The Ultimate Imposter

The False Prophet will mimic the Lamb’s servants and sell the Beast from the Sea as the Lamb to the world – Revelation 13:11-18.

Jesus warned of coming deceivers - “false prophets” and “false messiahs” determined to hoodwink the “elect.” In the Book of Revelation, this satanic effort finds its ultimate expression in the “Beast from the Earth,” also called the “False Prophet.” He is a clever imitation of Christ’s true servants and is part of Satan’s final “war” against the people of the “Lamb.”

John saw this second “Beast ascending from the Earth” intent on tricking men into giving their allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea,” the Dragon’s surrogate. The first Beast was characterized by its political power; the “False Prophet”, by his ability to employ impressive “signs” and especially economic sanctions to punish everyone who refused to venerate the “Beast from the Sea.”

[Chameleon - Photo by Michael Held on Unsplash]

The “Inhabitants of the Earth” rendered homage to the “Beast from the Sea.” The “False Prophet” promoted political devotion to the Dragon’s representative and gave it concrete expression by encouraging men to erect an “image” of the “Beast” - (Revelation 13:4-8).

The first “Beast” had “Ten Heads” and “Seven Horns.” One of the “heads” appeared “slain unto death,” but its “death stroke” was healed (“I saw one of his heads as though it had been slain unto death”). A similar description was applied previously to the “Lamb” (“The Lamb was standing, as though it had been slain”). The “Beast from the Sea” was wounded “and lived,” just as Jesus “died and lived” - (ezésen - Revelation 2:8, 5:6, 13:3-4).

The point of the description is not whether the “head” only appeared slain, but that its death and restoration to life paralleled that of the “Lamb.” The restoration of the Beast’s “head” mimicked the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. This caused the “Inhabitants of the Earth” to give homage to it. Thus, the “Beast from the Sea” is a counterfeit of the Lamb and a chameleon - (Revelation 13:3-6).

Similarly, the “False Prophet” had two “horns like a lamb.” It also counterfeited the “Lamb” by imitating his true prophets. It had the power to summon fire from heaven, making it the satanic counterpart to the “Two Witnesses” who consumed their opponents with “fire from their mouth.”

FALSE PROPHET

The “False Prophet” employs religious devices to direct the “Inhabitants of the Earth” to erect an image of the first “Beast.” It used economic control to coerce others to participate in this idolatry, especially the “saints” who, like the three Jewish exiles in Babylon, refused to venerate the Beast’s “image” - (Daniel 3:13-14 – “O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, you serve not my god or worship the golden image that I have erected!”).

The attempts to deceive and coerce the followers of Jesus were anticipated in the letters to the Seven Churches of Asia when Jesus warned about “false apostles,” the “Nicolaitans,” the “prophetess Jezebel,” and the “teachings of Balaam.” The “Prophetess Jezebel” was an earlier manifestation of the “False Prophet” as are all false prophets.

The “Beast from the Earth” was active already in these first-century churches. The economic attacks by the “False Prophet” were reflected in the economic deprivations suffered by the congregation in Smyrna, for example - (Revelation 2:2-6, 2:14-15, 16:13, 19:20).

The stress in Revelation is on the use of religious deception by the “False Prophet” to seduce men into giving their allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea.” However, when coercion becomes necessary, his weapon of choice is economic sanctions.

The “False Prophet” in his activities imitated the “Lamb” and the Church’s efforts to spread the Gospel. He employed a counterfeit of the true faith to deceive men and cause them to swear allegiance to the first “Beast” rather than embrace the “Lamb.” He will show his true colors when he launches his vicious final assault against the People of the Lamb.

However, his real goal was to destroy the “saints,” either through deception, or more directly, economic deprivation and persecution. In such ways, he would suppress the “Word of their Testimony.” What Satan fears most is the Church completing its mission of proclaiming the gospel to all the Earth. When it does so, his fate will be sealed forever:

• “And when they have finished their Testimony, the Beast that ascended from the Abyss made war with them” – (Revelation 11:7).

• “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the Word of their Testimony” – (Revelation 12:11).

• “The Beast made war against the saints”- (Revelation 13:7).

• “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole habitable earth for a Testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” – Matthew 24:14).

The marginalized congregations of Asia would have recognized the pretensions and hubris of Rome in these visions, especially the demand to venerate Caesar. Local magistrates were pressuring citizens to participate in the imperial cult. What John saw in the future was also a present reality for the followers of Jesus.

If there is a lesson for us, we must note that the “Beast” and “False Prophet” will imitate the true faith to deceive the Church. They will mix religion with the political ideologies of this age along with idolizing the nation and especially the State. It will look and sound all too familiar and therefore appealing. They will direct us to give the allegiance that belongs to Jesus alone to someone or something else.

The best preventative medicine is to give our total allegiance to Jesus and his Kingdom, the only political ideology that truly matters. Moreover, we must deny ourselves “daily”, take up the cross, and follow the “Lamb wherever he leads.” We must learn to view ourselves as citizens of his realm rather than the kingdoms of this fallen age.

The Book of Revelation calls this consummate deceiver and imposter the “False Prophet.” He will provide a seductive imitation of Jesus and his true prophets. He could easily succeed in misleading many believers into giving their allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea” during History’s final stages.

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SEE ALSO:

• Apostasy and Misdirection - (Believers who are watching for apostasy outside the Church will be among the first who are overtaken by it as it operates in the Assembly)

• An Overwhelming Flood - (The New Testament warns of a future apostasy caused by deceivers, false prophets, and the Lawless One before the return of Jesus)

• The Ascending Beast - (To identify the Antichrist, we must understand what the relevant passages say about him, his methods, and his agenda)