And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He, ’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “Watch out that you don’t get led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ Therefore don’t follow them.
- KJV And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
- BSB Jesus answered, “See to it that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.
- NASB And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them.
- NLT He replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and saying, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t believe them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus warns against deceivers who will come in His name claiming the end is near.
Overview
He begins by guarding His followers against being misled by false messiahs and false alarms. Throughout history many have falsely claimed Christ's authority or predicted the immediate end. Believers are to test such claims and refuse to follow them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- 1 Jn 4:1Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- Mark 13:5–6Jesus, answering, began to tell them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray.
- 2 Th 2:3Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction,
- Eph 5:6Let no one deceive you with empty words. For because of these things, the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.
- Mark 13:21–23Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ don’t believe it.
- Matt 24:11Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray.
- Matt 24:4–5Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray.
- Jer 29:8For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.
- 2 Tim 3:13But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
- Luke 17:23They will tell you, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Don’t go away, nor follow after them,
- Matt 24:23–25“Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There,’ don’t believe it.
- 2 Cor 11:13–15For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as Christ’s apostles.
- 2 Th 2:9–11even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
- Acts 5:36–37For before these days Theudas rose up, making himself out to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed, and came to nothing.
- Acts 8:9–10But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who used to practice sorcery in the city, and amazed the people of Samaria, making himself out to be some great one,
- 2 Jn 1:7For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who don’t confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the Antichrist.
- Rev 12:9The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
- Matt 4:17From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
- John 8:24I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”
- John 5:43I have come in my Father’s name, and you don’t receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
- Matt 3:2“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”
- Rev 1:3Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is at hand.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 21:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.