Eschatology 101 (Part 7)

"False christs and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect." (Mark 13:22)

Continuing our look at the things which must happen before Jesus returns we come to the appearance of false christs and false prophets. The first thing to note here is the plurality. There will be false christs (plural) and false prophets (plural). This is different from THE false christ or anti-christ which we will study later.

The part of the word for christ used there in Mark 13 is exactly the same word as used elsewhere in the scriptures for the real Christ. In Greek it is "pseudochristos", a fake, pretend or false Messiah.

Have there been false christs and false prophets... Certainly... Too many to list here. Here is an extract from the UK's Guardian newspaper in 2002:

' Sergei Torop was a traffic cop in the small Russian town of Minusinsk until 1989, when he announced that he was the son of God. Now he commands a following of thousands and rules over a large swath of the Siberian mountains...

"It's all very complicated," he starts quietly. "But to keep things simple, yes, I am Jesus Christ. That which was promised must come to pass. And it was promised in Israel 2,000 years ago that I would return, that I would come back to finish what was started." '

Many have been led astray... Remember, watch, pray and be ready for his appearing.

Blessings,

Gary