Matthew 24:23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
Deuteronomy 13:1-3 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Luke 21:8 And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-11 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,
If someone has spiritual power, signs, or wonders, those are not enough to prove they are from God. Satan can perform his own powerful works, either through deception or through his own resources of power. The deception can only take root in those who do not receive the love of the truth. These people are ready for the deception of the Antichrist because they want a lie, and God will send them a strong delusion. This isn’t just any lie, but the lie, the lie that has enthralled the human race since Adam. There are many lies that satan promotes and tempts all people with; God is not God, God does not exist, Creation is not real, Believing in God is believing in a fairytale, Sin against God is not real, Heaven is not real, Eternal life is not real, Eternal torment and Hell are not real, The need for forgiveness is not real, Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and redemption are not real, The wrath of God is not real, The Word of God is made up stories, Self-worth is enlightenment, Self-reliance is power, God is not All-Powerful, God is not All-Knowing, God is not All-Present, All man can have is what the world has to offer, Repentance is not needed, You are good enough by your good deeds to deserve Heaven and eternal life, etc………… They are endless as the minds that intentionally choose to succumb to them. As God gives rebellious man the lie he desires, it isn’t out of His generosity. Instead, it shows God’s judgment on those who reject the truth. In judgment, God may give a man up to the depravity of his heart, to his pleasure in unrighteousness. These acts of denial, rejection, and defiance are the very vehicle of their judgment and punishment.
Corruption of doctrine, true worship, and faith come in by degrees and was gradual. Discernment is needed to see through the fog of these false proclamations. Those that fall into belief in these lies are intentionally willing subjects to them and include those who flat out deny the existence of God and the need for forgiveness and those who neglect and become complacent with the Word of God. How are we to hear the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit when our hearts and minds prefer things of this world over things of God? We do well to repent of neglect and complacency and seek and desire things of God so that we might more fully honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do.