False Prophets and False Revivals

August 9 – 15, 2026

Key Text

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” Ephesians 5:6

Study Help: The Great Controversy, 471–478; Selected Messages, Book 2, 56–60

Introduction

“Delusions and deceptions will come in among us, and will multiply as we near the end.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, 952

Sunday

1 BEWARE!

1.a. Why must we examine the spirit of professed religious teachers rather than blindly accept or reject evidences? 1 John 4:1; Acts 7:51

Note: “In these days of peril we are not to accept everything that men bring to us as truth. As professed teachers from God come to us declaring that they have a message from God, it is proper to inquire carefully, How do we know that this is truth? Jesus has told us that ‘false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many.’ But we need not be deceived; for the word of God gives us a test whereby we may know what is truth. The prophet says, ‘To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.’ ” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, 951

1.b. What danger has always surrounded the people of God? Jeremiah 14:14; 23:21; 2 Peter 2:1

Note: “Christ foretold that the going forth of deceivers would be accompanied with more danger to His disciples than would persecution. … The effort of seducers has been to undermine confidence in the truth of God and to make it impossible to distinguish truth from error. Wonderfully pleasing, fanciful, scientific problems are introduced and urged upon the attention of the unwary; and unless believers are on their guard, the enemy, disguised as an angel of light, will lead them into false paths.” Evangelism, 359

Monday

2 MIRACULOUS HEALING

2.a. Through what means will Satan deceive many souls who have no background in the truth? 2 Kings 1:2; Acts 8:9–11

Note: “The apostles of nearly all forms of spiritism claim to have power to heal. They attribute this power to electricity, magnetism, the so-called ‘sympathetic remedies,’ or to latent forces within the mind of man. And there are not a few, even in this Christian age, who go to these healers, instead of trusting in the power of the living God and the skill of well qualified physicians. The mother, watching by the sickbed of her child, exclaims, ‘I can do no more. Is there no physician who has power to restore my child?’ She is told of the wonderful cures performed by some clairvoyant or magnetic healer, and she trusts her dear one to his charge, placing it as verily in the hand of Satan as if he were standing by her side. In many instances the future life of the child is controlled by a satanic power which it seems impossible to break.” Prophets and Kings, 211

2.b. What danger lies before those who are not anchored in Christ? 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10. What standard of righteousness is ignored by false prophets? Romans 8:4, 7

Note: “Many make great pretensions to holiness, and boast of the wonders they perform in healing the sick, when they do not regard this great standard of righteousness. But through whose power are these cures wrought? Are the eyes of either party opened to their transgressions of the law? and do they take their stand as humble, obedient children, ready to obey all of God’s requirements?” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, 1099

Tuesday

3 DISCERNING BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG

3.a. Before the Holy Spirit is poured out in fullness, how will Satan try to counterfeit the work of God? Matthew 7:22

Note: “Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out upon His children. At that time many will separate themselves from those churches in which the love of this world has supplanted love for God and His word. Many, both of ministers and people, will gladly accept those great truths which God has caused to be proclaimed at this time to prepare a people for the Lord’s second coming. The enemy of souls desires to hinder this work; and before the time for such a movement shall come, he will endeavor to prevent it by introducing a counterfeit. In those churches which he can bring under his deceptive power he will make it appear that God’s special blessing is poured out; there will be manifest what is thought to be great religious interest. Multitudes will exult that God is working marvelously for them, when the work is that of another spirit.” The Great Controversy, 464

3.b. What discernment do we need when faced by the confusion introduced by the enemy of souls? Hebrews 5:14. How does this relate to our health message and medical missionary work?

Note: “The way in which Christ worked was to preach the Word, and to relieve suffering by miraculous works of healing. But I am instructed that we cannot now work in this way, for Satan will exercise his power by working miracles. God’s servants today could not work by means of miracles, because spurious works of healing, claiming to be divine, will be wrought.

“For this reason, the Lord has marked out a way in which His people are to carry forward a work of physical healing, combined with the teaching of the word. Sanitariums are to be established, and with these institutions are to be connected workers who will carry forward genuine medical missionary work. Thus, a guarding influence is thrown around those who come to the sanitariums for treatment.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 54

Wednesday

4 “BY THEIR FRUITS”

4.a. Why will God’s remnant people not be deceived by modern revivals and spurious miracles? 1 Corinthians 12:10; Ephesians 1:17, 18

Note: “In many of the revivals which have occurred during the last half century, the same influences have been at work, to a greater or less degree, that will be manifest in the more extensive movements of the future. There is an emotional excitement, a mingling of the true with the false, that is well adapted to mislead. Yet none need be deceived. In the light of God’s word, it is not difficult to determine the nature of these movements. Wherever men neglect the testimony of the Bible, turning away from those plain, soul-testing truths which require self-denial and renunciation of the world, there we may be sure that God’s blessing is not bestowed.” The Great Controversy, 464

4.b. While we should avoid a judgmental spirit (Matthew 7:1, 2), what enables us to face Satan’s subtleties? Matthew 24:4; 1 John 2:3–5

Note: “In these days of delusion, everyone who is established in the truth will have to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. Every variety of error will be brought out in the mysterious working of Satan, which would, if it were possible, deceive the very elect, and turn them from the truth. There will be human wisdom to meet—the wisdom of learned men, who, as were the Pharisees, are teachers of the law of God, but do not obey the law themselves. There will be human ignorance and folly to meet in disconnected theories arrayed in new and fantastic dress—theories that it will be all the more difficult to meet because there is no reason in them.

“There will be false dreams and false visions, which have some truth, but lead away from the original faith. The Lord has given men a rule by which to detect them: ‘To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.’ (Isaiah 8:20) If they belittle the law of God, if they pay no heed to His will as revealed in the testimonies of His Spirit, they are deceivers. They are controlled by impulse and impressions, which they believe to be from the Holy Spirit, and consider more reliable than the Inspired Word. They claim that every thought and feeling is an impression of the Spirit; and when they are reasoned with out of the Scriptures, they declare that they have something more reliable. But while they think that they are led by the Spirit of God, they are in reality following an imagination wrought upon by Satan.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 98, 99

Thursday

5 THE GREATEST COUNTERFEIT

5.a. What will be the climax in Satan’s deceptions? Matthew 24:23

Note: “The conflict is not yet ended; and as we draw near the close of time, the battle waxes more intense. As the second appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ draws near, satanic agencies are moved from beneath. Satan will not only appear as a human being, but he will personate Jesus Christ; and the world that has rejected the truth will receive him as the Lord of lords and King of kings. He will exercise his power, and work upon the human imagination.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, 1105, 1106

5.b. In the final crisis, on what basis must we test every miracle, every claim, and every doctrine?
James 1:22–25; Isaiah 8:20

Note: “At every revival of God’s work the prince of evil is aroused to more intense activity; he is now putting forth his utmost efforts for a final struggle against Christ and His followers. The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures. By their testimony every statement and every miracle must be tested.” The Great Controversy, 593

Friday

REVIEW AND THOUGHT QUESTIONS

Why are we called to be on guard in these last days?
Explain the dangers of spiritistic and “New Age” health practitioners.
Describe the strategy which the enemy of souls is soon to unleash.
How can we discern between the miracles of God and those of Satan?
What is our only safeguard against Satan’s greatest delusion?