... And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.The Amplified Bible says, "And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away, and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred" (Matt. 24:10).
(Matt. 24:10-13)
Notice the sign of the end time: Many will be offended. We have never, in any generation, seen so many people taking people to court, and suing one another over the pettiest things.
The "love of many growing cold" in that verse is referring to people who had the agape love of God in their heart at one time. So it's the Christians whose love has grown cold.
The many who at one time wouldn't think of taking one another to court or suing one another have turned cold. For example, I recently read an article in a newspaper about a man suing a sunscreen company because he was sunburned while on vacation. Can you believe that? People are suing one another over ridiculous issues.
Satan's Trap
Webster's New World Dictionary defines offense as "to commit a sin or a crime, to create resentment, anger, to hurt the feelings of or to be insulted." I'm sure we've all had our feelings hurt in our lifetime. An offense is simply Satan's trap designed to hold you back from ever being all that God has called you to be. Notice what Luke says about offenses:
"And [Jesus] said to His disciples, Temptations (snares, traps set to entice to sin) are sure to come, but woe to him by or through whom they come!" (Luke 17:1 AMP).
It says it is impossible but that offenses will come. Snares, traps set to entice one to sin are sure to come. So knowing that the opportunity to become offended will come, we need to learn what to do when it comes our way.
Jesus was saying to take heed because they are going to come. Things will come across your life like bait to a trap, and if you take that bait, then you're going to fall into the pit that Satan has set for you.
We have to be so smart that we don't fall for offenses, that we don't fall for these traps and snares that have been set by Satan to capture us and cause us to never reach the potential that God fully intends for us to reach.
The Greek word for offense is "skandalon." We get our English word "scandalize" from it. It means "the bait of a trap." The word originally referred to the part of the trap to which the bait was attached to entrap or ensnare the animal.
That's what an offense is in our lives. It is the bait that Satan sets to ensnare us or entrap us to get us to fall into the pit that he has dug for us.
When I was a young girl, my grandfather would take all the grandchildren into the forest with him, and he would teach us how to trap. It was so exciting as a young child to be able to carry those traps over my shoulder and go out into the woods with him, watch him bait the trap and then camouflage it so that the animal would unknowingly be caught.
The key was to keep the traps camouflaged in order to capture the animal. That's exactly what Satan endeavors to do where you and I are concerned so we do not see how detrimental holding offense in our hearts is to our lives and to our Christian walk.
If we fall for the bait of offense, then we've been ensnared, and he has taken us captive at his will.
Excerpt permission granted by Jerry Savelle Ministries International
Carolyn Savelle has an incredible testimony of growing up her entire life under the power and anointing of Jesus. She was reared in Shreveport, Louisiana, where she heard preachers such as Oral Roberts and William Branham. Throughout her life she has witnessed God's miraculous power.
