"YES" Without question, the
Covid-19 pandemic, lockdown, and shutdown of the global economy, is the most
significant event since World War II. This is followed by the international
protests and riots in the aftermath of the death on the street while in police
custody of George Floyd. Who could have a imagined, even six months ago, that
life as we know it would change radically? Indeed, it did and we still are not
sure where it will all end.
In Part 01, we
learned that, ‘Yes,’ there is a word from the Lord. In fact, there are several
key words and phrases. The Introductory Key Phrase: ‘God is always
speaking.’ In these last days He speaks through His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2).
After this, The
First Key Phrase is: Prophetic Times. We believe that our days were
spoken by the ancient Hebrew prophets millennia ago. There are numerous
passages regarding this but a favoured place to start is Matthew 24:4-5:
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive
you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive
many.
Second Key Phrase: Time of Deception
We covered this in Part
01; so now we come to
Third Key Phrase: Watch Out for False Christs, otherwise known as False Messiahs or
Antichrists.
Since Jesus Christ is
the personification of truth (John 14:6), and combined with the Holy Spirit’s
truth (John 16:13) and the truth of God’s Word (John 17:17), forms the bulwark
of divine universal truth. It is God’s truth and truth alone that protects us
from devilish deception. Not surprisingly, the devil wants to hijack such
truth. He is a liar and the father of lies; in fact lying is his native
language (John 8:44). He can’t even say, ‘Good morning’ without lying.
One of the key ways he
promotes lies is by introducing false christ or false messiahs as a counterfeit
to the genuine one. That’s why Jesus warns us that many will come in His
name, saying they are the Messiah, and shall deceive man (Matthew 24:5). These
are antichrist figures who seek to oppose the real Jesus or replace Him.
Throughout church
history there have been dozens of false messiahs, who have managed to attract a
large following. Eventually the truth came out and the myth died out … until
the next pretender came to the scene. Secular charismatic figures have also fit
this description of false christ or antichrist; they start out with great
promise and end up being genocidal dictators; the 20th Century had a few
notable ones.
False messiahs can also
come from erroneous doctrines or portraits of Christ. Today, there are several
false portraits of Christ and we need the discernment to recognise and refute
them. Like so many deceptions, it takes a kernel of truth and wraps it in lies
- attractive lies. These include the following:
1.
Sentimental
Jesus: This is the
all-loving, non-judgemental Jesus who wouldn’t dream to send anyone to hell.
Jesus is love but this does not preclude His role as coming king and judge;
2.
Mystical
Jesus: He is like an
eastern religion or new age guru who does magic tricks; Jesus’ supernatural
acts were in the power of the Holy Spirit.
3.
Marxist
Jesus: This is liberation
theology which comes from Latin America: This Jesus came to liberate the poor
people who will inherit the wealth of the rich, like a Messianic Robin Hood.
4.
Progressive
Jesus: This Jesus is
‘sublimely tolerant’ and ‘radically inclusive,’ accepting lifestyles that are
clearly rejected in Scripture.
5.
Life-Coach
Jesus: This Jesus invites
you to come to Him, so He can make you healthy and handsome, wealthy and wise,
popular and prosperous. If you prosper, you will have friends but once those
riches sprout wings and fly away, so will the friends.
In training agents to
discern counterfeit money from genuine, it is reported that the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) teaches it employees to become very familiar with
genuine money. Once they master every detail, they are optimally prepared to
spot a counterfeit note.
Likewise, the more
familiar you are with the real Jesus, the more immunised you will be from
following a false one.
The Real Jesus
The genuine Jesus
Christ of Nazareth can be discerned because of His three-fold roles. All are
indispensable and uniquely found in this one person.
First, Jesus is known as
Son of David. This is synonymous to the title Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ
(Greek). God promised King David that he would have a Son to sit on his throne
forever, and that the Son of David would also be God’s Son (II Samuel 7:12-17;
I Chronicles 17:11-15; Psalm 132:10-12). ‘The Messiah’ means ‘the anointed
one,’ thus making Jesus ‘the anointed of the anointed.’ That’s why when
believers are born again by the Holy Spirit, they become ‘Christians’ or ‘christianos’
meaning ‘little anointed ones.’ What a wonderful title!
Second, Jesus is the Son
of God, the ‘Word’ that was God, with God in the beginning, and was made
flesh (John 1:1,2,14). His identity/divinity is vouched for by the resurrection
(Romans 1:4), as well as the 5 credible witnesses of John 5:31-45. They
include:
1.
John
the Baptist (v 31);
2.
Works
or miracles (v. 36);
3.
Heavenly
Father (v. 37);
4.
Scriptures
(v. 39);
5.
Moses
(v. 45)
Jesus’ divine and
earthly Fathers are alluded to in Luke 1:32-33 and John 20:31.
Jesus had to be God to save us and man to die for us.
Finally, we learn that
the real Jesus is Saviour. It says in Matthew 1:21: And she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save
his people from their sins.’ The name of Jesus was used 938 times in the
New Testament. The Hebrew name is Yeshua, which is the diminutive of Yehoshua
(Joshua), which means ‘saviour.’ He is a great Saviour that grants a great
salvation from sin, sickness, danger, the world (or worldliness), devil, death,
and hell. These are formidable foes of which no one else on earth has even been
able to defeat one. Jesus defeats all 7.
Now that you have a
better understanding of the real Jesus, why settle or anything less or anyone
else?
TO BE CONTINUED
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