Daze of Deception

(The following excerpt was written by Pastor Jack Hibbs in his powerful new book Living in the Daze of Deception. Jack has emerged as a prophetic voice to America, warning of the wrath to come if we continue to shake our fist at God.)

Anyone that has driven in areas of thick fog knows how disorienting and disastrous—sometimes deadly—fog can be. In November 2007, thick fog settled onto a twisting section of Interstate 5 in California’s Tehachapi Mountains. The resulting 108-car pileup extended for nearly a mile and caused two deaths and 40 injuries.

In today’s world, fog characterizes the disorienting daze in which we have entered and now live. Hence my title; I intentionally substituted “daze” in place of “days”.

Usually, when the word days is mentioned, most people understand it to concern a specific time or period. Certainly, the Bible speaks of a specific time that will visit humanity—a time of unparalleled difficulty such as the world has never seen. But my primary focus is to help you identify the daze of deception enveloping us today.

Deception, like fog, acts as camouflage—blurring and concealing what is right in front of us. Safely navigating it requires us to use the same precautions drivers use—take heed of flashing lights or warning signals ahead and keep an eye out for patches of clear sky, or in this case, biblical truth, to act as a guide.

Various dictionaries define daze as the inability to think or react properly, to be bewildered or numbed. Synonyms include stupefy, shock, confound, and distract. I believe each of these words can be applied to people’s reaction to the all-encompassing sinister changes taking place today. More than any time in recent memory, people are demonstrating an extraordinary lack of judgment and the inability to think or act appropriately when it comes to what they believe and how they live. How is this happening? Why like never before in history?

Caught Off Guard

Deception has become so widespread that it affects all of us today. Here is just one example of what I am talking about: Have you noticed the incredible amount of deceptive information, false reporting, and, as has been popularly called, “fake news” that has spread through the media these last several years? The answer is yes, of course. All of us who utilize television news, the internet, and social media will readily agree because so much of what is said runs contrary to what we know to be factual.

Yet there are other times when we can’t be sure of what’s true. Even when a person raises their right hand and swears an oath in a court of law, we’re still not sure whether they are telling the absolute truth. Discovering the truth has become an almost impossible task, leaving us wondering what to believe.

You have probably heard the classic tale of what transpired in the ancient city of Troy when the Greeks constructed an enormous wooden horse, gifted it to their enemy, and pretended to sail away. Their Trojan enemies pulled the horse into the city without realizing that hidden inside were Greek soldiers who would sneak out and unlock the city gates from inside so that the supposedly departed Greek army could return and attack. The outcome was that Troy was overtaken and destroyed.

The Trojan horse eventually came to symbolize a deceptive trick or strategy employed when there seemed to be no way to defeat a powerful enemy. Today, you would shake your head if you saw a 25-foot-tall wooden horse roll into your city. But have you thought about what is being concealed by powerful elites, organizations, and governing authorities, or the unexplainable level of secrecy tied to their deceptive views?

When you realize that these people and groups often consider you their enemy, the reality of modern-day Trojan horses doesn’t seem beyond the realm of possibility. It is also important to understand that wicked schemes come in small packages too—subtly hidden in an element of truth—making them more dangerous and difficult to spot.

What does all this mean? First, deception is continually at work through conversations, thoughts, and actions of those who reject the very concept of God from their belief systems. I know that sounds brutal, but that’s backed by what the Bible says. And second, we must be careful not to dismiss deception as taking place only in the media or social and political realms. Jesus warned that there would be tremendous spiritual deception in the last days before His physical return to Earth.

The Daze of the Last Days

What are the last days? Throughout the Bible, the concept of last days appears in a variety of ways: the end of times, the end of days, the last day, the latter times, the end of the age, or, as 1 John 2:18 puts it, the last hour. Not all these terms speak about the exact same thing, but all of them refer to the conclusion of things, which includes the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His kingdom here on Earth.

The events we collectively call the last days are all part of what is called Bible prophecy or biblical eschatology. Bible prophecy is God writing the future in advance so that we can know what lies ahead. And, although many churches shy away from teaching about prophecy out of biblical ignorance, the Bible reveals details about the last days to alleviate the stress of wondering what is coming and to prepare us so that we will be ready.

Detailed volumes have been written about the signs of the end of the age, and we should understand these signs. Here are just a few indicators of what will happen during the last days. Scripture says that men will be haters of God, lovers of pleasure, lovers of lust and evil, and lovers of the things of this world. While, at the same time, becoming loveless and uncaring toward the general population and the welfare of their fellow man (2 Timothy 3:2-4).

No one can deny that each of these behaviors is now commonplace.

How then can we inoculate ourselves against deception? How can we know truth? In some instances, we may never know the truth when it comes to politics, some military scheme or venture, or a business deal gone wrong. But when it comes to spiritual realities, there’s only one way to know the truth. That, of course, is the Bible—the inerrant, perfect, never-changing Word of God.

God is Still Orchestrating

The global crises of our day—the saber-rattlings of war, the lack of trustworthy leaders, the potential collapse of national economies, the controversies over cryptocurrencies, and the government overreach during health pandemics—may not make sense to you and me. But rest assured, they do to God.

What do I mean by that? Isaiah 46:9-10 says: “Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do My pleasure.'”

Only God knows the future. And the fact that the God of the Bible tells us what is going to happen before it comes to pass validates that He exists, He alone is God, and He will accomplish all that He desires.

In this dirty, messed-up world, you and I need a good brainwashing—we need to let the Bible get inside and scrub away all the gunk accumulated throughout the day, let alone a lifetime. God’s Word cleanses and straightens out our thinking.

Whether you’re uncertain if God is real or if He is trustworthy, I promise those assurances will come through His Word.

If you take a careful look at the historical proofs regarding what the Bible says, you will realize that you can trust God to:

Validate the Bible
Validate Jesus Christ
Validate the Messiah’s identity
Get our attention

Why Should You Care

When you hear messages taught on the last days, it might be tempting to adopt an attitude that says, “They don’t apply to me because I’m saved. I won’t be here after the Rapture to see what happens during the Tribulation.” Please don’t let that kind of thinking take hold.

In Matthew 24:4-8, Jesus responded to His disciples’ questions about the sign of His coming and of the end of the age. He said:

“Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginning of sorrows.”

Notice that in the midst of all that calamity and sorrow, Jesus said, “See that you are not troubled.” You might assume I’m suggesting you put on a happy face and think positive thoughts, and everything will be fine. Not so.

I appreciate how the late Dr. Ed Hindson put the difficulty of prophetic events into perspective when he said, “Bible prophecy is not given to us to scare us but to prepare us. It is not given to us to frighten us but to invite us.”

What great words of encouragement! And, I believe Bible prophecy prepares us with the perfect invitation.

Jesus said, “These things [prophecy given in advance] I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus overcame sin, death, and hell itself to spare you from the wrath of God Almighty. The promise of heaven and eternal life awaits. You need to hang on, and so do the people around you.

Live Your Testimony

Like you, your neighbors, friends, and co-workers are watching the world come unhinged as prophecy unfurls, and they are probably scared. You have to wonder, Where do they go when things get rough, and they don’t have anywhere or anyone else to turn to? Prozac? Smirnoff and Jack Daniels? Entertainment? If that were all I had to hold me up, I’d be worried too.

You can use the last day’s events as a catalyst to introduce yourself to neighbors you haven’t yet met. Knock on their door and say, “Listen, you may think I’m a lunatic, but I want you to know that I’m a Christ-follower. And with all that is going on right now, I am praying for the neighbors on our street. Do you have any prayer requests?”

It is doubtful they will throw you off the porch and slam the door in your face. They’ll probably say, “Yeah, you know what? Layoffs are coming at my company. We don’t have any savings. Can you pray that I’ll keep my job so that I can take care of my family?” Seize that moment! Pray a short prayer, say amen, and promise to keep praying.

In these days of deception, we must seek God-given opportunities to share the truth and love of Jesus Christ. Let’s not allow any open door, literally or figuratively, to go to waste.