End Times Matthew 24:3-5

³ While He was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately and said, Tell us, when will this take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end (the completion, the consummation) of the age?

⁴ Jesus answered them, Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error].

⁵ For many will come in (on the strength of) My name [appropriating the name which belongs to Me], saying, I am the Christ (the Messiah), and they will lead many astray.

Ask yourself this question: how many people right now say that they are Christians when they really aren’t? How many wolfs in sheep’s clothing are there in the world right now attempting to cause people to trust in themselves and our powers to please our Father, Matthew 7:15? Or how many preachers are preaching that we need to trust, accept, and believe through our own free will?  How many are teaching us that we need to first choose, on our own, to live right? 

So many people use the name of Jesus, while they mainly claim that we have the power, on our own, to accept or deny, when the Truth is that it is all Jesus causing us to do everything, John 15:5. Without Jesus we can do nothing! These false prophets have a form of godliness, but they deny that it is all Christ within us doing everything, 2 Timothy 3:5. They will talk about how we have to love, but they will not teach the glorious Truth that Jesus ever lives within us and because He does, we love as He loves, John 17:26. From the pulpit they will proclaim that we must have faith to please our Father and yet they fail to mention in the sermon that we cannot help but to have faith because Jesus ever lives to Author and Finish our faith, Hebrews 12:2. They will talk about how they accepted Jesus, they will even give a date when they did, when the Truth is that we were chosen by our Father, Matthew 22:14. The glorious Truth is that we did not first choose Jesus, He first chose us. He chose us even with all of our faults and shortcomings and He will never change His mind about having us, Romans 11:29. We only came to Jesus because we were empowered and enlightened by our Father to come to Him, John 6:44.

So we don’t necessarily look for people specifically saying that they are Jesus, even though many will say this. We also look at the false prophets who want to place all of the burden of righteousness on man and not on Jesus, Who is our Shepherd, our Head, our Vine, our Master, our Potter, and our Lord. The anti-christ will not appear to the world to be anti Jesus. He is the anti-christ. That means that he is anti our Father’s power causing everything to happen through us.

For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him. Colossians 1:16  

The anti-christ will speak so wonderfully and he will be permitted by our Father to do many works and people will love him, Revelation 13:5. He will look very religious, but everything that he does and says will bring the power and glory to what man is doing. He will be blasphemous, because he will talk of what man can do if we only choose to. Jesus will be mentioned by the anti christ, but man will always be the main focus of his testimony. We see this kind of ministry being very prevalent today. How many times have you heard, “if we take the first step, then God will take the next two?” Or, “that God is our co-pilot?” The message of the end times is being spoken all over the world right now. 

We are dead and yet we live, Galatians 2:20. We are dead and our lives are hid with Christ in God, Colossians 3:3. We are new creatures in Christ, all things are now new for us and every old thing has passed away for us, 2 Corinthians 5:17. We do not first do anything, even accepting or choosing, on our own. A branch does not first choose or accept to produce the fruit of the vine that it is united with. The clay does not first act or accept the potter. The hand does not first move, then the head reacts to its movement. Our Father is proactive towards us, He is not reactive to us. So these false teachers, that Jesus talks about, are all around us right now. There are many false prophets who claim to come in the power of Jesus, when they aren’t, and they are leading many astray. This is not the sign of Jesus' return though, it is only the beginning of the sign of His return. 

But amen, these false prophets will fail. Jesus will win and He will overcome all that is against Him, even bad teaching. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, Romans 14:11. Jesus will succeed beyond our wildest expectations!