Approaching footsteps:

Thursday, October 22, 2009, I was in the parking lot of a large store, trying to change the battery on my car. Hearing someone speak to me, I looked up to see a young woman nervously approaching.

“Sir,” she asked cautiously, “would you, uh, I mean, could you, er, like, just watch me for a few minutes?” She must have seen the startled expression on my face because she hurried on, “I, I, I just called my husband, and, and, and he is really upset because he thinks I have been caught in a hoax. Those guys over there told me I had something wrong with my car and they could fix it. Could, could you just make sure I don’t get dragged off or something?”

Stepping away from beside my car, I watched as she went hesitantly near but not up to the two cars parked a distance away. Three or four guys had her hood up, doors and trunk open, and were busily moving around her car. I did not hear what she said, but when she motioned in my direction, they slammed her hood down angrily, jumped in their car, and raced off.

She was still shaking when she pulled up beside me a few minutes later and said, “Thank you so much,” as she smiled and waved.

Hoaxes, deceptions—they are all around us! We are horrified at those trying to hurt others or take advantage of them. We laugh at silly ones, such as a rabbit or cat with antlers or a man carrying a giant fish on the back of his bicycle.

Greatest deception

The first deception on earth occurred way back at the beginning of time when Satan used a snake to trick Eve (Gen. 3:13). And we all know the story of the Gibeonites coming to Joshua with moldy bread and worn-out shoes (Josh. 9). But the greatest of all deceptions is the one mentioned in Matthew 24:23, 24: “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (NKJV).

Satan has had thousands of years to practice such deceptions. And his final one occurs just before the very end. The devil knows he has lost his war against God, but it is his last, desperate attempt to cheat the Lord out of as many people as possible.

Jesus says Satan’s final hoax will be so overwhelmingly powerful that it will deceive even the elect if they are not extremely careful. He warns that it will be so great that we should not even go to view it (see verse 26), or we will be in danger of believing what we see.

Footsteps of an approaching God

One of my favorite authors once wrote: “The great controversy is nearing its end. Every report of calamity by sea or by land is a testimony to the fact that the end of all things is at hand. Wars and rumors of wars declare it. Is there a Christian whose pulse does not beat with quickened action as he anticipates the great events opening before us? The Lord is coming. We hear the footsteps of an approaching God.”¹

Do we hear those approaching footsteps today?

Absolutely! But what about those who do not know what the Bible says? They may realize that something momentous is about to take place, but do they understand whose footsteps they are hearing? Can they tell the difference between Jesus’ footsteps and those of the great deceiver? And what are we, as pastors, doing to help them know the difference?

Wrong shoes

Mom was worried. I could see it in her eyes as she hurried toward me across the camp-meeting grounds.

It was the 1974 camp meeting in Freeport, Maine. I loved camp meeting, but that year, I had a job that required me to work during the day. So I would rush to the early morning meeting, rush to work, rush back home in the evening to clean up, and then rush over to the evening session. And that year, there was an added attraction: Barbara. I had begun to get interested in the young woman and eagerly looked forward to each early morning and evening meeting where I could spend time with her.

But now, here was my mom, huffing and puffing her way across the campus toward me as I made my way quickly to the car.

“Homer,” she panted, “I know you have to get to work, but I just had to tell you I am worried.”

OK, I could sense that.

“I am afraid you sat with the wrong one this morning.”

“The what?” I asked.

“I am afraid you sat with the wrong girl this morning.”

Now, that raised a very concerning possibility in my mind. You see, Barbara was an identical twin. She and her twin sister, Beverly, were both at camp meeting. That morning, there had been an empty seat on each side of them when I entered the big tent. I had looked, guessed, and sat by the one I thought was Barbara. Everything had seemed fine. But now Mom had me worried.

“What makes you think that?” I asked nervously with my key half into the car door lock.

“Well, I have been watching closely, and last night, you sat with the one with brown shoes, and this morning, the one with blue shoes.”

Oh my! That did sound serious. Shoes were not something I had ever noticed (sorry, ladies). But I did not have time to go back and check. Instead, I jumped in the car and drove to work. And all day long, my mind was a whirl—brown shoes, blue shoes, brown shoes, blue shoes.

When at last I arrived back at the campground that evening, I stood unnoticed at a distance and looked. Sure enough, one of the twins had brown shoes, and one had blue shoes. Why had I not been more observant before?

I watched for a few more minutes and then realized that, somehow, I had to make a decision. So I strolled up and made small talk with both of them. Finally, I guessed the best I could, and we sat down. As the song service began, I whispered to the one I thought was Barbara, “My mom is really worried because last night I sat with the one of you with brown shoes and this morning the one with blue shoes.”

“Oh, no!” Barbara gasped as her hand flew to her mouth. “We never thought about that causing a problem—we traded shoes this morning.”

You see, they really do look alike. In fact, sometimes Barbara and Beverly cannot even agree as to which one is which in a picture of them when they were little.

They still look a lot alike today. I can tell the difference now, of course, but you probably couldn’t!

The almost impossible challenge

In the last end-time deception, it is going to be almost impossible to tell the difference between the real and the counterfeit.

That is why God has sent some final messages specifically designed to help protect people from the almost overwhelming delusions about to break over our little planet! Have we pastors been faithfully sharing those messages?

People might be saved without ever hearing them. But their chance of getting sucked into following Satan instead of Jesus is far greater if they have not heard and understood. So while Satan is trying to deceive as many as he can, we should seek to help protect as many as possible for Jesus. We have a responsibility to the world because we know something they do not know. Something that could well make the difference between eternal life and eternal death.

The paragraph before the quote I shared about the footsteps of an approaching God said this: “We have no time to lose. The powers of darkness are working with intense energy, and with stealthy tread Satan is advancing to take those who are now asleep, as a wolf taking his prey. We have warnings now which we may give, a work now which we may do, but soon it will be more difficult than we imagine.”²

Protection from deception

More than one set of footsteps are approaching us right now. For sure, we hear those of God, but we also hear those of a deceitful enemy. And the world is ripe for his massive, end-time delusions.

Images of miraculous, superhuman accomplishments increasingly fill human minds. On TV, people morph, float, fly, pass through walls, change into animals and back again, work miracles, and destroy enemies. Toys, animals, and museums can be cursed or charmed into life. Dreams mix indiscernibly into reality.

Not too long ago, I was wearing an ornate Kyrgyz robe and hat for a mission presentation when a little girl (three or four years old) walked by, holding her grandpa’s hand. Suddenly, she stopped, tugged on my sleeve, and with wide eyes, said, “Mister, are you a wizard?”

Embarrassed, her grandpa whispered to me, “Her parents aren’t believers.” But probably plenty of other little “believers” would have wondered the same thing. They hear and see more of the miraculous and supernatural than we realize. And the same thing is happening in every culture around the world. People are ripe for Satan’s last, overwhelming deception.

If a glorious being suddenly appears, speaking beautiful, soothing words about how people can rise above the cares and distractions of our old world, promising health and financial success, Hindus and Buddhists will leave their golden idols and follow him by the millions.

If dead ancestors and ancient prophets begin to appear with messages, claiming that some magnificent being out in the desert is really Jesus and that only by following him will we ever have peace and security, millions of Christians will be deceived into bowing down to that old serpent, the devil. And they will think they are worshiping God!

Perhaps such a being could show up claiming to be the fulfillment of long-hoped-for dreams, declaring that he forgives the Jews for not realizing it was Him the first time and explaining that the sanctuary was a nice symbol but that it and the Ten Commandments given to Moses have now been done away with. His words are pleasant; he works some miracles, talks about peace between all peoples, quotes from the Bible and the Koran, and states that he has changed the day of worship from Friday and Saturday to Sunday. Multitudes of Christians, Jews, and Muslims will join together to follow the arch-demon, believing that they are following the Messiah, Jesus.

Two sets of footsteps

God has given a special message for our time. The truths about the love of God, the sanctuary in heaven, the state of the dead, and the Sabbath are powerful protections against Satan’s final deceptions. The world needs those messages.

We can hear approaching footsteps—two sets of them! You and I may be able to tell the difference, but most of the world cannot. They are in danger of being deceived by a desperate fiend who has absolutely no love for them.

May God help us as pastors not only to preach such messages but to teach them to our members so that they can share them with neighbors, coworkers, and loved ones who are trying to make sense of what is going on.

It is time for Jesus to come—and I can hear His footsteps even now.