⁹ This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.

²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

²⁰ And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

⁴⁸ Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?”

² You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.^[a] He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.

³ But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.

²² For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

A Warning against Idolatry

13 ^[a]“Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, ² and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before—

¹⁰ Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.