Read the Terrain (Hockinson)

The Disciples asked Jesus, What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

Matthew 24:4–8 ESV

4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Deception

Jesus’ response reveals two phases to the end of the age. Verses 4–8 describe the birth pangs; verses 9–14 describe the delivery. Although the two appear connected, they mark distinct stages.

The birth pangs are characterized by deception; the delivery, by violence.

For our purposes today, we’ll focus only on the first phase—because that’s where we are now.

Verse 5 is striking because it’s built on contradiction.

Jesus warns that impostors will come in His name—that is, claiming to represent Him. In the ancient world, whenever an emissary of a king went abroad, he carried the king’s authority. The emissary’s presence was to be treated as the king’s own, and whatever he spoke carried the weight of the throne.

So far, this is normal. Jesus Himself taught His disciples to pray in His name (Matthew 18:20) and, in Matthew 28, commissioned the church as His emissaries to proclaim the Gospel. In that sense, all believers live and act in Jesus’ name.

But the contradiction lies in what these emissaries say: “I am the Christ.” For an emissary to call himself king means he’s claiming full authority —not delegated authority.

In other words, he commits treason.

This reveals something about the nature of false messiahs and their followers.

They come in the name of Jesus,

Once they have influence, they usurp Jesus’ authority.

They have political power.

How do we know the third?

Remember that in Jesus time, Christ was a political title—it was the title of the king of Israel (God’s people). When Jesus stood before the religious leaders and Pilate, he was interrogated as to whether he was the christ to determine if he deserved the death penalty for political revolt.

Jesus says, And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars… nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes. Who directs armies and responds to famine and disaster? Kings and political leaders.

What is a rumor? A rumor is hearsay—something that may or may not be true. Rumors are how fear, suspicion, and cynicism spread, and it’s far worse when the rumor concerns war. Few things unsettle people more than the rumor of war.

Jesus is telling us what kind of people to beware of in the end: Christian Political leaders. Or so-called Christian political leaders whose lives and teachings betray the Kingdom of Heaven.  

Remember, the first phase —the birth pangs —is deception. While the world gets chaotic, people will rise in the name of Jesus but betray the Kingdom in word and deed.

Deception Proof

So how do we avoid deception?

The obvious answer is that we must know Jesus.

But lately I’ve realized that just because we know Jesus does not mean we cannot be manipulated.

But I’ve realized something unsettling: knowing Jesus does not make us immune to manipulation. That isn’t an accusation—it’s simply how the human mind works. Most of the time, our thinking runs on autopilot. Psychologists call this heuristic processing—fast, energy-saving mental shortcuts our brains use to conserve effort.

These shortcuts aren’t sinful or foolish; they’re normal neurobiology. But they create predictable patterns in how we react to fear, urgency, authority, confidence, or repetition. And those patterns can be exploited.

Advertisers design campaigns and politicians craft speeches around them. Conspiracy theorists, sensationalist ministries, televangelists, magicians, and con-artists deliberately structure their messages to trigger these shortcuts so that we react instinctively before we think reflectively.

They don’t have to change the truth itself—they only have to shape the moment so our fast, emotional response outruns our slow, thoughtful discernment.

If our idea of deception is merely intellectual then we become easier to manipulate. The real challenge isn’t to double down on what we think we know—it’s to recognize when our thinking and emotions have been hijacked.

Framing

For today, I want to show you one way this happens, give you an example, and what you can do about it.

Today, the lesson is on framing.

When I began my doctoral program, this was the first lesson. Framing is the rhetorical act of shaping how information is presented.

The is important because how you frame a problem determines how you’ll solve it.

You might work hard to fix something, only to realize you’ve solved the wrong problem—making no change at all and wasting resources.

By shifting the way you see the problem—by reframing—you can find radically better solutions.

Take this classic example. Imagine you own an office building, and tenants complain that the elevator is too slow. Some even threaten to leave.

The problem seems obvious: the elevator is slow. So you start brainstorming expensive fixes—new motors, upgraded software, even replacing the system. You are now looking at either a 30k upgrade or an over 100k replacement.

But If you posed the problem to an experienced building manager, you’d likely get a simpler answer: install mirrors next to and inside the elevators.

Research shows this works because nothing distracts people more effectively than seeing something fascinating—themselves.

Because people aren’t really angry about the speed. They’re frustrated by the wait. When distracted, they stop noticing the delay.

Notice what happened: the facts didn’t change—the elevator is still the same average speed. But the frame changed. The real problem wasn’t the machinery; it was human impatience. And once you see the real problem, an entirely new set of solutions opens up (mirrors, hand sanitizer, background music, or TV screens).

That’s the power of framing.

And this is not just a business principle. It’s a survival skill for the last days. Because this skill not only be used to solve problems but also to create problems.

All around us—in the news, on social media, even in church—reality is being framed for us. Every headline and soundbite hands you a script, complete with heroes, villains, victims, and the emotions you’re expected to feel—fear, outrage, pride, or pity. Psychologists call this cognitive framing.

And once you see it, you’ll notice it everywhere. Let me give you a few examples.

Event: Protest

Neutral: Thousands gathered downtown

Frames: “Thousands of patriots rally for freedom” vs. “Thousands of extremists flood the streets”

Event: Budget Policy

Neutral: Government Spending Increases

Frames: “Investing in our children’s future” vs. “Bloating the national debt”

Event: Immigration

Neutral: Record Number of border crossings

Frames: “Humanitarian crisis” vs. “Invasion at the border”

Event: War Coverage

Neutral: Military operation launched

Frame: “Defending democracy abroad” vs. “Imperialist aggression”

Notice how both sides can be reporting an actual event, but the frame decides how those facts feel and who the villains and heroes are.

The danger isn’t just misinformation—it’s misframing.

Once you accept a frame, you stop asking questions. It is the most subtle weapon of persuasion. It tells people what story they’re in before they’ve had time to think critically.

And the result is often meaningless outrage to gain your support.

Starbucks Controversy Example

There are many examples I could cite, but for the sake of not getting in trouble, I’ll give you an example from over ten years ago. Now I am getting this example from the book Christians in the Age of Outrage by Ed Stetzer.

In 2015, an aspiring Christian social media creator, Joshua Feuerstein, started the 2015 Starbucks Red Cup controversy. He posted a Facebook message saying, "Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus."

He also tagged the media to attract attention. He made several videos and went as far as saying the company hates Christians and they don’t allow their employees to say Merry Christmas, and challenged people to say their names were “Merry Christmas” to force the employees to say it.

Without fail, the outrage cycle began.

And Christians all around the country began terrorizing baristas.

I remember at the time I was pastoring a church of about 120 people, and I had church members who were leading a prophecy Bible study boycotting Starbucks. They didn’t even drink coffee!

Of course, Starbucks denied the accusation, assured worried Christians everywhere they were welcome to say "Merry Christmas" to their hearts' content, and insisted that the company did not hate Christmas.

The reality was that Feuerstein tried to use Christian outrage to raise his platform, stemming from a conservative Christian belief that there is a "war on Christmas," and that there is an open attack on Christianity in America.

Of course, it would be interesting (and maybe even outrageous) if it were true. All the controversy hinged on the accusation that Starbucks used to print the word "Christmas" on its holiday cups and now doesn't.

And it was only after Christians had done their damage, harassed baristas and being on the news, that it became clear that…

Starbucks had never put the words "Merry Christmas" or “Jesus” on its holiday cups.

Instead, for the six years prior, they used wintry and vaguely holidayesque imagery and language, including ornaments that said things like "joy" or "hope," snowmen, trees, and holly before going to plain red.

Ed Stetzer concludes:  But outrage overwhelms truth… And when it does, it hurts our witness.

These kinds of controversies are so frustrating! Non-Christians began to make fun of all Christians, even though not all Christians were part of it. And then Christians began to take on a persecuted mindset.

And how did this happen?

Because of how it was framed, “Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus."

Conclusion

Jesus’ response to the disciples begins with a warning: “See that no one leads you astray.”

We often assume deception only means false doctrine. But the most dangerous deceptions don’t come through bad theology—they come the same way a magician works a trick. Magicians don’t win by arguing logic; they win by misdirection. While your eyes are fixed on the hand with the flourish, the other hand does the real work.

That’s how spiritual deception works, too. It’s not primarily rational. It’s emotional. Instinctual. It grabs your attention, stirs your outrage, hijacks your fear, and keeps you from noticing what’s really happening. By the time you realize it, the trick is already done.

That’s why Jesus starts here: the first survival skill in the last days is not sharpening your arguments—it’s guarding your heart and mind so you don’t get played by the enemy’s sleight of hand.

Satan knows most Christians won’t fall for an outright denial of Jesus. So he takes the easier path: outrage. He hijacks your emotions so that even as your eyes scan the pages of Scripture, your mind is already captured by fear, anger, and suspicion.

You’re reading the words of Christ, but you’re not thinking with the mind of Christ.

And this is how the world is primed for the violence of the second phase of the end.

And this is why Jesus begins His end-time teaching with a warning about deception.

Framing is just one way that danger works today. The enemy reshapes how we see Jesus and the world until we’re living in a counterfeit story.

Bullet: don’t let others frame Jesus or the world for you—let Jesus frame Himself and reality for you.

Examen

1. Whose words shaped how I saw reality today?

2. Did I let someone else’s frame stir outrage, fear, or pride in me?

3. Am I letting Jesus—not politics, media, or culture—be the one who tells me what story I’m in?