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False Anointed Ones at the End Time: Difference between revisions

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Jesus is not speaking of his ultimate return.  He is referring to the time between his resurrection and the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.
Jesus is not speaking of his ultimate return.  He is referring to the time between his resurrection and the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.


==Does "False Christs" mean "False Anointed One"?==
==Does "False Christs" mean "False Anointed Teachers"?==


We need to look closely at William Branham's interpretation:
We need to look closely at William Branham's interpretation:
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William Branham takes the Greek word ψευδόχριστος which means “false messiah” and twists its meaning to "false anointed teacher."  But that is not what the text says.  Jesus could have said "false anointed teacher" but he didn't.  The Greek word "χριστός" or "Christ" is repeatedly translated in the Septuagint version (the Greek translation of the Old Testament that Jesus and the New Testament writers quoted from) as "Messiah".  This is evident from the following passages:
William Branham takes the Greek word ψευδόχριστος which means “false messiah” and twists its meaning to "false anointed teacher."  But that is not what the text says.  Jesus could have said "false anointed teacher" but he didn't.  The Greek word "χριστός" or "Christ" is repeatedly translated in the Septuagint version (the Greek translation of the Old Testament that Jesus and the New Testament writers quoted from) as "Messiah".  This is evident from the following passages:


:''The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found '''the Messiah” (that is, the Christ)'''.<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jn 1:41.
:''The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found '''the Messiah” (that is, the Christ)'''.<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jn 1:41.</ref>


:''The woman said, “I know that '''Messiah” (called Christ''') “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” <ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jn 4:25.</ref>
:''The woman said, “I know that '''Messiah” (called Christ''') “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” <ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jn 4:25.</ref>
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:''And after the ascension of our Lord into heaven, certain men were suborned by demons as their agents, who said they were gods. These were not only suffered [permitted] to pass without persecution, but were even deemed worthy of honours by you. Simon, a certain Samaritan of the village called Githon, was one of the number, who, in the reign of Claudius Caesar, performed many magic rites by the operation of demons, was considered a god, in your imperial city of Rome, and was honoured by you with a statue as a god, in the river Tiber—(on an island)—between the two bridges, having the superscription in Latin, Simoni Deo Sancto, which is, To Simon the Holy God; and nearly all the Samaritans, a few also of other nations, worship him, confessing him as the Supreme God.
:''And after the ascension of our Lord into heaven, certain men were suborned by demons as their agents, who said they were gods. These were not only suffered [permitted] to pass without persecution, but were even deemed worthy of honours by you. Simon, a certain Samaritan of the village called Githon, was one of the number, who, in the reign of Claudius Caesar, performed many magic rites by the operation of demons, was considered a god, in your imperial city of Rome, and was honoured by you with a statue as a god, in the river Tiber—(on an island)—between the two bridges, having the superscription in Latin, Simoni Deo Sancto, which is, To Simon the Holy God; and nearly all the Samaritans, a few also of other nations, worship him, confessing him as the Supreme God.


Josephus tells of “a certain impostor named Theudas [who] persuaded a great number to follow him to the river Jordan which he claimed would divide for their passage.” Cuspius Fadus, procurator of Judea, “sent a troop of horse[s] against them, who falling unexpectedly upon them, killed many, and made many prisoners; and having taken Theudas himself alive, they cut off his head, and brought it to Jerusalem.”28 Dositheus, a Samaritan, “pretended that he was the lawgiver prophesied of by Moses.” There were so many of these impostors preying on the gullibility of the people that under the procuratorship of Felix, “many of them were apprehended and killed every day. They seduced great numbers of the people still expecting the Messiah; and well therefore might our Saviour caution his disciples against them.”
Josephus tells of “a certain impostor named Theudas [who] persuaded a great number to follow him to the river Jordan which he claimed would divide for their passage.” Cuspius Fadus, procurator of Judea, “sent a troop of horse[s] against them, who falling unexpectedly upon them, killed many, and made many prisoners; and having taken Theudas himself alive, they cut off his head, and brought it to Jerusalem.”  Dositheus, a Samaritan, “pretended that he was the lawgiver prophesied of by Moses.” There were so many of these impostors preying on the gullibility of the people that under the procuratorship of Felix, “many of them were apprehended and killed every day. They seduced great numbers of the people still expecting the Messiah; and well therefore might our Saviour caution his disciples against them.”.<ref>Gary DeMar, Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church, Fourth revised edition (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 1999), 73–74.</ref>
 
While Matt 24:24 relates to events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, this does not mean that false messsiahs no longer appear on the scene. Their appearance in our day, however, has nothing to do with the fulfillment of the events outlined in the Olivet Discourse.<ref>Gary DeMar, Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church, Fourth revised edition (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 1999), 73–74.</ref>


==Will Jannes and Jambres return?==
==Will Jannes and Jambres return?==