Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. – Galatians 6:7
There is A LOT of deception going around in this season of political competition. Half-truths, half-lies, false accusations, obfuscations, and outright lies are the colors used to paint candidates in favorable electable colors. Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitlers minister of propaganda, is alleged to have said, “If you repeat a lie often enough, the people will accept it as truth.” Unfortunately, given the consequences of World War II, that is true. An entire German people were duped and swayed and manipulated to support horrific inhumane genocidal acts. Lies were used to enflame deep seated bigotries and bogus perceptions. It all led to shame and pain and a hairs breath from annihilating an entire race of people. Deception is a serious business. The price of no discernment is high for the deceived and even more so the targets of deception.
Goebbels also said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” [1] A “good” liar is one who has no shame and no conscience and no care to manipulate and use people for their own devices. That’s demonic. Lies are authored by the devil. Jesus said:
John 8:44 (NKJV) – 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Lies are rooted in the devil himself. The devil’s desire is to murder, to destroy humanity created in the image of God, in every way possible, the more ruthless the better. Ther eis no truth in the devil; all he speaks and can speak, are lies. He is the father of lies. Remember that the next time you are tempted to lie or bend the truth in some “small” way. Remind the liars around you who they are aligning with when they lie.
Lies are divisive. There are those who want to change the colors of our country from red, white, and blue, to red only. They use lies to replace the United States of America with a divided states of America. Lie and divide by all means possible. Use rudimentary racial identity politics to divide by a critical analysis of socio-history. Paint a nation’s history in as dark and depraved a color as possible. Paint the world in colors of victims and victimizers. If you can’t find victims, create them. Paint those who inconveniently stand in your way as the culprits of evil. Dumb down generations so they have only the preferred revolutionary perspective of history so they can become the “useless idiots” easily manipulatable and used to riot and disrupt the order you wish to replace.
The deception begins by putting a wedge between people and all that God calls holy. Remove His light, and the devil’s darkness is able to set in. The tactic for such a transfer? Progressivism. Under the alluring ideology of being progressive and relevant, first prayer, then the Ten Commandments were removed from our public schools. The Church was asleep as these deceptions were progressively imposed. But the deception didn’t stop there. The deceptions crept into our churches. Today we have a supposed awakening of “woke,” “pastors” and congregations where light is sought from the world instead of God’s word. Separated from God’s word, the truth was forgotten that love of the world is antithetical to the love of God (1 John 2:15). In these “woke” hives of anti-holiness we find “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” the new honey of the day. They have been duped into thinking those things God sees as abominable, are now acceptable to Him. Someone has said, “Seven days without God’s word makes one weak” spiritually. Today we are seeing” prolonged seasons without God’s word makes wayward woeful weakling ‘Christians.’”
Because of the Church weaving into its Laodicean lukewarm wokeism, it has lost its capacity for the fires of God’s revival to be kindled. The Church is supposed to be the pillar and ground of truth (1 Timothy 3:15). Jesus prayed for His disciples to be sanctified or set-apart-for-God’s-use by the truth found in God’s word (John 17:17). The Church distanced from the truth of God’s word isn’t seeking sanctification but seeming assimilation into society. Where the world once looked to the Church for truth and direction, the “Church” is not looking to the world for “truth” and direction. The Church is given over to a cult of relevancy. The Church has forgotten its relevance to the world is its holiness in the Spirit. Therefore, the world has lost a valuable mainstay. In her pursuit of relevance, the Church has become irrelevant to the world. The hope of Jesus, His gospel, His word, which was the anchor for the soul, is now too often a shabby shacky dock where no one can trust to tie their vessel. There’s no light in the lighthouse to light the darkness. The world is more lost than ever before.
The deception spreads. Karl Marx, author of Communism, master of deception and lies, had a tactic of revolution that was, “Accuse your enemy of what you are doing, as you are doing it, to create confusion.” There’s so much confusion in our country and this world that people don’t even see what’s actually going on. There is an invasion of countries with the objective of replacing a system based on freedom and industry with a system supposedly more equitable for the masses. But this is only the first wave of change. The initial revolutionaries don’t understand they are only a step towards a more global government where a select few oversee what masses are left from the first phase. The deception doesn’t stop there because those self-appointed elite don’t understand that they are targeted for replacement by a single world dictator, backed by a dragon, Satan himself. Who is this single world dictator? The Bible refers to him as Antichrist (Revelation 13). It’s the classic mother-eats-her-babies scenario.
The deceiving devil hates God. The devil hates the instrument of God, Israel. Why is that so? Because Israel is God’s instrument to proclaim His truth and light in this world. Israel is God’s means to bring this world to His redemptive prophetic climactic conclusion. If the devil thinks if he can destroy Israel, he can thwart God’s plans. Which brings us to another modern-day deception.
Have you noticed the deception and false perception with which Israel is referred to in reporting what’s going on in the Middle East? For a brief time Israel was painted as a victim in the October 7th, 2023, Hamas terror attack and atrocities perpetrated on Israel’s men, women, and children. That lasted for a few days. Then as Israel justly responded to deal with and root out those who so viciously attacked her people, the narrative was altered. First on college campuses where years of propaganda and brain-polluting was now going to pay dividends. Demonstrations soon became destabilizing riots. People of Jewish heritage were targeted on “free” American campuses. Slogans from Goebbel’s and Hitler’s day were resurrected. Chants arose of “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” more commonly found in Gaza the West Bank, and among Israel’s enemies. What many of the chanters duped into chanting mindlessly did not know, was that their chant really meant “From the River to the Sea, Israel and Jews will never be.” Numerous rejections of attempted peace deals where Israel bent over backward to placate Palestinians and promote peace expose the real underlying objective, annihilate the Jew. It’s one of the greatest devilish deceptions of all time, “The Jew is the cause of all our troubles.”
What is even more tragic is the number of “churches” who have adopted a Replacement Theology where the Church replaces Israel and God is pictured as forsaken and breaking His everlasting covenant with Israel. God’s covenant with Abraham and his people is “everlasting (Genesis 17:7, 13, and 19; 26:5). God’s covenant with Israel is “everlasting” (Psalm 105:10). God is married to Israel (Hosea 2:19-20; Jeremiah 31:32). Even though Israel committed spiritual adultery by worshipping other gods, and God disciplined them with captivity, God still has plans for Israel. God states clearly through the Apostle Paul, “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not!” (Romans 11:1). We live in the Church Age since Pentecost, but a time will come when the Church is removed (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18), and Israel once again will be center stage (cf. Revelation 7:1-8; 14:1-5). Why then has so much of the Church seen fit to think they replace Israel? Deception is the answer!
Politically, it is deception when Israel is painted as the tyrannical oppressor of Arab peoples while they are outnumbered 481 million Arabs to 7.2 million Jews in the region. It is deception when Jews are painted as oppressors even though their population in Arab countries has decreased by 99.83 % while Arabs in Israel have increased 1,296%! Since 1948 the number of Jews in Morocco have decreased from 265,000 to 2000! Since 1948 the number of Jews in Iraq has decreased from 150,000 to 7! Since 1948 the number of Jews in Yemen have decreased from 55,000 to 50! Since 1948 the number of Jews in Algeria has decreased from 140,000 to 50! Since 1948 the number of Jews in Tunisia has decreased from 150,000 to 50! Since 1948 the number of Jews in Egypt has decreased from 75,000 to 40! Since 1948 the number of Jews in Libya have decreased from 38,000 to 0! Since 1948 the number of Jews in Syria have decreased from 40,000 to 0! If it weren’t for the rebirth of Israel in 1948, where would Jews be? Despite being given a small piece of land the size of Rhode Island in America, Israel has bent over backwards and offered numerous land-for-peace deals to the Palestinians but have been rebuffed for doing so. Who is it that really wants peace? Who is it who is bigoted and genocidal? It is not Israel. Do not buy the lies of the devil.
Does the devil really think he can defeat Isarel and annihilate the Jew? Who am I to speak for the devil? But one thing we do know, a time will come when the devil is cast from heaven. Now he has access to bring accusations against God’s people like he did with Job (Job 1-2). I time will come when his right of access will be removed. Then the Bible says, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, “WHO DECEIVES THE WHOLE WORLD [emphasis mine]; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:9). When he is cast down, he is then called, “the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10). The Devil rails and rages against God’s people. It will be a terrible time for God’s people during this time. Thankfully, it is a time limited by God to seven years (Daniel 9:24-27). Jesus said this would be a time of great deception (Matthew 24:24). Thankfully, God in His mercy will cut those days short (Matthew 24:22).
So what are we to do?
So what do we do? Here are a few things we can do to prevent being deceived in our world, especially the world of politics.
First, do fact check. Don’t respond in a merely political way. There are more powerful ways than politics to overcome deception. Politics is important, but it is not the final answer. We need to do our own Fact Checking of candidates. A giggle and smile are not as important as what is actually true. And just because a debate questioner says something is untrue does not mean it is. In our day and age of information accessibility, we can often see what candidates actually said. We need to fact check. When videos of candidates are used as sources we need to view them in context not mere clips or sound bites which are often selectively edited to convey the political advantageous slants. Test all things because all things are often not what they are presented to be. Don’t be misled.
Second, do not let yourself be manipulated. Understand our choice of candidates is not merely between good versus evil, it is often between who is most true. There are no perfect candidates. But there are candidates who support things we as Christians cannot align ourselves with. There are candidates who may not be perfect but are far better than the alternative. Pray. Seek the Lord’s leading. View party platforms in one hand, and your Bible in the other. Party affiliation is not the most important thing. Take nothing for granted. Your first and highest affiliation is as a citizen of heaven. We are not merely red or blue but need to be of a heavenly hue. Remember we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20). Test all things by God’s word.
Third, do not withdraw and give up. In our system of government voting is important. Voting is a great blessing from the Lord. Not every country has the privilege to make their voices heard through a vote. Billy Graham the great evangelist once said, “In a world that might say one vote doesn’t matter . . . it does matter because each person is of infinite worth and value to God. . . Your vote is a declaration of importance as a person and a citizen.” Furthermore, when you don’t vote, you are relinquishing your part in voicing opposition to evil. James was inspired to put it this way, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). It’s sinful to sit back and do nothing. Get up and vote!
Fourth, keep in mind the realities of politics. Keep in mind too that a candidate not in favor with the establishment is often at a great disadvantage. For example, in politics, the death of a political practitioner is when their message and their achievements aren’t given any airtime. Some respond by proclaiming their achievements at every opportunity. But this has dangers too. This makes one look arrogant, cocky, proud, boisterous. Who wants to listen to someone constantly “boasting” of their achievements? In a day when the media no longer feels any obligation to be fair and balanced, objective, and truthful, they pick a side in the public debate and serve more as propaganda machines than reporters. This is the dilemma for the candidate aiming to topple the corrupt government system of our day. It’s a dammed-if-you-do- and dammed-if-you-don’t conundrum of publicity and getting your message to the public.
Fifth, remember, truth is always the best antidote for deception. We must test all things by God’s truth. Test all things; hod fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). Look to the word of God to be ‘thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Speak truth to falsehood, but don’t forget to speak “truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). Rely on the Holy Spirit for truth to lead you in the truth (John 14:17: 15:26; 16:13). Start and continue in the Spirit (Galatians 3), the Holy Spirit who will give you the love you need to proclaim the truth of God (Romans 5:5).
Sixth, do not be deceived. Four times God exhorts us in His word, “Do not be deceived.” The word “deceived” (Greek planasthe from the present tense verb of planao) means be misled, lead astray, deceived, seduced, deluded, deceive oneself. We find this word in the following passages in regard to specific things we should guard against being deceived about.
Seventh, do not be deceived into thinking God is vague about sin and its penalty. To the Corinthians Paul was inspired by God to write:
1 Corinthians 6:9–11 (NKJV) – 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Many of these sinful behaviors are acceptable to the world. The world takes “pride” and parades those who indulge in such sinful activities. DON’T BE DECEIVED INTO ACCEPTING SUCH THINGS. Instead UNDERSTAND SUCH SINFUL BEHAVIORS AND LIFESTYLES CAN BE PUT IN THE PAST TENSE AND WE CAN BE VICTORIOUSLY DELIVERED FROM THEM BY BEING “JUSTIFIED IN THE NAME OF JESUS AND BY THE SPIRIT OF OUR GOD.” That’s the truth!
Eighth, do not be deceived into thinking you can keep company with an “evil company” of people and not be affected adversely. In the great chapter about the resurrection of Jesus, its power and importance, Paul is inspired by God to warn:
1 Corinthians 15:33–34 (NKJV) – 33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
Pay attention to the company you keep. Don’t be “woke,” be awakened to righteousness. Don’t take sin lightly. Know God’s word and His will to live holy and not sinfully. Pay attention to this otherwise you risk being put to shame.
Ninth, do not be deceived, God isn’t mocked; people will receive the consequence or blessings of their choices. To the church in the region of Galatia where there was much witchcraft and occultic practices outside the church, and legalism and self-reliance within the church, Paul was inspired to write:
Galatians 6:7–9 (NKJV) – 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
The truth is that if you act in your flesh or are self-serving, it corrupts you. But if you sow to the Spirit seeking to live under His guidance, you will be fruitful and useful to God. Beware of getting tired of living for God because in the end you will reap eternal benefits.
Tenth, do not be deceived, every good gift comes from God, and you can depend on Him always. James the half-brother of Jesus was inspired by God to write:
James 1:16–18 (NKJV) – 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Every single good thing in this world is from God. The world wants to blame God for what they perceive as “bad,” while they either attribute to impersonal evolutionary means or themselves the “cause” of their blessings. Don’t be deceived. Don’t allow yourself to be sucked into that godless quicksand of engulfing darkness. Life without God is depressing and has no future. See this world through the lens of God who is good. Whether tiny or tremendous, obscure, or out in the open for all to see, goodness and good things are put there by God. Be thankful for all the good God provides. Thank God for every breath you breath. Thank God for your health, for your wealth, for your poverty, and even your predicaments. Trust God in every situation and for all things knowing that as we interpret our reality “by the word of truth,” we will see by His Spirit how we are “a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”
We live in deceptive times.
Do not be deceived, God takes sin seriously, but He can powerfully save you from what seems hopeless on your own.
Do not be deceived, who you spend time with will affect you.
Do not be deceived, there are consequences for our choices.
Do not be deceived, everything good comes from God.
Do not be deceived! Seek the Lord. Rely on His Spirit. Pour yourself into God’s word; follow its light, wisdom, and truth. Use the sword of the Spirit to cut away the deceptions of this world. Don’t rely on lies; speak truth to dark powers. Don’t side with the Devil. Shine God’s light into the Devil’s darkness and watch him disappear. Make lies irrelevant with truth. Speak the truth of God in His love in the power of the Holy Spirit and watch the good things He will do. In Jesus name. Amen!
[1] https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/joseph-goebbels-on-the-quot-big-lie-quot#google_vignette