Do not be deceived

 

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  --Galatians 6:7

In his poem The Hollow Men, T. S. Elliott wrote, "This is the way the world ends: Not with a bang, but a whimper."  Earlier, H. G. Wells had called the first world war "the war to end all wars."  Despairing of its aftermath, Elliott saw that, although the world had survived the war (the bang), the survivors were empty, their lives bereft of meaning.  A repeated line from the poem speaks of "death's other kingdom", implying that living on Earth at this time was much like hell.

As we look further into Mark chapter 13, we see the disciples marveling at Herod's Temple but Jesus predicting that it would be destroyed, with "not one stone left upon another."  Thinking that this might signal the end of the world (for the Temple was so well built and so sturdy, surely its destruction would mean the world would have ended in a mighty explosion), they asked Jesus for clues, signs to watch for that might signal the beginning of the end.

And Jesus, answering them, began to say, "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My Name, saying, 'I am He,' and will deceive many.  But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles.  These are the beginnings of sorrows." --Mark 13:5-8

Jesus seems to be telling them not to fear the big cataclysmic, explosive events like wars or natural disasters.  Instead, He warns them against deceit.  It will be lies, not bombs, that will signal the end of the world.  The biggest lie, the one that Jesus warns us against first, is spiritual deception.  He warns against spiritual imposters, those who come in His name and claim, "I am He," or "I am the Christ."  

In the original Greek, the object of the sentence is left off.  Translators added "the Christ" or the pronoun "He" to help the reader, but the original text warned us to stay away from people who might say, "I AM."  Those who have read the Old Testament will recognized that this is how God described Himself to Moses.  In Exodus 3:14, after Moses had asked whom he should tell the people sent him, God answered, "Say to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you'."  In identifying Himself with the Father, Jesus said in John 15:56, "Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." 

According to a website called VeryWell Mind, lying can be hard to detect.  "People are surprisingly bad at detecting lies.  One study, for example, found that people were only able to accurately detect lying 54% of the time in a lab setting--hardly impressive when factoring in a 50% detection rate by pure chance alone." (ref https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-tell-if-someone-is-lying-2795917).  Satan is a master manipulator of truth, called a liar and the father of lies in John 8:44.  Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 both refer to Satan as "that old serpent", a reference to Genesis 3 when the serpent deceived Eve.  Even the more obscure biblical names of Satan imply falsehood.  Belial, a common Old Testament reference to the evil one, means "worthless", as in "worthless counselor" (or "counselor of ruin")--see Nahum 1:11.  What counsel is more worthless than deceit?  Abaddon and Apollyon (Revelation 9:11) both mean "destroyer".  This would include the destruction of the bonds of trust, of faithfulness, of truth.

So we see that Jesus warned His disciples not of wars or of earthquakes, but of lies and deception.  He goes on to describe persecution.

But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues.  You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.  And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak.  But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.  Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  --Mark 13:9-13

Fatalists worry about thermonuclear annihilation.  Environmentalists worry about climate change and rising sea levels.  Anarchists worry about the breakdown of political and social structure, resulting in the destruction of the world.  Jesus's message is that the physical world is temporal, and that the real worry is the suppression of Truth.  When Christians proclaim God's Truth, they will be persecuted; first by religious leaders, and then by political rulers.  These people have souls, and the message of the Gospel should be proclaimed to them, even as a believer is being put to death.  Remember Stephen in Acts 6:8-15?  He was to be stoned to death by the Jewish leaders, but he continued to preach the Gospel up until he was martyred.  One of the people in attendance was Saul, who later was converted to Christianity and changed his name to Paul, and who preached the Gospel to a great number of people and who wrote a third of the New Testament.

Jesus's unspoken message in this passage is to not let fear overcome you, even when you are persecuted.  Satan as the father of fear.  Rather, we should rely upon the Holy Spirit who will tell us what to say in those trying times.  The Holy Spirit is our Comforter.  In other words, don't spend time worrying about what defense you will bring before the council or the judge or the king.  The Spirit of God will be with you, and will comfort you, and will bring to mind the words that your accusers need to hear at that moment.  Some may respond positively to the gospel message, and be converted themselves.  I think this is why Paul was so determined to have his own case heard by Caesar (Acts 25:11).

We should not fear wars that are the destruction of temporal things such as buildings, temples, artifacts.  We should not fear death, for our bodies are temporal as well.  We should instead set our minds on spiritual things.  We should worry about the spread of the Gospel, for the Gospel must be preached to all nations before the end will come (Mark 13:10).  We should not worry about trials and persecutions, for our faithfulness will be a testimony to our persecutors (Mark 13:9).  We should not worry about our last words, but instead be in tune to the words the Holy Spirits gives us (Mark 13:11).  Even when those closest to us (brothers, fathers, children) betray us out of hatred for the One whom we love, we must endure to the end (Mark 13:13).  In this way will God be glorified.  Otherwise, Elliott will be proved true, and the world will end in a whimper.