Today’s question is, “Who is the false prophet of the end times?”.
In this video I’ll answer that question from a biblical perspective.
Then afterwards, as always, I’ll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end.
The false prophet of the end times is described in Revelation 13:11-15.
He is also referred to as the “second beast” ( ). Together with the Antichrist and Satan,
who empowers both of them, the false prophet is the third party in the unholy trinity.
The apostle John describes this person and gives us clues to identifying him when he
shows up.
First, he comes out of the earth.
This could mean he comes up from the pit of hell with all the demonic powers of hell at
his command.
It could also mean he comes from lowly circumstances, secret and unknown until he bursts on the
world stage at the right hand of the Antichrist.
He is depicted as having horns like a lamb, while speaking like a dragon.
The horns on lambs are merely small bumps on their heads until the lamb grows into a
ram.
Rather than having the Antichrist’s multiplicity of heads and horns, showing his power and
might and fierceness, the false prophet comes like a lamb, winsomely, with persuasive words
that elicit sympathy and good will from others.
He may be an extraordinary preacher or orator whose demonically empowered words will deceive
the multitudes.
But he speaks like a dragon, which means his message is the message of a dragon.
Revelation 12:9 identifies the dragon as the devil and Satan.
Verse 12 gives us the false prophet’s mission on earth, which is to force humanity to worship
the Antichrist.
He has all the authority of the Antichrist because, like him, the false prophet is empowered
by Satan.
It is not clear whether people are forced to worship the Antichrist or whether they
are so enamored of these powerful beings that they fall for the deception and worship him
willingly.
The fact that the second beast uses miraculous signs and wonders, including fire from heaven,
to establish the credibility of both of them would seem to indicate that people will fall
before them in adoration of their power and message.
Verse 14 goes on to say the deception will be so great that the people will set up an
idol to the Antichrist, "the image of the beast," and worship it.
This is reminiscent of the huge golden image of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3) before which
all were to bow down and pay homage.
Revelation 14:9-11, however, describes the ghastly fate that awaits those who worship
the image of the Antichrist.
Those who survive the terrors of the tribulation to this point will be faced with two hard
choices.
Those who refuse to worship the image of the beast will be subject to death (Revelation
13:15), but those who do worship him will incur the wrath of God.
The image will be extraordinary in that it will be able to “speak.”
Whatever the image is (a statue? a hologram? an android? a human-animal hybrid? a clone?),
it will have some kind of ability to breathe forth the message of the Antichrist and the
false prophet.
Along with being the spokesman for them, the image will condemn to death those who refuse
to worship the unholy pair.
In our technological world, it is not hard to imagine such a scenario.
Whoever the false prophet turns out to be, the final world deception and the final apostasy
will be great, and the whole world will be caught up in it.
The deceivers and false teachers we see today are the forerunners of the Antichrist and
the false prophet, and we must not be deceived by them.
These false teachers abound, and they are moving us toward a final satanic kingdom.
We must faithfully proclaim the saving gospel of Jesus Christ and rescue the souls of men
and women from the coming disaster.
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