The False Teachers
The evening air grew cool as shadows lengthened across the Mount of Olives. Jesus sat with his closest disciples, their faces illuminated by the dying sunlight that painted Jerusalem’s walls in hues of gold and amber. The Temple stood magnificent in the distance, its white stone catching the last rays of day. Peter, James, John, and Andrew had drawn close to their Master, their expressions clouded with concern after His prophecy about the Temple’s destruction.
“Tell us, Teacher,” Peter ventured, his weathered fisherman’s hands clasped together, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus gazed at His beloved disciples with eyes full of compassion, knowing the trials they would face. His voice carried both authority and tenderness as He began to speak. “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.”
Andrew leaned forward, his brow furrowed. “Master, how will we recognize these deceivers? Surely they cannot match Your works and wisdom?”
A gentle breeze stirred Jesus’s robes as He turned to address them all. “They will come with smooth words and flattering speech. In the last days, people will not endure sound teaching but will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. These false prophets will arise like wolves in sheep’s clothing, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves.”
John, the youngest among them, shifted uncomfortably. “Lord, why would anyone follow such teachers? Have they not seen Your miracles and heard Your truth?”
Jesus’s eyes held a distant sadness as He replied, “Because they will tell people what their itching ears want to hear. They will promise freedom while they themselves are slaves to depravity. They will exploit you with fabricated stories and twist the sacred writings for their own destruction.”
The disciples exchanged troubled glances as darkness continued to gather around them. Jerusalem’s evening lamps began to flicker to life in the valley below, like earthbound stars.
“But how, Master?” James asked, his voice tight with concern. “How will they succeed in leading people astray?”
Jesus stood, His figure silhouetted against the darkening sky. “They will perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. They will masquerade as servants of righteousness, but their end will be according to their deeds.”
Peter’s voice grew urgent. “Then what hope do we have, Lord? How can we stand against such deception?”
Jesus turned to face them, His countenance radiating divine authority. “You have been with me from the beginning. You have seen and heard the truth. Remember my words. The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth. He will remind you of everything I have taught you.”
He paused, looking at each disciple in turn. “These false teachers will come with three marks upon them. First, they will deny the power of godliness while maintaining its outward form. Second, they will promote themselves rather than sacrifice themselves for the flock. And third, they will twist the message of grace into a license for immorality.”
The night air grew still as Jesus continued His teaching. “In the last days, there will be terrible times. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Andrew’s voice trembled slightly. “Master, these words frighten us. How can we protect Your flock from such wolves?”
Jesus sat back down among them, His presence bringing comfort to their troubled hearts. “Remember the foundation I have laid. Build upon it with gold, silver, and precious stones – not with wood, hay, and stubble. Test everything against the truth you have received. A tree is known by its fruit.”
He reached out and touched Peter’s shoulder. “When these false teachers come – and they will come – remember that they do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they will deceive the minds of naive people. Some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”
John leaned closer, his young face earnest in the gathering darkness. “But surely, Lord, Your true followers will recognize these false teachings?”
Jesus’s voice grew gentle but firm. “My sheep know my voice, and they follow me. But you must warn them. Tell them to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine you have learned. The time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
The disciples sat in contemplative silence as Jerusalem’s night sounds drifted up from the valley – distant voices, the bleating of sheep, the closing of doors. The stars had begun to appear, countless points of light in the vast darkness above.
“These false teachers,” Jesus continued, “will be like waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. They promise freedom to others while they themselves are slaves to depravity. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them.”
Peter’s voice was heavy with responsibility. “How then shall we guard Your truth, Master? How can we ensure that Your message remains pure?”
Jesus stood once more, His figure commanding against the star-filled sky. “Hold fast to the pattern of sound teaching you have heard from me, in faith and love. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you through the Holy Spirit who lives in us. The time is coming when people will turn away their ears from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
He turned to face Jerusalem, His voice carrying across the quiet hillside. “But you, beloved disciples, build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”
James spoke up, his voice stronger now. “And what of those who are deceived, Lord? How shall we help them?”
Jesus’s response was filled with compassion. “Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”
The night had fully descended now, and Jerusalem lay like a jeweled tapestry below them, its lamps twinkling in the darkness. Jesus gathered His disciples closer, His voice both warning and encouraging.
“Remember this: in the last days, scoffers will come, following their own ungodly desires. These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, beloved, are not in darkness that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day.”
Peter’s voice was firm with newfound resolve. “Master, we will guard Your truth with our lives. We will not let these false teachers lead Your flock astray.”
Jesus smiled at His faithful servant. “Feed my sheep, Peter. Feed my lambs. All of you, be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”
The disciples drew even closer together as Jesus continued His teaching. “The false teachers will come with counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders. They will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.”
John’s young voice carried a note of determination. “How shall we recognize them, Lord? How can we be certain?”
Jesus’s response was measured and clear. “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.”
He paused, allowing His words to sink in. “These false teachers will be known by their pride, by their greed, and by their immoral behavior. They will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their teaching will spread like gangrene, destroying the faith of some.”
Andrew spoke up, his voice troubled. “But Master, what if they perform miracles and signs? How can we be sure they do not come from You?”
Jesus’s voice grew stern. “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
The night wind picked up, carrying with it the scent of olive blossoms. Jesus continued, His words carrying divine authority. “These false teachers will arise from among your own number. Even now, many antichrists have come. This is how you know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”
Peter’s voice was heavy with concern. “Lord, how can we protect the younger believers from such deception?”
Jesus turned to him with infinite patience. “Feed them with the pure milk of the Word, that they may grow thereby. Teach them to distinguish good from evil by training their powers of discernment through constant practice. The solid food of mature teaching is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
The night had grown deep, and Jerusalem lay quiet below them. Jesus’s voice carried across the stillness with crystal clarity. “In the last days, the love of many will grow cold because of the increase of wickedness. But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
James leaned forward, his face earnest in the starlight. “How then shall we prepare Your people for these times, Master?”
Jesus’s response was both command and promise. “Teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
The disciples sat in reverent silence, absorbing their Master’s words. The weight of their future responsibility pressed upon them, yet they felt strengthened by His presence and promises.
“Remember,” Jesus continued, His voice full of authority, “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Hold fast to what you have received. Let no one take your crown. The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God.”
Peter spoke again, his voice firm with conviction. “Master, we will guard Your truth and protect Your flock, even at the cost of our lives.”
Jesus looked at His faithful disciple with deep affection. “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
The night had grown late, and Jerusalem lay sleeping in the valley below. Jesus gathered His disciples close for one final teaching about the false teachers who would come.
“These deceivers will arise in the last days with great power and pretense of authority. They will speak great swelling words of emptiness and promise freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption. They will bring in destructive heresies secretly, and many will follow their destructive ways.”
He paused, His gaze penetrating each disciple in turn. “But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.”
The disciples sat in solemn silence, their hearts heavy with the weight of these prophecies yet strengthened by their Master’s presence and teaching. The stars wheeled overhead in their eternal dance, bearing witness to this sacred moment of instruction and warning.
Jesus rose to His feet, His figure majestic against the night sky. “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
His final words rang out with divine authority across the Mount of Olives: “And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.”
The disciples rose, their hearts burning within them, knowing they had received crucial teaching for the challenges that lay ahead. As they made their way back to Jerusalem, the stars continued their vigilant watch over the sleeping city, bearing witness to this momentous conversation that would echo through the centuries to come.
In the years that followed, as the apostles faced the very challenges Jesus had warned them about, they would remember this night on the Mount of Olives. They would recall His words when they encountered the false teachers who came speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves. They would remember His warnings when they saw some turning away from the faith to follow deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.
Peter, in particular, would later write with passionate urgency to the churches, warning them about these false teachers, his words colored by the memory of this night: “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.”
John, too, would carry these teachings into his elderly years, writing to the churches with the authority of one who had heard these warnings directly from the Master: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”