Fake News (It's Deeper Than Donald Trump)

Shalom, family. If there is one undeniable thing to credit to the current President of the United States it's his ability to make a headline, be it "good" or "bad". America is hypnotically polarized between idol gazing or hate watching his every move. He is never short of a quotable one-liner or catchphrase that becomes meme-worthy material. 

One particular Trump-ism that seemed to stick in this cultural & political climate is "fake news." And while many of us use it ironically, I can't help but acknowledge the timing of this catchphrase as spiritually significant. A hallmark of the current age. What do I mean by that? Well, for you saints who are into eschatology (end-times prophecy) you are probably already aware of the discussions that are being held in practically every religious space at the moment about the last days. I would say with the quickening and escalation of world events and catastrophes that even the secular spaces have tapped into these "last days" matters. And one major defining marker or sign of Biblical end-times is deception.

Depending on how your church taught you the creation timeline, you may be one who believes the concept from 2 Peter 3:8-9 that a day is as a thousand years to the Lord our God. It goes:

"But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,[fn] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."

Some take this as a literal equation. Others posit that the 1,000 years is a numerological symbol of a spiritual meaning. If the 1000 year creation timeline is accurate, then by current estimates--based off the life, death, and ascension of Jesus Christ and the corresponding Hebrew Calendar--our generation would likely be in the "last day" or last one-thousand years before Jesus Christ's second coming. 
(If you want a better understanding of this, click here.)

According to the Concise ESV Study Bible, Peter "...wrote 2 Peter from prison in Rome. He addressed this final message to a general network of churches...The letter indicates that false teachers were pressuring church members to depart from Christ. Peter urges believers to remember their salvation, reject heresy, and pursue godliness, despite what it might cost them."

The churches were infiltrated. The word was being distorted, and saints were being misled. This was a time when life seemed simpler from our vantage point. There was no internet. No smartphones. No artificial intelligence. No radio or television. Yet still churches were prone to deception. How much more so prone then are we today in the age of information over-saturation? Media & communication technologies have been designed for the very purpose holding captive our attention in the most anti-productive and anti-Christ ways possible. 

I don't find it to be coincidental that new technologies in AI are coming at a time when people need truth the most. People aren't seeking scientific facts about the universe to feel something. People are seeking purpose and security and control. This desire for purpose is an identity crisis which is why atheism is always doomed to failure because the lack of belief in God is not a provider of purpose. A subtraction cannot add. An objection cannot affirm. But where there is a vacuum there will be another presence willing to fill the void. For example, with video games, VR, and social media giving people the option of re-creating themselves in whatever image they so choose is it any wonder why these technologies are so prevalent? How idols of wood and stone have become idols of software and devices.

The seeds of deception are bearing fruit. The less time we spend in God's word, the less we know Him. Our daily lives are SO filled with general adulting, and notifications and newsfeeds and work deadlines and anxiety about the next big catastrophe that we've become overstimulated to the point of mental and spiritual exhaustion. 

We're about as disconnected from the Lord God as saint Peter would be in present day Manhattan. And that's how "the accuser" wants it. God is spirit (John 4:24). God is supernatural. Yet we live in an age where a whisper from the Lord is less important than the ring from our cell phone. Most of us have lived seemingly supernatural-free lives. Even Lot's son-in-laws laughed at him when he warned them of God's coming judgement on Sodom (Genesis 19:14). Stories like those in the Old Testament seem like fables or highly exaggerated historical events with poetic influence. But saints, the supernatural is real.

So, let's hold fast to the scripture. If we are at the point of the last days where there will be "signs and wonders" then we need to be open to the idea of witnessing firsthand events that may be inexplicable, shocking, panic inducing even. If everyday living is enough to be a stumbling block in us knowing God, then the events in the last days may blind many of us to God completely.

For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect--Mark 13:22

We've entered the age of deception, and I want us to be prepared and steadfast. The media will have its own deceptive narrative. Some churches may depart from the words of Christ. There may be people doing incredible things that may seem unbelievable. People will likely be hostile and divisive and hateful, but also desperate for answers and comfort and security. You need look no further than the words of Yeshua my friends. And if you do not have a physical Bible, I highly recommend you get one today. Make sure you have other saints on speed-dial or at least know where they live.

Every day we have on the Lord's earth is a day we can put our eyes and mind on Yeshua our Messiah and spread His gospel to those who need it.

I pray these words give glory to El Shaddai that you may be inspired by His righteousness and love for you. That you accept Yeshua as your Lord and Savior who died on calvary and paid your sin debt so that through His love and mercy you may know and experience His grace. Amen.