At the very least, lying is as old as Satan approaching Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Jesus called Satan “a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). Falsehoods come from Satan and those who use them are taking on the evil one’s character.
When the children of Israel arrived at Mt. Sinai, God gave them Ten Commandments. He wanted them to make these Commandments the foundation of their society. The ninth Commandment reads, “Thou shalt not bear false witness” (Exodus 20:16). So people have a choice: Satan and a lie or God and the truth. And the words people speak reveal what is in their heart (Matthew 12:34).
At the Mount of Olives, when Jesus revealed what the world will be like at the end of the age, He mentioned deceit four times (Matthew 24:4, 5, 11, 24). Many Christians are rightly watching Israel,Jerusalem, natural disasters, advances in technology and the like, but let us not forget to watch for an increase in lying and deception.
Since I believe in the pre-Trib Rapture, I don’t expect to be here when the Antichrist shows up, but I am aware that he will come“after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (II Thess. 2:9). He will be a master liar and deceive all those who choose to not love the truth by faking the signs of an apostle (II Thess. 2:12; II Cor. 12:12). He will have a great lie that multitudes will choose to believe (II Thess. 2:11).
Having said that, I have been amazed at how common lying has become lately. I am not talking about Pres. Obama’s promise to cut the deficit in half, or his promise to post all bills on the Internet before they are voted on, or his promise that there wouldn’t be any lobbyists in his Administration, etc., etc., etc. These are old lies. I am talking about three big lies that recently hit the news in about seven days.
The first big lie came when the Israeli press said Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US Ambassador Dan Shapiro got into a heated shouting match over Pres. Obama’s handling of Iran’s nuclear program. When asked about it, Ambassador Shapiro called the report “silly” and said “the conversations were entirely professional and friendly.” But in an interview a few days later,Rep. Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, and who was present at the meeting, said the heated shouting match did, in fact, happen.
The second big lie came when U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and head of the DNC told a group of Jewish Democrats that Michael Oren, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., told her “that what the Republicans are doing is dangerous for Israel.” When Ambassador Oren disputed what Rep. Wasserman Schultz said, she denied saying it and replied “unfortunately, that comment was reported by a conservative newspaper. It’s not surprising that they would deliberately misquote me.” The problem is that a reporter taped her original statement, her office confirmed the authenticity of the tape and she was caught in her lie.
The third big lie came when the DNC tried to remove God’s name and a declaration that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital from their party platform. Fearing the loss of Christian votes and fat cat Jewish contributions, Democratic officials tried to re-instate these things, but they needed a two-thirds vote to do it. Chairman Antonio Villariaigosa called for the voice vote three times and it was clear that he never got the necessary two-thirds majority, but he declared that he did and the issue passed to the course of many boos.
From my perspective, God wants Jerusalem to be recognized asIsrael’s capital, but He doesn’t want His name tied to a document that supports abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, etc. and He doesn’t want people using crooked votes and lies to get Christian votes and Jewish contributions. That is taking His name in vain (Exodus 20:7). Anyway, lying and twisting the truth by seemingly intelligent people is a growing problem, the work of the Devil, a violation of the Ten Commandments, a danger to our society and a sign that the end of the age is approaching.
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Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck