Lo, Here is Christ, or There; Believe it Not. Read more...

• Lo, Here is Christ, or There; Believe it Not… - The Lord Jesus makes an important point in Luke 17, verse 20: “… The kingdom of God cometh not with observation …”, it has to do with what is physically observable in each instance. In other words, one does not “see” Christ or the Kingdom of God with physical eyesight – even though people may say, “He is in our church”, or “Look what He is doing through that televangelist”, or “God spoke to me in a beautiful dream”. The Bible clearly insists in 2 Cor 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight”. In Matt 24, verses 24-25, the Savior warns for the third time in this chapter (see verses 4-5 and 11) about false Christs and their deceptive “signs and wonders”. Before we move on, I want to mention something about the two words rendered as “desert” (eremos:G2048) in “Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth” and “secret chambers” (tameion:G5009) in “behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not” found in Mat 23:26. The former is translated as “wilderness”, “desert”, “desolate”, and “solitary”. There are instances where this particular word is used in a positive sense; but in the majority of cases, it is referring to rebellion and/or testing (as in the case of Israelites’ sojourn in the wilderness for 40 years), or it is referring to the kingdom of Satan (as typified by the world at large) and the end-time apostate churches: “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate [eremos:G2048]: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luke 13:35). The latter word, “secret chambers” tameion:G5009) in the other three verses (Mat 6:6, Luke 12:3 and 24), it is translated as – “closet” and “storehouse”. The context of these passages has to do with being preoccupied with outward appearances or physical needs instead of “seeking first the kingdom of God”: “Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse [tameion:G5009] nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?” (Luke 12:24) . It highlights the contrast between the great crowds thronging Christ in John 6:26-66 and the publican in the Temple in Luke 18:13, who quietly cried out in anguish, “God be merciful to me [the] sinner”. The chief interest of the former group was only to get a free meal and then just as quickly abandoning Christ when He started speaking about obedience to His Word. The latter is an example of those to whom God gives “a broken and a contrite heart”, and draws them to Himself.

Mat 24:23, 26 “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not ... Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.”

Luke 17:20-24 “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. 22And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 23And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. 24For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.”

John 6:26-30 “Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. 30They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?”

• Believe Not Every Spirit, but Try the Spirits whether They are of God - This brings us to a very practical question: How does one determine who is a “false prophet”? In both Mat 7:16 and 20 we learn that we “shall know them by their fruits”. Mat 7:17a and 18a add: “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit ... A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit ...”. Jam 3:12 further explains, “Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh”. Every human being produces some type of “fruit” with their lives that can be either good or evil. That fruit stems from their words, actions, and thoughts, as Pro 23:7 maintains: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he ...”. This principle is also evident in Luke 6:45. A “good man” is one who has become saved: “A good man [saved] out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good ...”. Sadly, there have always been those who masquerade as God’s servants, who are still in Satan’s kingdom and are his unwitting ambassadors. The popularity of most false gospels can generally be attributed to their appeals to man’s pride and basic sensual desires for political freedom, economic security and good health. Although they are spiritually dead, some of these unsaved churchgoers seek to teach others their unbiblical ideas about spiritual matters; but it is a very dangerous thing to be an unsaved, self-proclaimed “teacher” of the Scriptures. In Jam 3:1 God indicates there will be a “greater condemnation” in Hell for those hypocrites who handle His Word carelessly. But how can we really know? We must turn exclusively to the God’s Word – The Bible – the Christian’s sole authority. 1 John 4:1 informs all believers of their obligation to be on guard: “... believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God ...”. So, how does one “try [test] the spirits”? We must test what every so-called “prophet” says against the Bible, as we read in Acts 17:11 about the Bereans: “... they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so”. I will leave you with a verse that encourages all of us to trust the only the Bible and look to it for divine truth. These citations encourage the child of God to depend on God’s Word by obeying it, and hence proving that it is indeed 100% reliable, 100%of the time! It is also extremely useful for distinguishing truth from error, as we just read in 1 John 4:1. It is such a wonderful blessing to recognize that God will not allow His children to wander into error for very long, but will lead them into truth as they “continue in my [Jesus] Word” (John 8:31). John 16:13-15 and John 10:1-5 should be a great encouragement to each true Christian, because these verses assure that it is the Christ himself and the Holy Spirit that guards them.

Luke 6:45 “A good man [saved] out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man [unsaved] out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”

1 John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

Matt 24:24 “For there shall arise false Christs (pseudochristos), and false prophets (pseudoprophetes), and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

Isa 8:20 “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word [The Bible], it is because there is no light in them.”

John 16:13-15 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”

John 10:1-5 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”