n today’s fast-paced world of inflation, high gas prices, global conflicts, and new technologies, it can be hard to keep up with the rapidly moving events around us. Superintelligence is developing faster than its creators can keep pace. The proliferation of social media, artificial intelligence, deepfake videos, and fake news makes it increasingly hard to discern what is manufactured and what is real.

The Bible predicts a time when falsehoods, lies, and deceptions will dominate the social and political landscape. It’ll be hard to tell what is true from what is false. In his letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul describes an end-time wickedness that brings deception to the masses causing many to “believe a lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12). Perhaps more concerning, he says that because many don’t want to receive God’s truth, God will ultimately turn them over to “strong delusions that they should believe a lie.”

This is especially concerning in our era where we’re surrounded by a cacophony of voices.

What is happening?

Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of man” (Luke 17:26). In Noah’s time, because of increasing human depravity and wickedness, God said, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man” (Genesis 6:3).

Prior to the cataclysmic events of the flood, God began to withdraw His Spirit from the hearts of unbelieving men. Slowly but certainly, God’s Spirit was being withdrawn from the earth. Without the restraining influence of the Spirit, the Bible records that the thoughts of men were “evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

If the presence of the Spirit makes one loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, gentle, good, faithful, meek, and temperate, then the absence of the Spirit makes one hateful, angry, turbulent, impatient, rough, evil, faithless, boastful, and intemperate (Galatians 5:19-23).

Unfortunately, this describes so much of what we see in our world today. As in Noah’s time, God’s Spirit once again is being withdrawn.

However, in the midst of this faithless and turbulent time, the Bible also speaks of another powerful spiritual move that will occur. The prophet Joel predicts, “In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh…and whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:28, 32).

In other words, while others may reject God’s power, those who want to receive God’s truth, power, and presence can be filled with a last-day outpouring of the Spirit. The good news of our time is that the Spirit is available for all who desire to receive (Luke 11:13). You don’t have to be vulnerable to the deceptions and falsehoods around you, because the personal presence of God’s Spirit will illuminate your understanding.

God’s people in the last days will not be deceived because of two fundamental realities. They’re standing on God’s Word. David said, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). Paul said, “And from a child you have known the scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation” (2 Timothy 3:15). A sure safeguard from the confusing voices and narratives in our world is the Word of God. Only by reading it, studying it, and applying it to our lives can we find the clarifying path to God’s truth for our times.

But secondly, God’s people will not be deceived because, like the wise virgins in Matthew 25, they have oil. Amidst the darkness of midnight, the wise virgins ensured they had an extra supply of oil to keep their flame burning through the night. The oil is the Holy Spirit. Only by seeking the presence of God’s Spirit in their lives do the wise receive the daily outpouring needed for the darkness of the moment.

When Jesus was on the earth, in His inaugural sermon He declared, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me and has anointed me.” At the beginning of His earthly ministry, Luke records Jesus receiving the empowering outpouring of the Spirit.

Luke continues, “And has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the broken, preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed” (Luke 4:18). From that Spirit-empowered moment, Jesus’ entire ministry focused on setting people free and delivering them from spiritual, physical, social, and political bondage.

The Spirit anointed Jesus to liberate broken, oppressed, and marginalized people. In like manner, the Spirit-anointed mission of Jesus’ church today is the work of liberation. Jesus reminds us that the final measure for fitness for God’s kingdom is not our theology but our missiology:

“When I was hungry, you fed me, when I was thirsty, you gave me a drink. When I was a stranger or immigrant, you gave me refuge, when I was naked, you clothed me. When I was sick and in prison, you came to me” (Matthew 25:35, 36).

Like Jesus, the Spirit empowers us to set people free.

Today amidst the confusion and darkness in our world, God is looking for men and women who are ready to receive His Spirit. He offers it freely to whosoever will. Is the Spirit withdrawing from you, or is it pouring out on you? When believers receive God’s Spirit, like Jesus, it empowers them for the mission of liberation (John 8:36). This is the work of the church for our time. Will you allow God’s Spirit to use you today to be an agent of light, truth, and liberation?