The recent US presidential election has brought the trouble with fake news to the fore front. Fake news are nothing new. Fake news have been used since time immemorial to cause a certain event to occur in favour to the predestined desired results by the issuer of the fake news. This has been employed during times of wars where accounts have been numerous.
Some years back the US justified their invasion with fake news that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The whole world was taken in for a ride. When Iraq was finally destroyed and Saddam Hussein executed, no weapons of mass destruction were found.
In fact fake news are not alien to Biblical revelation as well. One prominent incident was the destruction of the wicked king Ahab. The plan to disseminate fake news took place in heaven. This piece of fake news sealed the doom of king Ahab.
1 Kings 22:19: And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
1 Kings 22:20: And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
1 Kings 22:21: And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
1 Kings 22:22: And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
1 Kings 22:23: Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
During one of the wars between Israel and Syria where the children of Israel were under siege living in dire condition, a case of fake news helped to prevent the impending doom of the Israelites.
2 Kings 7:5: And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.
2 Kings 7:6: For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.
2 Kings 7:7: Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.
The source of this piece of fake news originated from none other than the Lord. Years later, the Lord again sent out fake news to deliver king Hezekiah and his people under siege by the Assyrians.
2 Kings 19:6: And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
2 Kings 19:7: Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
2 Kings 19:8: So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.
Fake news will become more prevalent during the last days in this digital age. The Lord Jesus Christ warned His people not to be taken in by fake news. There will be false Christs and false prophets who will deceive many.
Matthew 24:4: And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Matthew 24:5: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Matthew 24:11: And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Matthew 24:24: For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mark 13:21: And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
Luke 21:8: And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
Prevailing fake news will cause many people to be troubled during the days prior to the return of Christ.
Matthew 24:6: And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
The Lord also condemned those unbelieving Jews they would rather believe fake news rather than the truth.
John 5:43: I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
This is sad but nevertheless true that many will be deceived. They would rather believe the devil than the Lord and hence nations of people are deceived and doomed.
Revelation 12:9: And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Revelation 13:14: And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Revelation 20:3: And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Revelation 20:8: And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Revelation 20:10: And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
It is actually quite easy to deceive people who don’t like truths from the Bible. Just give them news that the people want to hear and they will swallow it. Manipulating people who reject the truth from the Bible is not very difficult.
So those who hate the Bible and the Lord and they think they can get away with it will be badly mistaken. The Lord will treat them the way they like to be treated.
2 Samuel 22:27: With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.
Psalms 18:26: With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
Additionally, the Lord will even send them falsehoods and fake news will be one such weapon of choice.
Isaiah 66:4: I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
2 Thessalonians 2:8: And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2 Thessalonians 2:9: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2 Thessalonians 2:10: And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:11: And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
Don’t ever think you can beat the Lord in your own game. You will be deceived by fake news to your own confusion and destruction. It is not funny at all and it becomes funnier when you found the joke is on you.
Job 12:16: With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.
So there are many weapons at the Lord’s disposal. One such weapon is fake news. Even the devil and his cohort are operating under the Lord’s permissive will to deal with wayward and froward sinners.
Now is the time to learn some truths. It is definitely possible to know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:32: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 14:6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 8:24: I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
John 3:36: He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Luke 12:5: But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Mark 9:47: And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Mark 9:48: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Revelation 21:8: 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.
Believe the warnings from the Lord Jesus Christ.
You don’t have to be a victim of fake news.
We who believe in the Lord Jesus will trust in him even unto death.