在1817年4月，有人發現一個迷路的年輕女子身穿奇裝異服，說著晦澀難懂的語言，在英國英格蘭西南部的格洛斯特郡四處遊蕩。那時，有關當局認為她是個乞丐，便將她關進監獄。但是，她卻說服了逮捕她的人，使他們相信她是來自印度洋海域爪哇島的卡拉布公主。整個社區的人都因她的皇族身分而對她特別禮遇，長達十週之久。直到一個寄宿處的管家揭露她的真實身分，眾人才知道她其實是個名叫瑪麗．維卡斯的女僕。

我們或許會納悶，這名女子怎麼有辦法矇騙整個社區的人將近三個月？但約翰二書告誡我們，欺騙並非新事，因書中提及「有許多欺騙人的已經在世上出現」（1章7節，新譯本）。有人否認耶穌基督是「成了肉身」來的（7節）；有人偏離基督的教導（9節），宣稱現在聖經已不合時宜。這兩種迷惑人的騙子，都會導致我們不能「得到[我們]全部的賞賜」（8節，新普及譯本），甚至騙我們幫他們作惡（11節）。

沒有人喜歡被欺騙。格洛斯特郡的人不算損失慘重，僅是被騙走一些衣物和餐食。但聖經說，罪與欺騙所帶來的後果會持續地令我們深受其害。當我們專注於聖經真理時，上帝會幫助我們不被欺騙，因我們「照祂的命令行」（6節）。

In April 1817, a disoriented young woman was found wandering around in Gloucestershire, England, wearing exotic clothes and speaking an unknown language. Assuming she was a beggar, authorities placed her in prison. However, she convinced her captors that she was Princess Caraboo from the island of Javasu. For ten weeks, the community treated her as royalty until a boardinghouse keeper revealed that the woman was, in fact, a servant girl named Mary Willcocks.

We may wonder how this young woman deceived an entire community for almost three months. But the book of 2 John warns us that deception is nothing new as it mentions “many deceivers who . . . have gone out into the world” (1:7). These are people who deny that Jesus Christ came “in the flesh” (v. 7), or those who go beyond what Christ taught (v. 9)—proclaiming that the Bible isn’t adequate for us today. Both these types of deceivers can cause us to not “receive [our] full reward” (v. 8 nlt) and can even trick us into helping them in their work (v. 11).

No one likes to be deceived. The people of Gloucestershire didn’t lose much, just some clothing and a few meals. But the Bible says that the consequences of sin and deception continue to threaten us. As we engage with Scripture, God will help us avoid deception as we “walk in obedience to his commands” (v. 6).