Behold the False Prophet

In revelation we are introduced to not one, but two beasts. One from the sea, one from the earth. These two beasts are different or distinct from one another, but they are also the same. In Revelation 12 we met the “dragon” that is Satan. In Revelation 13:1 we meet the “beast out of the sea” this is the antichrist. The sea refers to the nations around the Mediterranean Sea, it is symbolic of the gentile nations. This indicates that the antichrist will be a gentile world leader that will, at first, bring peace to Israel, but at the mid-point of the trib will be indwelt by Satan and will bring persecution on them.

Some have suggested that this cannot be. They claim that Jews, not even apostate Jews, would believe that a gentile could be their Messiah. That is probably true if this man acted alone. In Revelation 12:11 we are introduced to “another beast” - the word “another” here does not men “new” in kind, but rather has the idea of being “another of the same character, same nature, same substance.” This beast comes out of the earth. Interesting, the symbolism here is the “earth” means land, or the region. Most likely the second beast in Rev. 13 will rise up out of the land of Palestine, and he will be a Jew. This will give credence to the first beast’s Messiahship and will lead many to follow Him.

My friends in the absence of the church, the true witness of God on this planet, a false church will appear. We will meet her in chapter 17, but suffice it to say that man is incurably religious. For a time the antichrist will allow the false church to exist and to lead people astray, but at the half-way point of the tribulation he will no longer tolerate her false teaching and will instead, through the ministry of the second beast, the false prophet, will promote his own religion, leading millions to rebel against the apostate church, and to persecute Israel and the people of God.

Today we meet this second beast, the third and final member of this “unholy trinity” headed by Satan - anti-God, the beast from the sea - “antichrist”, and the beast from the earth, the false prophet who is “anti-Holy Spirit”. Remember anti means both to oppose and to be in place of.

This world we are living in today is ripe and ready for this beast to appear. Someone who will offer them the religion they desire, but not the relationship they need. The reason people reject God today is because His holy nature demands they change for Him.

What will the religion of Beast worship look like? It will be a religion of...

False Peace v. 1

The second beast is said to have “two horns like a lamb”

A lamb. Not “THE Lamb”. Big difference.

The semblance of a lamb suggests that in contrast to the first beast who is a military/political leader, this beast will be mild in comparison. We might go so far as to say that his presence will be a necessary “counter balance” to the aggression of the first beast.

However, you will notice this is a false peace.

He looks like a lamb, but he speaks as a dragon. This beast may look different from the first, but he answers to the same authority. In fact he receives his power from Satan himself, something we will look at in a moment.

Church all through the New Testament we are told to be on guard against wolves dressed as sheep, but in the closing days of the tribulation there will be a dragon in sheep’s clothing that will lead the world away from God.

The first beast will be the political leader, the second beast the religious leader. How can he represent peace while there is such persecution and killing going on? How can some declare Islam to be a religion of peace while suicide bombers are killing themselves and innocent people today? How do they justify those two differences? By claiming that the only way to have peace is by killing those who stand against them.

Church, this religion will spread because the peace if offers will be obtained only by the destruction of those who have a testimony for standing for God’s Word. If you think there are not millions of people today that would willingly follow this religion you are sadly mistaken.

Look at the opposition to God, the Bible, and Christianity that we are facing today! Someone shared with me last week that 1 out of three pastors hold a biblical world view. That’s bad, but listen to this, only 7/8 youth pastors lack a biblical world view…those that we trust to lead and instruct our children are setting up an entire generation to follow this false prophet’s message of “false peace”. When biblical Christianity is made to be the villain the world will jump at the first person to lead them against it. In Revelation 13:11, they will have their man.

Not only will his be a religion of false peace, but it will be compounded by...

False Worship v. 12-15

Satan is the great deceiver. Since his pride led him to rebel against God there is but one thing he has always wanted: To be worshiped as a god.

As we saw last week he will have his shining moment in the last half of the tribulation period. What good is a religion without a priest? That is where the false prophet comes in, he will act as the prophet and the priest.

When the first beast is seemingly killed and resurrected it will be the false prophet that will lead in his worship. He will stand and declare the beast to be the Messiah of Israel and the savior of the world. He will lead millions away from God to the new religion of “beast worship” and he will be successful. How will he be so successful? By giving people what they want through a series of miracles.

Church, Satan is capable of many great wonders today. He is capable of drawing people away from God by offering them a religion based on sight and experience, instead of faith and trust. In the tribulation he will be no different. Look at Revelation 13:12-13

Revelation 13:12–13 KJV 1900

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. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

He leads them away by:

Miracles v. 13

Rev. 13:13 “13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,”

“wonders” = miracle

This is a truth lost on many today

We think that only God can work a miracle

That is not true, Satan is capable of supernatural power as well

However, his miracles will be short lived, and founded on pride

Look at the number of “faith healers” today and in our past

Who gets the credit when someone is healed at their meetings, not God, but themselves

Who gets blamed when a healing doesn’t occur…not them, but the one seeking the miracle, they are shamed by their lack of faith

Why would Satan heal someone? To take the glory away from God

The false prophet will be able to call down fire from heaven

In Revelation 11 we met two witnesses that could do this

It is no surprise that Satan would mimic this power

Remember in Exodus when Moses cast down his rod and it turned into a serpent?

Two of Pharaoh's priests did the same miracle, no doubt empowered by Satan

God prevailed then just like He does in Revelation 11 when He shows His power is greater.

His miracles aid in his...

Deception v. 12, 14

Rev. 13:12 “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.”

Again we see mention of the supposed death and resurrection of the first beast.

I am convinced that this is only a mimic of both death and resurrection since power over life belongs to God alone

However, as we have already seen, Satan is a liar and a deceiver

Many suggest that the seeming resurrection in Rev. 13 is the strong delusion mention in 2 Thess. 2. While I believe the strong delusion happens immediately after the rapture, the events at the last half of the Trib. will not doubt be a carryover

The false prophet has all the “Power” or authority of the first beast and uses it to decieve and lead many in the worhsip of the beast.

Rev. 13:14-15 “14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”

Through deception he lead the world to construct an image of the beast

The Greek word is “icon”

It will be a statue, or a resemblence, or, for lack of a better word, an idol.

He will have power to give “life” to this image

the word means literally breath.

It will be able to speak, but not just speak, to talk, to carry on a conversation

This will not be some animatronic carnival mechanism like you find at Disney World

This will be an image that truly seems to live and breath.

I cannot help but wonder today if this will be accomplished through Artificial intelligence somehow?

No one has a sufficent explanation for this imagery, but it will be this “miracle” will be the catalyst that will lead many to worship the image of the beast.

Not only will he lead them away by miracles and deception, but also by...

Force v. 15b

Anyone who will not worship the beast will be killed.

The possibility of death is a terrific motivator for those who lack faith in God.

Nearly 2600 years ago there were three young Hebrew men who face a similar situation.

A statue of the great king, Nebuchadnezzar had been built. The king demanded that worship be made to the image, and anyone who would not bow to the image would be cast alive into a fiery furnace.

Church, when the music played and these three Hebrews refused to bow, they literally stood out among the crowd. You know what happened, but the history of persecution does not end there.

Our history is a history of martyrs.

Men and women who refused to bow to Caesar, to idols, to recant their faith in the Word of God

All of this combined will not be a drop in the bucket to the amount of persecution awaiting the future tribulation saints.

You, know, that is sad truth right there. Today there are many who hear the gospel and reject it. They hear of the rapture and say “Ill wait to see if the rapture happens, and then I’ll get saved.” First, you don’t even have a promise that will be possible. You are not promised to live to see the rapture, and if you did you are not promised that you will survive the first half of the trib, but let’s suppose you did. It will not be any easier to be a Christian in those days than it is now. If I wasn’t sure about my soul’s eternal destination, I would be taking care of that today.

The false prophet leads a religion of false peace, false worship, and offers a...

False Hope v. 16-18

Here we come to the most enigmatic portion of Rev. 13. The mark of the beast.

The pinnacle of beast worship will be that his followers will all be sealed with his mark. Similar to Revelation 7:2-3

Revelation 7:2–3 KJV 1900

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

Satan is a thief, and a liar. He mimics God in a cruel way. The seal of God will be holy, but the mark of the beast will be evil and cruel.

The word “mark” has the idea of a cattle brand. This mark will be permanently etched into the skin of their forehead or their right hand. I believe it will be a visible mark, that will distinguish them from those who do not take it. It will be impossible to hide and to duplicate. It will set them apart from the rest of the world.

What will it be exactly? We do not know. Revelation 13:17 “17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” The number we know will be 666, which is, for lack of better explanation, perfect imperfection. It is the best Satan can do.

For years it’s been supposed it will be a UPC “bar code” that is scannable. We are living in a day of technology that this will be unnecessary.

A few weeks ago we were in Whole Foods in Greensboro. While we were checking out I noticed a new device next to the card reader. Amazon, who owns Whole Foods, now allows you to connect your Amazon account and credit card information to this device which scans your palm print. Forget your wallet? No problem. Simply scan your hand.

I’m not saying that this device is the mark, but we’re getting closer.

This mark, and those who take it are signifying to the world that they belong to Satan. Rev. 14:9-11

Revelation 14:9–11 KJV 1900

9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall 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 ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Those who take the mark are condemning their souls to hell for eternity.

Conclusion:

There is a day coming in which a lie will reign over the earth. Your only inoculation against this coming day is to believe the truth today. Satan offers today an easy religion, that offers no change, no commitment to anyone but yourself. The truth is that if sin paid its wages instantly, no one would fall for his lies.

Still, the wages of sin is death, eternal separation from God, but the gift of God, given to you freely, is eternal life offered to you by the death of Jesus in your place.

You say, “How do I receive the gift of God?” First, by understanding you are a sinner who needs to be forgiven. By putting your faith in the fact that Jesus died for you, and asking Him to forgive you. If you will do that right now, He will save you.

Let’s bow for prayer...

Is there one here that would say, “Pastor, I don’t know that I’m saved, I’m not sure where I will spend eternity, but I want to know more about it.” Would you raise your hand? If that is you today as stand to sing will you come forward?