Sorry to disagree, but that is not the way NASA sees it:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/fe...grav_lens.html
Quote:
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For our discussion, let us imagine we have a quasar. If there is nothing between it and us, we see one image of the quasar. Yet, if a massive galaxy (or cluster of galaxies) is blocking the direct view to the quasar, the light will be bent by the gravitational field around the galaxy [see figure below]. This is called "gravitational lensing," since the gravity of the intervening galaxy acts like a lens to redirect the light rays. But rather than creating a single image of the quasar, the gravitational lens creates multiple images.
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If it were as you say it is, why would they even introduce the intermediate galaxy?