So how do we avoid deception? There’s only one main way to do that:
By studying the truth.
I had heard years ago that bank tellers and such are trained to spot counterfeit money by studying the real stuff so much that they can spot the phony stuff right away.
I wasn’t sure if that was really true so I did a little web search and found a website called “HowStuffWorks.com” and they had a link to the US Secret Service Counterfeit Division.
I’m like, can you really just go there? I clicked on the link, almost expecting something to pop up saying, “Stay where you are. You have the right to remain silent. In a matter of moments, federal agents will be arriving to arrest you for accessing this website.”
So far I haven’t been arrested, so I think I’m okay…
On the Secret Service website, you can learn how to spot counterfeit money.
It tells you what the real stuff is supposed to look like and then some ideas of how the counterfeit stuff differs.
The point of the web page is that if you know the real stuff well enough, you won’t be fooled by the fake stuff.
It’s the same with knowing truth from falsehood, and in this case, knowing the real Jesus from the fake ones that are coming, and that are out there right now.
We will be able to tell false Christs by knowing the real one.
That only happens by studying the Scriptures.