Godsloveandlaw's Blog

Many of us are aware that in the last days there shall arise someone so powerful and so deceptive that he shall be a wonder man, a supposed man of God. This subject is fascinating and yet surprisingly not well understood. Only those who have studied the last message of the Lord’s Elijah have a good handle on it. Let us delve into this very important subject.

Imagine if you will a personality similar to Elvis Presley. Some have said that during the height of Presley’s career his magnetic charm was so powerful that during his live performances in Las Vegas you could literally feel the electricity in the atmosphere once he stepped on stage. Well think of this electricity on steroids! The charisma and charm, not to mentioned the great signs and wonders performed, will most definitely capture the spell-bound multitudes if they are not grounded in God’s word.

Let us now look at what God’s word says about this great deceiver. First we begin by quoting the Biblical references that speak of this false prophet.

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

And deceiveth 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. And he had power to give life unto 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 causeth 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, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” (Rev. 13:11-18)

“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought 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.” (Rev. 19:20)

One of the motivating factors in this week’s post is that we heard from a brother in the faith who told us he believed that there really is only the false prophet and the Sunday law system (beast system) and no “666 man” who shall lead the system. Frankly he made some interesting points and thus caused us to hit the books as they say.

 

Ok, let us now look at the Elijah message for further clues. The following are the relevant references about the false prophet —

“Here is wisdom.  Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” Rev. 13:11-18.

   The power that is represented by this two-horn beast will identify itself with “the false prophet,” for together they are “cast alive into a lake of fire.” Rev. 19:20.  From this it is plain to see that the wonders which the beast does in the sight of men, and by which he deceives them “that dwell on the earth” (Rev. 13:13, 14), are wrought by the false prophet (Rev. 19:20) “in the sight of the beast.” Rev. 13:14.  Clearly, then, the beast’s civil authority, combined with the prophet’s supernatural power, points to a union of beast and prophet — an affiliation of state and of church representatives.

   Having only two horns, not ten, the beast therefore  depicts a local, not a universal, government.  Nevertheless, he will influence all Christendom  to “make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live”; that is, he will engineer a world-wide governmental setup, re-enthroning the principles of the church-state rule of Ecclesiastical Rome.  Being the restorer of these principles, he, along with the prophet, will become the world’s chief dictator, and shape not only the political and the religious policies of the governments, but also the world’s commerce.  He shall decree “that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Rev. 13:17.

   This beast represents a man who stands at the head of a nation, and whose influence goes far and wide among the kings of the earth. He is further identified by a number — the mystical  number “six hundred threescore and six.” Rev. 13:18.

   The prevailing belief that the number “666” is the numerical identification of some other power, is the spawn of the Prince of Darkness, and is calculated to conceal if possible the identification of this two-horn power.  Inspiration puts the number on the two-horn beast, and there we must leave it.  When the number is finally made up, the servants of God will be able to  convince all the “wise” as to just whom the beast symbolizes. 

We now see, though, that no one who studies the Word of God, need be deceived when this power does appear on the stage of  action.  Yet notwithstanding God’s warning against giving allegiance to the beast, the world fails to give heed, with the result that even after his number is made up, “he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their  foreheads.” Rev. 13 :16. (Tract 12, p.25-28)

 

“The beast,” “the false prophet,” and “the remnant” are here mentioned.  Who are they?

   First the beast and the false prophet and then the remnant, those that are left, are cast into the lake of fire.  Since the “beast” and the “prophet” are special world entities, the remnant (those that are left) represent the rest of the unrepented world sympathetic with the beast and the prophet.  The destruction of the prophet, the beast, and the remnant, therefore, is the end of the world — the terminus of the time of the end.

   Besides these verses of Scripture, the twentieth chapter of Revelation reveals that with this last pre-millennial event in the drama of sin, the millennial reign of Christ and the Church begins (Rev. 20:1-3), in the end of which time shall arise all who had no “part in the first resurrection.” Rev. 20:5, 6. (2 TG, no.42, p.27-28)

 

“The beast spoken of here is the one with lamb-like horns.  But some one else is introduced by the pronoun “he,” who “had power to do miracles in the sight of the beast” (the lamb-like).  The following Scripture will make clear who it is that performs the miracles:

“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, [before the two horned beast] 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.” (Rev. 19:20.)

  Therefore, the miracles are wrought by the false prophet in the sight of the two-horned beast.

   There are many beasts spoken of in the Bible, but this two-horned beast is the only one that can be termed “a man.”  It will be noticed that from the 11th verse on, of the 13th chapter of Revelation the Scripture speaks of the two-horned beast and closes with the words:

“For it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred three-score and six.”

  Therefore, the mystical number “666,” belongs to the two-horned beast and none other.  However, we may not conclude that no one before it could have such a number…The two-horned beast is the only one representing a local religio-political government. 

Therefore, of him alone can it be said, it is “a man.”  Thus whosoever shall stand at the head of that persecuting power as described in this chapter, and represented by the beast, is the one who shall bear the mystical number 666. 

The Spirit of Prophecy also states that the “King of the North” brought to view in Daniel 11:45, and the two-horned beast of Revelation 13, is the same power and that it shall bear this mystical number 666.  We quote: “This power is the last that treads down the true church of God: and as the true church is still trodden down, and cast out by all Christendom, it follows that the last oppressive power has not ‘come to his end’; and Michael has not stood up.  This last power that treads down the saints is brought to view in Rev. 13:11-18.”  (SRod, vol.2, p.151)

“Mark carefully, according to the following testimony, the destruction of the papacy is at another time and by a different process.  “Paul states plainly that the man of sin will continue until the second advent.  To the very close of time he will carry forward his work of deception.” — “The Great Controversy,” p. 579.  Thus the papacy is to remain to the second coming of Christ, at which time the wicked are to be destroyed by the brightness of His coming.  Therefore, the papacy is one thing, and the false prophet another, and the beast still another.  The beast “666” and the false prophet, who are to be cast alive into the lake of fire, are the ones who develop the image of the beast — a likeness of the worship in the period of the 1260 years.” (SRod, vol. 2, p.153)

 

Who Is the False Prophet?   As previously explained the false prophet is not the papacy or the two-horned beast, neither is he the devil, for we read:

“And the devil that deceived them was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are.” (Rev. 20:10.) 

Therefore, the false prophet is the one who shall precede the manifestation of Satan himself.  Said the apostle, “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” (2 Cor. 11:14.)

   As the doctrines held by the false prophet cannot be fully supported by the Scriptures, miracles are performed to secure the confidence of the people.  As the great men and religious leaders declare to the public that the so-called true religion is the truth of Christ, and that the false prophet is His servant, multitudes will fall into Satan’s snare.  His false prediction of the coming of the Lord, will be fulfilled by Satan himself as he appears as an angel of light. 

His dazzling brightness, and the false fulfillment of the prophet’s prediction, in addition to the already overwhelming delusion, will ensnare a multitude greater than the first.  “While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation.” — “The Great Controversy,” p. 589.  (SRod, vol. 2, p.157)

 The beast we are told is a man (Rev. 13:18).  The demand to worship, obey the beast’s command, therefore, is a demand to worship (obey) man in place of God.(JL, no.2, p.12)

In the above we truly have a wealth of information to arrive at a fairly good idea who this false prophet is and who he is not. Starting from the top let us highlight the main points.

1) The false prophet is separate and distinct from the “beast”.

2) It appears that the beast is the organizing power and the false prophet is the drawing power. In other words the false  prophet is the miracle worker that enables the beast to gain its power, influence and fame.

3) These two powers will be the two main world-wide influences in setting up their religious system. They both appear to be human men (the literal representation of the false prophet and the 666 man). For instance it says, “This beast represents a man who stands at the head of a nation, and whose influence goes far and wide among the kings of the earth. He is further identified by a number — the mystical  number “six hundred threescore and six.” Rev. 13:18.” The beast is described as “a man” and “he”. Thus he’s the leader of the end time world religious system.

  “There are many beasts spoken of in the Bible, but this two-horned beast is the only one that can be termed “a man.” 

Further proof is given as to the two men , “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, [before the two horned beast] 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.” (Rev. 19:20.)

It appears that the “beast power” the religious world-wide system, is described interchangeably with the “man” the 666 man,  it’s leader. Nevertheless it also appears that the two are not one and the same entity.

4) The beast system shall have at its head, the 666 “man”.  “Thus whosoever shall stand at the head of that persecuting power as described in this chapter, and represented by the beast, is the one who shall bear the mystical number 666.” 

5) The false prophet shall precede Satan in his manifestation of Christ. Therefore the false prophet will not be the false Christ, rather the false preparer of the false second coming of Christ.

“His false prediction of the coming of the Lord, will be fulfilled by Satan himself as he appears as an angel of light.”

6) The false prophet won’t be known as a “Thus sayeth the Lord” type of person, rather a man of miracles to secure the trust and faith of those snared in his deceptions.

7) He will appear as a great healer, thus fooling a great many. But ultimately bringing disease and disaster.

In closing, this great deceiver, the false prophet,  will indeed play a most important role in the final events. We can see that there will be seven deceiving players in the closing scenes. 1) Satan 2) The 666 man 3) The Beast power (religious system) 4) The false Prophet  5) “great men and religious leaders” 6) the “remnant”, the vast multitude taken and snared by deceivers 7) The Papacy.

The above are the players, the team as it were who shall take on the opposing team, the 144,000 and “great multitude” (Rev. 7:9) in the “Great Controversy” the final spiritual battle for the souls of mankind. As we have spoken before we, unlike the world, cannot be on the opposing team when the players take the field.

Sure, there will be some “former” SDA who have withdrawn from the church who will be on the opposing team but that will prove disastrous for them. We MUST be among the 144,000  team if we stand a chance on the field in those final events.

Let us not forget that it’s good to know these things yet if we as Seventh-day Adventists are not “striving” to be among the 144,000, this will profit us little.

This entry was posted on July 14, 2018 at 4:25 am and is filed under End times, Final Events, Prophecy study, Revelation teachings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.