The Great Deception

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

January 23, 2021 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

This message is about the great deception, although a very important implication of that deception is the great need we all have for a greater measure of discernment.

Today, we Christians have a multitude of material things, which are not necessarily bad unless those material, natural things become distractions to our walk with the Lord. The Industrial Revolution has tended to make man physically lazy. The Computer Revolution has tended to make man mentally lazy. All of our Christian books, tapes, DVDs, conferences, and pastor-dominated religious services have tended to make man spiritually lazy. That is one of a number of factors which has contributed to the lack of discernment within the body of Christ.

Hebrews 5:13-14, "For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." That last phrase cannot be translated "discern between good and evil." The comparison is between partaking of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil on one hand and the tree of life on the other hand.

In Acts 16:16-18, "And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour."

What the damsel said was 100% true, but the source was wrong. Apparently, it even took the Apostle Paul "many days" before he discerned that spirit of divination, which was not from the Lord. Likewise, every word spoken by Balaam in Numbers 22 and 23 was true, but in 2 Peter, Jude, and Revelation, Balaam is called a false prophet. By their fruits (character) we shall know them (Matthew 7:16, 20). We cannot always recognize the source by the words themselves.

Deception is sweeping the world. Deception is attacking the individual, both unbeliever and believer. Deception is within organizations and countries at every level. We have never seen so many people in our nation, including some Christians, who have been deceived by all of the lies about fake news, conspiracy theories, and the like. This deception has extended to a huge percentage of the population. Many people still believe the election was stolen, despite the difference of almost 7 million of the popular votes and despite recounts which found no significant evidence of fraud. Some people still believe the pandemic is largely fake news and is going away very soon. Even worse, many people are going to extremes to try to promote or establish those lies, even storming the Capitol building.

One of the signs of our time is indicated by Habakkuk 1:3-4. "Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore, the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore, wrong judgment proceedeth." Tragically, an outworking of those verses is abundantly clear from what happened on January 6 at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Verse 3 is a question that Habakkuk asked the Lord. In essence, I have asked the Lord that same question. In other words, Lord, what do you want me to do about it? And what does the Lord want every Christian to do about it?

Daniel 2:20-21, "Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are His: And He changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:" What that scripture says to me is that the Lord Himself set up Donald Trump to be our last president and Joe Biden to be our new president. Perhaps we should ask ourselves, Why? Why did the Lord set up Trump four years ago and Biden now? Those who fight against or oppose God's ways will never win. What a blessing to be allowed to see some of God's purposes in events!

Before we proceed, let me make two things crystal clear. First, I am one of the most apolitical persons you will ever meet. I am not a Republican, not a Democrat, not an independent, not a "tea party" advocate, and not a member of "the patriot party" which Trump is now considering to start. I am not pro-Trump and I am not pro-Biden. My only "party" is not a party at all. My only advocate is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Worldly politics and true Christianity do not mix any more than oil and water. I do not believe that ANY true disciple of Christ could ever get involved in politics. It is perhaps to be expected that non-Christians can easily be deceived. But why would any Christian accept lies that come from a non-Christian?

Scripture is clear from 1 Timothy 2:1-2 that we should pray for all men, for kings and all in authority. That means we should pray for both Trump and Biden. God does not desire for anyone to perish.

Second, I have never and do not now doubt the motivation or sincerity of any true Christian believer at any level. However, I do doubt the understanding of many professing Christians. At the same time, many of God's chosen people are "caught" in a web of deception, not only because of their own lack of discernment, but also because of those in leadership positions, whose doctrine is based primarily on the traditions of men (even good men) handed down for centuries.

It is abundantly clear that Trump is NOT a Christian. A true Christian has an immediate, albeit not complete, change in behavior. Trump's only behavioral change has been for the worse, not the better. He has exhibited little compassion or empathy for the Americans who have died during the current pandemic. Only the Lord knows how many have died from Covid-19, but even 300,000 is far too many. Trump talked many times about all of the good works that he and his administration has done. What man calls good and what God calls good are frequently two different things. Many big-name evangelical ministers have been deceived by the words of Trump. One of the leading evangelical ministers recently equated the 10 Republican Congressmen in the House who voted for the impeachment of Trump as being Judas Iscariot. On the other hand, a few of those same evangelical ministers broke from Trump after the Capitol riot on January 6.

Only the Lord knows whether Biden is a born-again Christian. I believe he is a good Catholic and a morally good man who sincerely wants to help people. I am sure his motivation is pure. However, can any born-again Christian endorse abortion rights or a homosexual lifestyle? It is true that all mortals should be able to exercise free will. We cannot mandate or legislate Christianity and the ways of the Lord. However, it is quite another level to put a homosexual and a transgender as part of your cabinet heads. Such acts of leadership positioning by a government or church head gives credence of support and legality to that which the Lord warns against. How far have we fallen from the ways of the Lord?

On January 20, 2021, our country entered into the next phase of the Lord's timetable. Many Americans are glad and many Americans are sad about the political status. What will this new phase of the Lord's timetable bring? We watched all of the presidential ceremony on TV. I want to share with you what we saw and heard. What we see happening in the spiritual realm may have absolutely nothing to do with what we see and hear with our natural faculties. I could share with you several rather dramatic and personal examples of that fact.

The whole ceremony on January 20 was indeed stirring emotionally. Some commentators said it felt like a church service. As such, it represented the best that natural man has to offer. However, the subtle undercurrent, eloquently spoken throughout all the speeches, was what "we can and will do." That is called humanism. The emphasis of humanism is what do we get, what have we done, and what will we do. In sharp contrast, the emphasis of true Christianity is what does the Lord Jesus Christ get, what has He already done, and what will He yet do. Scripture has two words for natural man ... cannot and nothing. At least three times in the Gospel of John, Jesus said that He could do nothing of (or by) Himself. He said that He did only those things that He saw His Father do. If Jesus said He could of His own self do nothing apart from His Father (and He said that), where does that leave us? The same is true of every believer. We can do nothing of lasting value apart from Christ. Romans 8:8 says they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

In John 15:4-5, Jesus said, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing."

Deception has its roots in humanism, which will never bring peace on earth. The devil's beastly, worldly system will bring apparent peace for a short season, but only God can and will bring lasting, eternal peace. Believing and walking in humanism is indeed deception.

With each passing year, the deception is increasing. This phase of the Lord's timetable for America will obviously be defined by a huge leap in socialism because we are so needy in the midst of devastation, hardship, and chaos on so many levels. The handwriting is on the wall. Further, if for any reason Biden cannot complete a four-year term as President, socialism will escalate more rapidly. In one sense socialism is no worse than democracy because neither ideology is God's choice of government, which is theocracy, with the Lord Jesus Christ as our King. The most ominous part of socialism is the corresponding increase in government control over individual rights. Of course, for many long years, government control of individuals has gradually been increasing. With the current Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to all of the deaths, we see almost a million people out of work, small businesses failing, many people who are in debt and are going hungry, not to mention the frustration of so many who are shut in their own homes. (But is 'shut in' with God a bad thing?) So now we see the supposed "cure" for all of things about to emerge. The Federal Government says, don't worry. We will take care of you. We will just print several more trillions of dollars and take care of you. The essence of Obamacare, although slightly different from before, will increase. Free Covid-19 vaccinations, remove part of student/college debt, a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage. And in order to reduce the gun violence and deaths, we will help to protect you by severely reducing or eliminating the automatic weapons that any person can own. But in order to get all of the freebies, you simply sign up with us and get our special ID card. You don't need to worry. It works just like any credit card. Well, who does not like free stuff?

In September of 1963, we bought our first house in Palo Alto, California for $22,000. Today that house sells for 100 times as much, more than 2 million. I remember when my father made $2000 a year working full time. My maternal grandfather told me that the "biggest" and "best" Christmas he ever received as a young boy was an orange and a pen knife. Total cost? less than one dollar. I remember when a loaf of bread was 14 cents, the one penny post-card, and three cents to mail a letter. When I was in high school, I walked two miles each way, to and from school. As I walked home, I frequently stopped at a Gibson's ice cream parlor and bought an ice cream cone packed as full as possible for 5 cents. For lunch during school days, I walked a little more than one mile to a diner on Main Street and bought 2 hot dogs with everything on them plus a big bottle of RC Cola for a total of 15 cents, no tax. What does all of that say? It speaks of the tremendous inflation we have experienced. But it will get worse. The time of hyperinflation is soon coming when our dollars will be next to worthless. But the government will step in and say, "no problem, we will take care of you if you just ..." 

When hyperinflation comes (and it will) most of us will probably have to make choices as to which "luxuries" we will do without. We have lived in our current home for more than 56 years. In those 56 years we have paid Fairfax County in property taxes more than four times as much tax as the original cost of the house. If we can't pay the property tax, we could be homeless. But remember that no luxuries are needed when we are with the Lord in eternity.

We must understand the devil's master plan, which has infiltrated our life. The government has become a god to many of us and says they will take care of us through many good social works. They take care of the sick. They handle much of retirement through social security, although social security has been in trouble since 1977 and may soon diminish if not disappear. The only other alternative will be to print more trillions of dollars. Consider the current free Covid-19 vaccinations. No one knows the long-term effects of these vaccines. After the first round of Covid vaccines, will a booster shot in some future year cost us an exorbitant amount of money that many will not be able to afford? Do we depend upon the government, or do we depend upon God Almighty to take care of us? When the whole system of this world fails (and it will), we'll fall with it if we are not grounded in God's kingdom. It is not necessarily wrong for us to accept from the government now as long as we acknowledge God as our source of life itself and not the system. However, Abraham said, in Genesis 14:23-24, "That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion." In other words, according to your faith, be it unto you.

When man's system fails and we no longer have social security or other provisions from the government, Christians will face a decision... whether to accept the mark of the beast or to turn to God as our source. God can and will provide for us in ways that we cannot imagine, provided we trust in Him.

It is rather amazing how many pairs of words appear in Scripture. For example, grace and great grace, power and great power, mercy and great mercy, deliverance and great deliverance, salvation and great salvation, God and great God, peace and great peace, joy and great joy, fear and great fear, reward and great reward, glory and great glory, congregation and great congregation, strength and great strength, and literally dozens more such comparisons. Such comparisons are even made in the natural realm in the United States. For example, recession and great recession (2008-2009), depression and great depression (1929-late 1930's), and the seal and great seal of the United States.

In like manner, let us consider the pair of deception and great deception. Every believer knows that the great deceiver and author of deception is Satan. Revelation 12:9, "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." 

Many verses in Scripture warn God's chosen people not to be deceived. Let us look at a few such verses, although there are many more. Of course, Eve was the first person to be deceived. Why was she deceived? humanism ... what she believed she would receive for herself by partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We all know the result of that.

1 Timothy 2:14, "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."

2 Corinthians 11:3, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." 

Paul, Peter, and John exhorted us many times to be careful that we are not deceived. The verses in Revelation 3:14-22 speak about the church at Laodicea. Those verses primarily speak about end-time deception in the visible church. The source of all deception has always been the devil, and we humans, relying on our natural senses in lieu of the word of God, can be an easy target.

Ephesians 5:6, "Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience."

Jesus said that in the last days there shall be great deception on earth and within the visible church ... four such warnings are found in Matthew, Chapter 24.

Matthew 24:4-5, "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." 

Matthew 24:11, "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”

Matthew 24:24-25, "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before."

Now it is true that in the Bible, at least in the KJV, the phrase, "great deception" does not occur. But that does not mean that the essence of great deception is not in the Bible. For example, 2 Thessalonians 2.

"3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:"

 

From Verse 11, what is "strong delusion" if it is not great deception? And who shall send that great deception? God Himself.

There is a difference between deception and great deception. Great deception will soon be followed by great tribulation.

Before we proceed, we should note that Satan's worldly kingdom, which also goes by the name of Babylon, consists of three parts, economic, political, and religious. We read about the human origin of Babylon in Genesis, Chapter 10. Nimrod, the first monarch mentioned in the Bible, started Babylon. We read about the fall of Babylon in Revelation 18, which clearly describes the world-wide economic collapse, undoubtably starting in the United States. That same economic collapse is spoken about in Revelation 6:6, "And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." From Matthew 20:2, a penny (or denarius) was one day's pay for a laborer. That seems to imply some may work one day for a loaf of bread to eat.

I believe the economic collapse will usher in the political "new world order," described in Revelation 13, which we will look at briefly now. If we don't understand that Revelation speaks of spiritual things, then we're going to misinterpret its inspired prophecy.

Revelation 13.

1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

The sea speaks of "the vast sea of humanity." Throughout Scripture, the word 'beast' refers to the antichrist system that rules the world. It is rather revealing and alarming that the presidential, black limousine is named "the beast." Daniel 7 identifies beasts as earthly kingdoms. The beasts in Revelation are part of a dictator system that will rule the world for a short season. These beasts are not just one human being, but a system that has infiltrated every area of life.

We have all been contaminated to varying degrees by that system. Our acceptance of some of the thinking of the world's political and social leaders may have been unintentional and unknowing, but that is no excuse. Some receive the system into their minds, then do the works of the devil with their hands because they have little discernment.

The number seven stands for perfection or completion. Therefore, the beast with seven heads speaks of completion or fullness of wickedness and evil. The head of an organization or a group speaks of the leadership, so seven heads refer to fullness of governments of the whole world. This has been called the emerging New World order. This beast refers to the political aspect of Babylon. In God's eyes all of man's governments miss the mark because they are not doing the will of God. Of course, some governments are better than others because of the greater freedom they allow.

4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

The dragon, from Revelation 20:2, is Satan, who is behind every beastly power.

From Matthew 4:8-10,

"Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

Satan's number one goal is to get everyone to worship him because he thinks that would make him God. However, Jesus is the only specific person mentioned in the Bible that Satan asked to worship him. Satan did not make that request of Abraham, Noah, David, Moses, Elijah, or Paul. Why? because Satan knew that God the Father had ordained that ALL things should be centered in His Son, Jesus. Therefore, if Satan could get Jesus to worship him, then he would have control over every Christian over all of time. Returning to Revelation 13,

5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 13:11-18 then speaks of another beast coming up out of the earth.

11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

This beast with two horns like a lamb, is Satan's counterfeit of Jesus. This beast represents the religious aspect of Babylon. It could well be or at least include the Roman Catholic papal system. Skipping down to Verse 14,

14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

The mark of the beast will be used to fulfill the devil's lust to be worshipped (Isaiah 14:13-14). I do not believe men are going to be branded with a literal set of three sixes on their foreheads or hands. Perhaps one reason why the literal number 666 will not be the mark of the beast placed on people's heads or hands is because most people think it will be! Satan operates based on subtlety, so he will not advertise his plans! A person in the end time could still have the mark of disobedience through their unwillingness to repent and turn to the Lord. The real mark of the beast is a mind that has been deceived by the lies and the actions that follow those choices.

Because the government and society now say homosexuality, divorces and abortions are acceptable, contrary to the word of God, some in the church agree and then commit those deeds with their hands. The beastly system has crept into the church and some of us are being marked by it in our minds and on our hands without even knowing it. Some think they will refuse the literal mark or chip when it comes, but they are already receiving the spiritual mark of the beast.

Since the end time beast has a mark that identifies those who obey him, does God also have a mark to identify those who are His true followers? Yes indeed! Much has been said about the mark of the beast, but little said about the mark of God. In both cases, the hand and forehead symbolize a person's actions and the choices or thoughts of the mind they use to initiate them. We need to focus on the antidote to all of the great deception. Of course, the antidote to all lies is Truth, the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every Christian knows that Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father except by me" (John 14:6). Few, if any, Christians would dispute that fact. It is the implementation of that antidote that becomes somewhat lacking.

The Lord said, in Deuteronomy 6:6-8,

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

The Lord also said, in Deuteronomy 11:18, "Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.

When Christ returns, He will set up His authority on the earth, which will be a theocracy. Being ruled by God will bring perfection to the earth. But until that day, all of man's earthly authority is the equivalent of blasphemy, even in the better countries. In America we are seeing much sin being uncovered within the system.

We can rid our forehead of the mark, seal, and image of the counterfeit father, erase his identity from our right hand of acceptance, and exchange it for the mark of the Lamb. We can change our destiny from the mark of damnation in our hand to eternal security in the Hand of the Lord. How can we do that? repent and believe the gospel. Recognizing humanism, in all of its ugly forms, is part of the antidote to all of the great deception.

God's mark will protect us from destruction in these end times. Any Christian who is walking in the light they have received and is abiding in Christ will always be protected from Covid-19 and any other pandemic. (Exodus 15:26).

I do not believe the letters J-E-S-U-S will be on the foreheads of God's servants as spoken of in Revelation 22:3-4: "And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and His name shall be in their foreheads."

Paul said, in Philippians 3:13-14, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Revelation 3:12, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." Lord, make us overcomers. Christ in you, the hope of glory. May I also add that it is because I have such a hope that I write with such boldness.