SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/4/2024 6:21 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “Subtle Confusion”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matt. 24:23-27
Message of the verses: “23 “Then if anyone
says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not
believe him. 24 “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and
will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the
elect. 25 “Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 “If therefore they say to
you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go forth, or, ‘Behold, He
is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 “For just as the
lightning comes from the east, and flashes even to the west, so shall the
coming of the Son of Man be.”
In verse 24 we see the words if possible, speaking
of the Antichrist and his false Christs and prophets will be able to deceive the
elect. The truth is that Satan has never been able to deceive Christians about
the identity of their Lord as Jesus states in John 19:27-28 where we read “27
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I
give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch
them out of My hand.” MacArthur adds “Once
a person comes to know the true Christ through saving faith in Him, he can
never be duped by anyone, including Satan himself, into acknowledging a
counterfeit Christ.” If a person is duped
then he is not a true believer.
God
is not going allow the elect in that day to be destroyed because He will
sovereignly protect them by reordering the entire universe, and they will not
be deceived because they will have the Spirit-inspired knowledge of the true
Christ within them.
MacArthur
goes on “But those protected ones will nevertheless be under verbal
assault. Satan will vigorously try to
use the turmoil of the times to undermine the confidence of the refugees and to
persuade them to follow a false Messiah, who would immediately betray them to
the Antichrist once they were outside God’s sanctuary. With the world falling apart, the stars
falling, the sun and moon being radically reduced in light, millions dying from
disease and starvation, and thousands of their fellow countrymen having been
mercilessly slaughtered, the refugees will be emotionally drained and utterly
vulnerable to the subterfuge of the false Christ’s and prophets, were in not
for God’s gracious provision.”
These
fugitives will have access to Jesus’ words that are recorded here. ““Behold, I have told you in advance, Jesus
said, speaking to them prophetically across the intervening centuries. “26 “If therefore they say to you, ‘Behold,
He is in the wilderness,’ do not go forth, or, ‘Behold, He is in the
inner rooms,’ do not believe them.” Jesus is saying “Beware of all claims about
My identity or whereabouts. Pay
attention only to what I am teaching you now, not to anything else you will
hear or see in that day, no matter how authentic and compelling the message and
accompanying signs may seem to be, trust Me in this.”
It is my plan to finish this section
in my next SD. 1/4/2024 6:44 AM
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