In the years and months leading up to the return of the Lord many false Christs, false prophets, and false brethren will arise.  Christ foretold of this Himself.

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16.  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17.  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20.  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21.  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23.  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”  (Mt 7:15-23)

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12.  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”  (Mt 24:11-12)

“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 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. 25.  Behold, I have told you before. 26.  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27.  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”  (Mt 24:23-27)

Here is a classic example of one who claims to be the Messiah today and is obviously a false one;

“The time has come for you as well to open your hearts and receive the secrets that Heaven is disclosing in this age through me. In one sense, I am a human being living with a physical body like each of you. But in the context of Heaven's providence, I am God's ambassador, sent to earth with His full authority. I am sent to accomplish His command to save the world's six billion people, restoring them to Heaven with the original goodness in which they were created.

 

The five great saints and many other leaders in the spirit world, including even Communist leaders such as Marx and Lenin, who committed all manner of barbarity and murders on earth, and dictators such as Hitler and Stalin, have found strength in my teachings, mended their ways and been reborn as new persons. Emperors, kings and presidents who enjoyed opulence and power on earth, and even journalists who had worldwide fame, have now placed themselves at the forefront of the column of the true love revolution. Together they have sent to earth a resolution expressing their determination in the light of my teaching of the true family ideal. They have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent. This resolution has been announced on every corner of the globe.”[1]

How do we know if one who claims to be the Messiah, a prophet and or a Christian is who they say that they are?  According to the words of Jesus one must use spiritual discernment to determine if those who claim to be of a religious nature actually are.  Unfortunately many times Christians are very easily swayed into accepting the claims of false Christians because they evaluate them on their words stating that they are a Christian.  Consider these quotes from a famous leader who many thought was a “Christian” leader;

“My feeling as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior…I am fighting for the work of the Lord.”  “Today, after two thousand years, with deepest emotion I recognize more profoundly than ever before the fact that it was for this that He had to shed his blood upon the cross.”  “Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty.”  When this person was asked where he got the courage to make all of the great changes he took out of his pocket a Bible and responded “From God’s word.”[2]  

Can you guess what famous political leader made those statements?  Surely anyone declaring those words was a great Christian.  No, he was a satanist, they were the words of Hitler.  His words fooled many Christians in Germany and the U.S. into thinking that he was a great Christian leader.  Here is what one Christian leader said about him, “Without doubt the chancellor lives in faith in God.  He recognizes Christianity as the foundation of Western culture.”[3]  Here is a quote about how some U.S. Baptists felt about him; “…a number of U.S. Baptists wrote sympathetically of Hitler’s Germany.  I came to this conclusion while writing an article on the Baptist World Alliance congress in Berlin in 1934.  An immense Nazi flag, hung where the congress met…”[4] The above quotes of Hitler prove that just because one claims to be a Christian and appear religious means nothing and that Christians can be easily swayed into accepting someone as a Christian who is not one.  Some false Christians may even claim to be born again but as we will see just because someone claims to be born again does not mean they are a Christian either in fact they could be a satanist, because satanists claim to be born again too.

“The Skull and Bones society believes that on the night of initiation, the initiate "dies to the world and [is to] be born again into the Order..." (Esquire Magazine, September 1977, p. 89)… We should remember Hitler's belief that he had been born anew after his ritualistic initiation and training in the occult. This term is a common one in occultism/Satanism.”[5]

So just because someone claims to be a Christian or even the Messiah does not mean that they actually are.  Jesus told us that we must examine the “fruit” in that person’s life to see if they are really a Christian or not.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17.  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20.  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.  (Mt 7:16-20)

Practically what are some fruits that we can examine to see if one is a true Christian?

1.      A true Christian will believe that there is only one true God manifested in the Trinity consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost and that Jesus is the Son of God.

2.      A true Christian will believe that there is only one way to be saved and that we are saved by grace through faith in the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ who through His shed blood on the cross paid for our sins.

3.      A true Christian will believe that Jesus is the only way to God and that all other ways are false.

4.      A true Christian will believe that the entire Bible is God’s Holy Word and is infallible.

5.      A true Christian will have God’s Spirit living inside them which will manifest its self in the fruits of the Spirit; Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

6.      A true Christian will seek to please the Lord by obeying His commands.

Brethren do not accept that one is a Christian by their claims and or their Christian sounding words; examine their fruits, see what they believe.  If one says that we all worship the same God, or that Jesus is not the only way to God, or that Jesus was just a man, or that the Bible contains errors, then realize that their fruit is showing that they are NOT a true believer.  Be especially aware of those who claim to be Christians and have connections with Illuminati groups.  There are some Illuminati that have been specifically trained to deceive others that they are Christians, and promote illuminati purposes.

The warning from scripture is clear; Jesus told us to examine their “fruit.”   So in the days to come, as we approach the end of days and the return of the Lord, let us examine the fruit of those who claim to be Christians and not just their words.  Many will be led astray and fall away due to the deceptions that will abound.  Brethren let that not be true of us.