Seeing used to be believing, but not anymore. With today's computer technology, anyone can easily change a photographic image.

Perhaps you've seen the altered photo of Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin at the Yalta Conference. Stalin has been replaced by Groucho Marx, and behind the Big Three stands a stone-faced Sylvester Stallone. The scene looks real, but it isn't. Because things are not always what they appear to be, it requires a discerning eye to separate fact from fiction.

In answer to the disciples' question about the sign of His coming and the end of the age, Jesus told them, "Take heed that no one deceives you. . . . False christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Mt. 24:4,24).

Notice that the appeal is visual rather than verbal. There will be amazing sights, but like altered photographs they will not be what they appear to be. These "signs" will be the work of false prophets, not of true representatives of God.

The disciples were warned by Jesus' words, and the same is true for us today. Every event must be seen and evaluated in the light of the Bible. The closer we come to Christ's return, the more we need a discerning eye.  — David C. McCasland