Many have heard or used the adage; “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The point being, if something is working, leave it alone. This is exactly what Satan has done through the centuries. His efforts in the garden worked with Eve, and he still employs the same tactic today.
Genesis 3:1-5 KJV – “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (emphasis added)
Satan has been convincing people that what God says is not true ever since there were only two people in existence. It worked then and it still works now. Only now he has his agents to incorporate into his strategy; ones whom the Bible says will grow worse and worse as time progresses in their efforts to deceive (2 Timothy 3:13). This is consistent with what Jesus told Peter, Andrew, James, and John when they asked about the signs of His coming and the end of the age.
Mark 13:5-6 KJV – “And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”
This is the warning Jesus issued as He opened the last message He would give before His betrayal and arrest two days later. At the Last Supper, He would give one of the great promises of scripture that He would come again and receive us unto Himself. But the Olivet Discourse would be His final sermon during His time on earth.
Paul offered a similar warning in the last chapter of his last epistle written before he would be executed by Caesar Nero for his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 – “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.”
When someone is about to depart from this world, their last words would certainly be worth our undivided attention. This is especially true for us, as Jesus and Paul were both referring to the days in which we now live. This is a time when imposters and deceivers have grown worse than ever, and churches, in many cases, have become places where fables have replaced the line upon line teaching of the sound doctrines of the word of God.
The only conclusion we can draw is that time is short, the hour is late, and Jesus is coming for us soon. We have precious little time left to tell others about our Savior. Tell someone about him today!
