Spiritual Deception in the Last Days

Send us a text

The greatest spiritual danger facing believers today isn't coming from outside the church—it's already inside. Spiritual deception is subtly infiltrating congregations worldwide, and most concerning of all, Jesus warned that "many" would be led astray without even realizing it.

This urgent episode tackles how false teaching operates—not through obvious heresies but through subtle distortions that sound biblical while leading people away from genuine faith. When Scripture warned that people would "look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear," it was describing our current religious landscape with disturbing accuracy.

We examine specific deceptions gaining traction: prosperity teaching that promises wealth rather than transformation, progressive theology that eliminates sin and repentance, and the integration of New Age practices into "Christian wellness." These aren't fringe movements but mainstream influences affecting thousands of churches and millions of believers.

The most dangerous aspect of deception is how it targets foundational doctrines. Many churches now teach versions of salvation that never mention holiness, preach a gospel that requires no life change, or deny the Holy Spirit's present-day power. The result? Congregations full of people who use Jesus' name but don't actually know Him—precisely the scenario Jesus described when He said many would hear, "I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws."

Protecting yourself requires more than casual Christianity. You need daily immersion in Scripture, spiritual discernment to test every message, careful examination of the fruit produced by various teachings, and connection to authentic community. The stakes couldn't be higher—this isn't merely about theological correctness but eternal destiny.

Are you following the real Jesus or a comfortable counterfeit designed to make you feel good without challenging you? The difference could determine everything. The time for spiritual passivity has ended. Text someone this episode, share the truth while there's still time, and realign your faith with biblical truth before Christ returns.

Wisdom for the Day: Everyday podcast.   wisdomfortheday.org

Support the show

Support the Show:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/renewedmindsets

Renewed Mindsets can be found on Facebook, Twitter (X), Threads and Instagram as Renewed Mindsets. Our website is renewedmindsets.com Leave a voicemail message, yellow microphone on every page, I might just use it on a future episode.

If you like what you hear then tell someone about the show.

Your continued support ensures that God's message to the podcast world will continue to be available for everyone. And know, 50% of all funding will be used as an offering to my local church. The rest will help supplement the cost of providing a quality show ie. equipment, bandwidth fees, Tylenol etc. HA!

The Intro/Outro music is Are You Ready? by Floodgate. From the Album, Are You Ready? copyright 2002 OffBeat Ministries, Inc.
Floodgate is available on Apple Music and iTunes.
Music used with permission.

Thank You. I Love You!

SEE YA!

Rick

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The world is changing and time is running out.
This is Renewed Mindsets wherewe confront biblical truth
head-on no sugarcoating, nocompromise.
We expose false doctrine,reveal fulfilled prophecy and
shine light on the demonicdeception of these last days,

(00:21):
but we also stand firm on thehope of Christ's return, the
call to holiness and the urgencyof true salvation.
It's time to renew your mind,for the time is now.
Let's go, boys.
Hey, welcome to RenewedMindsets where we're

(00:52):
transforming our thinking toalign with God's truth,
especially as we live in thefinal stretch before Jesus
returns.
I'm Rick and I'm so glad you'rehere.
Today's episode is urgent.
We're talking about somethingthat isn't just affecting the
world.
It's infecting the church thetopic Deception and false

(01:12):
teachings in these end times.
Now, this isn't just theology.
This is life or death,spiritually speaking.
This is about who you listen to, who you follow and whether or
not you're being led by truth orbeing led away from it.
So get ready, get your Bibleopen and let's jump into what

(01:33):
the Word of God says aboutdeception in these last days.
So let's just go ahead andstart with the words of Jesus
and, honestly, when the Son ofGod talks about the end times,
you need to pay attention.
Matthew 24, 4 and 5 says Don'tlet anyone mislead you, for many

(01:56):
will come in my name claiming Iam the Messiah.
They will deceive many.
But Jesus didn't say few peoplewill be misled, he said many.
That word, many, should stop usin our tracks.
That means the majority ofpeople will be deceived.
And here's the kicker theywon't even know it's happening.

(02:19):
Deception isn't loud and obvious.
It doesn't announce itself.
It's subtle.
It sounds good.
It doesn't announce itself.
It's subtle, it sounds good.
It uses pieces of truth.
That's why it works.
Jesus was warning us, not aboutpeople claiming to be the
Messiah, but about falseteachers, preachers who would

(02:40):
come in my name, come in hisname, people who would say they
represent him but don't actuallyfollow his word.
And today we're seeing thatwarning come to life right
before our eyes.
Now here's what makes deceptiondangerous.
It doesn't show up in red hornswith a pitchfork.

(03:03):
It walks in with a Bible and asmile.
It sounds spiritual, it feelsdeep.
It might even use the name ofJesus, but it doesn't submit to
him.
It twists his word to fit humandesires.
Let me give you some examples.
The prosperity gospel saysGod's main goal is to make you

(03:25):
rich and comfortable.
That's not biblical.
That's idolatry dressed up asfaith, the progressive
Christianity.
It removes sin, repentance andthe authority of scripture.
It tells you that love meansaccepting everything, even what
God has called evil.
And then there's a rise ofso-called Christian influencers,

(03:47):
blending New Age ideas withscripture, talking about chakras
, crystals, energy healing, andthey call it Christian wellness.
People, the enemy's goal hasnever changed.
From the beginning in Eden, hisstrategy was to ask did God
really say?

(04:08):
And he's still using that sameline today.
Deception doesn't need to createnew lies, it just needs to make
you question the truth.
Now let's jump to Paul's letterto Timothy.
Now let's jump to Paul's letterto Timothy.
Now, if this doesn't sound like2025, I don't know what does.
2 Timothy 4.3.

(04:31):
For a time is coming when peoplewill no longer listen to sound
and wholesome teaching.
They will follow their owndesires and look for teachers
who will tell them whatevertheir itching ears want to hear.
This people is where we areright now.
People aren't chasing truthanymore.
They're chasing comfort.
They wanted Jesus who makesthem feel good, not one who

(04:54):
calls them to pick up theircross.
We have churches packed withpeople who've never been taught
repentance, pastors who refuseto preach on hell, messages that
sound more like TED Talks thanthe gospel.
And we're not talking aboutatheists or cults here.
We're talking about churchesthat once stood for truth,

(05:15):
ministries that started well butcompromised for popularity.
Even entire denominations arebeing redefined to suit the
world.
For example, the UnitedMethodist Church has split apart
, and the reason is clear.
Many believers are fed up withthe push to normalize what God

(05:35):
clearly calls sin.
Since 2019, nearly 7,000congregations that's about a
quarter of all the UnitedMethodist Churches in the the
United States have walked away.
They refuse to compromise onbiblical truth just to please
the culture.
Now, at the heart of thisdivide is the church's
increasing embrace of the LGBTQideology, including the

(06:00):
ordination of openly gay clergyand the blessing of same-sex
marriages.
Traditional Christians aredrawing the line and are joining
or forming new denominations,like the Global Methodist Church
, to stand firm in the faithonce delivered to the saints.
But let me say this as plainlyas I can If your theology always

(06:22):
agrees with culture, you'reprobably not hearing from God.
Agrees with culture, you'reprobably not hearing from God.
So let's take a deeper look attwo major areas of deception
salvation and the Holy Spirit.
Now, first, there's theteaching of once saved, always
saved.
Now listen to me Salvation is agift from God and His grace is

(06:47):
powerful.
But there is a dangerousversion of this doctrine that
says once you pray a prayer, youcan live however you want and
you're still good with God.
That's not biblical.
The Bible calls us to endure,to abide, to remain faithful.
Jesus said in Matthew 24, 13,.

(07:08):
But the one who endures to theend will be saved.
Salvation isn't about a moment,it's about a life.
Faith without works is dead.
Grace empowers us to obey, notto stay in sin.
Then there's the denial of theHoly Spirit's power.
There's a lot of churches, mostchurches out there, teach that

(07:32):
the gifts of the Spirit ceasedafter the apostles.
No more healings, no moretongues, no more miracles.
But Scripture never says that.
What it does say in Hebrews,chapter 13, verse 8, jesus
Christ is the same yesterday,today and forever.
Forever.

(07:53):
People, if Jesus healed, thenhe heals now.
If the Spirit moved, then hemoves now.
Even worse, some churches don'tjust deny the gifts, they
dismiss the Holy Spiritaltogether.
They don't teach on him, theydon't invite him in it's father,

(08:17):
son and silence.
But the early church didn'tmove without the Holy Spirit.
They were led, filled, baptizedand empowered by him.
And if we want to stand in theseend times, we must be too.
You can't walk in victorywithout the power of the Holy
Spirit.
You can't live holy, discerndeception or overcome temptation

(08:40):
without him, and any gospelthat removes the Spirit is a
gospel that leaves you powerless.
So how do we protect ourselvesfrom deception?
How do we make sure that we'rewalking in truth?
Well, first you need to knowthe Word.
You have to be in the Bibledaily.

(09:02):
You need to know the word.
You have to be in the Bibledaily, not just devotionals, not
just podcasts, but the actualword, because if you don't know
what God said, you won'trecognize when somebody's
twisting it.
The next thing is to test everyspirit.
1 John 4, verse 1 says Dearfriends, do not believe everyone

(09:26):
who claims to speak by theSpirit.
You must test them to see ifthe Spirit that they have comes
from God.
Just because somebody quotesScripture doesn't mean they've
submitted to God.
Always check the fruit of themessage.
And speaking of fruit, look atthe fruit.
Jesus said you'll know a treeby its fruit.

(09:48):
If a teacher or a preacher'smessage never leads to
repentance, never brings gloryto Jesus and never points to
holiness.
Something's off, and finallystay in godly community.
Isolation is dangerous.
We need spirit-filled brothersand sisters who can challenge us

(10:11):
, correct us and help us to grow.
Pride isolates.
Humility surrounds itself withtruth-tellers.
Humility surrounds itself withtruth-tellers.
So you might be asking, rick,why are you so fired up about
this?
Because this isn't just aboutbad theology, this is about

(10:35):
souls.
Matthew 7, 21-23 says Noteveryone who calls out to me,
lord, lord, will enter thekingdom of heaven.
I will reply I never knew you.
Get away from me, you who breakGod's laws.
Jesus said that, and that versehits me every time.
These are people who thoughtthey were saved.

(10:57):
They were active, they used hisname, or you could say, they
went to church on Sunday.
They had an emotionalexperience when they were 16.
They maybe even put some moneyin the plate, but they didn't
know him and he didn't know them.
They were deceived, anddeception doesn't care.

(11:20):
If you're sincere, you can besincerely wrong.
That's why this message iscritical.
This is not a time to playchurch.
This is a time to anchorourselves in truth, no matter
the cost, because the return ofJesus is near and only the
faithful will endure.

(11:41):
So here's my challenge to youDon't let deception be your
story.
If you've been chasingpersonalities over Jesus, it's
time to return to the Word.
If you've followed messagesthat made you feel good but
never made you change, it's timeto repent or turn away and go

(12:05):
the other direction.
If you've allowed compromise inthe name of culture, it's time
to stand.
Love is not love.
You're loving them and yourselfright to hell, where you will
burn in the lake of fire foreternity, forever.

(12:27):
Ask the Holy Spirit to revealany deception you've believed.
Ask him to lead you into alltruth.
Let the word of God become yourdaily bread, not just something
that you snack on when you feellike it, because in these last
days, the greatest defense thatwe have is a renewed mind that's

(12:48):
grounded in truth.
Pray with me, father.
God, I lift up every listenertoday, in a world full of noise
and confusion.
Give us clarity.
Expose the lies that we'vebelieved.
Pull us out of deception andback into your truth.
Make us lovers of your word.

(13:09):
Give us discernment in thishour.
Help us not to be swayed byman's opinion, but anchored in
your voice.
Keep us ready.
In your voice, keep us ready,keep us holy, and let us be
found faithful when you returnIn Jesus' precious name.

(13:38):
Amen, grace and peace.
My friends, that's all fortoday, but I'll be back with
more unfiltered biblical truthand undeniable prophecy.
The time to wake up is now.
If today's episode challengedyou, don't keep it to yourself.
Tell someone, please.
Text them a link.
Share the truth while there'sstill time.
Visit renewedmindsetscom tostay connected and to listen to

(14:00):
past episodes, and check out ourmerch at RenewedMindsetsstore.
Jesus is coming soon.
Stay watchful, stay holy, stayrenewed Until next week.
I'm Rick.
Be an encourager, not adiscourager.

(14:22):
I love you, see ya.
The intro and outro music forthe Renewed Mindsets podcast is
Are you Ready?
By Floodgate From the album Areyou Ready?
By Floodgate From the album Areyou Ready?

(14:43):
Copyright 2002, offbeatMinistries Incorporated.
Floodgate can be found on AppleMusic and iTunes.
Music used with permission.