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THE FALSE 13:11-18

(Main Idea of the Text) John described how Satan will use False Prophet during the to coerce people to worship and serve him.

(Main Idea of this Study) Satan has continually sent out false to deceive, coerce others so they will serve him.

I. The False Prophet will be a deceiver (11a). • Then I saw-"and I saw," marks another new scene in the vision that John had been observing since 12:1 (cf. v. 1). • another beast-in Greek, “another of the same kind.” This beast is similar, but not the same as the one described in vv. 1-10. In Revelation 16:13; 19:20; and 20:10, from the earth is called “the false prophet.” The dragon or Satan is the counterfeit Father (“I will be like the Most High”), “the beast” is the counterfeit Christ, and the false prophet is the counterfeit Holy Spirit. This completes the satanic trinity. • coming up out of the earth-"coming up," i.e., rising to prominence, "out of the earth." The Greek word translated "earth" refers to the land, in contrast to the sea (v. 1). Some see Palestine as the “earth” from which this beast comes but that requires much to be read into the text. • and he had two horns like a lamb-“He had” is an imperfect tense, “he continued to have” and it denotes an on-going condition. Only two horns, not ten like the first, verse 1. The image of the horns suggests that the false prophet has power like animals who have horns. But the absence of a crown indicates that his authority is not political.

II. The False Prophet will speak the words of Satan (11b). • and spoke like a dragon-The previous verses (1-10) explained that the dragon is Satan himself. The false prophet will be Satan’s mouthpiece and thus his message will be like the dragon, Satan who is the source of all false . 2 Corinthians 11:14: And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

III. The False Prophet will promote false worship of the (12). • he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence-The false prophet exercises the same kind of satanic power as Antichrist because he is empowered by the same source. He will represent "the first beast" by acting as his prophet. • causes-used 8 times of him. • to worship the first beast-He will lead ("makes the earth and those who dwell in it to") "worship the first beast," evidently as the leader of a worldwide religious movement that involves a form of emperor-divinity worship or

Outline courtesy of Dr. Daniel Akin. Wednesday evening, April 7, 2021. personality . This will be a satanic counterfeit of the Holy Spirit's ministry of pointing people to Christ. Compare the ministries of Moses and Aaron, and the Lord and Elijah. The false prophet will be Antichrist's effective agent in directing the persecution of believers. This will be a satanic counterfeit of the Holy Spirit's ministry of pointing people to Christ. • whose deadly wound was healed-This wound was first mentioned in verse 3. The reference to the first beast's "fatal wound" being "healed" highlights another counterfeit impersonation, this one of Christ, who rose from the dead. Unbelievers will worship the beast because he will have done a similar thing.

IV. The False Prophet will use to deceive the world (13-14). • He performs great signs-“Performs” is a PRESENT TENSE VERB which means he continues to perform wonders. It was expected that the end-time false teachers would be able to do the miraculous and lead even the elect astray. :24: For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 2 Thessalonians 2:9–11: The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie. • so that he even makes fire come down from heaven-The same God wrought at the hands of Elijah in 1 Kings 18 and the in 11:8. It may refer to fire that fell as a judgment of God in Ezek. 38:22 or 39:6. This may be another imitation of God’s OT acts or of Pentecost. Ezekiel 38:22: And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. • he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs-Many will be deceived. • which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast-There might be a combination of natural and supernatural powers to enable the beast out of the earth to accomplish his purpose. It apparently was quite convincing to people and induced them to worship the image. 2 Thessalonians 2:4: 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. • telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast-This refers to replication of Antichrist that is related to the throne he will erect during the abomination of desolation, halfway into the Tribulation period. This will happen in the Jerusalem temple when Antichrist abolishes the former false world religion and seeks to have people worship him alone as God.

Outline courtesy of Dr. Daniel Akin. Wednesday evening, April 7, 2021. V. The False Prophet will persecute those who follow the Lamb (15). • He was granted power-“was granted” is a passive voice underscoring the fact that false prophet was granted power from outside of himself. • to give breath to the image of the beast-Since idols “have mouths but cannot speak,” the impression that the first beast’s image has breath and might even speak may simply be another hoax, one with which it deceives those who dwell on the earth. This may be an animatron or even a hologram. Psalm 115:4-5: Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; • should both speak-The image will "speak," and will put to death ("cause … to be killed") those "who do not worship [the image of] the beast" (cf. Dan. 3:11), possibly by issuing commands for executions. • cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed- Those who refuse to worship the symbol of the state, whether bowing to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (Daniel 3) or burning incense to the Roman emperor, will be slain.

VI. The False Prophet will mark those who worship the Antichrist (16-17). • small and great, rich and poor, free and slave-John is essentially saying every class of person. We should probably interpret "all" to mean all classes, rather than all individuals, since John mentioned six classes ("small," "great," "rich," "poor," "free," "slaves") of people: two social, two economic, and two cultural groups. However, taken together, these three groups comprise the entire population. • to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads-This branding of unbelievers corresponds to the sealing of God's servants in chapter 7. It probably will begin early in the Great Tribulation shortly after the sealing of the 144,000. Those who receive this mark will do so willingly. The Greek word implies an animal brand or a seal on a governmental document. Because of the location of the sign, some have thought that it was a perversion of a Jewish phylactery (cf. Deut. 6:8). Others assume that it relates to the first century Roman culture, in which slaves were branded with their owner’s name or soldiers tattooed in honor of their general. Deuteronomy 6:8: You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. • no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark-Commerce will be limited to those who have received the mark. This will put more pressure on the world where natural disasters are occurring at a great rate. • or the name of the beast, or the number of his name-The beast (Antichrist) will have a name inherent in a numbering system. It is not clear from the text exactly what this name and number system will be or what its significance will be.

Outline courtesy of Dr. Daniel Akin. Wednesday evening, April 7, 2021. VII. The False Prophet will lead the world to worship a mere man (18). • Here is wisdom-John indicated that it would take "wisdom" (Gr. sophia) to figure out ("calculate") "the ." This wisdom is the "understanding" and skill necessary to solve the riddle (cf. Dan. 9:22; 12:10). By identifying the beast's number, believers in the Tribulation will be able to recognize him for who he is. • Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast-“Calculate” is in the imperative mood so it is to be taken as a command. The verb means, “to count.” Ancient languages used the letters of their alphabets to also stand for numbers. As the Hebrew consonants of ’ name, the incarnation of God, adds up to 888, so the name of the beast, the end-time incarnation of Satan adds up to 666. Six is one less than the perfect number 7 (seven days of creation, seven days in a week make a complete week); repeated three times it forms a Hebrew superlative (cf. Isa. 6:3; Jer. 7:4). Isaiah 6:3: And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” • for it is the number of a man: His number is 666-This is the essential number of a man. The number 6 falls one short of God’s perfect number, 7, and thus represents human imperfection. Antichrist, the most powerful human the world will ever know, will still be a man, i.e., a 6. The ultimate in human and demonic power is a 6, not perfect, as God is. The 3-fold repetition of the number is intended to reiterate and underscore man’s identity. Scores of theories have been put forth in the last 2,000 years regarding who the false prophet is or would be: o Roman emperor o Pope o Roman Catholic Church o Nero o Hitler o Social Security cards o Barcodes o computers o Taxi license plates in Israel start with 666 o Ronald Wilson Reagan o Barack Obama

Outline courtesy of Dr. Daniel Akin. Wednesday evening, April 7, 2021. COMPARISON OF THE TWO BEASTS IN REVELATION 13 First Beast Second Beast Antichrist False Prophet Rises from the sea (13:1) Rises from the earth (13:11) Seven heads with blasphemous names One head (13:1, 3) (13:11) Ten horns with crowns (13:1) Two horns like a lamb (13:11) Authority given to him by the dragon Exercises authority over the first beast (13:2) (13:12) The whole earth worships the dragon Causes people to worship the first beast because of the beast (13:3-4) (13:12) Speaks blasphemies against God for 42 Performs amazing signs to deceive the months or 3 ½ years (13:5-6) whole world into worshiping the first beast’s image (13:13-15) Makes war with the saints and for a time Forces the world to receive the mark of overcomes them (13:7) the beast or suffer severe persecution (13:16-17) (Chart courtesy of Dr. Daniel Akin via Chuck Swindoll.)

Outline courtesy of Dr. Daniel Akin. Wednesday evening, April 7, 2021.