Well, back in October of 2023, I was asked to give an address at Merton Evangelical Baptist Church on the subject of living in the light of Christ's return. It was a conference mainly aimed at young people, but I thought that this is a subject really suitable for all ages.

And I thought it would be good to bring this paper before you this evening, I trust, with the Lord's help and with his blessing. slightly modified and somewhat shortened and if there is one scripture which I would say would sum up what I would like to say on this subject of living in the light of Christ's return is Matthew chapter 24 and verse four, so this shall be our text this evening. Matthew 24, verse four, take heed that no man deceive you. Take heed that no man deceive you.

These words of the Lord Jesus Christ were spoken in response to a question put to him by his disciples concerning the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem and concerning his return and of the end of the world. From verse 3 then, putting our verse in context. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. The very first thing that the Lord says In response to the question, he is, take heed that no man deceive you.

Now much of what the Lord says here in Matthew 24 has already been fulfilled in the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. But the Lord does also speak of his return, which, of course, is yet to be fulfilled. Now, I'm taking it for granted that you all believe in the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's a doctrine which is alluded to and directly spoken of many times throughout the scriptures. Not only here in Matthew 24, but also in John 14, for example. The Lord speaks of his second coming.

I will come again and receive you unto myself. when he ascended up into heaven, having finished the work which the Father had given him to do, and having been raised from the dead. There were present two angels which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. So Christ declared this truth, and the apostles declared this truth, angels declared this truth and the apostles declared this truth so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation and the church declares this truth of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ every time she keeps the ordinance of the Lord's Supper.

You see, in the Lord's Supper there is not only a looking back to that great work of redemption which the Lord Jesus has accomplished for his people, but there is also a looking forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 says, For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come.

So I take it for granted that you all hold to this doctrine of the Lord's return, but I would not take it for granted that nobody is deceived as to the true nature of the Lord's return. There is much false and erroneous teaching in the professing church on this subject. Take heed that no man deceive you.

Because the Lord uses the analogy of the thief in verse 43 of this chapter, there are some who imagine that the Lord is going to come back secretly and take his church out of the world in what they call the rapture. Now this is a very erroneous view to put it mildly. It's a view which arose as recently as the 19th century. What the Lord is speaking of is the suddenness and the unexpectedness of his return.

When the Lord returns, that will be the end of this present evil world. The world is not going to continue, at least in its present state. Christ comes at the end, at the very last day, and there are no more days after the last day. Paul says, Peter, rather, says, Now this is clearly not a secret coming of Christ. It is with a great noise. It is the end of the world.

Ah, but doesn't it say here in Matthew 24 in verses 40 and 41 that some are going to be taken and others left? Well, let's look at those verses in context from verse 38. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so also shall the coming of the Son of Man be. There shall be two in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill, The one shall be taken and the other left. You see, those who are taken are the wicked. They are taken away in judgment, just as the wicked were all taken away in the flood. It actually means the exact opposite of what those who advocate for the so-called secret rapture think it means, or say that it means.

In his high priestly prayer in John 17, the Lord had prayed that his church would not be taken out of the world. John 17 verse 15, I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but thou shouldest keep them from the evil. Why then would the Lord come, contrary to his own prayer, and take them out of the world? and in this connection there is the notion of course of the Great Tribulation which it is said will be a period of great hardship and persecution either before or after the so-called rapture. This notion springs from an erroneous interpretation of verse 21 of this chapter.

For then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time nor ever shall be, but this verse is speaking of the impending siege and destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, as is clear from the context, and it is equally clear that the church itself must pass through great tribulation in all ages.

We read of Paul and Barnabas in the book of Acts. They returned again to Lystra and to Iconium and Antioch, confirming the souls of their disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God. And this has proved to be the case in the subsequent history of the church. Just read Foxe's book of Martyrs, or the history of the Waldensians, for example. or the recent history of the suffering church under the communist Soviet Union, or indeed of the present atrocities committed under the sway of the false prophet of Islam, how the Lord's people have been persecuted, beheaded for their faith. We see the whole of the church, every one of God's elect portrayed in the book of the Revelation. These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

The Lord is not going to set up a millennial kingdom upon this earth at, before, or after his return. The earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up. That's what the scripture says. Jesus said, my kingdom is not of this world. There is to be no third temple, no millennial kingdom here upon this earth, at least in a literal sense.

Beware of Christian Zionism. It is a false gospel and a denial of Christ. It has resulted in the deaths of countless, hundreds of thousands of people, innocent people in the Middle East, many of them Christians. And moreover, the deaths of many American servicemen.

There is to be no third temple. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? Paul writes to the Corinthians, For ye are the temple of God, as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

These things I say at the outset by way of introduction. Take heed that no man deceive you. We live in a world and in an era of mass deception. the devil is the father of lies when he speaketh a lie Jesus said he speaketh of his own for he is a liar and the father of it it's his native tongue as it were, it's his own language the lie and how he deceived our first parents in the garden of Eden you remember and ye shall be as gods he said and ye shall be as gods and man in his natural fallen unregenerate state and condition has believed the devil's lie ever since. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" says Jeremiah. The deceived becomes the deceiver. Why, man would even deceive his own self.

And so Paul, writing to Timothy under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, says, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. As this present evil world draws to its inevitable conclusion, we are told that evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

This is the world we are now living in at the present time. How we need to heed, then, this word of the Lord Jesus Christ. Take heed. Take heed, he says, that no man deceive you. Well, as we proceed, I would like to consider three areas of which we should be especially wary as we see the day approaching.

First of all, the world of science. Then secondly, the world of politics and of mainstream media. And then thirdly, the world of religion. Then by way of conclusion we shall consider how then we should live our lives in the light of Christ's return. Well firstly then let us consider the world of science. I think it's fair to say that in this secular age that science has now reached the status of a religion. Science is infallible. Science says has replaced the word of God says.

They have their prophet, Charles Robert Darwin, and they have their scriptures, Darwin's work, for example, entitled, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, to give the work its full title. They have their preachers, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking, Christopher Hitchens, to name but a few. Richard Dawkins' forebears, of course, were slave owners, and they campaigned against the abolition of slavery against the Christians, presumably because they were one of the favoured races. And remember the mantra we heard incessantly throughout the so-called pandemic, follow the science.

Following the science has replaced following the lamb. Following Christ, trust the science, is another one. Trusting science has replaced faith in God. Science has now become a religion. We have to trust it. But as there is true and false religion, well, so there is true and false science. True science does not contradict the Bible. And there are a great number of scientists, even today, who do not go along with Darwinism, but who believe the Bible. Sir Isaac Newton was a great scientist. but he wrote more on theology than he did on science. The Word of God warns us against false religion, but it also warns us of false science.

O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science falsely so called, which some professing have heard from the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen. I warn you, Colossians, beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

The Scriptures also speak of true science, of course. But thou, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge, that is, science, shall be increased. So how do we discern the true from the false? Well, it is the same for science as for religion. To the law and to the testimony.

If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. And so anyone who reads and believes the Bible can discern immediately that the theory of evolution is a gigantic lie of the devil. God created the world in six days and all very good.

There are a good number of scientists who are against the theory of evolution, and there is a great deal of true scientific evidence that contradicts it. Now, I'm not going to go into detail here. If anyone's interested in looking further into this, there are many resources on the internet, many articles written by creation scientists who confirm the biblical account of creation. I would, however, warn against a popular compromise with the theory of evolution, and that is the notion of a theistic evolution. is the God used evolution to create the world hypothesis this presupposes like the theory of evolution that the world is millions of years old in which case it must be that as the creatures were evolving over those millions of years there was death in the world even from the very beginning So, according to this view, then, death did not come into the world, as the Bible says, as the result of man's sin. It was there before. It was there before the fall of our first parents.

Death, then, was not the punishment for sin. Logically, then, Christ did not die for sin, but his death in the cross was not for the sins of his people. It could not have been a penal and a substitutionary death. And so we see that the theory of evolution, including the notion of a theistic evolution, is a satanic lie. It is an attack on the Bible and on the very gospel itself. Now if the theory of evolution is an attack on the God of creation, climate change alarmism is an attack on the God of providence. The Lord God is in absolute control of the whole universe, and that includes Earth's climate. And he has promised mankind, through his promise to Noah after the flood, while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.

We don't have to worry about the climate. Now that is not to say that we don't have to care for the environment, of course we do. There is that that is sometimes referred to as the cultural mandate in Genesis 128. And God blessed them, that is Adam and Eve, and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. We read in chapter 2 of how the Creator put the man whom he had made into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Of course man has a duty, an obligation to look after the environment. I want to drink clean water, I want to breathe clean air and I have a duty to love my neighbor as myself. I have a duty then not to pollute his drinking water or the air that he breathes.

The problem with the climate change narrative is that it is a denial of the God of Providence. According to this narrative, God is not in control of the creation. In fact, really, what this narrative is saying is that there is no God. It is an atheistic worldview.

Man is in control, is the old temptation, ye shall be as gods. Man can control the climate. If only he would adhere to the United Nations Agenda 2030, Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs. And if anyone doesn't know about those, you should look into them. They're an eye-opener. Well, they might as well try to build a tower to heaven, which I think is what they're trying to do in effect. Natural disasters are pointed to as an evidence or as an effect of climate change. But the scripture says, "...shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it." And again, "...the Lord is known by the judgments which he executeth."

Do not be deceived by the climate change alarmists. It is, again, science falsely so called. And there are a great many true scientists who are against the climate change narrative. David Bellamy was a scientist and an environmentalist. He's with the Lord now. He used to present television programs for the BBC. That is until he described global warming as poppycock. He said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph in 2013, I still say it's poppycock, for the last 16 years temperatures have been going down and the carbon dioxide has been going up and the crops have got greener and grow quicker. We've done plenty to smash up the planet but there's been no global warming caused by man.

If you believe it, fine, but I don't and there's thousands like me, that's thousands of other scientists who don't believe this nonsense. Well, as there is an attack on the God of Creation and the God of Providence from science, falsely so-called, so there is also an attack on the image of God.

That is, on the very nature of man himself. Genesis 1.27 So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him. Male and female created he them.

Not according to science foresee so called. Contrary to biological reality, science foresee so called tells us that there are not just two genders, male and female, but there are, well, One list I've seen says 107 genders. The BBC told their staff that there are over 150 genders and it's increasing. So in spite of what your anatomy tells you, you can choose to be any gender you want to be. Yet you can lie to yourself and to everyone else around you.

But the reality is, boys will be boys and boys can never be girls and vice versa. It is quite ridiculous that in 2026, in this age of supposed scientific learning, I should be standing here pointing out the patently obvious, basic biological fact that men cannot and will never be able to have babies.

Well might that scripture have been written of the educated talking heads and chattering classes of this generation. They became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. You know, my young grandsons know the difference between a man and a woman. But some of our university-educated politicians are quite incapable of answering the question, what is a woman? It's too difficult for them, they say. Why, even our Prime Minister was incapable of answering that basic question, what is a woman? So that brings us in the second place then to the world of politics and mainstream media. We said just now that it seems as if science had been elevated to the status of religion.

Well, all religions have their mediators. The Roman Catholic Church has Mary as a mediatrix, and it has its priesthood. Islam has Muhammad. The shamans act as mediators between the spirit world and this world. True Biblical Christianity has its mediator, the true mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Scientism has its mediators.

The politicians and the mainstream media are its mediators. Interestingly, the words media and mediator come from the same Latin root, meaning middle. I've lumped politicians and the mainstream media together because it has now become obvious, at least to some of us, that they are working hand-in-glove, pushing the same atheistic agenda, the same anti-God, anti-Bible, anti-Christian, anti-human narrative as science falsely so-called.

I remember Ken Clarke, the Conservative MP who served in Margaret Thatcher's and John Major's cabinets, appearing on the BBC's Question Time programme. He referred to those who believe in a six-day creation as dangerous. Now that's just one example in the media. In this case the Beelzebub's Broadcasting Corporation working hand-in-glove with a politician to fulfill its role as a mediator for the religion of Scientism or should we call it Satanism.

Now, at risk of being labeled a Putin apologist, I want to just quote from a speech given, I think it was in 2022, by President Putin of Russia, in which he calls out this new religion which is being foisted on us. He said this, Do we want to have here in our country, in Russia, parent number one, parent number two and parent number three?

They've completely lost it. Instead of mother and father, Do we want our schools to impose on our children, from their earliest days in school, perversions that lead to degradation and extinction? Do we want to drum into their heads the ideas that certain other genders exist, along with women and men, and to offer them gender reassignment surgery? Is that what we want for our country and our children? This is all unacceptable to us. We have a different future of our own.

Let me repeat that the dictatorship of the Western elites targets all societies, including the citizens of Western countries themselves. It is a challenge to all. This complete renunciation of what it means to be human, the overthrow of faith and traditional values, the suppression of freedom, are coming to resemble a religion in reverse, pure Satanism. Exposing false messiahs, Jesus Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount, By their fruits you shall know them. These poisonous fruits are already obvious to people, and not only in our country, but also in all countries, including many people in the West itself. Well, I have to say, I completely agree with that, wholeheartedly, 100%. and I think he's quite right to speak of the dictatorship of the Western elites.

Any criticism of the mainstream narrative can get you banned, cancelled, de-platformed, your bank account frozen. Enoch Burke At the present time, a teacher in Northern Ireland has been sacked, he's been imprisoned, he's had money taken from his bank account by the regime, all for misgendering a pupil at school. And that's just one example, there are plenty more examples like that we could mention. And it's set to get worse with the UK government's Online Safety Act, and its plans to introduce digital ID, and so on. You know, under the dictatorship of the old Soviet Union, there were democratic elections.

People forget this. There was only one party you could vote for, but anyone could stand for election, and one could vote for the candidate of one's choice. Now, is that really any different from what we have now? We have a choice of candidates, but there is in reality just one party to vote for. We have the uniparty. And you know that you have a uniparty system of government when you see a change of government but no change of policy whatsoever. We are being lied to when we are being told that we are living in a liberal democracy. Democracy is dead. We are now living under a system of global governance.

Many of the policies now being rolled out by our own government and by other governments around the world originate with the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, the World Health Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Bank for International Settlements, the Club of Rome, the Bilderberg meetings, the Trilateral Commission, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for Population Control, as it used to be called. the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Blackrock, the World Governments Summit. Now I noticed on one occasion at the World Governments Summit, I watched a bit of it on YouTube, they dropped the letter S from the end of the word Governments. And so the backdrop behind the speakers read World Government, singular, Summit. World Government Summit, and I think that really does say it all, and I think that was deliberate, the dropping of that S. And let's not forget the Global Parliament of Mayors and the Council for Inclusive Capitalism, founded by the Rothschilds and the Vatican. These are all the various departments, as it were, of the system of global governance. We do not yet officially have a one world government, but we clearly do have one world governance. I think that's plain to see.

Take heed that no man deceive you. Believe it or not, some politicians have sometimes been known to lie. And the BBC and the rest of the mainstream media do not always tell the truth, certainly not the complete truth. Its main role is to push out propaganda to the masses and to distract from the truth.

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. When they tell us that we must close our chapels, that we are not allowed to assemble for the worship of God, when they tell us that we are not allowed to sing God's praises, that we have to put a mask on our faces, that we're not allowed to entertain family or friends, let alone strangers, we are under no obligation to obey.

Indeed, it is our solemn duty as Christians not to obey. The apostles set the example for us to follow in Acts chapter 5. We ought to obey God rather than men. This surely must be the watchword of and for all those who are living in the light of Christ's return. We ought to obey God rather than men.

And so this comes to our third area of consideration, the world of religion. As we said earlier, there is such a thing as false science, science falsely so-called, and there is such a thing as false religion. But not just false religion, but a false Christianity. Take heed that no man deceive you, for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many.

There is that Antichrist that should come before the Lord's return. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 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 who opposeth and exalted himself above all that is called God all that is worshipped so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God Now that scripture has been fulfilled. There has come a falling away, the apostasy of the Church of Rome, and that Son of Man is revealed, the Son of Perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, all that is worshipped, and that is the pretended Bishop of Rome. so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

You know, the only time you read the words Holy Father in the Scriptures is John 17 verse 11, where Christ addresses God in prayer. Holy Father. And yet that is how the Pope is addressed in the professing Church of Rome. It is the highest blasphemy. And as there is a false Christ, the Pope, well, so there is a false church. Now, of course, when the BBC speaks of the church, it's usually referring to the Roman Catholic Church. And that really should not surprise us. We would expect that from Beelzebub's Broadcasting Corporation. Well, the Holy Scriptures speak of a false church, and it is clearly the Church of Rome that is being referred to.

Just read Revelation 17. In that chapter we read of a woman arrayed in purple and scarlet color and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. She is guilty of spiritual fornication, idolatry. She is portrayed as being drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

No organization or religion, not even Islam, or political power, like communism, has shed more Christian blood than the Church of Rome. And in case there is any doubt, we are told that she sits on seven mountains, the seven hills of Rome. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry.

And as there is a false church, so there are false Bibles. Paul, in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, speaking of Satan, says, for we are not ignorant of his devices. Well, let us not be ignorant of his devices in this matter. Satan's device in the past was to destroy the Bible. The Bible was once a banned and a burned book. Now the satanic device is to multiply Bibles.

There are so many different versions, or rather perversions, that nobody knows what the Bible is anymore, or what the Bible says. In the modern perversions of the Bible you'll find the expunging, the denial and the undermining of many fundamental Christian doctrines.

The Trinity, the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ, the virgin birth of the Messiah, the imputed righteousness of Christ, predestination to salvation, the omnipotence of Christ in upholding elect angels, and so on. Sometimes it's in the main text that the deception occurs, sometimes it's in the margins and in the footnotes. False Bibles, the unholy Bible, will often have the devil's question marks on the page. Yea, hath God said? It is that ancient questioning of the Word of God which that old serpent used in the Garden of Eden. And as there are false Bibles, so there are false teachers. And the New Testament is replete with warnings about false teachers.

Remember how Paul warned the Ethiopian, the Ephesian elders in the book of Acts, take heed, mark the words again, take heed, therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood.

For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. And Peter says in his second epistle, But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

The time that that Paul warned Timothy of is now upon us. And if we are to be those who are truly living our lives in the light of Christ's return, then we must pay heed to these things. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. Beware of the errors of the charismatic movement.

Remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have you not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works, miracles? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

And as there are false teachers, so there is a false gospel. Arminianism is a false gospel. The notion that man has a free will in the matter of salvation, that he can give himself a new birth, that he can give himself faith and repentance, if he would only make that decision, if he would only accept Christ, if he would only ask Jesus into his life, if only he would say the sinner's prayer, and so on. Arminianism teaches that Jesus died for everybody and this is actually a nullification a making void of the blood of the atonement because it means that there are sinners in hell for whom Christ died there are sinners in hell for whom Christ has shed his blood and whom he has redeemed by his blood Christ has paid the price for their redemption but they're not redeemed Christ has paid the penalty for their sins, but they must nevertheless suffer the penalty for their sins eternally in hell. This is a false gospel. It is saying that the Lord Jesus Christ only made salvation possible by his death upon the cross. He did not actually accomplish or procure salvation at all. Indeed, it would have been entirely possible for Christ to have actually saved no one by his death if none had responded to a so-called offer of salvation.

Let us not be ashamed of our Calvinism. Let us be unashamed of the Gospel. Christ died for his elect, and for his elect only. As he himself has said, I lay down my life for the sheep. We believe that Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, as the scripture says. He did not love the whore of Babylon. That would make him an adulterer. God does not love everybody, for the scripture says, Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated.

Particular redemption and definite atonement is scriptural. And all the five points of Calvinism can be proved from Holy Scripture. But I will point out that there is such a thing as a false Calvinism. Take heed that no man deceive you. There is in Reformed circles at the present time that which is masquerading as Calvinism but is in fact Amaraldianism or Amaraldism.

True Calvinism agrees with the Holy Scriptures in declaring that God accomplishes all His holy will and pleasure. Psalm 135, verse 6, Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven and in earth, in the seas and all deep places. Isaiah 46, verse 10, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. The false Calvinism of the Amaraldians says that God has a sincere desire to save all men.

There is a desire in God, then, which is not actually fulfilled. In other words, God does not do all his pleasure. Job says, But he is in one mind, and who can turn him, and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth? If the Lord our God has sincere desire to save all men, then why did He not unconditionally elect all men? Why does He not irresistibly and effectually call all men? Why did not the Lord Jesus lay down His life for the goats? The Amaraldians say that there are two wills in the Godhead, the revealed will of God, which is that all men should be saved, that's the antecedent will of God, and the secret and subsequent will of God, which is that God will only save his elect.

This again is contrary to Job 23.13, but he is in one mind, and who can turn him? And what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. they speak of a hypothetical universal atonement, whereas the true Calvinist speaks of a definite atonement. And on the basis of a hypothetical universal atonement and the sincere love of God to all men, even the reprobate, there is an offer of salvation to all men. even to the reprobate. This is a false Calvinism. It is the doctrine of Moses Amaral, not John Calvin.

Calvin in his commentary on Philippians 2.13 says, Hence we see that the entire praise is ascribed to God, and that what sophists teach us is frivolous, that grace is offered to us, and placed, as it were, in the midst of us, that we may embrace it if we choose. But there is another type of Calvinism which we need to beware of too, and that's fatalism. fatalism is that soul-destroying notion which effectively says, well, God is sovereign if he will save me, then he will save me.

I will not put my hand to it because that would be presumption. It hides behind the doctrine of the sovereignty of God in salvation as an excuse to remain dead in trespasses and sins. Those who are quickened by divine grace who are born from above, see the enormity of their sin against God, and the great danger that they are in, and they flee from the wrath to come, they lay hold on eternal life, they press into the kingdom of God, they strive to enter in at the straight gate, they give diligence to make their calling and their election sure, they call upon the name of the Lord that they might be saved, and they are not ashamed to confess his name before men. Well, in conclusion, how then should we live as Christians in this present age of deception in the light of Christ's return?

Peter puts it like this. What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God? Surely we must take heed of the word of Christ. We must hearken to what he says here in Matthew 24 verse 4.

Take heed that no man deceive you. It is the first thing that the Lord says when asked about his second coming and of the end of the world. Take heed that no man deceive you. Beware of the lies which abound in the world of science, in the world of politics, in the mainstream media, in the world of religion, too.

Indeed, we must take heed to all that Christ says. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life, He said. If you do not want to be deceived, then you must heed all that is written in the Word of God. How well do you know your Bible? Remember what Jesus said to the Sadducees, ye do err not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. Yes, these are the holy scriptures which were able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

But you know, we must also beware of self-deception. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? This is probably the most dangerous of all deceptions, self-deception. And so the wise man says in the Proverbs, He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool, but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. Beware of deceitful lusts. Hear what the apostle says, writing under the direct and divine inspiration of the Spirit of God.

Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Again he says, But fornication and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints. neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be ye not therefore partakers with them. If we would not be partakers of the wrath of God with the ungodly, then let us not be partakers with them in their sins.

We would be wise to choose our friends and companions very carefully. Be not deceived. Evil communications corrupt good manners. Remember again the words of the wise man in the Proverbs. He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

But neither let us be afraid. We are apt to become fearful as we see increasing intolerance of Christian views, the increasing oppositions of science falsely so-called, the increasing power of the globalist elites with their depopulation agenda, and the possible enslavement of the human race by means of a central bank digital currency and digital ID. And when we see an almost universal apostasy from the truth of God and the embracing of every false way and of any and every dunghill deity, we are apt to become afraid when we see all these things. But you know the scripture not only says be not deceived, it also says fear not.

It is a mark of the reprobate that they are fearful. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. And yet the Lord's people are sometimes fearful too, aren't they? And so Isaiah says, Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense. He will come and save you. This is how we are to live in the light of Christ's return. Be strong, fear not. Just read Psalm 37 if you want to know how to live as a Christian in the light of Christ's return, read Psalm 37 in its entirety. It's a wonderful psalm and it's been a great help to me personally.

We are not to fear as the world fears, neither are we to fear what the world fears. The psalmist says concerning the ungodly, there were they in great fear where no fear was. And we see the same old lies... well, we saw that, didn't we, I should say, in the so-called pandemic. There were they in great fear, where no fear was, and we now see the same old lies and the same old propaganda being pushed out in relation to the globalist so-called climate crisis narrative. Neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself, and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. We are not to fear what the world fears. We are to fear God, and fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. The fear of the Lord, that is the secret to living in the light of Christ's return.

Charles Bridges in his commentary on Proverbs says, Let young people be always led to look upon vicious habits with horror. Now by the word vicious of course he means vice, related to vice, vicious habits. Let young people be always led to look upon vicious habits with horror as the most appalling evil.

Discipline their vehemence of feeling and all ill-regulated excitement. Keep out of sight as far as may be. Books calculate to inflame the imagination." And we might add here, of course, in our day, things that might be seen on computer screens, mobile phones and so on, social media. To give an impulse to the glowing passion may stimulate the rising corruption to the most malignant fruitfulness. Oh, what wisdom is needed to guide, to repress, to bring forth, develop safely, and to improve fully the mind, energies, and sensibilities of youth.

Young man, beware! Do not flatter thyself for a moment that God will ever wink at your sinful passions that he will allow for them as slips and foibles of youth. They are the cords of your own sins, which, if the power of God's grace break them not in time, will hold you for eternity. Shun then the society of sin as the infection of the plague. Keep thy distance from it, as from the pit of destruction. Store thy mind with the preservation of heavenly wisdom.

Cultivate the taste for purer pleasures. The preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes says, ironically, Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes.

But know thou that for these things God will bring thee into judgment. At the end of the book of Ecclesiastes we read, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.

This is the secret of living in the light of Christ's return and of the judgment to come, the fear of the Lord. Take heed that no man deceive you. And finally, if we are those who would be truly living in the light of Christ's return, then we must be those who are truly alive in Christ and abiding in Christ. And now, little children, abide in Him that when he shall appear we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. The only ones who are saved in the day of the judgment of the worldwide flood were those who were in the ark. There is no salvation outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. Take heed that no man deceive you. Amen.