Revelation 13 The False Prophet

Revelation 13  The False Prophet

¹¹ Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.¹² He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.¹³ He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.¹⁴ And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.¹⁵ And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.¹⁶ And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,¹⁷ and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.¹⁸ Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

 

 

Join us on Tuesday nights in person or on zoom as we discuss these questions from Revelation 13.

 

 

Why is "deception" the best way to describe the work of Satan? Where do you see this in Scripture?

What other words could be used to describe Satan's tactics?

What parallels do you see between the description of the false prophet in this chapter and false teaching that is spread today?

The false prophet looks like a lamb but talks like a dragon. What role does speech play in revealing what's in our hearts?

How does a unified world religion help Satan accomplish his goals? What is required of religious truth claims for all faiths to unite?

What passages of Scripture point to the exclusive claims of Christianity? How would you explain to someone why biblical Christianity cannot endorse the validity and equality of all faiths?

Why aren't miracles alone enough to prove the validity of a person or event? From the biblical perspective, what else must be present to confirm that something is of God?

In this passage the image seems to come alive, giving apparent validity to the idolatry. Discuss how sin often gives the appearance of validity and reality that it cannot deliver.

Discuss some of the bad ways to interpret the number of the beast. What do these miss about what John is trying to tell us?

In contrast to the mark of the beast, what is the mark God places on His people?

 

 

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Revelation 13 introduces us to the False Prophet who supports the purposes and plans of the Antichrist, the first beast that we are introduced to in Chapter 13 of Revelation. One Beast arises from the Sea, the gentile nations, this beast arises from the earth, probably in contrast representing Israel.

We can't know for sure how the false prophet will be introduced to the world or what his path to notoriety will be. We also don't know the identity of this coming world religious leader, but we do know what he will be like, what he will do, and what will happen to him in the end.

All of this information is given to us in the Word of God, especially in Revelation 13. Here we learn about the false prophet's profile, purpose, power, program, and ultimately, his punishment.

His Profile

¹¹I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.

John describes this religious leader as a "beast coming up out of the earth,"

Out of the earth contrasts out of the Sea of 13:1. Out of the sea referred to the Gentile nations. Then it is quite likely that this beast out of the earth is someone coming by contrast from the nation of Israel. He is a man, and he is called "the false prophet" three times in the book of Revelation (16:13; 19:20; 20:10).

Two animals are mentioned here: a lamb and a dragon. As a lamb, he will appear meek and mild -a counterfeit of the Lord Jesus. He will seem humble and self-effacing. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15; see also Matthew 24:11, 24; Mark 13:22; 1 John 4:1).

As a Lamb, but in his heart, a dragon!! As a dragon, the false prophet will manipulate and deceive the masses. "The dynamic appeal of the false prophet will lie in his skill in combining political expediency with religious passion, self-interest with benevolent philanthropy, lofty sentiment with blatant sophistry, moral platitude with unbridled self-indulgence. His arguments will be subtle, convincing, and appealing. His oratory will be hypnotic, for he will be able to move the masses to tears or whip them into a frenzy. . . . His deadly appeal will lie in the fact that what he says will sound so right, so sensible, so exactly what unregenerate men have always wanted to hear." John Phillips, Exploring Revelation (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2001), 171

Donald Grey Barnhouse says, "The devil is making his last and greatest effort, a furious effort, to gain power and establish his kingdom upon the earth. He knows nothing better than to imitate God. Since God has succeeded by means of an incarnation and then by means of the work of the Holy Spirit, the devil will work by means of an incarnation in Antichrist and by an unholy spirit." Donald Grey Barnhouse, Revelation: An Expository Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971), 240.

Just as Satan counterfeits God the Father; the Antichrist counterfeits God the Son; the false prophet counterfeits God the Holy Spirit. 

"Satan's final rebellion will be waged relentlessly. To fight this great battle against God and his people, he parodies the Holy Trinity and establishes his own false trinity: the dragon (himself), the beast from the sea (the Antichrist), and the beast from the earth or false prophet (the religious leader of the movement). The dragon uses these creatures to gain control of both the governmental and religious apparatus, creating both a one-world government (with the Antichrist as "king of kings") and a one-world religion (with the Antichrist as idol of the world). This combination of political and religious control is the core of the absolute power of the false trinity over the nations. This has always been Satan's method, from the Egyptians in Moses' time to the Babylonians and Persians of Daniel's day to the Romans of John's day to the Nazis and Stalin in the twentieth century. The people of God have always been both persecuted and led astray into idolatry and immorality by the same evil forces (Rev 2:14,20). In other words, the material here about the final Antichrist also fits the many "antichrists" that have preceded, of both the political and the religious variety.

The first beast gains control by parodying Christ's death and resurrection but in a far more public forum. When he returns from the dead, his associate, the false prophet, will use the event to forge a new world religion with the beast, and behind him the dragon (13:3-4,12), as its focus. . . . Again, this tendency for world leaders to arrogate to themselves divine powers and to pretend that their actions are answerable to no one (note the "lawless one" of 2 Thess. 2:3-4) is seen everywhere today as well. The message of 13:5-8,14-15 is critical. Though the beast and his followers believed their "authority" had been given by Satan (13:2), it is clear that the ultimate authority had come from God. The blasphemous names (13:5-6), the worship of the nations (13:7b-8), the power to perform miracles and deceive (13:14-15), and even the persecution of the saints (13:7a) happened only because God allowed it. There is no true power in evil. God is in firm control, and it can do no more than its part of the divine will... At the end of history, the Antichrist will control the economics of the world. Nothing will be bought or sold without his "mark," and many "Christians" will capitulate to the pressure (the "great apostasy" of Matt. 24:4-5 and 2 Thess. 2:3). But that also is seen today, where the idol of too many Christians is the dollar sign and so many in our churches put economic success ahead of following God. . . .

The passage describes [then] the final "tribulation period" of history, when the beast/antichrist comes to power and the second beast/false prophet becomes the prime minister, or high priest, of the evil empire, forcing the world to make a choice between Christ and the beast. After the Antichrist is assassinated and comes back to life, the false prophet will erect a statue and bring it to life, thus inaugurating the period when every person will either accept the "mark" or die. It will become a capital crime to refuse to participate in the universal worship of the beast. While at the present period in history it seems unthinkable that such a state of affairs could occur, we must remember that we are only seventy years removed from the rise of Hitler and Stalin, and it is pure arrogance to think something similar could not happen again. If anyone could solve the terrorist crisis, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the unrest in Africa and bring peace to our troubled world, people would rush to worship such a person. (Grant Osborne Revelation, 507–8, 522)

 

His Purpose

¹²He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Just as the Holy Spirit has one main objective —to glorify the Son —so the false prophet has one objective: to cause people to worship the Antichrist. "As Christ received authority from the Father (Matthew 11:27), so Antichrist receives authority from the dragon (Revelation 13:4), and as the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ (John 16:14), so the false prophet glorifies the Antichrist (Revelation 13:12)." Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation: The New International Commentary on the New Testament, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 255.

The false prophet will be a religious figure, but his religion will be demonic. His goal will be to unite the world around the Antichrist.

His goal of unifying all religions will show no respect to the distinctives of each religion. He will attempt to blend them all into One, the worship of the Antichrist in the temple.

W. A. Criswell writes, "I do not suppose that in the history of mankind, it has ever been possible to rule without religious approbation and devotion. . . . In the days of Pharaoh, when Moses and Aaron stood before the sovereign of Egypt, he called in Jannis and Jambres, the magicians, the religionists of his day, to oppose Jehovah. When Balak, the king of Moab, sought to destroy Israel, he hired the services of Baalim to curse Israel. . . . Ahab and Jezebel were able to do what they did in Israel, in the debauchery of the kingdom, because they were abetted and assisted by the prophets of Baal." W. A. Criswell, Expository Sermons on Revelation, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1962), 115.

His Power

^13-14He performs great signs . . . in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast.

Not everything that appears to be a miracle is a miracle. And not everything that is a miracle is a miracle from God. That is true today, and it will clearly be true during the reign of the antichrist. Our text tells us that the false prophet "performs great signs." This same phrase is used for the miracles of Jesus in John 2:11,23 and 6:21. The false prophet is also something of a false Christ. (Daniel Akin Christ-centred Exposition of Revelation).

 

The power of the false prophet will not be his own. It will be given to him by the Antichrist, who himself is empowered by the Dragon, or Satan. Scripture documents this fact clearly, telling us five times in Revelation 13:2-8 that the power of the Antichrist comes from the devil himself. And then, three times in Revelation 13:12-15, we are told that the Antichrist gives his power to the false prophet: "He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. . . . He deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast. . . . He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast."

These statements make it clear that the power of the Antichrist and the power of the false prophet originate with the Dragon, Satan. All the false prophet's power will be demonic. And if there's any doubt left about his ability to perform miracles, let's consider these words from Jesus: "False christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand" (Matthew 24:24-25).

HE WILL CALL DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN

 "He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men" (Revelation 13:13). God has often revealed Himself and His judgment through fire. He called down fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah as a result of the people's wickedness (Genesis 19:24). Fire came down from heaven and consumed Nadab and Abihu for their carelessness in the Tabernacle (Leviticus 10:1-2). And the end of Revelation records that one day God will destroy Satan's army with fire from heaven (Revelation 20:7-9).

When the false prophet calls down fire, he is attempting to mimic God.

Here he duplicates the miracle of Elijah (1 Kgs 18:28; see Mal 3:5-6) and the two witnesses (Rev 11:5). The spectacular nature of these miracles mesmerizes and deceives the earth dwellers. Amazingly, they reject the true fire of 11:5 for a false fire in 13:14. (Akin).

False prophets lead people away from the Lord Jesus Christ. That is their goal. They substitute something else (perhaps religious activities, legalistic bullying) for the Lord Jesus Christ.

HE WILL COMMAND THAT AN IMAGE BE BUILT

The false prophet's miracles, performed through the great occult power granted him, will achieve their intended effect by luring the masses into idolatry and convincing people to build a giant statue in honor of the Antichrist —what John describes as "an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived" (Revelation 13:14). This idol will become the center of false worship until the end of the Tribulation.

Through Satanic and demonic enablement, the statue will come to life and speak (Osborne, Revelation, 515–16).

The image is mentioned four times in Revelation 13: once in verse 14 and three times in verse 15. It is mentioned six more times in the rest of the book (14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4).

The image of the Beast is evidently what the Lord Jesus had in mind when He gave His Olivet discourse: "When you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place . . . then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. . . . For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matthew 24:15-16, 21).

In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul also describes this moment: "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

 

HE WILL CAUSE THE IMAGE TO BREATHE AND SPEAK

After the false prophet erects the statue of the Antichrist in the most sacred area of the newly constructed Jewish Temple, he will then "give breath to the image . . . that the image of the beast should . . . speak" (Revelation 13:15).

His Program

^16-17He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

The false prophet will wear two hats. Not only will he be the world's religious leader, but he will also become the Antichrist's economic czar. After displaying his power through the image of the Beast, he will move to set up a comprehensive economic program. He will demand that everyone accept the mark of the Beast or be banned from all business transactions.

Now this would have seemed far-fetched were it not for the current "cancel culture".  I think we have noted how the media and individuals with strong voices have abused the Prime Minister this last week. It is almost "if we don't like you we will make your life hell!" And that hell will be that those who do not comply with the dominant religious and economic view will not be able to do business any more. We have seen venues closed and people sued when they have not agreed with someone's politicization of a political pressure group. If you want to comply with your moral values, that will not be respected in these coming years. Particularly when the False Prophet reigns.

He will be marking his followers on the forehead in an attempt to seal his people to the unholy trinity.  We saw that QANTAS last year made it mandatory for all of their workers to promote the rainbow flag on their uniforms. Those who wouldn't comply with their leader's directives for moral, or for individual reasons were sacked.  "No one will be able to shop at the mall, eat at a restaurant, fill up at gas stations, pay bills, buy groceries, get prescriptions filled, pay to get the lawn mowed, or pay the mortgage without the mark of the Beast. It's the Tribulation trademark." Mark Hitchcock, The End: A Complete Overview of Bible Prophecy and the End of Days (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2012), 275.

The word for "mark" in Greek is charagma, and it is used eight times in the book of Revelation in reference to the mark of the Beast. The mark of the Beast allows its bearers to conduct their affairs. And it also indicates that the one wearing it is a worshiper of the Beast who submits to his rule.

Identification with the Beast. He will force people to become identified with the Beast by a mark that they must receive on their foreheads or right hands. The word "mark"means an impress made by a stamp, like a brand used on slaves and animals. People will become slaves of the Beast and have the identifying mark of their slavery. Without it they cannot buy or sell.

What will this mark be like? Verse 17 indicates that it will be either the name of the Beast or the number of his name (v. 17). Greek letters also stand for numbers. The number is further explained in verse 18 as 666. Evidently, people will be stamped with the number 666 or the name for which those numbers stand. In that coming day this will also be a means of identifying the Beast to those who constitute the godly remnant.

Many characters in history have been identified with the number 666, but all are mistaken. When this man arises on the scene of world affairs, there will be no mistake as to who he is, and in some way, unknown now, the number 666 will play a principal part in the identification.

While no one can say for certain what the mark of the Beast will be, it is not the covid vaccine. It will be something that is not done accidentally.  Just as under the Roman Emperor Domitian, the people who take the Mark of the Beast will do so willingly and knowingly understanding what they are doing.

Revelation 13:18 "Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666."

There have been countless theories about the meaning of the number 666 over the centuries. The Mark of the Beast, the"Antichrist" has been somehow applied to almost every prominent leader from the Pope to Hitler, to the Italian wartime dictator Mussolini, to American presidents or Kissinger. This last week I saw on the Sunrise show how a Jewish man is the strongest advocate for the religiously unifying role of Pope Francis.

John Wesley said: "However, in many respects, the Pope has an indisputable claim to those titles. He is, in an emphatical sense, the man of sin, as he increases all [4] manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled, the son of perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers, destroyed innumerable souls, and will himself perish everlastingly. He it is that opposeth himself to the emperor, once his rightful sovereign; and that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped. Commanding angels, and putting kings under his feet, both of whom are called gods in scripture; claiming the highest power, the highest honour; suffering himself, not once only, to be styled God or vice-God. Indeed no less is implied in his ordinary title, 'Most Holy Lord', or, 'Most Holy Father', so that he sitteth - Enthroned. In the temple of God. Mentioned Rev. 11:1. Declaring himself that he is God - claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone." "The offering of Christ, once made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifice of masses, in the which it is commonly said that the priest doth offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, is a blasphemous fable and a dangerous deceit."

It is this role of promoting the false religion of the Antichrist that is the real issue.

The bottom line is that no one currently really knows what 666 means.

Some claim that all of this was fulfilled in the first century of the church.

Walvoord notes "First, the book of Revelation was written in A.D. 95, after the reign of Nero was already over, (*as validated by the early church fathers particularly two of John's immediate disciples inserted by me Steve Grose). Therefore, it can't be a prophecy about him. Nero never fulfilled the numerous clear statements in Revelation 13 about worldwide worship, the mark of the beast, and never had a person like the beast out of the earth supporting him. Third, in order for Nero's name to equal 666, one must use the precise title Neron Caesar. No other form of his name will work. Moreover, there is an abbreviated form of the name Domitian (the Roman Caesar from A.D. 81–96) that also equals 666.5 Fourth, if the relationship of 666 to Nero is so obvious, as preterists claim, why did it take almost five hundred years after Nero's death for anyone to make this connection between his name and 666? All of the early church fathers who wrote after the time of Nero adopted a futurist view of the beast out of the sea and the number 666."

It could be that, six is the number for human beings. People were created on the sixth day, and they are to work six of seven days. A Hebrew could not be a slave for more than six years.

In the book of Revelation, which is more properly titled "the Revelation of Jesus Christ," the number seven is used more than fifty times. There are seven churches, seven Spirits, seven candlesticks, seven stars, seven lamps, seven seals, seven horns, seven eyes, seven trumpets, seven thunders, seven heads, seven crowns, seven angels, seven plagues, seven bowls, seven mountains, seven kings, seven beatitudes, seven years of judgment, seven letters to the seven churches, seven "I am" statements of Christ, and seven songs in heaven. Seven is God's number, the number of completeness. But six is the number for humans, the number of incompleteness.

¹⁸ Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

I guess when these things happen those who are wise in that time period will identify him by his number. It may be something like in Daniel 12  "seal up these things" until they happen.

"What is portrayed is a tremendous union in which capital and labor are both subject to the control and direction of one man. Anyone who is outside that vast combination will be ruthlessly boycotted: no one will work for him or employ him; no one will purchase his produce or sell goods to him. . . . Bankruptcy and starvation face such a man." Fredk A. Tatford, Prophecy's Last Word: An Exposition of the Revelation (London: Pickering & Ingles, 1947), 154.

His Punishment

I am glad I can look at the last pages of this book to know how it will all work out. Though the Beast on the Sea, the AntiChrist, and his wonderworking henchman the False Prophet are empowered by Satan, God is still the ruler of this world yet.

REVELATION 19:20 The beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.

In spite of the power and control the false prophet will exercise during the Tribulation, his doom is sealed. He will be "cast alive into the lake of fire." Those who take the mark of the Beast will not do so well either. Revelation 16:1-2 details "a foul and loathsome" sore that comes upon them. Revelation 14:10-11 says they will "drink of the wine of the wrath of God" and "shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angel and in the presence of the Lamb . . . forever and ever."

While it may appear that those who take the mark of the Beast are simply doing what they have to do to protect themselves and their families, they will be judged for identifying with the satanic evil of the false prophet. But what about those who refuse to take the mark?

Their refusal will seem like a death wish, but what seems like death will in reality result in everlasting life: "I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years" (Revelation 20:4).

What seems like foolishness to the world will prove to be wisdom, for these martyrs will have heeded the words of Jesus: "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).

The false prophet will come with power and influence, deceiving many and causing widespread destruction through his plan of economic domination. But his days are numbered. While he may taste limited success as a counterfeiter, he is no match for the original. The false prophet will be allowed to spread evil during the Tribulation, but God is merely biding His time. One day God's justice will prevail, and the false prophet will meet his fiery end.

Evil people have used political, religious, and economic threats to enforce their will upon their subjects from time immemorial. Thus, we should not find it surprising that these same forces will be used one more time, more effectively than ever. The challenge for us is to remember that these threats to genuine Christian living face us. We should not be so intent on trying to identify who the Antichrist will be that we forget that the dragon is already at work. He likes nothing more than to deceive the world's people using all the political, religious, and economic forces that he can. When he loses persons to the Lamb's side, he will use those same forces to attack them. Easley

Sources: Commentaries on Revelation by:

Akin

Easley

Walvoord

Ryle

Osbourne

Phillips

Barnhouse

Criswell

Hitchcock

Book By David Jeremiah Agent of the Apocalypse