When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?’ Then Jesus began to say to them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs. (Mark 13: 3-8)

We should not be alarmed by wars, or earthquakes, or famines. But we should be very cautious of being led astray.

Many will come claiming the identity of Jesus. Many will come who seem similar to Jesus. Many will come exploiting our expectations of Jesus for their own purposes.

But they will mislead. The Greek is planao. This word is uncommon in the New Testament. The only other use in Mark was examined here on January 28.

This Greek verb is used most often - eight times - in the Book of Revelation. The use there is very consistent with the warning Jesus gives above.

They will cause us to roam, to wander, to lose direction, and to abandon purpose. They will uproot us and detach us from where we ought to be.

In my judgment the translator above has obscured an important teaching on how we can avoid being misled. "Beware that no one leads you astray," writes the translator.

The Greek is Blepo me tis planao. This can also be understood as, "See, perceive, carefully observe, consider, contemplate, use discernment so that no one misleads you."