End times deception

“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect – if that were possible.” Mark 13:22
The Bible tells us, over and over again, that the end times will be a time of great deception. Ever since Jesus ascended to heaven, there have been people who have claimed to be Him (we still see them today from time to time, usually appearing on TV). Rightly so, we straightaway write them off as nut jobs – but what if such a person, claiming to be Jesus, started gong around performing miracles, healing the sick, and so forth? The world is not ready for this! The false Christs that will arise will seem to meet all the requirements of Jesus in terms of His ministry. And, just to show how great this deception will be, Jesus adds the words “to deceive the elect – if that were possible.” ‘The elect’ refers to believers, those who have been elected by God for salvation. What He is saying is that if believers did not have the Holy Spirit to help them discern this deception, if they looked at things solely on face value, knowing the Lord, they would be deceived. We read also in 2 Thess. 2:9-11: “The coming of the lawless one [the Antichrist] will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”
The lesson for us is clear: If you don’t know the Lord, if you’ve been shown the gospel but refused to believe it, then you will be deceived in the end times. There is no guarantee that you will be able to resist this deception, and come to Christ once all the things prophesied by Scripture start coming to pass. The only way to avoid being deceived is to have the Holy Spirit indwelling you, so that you can have discernment. “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).