Deceivers
Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. – Matthew 24:3-5.
“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. – Matthew 24:23-27.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (No entries found on Conservapedia.com.), says this about José Luis de Jesús Miranda: …claims that he is “Jesus in the flesh“. He is the leader of the new religious movement, Growing in Grace, which has been called a cult by (among others) cult consultant Rick Ross and Daniel Alvarez, professor of religion at Florida International University. Miranda believes his life and teachings supersede those of Jesus of Nazareth—a point which he emphasizes by referring to himself as the Antichrist and by exhibiting a “666” tattoo on his forearm.
Miranda is reportedly a former heroin addict and former prison inmate from Puerto Rico. Miranda claims to have followers in 20 countries who recently have been showing their support for him by having “666” tattooed on their bodies.
It is somewhat shocking to hear of thousands perhaps even millions of people believing that someone on this earth is Jesus Christ in the flesh. However, it should not really surprise us since Jesus warned us that this would happen as the end time approaches. Of course, Miranda is not the first to claim to be Christ, there have been many others. Prophecy Central has a list of some of them at this link: www.bible-prophecy.com/false.htm#Current.
The apostle Paul says that we should not be surprised that there will be those who come claiming to be Christ or His workers as he tells us in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” Instead we should be on guard that we ourselves are not deceived as Paul expresses in 2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Nor should we be surprised that many will follow these false christs and false teachers as the apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”
Each of us should strive to grow in the grace, knowledge, and wisdom of our Lord so that we ourselves are not deceived. As Jesus says in Matthew 24, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”
(There will always be those who will try to deceive you.)