²¹ “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it.

⁸ He replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’^[a] and saying, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t believe them.

²³ “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. ²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. ²⁵ See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.

⁵ for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.

²³ People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. ²⁴ For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day^[a] when the Son of Man comes.

A Warning against Idolatry

13 ^[a]“Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, ² and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before— ³ do not listen to them. The Lord your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul.

⁴³ For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them.