Dr Paul Allen

The Spirit of False Prophets/Antichrist (Deceit) (1 John 4vv. 1b, 3) In the early years of Christianity, before the New Testament was completed (AD 100) and before the first creeds of the church were formulated (AD 325), there were no official, universal theological benchmarks for evaluating Christian preaching and teaching.  To complicate matters, the early Christians were pneumatics; that is, they believed themselves to be filled with the Spirit of God, which provided divine backing for their messages. This is why Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:19–21 that Christians should, on the one hand, not despise prophecies of the Spirit, while, on the other hand, they should discern whether the spokesperson truly was inspired by the Holy Spirit. John is calling for much the same in 4:1–6: his community needed to discern whether a speaker was inspired by the Holy Spirit.  For John, however, there was indeed at least one theological benchmark: if the person confessed that Chris...

The image of the great harlot who is “Babylon the Great” symbolizes the prevailing economic and religious institutions that are in alliance with the political and social systems throughout history. John is concerned that an unfaithful segment of the church may participate in the economic, social, and religious institutions of contemporary society (Rev. 2:14–15, 20–24; 3:2–4; 17–18). And he knows that Jews may participate in the persecution of Christians (Rev. 2:9–10; 3:9). Thus, “Babylon the Great” includes hostile Jews and apostate Christians. But the main concern is to warn the churches not to participate in the idolatry of the economic and religious institutions of the empire. Thus, interpretations of the harlot in terms of the Roman Catholic Church alone miss John’s point. The influence of the Roman Catholic Church today is neither economic nor wielded through political institutions worldwide. Sectors of Protestant churches have become apostate both economically and morally. For...

John speaks of the “mark of the beast” in connection with the efforts of the false prophet (the beast from the earth) to force the inhabitants of the earth to worship the Beast (the beast from the sea) on the basis of economic sanctions. He writes in Revelation 13:16–17: “Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.” Since John assumes that his readers understand what he is writing, the meaning of the “mark of the beast” needs to be analyzed within its first-century context and theological “world.” The mark of the Beast is a parody of the “seal of God” that the followers of the Lamb have received, marking them as belonging to God’s people (Rev. 7:2, 4, 5, 8; 9:4). The followers of the Lamb, many of whom are killed “for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God,” are descri...

John describes the false prophet as “rising out of the earth” (Rev. 13:11). While the first beast that arose from the sea echoed the four beasts of Daniel 7, the second beast that ascended from the earth echoes the four kingdoms of Daniel 7:17. Since Daniel 7:17 interpreted the four beasts as four kingdoms, John’s two beasts are intimately connected. It is a “beast” (Greek, thērion) like the Devil (Dragon) and the Antichrist (the Beast). This evil trinity parodies the true God: “As Christ received authority from the Father (Matt. 11:27), so Antichrist receives authority from the Dragon (Rev. 13:4), and as the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ (John 16:14), so the false prophet glorifies the Antichrist (Rev. 13:12).” The second beast, like the first Beast, parodies Jesus, the Lamb with seven horns (Rev. 5:6): it has “two horns like a lamb” (13:11). While the seven horns of the messianic Lamb symbolized the fullness of his strength as conquering Messiah, the two horns of the counterfe...

The Reformed Church of France, Paris, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 7:15–20 “Beware of false prophets , who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits ” (vv. 15–16a). Following His call for us to pursue the narrow way that leads to salvation ( Matt. 7:13–14), Jesus warns us to beware of false prophets in today’s passage (vv. 15–20). Just as there are two ways, one of salvation and another of damnation, so too are there only two kinds of teachers: true ones and false ones. Being able to distinguish these teachers from one another is vital if we want to promote our spiritual well-being. Otherwise, false prophets will lead us to destruction. Recognizing prophetic impostors is not always easy, but Jesus says the fruit of their teaching helps us evaluate our instructors (vv. 15–16a). Some buckthorn bushes in Palestine produce black berries that look like grapes from a distance, and ...

Titlepage of the New Testament section of a German Luther Bible, printed in 1769. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” ( 1 John 4:1 ) There is an unusual emphasis in the New Testament about false prophets. The Greek word pseudoprophetes appears 11 times and has no corresponding word in the Old Testament . Of the 298 usages of “prophet” in the Hebrew Scriptures , eight of them are connected to “false” prophets, and only in relation to visions and dreams. In the New Testament, the pseudoprophetes are workers of “miracles” and “signs and wonders.” John gives the warning to “try the spirits” because many false prophets are now here. Prior to Christ ’s coming, the false “dreamer” ( Deuteronomy 13:1-5 ) would readily be exposed when his prophecy did not come about. Such a false prophet was to be executed! But the prophets of the “last time” ( 1 John 2:18...

English: Jesus Christ saving the souls of the damned. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell." ( James 3:6 ) The word for "hell" in this verse is gehenna, and this is the only one of its eleven occurrences in the New Testament that is not a direct quote from the lips of Christ . Since the tongue is not a literal fire and since its misuse can in effect make it a "world of iniquity," this passage suggests that hell itself is the ultimate world of iniquity which has made the uncontrolled tongue an extension of itself. The Bible speaks of this future hell as a place of " everlasting fire , prepared for the devil and his angels" ( Matthew 25:41 ). However, if these were fires such as we have here on earth, it is difficult to see how, as Jesus said, God will "destr...

Deuteronomy 8:18, Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, 1901 Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Ye shall walk after the LORD your God , and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him." ( Deuteronomy 13:4 ) This verse seems out of place, for it is tucked into a passage dealing with false prophets : instructing the people of Israel in ways to detect one who would lead them into false worship. The penalty was death, "because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt " ( v. 10 ). The purpose was both purification and example, for "all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you" ( v. 11 ). The chief test of a prophet was not his ability to perform signs and wonders ( v. 1 ). Elsewhere the test of total, lifelong accuracy was applied. "Wh...

Matthew 7:15-20 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits " ( vv. 15-16a ). Following His call for us to pursue the narrow way that leads to salvation ( Matt. 7:13-14 ), Jesus warns us to beware of false prophets in today's passage ( vv. 15-20 ). Just as there are two ways, one of salvation and another of damnation, so too are there only two kinds of teachers: true ones and false ones. Being able to distinguish these teachers from one another is vital if we want to promote our spiritual well-being. Otherwise, false prophets will lead us to destruction. Recognizing prophetic impostors is not always easy, but Jesus says the fruit of their teaching helps us evaluate our instructors ( vv. 15-16a ). Some buckthorn bushes in Palestine produce black berries that look like grapes from a distance, and certain thistles have flowers that appear to be figs. However, a close inspec...