Deception

“I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept Me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.” (John 5:43)
I find this verse really interesting. Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and rebuking them for not accepting Him as their Messiah, because although He healed a lame man, He did it on the Sabbath. The ‘someone else’ He refers to is the man whom we commonly call the Antichrist. The Greek word here, translated ‘another’, is allos. It means one completely different (as opposed to heteros, which means another of the same kind – used for example in John 14:16 referring to the Holy Spirit as ‘another Counsellor’).
This is a tragic thing: these very religious people missed the Christ and yet will embrace the Antichrist. They traded the Son of God for a man empowered by Satan. John tells us that “the spirit of antichrist... is already in the world” (1 John 4:3). Indeed, Matt. 24:5 is seen happening all over the world: “Many will come in My name, claiming ‘I am the Christ’ [i.e. ‘I am the anointed one’] and will deceive many.” How many times have we heard someone say, particularly on TV, “Don’t touch the Lord’s anointed” – referring to themselves?
Deception is a primary characteristic of the last days. Keep your eyes focused on Jesus, and He will protect you from it.