What you need to know about the rise of “False Messiahs”

What you need to know about the rise of “False Messiahs”
Aug 25, 2018 | 0 |
What you need to know about the rise of “False Messiahs”
Jesus warned his followers to be on guard. “At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.” (Mark 13:21-23)

Test the spirits. “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3)

Grow strong in what Scripture teaches about Christ’s return. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) CONTINUE


The Rise of False Messiahs: What You Must Know
By Christine Yount Jones - August 20, 2018
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Filter Everything Through Scripture When It Comes to False Messiahs
Jesus warned his followers to be on guard. “At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.” (Mark 13:21-23)
Test the spirits. “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3)
Grow strong in what Scripture teaches about Christ’s return. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)



Why Do People Follow False Messiahs?
From an article I wrote for Children’s Ministry Magazine about Cult-Proofing Your kids, there are five reasons people follow false prophets and get involved in cults:

Looking for answers–People who need the security of an authoritarian environment crave black-and-white answers-even if those answers are wrong. Cults provide such an environment.
Desiring God–“Another common reason that young people join cults,” say sGretchen Passantino, co-author of the classic Answers to the Cultist at Your Door and co-director of Answers in Action in Costa Mesa, California, “is they want to experience God in a way that seems more real than what they’ve grown up with. And cults frequently promise this kind of a mystical experience with God.”
Needing to make a difference–Cults meet young people’s idealistic needs to change the world. In a cult, people can lose themselves in something greater and nobler than themselves.
Hurting–Lonely, alienated people find in cult members the love and acceptance they’ve longed for.
Breaking away--Sometimes kids join cults out of rebellion against their parents’ values.
It is critical in these days that church leaders everywhere help their people to be on guard, test the spirits, and grow in the truth of God’s Word. To do otherwise puts people at risk of deception.

If you or someone you know may be in a cult, this information from Families Against Cult Teachings and Abuses may prove helpful.
https://www.familiesagainstcultteachings.org/