The issue. In Matthew chapter 24, verse 24, Jesus warns us to beware of “false Christs” who would appear at the end of this biblical age. Notice He infers that there will be more than one of them. Does this mean that a number of people will pretend to be Jesus Himself, or need we look deeper? Let’s read the quote and try to figure this out. To capture the context, we’ll start in verse 23 and read down through verse 26. Every version tells the same story but I believe, in this case, the clearest rendition comes from The Holy Bible From the Ancient Eastern Text, as follows.
Speaking of a time far in the future, Jesus said, “Then if any man should say to you, Behold, here is the Christ, or there; do not believe it. For there will rise false Christs and lying prophets, and they will show signs and great wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones. Behold, I have told you in advance. Therefore if they should say to you, Behold, he is in the desert, do not go out; or, Behold, he is in the chamber, do not believe it.” I have already explained “lying prophets” and their lying wonders on this blog, in my article, “Who is the False Prophet of Revelation?” Now let’s deal with “false Christs.”
What does “Christ” mean? This Greek word means the same as the Hebrew word “Messiah.” Both words literally mean anointed. Who traditionally gets anointed? Religious leaders like Popes and priests, as well as political leaders, like kings. So the words “Christ” and “Messiah” really mean Leader. Jesus Christ means Jesus our Leader. Are there false religious leaders these days? Go ahead and laugh if you want to. I believe most of them are false. But to truly understand this question, we need to dig deeper still.
Most people’s religion is not Christianity anymore, even, in many cases, where the people go to church. We have a common, secular religion, which includes pretty much all the people, including some who call themselves Christian. Let’s flip back to the 1970’s to get a grip on this. During that time, many people like me became hippies and deserted the Christian faith. But another transformation of equal proportion happened in church. Up until that time, most church people voted but they placed little credence in secular ways. They thought only Jesus Christ could actually solve the many problems of this world and they patiently believed He would. They lived lives of quiet faith. Jesus told His believers, in John 15.19, “You are not of this world, but I have chosen you out of this world.” They believed that. Philippians 3.20 says, “We are citizens of heaven” and they believed that too. But along came a televangelist named Jerry Falwell. Falwell convinced the church people to take a more active role in politics and for the most part, they enthusiastically did. So from that time on, church people, hippies and most other people began to believe in politics. Both Left and Right put their faith in “democracy,” which can be twisted to mean almost anything. Our new, secular religion had been born–and how it grew.
We have seen that “Christ” means Leader, therefore a false Christ is a false leader. Do we have any false leaders these days? Again, go ahead and laugh. We know false leaders abound. All of them pretend they’re going to save us. Some of the more charismatic ones have millions of exuberant followers. These are the “false Christs” who declare that they can help us and who almost never do. When we vote one out, another one more or less as useless takes his place. Not all of these are politicians. Increasingly, billionaire business leaders have been rebranding themselves as social messiahs too. Notice that Jesus said, “they will mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones.” Most of us have fallen into this trap. It is a symptom of how much our eyes have been lowered from the glory of Heaven down into the mire of this world. Almost all progress on earth came through Christianity and that progress was achieved by looking Upward, rather than down. So as we look down, our culture slides down around us. But we can change that, by turning our focus back Upward toward Christ, believing He is the Leader Who will save each of us and our society. How to do that, very simply, right at home, is the subject of my little book, Do-it-Yourself HOME CHRISTIANITY, which is available on this website.
A second look. Now let’s partially reread the quote we started with, while substituting the word “leader” for “Christ.” “Then if any man should say to you, Behold, here is the leader, or there; do not believe it. For there will rise false leaders and lying prophets, and they will show signs and great wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones.” Doesn’t that sound like life today?
The real item. Jesus tells us His return will be far more amazing than the false tricks of worldly leaders, in Matthew 24.27. “For just as the lightning comes out from the east and is seen even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man” (Jesus). Verse 30 continues: “Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in the sky; and all the generations of the earth will mourn, (not everyone will welcome Him) and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” It will be impossible to mistake.
