John,

             It is true, yet the LORD himself doesn’t do the deceiving:

 

I Kings 22:20 And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.

21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.

22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.

23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

 

The deceiving was actually done by a lying spirit, as it is impossible for God to lie.

A similar thing happened regarding the numbering of Israel:

 

II Samuel 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.

 

However, it wasn’t the LORD that actually did the deed, to get David to number Israel:

 

I Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

 

It was the devil, who actually did what he did to get David to number Israel.

A similar thing happens to gather the kings of the earth to Armageddon:

 

Revelation 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

 

The deceiving spirits that come out of the mouth of the dragon, beast, and false prophet.

They do devilish miracles in order to gather the kings.

In line 14 it says “they” do it to gather, but in line 16 it says “he” gathered them.

It goes from speaking about “they”, the three unclean spirits, to “he”, God Almighty.

 

                          Gino