It will not be the devil you see coming.
It will not be a man with horns and smoke. It will not be some politician with glowing red eyes. It is not the beast on the news. It is the betrayal that walks in wearing your friend’s face. It is the one who knows you pray at dawn, who has seen your Bible pages worn thin, who once stood beside you in worship. That is who will hand you over. Not because they hate you. Not always. But because their fear outweighs their love for truth. Because they were not rooted deep enough to withstand what is coming.
Jesus said this. He did not hint. He laid it bare.
Matthew 24:10-12 “Then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold.”
The word for “fall away” is skandalizo (σκανδαλίζω, to be tripped up), meaning to stumble into sin or unbelief because of something that offends or wounds. It is where we get the word scandal. It is not just leaving church. It is leaving Jesus. Walking away from the One who could carry you through it all because your heart was offended by suffering.
“Betray” in Greek is paradidomi (παραδίδωμι, to give over). It literally means handing someone into custody. But it goes much deeper than that. It implies a conscious, willing act. Not an accident. Not a slip. It is Judas choosing silver. It is a brother choosing to survive. It is someone who once walked with the faithful choosing to side with the system of the beast to avoid pain, pressure, or persecution.
And who gets betrayed? The faithful. The ones who will not compromise.
Jesus did not say this in parables. He said it straight. In Mark 13:12-13: “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Look at that. It is not just betrayal. It is within blood. Family. Households. It is not random. It is strategic. The enemy does not always come from outside. Sometimes the wound is allowed from within to test the depth of our devotion. God is still sovereign over it.
The phrase “endures to the end” uses the Greek word hupomeno (ὑπομένω, to remain under pressure). Not to run. Not to retaliate. To hold steady even when the cost is death. Hupo means “under,” meno means “to remain.” It is not passive. It is the fiercest kind of faithfulness. It is the Shadrach kind. It is Daniel in the lion’s den. It is Yeshua in Gethsemane.
This is where it all leads.
Before the beast system rises in full, before the mark, before the image is set up, before the judgments fall, there is this moment. The falling away. The betrayal. The sifting. You can feel it already. People you once stood shoulder to shoulder with now call truth “hate.” People more loyal to politics, feelings, or self-preservation than to the Messiah they once proclaimed. It is not future. It is already beginning.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 says: “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.”
The word “rebellion” is apostasia (ἀποστασία, a departure, a forsaking). It is the great falling away. Not of the world, they were never with Him to begin with, but of those who once claimed Him. It is the separation before judgment. And it must happen. Paul says the revealing of the antichrist is held back until this purging occurs. Until the faithful are exposed. Until the fake is burned off. Until only the wheat remains.
Not all will fall away. Some will stand. Some will be faithful. Some will not betray. And even when they are betrayed, they will not deny Christ.
Revelation 12:11 speaks of these people: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives even unto death.”
The Hebrew root idea of “testimony” (edut, עֵדוּת, declaration of binding truth) does not just mean telling your story. It is a declaration of what is eternally true, like a witness sworn in court. They speak not just of what they believe. They speak what is eternally true, sealed by the blood of the Lamb.
Even if it costs everything.
And it will.
Do not let that shake you. Let it wake you. Let it drive you deeper. God is not shocked by betrayal. He walked through it. He allowed Himself to be kissed by Judas and He still called Him friend. Not because He was soft, but because He was surrendered.
We must become the same. Not paranoid. Not hardened. But ready. With hearts anchored in Christ so that even when someone we love walks away or turns against us, we do not move.
Jesus is worth more than safety. He is worth more than approval. He is worth more than this life.
Yes, betrayal is coming. Yes, we may be handed over. But we will not give up. We will not deny Him. We will not fall away.
We will endure.
God help us. And He will.
If this message blessed you, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.
image done by chatgpt at my direction.
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