“And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.”” Matthew 24:4
We’re told at the beginning of the Chapter, as Jesus was leaving the Temple, “His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him” to which He replies “not one stone here will be left upon another”. As the Disciples inquire further, “when will these things happen?”, Today’s Verse is the beginning of His answer. Most of us know what follows; Jesus Teaching on His “2nd Coming”!
I was converted in 1973, at the height of “The Late Great Planet Earth” craze. I heard many Sermons during this time on “The Rapture” and “The Imminent Return of Christ”. This seemed to be the Focus of much of the Evangelical Church. Needless to say, He did not come back then and the Hoopla has died down. I did not realize until the early 80s that the view Hal Lindsey and others held was one that had only existed since the late 1800s. It is called “Dispensational Premillennialism”. I also learned that there were 3 other Major Views of Last Times, and that the Church had embraced them much longer than the former.
My Point? “See to it that no one misleads you” can apply directly to this. How so? The Church has been in existence for 2,000 years now. God has raised up Teachers throughout this time and gifted them with Knowledge and Understanding of the Scriptures to Teach on many Points, including Eschatology! So, these men never had an accurate View on Last Things until John Darby or Charles Scofield came along? Of course not! To consider otherwise is complete Foolishness. One of the great needs of Christians today is to understand Church History and know “what things” have already been taught! That way we will be better equipped so that…”no one misleads us”!