Question About Matthew 24:24

Jacob,
My wife asked me a question about Matt 24:24, “..so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”

I can’t yet make sense of the Greek tenses, voices, etc, to know if it is saying:
(a) Negatively it is possible, but not probable.
(b) Affirmatively it is possible
(c) Remotely possible
(d) Not at all possible.

This summary I found on the internet seems correct:

“If this verse is referring to an “elect” it is also saying that they can’t be deceived about FALSE CHRISTS AND FALSE PROPHETS. It DOES NOT SAY they can’t be deceived about other things, since we have referred to those scriptures that show the whole world has been deceived and that the church has been subject to deception.”

Could you tell me how you view this passage in the Greek text?

Greetings in Jesus.

The “voice” is passive (planasai = “cause to error”; not exactly to deceive) and the “mood” (ei dunaton; “if possible” or co-equally “if it were possible”) indicates it is not possible for the elect to be deceived into believing in the Antichrist.

The context and co-text tells us that the elect (kai tous eklektos = “even the chosen”) are defined in the context by the co-text (the following verse 25) as those who heed the warnings given by Jesus beforehand in the previous verse (verse 24).

Simply stated, the true elect can not be deceived into belief in the Antichrist because, and only because, the true elect are those who, being forewarned by Jesus, act upon His warning. The attempt to deceive them, however, will be made by the enemy. In the overall context of Matthew’s Gospel moreover, the elect should not be confused with or hastily identified as all of those claiming to be believers (e.g., Matthew 7:22); Matthew 24 tells us many professing Christians will be misled (Matthew 24:5).

In Matthew’s version of the Olivet Discourse, verse 24 must also be interpreted in light of verses 10 and 11 where the same term in a different form (planasousin) is used. BEFORE the ultimate false prophet points people to the ultimate Antichrist, false prophets will already be deceiving the church and many who had a true faith will “stumble” in it (literally “be scandalized” by spiritual seduction in verse 10; usually translated as “will fall away” but the actual term is not apostacize, although it inherently carries that implication).

In other words, it is what Moriel and I have been warning about for years. People are already being sucked in by obvious false prophets like Benny Hinn and Rick Joyner now ‚  ““ they are being scandalized (the PTL club scandal, the Lakeland scandal,. etc.); that is, by ignoring Jesus’ warnings they are falling away by means of spiritual seduction into scandals.

Unless they radically repent it is impossible for them not to be seduced by the ultimate false prophet into embracing the
final literal Antichrist ‚  ““ the man of lawlessness (the two beasts of Revelation 13), since they are already deceived.

I trust this helps and clarifies the issue.

In Jesus,
Jacob

(Philippians 1:6)