Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead. (1 Timothy 4:1–2 NLT)

False teachers have been a problem for Christians since the earliest days of Christianity. In fact, false teachers appeared on the scene almost at the same time as the first Christian evangelists. The false teachers took advantage of the early believers’ limited understanding of God’s Word.

Paul was often left to clean up the mess left by false teachers. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul identifies some of the teachings that were leading people astray. Apparently, some false teachers were telling people that it was wrong to get married or to eat certain types of foods.

False teachers continue to cause problems for believers and seekers today. And they’ll keep going until Jesus returns. The Bible says so. You may be tempted to duck the problem by saying, “I don’t pay attention to theology. I just love Jesus.” Be careful. You may end up loving the wrong Jesus. Jesus warned that “false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones” (Matthew 24:24 NLT).

The people who are most vulnerable to deception are those who don’t know what the Bible actually says about the end times. Christian history is littered with stories of people who gave up everything to follow some persuasive leader to some specially chosen location to await Jesus’ return. Unfortunately, the stories end with the people awkwardly returning to society, embarrassed, humiliated, and discouraged. The book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988 was very popular—until 1989.

The most obvious way to discern between truth and fiction is to study the only trustworthy source of information. You can’t swing a stick in Scripture without hitting a passage that refers to Jesus’ return. You’ll find prophecies written thousands of years before Jesus was born. You’ll find descriptions of signs and events that will precede Jesus’ return. You’ll find words of comfort and encouragement. And you’ll find warnings like this one: “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows” (Matthew 24:36 NLT).

Study these truths. Understand the big picture of what will happen and when. Help others understand it as well. Talk to your pastor about things that aren’t clear to you. Get comfortable with the truth of the end times so that you can spot counterfeit teaching.

And when you do spot counterfeit teaching, call it out. Counter it the way Jesus countered the devil’s temptations in the wilderness: by using the Word of God.

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