A recent headline caught my eye: “Christians Find Out Jesus Was Woke and Are Now in Crisis.” The article asserts that the Church is in trouble, citing pastors and evangelicals who refer to the principles of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as “liberal talking points.” Such people believe that what Jesus taught about turning the other cheek “is weak, and doesn’t work anymore.” I was just as shocked and grieved as you might be now while you read this.

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains Matthew 24:3–8

Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and mislead many. Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved Matthew 24:9–14

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me John 14:6

They preach another gospel. There is only one gospel: receiving salvation in Jesus Christ, who died, was buried, rose again, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. It is by grace through faith that we are saved, not by any works. Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word, I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures 1 Corinthians 15:1–4

Jude describes false leaders who have crept into the Church, and he compares them to three Old Testament figures prominent men who used their influence in an ungodly manner. First, he mentions Cain, who gave his own offering of what he thought was better, and was rejected. Cain is the first picture of “religion,” a counterfeit of what God desires. Next, Jude cites Balaam, who was retained by an ungodly king to curse God’s people, and when that little plot failed, Balaam led the people into sexual immorality ( Numbers 31:16 Balaam was greedy and covetous, though revered as a prophet; however, he died as a soothsayer Joshua 13:22 Last, Jude mentions Korah, a man full of pride Numbers 16:1–40 Korah rebelled against God’s authority and led others into that rebellion, just as Lucifer did ages ago in heaven. A false prophet will never submit to legitimate pastors or other authority figures.

Micah the prophet is another example of a true prophet who stood alone. In Kings 22:1–28, a group of 400 prophets tell King Ahab to go to war, and they promise him victory. However, Micah alone tells the king that those prophets are inspired by lying spirits, not by the Lord, and that King Ahab will die in battle. And it happens exactly as the one has said, and not as the 400. Both of these true prophets were mocked, persecuted, and treated as false prophets until their words came to pass. Sometimes believers are quick to call a true prophet false, based on what our flesh desires to see happen, or on our personal opinions. All the “prophets” can be prophesying the same thing, and it can be completely false, while one who is less popular prophesies the truth and is ridiculed. We must seek the Lord and use discernment.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils 1 Timothy 4:1 In the last days, we are told even Christians will depart from the faith due to seducing spirits. This will come from false leaders. I chose the KJV because it uses the word seduce which means to lure away or beguile. In the KJV it also says the serpent beguiled Eve. Satan has no new tricks. He is luring the Church away with false teachings that sound good, but they are nothing more than doctrines of demons. As many Christians are rejecting the word of God and Jesus’ teachings, it is clear they are in pursuit of another Jesus. Just as the people who call Jesus a liberal, socialist, woke, or even a homosexual, some people want a god they can control. They want a god who can fit into their narrative, and they will preach it to anyone who will listen. They will rewrite His word by adding to it or by removing truths from it to deceive the masses. When I see how many false messiahs are appearing, I know we are nearing the Lord’s return. This will increase as we grow closer to that time. We need not fear, but we should be prepared. Here’s how we can prepare.

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception 1 John 4:4–6 🙏🏻Join me in prayer Father, we come into Your presence, and we glorify Your name. You alone are worthy of all the praise. Forgive us, Your people and Your Church. We have sinned against You by refusing to honor Your words. Forgive us for giving any false prophets or leaders a platform due to our ignorance. Give discernment to Your people. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear according to Your word. Give us wisdom and knowledge, like the sons of Issachar, to know what to do and how to prepare. Thank You for Your indwelling Spirit, because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. We praise You because You already have the victory, and we rejoice because we are victorious in Jesus Christ our Lord. Let it be so! 🙏🏻❤️🕊