The Answer is Yes. It is often both a truth and a trick. Our enemy the devil, loves to take a truth and then twist it so that we fall for it. This is a trick. This becomes a snare for us when we believe the twisted truth and act on it. The very first Truth and trick happened in the Garden of Eden. We are given the story in Gen.3 .. We are all familiar with the story. What we tend to forget is that that same scenario is being played out over and over in our times and in each of our lives.
I will highlight some of these tricks as they have appeared and continue to appear in my life. Satan is the master deceiver. His delight is in deceiving and then permanently enslaving those he has tricked. Deceit has an element of truth in it and scripture is often quoted. However it is not the Whole truth and nothing but the truth. This truth is usually brought through someone or a source we have some confidence in. Sometimes I twist the truth myself in order to justify my actions.
And how does the enslavement happen.? Sometimes it is physical through drugs, addictions, culture, pride, trauma, law, guilt, my relational maturity level, or perhaps I have built my whole life style around the trick …. Satan will pretty much use anything that he knows I am susceptible to and that he can use as a trap for me.
In this trick or truth #5 we will look at the sleeping giant used by Satan to neutralize thousands of God’s people. It goes like this: “We don’t know exactly when, but, Jesus is coming back soon, most likely very soon, so we all need to be ready for our eminent departure or rapture.” While it is true that Jesus is coming back, Jesus did not teach that He is coming back tomorrow. In fact He told us several parables that do not support His coming back tomorrow or even in our life times. Over 2000 years have gone by and He hasn’t come back yet. He isn’t coming back tomorrow.
Satan has used this thinking and teaching in our churches to neutralize God’s people. A large portion of the church has built their lives around this trick. If Jesus is coming back tomorrow the following will happen, much to our detriment: There is no need to have family or leave any kind of earthly heritage; There is no real desire to occupy and manage the territory we have been given; There is no need to get into politics and run for any kind of office; There is no need to vote for what is righteous; Life ends with me so there is no need for me to do anything; Many cults have literally died around this line of thinking.
Let’s look at two parables that Jesus taught that blows this line of thinking apart: In Matt.25, the following key verses are largely ignored…. The ten virgins (Christians) and their “oil” ; The foolish didn’t plan ahead and make sure they had plenty of “oil”… and they fell asleep and did nothing (50%)… “The Bridegroom was a LONG time in coming” vs,5 .… The Servants (Christians) and the Talents: “Again, it will be like a Man going on a journey, who called His servants and entrusted His property to them….. After a LONG time, the Master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them..” vs.14,19
There is a VERY strong rebuke by Jesus to Christians who do nothing to attend to the business of this world. They are not being who they were created to be, and they are not using the gifts they have been given and entrusted with. I am to be diligent in being the salt and light of this world. That means being involved physically in all areas of society. … All of the mountains …