Mark 13:21–23 “Then if
anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not
believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs
and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have
told you all things beforehand.”
This is an interesting
article on Mark 13:21-23. The article warns that false prophets and teachers
present the greatest threat to the church of Jesus Christ. External enemies who
brazenly attack God’s people are easy to identify, and their threat is simpler
to discern and resist. Internal enemies, however, are not dealt with so easily.
Wolves can go about in sheep’s clothing for a long time before they are finally
found out. False teachers, because they come in Christ’s
name, elicit the trust of
their students, and their corrupt doctrine weakens the faith of those who sit
under their teaching.
Recognition of the threat of
false teachers goes all the way back to the Exodus generation, and Moses
specifically warned the Israelites against those who would claim to be prophets
while leading them to worship other gods. Deuteronomy
13:1–5 notes that the test of a true prophet is not his ability to perform
signs and wonders; rather, true prophets are identified by their orthodoxy (Soundness of faith; a belief in the genuine
doctrines taught in the Scriptures). In other words, no matter how
convincing the signs and wonders of a professed prophet or teacher may be, that
person must be rejected if he teaches heresy.
Moses’ principle remains
true in every generation. It is true in ours, and it was true in the years
leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Jesus warned that once the Romans
invaded the city, many false teachers would implore them not to flee to the
mountains. Instead, these preachers of error would try to deceive Christ’s
disciples, calling them to follow after other people who professed to be the
Messiah. Many of these false teachers, Jesus said, would “perform signs and
wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect”.
Note the qualifier “if
possible” in Mark 13:22. Jesus’ point was that the false signs would be so
convincing that they could fool even God’s people; however, in the end the child
of God would not be convinced because no one can finally lead the elect astray.
That is due to the preserving mercy of the Lord, not the strength of the elect.
However frail and slippery the condition of the godly may be, yet here is a
firm footing on which they may stand; for it is not possible for them to fall
away from salvation, to whom the Son of God is a faithful guardian. The
permanency of our salvation does not depend on us, but on God.
God preserves forever those
He has redeemed to salvation. How do the sanctifies reveal themselves? By
believing in Christ and being on guard against all who oppose Him. For the saved
are those who rest in Christ alone for salvation. The truth of a teacher’s
words is determined not by the feats they can perform but by the orthodoxy of
what they teach. We are never to follow anyone who perverts the truth of God’s
Word, no matter how gifted that person is, how large of an organization that
person commands, or how pious that person’s work seems to be.
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