The False Prophet
Revelation 13:11-18
I. OVERVIEW OF THE FALSE PROPHET
A. Satan's two primary goals in his war against God’s people (Revelation 12-13). The new developments of Satan’s
End-Time strategy are seen for the first time in Scripture. Most of the Book of Revelation is not a revelation of Satan’s role
but God’s. Thus, Revelation 12-13 is rare and helpful insight into Satan’s role in the End-Times. The ten-nation
confederation, worldwide worship movement, miracles and demonic preaching is in Daniel but not the False Prophet,
image, head wound and mark (economic sanctions).
1. First, he will raise up a worship (and prayer) movement in which the Antichrist will be worshipped and obeyed many
people worldwide (Revelation 13:4, 8, 12, 15). This worship movement will cause the people in the kingdom of darkness
to have a deep heart connect with Satan. This will be the most power, passionate and dangerous time in world history.
2. Second, he will seek to destroy the Jewish people so that remnant of Israel cannot invite Jesus back to Jerusalem
to rule them as their Messiah King (Matthew 23:37-39; Revelation 12:13-17). He will seek to kill Christians who stand with
God’s purposes for Israel.
B. Satan's two primary strategies in achieving his goals will be to give his power to the Antichrist and the False
Prophet, the two beasts that John saw coming against Israel (Revelation 13:1, 11). The False Prophet will be the
Antichrist’s propaganda minister (public relations) who will publicize the Antichrist’s “greatness” as he speaks for him.
He will present himself as “Elijah” who will come and prepare the way of the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6).
C. They will both give “demonically anointed” messages (prophetic preaching) that will be confirmed by demonic
signs and wonders to mobilize their worship and prayer movement. We gain insight their “powerful” public speaking by
seeing the example of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels, his minister of propaganda (Public Relations) in Nazi Germany.
They both powerfully moved the masses to tears, then to fanatical commitment to Hitler.
D. The False Prophet’s two primary strategies to mobilize and finance the Antichrist’s global worship movement will be
the image of the Beast and the mark of the Beast (Revelation 13:13-18). The image will be used to mobilize the
Antichrist’s worshippers and penalize those who resist. It will combine technology with demonic activity. The mark will
provide economic support for the Antichrist’s worship movement and economic oppression against these who resist him.
E. The False Prophet will be a real person not merely a representation of a false religious system, philosophy or
influence. Every aspect of his career in Scripture calls for a real person. We ignore the prophetic details of Scripture
by failing to recognize an individual personality. For example, the False Prophet is cast alive into the Lake of Fire. A
religious system cannot be cast into fire. All prophets, true or false in Scripture have been individual persons.
II. OVERVIEW OF THE FALSE PROPHET’S CAREER (REVELATION 13:11-18)
11 Then I saw another beast (False Prophet) coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke
like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first Beast (Antichrist) in his presence, and causes the earth
and those who dwell in it to worship the first Beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that
he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the
earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the Beast (Antichrist), telling those who dwell on the earth
to make an image to the Beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the
image of the Beast, that the image of the Beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of
the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their
right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the
Beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the Beast,
for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. (Revelation 13:11-18)
A. Overview of the False Prophet’s career (Revelation 13:11-18)
Revelation 13:11 His nature (beastly); power (Satan), sphere of activity (religion/economics);
deception (lamb-like); origin (demonic)
Revelation 13:12 He mobilizes the worldwide worship movement
Revelation 13:13-14b His great miracles (fire falling from heaven)
Revelation 13:14b-15b Image of the Beast (breathing, thinking, talking)
Revelation 13:15c Legislation to imprison and kill resisters
Revelation 13:16-17 Mark of the Beast (economic sanctions and monopolies)
Revelation 13:18 The need for God’s wisdom
B. Summary: five major trends in the False Prophet’s activity (Revelation 13:11-17) include:
1). Demonically empowered public messages (Revelation 13:11-12)
2). Demonic miracles (Revelation 13:13-14)
3). Worldwide economic oppression (Revelation 13:15)
4). Martyrdom of the resisters that he captures (Revelation 13:16-17)
5). Legislation that allows him to be unrestricted in his persecution and oppression (Revelation 13:15)
C. The False Prophet and many false prophets will prophesy by demonic power as a counterfeit to the true End-Time
prophetic movement (Elijah, Two Witnesses, Rev. 10 messengers). Worship and intercession as well as “supernatural
prophetic” preaching in both kingdoms will come to their highest levels in history. This will be the most dramatic and
dangerous time in history.
17 I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy…19 I will show wonders…20
before the great and awesome day of the LORD. (Acts 2:17-20)
5 I will send Elijah the prophet before the…great and dreadful day of the LORD. (Malachi 4:5)
3 I will give power to my Two Witnesses, and they will prophesy 1,260 days…6 These have power to shut heaven…in
the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues,
as often as they desire. (Revelation 11:3-6)
III. FALSE PROPHET: HIS NATURE, POWER, SPHERE OF ACTIVITY, ORIGIN (REVELATION 13:11)
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
(Revelation 13:11)
A. The two horns represent the False Prophet’s power. His two horns probably refer to him having authority over two
large areas of international life such as religion and economics (Revelation 17-18) or two regions since the Antichrist’s
10 horns (Revelation 13:1) represent his 10-nation confederation.
B. He will appear as a lamb as he deceitfully presents himself as being as mild and gentle as a lamb. He will hide
behind a public façade of being as harmless as a lamb. He will not come to power in context to wining a war or by military
might but as a spiritual teacher (not as a political ruler or a military hero). His effectiveness is found in his appearance
of kindness and domesticity.
C. He will speak like a dragon (Satan; Revelation 12:3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17; 13:2, 4, 16:13; 20:2). This refers to the
power, agenda and intelligence of his speeches. He will speak with intelligence and powerful demonic inspiration as he
establishes the Antichrist’s evil agenda in the nations.
D. The False Prophet is called “another beast” to clearly reveal that even though he will present himself as a lamb,
he will have the same beastly cruel nature as the Antichrist. He is not called the False Prophet in Revelation 13, but is in
the other 3 references to him (Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:10).
E. The False Prophet will come up out of the earth. “Coming up” portrays a gradual ascendancy as a world leader. He
will come up out of the earth in contrast to the Antichrist who is the “Beast who arises from the sea” or in context to the
political agitation in the nations (Revelation 13:1).
F. The earth represents that which is more settled and firm in society (than the sea). This may point to religious
systems which are more firm than political ones. Coming up from the earth may refer to him coming to power in context
to unifying the established world religions.
G. Coming up out of the earth probably also means coming up from the under-world of demons (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6).
The Antichrist and the False Prophet are empowered from the demonic realm. This gives insight into why neither of them
die but are cast alive into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20). To ascend out of the earth may refer to coming up from the
bottomless pit as the Antichrist does (Revelation 11:7; 17:8). The bottomless pit is not infinite in size. Rather both ends of
it function as an entrance, thus, it has no bottom (Revelation 9:1-2, 11; 11:7; 17:8, 11; 20:1, 3).
H. The spirit of Samuel visited the witch of Endor when he ascended "out of the earth".
13 The woman said to Saul, "I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth." (1 Samuel 28:13)
I. David prophetically described a man as "the evil man" (Psalm 10:15) or “the man of the earth” (Psalm 10:18) who
will be destroyed by King Jesus when all the Gentile nations in the land of Israel perish (Psalm 10:16). David’s description
of him as "the man of the earth" means a specific man.
IV. THE FALSE PROPHET MOBILIZES A WORLDWIDE WORSHIP MOVEMENT (REVELATION 13:12)
12 He exercises all the authority of the first Beast (Antichrist) in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell
in it to worship the first Beast, whose deadly wound was healed. (Revelation 13:12)
A. The False Prophet’s primary goal is to raise up a worldwide worship movement in which Satan and the Antichrist
are worshipped (Revelation 13:4, 8, 12, 15).
B. The False Prophet will exercise all the authority of the Antichrist. John emphasized three times that the False
Prophet will work miracles in the Antichrist’s presence (Revelation 13:12, 14; 19:20). This may refer to being under the
watchful eye (scrutiny) of the Antichrist. The leaders in the Nazi high command hated and mistrusted each other. The
same is true of the demonic realm.
14 He deceives…by signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the Beast... (Revelation 13:14)
20 The False Prophet who worked signs in his presence… (Revelation 19:20)
V. THE FALSE PROPHET’S GREAT MIRACLES (REVELATION 13:13-14A)
13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And
deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs… (Revelation 13:13-14a)
A. The False Prophet will perform great signs (plural) that will be great in power as well as great in significance and
deception (Revelation 16:14; 19:20; 13:14; Matthew 24:11, 24; Mark 13:22; 2 Thessalonians 2:9).
B. The False Prophet will call down fire as a counterfeit Elijah who called fire down from heaven in his “clash of power”
with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:38; 2 Kings 1:10-12). The False Prophet will have a clash of power with the Two
Witnesses who will call fire from heaven (Revelation 11:5).
C. False prophets often give accurate prophetic words. How can we discern false prophets and miracles? They seek
to turn people from obeying Jesus. The premier issue is not in the power of the gifting (accuracy) but in its fruit (whether i
t motivates people to worship and obey Jesus).
24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
(Matthew 24:24)
15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will
know them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:15-16)
D. Why will God allow great miracles? To test His people to see if they will love and obey God.
1 If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the
wonder comes to pass…saying, 'Let us go after other gods…3 You shall not listen to the words of that prophet…for the
LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart…5 But that prophet…
shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God…to entice you from
the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5)
VI. THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST WHO BREATHES AND SPEAKS (REVELATION 13:12, 14B-15B)
A. The False Prophet will tell people to make an image that is associated with the Antichrist. He was granted power
(permission by God to use Satan’s authority) to give breath to the image or to give it a false “appearance” of life. The
image of the Beast will speak, thus, it will appear to “think freely” (it will do this by demonic spirits).
12 And he (False Prophet)…causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first Beast…14 And he deceives
those who dwell on the earth by those signs…telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the Beast…15
He was granted power to give breath to the image of the Beast, that the image of the Beast should both speak and cause
as many as would not worship the image of the Beast to be killed. (Revelation 13:12, 14-15)
B. The image of the Beast will be an idol of the Antichrist’s that will combine cutting edge technology and supernatural
demonic elements causing this image to breathe and speak.
C. The image may be a high-tech hologram that looks and sounds like the Antichrist.
D. The False Prophet will tell the leaders in the nations to make an image to the Antichrist. I believe that many local
leaders will have a duplicate image of the Antichrist that will be demonically and technologically connected to the “primary”
image in Jerusalem. The result will be a global network of local “Antichrist worship sanctuaries” that may include high-tech
images (holograms?) of the Antichrist. These “worship sanctuaries” may provide false prophecies.
E. I believe the image will speak to the people in personal ways by prophesying by demonic power about private
matters. It may relate to dreams or private conversations with a deceased person (séance) as a counterfeit to the End-
Time worship and prophetic movement (Acts 2:17-21).
VII. THE FALSE PROPHET’S LEGISLATION TO IMPRISON AND KILL (REVELATION 13:15C)
15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the Beast, that the image of the Beast should both speak and
cause as many as would not worship the image of the Beast to be killed. (Revelation 13:15)
A. The False Prophet will cause (command) all the nations to worship the Antichrist as God. All will be required by
law to worship the Antichrist. The False Prophet will have full power to make law resulting in the “Church (religion) and
State” being fully joined in an evil way.
B. As the image speaks it will establish new legislation that legalizes murder of all who refuse to worship the Antichrist.
They will be seen as enemies of the state. The nations will see the image establishing laws in a supernatural way and
thus, will conclude that these laws are from God.
C. “As many as” refers to those who are captured. Many who refuse to worship the Antichrist will be out of the reach
of the False Prophet as they hide and as God supernaturally protects them (Revelation 12:6, 14, 16).
VIII. MARK OF THE BEAST: ECONOMIC SANCTIONS (REVELATION 13:16-17)
16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their
foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the Beast, or the number of
his name. (Revelation 13:16-17)
A. The False Prophet will cause all to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead so as to make it obvious to all
(Revelation 13:8; 17:8; 14:9-12; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4). Thus, this mark will force one to declare their true position with
the Antichrist publicly and on a daily basis. Those will take the mark who become demonized and reprobate.
B. To refuse the mark will result in being cut off from all life support systems in society. No one will be able to buy or
sell (food, gas, electricity, do business, etc.) without this mark. It will be essential for economic survival. The Church will
thrive in this time as God releases miracles.
C. The False Prophet will cause all the small and great (military status; Revelation 6:15; 19:18), rich and poor (economic
status) and free and slave (social status) to receive the Antichrist’s mark.
D. The False Prophet will be a very skillful administrator and an economic strategist. He will have absolute loyalty
to the Antichrist and his agenda. The False Prophet is the strict enforcer of the mark of the Beast economic system. He
will have great zeal, intelligence, and credibility along with the political authority to follow through (Revelation 13:11).
IX. GOD WILL HELP HIS PEOPLE
A. The False Prophet will surely be defeated and manifest as false as he is sent to the Lake of Fire.
20 The Beast was captured, and with him the False Prophet…these two were cast alive into the Lake of Fire burning with
brimstone. (Revelation 19:20)
B. God will supernaturally deliver His people in the wilderness (Ezekiel 20:35; Revelation 12:13-17).
I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into
darkness…before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. 32 And it shall come to pass that whoever
calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the
LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:30-32)
C. God will expose the False Prophet’s deception in his use of the mark to those who seek wisdom.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the Beast, for it is the number of a man: His
number is 666. (Revelation 13:18)
D. By the prophetic Scriptures, God has already informed His people of the deceptive nature of the image and the
mark with its 666 economic system and the Antichrist’s mortal head wound, etc. God will send Elijah, the Two Witnesses,
the Rev. 10 messengers along with a global outpouring of the Spirit which includes the true prophetic anointing
(Acts 2:17-21).