The False Prophet
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Let's pray together:
Our Father,
In this last lesson about the servants of evil, we wish to study the character which Your
prophetic Word calls «the false prophet».
Once again, we humbly ask You to grant us Your divine light, so that we may clearly
identify this mysterious character, and accurately understand his role in the last days.
In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
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Revelation 16:12,13
Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great
river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east
might be prepared.
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of
the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
During the sixth bowl, subject of a future lesson, the book of Revelation
presents, for the first time, a character called «the false
prophet».
Together with the dragon (Satan) and the beast rising from the sea (the papal system), the
false prophet makes up the great satanic trinity.
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Revelation 19:20
Then the beast was captured, and with him the false
prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark
of the beast and those who worshiped his image.
These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Who is the false prophet?
We can find the answer a little farther on in the book of Revelation,
in chapter 19.
By drawing a parallel with a passage from chapter 13, which we studied recently, the false
prophet's identity is immediately disclosed...
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Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
Revelation 13:11
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and
he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
Similar to a lamb, the symbol of Jesus, but speaking like a dragon, the symbol
of Satan, the beast rising from the earth accurately corresponds with Jesus' definition of
a «false prophet»: a wolf in sheep's clothing.
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Revelation 13:11,14
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth,
(...) telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded.
In a previous lesson, we identified the beast rising from the earth as the
United States of America.
By giving this political power the name «false prophet»,
the prophecy indicates that it will also operate at the religious level.
In fact, it is by uniting political and religious powers that the United States will make
an image to the beast, thus producing a religio-political system similar to the papacy.
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Revelation 13:15
He was granted power to give breath to the image of the
beast, that the image of the beast should (...) speak.
For several years now, the Christian Religious Right Wing has worked without
respite to increase its influence and domination over the United States' government.
Their goals of raising morality levels and promoting family values seem noble and
commendable.
But by planning to use political power to impose their ideas, the Christian Religious
Right Wing will contribute to creating and giving breath to the image of the beast.
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Revelation 13:11,14
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth
(...).
He deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the
sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who
was wounded by the sword and lived.
In order to create the image of the beast (a religio-political system similar
to the papacy) and to cause all the inhabitants of earth to follow and obey this system,
the United States' government, infiltrated by members of the Christian Religious Right
Wing, will first use deception.
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Revelation 13:14
[The beast coming up out of the earth] deceives those who
dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast.
Revelation 19:20
Then the beast was captured, and with him the false
prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark
of the beast and those who worshiped his image.
We have seen that the United States has already charmed and deceived the world
by its power and symbols.
But this nation is also «the false prophet» and, as such,
deceives the whole world with «signs», miracles.
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Revelation 13:13
He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come
down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
In a previous lesson, we have seen that the United States was the first country
to use nuclear weapons, and is today the strongest nuclear power.
But now, we can expand our understanding of prophecy a little farther, since the capacity
of making «fire come down from heaven on the earth» is not
limited only to the United States' nuclear power.
In fact, this nation will also be the scene of wonders, supernatural phenomena.
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Matthew 24:11,24
Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
(...)
For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to
deceive, if possible, even the elect.
In fact, this capacity for performing wonders and miracles, to deceive the
inhabitants of the earth, is typical of the work of false prophets.
The United States will be the scene of such deceptive signs and wonders, and that is why
the book of Revelation uses the symbol of «the false prophet»
to represent this country.
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Revelation 16:13,14
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of
the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false
prophet.
For they are spirits of demons, performing signs.
These verses clearly show that the wonders performed by the false prophet are
not linked only with the power and influence of the United States over the rest of the
world: these wonders will be the work of «spirits of demons».
The United States and the papacy, by allying themselves with Satan (the dragon), will
perform miracles through the power of demons.
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1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some
will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.
We know that Satan intensifies his efforts to deceive as many people as
possible, and that spiritualism and occultism (astrology, clairvoyance, divination, etc.)
are some of his most devastating weapons.
But he also has some signs and wonders especially designed for untaught and unstable
Christians, in order to deceive them too.
What are these traps, and how will Satan manage to make Christians believe them?
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Revelation 13:13
[The beast coming up out of the earth] performs great
signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
Acts 2:2-4
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a
rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
First, Satan will give rise to a false spiritual awakening in the United
States.
This powerful counterfeit of Pentecost («fire coming down from
heaven») will deceive all unstable Christians.
But there's even more...
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Genesis 3:1-4
[The serpent] said to the woman, «Has God indeed said,
"You shall not eat of every tree of the garden"?»
And the woman said to the serpent, «We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but
of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, "You
shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die."»
And the serpent said to the woman, «You will not surely die.»
Satan will also deceive Christians with a renewed emphasis on his very first
lie to mankind, the claim that every human has eternal life dwelling within him.
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2 Corinthians 11:3
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by
his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
Revelation 12:9
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old,
called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.
From the beginning until today, Satan has managed to deceive men, making them
believe that they bear immortality within themselves.
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1 Timothy 6:15,16
(...) the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has
immortality.
And yet, the Bible is very clear: God alone has immortality.
So, man is not immortal by birth.
However, God's greatest desire is to share His immortality with us.
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Genesis 2:17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you
shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world,
and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned (...).
God created man as a candidate for immortality.
But, by his disobedience, man broke his relationship with God, the only source of life,
and lost access to immortality.
So he became a mortal being.
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Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
By offering His life for us on the cross, Jesus Christ gives us the possibility
to grasp immortality by faith.
So, immortality is conditional to the salvation of man in Jesus Christ.
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Romans 2:6,7
[God] will render to each one according to his deeds:
eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and
immortality.
1 John 3:15
No murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
The Bible clearly says that God reserves eternal life for the righteous.
In spite of this fact, Satan has succeeded in making men, and even the majority of
Christians, believe that a part of man - the soul - is immortal.
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Ezekiel 18:20
The soul who sins shall die.
James 5:20
He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save
a soul from death.
By accepting the false doctrine of the immortal soul, the Christian world came
to adhere to other lies, teaching that, when a righteous person dies, his soul goes
straight to heaven (or to purgatory), and, when a wicked person dies, his soul goes down
to hell.
And yet, the Bible is plain: the soul is mortal.
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John 3:13
[Jesus said:] «No one has ascended to heaven but He who
came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.»
Acts 2:29,34
Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the
patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
(...)
For David did not ascend into the heavens.
The doctrine teaching that one goes up to heaven at death has no biblical
foundation.
All the dead, both righteous and wicked, rest in the grave, completely unconscious.
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Once dead, everyone, righteous or not, rests in a state of sleep:
«They have sunk into their sleep, and none of the mighty
men have found the use of their hands. At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot
and horse were cast into a dead sleep.» (PSALM 76:5,6)
«[Stephen] knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them
with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Now Saul was consenting to
his death.» (ACTS 7:60 to 8:1)
«I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep,
lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.» (1 THESSALONIANS 4:13)
«[Jesus] said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him
up." Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."
However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest
in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead."» (JOHN 11:11-14)
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The Bible teaches that the dead are in a state of total unconsciousness:
«The dead know nothing (...). There is no work or device
or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.» (ECCLESIASTES 9:5,10)
«So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake
nor be roused from their sleep. (...) His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;
they are brought low, and he does not perceive it.» (JOB 14:12,21)
«You shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the
calamity which I will bring on this place.» (2 KINGS 22:20)
«The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence.» (PSALM 115:17)
«For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who will give You thanks?»
(PSALM 6:5)
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Leviticus 20:6
The person who turns after mediums and familiar spirits,
to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person.
1 Corinthians 10:20
I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.
Many Christians, sincerely believing that their deceased loved ones are in
heaven and really alive, try to communicate with them through prayer.
God positively forbids this practice, because He knows that this makes people completely
vulnerable to Satan's lying wonders.
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Isaiah 8:19,20
And when they say to you, «Seek those who are mediums
and wizards, who whisper and mutter», should not a people seek their God? Should they
seek the dead on behalf of the living?
To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is
because there is no light in them.
2 Corinthians 11:14
And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into
an angel of light.
By trying to call up a dead person, we give Satan the opportunity to
impersonate the deceased, in order to deceive us and make us believe his lies.
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Matthew 24:24,25
[Jesus said:]
«For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as
to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
See, I have told you beforehand.»
Galatians 1:8
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
Satan will soon deploy his most powerful deceptions in order to draw men away
from the gospel of Jesus Christ which proclaims the way to salvation.
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Matthew 7:21-23
Not everyone who says to Me, «Lord, Lord,» shall enter
the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day, «Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast
out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?»
And then I will declare to them, «I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness!»
Satan will even use people who claim to perform miracles in the name of Jesus,
but we will be able to recognize them by their rebellion against the will of God as
expressed in His Ten Commandments.
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2 Thessalonians 2:9,10
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working
of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception
among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they
might be saved.
John 12:35
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake
you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.
Only a careful and persevering study of the Word of God will prevent us from
being deceived by Satan.
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Ephesians 6:11,14-17
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil. (...)
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of
righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And this spiritual armor alone will give us victory over Satan and his wiles.
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Revelation 13:15
He was granted power to give breath to the image of the
beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not
worship the image of the beast to be killed.
The deceptions of Satan and his demons, and the lying wonders of the papacy and
the United States led by the Christian Religious Right Wing, will lead the inhabitants of
earth to worship this apostate religio-political coalition.
As for the faithful believers who resist all the enemy's wiles, they will go through very
difficult days...
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Revelation 13:15-17
He was granted power to give breath to the image of the
beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not
worship the image of the beast to be killed.
And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark
on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who
has the mark or the name of the beast.
In order to clearly identify those who refuse to worship the beast and its
image, a special mark, the «mark of the beast», will be put
on everyone.
The nature of this mark will be the subject of our next two lessons.
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Revelation 16:13,14
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of
the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false
prophet.
For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth
and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
What will be the fate of the false prophet?
Allied with the beast and all the nations of the earth, he will take part in a final
offensive aimed at destroying God's people who refuse to worship the beast and its image.
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Revelation 19:19,20
And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their
armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His
army.
Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his
presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who
worshiped his image.
These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
At that point, Jesus will return and put an end to the activities of the beast
and the false prophet, who will both be destroyed.
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1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the
spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the
world.
Let's close this lesson with one important reminder: as we live in the last
days of history, Satan will try to deceive us by every possible means.
The more «inoffensive» form of occultism or spiritualism may be a powerful weapon able
to take us away from God's truth.
May the Spirit of God and His inspired Word protect us from the wiles of the enemy.
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Let's pray together:
God Almighty,
As the end draws very near, we know that the enemy will multiply his deceptions in order
to take us away from You.
But You gave us Your Word as our guide, revealing Satan's wiles, and warning us against
them.
Please grant us Your Holy Spirit, so that, when we need it, He may remind us of the
valuable teachings You have given us today.
In Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord we pray.
Amen.
Source of the Pictures of this Lesson
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Graphics International, 036_180.JPG. Screen 2: In: «La Révélation - le
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Association, front cover. Screen 15: In: «The Watchtower» magazine
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Domenico. «The Funeral of St. Francis» (1485). In: «Illustrated Lives of the Saints»
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from the Web site: http://www.fst.org/fstphoto.htm. Screen 26: STEEL,
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paradis», New York, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1982, p.128. Screen 30: HARLAN,
Russell. In: «Votre Bible et Vous» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Press Publishing Association,
p.152. Screen 31: In: «La Révélation - le grand dénouement est
proche», New York, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1988, p.195. Screen 32: «Men
adoring beast with two horns» (15th century), from «Commentary on the Apocalypse»
(Bruges, Belgium), The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. In: «Revelations - Art of the
Apocalypse» (GRUBB, Nancy), Abeville Press Publishers, 1997, p.62. Screen 33: In:
«La Révélation - le grand dénouement est proche», New York, Watch Tower Bible and
Tract Society, 1988, p.231. Screen 34: WEST, Benjamin. «The Destruction
of the Beast and the False Prophet» (1804). Minneapolis Institute of Arts. In:
«Revelations - Art of the Apocalypse» (GRUBB, Nancy), Abeville Press Publishers, 1997,
p.63. Screen 35: Picture from the Web site:
http://www.kittyparker.com/k-phone2xmx.jpg. Screen 36: In: «Photo
Gallery 5,000 volume 1» by Media Graphics International, 020_123.JPG.
Any copyrighted images not bearing a statement of permission, are used
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The test of Lesson 69 is waiting for you!