What is the False Prophet?
He Will Be A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7: 15-20)
False prophets often have the outward appearance of gentleness but they are not what they appear to be. On the inside, they are like ferocious wolves. So, how can you recognize a false prophet?
A good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit (based on God’s definition of “bad”). False prophets can be recognized by the fruit they produce. What do their words and actions produce?
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. At the time of judgment, those who produced bad fruit will be cast into Hell.
In the end times, the most convincing and dangerous of all the false prophets will arrive. He will bear very bad fruit. The False Prophet will be even more evil than his predecessors.
He Will Appear Like a Lamb But Speak Like a Dragon
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. (Revelation 13: 11)
The False Prophet will initially appear to be gentle. He will pretend to be Jesus Christ (the Lamb of God). He will initially try to imitate what people expect Jesus Christ would look like and speak like. But those who know their God will be able to discern that the False Prophet speaks like a dragon: his words are Satan’s – not God’s.
In order to know when God’s words are being misused or taken out of context, you need to know what the Holy Bible actually says. Don’t depend upon what other people tell you the Holy Bible says: take the time to actually read and study it. And ask God’s Holy Spirit to help you to understand God’s words and to discern the truth.
He Will Claim to Be Jesus Christ
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24: 26-27)
The False Prophet will claim to be Jesus Christ. He might even appear from the clouds, similar to the way that Christians expect to see Jesus Christ arrive. It is important to remember that when the real Jesus Christ arrives in the clouds, the entire world will know it at the same time and people will have zero doubt as to it being Jesus Christ.
He Will Deceive Many People
10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24: 10-14)
In the end of this age, there will be a significant increase in wickedness. There will be many false prophets and many people will be deceived. Many people will turn away from their faith in God. They will betray and hate each other. The love of most people will grow cold.
But before the end comes, the gospel of the kingdom of God will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations. What is the gospel of the kingdom? “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3: 16)
He Will Perform Great Signs & Wonders
23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. (Matthew 24: 23-25)
The False Prophet will be able to perform great signs and wonders in order to deceive the people of the earth. Through this deceit, the False Prophet will lead the whole world astray: he will try to lead them away from Jehovah God and into a false religion. If it is possible, the False Prophet will deceive God’s holy people. He will perform signs and wonders similar to the ones that Christians and Jews are expecting to see.
In order to deceive Jews, the False Prophet will claim to be their Messiah. The Holy Bible says that he will bring down fire from heaven (Revelation 13: 13).
In order to deceive Christians, the False Prophet would claim to be Jesus Christ. If so, he is likely to claim to have been born in Bethlehem about 2000 years ago and to be about 33 years old (the age that Jesus Christ was when he was crucified). He is likely to counterfeit some of the miracles that Jesus Christ performed. (See: What is the Return of Jesus Christ?)
He Will Force People to Worship the Beast
12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. (Revelation 13: 12)
The False Prophet will exercise great authority on behalf of the beast. He will make the people of the world worship the beast. (See: What is the Beast out of the Sea?)
He Will Perform Great Signs
13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. (Revelation 13: 13)
Satan will give his power to the False Prophet so that he can perform signs and wonders. The False Prophet will be able to call down fire from the sky. He will try to convince the Jews and the Christians that he is the messiah. Perhaps he will attempt to replicate the fire that Elijah called down from God to burn the sacrifice (but the prophets of Baal were not able to do the same). He will attempt to get the Jews to abandon their covenant with Jehovah God.
He Will Deceive the Inhabitants of the Earth
14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth… (Revelation 13: 14)
The people who do not know their God will be deceived into following the False Prophet. They will worship the god that the False Prophet recommends.
He Sets up an Image of the Beast & Animates the Image
…It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. (Revelation 13: 14-15)
The False Prophet will set up an image in honor of the beast. It is an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. He will be able to get the image of the beast to speak and also to kill anyone who refused to worship the image. People will be forced to worship the image of the beast. (See: What is the Great Tribulation?)
He Forces the Mark of the Beast
16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666. (Revelation 13: 16-18)
The False Prophet will force everyone to receive a mark on their right hands or foreheads. Without the mark, they will not be able to buy or sell. The mark is the name of the beast or the number of its name. (See: What is the Mark of the Beast?)
The Fate of the False Prophet
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. (Revelation 19: 19-20)
The beast and the kings of the earth and their armies will gather at Armageddon in order to wage war against the rider on the horse (the real Jesus Christ) and his army (the saints). Jesus Christ will capture the Antichrist and the False Prophet. He will throw both the Antichrist and the False Prophet into the lake of fire.
Test Every Spirit
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (1 John 4: 1-6)
The Real Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ honors the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He loves Jews and Christians. He desires that none perish but receive everlasting life through the forgiveness of sins. He acknowledges that God has a Son – and he is the Son of God.
As the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ gave his life to be sacrificed to pay the price of people’s sins. He died for our sins. He was resurrected after 3 days in the grave. He overcame death. He is the ultimate intercessor: a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. The real Jesus Christ is the Firstfruit: the only begotten Son of God.
Anyone who claims to be Jesus of Nazareth but denies that Jesus is the Son of God is not the real Jesus Christ.
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