Howling Imposters

The New Testament warns repeatedly of coming deceivers and false prophets who will cause many to depart from the faith.

Jesus warned his disciples 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 ‘Olivet Discourse’ with the stern warning - “Beware lest anyone deceive you,” for “many” deceivers will come and successfully “deceive many.”

Charlatans have come in his name, “deceived many,” and otherwise slithered their way into the Body of Christ over the centuries, targeting the “Elect” for deception, and even using “signs and wonders” to fool as many believers as possible. Christians not well-schooled in or committed to the Scriptures are easy prey for their seductive lies - (Matthew 24:4-11, 24:23-24, 24:26).

[Photo by Анатолий Чесноков on Unsplash]

Their lies include false information about Christ’s return, claiming that he “is here” or “there,” “in the wilderness” or “in the secret place,” the latter being a popular trend today. They set false expectations about the imminence of that day, 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 spread rumors about “wars,” earthquakes, and similar calamities, pointing to them as “signs” of the rapidly approaching “End.” Nevertheless, wars, seismic activities, and famines occur regularly in human history. What distinguishes one war from another prophetically? Such events are not indicators by which we may calculate the proximity of the Last Day.  As Jesus said, the “End is not yet” despite what we “hear” from deceivers about “wars and rumors of war”- (Matthew 24:4-6).

“False prophets” and other liars spread “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 preserved in the New Testament.

The warnings of Jesus are echoed in 2 Thessalonians where Paul describes the coming “Man of Lawlessness” whom he links to the “Apostasy.” Satan will energize him. He will employ “signs and lying wonders” to deceive many believers. He will “seat himself in the Sanctuary of God,” the ‘naos theou’ (ναος θεου), a term Paul elsewhere applies to the Church, the “Body of Christ” - (1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:21).

This Master Deceiver’s deceptions and supernatural signs will cause many to perish because they “welcomed not the love of the truth.” The key to avoiding the apostasy and the lies of the “Lawless One” is “holding fast” to the Apostolic teachings – (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, as many believers prefer bizarre experiences, sensationalism, and esoteric knowledge over the rock-solid 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).

Moreover, “evil men and howling imposters will become worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” The Greek term translated as “howling imposters” or ‘goétes’ (γοητες) referred originally to what anthropologists would label ‘sorcerers,’ ‘witchdoctors,’ and ‘shamans,’ practitioners of rituals and incantations intended to manipulate spiritual beings, and often accompanied by loud moaning and utterances - (1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Timothy 3:13, 4:3).

EXPLOITING THE SAINTS

Peter likewise warned us against false prophets who will infiltrate the Body of Christ and come to prominence in the Last Days as they fleece the flock of God:

• “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 driven by the desire for financial gain, “making merchandise” of the saints. Peter’s description fits the popular ‘Prosperity Gospel’ quite well, a deception whereby preachers promise unwary believers material abundance and good health if they give money generously to their “ministry,” a seductive lie and “destructive” heresy.

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

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

Many deceivers are importing occult ideas, terms, and practices into the Church, including mysticism, astrology, numerology, and other forms of divination. Others have turned millions of Christians into little more than cheerleaders for a corrupt political system.

The warnings of Jesus, Paul, and Peter are unfolding before our eyes, and apostasy is well underway as they predicted. Only time will tell if this is the final “great falling away” from the true faith and the time of the “Lawless One.”

In the meantime, are we heeding the warnings that Jesus and his apostles left to us in the New Testament? Let the false prophets and grifters howl all they wish. As disciples of Jesus, we need to love and cleave to his teachings no matter what.

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SEE ALSO:

• Rumors and Disinformation - (Rumors about the Day of the Lord caused alarm and confusion in the Thessalonian congregation – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

• Antichrists in the Church - (Throughout the present age, the Church is being plagued by deceivers from within who are sent to destroy the Body of Christ)

• The Apostasy - (Paul warned the Thessalonians of a future apostasy and linked it to the unveiling of the Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Destruction)

• Seated in the Sanctuary - (The Man of Lawlessness will be unveiled when he seats himself in the House of God - 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)