The Antichrist’s right hand man, or the third person in the
unholy trinity as many scholars refer to him, is known in the Bible as the False
Prophet. It is easy to look past this figure in the Scriptures or let the
magnitude of the Antichrist over shadow this other beast, but we mustn’t gloss
over this figure. Under and with the authority of the Antichrist, he will be the
implementer and enforcer of much of the evil that will be brought about by Satan
using these two men.
One commentator notes:
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. He will control the
communication media of the world and will skillfully organize mass publicity to
promote his ends. He will be the master of every promotional device and public
relations gimmick. He will manage the truth with guile beyond words, bending it,
twisting it, and distorting it. Public opinion will be his command. He will mold
world thought and shape human opinion like so much potter’s clay. His deadly
appeal will lie in the fact that what he says will sound so right, so sensible,
so exactly what unregenerate man has always wanted to hear.
Along with John’s vision of the beast that is the
Antichrist, John saw another beast (Revelation 13:11) who is later identified as the False Prophet
(Revelation 19:20). In the midst of the world wide chaos, the
false prophet will use his authority and power to perform unusual signs,
deceiving people into false hope and into worshiping an image of the Antichrist
(Revelation 13:12-14). Those who refuse to worship the
Antichrist will be killed (Revelation 13:15). After the rapture the world’s economy will
crash. The False Prophet along with the Antichrist will stabilize it with strict
control over who can buy and sell. Every man, woman, and child will receive a
mark, without which one cannot participate. This will lead to great suffering
for those who refuse it. The mark will either be “the name of the beast or the
number of his name…666” (Revelation 13:17-18)
What we know about this man
1) Many scholars believe he will be Jewish because John says he
comes up “out of the earth” rather than the sea. In
the Bible, the sea is used to refer to the gentile people and nations while the
earth (also figs, fig trees, and trees) is used to refer to the Jews and the
nation of Israel.
2) “He had two horns like a lamb”. The
Lord Jesus Christ is often referred to in the Gospels (Book of Mathew, Mark,
Luke, and John) and in the book of Revelation as “The Lamb of
God”. As such, he has taken away the sin of the world (for those who
accept his free gift of salvation).
The False Prophet's arrival on the earth will look like a lamb
with two horns. Lambs do not have horns, which are symbols of authority. Lambs
are meek and mild animals. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “
Watch out for false prophets. They come to like lambs but inwardly
they are ferocious wolves” (
Matthew 7:15). The False Prophet will come to Israel in
sheep’s clothing, but God terms him a “
Beast”.
3) “
He spoke like a dragon” tells us
he will derive power of speech from Satan who is the dragon. This False Prophet
will then deceive people by acting like a lamb, but he will really speak the
words of Satan. Satan is not against religion. He is however against a personal
faith in and relationship with Jesus Christ. Therefore, the False Prophet will
most likely be one of the chief spokesmen in the Holy Land for the ecumenical
power described in
Revelation 17.
4) “He exercised all the authority of the
first best on his behalf” The False Prophet will be given power from the
Antichrist.
5) “He made the earth and all of its
inhabitants worship the first beast” the False Prophet’s basic purpose
and operation (with power from the antichrist and the power of speech from
Satan) will be to drive people to worship the Antichrist.
No false teacher from past to present has possessed the
supernatural powers that the False Prophet will have. During the Tribulation
period the Antichrist and the False Prophet will have the power to perform
“
counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders” (
2 Thessalonians 2:9). It does not come as any surprise that
the False Prophet will be able to reproduce every thing that the two witnesses
sent by God (described in
Revelation 11) will be able to do.
The Mark of the Beast
The apostle John foretold that the Antichrist (the Beast) will
be assassinated with a wound to the head or neck and then satanically
resurrected at the midpoint of the seven-year long Tribulation period (See our article on the Antichrist for more information).
During the first three and a half years of the tribulation period, the
Antichrist will present himself to the world as a messiah figure who is an
economic, political, and military genius. However, after this resurrection, he
will claim to be God. The False Prophet will then demand that everyone on earth
worship the resurrected Antichrist as God by taking his mark.
Revelation 13:12
“And he
exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth
and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was
healed”
During the time of Great Tribulation, people will still need to
buy and sell to earn a living for their families and themselves. The Antichrist
and the False Prophet will strike their most severe and horrific blow at the
level of basic necessities. The False Prophet will institute the Mark of the
Beast which will be a system associated with the number 666. If you do not take
the mark of the beast you will be killed.
The book of Revelation describes a cashless society in the last
days. In order to buy or sell, it will be necessary to possess a certain number
(666) which is the Mark and Number of the Beast (the Antichrist).
Revelation 13:16-18He also
forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a
mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell
unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his
name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number
of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.
This was an astonishing and improbable prophecy when John
proclaimed it in the first century. Think that’s still just not possible? The US
government in World War II used a rationing system for food and other items. It
was not enough to have money sufficient enough to pay for an item. It did not
matter how much money you had, if you didn’t have the stamps you couldn’t
purchase the item.
How could one number be the key to allow a person to transact
business, to obtain commodities, or to complete any financial transactions?
Today, not only is it possible, it’s easy to implement and the technology is
already in use. Already North Americans live in a 97% cashless society. Less
than 3 percent of the money in our economy exists as either paper currency or
coin. John, in the book of Revelation, prophesies that the number 666 will be
placed beneath the skin of people on the right hand or on the forehead as a way
to enforce people’s allegiance to the Antichrist as their God and to control
people throughout the Antichrist’s world empire.
The new VeriChip, a beneath-the-skin radio frequency chip,
can be implanted beneath the skin and contain comprehensive information about an
individual. This chip together with a GPS locator system will allow any
interested party or institution not only to locate an individual but to identify
a person with his financial, medical, and even criminal records.
If you find yourself at this time period, having missed the
Rapture, you must not take this mark. All who take this mark will be lost to God
forever. This point cannot be stressed enough!
Revelation 14:9-119 Then another angel,
a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the
beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with
fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the
Lamb.
11 "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever;
they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and
whoever receives the mark of his name."
Life to the Image
Part of the deception perpetrated by the False Prophet will be
his power to give life to the “image of the beast” (
Revelation 13:15). The Bible uses the word
eikon
(“icon”) for “image”. It means a representation derived from a prototype or a
“perfect likeness”. It looks like the real thing but it isn’t.
Some time after the midway point of Tribulation, after the
Antichrist has been slain and resurrected, the False Prophet will have an image
of the Antichrist created and demand that it be worshiped (If you do not, you
will be killed
Revelation 20:4). By some mysterious means, unknown in the
previous history of the world, he will give life to the image. What
characteristics it will have we are not told. Possibly the characteristic it
will manifest is the ability to speak and interact. With the technology of
today, that is certainly possible, even easy to-do. Mix in with that, close
circuit video monitoring and GPS tracking via the mark of the beast, authorities
will certainly know if you are or aren’t worshiping these “images”.
We do not know exactly how the False Prophet will do this, but
looking at the current technology in place right now, its not hard to see the
possibilities. A company named LM3Labs has created an interactive hologram
technology named Air Strike. In watching their demonstration of it, it is not
hard at all to use your mind’s eye and see the false prophet standing in front
of the screen and bringing the hologram of the Antichrist to life:
The Antichrist and the False Prophet will be judged by
God
Daniel tells us “
ten thousand times ten
thousand stood before him: the judgment was set…. I beheld even till the beast
[the antichrist] was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning
flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away;
yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time." (
7:10-12)
Some Bible commentators have suggested that Daniel's vision of
judgment refers to the Great White Throne Judgment. However, the scripture
evidence rules out this conclusion. (
Revelation 20) confirms that the Great White Throne Judgment
will involve the individual judgment of all unrepentant sinners and will occur
in Heaven at the end of the thousand year Millennium Reign. In Daniel’s
prophecy, he mentions judgments that will be pronounced by God. These judgments
are the judgments of the Gentile nations for their treatment of the Jewish
people throughout history, as well as the tribulation period. Jesus foretold
that this judgment will occur on earth following the battle of Armageddon and
Christ’s establishment of the kingdom of God on earth (
Matthew 25:31-46).
The final judgment of the Antichrist and the False Prophet
(which will occur after the battle of Armageddon) is to be the first ones thrown
into the lake of fire (
Revelation 19:11-21). Keep in mind, that Satan and all those
who have rejected Jesus throughout all time, will not enter the lake of fire
until the Great White Thrown judgment which won’t occur until after the
Millennial Reign of Christ (1,000 years) ends (
Revelation 20) which will then be followed by a new Heaven and
new Earth (
Revelation 21).
Conclusion
There are more events surrounding and involving the False
Prophet than what we’ve covered in this article (namely, the one world false
religion). The scope of these and other events require their own article to
fully cover them. What we’ve tried to do here, is to cover the main biblical
aspects involving this person and give greater detail about events in other
articles.
What is important to know here is that this person, the False
Prophet, will be working under and in conjunction with the Antichrist to bring
about the evil desires of Satan. Never forget though, the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords is, was, and forever will be in complete control. Nothing Satan does
will happen without the permission of God.
