How to tell apart false prophets and the true Christ in the Second coming

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A few days ago while leaving the bank me and my mom came across a family friend.He said how one of his son’s friends got his son carried away with how the world was going to end,having to go to like mountain in Africa,not eating anymore meat etc.One of the things that I remember my mom replying is her telling him to tell his son to actually read the Bible,which is why I think later on that night she called me and my brother to listen to a Biblical reading (I remember she read the one about being “alert because the Lord can come like a thief in the night” and maybe another one though I cant remember which one _ ) when she asked how when it happens how to tell apart false prophets claiming to be Christ from the real one.I said I would know that there not Christ b/c I’d ask “can you take away all my sin” when I know they can’t b/c there not Christ* and taking away sin is something the Evil One can’t do.

She said no b/c there’ll be ppl who can give me the sensation that my sin is being taken away.I found it sort of “cute” how she said no to that and she kept on reffering to the changes in nature like "the stars falling from the heavens " ^-^ .He interpretation though and not mine,eh?.I guess my mom’s not as much a contextualist 🤷 "^-^ ?.

*I had " D’oh ! >_< " moment in my mind after when I thought about how ppl who aren’t Christ take away my sin all the time (I’m referring to priests who are being confessors).

Anyhow my question is how are you able to tell apart a false prophet claiming to be Christ form the true Lord?.Saying “you would be one already know what’s in my heart” before walking away and seeing if he’ll do anything about it? 🤷.
 
Well, since the bible tell us many people, even the church leaders, will be fooled by this false prophet, this tell me this being is going to be able to put on a very good show, in order to convince so many people, he would have to! I think he will have powers that we cannot even begin to speculate about as well, and this will be all over youtube and the internet once he gets going, it will spread like wildfire, people will try to debunk what he is doing thru science and the experts will also be trying to explain it away, but they wont be able to.

I tend to think the truly faithful will ‘just know’ when they see or hear him speak, just like you get a certain feeling about people when we first meet them by the way they carry themselves, the way they speak, what they talk about, etc. I think it will be easy to spot him as being a fake…but ONLY for the truly faithful, all others will be fooled.
 
Matthew 24:36

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

Like a boy scout, always be prepared.
 
Well there have been quite a few false Christs already, looking
at many cults, leaders calling themselves the Second Coming,
such as David Koresh, Jim Jones, Marshall Applewhite, just to
name a few.

You’ll notice that in each instance, the Antichrist hasn’t yet come.

So first the Antichrist will rule the world, there will be persecution
of Christians on a mass level, and so forth, just read the Book of
Revelation, THEN Jesus will come back.

Also, you can always
try using the Test of a
Prophet:
“When a prophet speaks in the name of
the LORD, if the thing does not happen
or come to pass, that is the thing which
the LORD has not spoken; the prophet
has spoken it presumptuously; you shall
not be afraid of him.”
– (Deuteronomy 18:22)

Jesus will come when we least expect it, though we can be sure
of the things that will come FIRST. David Koresh was wrong, Jim
Jones was wrong, Marshall Applewhite was wrong . . . how many
more must come and lead astray before people wake up and real-
ize that a certain sequence of events must preclude the upcoming
Doomsday first?
 
When Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead, He won’t need to convince anyone.
Remember the transfiguration on the mountain?
 
Mt. 24:30 then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the** Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory**;

Mark 13:26 And then they will see the Son of man **coming in clouds with great power and glory. **

Luke 21:27 And then they will see the Son of man **coming in a cloud with power and great glory. **
 
mikekle said:
Well, since the bible tell us many people, even the church leaders, will be fooled by this false prophet, this tell me this being is going to be able to put on a very good show, in order to convince so many people, he would have to! I think he will have powers that we cannot even begin to speculate about as well, and this will be all over youtube and the internet once he gets going, it will spread like wildfire, people will try to debunk what he is doing thru science and the experts will also be trying to explain it away, but they wont be able to.

I tend to think the truly faithful will ‘just know’ when they see or hear him speak, just like you get a certain feeling about people when we first meet them by the way they carry themselves, the way they speak, what they talk about, etc. I think it will be easy to spot him as being a fake…but ONLY for the truly faithful, all others will be fooled.
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With all due respect to those with great faith and infallible judgment, I think the idea of “getting a certain feeling” would be a dangerous path to telling apart a false prophet from Christ. Rather than just a FEELING, our ability to discern Christ through his acts, words, and true traits will be of the utmost importance. As of the days of Jesus in the temple with the moneychangers, He might appear and be angry at our world. We will not necessarily FEEL good although those of faith will know that it is good for us.

I believe that a false prophet will appeal to our vanity, ego, and needs for comfort. There will be lots of oversimplified confusion. Our world at present seems already there, with spirituality that is warm and fuzzy with no issues of sin and error.

The true Christ will take us on a difficult road if we are too married to things of the earth. If we read and remember what it was like for Christ when He lived here before, we will be clearer on recognizing Him when He returns.

If we believe that the faithful of the past knew nothing and that all new “revelations” about Christ are now 100% correct, we will be sure to be deceived.
 
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves;

[26] Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved; [27] And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with great power and majesty. [28] But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand.

I think the final coming of Jesus will be quite obvious.If you read scripture and the catechism you will see that a great persecution of Christians and especially the Catholic Church,occurs toward the end of this system.Jesus himself told how many would come in His name,that is using His name in their false teachings.

It is said by many saints that communism will become so overwhelming so as to overtake the earth. In other writings it is predicted that the Church will suffer such persecution as to almost disappear,and people will be celebrating the Eucharist underground or in hidden groups. Jesus said He would be with us until the consummation though.
 
Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers.574 The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth575 will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.576

676 The Antichrist’s deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism,577 especially the “intrinsically perverse” political form of a secular messianism.578

677 The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection.579 The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven.580 God’s triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.
 
fastenatingguy said:
Matthew 24:36

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

Like a boy scout, always be prepared.
Click to expand...
Amen - - but of course the question here is really HOW to be always prepared…and I think this is really the root for the OP as well.

How will someone “know”…I would suggest that for us, the best way to prepare so that we will know is to do - every day and to the best of our ability - that which we are called to in Mt 5:48. To be perfected in Agape.

The more we are perfected in this Love - this Agape - the more easily we will be able to distinguish between that which is false and that which is true. We will see able to better see behind the veil of a gracious smile, pretty teeth and attractive figure, flowery promises and amazing “signs”. We will be able to discern more readily the spirit, the soul behind the eyes.
We may not even be able to put our finger on why we trust or not trust a given person or idea…we will just “know”.

God is Love - - - we are called to Love daily - - - the better we become at this Loving - this Agape - - the better off we will be.

(And in the interest of full disclosure - I’m not very good at it. :imsorry: God forgive and strengthen me.)

Just some thoughts…

Peace
James
 
JRKH said:
Amen - - but of course the question here is really HOW to be always prepared…and I think this is really the root for the OP as well.

How will someone “know”…I would suggest that for us, the best way to prepare so that we will know is to do - every day and to the best of our ability - that which we are called to in Mt 5:48. To be perfected in Agape.

The more we are perfected in this Love - this Agape - the more easily we will be able to distinguish between that which is false and that which is true. We will see able to better see behind the veil of a gracious smile, pretty teeth and attractive figure, flowery promises and amazing “signs”. We will be able to discern more readily the spirit, the soul behind the eyes.
We may not even be able to put our finger on why we trust or not trust a given person or idea…we will just “know”.

God is Love - - - we are called to Love daily - - - the better we become at this Loving - this Agape - - the better off we will be.

(And in the interest of full disclosure - I’m not very good at it. :imsorry: God forgive and strengthen me.)

Just some thoughts…

Peace
James
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We are not told the exact day or hour, but we are told of signs that signify his return is getting close, and nearly all of these signs have been realized today. So I definitely think we are in the end times, I find it strange the church is not talking more about this, especially since most of the warning signs have already happened. This should be the ‘talk of the town’ in churches all over the country…but its not…? Are they just not seeing this, or prefer to not think about it, or…
 
mikekle said:
We are not told the exact day or hour, but we are told of signs that signify his return is getting close, and nearly all of these signs have been realized today. So I definitely think we are in the end times, I find it strange the church is not talking more about this, especially since most of the warning signs have already happened. This should be the ‘talk of the town’ in churches all over the country…but its not…? Are they just not seeing this, or prefer to not think about it, or…
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Signs come and signs go…Signs may be true signs or not…we simply cannot know.

What we do know is that we are to be prepared and that preparation is to become holy - that is to embrace and to grow in Agape Love.

To me - it is THIS that needs to be preached constantly in the Church and not about what may or may not be definitive signs of the end times.
Speak of preparation - not prediction.
Then - no matter whether the Lord comes to us, or we go to him through corporeal death, we will be prepared and we will be able to see Him as He is, our Loving Lord and King.

Peace
James
 
I think it is always terribly exciting to think about the Second Coming. The reality is we all have our own apocalypse over the course of our lives. To avoid getting caught up in the possibility of an anti-Christ, it would be helpful to acknowledge the many anti-Christs in our lives. Money, distraction from prayer, independence from the corporate worship, self-righteousness, self-reliance.

I often want to get carried away, and no doubt because my in laws are always chatting about the rapture. But the reality is that focusing always on the Cross is the surest path.
 
Just for drill I’m reading Tim LaHaye’s “Left Behind” book though I know why we disagree with The Rapture so that’s no big deal to me.

I did have a thought this morning though. I’d have to say that we Catholics really are the “Tribulation Force” that he talks about in this series. The fact is that since there will not be a “pre-tribulation rapture”, all believers will be. I believe that we faithful Catholics will be the best prepared of all.👍

BTW the homily at the Cathedral yesterday was all about our anticipation and expectation of both Christmas and ultimately of Christ’s 2nd coming which is what the Gospel reading was about anyway. It was http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h244/corona_stellarum/Smilies/awesomesmiley.gif
 
mikekle said:
Well, since the bible tell us many people, even the church leaders, will be fooled by this false prophet, this tell me this being is going to be able to put on a very good show, in order to convince so many people, he would have to! I think he will have powers that we cannot even begin to speculate about as well, and this will be all over youtube and the internet once he gets going, it will spread like wildfire, people will try to debunk what he is doing thru science and the experts will also be trying to explain it away, but they wont be able to.

I tend to think the truly faithful will ‘just know’ when they see or hear him speak, just like you get a certain feeling about people when we first meet them by the way they carry themselves, the way they speak, what they talk about, etc. I think it will be easy to spot him as being a fake…but ONLY for the truly faithful, all others will be fooled.
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The **two witnesses **have to come first! And the antichrist will kill them in Jerusalem… the Second Coming can not take please before this… therefore any one who claims to be Jesus is a false prophet, can not be any other way. And since the antichrist will kill the two witnesses, we will not have doubt of his origin!!

In the love of Christ and His Revelation,
Gloria
 
sidetrack said:
A

*I had " D’oh ! >_< " moment in my mind after when I thought about how ppl who aren’t Christ take away my sin all the time (I’m referring to priests who are being confessors).

Anyhow my question is how are you able to tell apart a false prophet claiming to be Christ form the true Lord?.Saying “you would be one already know what’s in my heart” before walking away and seeing if he’ll do anything about it? 🤷.
Click to expand...
From the example of St. Paul:

Galatians 1:18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.
Galatians 2:2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.

and from 1John 4… Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world……………6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

And ask him…do you want to follow what Christ said? Build on rock…the Catholic Church is built on Rock…the Rock of Peter.
 
Knowing the true or real Christ when he comes will be easy…upon the clouds of heaven in great glory.

But the witnesess are something else.

In one of the Gospels Jesus said that there will be giving and taking in marriage and other sins like in the days of Noah. We’re making great progress.
 
Nita said:
Mt. 24:30 then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the** Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory**;

Mark 13:26 And then they will see the Son of man **coming in clouds with great power and glory. **

Luke 21:27 And then they will see the Son of man **coming in a cloud with power and great glory. **
Click to expand...
This is exactly the answer! Jesus will be coming to raise people from their graves and He will destroy the Antichrist and the False Prophet and their armies. The false-christs and false prophets seek followers and persecute the saints, Christ will come and will be raising the saints from the graves and taking those saints who are still living at the time, there will be no discerning Him nor time to do it,
 
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