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Connecting the Scriptures On the Work of the False Prophets Of the End Times
A whole strand of scripture put together makes a stronger and clearer statement on a doctrine. But some will quarrel against connecting scriptures into holistic strands of doctrine. They may have been taught scripture in a compartmentalized way.
Revelation 9:14-19 and II Peter 2:1-3 as well as Matthew 24: 11 are important prophecy texts which provide knowledge about how a huge number of false prophets will deceive many and lead them away from sound doctrine into false doctrines. The falling away of II Thessalonians 2:3-4 and the leavening of the Kingdom of God of Luke 13:18-21 also give us important knowledge about this topic.
The NIV for Matthew 24: 11 says "and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." It is not easy to diminish this doctrine in Matthew 24: 11 But Revelation 9:14-19 presents the doctrine in the language of metaphor. Dispensationalism begins from the assumptions that God now has two peoples, not one and that prophecy - and all scripture should be interpreted in a literal way, discouraging the admission that much of prophecy is in metaphoric language. And II Peter 2: 3 - "through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you" is metaphoric in that people are not literally merchandise. To make merchandise of people as a metaphor means to change them, while in the NIV exploit you does not necessarily mean to change your spiritual state and ability to discern and love the truth. The NIV avoids the metaphoric meaning in II Peter 2: 3. It also avoids the metaphoric meaning of Revelation 9: 15 and 9: 18 by translating "triton ton anthropon" as "a third of mankind," meaning one third of all people will be killed. On the other hand, the Tyndale, Geneva and KJV all have "the third part of men," which can mean man in three parts is "killed" in one part. That is. one part of three part man is "killed." This provides far different knowledge that saying "a third of mankind" is to be literally killed.
The New King James has "So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind." So, the New King James says the same thing as the NIV, that a third of mankind will be killed, meaning the killing is literal. But the translation of "triton ton anthropon" in the Tyndale, Geneva and King James versions as "the third part of men" fits with the scriptures on this strand in the Bible about the work of the many false prophets.
In Joel 1: 4-12 locusts laid my vine waste and barked my fig tree (verse 7), and in verse 12 the vine is dried up and the fig tree languishes.
The vine is found in John 15: 1-6, where Christ is the vine and ye are the branches. The fig tree is in Luke 13: 6-9, where Christ as the dresser of the vineyard asks the Father to let him, the dresser, give
new life to the fig tree, which is physical Israel, and if it does not bear fruit, to cut it down.
Locust-scorpions are in Revelation 9: 1-3, which arise at the opening of the bottomless pit. Scorpions, which talk, indicating they are metaphoric, are in Ezekiel 2: 3-6. The text begins in saying that God will send Ezekiel to the children of Israel, a rebellious house, who have transgressed against God. But God says not to be afraid of them or of their words as Ezekiel is among these scorpions.
The locusts horde which lay waste the vine and bark the fig tree appear in Joel 2: 2 and 11 in a day of darkness and gloominess which is the day of the Lord, indicating they as the locust-scorpions appear at the end time.
And - the horde of locusts are said to be the northern army in Joel 2: 20. Remember that in Revelation 9: 16 the number of the army of horsemen is two hundred thousand thousand. In Revelation 9: 15 and Revelation 9: 18 this army of false prophets "kill" the third part of men, that is, they kill one part of three part man, his spiritual part. In "killing" man's spiritual part, they reduce him to the spiritual state of the natural man of I Corinthians 2: 14, who cannot receive the things of the Holy Spirit. The army of false prophets of Revelation 9: 16 is the same group as the many false prophets who deceive many of Matthew 24: 11. In II Peter 2: 1-3 this same army of false prophets make merchandise of you, that is, they change you into a spiritual state of not being able to know the things of the Holy Spirit.
In Daniel 8: 12 a host "...cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered." The truth is cxast down to the ground by the huge numbers of false prophets and by those who are deceived into following their false doctrines.
"And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up." Daniel 8: 23
For Daniel 8: 23, the "transgressors" is Strong's number 6586, pasha, "to break away from just authority, i.e, trespass, apostatize, quarrel, offend, rebel, revolt, transgress."
The huge number of false prophets and their followers apostatize, offend, rebel and quarrel with the truth as they cast the truth to the ground.
Then in II Thessalonians 2: 4 the metaphoric "man of sin" is to sit in the minds and hearts of those who are, or were, the temple of God. Since the "man of sin" is not to sit in a literal temple, but in the temple which is, or was, the believers in Christ, he is not a single, literal person either. The whole passage, II Thessalonians 2: 3-4, is metaphoric. When those who claim to be the people of God become the "man of sin" they are no longer the elect, though some can come back if led back by the Holy Spirit.
The man of sin can be seen to be the outcome of the work of either the False Prophet or of the spirit of anti-Christ, or both. The False Prophet, as many individual priests and preachers, leads people to the spirit of anti-Christ (see Revelation 13: 12), that is, to the head of the first beast in Revelation 13: 3. As a group claiming to be the people of God the "sinful people" represented as the "man of sin" are like the transgressors who have come to the full in Daniel 8: 23
A whole strand of scripture put together makes a stronger and clearer statement on a doctrine. But some will quarrel against connecting scriptures into holistic strands of doctrine. They may have been taught scripture in a compartmentalized way.
Revelation 9:14-19 and II Peter 2:1-3 as well as Matthew 24: 11 are important prophecy texts which provide knowledge about how a huge number of false prophets will deceive many and lead them away from sound doctrine into false doctrines. The falling away of II Thessalonians 2:3-4 and the leavening of the Kingdom of God of Luke 13:18-21 also give us important knowledge about this topic.
The NIV for Matthew 24: 11 says "and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." It is not easy to diminish this doctrine in Matthew 24: 11 But Revelation 9:14-19 presents the doctrine in the language of metaphor. Dispensationalism begins from the assumptions that God now has two peoples, not one and that prophecy - and all scripture should be interpreted in a literal way, discouraging the admission that much of prophecy is in metaphoric language. And II Peter 2: 3 - "through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you" is metaphoric in that people are not literally merchandise. To make merchandise of people as a metaphor means to change them, while in the NIV exploit you does not necessarily mean to change your spiritual state and ability to discern and love the truth. The NIV avoids the metaphoric meaning in II Peter 2: 3. It also avoids the metaphoric meaning of Revelation 9: 15 and 9: 18 by translating "triton ton anthropon" as "a third of mankind," meaning one third of all people will be killed. On the other hand, the Tyndale, Geneva and KJV all have "the third part of men," which can mean man in three parts is "killed" in one part. That is. one part of three part man is "killed." This provides far different knowledge that saying "a third of mankind" is to be literally killed.
The New King James has "So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind." So, the New King James says the same thing as the NIV, that a third of mankind will be killed, meaning the killing is literal. But the translation of "triton ton anthropon" in the Tyndale, Geneva and King James versions as "the third part of men" fits with the scriptures on this strand in the Bible about the work of the many false prophets.
In Joel 1: 4-12 locusts laid my vine waste and barked my fig tree (verse 7), and in verse 12 the vine is dried up and the fig tree languishes.
The vine is found in John 15: 1-6, where Christ is the vine and ye are the branches. The fig tree is in Luke 13: 6-9, where Christ as the dresser of the vineyard asks the Father to let him, the dresser, give
new life to the fig tree, which is physical Israel, and if it does not bear fruit, to cut it down.
Locust-scorpions are in Revelation 9: 1-3, which arise at the opening of the bottomless pit. Scorpions, which talk, indicating they are metaphoric, are in Ezekiel 2: 3-6. The text begins in saying that God will send Ezekiel to the children of Israel, a rebellious house, who have transgressed against God. But God says not to be afraid of them or of their words as Ezekiel is among these scorpions.
The locusts horde which lay waste the vine and bark the fig tree appear in Joel 2: 2 and 11 in a day of darkness and gloominess which is the day of the Lord, indicating they as the locust-scorpions appear at the end time.
And - the horde of locusts are said to be the northern army in Joel 2: 20. Remember that in Revelation 9: 16 the number of the army of horsemen is two hundred thousand thousand. In Revelation 9: 15 and Revelation 9: 18 this army of false prophets "kill" the third part of men, that is, they kill one part of three part man, his spiritual part. In "killing" man's spiritual part, they reduce him to the spiritual state of the natural man of I Corinthians 2: 14, who cannot receive the things of the Holy Spirit. The army of false prophets of Revelation 9: 16 is the same group as the many false prophets who deceive many of Matthew 24: 11. In II Peter 2: 1-3 this same army of false prophets make merchandise of you, that is, they change you into a spiritual state of not being able to know the things of the Holy Spirit.
In Daniel 8: 12 a host "...cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered." The truth is cxast down to the ground by the huge numbers of false prophets and by those who are deceived into following their false doctrines.
"And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up." Daniel 8: 23
For Daniel 8: 23, the "transgressors" is Strong's number 6586, pasha, "to break away from just authority, i.e, trespass, apostatize, quarrel, offend, rebel, revolt, transgress."
The huge number of false prophets and their followers apostatize, offend, rebel and quarrel with the truth as they cast the truth to the ground.
Then in II Thessalonians 2: 4 the metaphoric "man of sin" is to sit in the minds and hearts of those who are, or were, the temple of God. Since the "man of sin" is not to sit in a literal temple, but in the temple which is, or was, the believers in Christ, he is not a single, literal person either. The whole passage, II Thessalonians 2: 3-4, is metaphoric. When those who claim to be the people of God become the "man of sin" they are no longer the elect, though some can come back if led back by the Holy Spirit.
The man of sin can be seen to be the outcome of the work of either the False Prophet or of the spirit of anti-Christ, or both. The False Prophet, as many individual priests and preachers, leads people to the spirit of anti-Christ (see Revelation 13: 12), that is, to the head of the first beast in Revelation 13: 3. As a group claiming to be the people of God the "sinful people" represented as the "man of sin" are like the transgressors who have come to the full in Daniel 8: 23