False Messengers of Truth
13 "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 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.”
Before Satan tries to deceive a group of people, he often will try to deceive one other person first. He often convinces that person that God has chosen them to give the truth to, all the other religions have it wrong. The person Satan often chooses is someone who already has reasons for not trusting organized churches anyway. He sometimes convinces them that they have been chosen to be God’s Savior for the world, they are the Messiah.
7 Examples of Satan's False Messengers:
1. Charles Taze Russell
Founded in 1879 by Charles Taze Russell, later headed by Judge Joseph F. Rutherford. Russell was called the “Faithful and discreet servant” (good and faithful servant). Later after his death this was changed to represent the Watchtower Society and was reinterpreted to mean the “Faithful and discreet slave-class.” The Watchtower Society claims to be God’s “Prophet” or mouthpiece in this age.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses are told to obey unquestionably the Society. By the way, they are not true Jehovah’s Witnesses, they are “Russellites.” Proverbs14:25 says, “A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.” The Russellites have made over 100 prophecies that never came true. According to Deuteronomy 18:22 that makes them a false prophet.
2. Joseph Smith
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)
Founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith Jr. - split in 1844. Smith claimed that God the Father and Jesus Christ came down, in the flesh, and told him that all the other churches were wrong. God sent a prophet in the latter days to give us the truth.
3. L. Ron Hubbard
Founded about 1950 by L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard claims to have found the spiritual technology to dispense the one “true way” to man. L. Ron Hubbard a.k.a Frater H claimed to be a contactee of the Nordic aliens. Nordic aliens are supposedly humanoid aliens that come from the stellar systems surrounding the Pleiades stars.
4. Sun Myung Moon
Founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon. Members believe that Jesus bows down to Sun Myung Moon and that Moon is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Lamb of God.
5. The Pope & The Roman Catholic Church
Started to take its present form under Constantine in the 4th century. The Pope is supposed to be God’s representative on earth and has the authority to change doctrine. Many doctrinal changes have come about in the Catholic Church because of an appearance of the Virgin Mary, or by an angel.
6. William Miller – Ellen G. White
Founded in the 1840’s by William Miller, a Baptist minister, who predicted Christ’s return on March 21, 1843; then March 21, 1844; then Oct. 22, 1844. He supposedly saw the 4th Commandment under a rock in heaven. They claim the Mark of the Beast is worshipping on Sunday and not Saturday.
7. Herbert W. Armstrong
Armstrong’s premise is that all of traditional Christianity and all Christian leaders have been deceived since the first century, but that God raised him up in the “end time” to restore the original truth. He supports his contention by labeling the Bible a “coded book” that no one since the first century could understand until “our day in this latter half of the twentieth century,” when God revealed the answers to him. In this way, Armstrong sets himself up as the only conduit to God’s truth, so that failure to heed him is failure to heed God’s word.
A UFO Cult
The International Raëlian Movement has been described as "the largest UFO religion in the world." Claude Vorilhon, their leader, now known as RAEL, was born on September 30, 1946 in Vichy, France. He claims he had a visitor from another planet on December 13, 1973.
Vorilhon stated:
“For example, in the Biblical account of the creation in Genesis, the word Elohim has been mistranslated as the singular word God. It is actually a plural word meaning ‘those who came from the sky.’”
“I am addressing myself respectfully to you in behalf of Rael the … Messenger of our Creators, the Elohim, to request officially a piece of land on Israeli soil where we can establish an embassy, the Embassy of the Elohim, also known as the Third Temple.”
Galatians 1:8-9
8 But though we (an apostle), or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”