Studies in Revelation: The False Prophet

In the Satanic trinity there is Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet.

¹¹ Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. ¹² It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. ¹³ And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. ¹⁴ Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. ¹⁵ The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. ¹⁶ It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. (Revelation 13:11-17, NIV)

The first beast is the Antichrist, the man of sin or lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:3), the ruler of the people to come (Daniel 9:27). He comes from the sea. The second beast John sees is the False Prophet, so called later in 16:13;19:20;20:10. Kind of like the Holy Spirit draws attention to Jesus, the Son (John 14:26;15:26;16:12-14), so the False Prophet draws attention to the Antichrist. He seems lamb-like, but he is a dragon.

He gets all authority from the Antichrist and purposes to make all the earth worship the Antichrist. Like the sorcerers and magicians of Egypt (Exodus 7), the False Prophet is able to perform signs or miracles “on behalf of” the Antichrist, in order to deceive people about the worship of the Antichrist. How he does this, we aren’t told (Paul says the Antichrist “will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles” 2 Thessalonians 2:9). His greatest “miracle” is the animation of an image made in honor of the Antichrist. He gives breath to this image and enables it to speak. The only ones deceived by his miracles are those who receive the mark of the Antichrist (Revelation 19:20). This deception is sovereignly caused by God (2 Thessalonians 2:11).

Where is this image located? It would make sense if it is set up in some public place so that all could see it and see it animated. But there is a possibility that it is set up in the temple in Jerusalem. This could the “abomination that makes desolate” (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15). Or it could be the Antichrist himself sitting in the temple and receiving worship (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Both would be desecrations of the temple.

It is the False Prophet who initiates the receiving of the mark of the Antichrist as a condition for being able to buy and sell. And he has authority to kill anyone who does not worship the Antichrist. He too is demon possessed (Revelation 16:19) and committed to the agenda of Satan and the Antichrist. He will share their fate, the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20; 20:10).