Can Christians be deceived?

Spiritual deception is one thing; secular propaganda is another.

In what has been dubbed the ‘spinal column’ of end-time prophecy, Jesus’ immediate and repeated response to his enquiring disciples was and is: “Take care that no one deceives you” (Matt 24:4). Later in the same chapter of Matthew’s Gospel he warned: “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible” (Matt. 24:24).

Was Jesus posing that question rhetorically in order to emphasise the degree of deception or, alternatively, actually suggesting the possibility existed?

It is important to note here that the scenario in which the end-time deception takes place relates to what believers are witnessing in the events of that day. This is not error induced by a misunderstanding of God’s written word; rather it is a mistaken interpretation of what they are seeing in the world around them.

We are aware of the last-days’ masquerade which the man of lawlessness will perform; appearing as the penultimate and quintessentially-fake messiah; displaying all manner of miraculous signs and wonders. But will he, on that day, pull it off amongst believers?

We read in God’s word: “the Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons”. and speak of those “whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Tim. 1-2). Elsewhere, the late Derek Prince once opined: “If you think you can’t be deceived, then you are deceived already.” Indeed, heresies come and go; causing deception amongst believers here or there. However what we have been witnessing is something very different indeed.

"When a person is in a state of fear, their abilities for rational thought are greatly diminished."

On both a spiritual and a secular level what we have seen since early 2020 is the most devilish and duplicitous propaganda campaign ever unleashed upon the whole world (Is. 59:14,15). In her excellent but chilling book ‘State of Fear¹, Laura Dodsworth set out in fine detail the military-grade psyops² operation which governments and the media have been using to assault the minds of the citizens of planet earth. The UK Government’s Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviour (SPI-B) recommended that ‘the perceived level of personal threat [of Covid infection] needs to be increased among those who are complacent, using hard-hitting emotional messaging’. It is well-known that when a person is in a state of fear, their abilities for rational thought are greatly diminished.

However, the truth is now starting to emerge through the good offices of those who have undertaken ‘due diligence’: it is being revealed by those imbued with the courage and integrity to do so. Eminent cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhotra has recently issued a peer-reviewed paper calling for immediate and “complete suspension” of Covid-19 ‘vaccines’.
Recently. it was reported that 80 Canadian doctors have died following vaccination. Now that figure stands at 93. In spite of the emerging irrefutable facts and data, multitudes seem unable or unwilling to see the truth of what is going on.

“If there is a choice between changing one’s mind or proving there is no need to do so, most get busy on the latter.”

The late economist J. K. Galbraith once posited: “If there is a choice between changing one’s mind or proving there is no need to do so, most get busy on the latter”. Pride is surely much in play. Are we seeing the sin of pride in this dynamic?. To err is human: to admit a mistake demonstrates humility and a teachable spirit.

One of the extremely concerning features which has become increasingly apparent in all of this is that while secular prophets⁴are shouting out from the rooftops, the churches remain substantially silent. Indeed denominations and church leaders⁵ endorsed and supported the ‘safe and effective’ mantra of the ‘vaccines’. Are these failing to recognise or alternatively wilfully ignoring, where all this is heading?
Believing Christians could reasonably expect the Christian Medical Fellowship to have sounded the alarm long before now. Sadly however nothing seems to be forthcoming and requests for responses ignored. Thankfully Dr. Alistair Montgomery, a retired GP, has written on The ‘Censorship of Vaccine Adverse Reactions’ in which he “found it deeply worrying that at the same time as provenly effective aids were being vilified, the British public was not being given even basic health advice”. Into this void, Heart Newspaper and the British Church Newspaper have been consistently spelling out their concerns. Additionally, last November, Issachar Ministries, which seeks to ‘understand the times, and know what Israel should do’ (1 Chron. 12:32), produced a very welcome and clear statement regarding the deception which has taken place.⁶ Pray God that all of these voices will be heard and understood.

But to return to the original question: ‘“Can Christians be deceived?’ Even absent the last-days cataclysmic events and an end-time diabolical look-alike, can indeed Christians be taken in?
It would certainly seem so. The last 30+ months have revealed that many already have been; and by something much less than a counterfeit messiah. Pray that the veil of deception, propaganda and institutional malfeasance will be drawn back and that truth will be revealed, received and will prevail.

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Notes:
1. Dodsworth, L., (2021) A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Pinter and Martin Ltd,. 2021
2. Psyops: techniques used by military and police forces to influence the beliefs, emotions and behaviour of citizens.
3. Official figures published by the UK Government confirm 1 in every 310 people who received a third dose of the Covid-19 injection in England by 31st December 2021, sadly died within 48 days.
4. The ‘secular prophets’ include the likes of Jordan Peterson, Dr.. Tess Lawrie, Neil Oliver, Russell Brand, John Bowe and Paul Joseph Watson. See also this Prophecy Today article and this piece in The Conservative Woman.
5. Archbishop of Canterbury hails Covid-19 jab an ‘answer to prayer’.
6. The Issachar Mininstries Statement also includes some very helpful references.