Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “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 are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:3-8)

Deception is a purposeful misleading of someone from the truth to their exploitation or destruction. In our age of exponential information and knowledge increase there is also a surge in deceptions. Deceptions have always been around throughout history but in the last days there is an large increase in this just as with everything else. One of the biggest issues is the exploitation of people through the use of God's word by evil people. There were deceptions even in the early churches to whom the letters were written by the apostles to correct their doctrinal concepts. Faith defines our behavior and if our doctrines are not aligned with the word of God there is a real danger of being misled into lies and in a result mislead others away from the truth, away from true faith and away from salvation.

Some of the earliest false Christs already appeared in the first century and more claims of self proclaimed Christs have re-emerged in the 18th century and continues till this day. These false Christ claims will continue to emerge until the Antichrist will reveal himself to the naive public who will accept him as Christ.

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)