True and False Christs
In the discourse of His
Second Coming our Lord Jesus Christ had warned His disciples: “. . . Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My
name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” (Mt. 24:4-5) The word "Christ"
means “Messiah”
or "Anointed
One".
During the Great
Tribulation there will be even more false christs
(Mt. 24:21-26).
21 For
then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning
of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And unless those
days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those
days will be shortened.
23 "Then if
anyone says to you, "Look, here is the Christ!' or "There!' do not
believe it.
24 For
false christs and false prophets will
rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25 See, I have told
you beforehand.
26 "Therefore
if they say to you, "Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or
"Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.
Here our
Lord Jesus Christ warned that these false christs
will “show great
signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
The apostle Paul was greatly concerned about false
teachers bringing damnable heresies into the
1 Oh, that you would bear with me in a little
folly--and indeed you do bear with me.
2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy.
For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste
virgin to Christ.
3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived
Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ.
4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus
whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have
not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted -- you may well
put up with it!
There are three areas in the Christian faith
that could be corrupted and perverted through false and heretical teachings.
1 Preaching another Jesus whom the apostles
have not preached.
2 Receiving a different spirit which the
Christians have not received.
3 Accepting a different gospel which they have
not accepted.
False Christs from
the East
Even at this present
time many Christians have been deceived by
these false christs and are
being led astray by them. The reason for
the deception is their misinterpretation of Scriptures that can be so convincing
at times that people just believe them.
One of the misquotations that is used to
validate their false claims as the Christ is this verse:
“For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the
west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Mt. 24:27)
There is religious cult
that uses this verse to claim that Christ has already returned and is now in 
} in Chinese.
Sun Myung Moon of
http://www.newcovpub.com/unification/wfwp3.html
In recent speeches given to
"Am I foolish and insignificant or am I great? I gave all the individuals in the world cause
to kneel down in front of me." (Rev. Moon, Today's
World, March 1995 p.6)
Correct Meaning of the
word “East”
The word “east” in Matthew 24:27 is translated from the
Greek “anatole” [ 
]
which literally means
the direction where the sun rises (New International Dictionary of the Bible).
This same word “anatole” is found in Matthew 2:1,2,9; Rev. 7:2; 
As the earth rotates in the direction towards
the sun once every 24 hours, the word “anatole” cannot possibly refer to
any country in the world. Every country
can become the “east” to an adjacent country that is to the west of it. To
When the
Lord Jesus Christ said “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the
west” He was not talking about
His Second Coming to any particular country.
Jesus will appear in every part of the world almost simultaneously so
that “every eye
will see Him” (Rev. 1:7). We do not
know how it can be done, but with God nothing is impossible. Using the metaphor
of “lightning” Jesus Christ is comparing His appearance to the suddenness,
speed and velocity of a lightning flash (Lk.
False Christs from
the West
In March 2003 “The Da Vinci Code”, a novel written by Dan Brown, was published and up to the beginning
of May 2006 it has been translated into 44 languages and sold more than 46
million copies worldwide, and is still counting. The movie directed by Ron Howard and with Tom
Hanks as the principal actor, is scheduled for worldwide release on
According to "The Da Vinci Code” Jesus was
just a “mortal
prophet” who was not divine, did
not die for our sins, and was not resurrected. Instead, He married Mary
Magdalene and had at least one child.
Many prominent Christian apologists and writers
are in agreement that “The Da Vinci Code” has the hidden agenda to
propagate Gnosticism and at the same time undermine Christianity. The Gnostic “Jesus” is “another Jesus”.
The Gnostic "Jesus" portrayed
in "The
Da Vinci Code" is not the Lord Jesus Christ of the Holy Bible. Jesus has warned us there would be "false Christs." (Mt. 24:24), and the apostle Paul had written about “another Jesus whom we
have not preached.” Dan Brown’s version of the "Jesus" is a "false Christ" and “another Jesus”. Although this is only a movie based on a fictional novel,
yet the author insists “all descriptions of
artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this
novels are accurate.” This novel gives the false impression that it is the truth,
thus many real people have been turned away from the true Jesus Christ.
"The Da Vinci Code" has the
Gnostic spirit of the Antichrist. The
Gnostic gospel is a different gospel from the one that was preached by Jesus
and the Apostles. People who are not
Christians will continue to reject Christianity, and sincere seekers will turn
away from it. Many Christians are "confused
and disillusioned” after reading "The Da Vinci
Code". Although much of the attacks from “The Da Vinci Code" have been
leveled against the Catholic Church, nevertheless it is anti-christian in its contents.
Refutation of The Da Vinci Code’s
“Jesus Christ”
Here are clear and indisputable biblical evidences to prove that the Lord
Jesus Christ is the One True God manifested in the flesh.
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The Lord Jesus Christ
is Yahweh of the Old Testament |
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Yahweh |
Title and Attribute |
Lord Jesus Christ |
|
Isaiah 40:28 |
Creator |
John 1:1-3, Col. 1:16-17 |
|
Isaiah 45:22; 43:11 |
Savior |
John 4:42; 1 John 4:14 |
|
1 Sam. 2:6 |
Raise the dead |
John 5:21; Lk. 7:11-16 |
|
Joel 3:12 |
Judge |
John 5:27; Mt. 25:31-46 |
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Isaiah 60:19-20 |
Light |
John 8:12 |
|
Exodus 3:14 |
I AM |
John 8:58; cf 18:5-6 |
|
Psalm. 23:1 |
Shepherd |
John 10:11 |
|
Isaiah 42:8; cf 48:11 |
Glory of God |
John 17:1, 5 |
|
Isaiah 41:4; 44:6 |
First and Last |
Revelation 1:17; 2:8 |
|
Hosea 13:14 |
Redeemer |
Revelation 5:9 |
|
Isa. 62:5; Hos. 2:16 |
Bridegroom |
Rev. 21:2; cf Mt. 25:1 |
|
Psalm 18:2 |
Rock |
1 Corinthians 10:4 |
|
Jeremiah 31:34 |
Forgiver of sins |
Mark 2:5-10 |
|
Psalm 148:2 |
Worshiped by Angels |
Hebrews 1:6 |
|
Throughout O.T. |
Worshiped by people |
Mt. 8:2; Lk. 24:51-54 |
|
Throughout O.T. |
Addressed in Prayer |
Acts |
|
Psalm 148:5 |
Creator of Angels |
Colossians 1:16-17 |
|
Isaiah 45:23 |
Confessed as LORD |
Philippians 2:11 |
The Lord Jesus Christ
did not marry
any woman
In the “Da
Vinci Code” the Lord Jesus Christ is portrayed as having married Mary
Magdalene and fathered a child. Some
Christian writers think that if Jesus was married it would not have affected
His divinity or mission to be the Savior of the world. This premise is dangerous and questionable.
1.
The Lord Jesus Christ has a supernatural birth and He is the Son of
God
Marriage is established by God for the propagation of
mankind (Gen. 1:27-28). It is the sexual
union between a man and a woman (Mt. 19:4-6).
Due to disobedience Adam’s sin has passed on to mankind from generation
to generation (Rom.
In order to save mankind from sin God must provide a Savior
who has no sin. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we
might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:21) The sinless Savior did not inherit the sin of
Adam because He did not have a human father. God is His Father. “Therefore,
when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.” (Heb. 10:5) The “body” that God had prepared belonged to a
virgin. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a
Son, and shall call Him Immanuel.” (Isa.
7:14). The angel Gabriel said to Mary, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed
are you among women.” (Lk. 1:28) The Lord Jesus was
conceived of the Holy Spirit and He is the Son of God (Lk.
2. There
is absolutely no biblical
evidence that the Lord Jesus Christ had ever married.
There are several
prophecies in the Old Testament that refer to the life of the Lord Jesus Christ
but not a single one that gives even a slight hint that He would be married.
During His earthly ministry the Lord Jesus Christ had women disciples who learned from Him (Lk. 8:2-3;
John describes a wedding
in Cana in which the Lord Jesus Christ, His mother
and His disciples had attended (Jn. 2:1-10). If Jesus was married certainly His mother and
His disciples would have celebrated His wedding. None of the Gospel writers Matthew, Mark,
Luke or John mentioned the wedding of Jesus.
3. If the Lord
Jesus Christ had married in secret it would definitely affect our belief in His
divinity
The Lord Jesus Christ
said, “I and My
Father are one,” Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, ‘Many good works I have
shown you from My Father. For which of
those works do you stone Me?’ The Jews answered Him, saying, ‘For a good
work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and
because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” (Jn. 10:30-33) The Jews had completely rejected the divinity
of Jesus even though He had done many good works.
If Jesus had married in
secret and had children then His reputation would be tarnished. If He had married openly then He would be no
different from any other man or prophet.
Except for His teachings Jesus would be no different from Mohammed who
had four wives. Because of His marital
status His divinity would even be more dubious and questionable. It is difficult for anyone to believe in a
God who manifested Himself in the flesh as the Lord Jesus Christ, would marry a
woman who was once possessed by seven demons?
It is even harder to believe that God would choose only the Merovingian
dynasty of the early French kings to be His physical descendants, which is
suggested in the Da Vinci Code. The god of the Da
Vinci Code is not the same One True God that we believe and worship.
Here is the truth. God does not procreate His descendants
through the sexual union in a marriage.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (Jn. 1:12-13)
4. If the Lord Jesus
Christ had married in secret it would have affected His mission
The Lord Jesus Christ was driven by
the mission that His Father had sent Him into the world. He said, "Just as the
Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a
ransom for many" (Mt. 20:28).
And on another occasion, He said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work" (Jn.
The One True God sent His Son Jesus
Christ with the mission to save the world from sin. It was never in God’s will that Jesus would
marry and have children. If it was God’s
will for Jesus to be married He would have spoken through the Old Testament
prophets and Jesus Himself would also have stated it very clearly during His
earthly ministry.
What kind of leadership and family
model would Jesus have given His disciples if He was secretly
married and have children, then leave them and ascend to heaven? No, our Lord Jesus Christ knew exactly what
His mission was even when He was twelve years old. This is what He said to His parents: “Why is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be about My
Father’s business?” (Lk.
2:49)
Although Jesus had spoken on
marriage being established by God yet He had never indicated He Himself would
be married. He said a man may choose to
remain unmarried in order to fulfill a religious mission. Here is what He said: “. . .
there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of
heaven’s sake. He
who is able to accept it, let him accept it.” (Mt. 19:12) The Lord Jesus Christ knew His mission is to
be the Savior of mankind therefore marriage had never been in His mind at all.
5. If the Lord
Jesus Christ had married in secret He could not be the Savior of the world
The Lord Jesus Christ “who, being in the form
of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of
no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of
men. And being found in appearance as a
man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the
death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:6-8) “For as by one man’s
disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man’s obedience many will
be made righteous.” (Rom.
While Jesus was still in
Mary’s womb God revealed to Joseph, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call
His name JESUS (YAHSHUA in Hebrew), for He will save His people from their
sins.” (Mt. 1:21) God’s way of salvation is by atonement
through the sacrificial death of the Savior and the shedding of His precious
blood. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” (Heb. 9:14)
Blasphemy of the Lord’s
Blood
The blatant, vicious and
blasphemous lie that Dan Brown concocted in the Da
Vinci Code is that the Lord Jesus Christ had consummated His secret marriage
with Mary Magdalene and she was pregnant with His child during the time of the
Crucifixion. This is what he wrote:
“The legend of the Holy Grail is a legend about royal
blood. When Grail legend speaks of ‘the
chalice that held the blood of Christ’ . . . it speaks, in fact, of Mary
Magdalene – the female womb that carried Jesus' royal bloodline.”
– Da Vinci Code, chapter 58, page
270.
“Mary Magdalene was pregnant at the time of the
crucifixion. For the safety of Christ’s
unborn child, she had no choice but to flee the
– Da Vinci Code, chapter
60, page 276.
The “Holy Grail” refers to ‘the chalice that held the blood of Christ’ that He had used during the
Last Supper. After breaking and eating the bread, “Then He took the cup,
and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood
of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Mt.
26:27-28)
The blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ is called “God’s own blood” (Acts
Satan,
the deceiver, knows
he has a
short time
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his
angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place
found for them in heaven any longer.
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent
of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast
to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,
"Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of
His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before
our God day and night, has been cast down.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the
death.
12 Therefore rejoice, O
heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the
sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows
that he has a short time."
What Christians can
do about the Da Vinci Code
There are three things Christians can do to overcome the devil’s lies.
1. “And they overcame him by
the blood of the Lamb”.
A. Receive
baptism into the Lord Jesus Christ and be washed in His blood (Rev. 1:5).
B. Partake
of the Holy Communion (Mt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 10:16-17;
Jn. 6:53-56)
C. Walk
in the light and have fellowship with one another (1 Jn.
1:7)
2. “and
by the word of their testimony,”
A. Testify
Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, His deeds, death, burial and resurrection; “Judge of the living and
the dead” (Acts
B. “Then Peter said to them,
"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts
C. “But sanctify
the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone
who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” (1 Pet. 3:15)
3. “and
they did not love their lives to the death.”
The critical blow to Satan came when the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, shed
His precious blood for our sins. The
victory is won by sacrifice – Christ’s death in our place to pay the penalty
for our sin, and the sacrifice we make because of our faith in Him. As we face the battle with Satan, we should
not fear it or try to escape from it, but we should loyally serve the Lord
Jesus Christ, who alone brings victory.
May God bless you
A sermon based on this article was preached by Paul Wong
to a
Congregation in
For comments please write first to: arkpw@sbcglobal.net
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Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International. |
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