THE FOUNDATIONS OF FALSEHOOD (1)

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   The title of our lesson is:  “Foundations of Falsehood.”

 

B.   All of us are very familiar with at least two religious groups who come knocking on our doors:  The Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

1.    Many people, including Christians, will not even open their door and speak to them.

2.    I have long believed that we need something that we can give to them that causes them to question their man-made religions.

 

C.   In this lesson, we are going to show you some things that you can present to those who come knocking at your door.

 

D.   Too, we will present information about other groups that will benefit you if you come into contact with members of these groups.

 

I.             PROPHETS

 

A.   When individuals read the Bible, they eventually read about people who are called “prophets.”  (Note:  These are men of God who speak forth God’s word, but also have the ability to see into the future).

1.    Old Testament

a.    Abraham is the first person in the Bible to be called a prophet (Gen. 20:7).

 

Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is prophet…

 

b.    Aaron, Moses’ brother, is the second man who is called a prophet (Exo. 7:1).

 

And the Lord said unto Moses, See I have made thee a god to Pharaoh:  and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

 

c.    The Old Testament is literally filled with prophets.  We have seventeen books of the Old Testament referred to as the Major and Minor Prophets.

2.    New Testament

a.    Jesus commended John as a prophet (Matt. 11:9).

 

But what went ye out for to see?  A prophet?  Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

 

b.    In the early church, there was the position of prophet found therein (Eph. 4:11).

 

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.

 

c.    Even Jesus was a prophet of God.

1)    In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses predicted that a Prophet was coming (Duet. 18:15, 18).

2)    In Acts 3:19-26, Peter plainly declares that this prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

B.   Those who only have a superficial knowledge of the Bible might think that since prophets existed in times past, they must exist today.

1.    In the recent past, some have proclaimed that they are prophets.

2.    Even today, there are those who boast of being prophets of God.

 

II.           THE PRESENCE OF FALSE PROPHETS

 

A.   The Bible is filled with warnings about false prophets.

1.    Jesus warned of false prophets in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:15).

 

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

 

2.    Paul sounded the alarm about false prophets in his second letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor.11:13-15).

 

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

 

3.    Peter also told his readers to beware of false teachers (2 Peter 2:1-3).

 

But there were false prophets among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.  And through covetousness shall they with feign words make merchandise of you:  whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

 

4.    The apostle John is another who cautioned about false teachers (1 John 4:1).

 

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God:  because many false prophets are gone out in the world.

 

III.         TRY THE SPIRITS

 

A.   Notice that John tells his readers to “try the spirits.”  Those who claim to be prophets need to be put to the test.

 

B.   One of the tests involves the fulfillment of the prophet’s utterances about future events (See Deut. 18:21-22).

1.    He begins with a question:  “…how shall we know?” (v. 21)

 

And if thou say in thine heart, how shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?

 

2.    He answers the question in the next verse (v. 22).

 

When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presump-tuously:  thou shalt not be afraid of him.

 

C.   Prophets are bold.  They declare that they can foretell the future.

1.    If a prophet spoke in the name of the Lord, and the thing did not come to pass, he was false prophet.

2.    The hearers need not fear him.  They should not put any credence in anything he proclaims.

 

D.   As we stated earlier, there are many in recent times who have affirmed they are prophets.

1.    We need to put them to the test.  Have their prophecies come true?

2.    If they have not, then these individuals are false prophets.

3.    If they have founded religious organizations, then those organizations have been built upon “Foundations of Falsehood.”

4.    In the remainder of this lesson, we will examine several examples of founders and leaders of religious groups who have prophesied about things that did not come to pass. 

 

IV.         FOUNDATIONS OF FALSEHOOD

 

A.   William Miller – The Seventh Day Adventists

 

 

1.    Brief Background

a.    William Miller was born on February 15, 1782.

b.    His religious background was Baptist.

c.    He rejected his heritage for a time and was a deist.

d.    He eventually returned to the Baptist Church.

e.    When questioned about his return, he began an in-depth study of Scripture beginning at Genesis 1:1.

2.    The Second Coming of Christ

a.    His studies led him to believe in the imminent coming of Jesus Christ.

b.    Statements of Miller

1)    “I was thus brought to the solemn conclusion, that in about twenty-five years from that time 1818 all the affairs of our present state would be wound up.”

2)    “I believe that the second coming of Jesus Christ is near, even at the door, even within 21 years, - on or before 1843.”

3)    Several specific dates were set that came and went between March 21, 1843 and March 21,1844.

4)    Another date was chosen, October 22, 1844.

a)    The day came and went like other days without the coming of Jesus.

b)    The date is known as “The Great Disappointment.”

5)    Miller never gave up the belief that Jesus would come soon.  Miller died on December 20, 1849.

3.    Almost 165 years have passed since Miller’s death and Jesus has not come.

4.    Miller helped to form the Seventh-Day Adventists. 

a.    He is a false prophet.

b.    He should not be revered.

c.    No man should put any credence in any of his teachings.

d.    The Seventh-Day Adventists are founded upon A Foundation of Falsehood.

 

B.   Ellen G. White – The Seventh-Day Adventists

 

 

1.    Brief Background

a.    Ellen G. White was born on July 16, 1821.

b.    At the age of 12, she was greatly influenced by the teachings of William Miller.

c.    She was baptized in 1842 and eagerly awaited the second coming of Christ.

d.    After the “Great Disappointment,” she received her first vision.  She saw a portrayal of Christ’s second coming and the Advent people entering into the New Jerusalem. 

e.    Her vision was printed in Cincinnati, Ohio by Enoch Jacobs.  This brought her notoriety.

f.     She wrote profusely:  5,000 articles and 40 books.

g.    Her influence after Miller’s death was responsible for the survival of Adventism.

2.    She, too, predicted the Second Coming of Christ.

a.    In a meeting in Battle Creek, Michigan, Mrs. White said:  “I was shown the company present at the conference.  Said the angel, ‘Some food for worms, some subjects of the last plagues, some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus’”.

b.    All of the company that was present that day have passed on.  Not one of them was translated at the coming of Jesus Christ.

3.    Adventism’s founder was a false prophet.  Their co-founder did not prove to be any better. 

a.    Her words did not come to pass.

b.    She is a false prophet.

c.    The religion of Adventism is built on a Foundation of Falsehood.

 

C.   Charles Taze Russell – Jehovah’s Witnesses

 

1.    Brief Background

a.    Charles Taze Russell was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania on February 16, 1852.

b.    His parents were Presbyterians.  He joined the Congregationalists in his teen years.  Then, he heard the preaching of the Adventist preacher Jonas Wendell and said he believed his teaching.

c.    A man named Nelson Barbour caused Russell to be interested in Bible prophecy.

d.    In 1881, he founded Zion’s Watchtower and Tract Society.

e.    He is also responsible for the 7-volume series entitled, “Studies in the Scriptures.”

2.    Prophecies regarding the end times:  1914 was to be the end

a.    “It would bring the beginning of Christ's millennial reign^[1] and all his followers expected the immediate "translation of the saints" to rule with the revealed Christ that year. Following the earth's tribulation and unrest, the Jews would return to God's favor, the "nominal Church" would have fallen, the final battle between Christ and Satan would have ended, the kingdoms of the world would be overthrown, and Christ would have gathered his saints into heaven, where they would reign with him, and when the millennium would begin.^[1]”  (Wikipedia, “Charles Taze Russell”).

b.    In the second book of his Studies in the Scriptures series he described it as "an established truth that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished at the end of A.D. 1914".^[17] The result, he wrote, was that "all present governments will be overthrown and dissolved",^[17] along with the destruction of "what God calls Babylon, and what men call Christendom".^[18]  (Wikipedia, “Charles Taze Russell”).

3.    The predictions of Mr. Russell have come and gone without being fulfilled.

a.    He is a false teacher.

b.    His teachings led to the formation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

c.    This means that this religious group has been founded upon A Foundation of Falsehood.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   In the book of Revelation, the first of seven letters was written to the church at Ephesus.

1.    Jesus introduces Himself to them in Revelation 2:1.

2.    He then commends the church, saying:  “I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil:  and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars” (Rev. 2:2).

3.    LESSON:  We have a right, in fact, an obligation, to try individuals who make any type of religious claim.

 

B.   One of the tests involves the truthfulness of any prophecy that is made.

1.    If a future event is predicted and it does not come to pass, the individual is a false prophet.

2.    The prophecy is to be rejected, and the person who made the prophecy is not to be feared or reverenced. 

3.    All of his teachings should be rejected. 

4.    Any religion the individual has founded is built upon a Foundation of Falsehood.

a.    A religion that is founded upon such a foundation will come tumbling down. 

b.    It will not stand in the judgment.