I guess I reject the idea that the elect can’t be deceived by some false prophets and teachers for a time, based on one scripture. Context is everything. The Olivet Doscourse was written in a certain order for a reason. Christ is issuing this warning TO believers. He also is giving an order of events. He is warning His believers, including His elect, not to be deceived. There are multiple deceptions and multiple kinds of false Zchrists, prophets, and teachers being talked about.EmmaLee wrote: ↑February 13th, 2018, 12:54 pm I'm good with taking Christ's words as they are - no commentaries needed (that's where the philosophies of men mingled with scriptures come in).
Of course we all sin and need to repent of various and sundry things. But the scriptures I shared above are referring to very specific things people are/will be deceived about - "false Christs, false prophets, and great signs and wonders" - that is all. Not everyone is or will be deceived about these particular things - and Christ said the elect will not be. He's not saying those same elect people can't be deceived about something else, but they will not succumb to deceptions about false Christs, false prophets, and great signs and wonders. I take him at his word.
It seems pretty clear, that the deception that comes AFTER the Abomination of Desolation will be much bigger than the previous deceptions. But at that point the elect will not believe that deception.
The physical Abomination of Desolation, or abominations that make desolate, doesn’t come until a spiritual abomination of Desolation comes. This is the latter-day apostasy.
This is when the covenant people of God commit the sins that a God calls abomination, and it leaves them desolate, or without the Holy Ghost.
When you look at other latter-day prophecy, it tells us the man of lawlessness or Wicked one, is not revealed until after the latter-day apostasy.
What is the sign of the lawless one and false prophet?
2 Thessalonians 2 tells us
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
I feel that taking all the scriptures as a whole, and not singling out one, give a more complete picture.
Hence I stick by what I said earlier, that the elect can be deceived, for a short time, and can repent.
I feel it’s a dangerous belief to say they can’t, because too many of the deceived feel that since they are of the covenant people, they can’t be deceived based of one scripture taken out of its order and context. Thus they ignore the MANY scriptures telling them otherwise. This keeps the prideful trapped in the spirit of delusion. On the flip side, it’s also dangerous to say that if someone was deceived but repented, that by this same criteria, they can’t be considered elect.
To me the wording and placement of Matthew 24:24 are clear that the deception spoken of in that scripture is specific to the false Christ coming. We can all be deceived and must remain vigilant and grounded in gospel basics if we hope to make it through the deceptions and apostasy still to come.
I guess for me that’s why it’s important to expose the deceptions when we see them. Prophets in the Old and New Testament named names. So should we.
All the small antichrists lead to the big antichrist. All the small false prophets lead to the big false prophet. So if people can’t see through the little guys, like Julie Rowe, Hector Sosa, Spencer, Mike Strod, Chad Daybell, and so on. Then at that point there is no hope. They will never be able to see through the big ones coming.