By George J. Matranga
The disciples came to Jesus and asked Him what would be the sign of His coming and of the end of the world. “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.” Matt. 24:3-4 KJV Jesus goes on to tell them that when they hear of wars and revolutions, do not be scared. Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom but the end is not just yet. There will be earthquakes, famines, and pestilences…and fearful sights. Many would argue that there have always been these tragedies. True; but never with the intensity that we are experiencing in the world today. Jesus said that these would be the beginning of sorrows. Like birth pains, they are increasingly growing closer and closer together. Yet, I find it interesting that the first sign our Lord gives is not of the visible but of the invisible — deception. “…Be careful that no one misleads you — deceiving you and leading you into error.” Matt. 24:4 Amp He goes on to warn that false prophets and false Christs shall rise up with great signs even seducing God’s chosen people.
Even non-Christians have said that it looks like signs of the end. They can see the world falling apart around them but cannot discern their own misguided and deluded perceptions. That is because deception is insidious.
The root meaning of insidious is ambush: awaiting a chance to entrap, harmful but enticing, developing so gradually as to be well established before becoming apparent. Let me give you an illustration:
I have been working diligently in our studio recording our next album, “Ballads for The King”. We decided to release a bonus track on this project: “Will There Be Meatballs in Heaven?” Believe it or not, for all these years of ministry, that Italian-flavored song remains the most requested. I wanted to make this recording as Italian as possible. And being an FBI (Full-Blooded Italian), I thought it would be a breeze. The protocol is to have my wife, Tammie, sit at the mixing console to listen with a fresh set of ears once I’ve finished tracking the instruments and scratch vocals. I love, yet hate, when she does this because she is so brutally honest. After listening, she turned in the mixing chair and said to me, “Something’s wrong and doesn’t sound right, I think it’s the accordion.” As soon as she said that it clicked that she was right. You see, I had been so close to the tune that I couldn’t hear it the way it should be heard. The problem was that the accordion sounded Hispanic not Italian!
I immediately called my brother-in-law, Anthony Vento, Italian guitarist and session instrumentalist; he play the guitar on the song. He suggested that I listen to the accordion on the first four songs of his Italian Festival Favorites record. I did. I listened over and over until it was definite. I went to the piano to imitate the chords and tonal range indicative of Italian music. I had to renew my musical mind.
How could this have happened? Now that I am bi-vocational, I’m constantly around my Hispanic co-workers and their music. I hear Hispanic music around me more than Italian music. When I went to record the accordion, it came out like what I had become accustomed to listening to — Hispanic. I wasn’t aware of it because it had slowly crept in over time. It was insidious.
Our culture alone is a seedbed of deception. Our surroundings can wear upon us and if not careful, slowly creep in. Like Lot, we are vexed daily by a lawless society. “And delivered just Lot… (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds) II Pet. 2: 7, 8 KJV I am not shocked by the new TV sitcom “The New Normal” because wrong has insidiously become the norm and the majority.
We must as Christians command our own attention. We must saturate ourselves in the Word of God and prayer. We have to continually renew our minds (Rom.12: 2). The Apostle Paul warns us that seducers would go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. Yet we are to continue in the things we learned and have been assured of (II Tim. 3:13-14). Only in an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ do we find the treasures of wisdom and knowledge to confront the superficial arguments of our day (Col. 2: 3-4). Mere church attendance and religious sermons are not enough to combat this culture. We must be vigilant and pray always!
“In your patience possess ye your souls. Luke 21:19 KJV