“Watch Out That You Are Not Deceived!”

“Advent Journey Day IV.”
“Watch Out That You Are Not Deceived!”(Lk.21:5-9).
Folk wisdom holds that before cultivation the farmer does not seek the opinion of the farmland to know if it would produce a good yield or not. When the harvest is poor, the question is raised, “Was it the land that was infertile, or the seeds that were bad, or the farmer that was lazy and didn’t tend the crops well?”
As important as long-term plans have become to us, we do not own the future.
There is a season for planting and a season for harvesting, but we cannot be very certain about the quality of the harvest. Times and seasons change.
God alone holds the future in his hands.
“No condition is permanent” does not only mean, one day one may rise from grass to grace; it equally means one day one may descend from grace in disgrace.
Yes, times and seasons change, but God alone holds the future in his hands.
Some disciples admired and remarked about the beautiful artistry layout of the temple structure. But Jesus told them that what they admired will some day be completely destroyed.
Curiously, they sought to know when it would happen and what sign would indicate that such destruction was about to happen?
Jesus replied, “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
It is common place with “end-time” preachers to interpret all the atrocities today to mean that the end is near. It took the willpower of the Kenyan government to flush out a charlatan who claimed that he was Jesus Christ who has returned in his Second coming. Over the centuries, here and there selfproclaimed impostors have drawn innocent people to themselves with claims that they are Jesus in his Second coming.
Take note Jesus said, “These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
Strange and confusing happenings takes place in every generation, but it is not yet end-time! The temple that the disciples admired was destroyed in A.D. 70 when the Romans took Jerusalem, but we are already in A.D. 2023. Even the predictions of millenium interpreters is soon to be unfulfilled for the second time.
The key verse here my friend is, “Watch out that you are not deceived.”…”Do not follow them…”
In Advent we are reminded that Christ will come again, but we cannot predict to the precise year and month in which he will come. But then, we must be ready so that anytime he comes, he will find us ready.
Prayer: Holy Spirit equip me with a discerning spirit to read the time and prepare for it accordingly. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.