Mark 13:5
¶ And Jesus answering them began to say,
Take heed lest any man deceive you: 6
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall
deceive many. 7 And when ye shall hear
of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must
needs be; but the end shall not be yet. 8 For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and
there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of
sorrows. 9 But take heed to yourselves:
for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be
beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a
testimony against them. 10 And the
gospel must first be published among all nations. 11 But when they shall lead you, and
deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye
premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for
it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. 12
Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the
son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause
them to be put to death. 13 And ye shall
be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto
the end, the same shall be saved.
5
¶ And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: 6
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Abba
Hillel Silver, writing in his 1927 book, The History of Messianic
Speculation in Israel, points out that in the first century before the
destruction of the temple an expectant enthusiasm burst out hoping for the
Messiah to come, probably more due to the Roman occupation than anything along
with their understanding of the prophecies in Daniel.
Daniel
9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall
be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again,
and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks
shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince
that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof
shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Theudas
is mentioned in Acts 5:36 as being someone who garnered followers as did Judas
of Galilee in the next verse.
Acts
5:36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to
whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and
all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. 37 After
this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much
people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were
dispersed.
The
Jewish general, turncoat, and questionable historian, Josephus, reports in
his Antiquities of the Jews, in book XX, chapter 5, which you can
read free online at openlibrary.org or gutenberg.org, that Theudas told people
he was a prophet, took on many followers, and promised to part the Jordan. The
Romans didn’t let it get that far but cut off his head and carried it back to
Jerusalem.
Silver
goes into much detail about the many people throughout history who claimed to
be the Messiah and the consequences not only they suffered but their followers
as well. He also goes into a great amount of detail about Jews trying to
predict when the Messiah was to come.
We
know this is not an uncommon thing among so-called Christians in history.
People from the nineteenth century’s John Nichols Thorn, a Cornish tax rebel,
shot by the British government, Arnold Potter, a Mormon, who died while
attempting to ascend into heaven by jumping off a cliff in 1872, to recently
David Shayler and Alan Miller, Ann Lee of Shaker fame in the 1700’s, Sung Yung
Moon, David Koresh, and David Icke all claimed or claim to be Jesus Christ or
the Christ.
There
were literally dozens of people in history who would claim to be the Messiah or
Christ or the Second Coming of Jesus. There will be one final one; the Beast of
Revelation whom we know of as the Antichrist, although that title is not found
in the Book of Revelation. He is mentioned prominently, not only by the Apostle
John, the writer of Revelation, but by Paul.
2Thessalonians
2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself
that he is God.
The
foundation of Christianity is the belief and assurance that Jesus Christ, the
Nazarene, was and is God in the flesh. It is impossible to honestly call
yourself a Christian if you do not believe that with all your heart, Bill
O’Reilly’s nonsensical views notwithstanding.
Christ
has warned His disciples not to believe anyone who says they are Him. Christ is
returning to earth to take control, not to lead people into the desert or to
jump off a cliff.
2
Thessalonians 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10 When he shall come to
be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because
our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
Of
course, who his mighty angels are is revealed in the parallel verse in 1
Thessalonians 3:13 but that is not for this study.
Believe
no one who says he or she is the Christ, the Messiah, or Jesus returning.
You’ve been warned.
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