The False Prophet
Revelation • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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INTRODUCTION
For the last two weeks, we talked about the Beast from the Sea.
Review Questions:
QUESTION: Who is the Beast from the Sea?
The Antichrist
Most likely including all those in history with the spirit of the antichrist (1 John 4:3)
Nero
Hitler
but certainly including a final individual known as THE ANTICHRIST
QUESTION: How do we know this section must include a future evil antichrist figure?
(v 7) he will rule over every nation and no one has ever done that
Caesar demanded worship
Hitler tried to conquer the world but failed
No one in history has ever ruled the entire world, so we have yet to see this one who is coming
1 John 2:18 “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.”
QUESTION: What characterizes the ministry of the antichrist?
Blasphemies
Persecution
World power
QUESTION: What is the primary address to the saints who experience these things?
Persevere
Be willing to die rather than betray Jesus
Tonight we are going to talk about the False Prophet
Whereas the Antichrist is primarily about world power, world rule ever every nation, a political agenda
The false prophet will be the religious leader of this movement. He will coincide with the antichrist to conquer the world
We now have three Satanic figures mimicking the Holy Trinity
The dragon
The Antichrist
The False Prophet
Lets start in Rev 13:11
“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.”
How do we know this beast is The False Prophet?
Revelation 19:20 “And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.”
His description
two horns like a lamb
This refers to his false nature. An attempt to deceive people by being something that He is not
Jesus said, Matthew 7:15 ““Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
This will be the nature of the false prophet. One who portrays himself to be gentle and harmless such as a lamb
BUT, “he spoke as a dragon”
This is probably referring to his deceptive lying words.
Just like Satan is the father of lies, so this false prophet will utter lies
Revelation 13:12–14 “He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.”
He exercises all authority of the first beast
Notice the connection: Satan gives his authority to the first beast, the first beast then gives his authority to the second beast
I think the main thing to see here is the close connection between these two. But he is publicized and empowered by the Antichrist
One world leader promoting one world religion
He makes the world worship the first beast (Antichrist)
How will he do that?
By using the “fatal wound that was healed” to amaze people at the beasts power
QUESTION: Do you remember that we said one of the heads of the beast was fatally wounded in ch 13:4?
Here it says it was the beast himself who was fatally wounded “and come back to life”
It seems to me then, that the Antichrist himself will be fatally wounded and then come back to life
This false prophet will use that event to get the world to worship him
Remember that verse 3 said, “the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast”
He performs great signs
What will he do? Make fire come down from heaven.
Some think that this refers to what he will say
Luke 9:54 “When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?””
This refers to speaking God’s true words that convict sinners
It could also be taken more literally to mean actual fire of some sort coming down from the sky.
This is my understanding because it is called a “great sign”
Also Paul says, 2 Thessalonians 2:9 “that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,”
And Jesus says, Matthew 24:24 ““For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”
There will be supernatural signs that accompany this false prophet to enhance his authority
QUESTION: Why does God allow these miracles to mimic His supernatural power?
Principle: People who choose to reject truth make themselves susceptible to deception
Since these people refused to accept the truth and repent, God is just giving them what they wanted all along: falsehood and deception
He will do it then, and He does it now.
Romans 1:24–26 “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,”
If you wonder why the whole world has gone gay, it is because they rejected the Creator and God simply let them go to believe what they wanted to believe even though it is false
He leads the world into idolatry
Revelation 13:15 “And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”
Idols were more than just pieces of wood that people worshiped. They were carved in the shape of whatever god it was and they believed that those gods really inhabited those carved figures.
The idea is the same here: the false prophet will erect a statue of the Antichrist and breath life into it so that it will speak.
But not only will it speak, but cause those who do not worship it to be killed.
We are not told how execution would take place, but an example would be King Nebuchadnezzar who erected a gold statue and told them to worship it. Those who would not, were thrown into the fiery furnace.
Revelation 13:16–17 “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.”
He causes everyone to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead
The emphasis is on everyone: believer or unbeliever.
slave, feee, rich poor, popular, unpopular all people
Principle: Status really don’t matter in the Kingdom of God.
We are either in or we are out.
It doesn’t matter how popular you are, how many friends you have, how much money you have, there is saved and lost
And we should adopt this thinking. It is sinful to think otherwise.
What is this mark?
It is a counterfeit of the mark God gives to His servants in chapter 22.
Revelation 22:4 “they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.”
The word is also translated “stamp”
Most likely this “mark” is some kind of brand or tattoo that is placed upon people to identify them with the Antichrist
It is just about identifying with the Antichrist. It is wearing his name on the body to say that we belong to him
How does he enforce this marking?
No one can buy or sell without the mark. He uses economical power and control to enforce people to bow down to Satan.
People will go to the grocery store, and without the mark will not be able to buy groceries
They will go to pay their electric bills and no payments will be accepted without the mark
Believers will lose their jobs, homes, and possessions, but will be rewarded tremendously for their losses.
Mark 10:29–31 “Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.””
Application: I just want us to think about the sacrifice this Christian walk calls for.
People say salvation is free, Jesus is free, going to heaven is free, I would says it WILL cost you to follow Jesus.
It will cost you friends, it will cost you jobs, it will cost you your reputation, it will cost you the pleasures of this world, it will cost you time, it will cost…BUT what Jesus gives far surpasses any of those things we give up for Him
Let us never forget sacrifice is part of following Jesus
(v 18) “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”
His number has been applied to hundreds of people through the centuries.
And the number itself 666 has been repulsive by almost everyone today.
Notice what John says: “Here is wisdom, let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast”
This calls for wisdom to understand. We should not let our imaginations run wild.
Normal considerations for understanding the Bible suggest that any solution should:
be something that could have been understood by the author and his audience;
make sense of the text as we have it;
also account for any variant readings in different manuscripts (in this case, ‘616’);
be consistent with the use of language elsewhere in the book;
The solution now most widely accepted in academic circles was proposed in the early nineteenth century, apparently independently, by four German scholars. If you take the phrase ‘Nero Caesar’, write it in Greek and then transliterate it into Hebrew, its value is 666. The text of Revelation 13:18 does in fact suggest that we should calculate the number of ‘the beast’ and equate it with the number of a man. ‘Beast’ in Greek (therion), transliterated into Hebrew, also has the value 666.
There is one problem with this: Nero died in AD 68. John wrote Revelation in AD 95. So how does this refer to Nero?
Well, it refers to someone coming who has the same wicked Christian hating spirit as Nero. One who kills, persecutes, and is blood thirsty for the followers of Jesus.
