Howling Impostors

The New Testament warns repeatedly of coming deceivers and false prophets who will cause many to depart from the faith. Jesus warned us about coming “deceivers,” “false Anointed Ones,” and “false prophets” intent on misleading his followers, warnings reiterated and expanded in the writings of his true Apostles. He began his sermon given on the Mount of Olives with the stern warning - “Beware that no one deceives you,” for “many” seducers will come and successfully “deceive many.”

Charlatans have “deceived many” in Christ’s name and infiltrated the Church, targeting the “elect” for deception, even using “signs and wonders” to fool as many believers as possible. Any follower of Jesus who is not educated in the Scriptures becomes easy prey - (Matthew 24:4-11, 24:23-24, 24:26).

[Wolf - Photo by Ray Hennessy (New Jersey) on Unsplash]

The lies of these deceivers include false information about Christ’s return, claiming that he “is here” or “there,” “in the wilderness” or “in the secret place,” the latter term accurately describing what has become a popular belief and practice in the so-called ‘Charismatic’ and ‘Prophetic’ movements.

• “And that because of the false brethren smuggled in, who entered stealthily to spy on our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage” - (Galatians 2:4).

These impostors set false expectations about the imminence of the return of Jesus, declaring time and again that “the season has drawn near.” They arrogate to themselves the knowledge that even “the Son of Man” does not possess - (Matthew 24:23-26, Luke 21:8).

Deceivers disseminate rumors about “wars,” earthquakes, and similar calamities, pointing to them as signs of the rapidly approaching Day of the Lord and the return of Jesus. However, wars, seismic activities, and famines occur regularly in human history and in today’s world.

What distinguishes one war or earthquake from another one, prophetically speaking? Such events are not indicators by which we may calculate the proximity of the Last Day.  As Jesus said, “the end is not yet” - (Matthew 24:4-6).

False prophets and other deceivers produce “lawlessness” and otherwise disrupt the Body of Christ so that the “love of many grows cold.” They cause men and women to forsake the Apostolic teachings and to turn against one another - (Matthieu 24:10-13).

The warnings of Jesus are echoed in Second Thessalonians, where Paul describes the coming “Man without Law, the Son of destruction.” He is inextricably linked to the final apostasy. Satan will empower him with “signs and lying wonders” to seduce as many believers as possible - (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9).

This Man without law “will take his seat in the Sanctuary of God,” the ‘naos theou’ (ναος θεου), a term Paul elsewhere applies to the “Body of Christ” - (1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:21).

This deceiver’s seductive words and supernatural signs will cause many believers to perish because “they welcomed not the love of the truth.” The way to avoid the coming apostasy and the lies of this “Son of Destruction” is “to cling” to the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles – (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).

Paul warned Timothy that in the Last Days, “some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons.” Sound teaching will be rejected. Many believers will prefer emotional experiences, sensationalism, and esoteric knowledge over the principles of Scripture:

• “Having itching ears, they will heap to themselves teachers after their lusts and turn away their ears from the truth and turn aside to fables” - (1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Timothy 4:3).

• “Evil men and howling impostors will become worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” – (2 Timothy 3:13).

The Greek term translated above as “howling impostors” or ‘goétes’ (γοητες) referred originally to what anthropologists today would label ‘sorcerers’ and ‘shamans,’ practitioners of rituals and incantations intended to manipulate spiritual beings such as angels and demons, often accompanied by loud but incoherent moans and utterances - (1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Timothy 3:13, 4:3).

• “And when they say to you, Seek those who have familiar spirits, and wizards that peep and mutter! Should not a people seek their God? In behalf of the living, should it seek for the dead? To the law and to the testimony! If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them!” - (Isaiah 8:19-20).

• “Stand now with your enchantments, and with the multitude of your sorceries, wherein you have laboured from your youth, if so be you will be able to profit, if so be you may prevail.  You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up and save you from the things that will come upon you” – (Isaiah 47:12-13).

EXPLOITING THE SAINTS

Peter likewise warned of false prophets who will infiltrate the Body of Christ and come to prominence in the Last Days:

• “But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you, also, there shall be false teachers who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their lascivious doings because of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of. And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you” – (2 Peter 2:1-3).

These false prophets will be motivated by money. They will “make merchandise” of the saints. Peter’s description fits today’s popular ‘Prosperity Gospel’ quite well, a deception whereby preachers promise Christians an abundance of wealth and success as long as they give generously to their “ministries,” a seductive lie and “destructive” heresy if ever there was one.

The warnings of the New Testament are consistent.  Jesus and his Apostles predicted a coming apostasy and the invasion of the Church by “false prophets,” “false anointed ones,” “howling impostors,” and other seducers.

While the Church has been plagued with false teachers since its founding, there has been an increase in their numbers and effectiveness in recent years. They have corrupted the Church with covetousness and twisted the Gospel of Jesus Christ into something alien, a narcissistic self-improvement program.

Many deceivers are importing occult ideas and practices, including mysticism, astrology, numerology, and other forms of divination. Others have turned millions of Christians into little more than partisan cheerleaders for corrupt political movements that are contrary to the Cross of Christ.

The warnings of Jesus, Paul, and Peter are unfolding before our eyes, and apostasy is well underway. Only time will tell whether this is the final “great falling away” from the faith and the time of “the Son of Destruction.”

Are we hearing and obeying the warnings that Jesus and his Apostles provided for us in the New Testament? Let the false prophets and the charlatans howl all they want. As disciples of Jesus, we must love and cling to the teachings passed on to us by the Apostles, regardless of what else occurs around us.

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SEE ALSO:

• Disinformation - (Rumors about the Day of the Lord caused alarm and confusion among the believers of Thessalonica – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

• Deceivers and Disasters - (Jesus warned of coming deceivers who mislead many believers and disseminate false information about his coming)

• The Apostasy - (Paul warned of the coming Apostasy and linked it to the unveiling of the Man without Law when he takes his seat in the Church)

• Imposteurs Hurlants - (Le Nouveau Testament met en garde à plusieurs reprises contre la venue de trompeurs et de faux prophètes qui amèneront beaucoup de gens à s'éloigner de la foi)