Luke 21:8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, “I AM Christ“; and “the time draweth near”: go ye not therefore after them.
An interesting take on this concerns the fact that the words in italics (or sometimes braces or parenthesis) in many translation signify words that did not appear in the original text, but were added for understandability.
Considering that Jesus referred to Himself several times as the “I AM”
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
“I AM” is reserved exclusively as the name of God. In Exodus 3:14, God refers to Himself as “I AM, that I AM” because He is the ultimate standard, there is nothing else for God to compare Himself with or describe Himself as other than Himself.
It is open blasphemy for anyone but God to refer to Himself as “I AM”. Jesus could apply the name “I AM” to Himself because He is God.
A case could be made either way concerning Luke 21:8 whether Jesus was talking about others coming claiming to be messiah or others coming claiming to be god. Since there are other scriptures indicating that there will be many false messiahs as well as people seeking to become gods, both are end time indicators.
What we see happening before our eyes is the oldest temptation of man:
Gen 3:4-6 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Gen 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
Also, what we are seeing is the one-world religeon of the last days that has been steadily on the increase, especially over the last 30 years. It is the New Age pantheism that proclaims the “god within all of us”. It has crept into mainstream popular culture, and is now the “in thing”.
Oprah Winfrey has been the leader in bringing the new age into the popular culture, particularly by promoting “The Secret” and the “law of attraction”. Now, Joel Osteen has been introducing it into popular christianity. The fruit of this is now revealing itself in widespread blasphemy.
It seems rampant right now in popular music. A handful of examples include: Madonna’s documentary “I AM because WE ARE”; Rapper “will.i.am“; Christina Aguilera has a song entitled “I AM”; Beyonce is currently promoting her 2010 “I AM” tour and also has a song “I AM” that has featured Lady Gaga. P-Diddy’s twitter account is “iamdiddy”, and he too has a song “I AM DIDDY”.
Mormonism believes that it is possible for men to become gods. This concept of man being god or becoming god meshes nicely with new age thinking. Is it any wonder then when in Glenn Beck’s monologue on October 29th, 2010 he starts out describing how “I AM” is God’s name and should not be taken in vain, then immediately invites the audience to apply that name to themselves in self-affirmation:
I want you to answer. “I am,” what — fill in the blank. “I Am,” the name of the God … Why do I say you can do it? Because you say, I am worthy, I am strong, I am smart, I am loving, I’m charitable, I’m able, I’m creative, I’m peaceful. These are the things “I am.”
Countless other examples can be found in everything from advertising, modern psychology, contemporary education theory, and liberal theology. I’m quite certain that you will begin seeing more and more examples.
Be on the look out, see that you are not decieved, and go ye not after them.