with increasing intensity and frequency as the end of the age approached.

Let's take a closer look at the first of these trends—religious deception.

"Many shall come in my name . . ."

Just what is the nature of this deception? Notice Jesus' specific warning: "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many" (Matthew 24:4-5, King James Version).

Modern Bible versions often place quotation marks around "I am Christ," the translators assuming that Jesus was talking about people who would claim to actually be the Christ or Messiah themselves. There have been such people, and Jesus warned later in the same discourse of "false christs" at the end of the age (Matthew 24:24).

Yet there clearly have not been, as verse 5 requires, "many" such individuals who have been taken seriously—much less deceived the "many"—in the two millennia since Jesus said this. And there certainly has not been a great increase in such individuals in recent centuries—while there has been a marked increase in the other prophesied signs.

Some have proposed that Jesus was referring to false "savior" figures like the Roman emperors of New Testament times or Napoleon, Hitler, Mao and Saddam Hussein in the modern era. But this is stretching the concept of "the Christ" or "the Messiah" far beyond what Jesus' disciples would have understood it to mean—the prophesied anointed king of the line of David.

Indeed, notice again that Jesus said, "Many shall come in my name"—His name being Jesus. Furthermore, they would come in His name, not with His name or bearing His name. In other words, they would presume to represent Him—not assume His identity.

So a clearer rendering of what Jesus meant in Matthew 24:4-5 would be: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many shall come claiming to represent Me, saying that I [Jesus] am the Christ, yet shall deceive many." That is, they would proclaim Jesus as the biblical Messiah and would claim to be His representatives—but they actually would be part of a massive religious deception.

It is these people—false preachers and teachers claiming to be Christian—who would proliferate and deceive ever more people as the end of the age neared.

The apostle Paul later affirmed, in a Christian context, that "evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Timothy 3:13). So not only do they deceive others. These false teachers themselves are deceived.

Lawless fruits

In His famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus issued the following warning regarding false prophets or preachers: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15). Jesus being the great Shepherd, His followers are portrayed as sheep. Yet these false prophets only appear to be Jesus' followers. Their true nature is one of devouring the lives of the unsuspecting—as a wolf among the flock.

Paul would later warn of this as well. He told the leaders of the church in Ephesus: "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves" (Acts 20:29-30).

Yet such imposters would be identifiable. Jesus explained: "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit" (Matthew 7:16-17). By "fruits," Jesus is referring metaphorically to visible results or outcomes.

He then gives us an example of something to look for in our evaluation: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord' [merely acknowledging Him as Lord], shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). Then notice: "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied [preached or taught] in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'" (Matthew 7:22).

Again, as in Matthew 24, we see such preachers coming in Jesus' name—having done various works in His name. But their lives are not lives conformed to the will of God. Jesus concludes, "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (Matthew 7:23).

Practicing lawlessness means living as if God's law is done away or of no consequence. Notice that these individuals are deceived about their own spiritual state. They think they have a special relationship with Jesus—but He ends up telling them they are gravely mistaken. In reality, He doesn't know them at all.

Why? Because they don't honor God by obeying His law. As the apostle John would later explain: "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:3-4).

Jesus is telling these false prophets that He doesn't know them and they don't know Him. For if they knew Him, they would understand what He required—obedience to God's law. As Jesus stated in Matthew 19:17, "If you want to enter into [eternal] life, keep the commandments."

Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: "Whoever . . . breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called the least [by those] in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19).

Notice that Jesus speaks here of those who would disobey God and those who would teach others to disobey Him. So it's not only a matter of practicing lawlessness —but also of teaching it, whether through word or example.

Exalting traditions over God's law

Jesus applied these principles to the religious leaders of His own day. For instance, Jesus chided the scribes and Pharisees for establishing many legalistic traditions that sidelined God's actual commandments. He said: "Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men'" (Matthew 15:6-9).

Thus it is actually possible to worship God in vain—uselessly—in this case by putting the traditions of men ahead of the commandments of God.

Moreover, the scribes and Pharisees went beyond mere false teaching. As Jesus explained, "All their works they do to be seen by men" (Matthew 23:5). He castigated them, "Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (verse 28).

Yet it should be made clear that it's not necessary to be a hypocrite to be a false preacher. A man preaching that God's law is done away may be completely sincere in his belief—yet he is nevertheless a false teacher and certainly not a true representative of Jesus Christ.

Counterfeit Christianity

Jesus' prophecy of false teachers coming in His name began to be fulfilled even during the era of the apostles. Paul mentioned a number of false teachers. He said a "different gospel" was already being preached (Galatians 1:6).

Paul even identified a heretical system he referred to as "the mystery of lawlessness," which during his ministry was "already at work" (2 Thessalonians 2:7).

This system, he showed, would persist until the end of the age: "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved" (2 Thessalonians 2:8-10).

The book of Revelation refers to this lawless mystery religion as "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT" (Revelation 17:5) and shows it appearing with "two horns like a lamb" (presenting itself as Christ-like) but speaking "like a dragon" (Revelation 13:11). The "dragon" in Revelation is Satan the devil, who deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9). So what we're seeing here is an extremely powerful "wolf in sheep's clothing."

What Paul and this section of Revelation are describing is a great counterfeit of the true religion—a world-dominating false Christianity led by Satan and his ministers, who appear as ministers of righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

As shocking as it may sound, the world religion that now lays claim to the name of Christianity, having nearly 2 billion adherents, is that very lawless mystery system! This is not to question the sincerity of its many followers. Most are motivated by a sincere desire to please God. But sincerity is not the measure of right and wrong. God defines what is right by His laws and commandments, and Christianity in general has rejected many of God's clear instructions.

Early on, this religion shed many important biblical doctrines and commandments in favor of popular pagan concepts and traditions. Christmas and Easter, for instance (the name "Easter" even deriving from the pagan goddess Ishtar), are merely pagan holidays covered over with a Christian veneer—despite the Bible's explicit command that we not worship the true God with pagan customs (see Deuteronomy 12:29-32).

It is just as Jesus said of the Pharisees: "In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."

The true Christian Church, holding fast to God's commandments throughout history, has remained, in the words of Jesus, a "little flock" (Luke 12:32). In contrast, the popular substitute for Christianity has grown enormous and powerful—just as Jesus foretold in Matthew 24.

The worst yet to come

Recall Christ's warning that false teachers would be on the rise through history, culminating in the vast and powerful deception of the last days. Of the time just before His return Jesus said, "False christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24).

These signs and wonders are the same ones Paul mentioned. They have happened at times throughout history—yet will grow in magnitude at the end of the age, reaching their height with the coming of the great false prophet, who also appears to be representing Christ but in reality is the Antichrist.

All of us need to be wary and watchful. We must examine the fruits of all those who claim to represent Jesus Christ—in the way they live and the doctrines they teach. Do they insist that we are required to obey God's commandments? Or do they preach a message of cheap grace—that we can come to God just as we are without making any fundamental changes in our behavior?

Remember, most of those who claim to represent Jesus actually don't. Moreover, as time goes on, ever more pretenders will arise, however sincere they may be. And finally, bear in mind that the greatest period of deception ever is just ahead of us. "See," Jesus said, "I have told you beforehand" (Matthew 24:25).

He was warning us to be prepared. Are you?

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Comments

  • Yahshua

    Rev.18:5 mother/catholism (the great whore) harlots/Christianity ( daughters of said whore) believers in the name "Jesus" , meaning: I am Zeus (God of this world, powerfully deceiving through education from/to the minds of men.)

    Rev. 18:4 "Come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

    Believers in his God given name; the name of the TRUE SON, his only name; as revealed to the isrealites.... Yah: "I am" ....... oshua: "salvation"= YAHOSHUA

    We are incapable of figuring any of this out with our minds.

    Proverbs 16:25 (King Solomon) there is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death.

    Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than Earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

    42:14 I have long hold in my peace; I have been still and refrained myself.

    He will return soon to reveal his righteousness. Until then, make sure you (theologians, preachers, zeus lovers)keep twisting and wrenching the scriptures and using that blasphemous name Je..... I can't even say it anymore. Fyi:The proper name king James bible is very helpfull!!

  • Tom Robinson

    The idea that the name Jesus derives from Zeus is an utterly false notion. Jesus is the Anglicized form of the Latinized Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Yeshua, a common shortening of the name Yehoshua. The Ye was written in Greek as Ie (ee-yeh), the Greek letter iota being close to the Hebrew yud. Greek did not have an equivalent for the final Hebrew letter in Yeshua, ayin, and it did not use the sh sound of the Hebrew shin. So that yields Ieso. And rather than ending with an a, which would be feminine in Greek, the ending is changed to the masculine ending -us. Thus Iesous. In Latin the o was dropped, leaving Iesus. An I before a vowel at the beginning of a word was understood to have a y sound and was later written by continuing the stroke down into what we now know as the letter J. It still had the pronunciation of y, but in some places the initial y sound became what is now considered a j sound. And in English, the J took on the modern j pronunciation. Thus, again, the name Jesus comes from the Hebrew Yeshua. It has no connection to the name Zeus. Look through the Greek New Testament and you will see many Hebrew names written in Greek form.

  • FewThatFind

    The Great Deception that no one realizes... Jesus said that FEW would find it (Matt 7:14)...

    Jesus said not to follow someone that says He is out in the Desert (outside Damascus?) or in Secret Chambers - Matt 24:26

    He wonders why we would follow anyone but God only - John 5:43-44

    He said that the FLESH PROFITS NOTHING, and that HIS WORDS ARE SPIRIT AND HIS WORDS ARE LIFE - John 6:63.

    Who is the one that leads many astray? PAUL - HIS NAME MEANS LITTLE OR LEAST -
    Matt 5:19

  • Tom Robinson

    The idea that Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, was a false teacher leading people astray is completely wrong. But this is not the first time it has come up. This rumor was extant in his own day. The other apostles rejected this notion--including James and others, who encouraged Paul to show support of the Jewish temple service to put down these rumors, which Paul did (see Acts 21), and including Peter, who late in life wrote of "our beloved brother Paul, [who] according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures" (2 Peter 3:15-16). Some people misused Paul's sometimes difficult wording to try to do away with God's commandments. But Paul never intended that in what he wrote. And notice here that Peter even referred to what Paul wrote as part of the Scriptures. Paul was a true servant of Christ.

  • FewThatFind

    JESUS: —->> “For there shall arise FALSE CHRISTS, and false prophets, and shall shew GREAT SIGNS AND WONDERS (SEE ROMANS 15:19 BELOW); insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Matt 24:24

    ——>> Paul: “Through MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”‭ Romans 15:19‬

    —->> Paul admits he is a LIAR (Rom 3:7 - “For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie...), a THIEF (2 Cor 11:8 - “I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.”), and a PHARISEE (Acts 23:6 - “...he (Paul) cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee...). Jesus said the PHARISEES would NOT enter the kingdom of heaven Matt 23:13. Also, in Matt 12:14 it says “Then the PHARISEES went out, and held a council against him, how they might DESTROY HIM (JESUS).”

  • Lucian Hodoboc

    According to Wikipedia, there have been hundreds of people throughout history claiming that they are Jesus or The Messiah or the reincarnation of The Messiah. The most notable one is Mirza Ghulam Ahmadm, who started a pretty popular sect within Islam called Ahmadiyya, which has about 15 million followers.

  • Laborer

    Tom's view is that those who believe only as he does will enter Heaven. Who gave anyone the authority of God to decide who is accepted into God's presence? Partially truthful statements is how Satan works. There are 3 reasons to publish a Bible, Preach, or Teach: 1rst - to spread God's truth, 2nd - to profit from it, 3rd - to deceive!
    (Only one (not two/2) is valid with God.)
    John 8:7 Forgivness, not condemnation is what is required of us. (Love / Works) If you truly want to know how to keep the commandments of God read and adhear to what Jesus, Himself, said in Matthew 22: 36-40, Matthew 7: 7-8 (If you are free from sin, you may cast the first stone! John 8: 7) This is why we do not kill witches, sorcerers, magicians, and adulterers! His Grace & Forgiveness is why we can congregate often worshipping our Lord any time day or night and not be locked into the Law of Exodus 20: 8-11 (Jesus is our Sabbath) He opens the door into Heaven for us, stops Death and Hell, thereby we are passed over! Please study your Bible via the Holy Spirit and prayer. Not my truth, but Christ 's. John 3:30 Religion limits an ALL MIGHTY GOD.
    HIS church are the people, not the steeple!

  • Tom Robinson

    Thanks to the other men who have replied here. Sorry I did not get to this sooner. The first line here about me is false. It is not my view that people must believe exactly as I do in every regard. Rather, they must believe in key biblical teachings. And all of us will view things at least slightly differently. Furthermore, this issue is not one of entering heaven per se, as if that is the ultimate reward of the saved, but of inheriting life in the Kingdom of God, which will be set up on the earth--and the New Jerusalem will ultimately come down to the earth from out of heaven. We have rest in Jesus, but He is not our Sabbath. Our ultimate Sabbath is the future Kingdom of God, and we observe the weekly seventh-day Sabbath as a reminder of God as Creator and that future rest to come. We agree that the Church is God's people and not buildings. But Scripture says that God's people are to regularly meet together for instruction and fellowship. Anyway, we have study guides that address a number of the issues here (see ucg.org/booklets).

  • Skip Miller

    Hello Jack,
    You appear to me to have all the "answers."
    Therefore there is not much left to say to you!
    As you said, "Read your Bible."
    If you have an honest question, write in again.

  • Ivan Veller

    Thanks be to God for His mercy and grace--without which none of us could stand (Psalm 130:3-4). But does He not "require" of us "to do justice ["do what is ·right" (EXB 2012; NLT 2015) in accordance with "divine" "Law"—which "is rooted in His character and ought to be emulated by godly people (Psalm 37:30; Proverbs 12:5; Proverbs 21:15; Proverbs 29:4; Micah 3:1; Micah 6:8)" ("Old Testament Lexical Aids," Key Word Study Bible)], and to love kindness ["the law of kindness" (Proverbs 31:26)], and to walk humbly with [our] God ["walk in the light...keep his commandments" (1 John 1:7; 1 John 5:3)]" (Micah 6:8 ESV)?

    David says, "LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; who does not put out his money at ["usury" (KJV)] and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved" (Psalm 15:1-5, ESV 2016).

  • Ivan Veller

    Thanks be to God for His mercy and grace--without which none of us could stand (Psalm 130:3-4). But does He not "require" of us "to do justice ["do what is ·right" (EXB 2012; NLT 2015) in accordance with "divine" "Law"--which "is rooted in His character and ought to be emulated by godly people (Psalm 37:30; Proverbs 12:5; Proverbs 21:15; Proverbs 29:4; Micah 3:1; Micah 6:8)" ("Old Testament Lexical Aids," Key Word Study Bible)], and to love kindness ["the law of kindness" (Proverbs 31:26)], and to walk humbly with [our] God ["walk in the light...keep his commandments" (1 John 1:7; 1 John 5:3)]" (Micah 6:8 ESV)?

    David says of God, "who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who
    walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved" (Psalm 15:1-5, ESV 2016).

  • Apotheosisx
    So how do we know you're not one? The ONLY piece of 'evidence' you have to say 'the whore of Babylon' is the Catholic church is that it's a city built on seven mountains. Rome isn't built on seven mountains, but seven hills. (I am aware some versions have changed the translation to hills, no doubt to fit this little theory). As for the rest, it makes no sense. Besides, if we're going to keep the law of Moses, when are we going to stone all the homosexuals to death? Hurry up and start will you, or you must be a hypocrite. :-p
  • Lena VanAusdle

    There are several holes in your "argument." First, it's not the law of Moses, it's the law of God. The evidence has nothing to do with location, and everything to do with the fact that they have a counterfeit form of Christianity. It is stated repeatedly in the Bible to follow the commands of God (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3; Matthew 19:17; Matthew 5:17-22; 1 John 2:3-6; Romans 6:15; etc.), anyone (or organization) that preaches against following the laws of God, is therefore a counterfeit form of Christianity. Further, stoning of anyone was a penalty for sin, Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all sin, and makes it possible for us to be forgiven; therefore, your hypocrite statement is incorrect. Sin is sin, regardless of the penalty (and only God has the authority to enact the penalty for sin), but that does not abdicate our responsibility to follow God's law.

  • kotiroma
    "Modern Bible versions often place quotation marks around "I am Christ," the translators assuming that Jesus was talking about people who would claim to actually be the Christ or Messiah themselves." I guess it was a matter of time before this became a realization, for now we have among our midst one who claims to be the Messiah. Glad I found this article while surfing through the net, looking for ways to share with others. We haven't encountered this before,so it is deeply disturbing how this person has seduced the gullible and the lost. Thank you so much for the article.
  • Malachi 3_16-18
    Hi Andy1966, I don’t know of any, but what matters much more is not being deceived by the false prophets and imposters of our day, and by future ones who will come along. In what is often called the Olivet prophecy, Jesus was warning of events that would happen especially at the close of this age (Mt 24:3-5). The New Testament does mention by name some deceivers or false prophets of that time (2 Tim 4:14; 3 John :9-10), but I am sure that over the centuries, there have been far too many to keep track of. We need to be alert and on our guard at all times, because Satan, the great deceiver (Rev 12:9), makes his ministers or “servants” appear as angels or messengers of light (2 Cor 11:13-15). He usually isn't able to deceive us with all falsehhood, but a favorite tactic of his is to mix a little or a lot of error with some truth. But this still does not make it true.
  • andy1966
    I had a study in "The Life of Christ" in 1978 and the booklet we used made a statement that according to some records found from the 1st century it was saying there were some 49/50 imposters in Jesus day claiming to be Him. My question is: Do you know of any resource material that would confirm or shed light on the number of imposters of Jesus day and how or by what method were they recorded? Thank you. Don Andry
  • Laura Freimuth

    This is a great article in that Tom quotes scripture to back up his ideas on "Many False Prophets Will Arise and Deceive Many".

    I have been studying deception for 5 years and found it in many venues of life.

    Matt 24:24 states that "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."

    Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. II Thes 2:3 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

    I believe I was in a very precarious situation and could have been one of these that may have fallen away first. So I am always looking for those who preach truth ie the Bible and not:

    Col 2:20-23 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
    21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
    22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
    23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

    Praise God He can keep us until the day of Christ' return.

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