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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
And the sixth angel poured out his vial on the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
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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
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that worked miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
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Who is the false prophet?
We can find the answer a little farther on in the book of Revelation, 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, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
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Revelation 13:11
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth.
And he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.
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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
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth, (...) saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
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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
And [the beast coming up out of the earth] had power to give life to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should (...) speak.
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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
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth. (...)
[He] deceives them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
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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 them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast.
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Revelation 19:20
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that worked miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
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We have seen that the United States has already charmed and deceived the world with its power and symbols.
But this nation is also «the false prophet» and, as such, deceives the whole world with «miracles».
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Revelation 13:13
[He] does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
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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
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. (...)
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
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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 that nation.
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Revelation 16:13,14
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles.
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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 devils».
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 speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.
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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] does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
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Acts 2:2-4
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared to them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.
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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, «Yes, has God said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden”?»
And the woman said to the serpent, «We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”»
And the serpent said to the woman, «You shall not surely die.»
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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 by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
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Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world.
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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 only has immortality.
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And yet, the Bible is very clear: God alone has immortality.
Therefore, 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 of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
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Romans 5:12
By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed on all men, for that all have sinned.
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God created man as a candidate for immortality.
But by his disobedience, man broke his relationship with God, the unique Source of life, and lost access to immortality.
He thus 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 through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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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.
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By giving His life for us, Jesus Christ offers us the possibility to grab immortality by faith.
Therefore, immortality is conditional to salvation in Jesus Christ.
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Romans 2:6,7
[God] will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life.
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1 John 3:15
No murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
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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 is immortal: the soul.
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Ezekiel 18:20
The soul that sins, it shall die.
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James 5:20
He which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death.
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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 man has ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.»
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Acts 2:29,34
Let me freely speak to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us to this day. (...)
For David is not ascended into the heavens.
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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 slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands. At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.» (Psalm 76:5,6)
«[Stephen] cried with a loud voice, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul was consenting to his death.» (Acts 7:60 to 8:1)
«I would not have you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.» (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
«[Jesus] said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.” Then said His disciples, “Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.” However, Jesus spoke of his death: but they thought that He had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus 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 not any thing. (...). There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, where you go.» (Ecclesiastes 9:5,10)
«So man lies down, and rises not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. (...) His sons come to honor, and he knows it not; and they are brought low, but he perceives it not of them.» (Job 14:12,21)
«You shall be gathered into your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.» (2 Kings 22:20)
«The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.» (Psalm 115:17)
«For in death there is no remembrance of You: in the grave who shall give You thanks?» (Psalm 6:5)
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Leviticus 20:6 [NKJV]
The person who turns after mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person.
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1 Corinthians 10:20
I would not that you should have fellowship with devils.
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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 [NKJV]
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.
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2 Corinthians 11:14
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
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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 there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Behold, I have told you before.»
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Galatians 1:8
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
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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 every one that said to Me, «Lord, Lord,» shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day, «Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? And in Your name have cast out devils? And in Your name done many wonderful works?»
And then will I profess to them,
«I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity.»
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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 2:8-10
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, (...) even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all delusion of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
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John 12:35
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come on you: for he that walks in darkness knows not where he goes.
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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 your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
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And this spiritual armor alone will give us victory over Satan and his wiles.
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Revelation 13:15
And [the beast coming up out of the earth] had power to give life to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
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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
And [the beast coming up out of the earth] had power to give life to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast.
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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 come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great Day of God Almighty.
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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, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that worked miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
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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, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.
Because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
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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.
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