While in Paris on our honeymoon back in 1980, Harold and I walked by a bakery window and saw some delicious-looking pastries. So we went inside and picked out a couple of them along with some hot coffee, but…

We were so disappointed. They didn’t taste anything like they looked. They looked so good but they tasted awful.

I had a similar experience in 2011, once again while in a foreign country. It was at the Bolshoi Ballet and Opera Theatre in Moscow, Russia. It was intermission time and I decided to buy a dessert. I picked out a cute little cake that looked yummy, but as soon as I paid for it I realized it was way too expensive. I wondered why this dessert was so expensive. As I cut into the first slice I suddenly realized that the cake was topped with caviar. I discreetly set it down and left it there for anyone else who might be brave enough to eat it.

So the French pastries just didn’t taste very good, and the Russian cake was an expensive mistake on my part, but in both cases, my eyes deceived me. And now,

Living in today’s world, I think it’s safe to say that many of us have been noticing an increase in deception, and I’m not referring to French pastries or Russian desserts. No, I’m talking about…

Deception involving worldwide mainstream media in their silence and suppression of the truth concerning COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccine.

Deception involving world organizations such as the WEF, IMF, and the WHO, individual politicians, regardless of political party affiliation, and several of our three-letter government agencies, regarding privacy issues, misinformation, and questionable practices.

Deception involving the health and well-being of our entire nation concerning food contamination issues, the recommended childhood vaccination schedules, and questionable medical practices that promote profit over health. We also have widespread misappropriation of federal funds involving outright theft of U.S. tax dollars in programs that produced COVID-19 relief fraud, healthcare fraud, disability fraud, child feeding program fraud, and childcare fraud, to mention just a few.

Deception concerning our God-given gender and sexuality in the current worldwide indoctrination of young children into the transgender and homosexual agenda.

Deception involving the whereabouts of thousands of children that have gone missing in the past few years.

Deception concerning our climate and the so-called “climate change” initiative.

Worst of all, we have deception in progressive mainline churches throughout America; churches that declare that homosexuality is not a sin and that abortion is perfectly fine. These churches also allow women to preach to men, which is in direct defiance of God’s Word. These churches are full of progressive pastors who defile their Sunday-morning pulpits by drawing more attention to themselves than God. They seem to march in lockstep as they promote their social justice issues to a higher level of importance than the gospel itself as they simultaneously attempt to redefine what they believe it means to be a Christian. And this is all while they entertain their congregation with popular contemporary “Christian” music and stage productions as opposed to teaching and preaching the inerrant, infallible word of God.

Charles Spurgeon warned us about this very thing.

“A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, a church will have clowns entertaining the goats.”

The Bible talks quite a bit about deception in the Last Days. Do I think we’re there yet? No, not just yet, but based on the deception we’ve been seeing, we’re probably getting pretty close to it. Look what the Bible says:

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” 1 Timothy 4:1

“Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.” Matthew 24:11

“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:24

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4

“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

The more corruption, falsehoods, and deception I see going on in the world today, the more I am reminded that this world is not my home.

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:20

So in the meantime,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

And,

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2