The False Prophet

The False Prophet (Revelation 13:11-17) could possibly be a future Pope, by whose miracles the world will be deceived into worshipping the Antichrist (Revelation 19:20). Even today many Christians in the Catholic Church know that a false Pope will arise and that they must not follow him.

Horns can represent kings (Revelation 17:12, Daniel 7:24), so the two horns of the False Prophet (Revelation 13:11) may represent his holding the highest positions of authority in both Christianity and Islam, becoming both Pope and Ayatollah.

Just as some secret societies begin the initiate with religious principles, only to overturn these as they move into the higher degrees, ending in Luciferianism at the very highest, so the Antichrist may begin as one very religious, combining Christianity and Islam, and then Judaism and Buddhism and Hinduism all into one amalgamate religion of which his False Prophet shall be vizier, proclaiming the Antichrist as Christ, Mahdi, Messiah, Maitreya, and Kalki, only to eventually overturn all religion and turn the world to the worship of Lucifer (Revelation 13:4) and the Antichrist himself as God (Revelation 13:8, 2 Thessalonians 2:4).

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An Individual

Note that the False Prophet is an individual with a single mouth (Revelation 16:13) who will be cast into the lake of fire with the Antichrist at the 2nd coming (Revelation 19:19-20).

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Same As Antichrist?

Note that the False Prophet in Revelation 13 isn't the one claiming that he himself is God (2 Thessalonians 2:4) or the one exalting himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped (2 Thessalonians 2:4), but is instead the one who "causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast" (Revelation 13:12), so that the Antichrist (the first beast) is the man who is worshipped, "and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him" (Revelation 13:8, 2 Thessalonians 2:4), while the False Prophet is the man who will perform the signs which deceive the world into worshipping him and his image (Revelation 13:11-15). The Antichrist and False Prophet are two separate individuals who will "both" be cast alive into the lake of fire at Christ's 2nd coming (Revelation 19:20).

Note that the woman Babylon is a 3rd entity which will be destroyed by the 10 kings of the Antichrist's empire (Revelation 17:16).

Note that it doesn't say the second beast of Revelation 13 arises from the first beast, but that the 2nd beast arises from the earth (Revelation 13:11), while the first beast arises from the sea (Revelation 13:1).

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The Image Of The Beast

A speaking image of the Antichrist will be made after the deceptive miracles of the False Prophet (Revelation 13:14-15).

Some say the image will be a clone, but a clone of the Antichrist would have to begin as an infant, and its cells would begin as old (their telomeres would begin as short) as the ones taken from the Antichrist to make it.

The image of the beast (Revelation 13:15) may possibly be a speaking hologram of the Antichrist generated by a supercomputer that will be projected into every home, workplace, and public place in order to be worshipped at set times. Through ubiquitous cameras and microphones, this same supercomputer would be able to see and hear individuals in all places in order to confirm they are worshipping. Software has been developed which allows computers to recognize postures and facial expressions.

A supercomputer large enough would also be able to converse personally with any individual at any time, based on the data in its memory and artificial intelligence software. It could possibly pass the most stringent Turing test.

This same supercomputer might be large enough to handle and monitor all the economic transactions of the entire world. The False Prophet may make it the only way to transact business, and so will require everyone to receive a "mark" of the Antichrist of some kind in their hands or foreheads (Revelation 13:16-18) that could include a unique account number for debits (buying) and credits (selling, including the selling of one's labor). Anyone refusing to worship the Antichrist could in this way be cut off from buying or selling anything (Revelation 13:17), and could be barred from all employment.

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A False Elijah?

One of the greatest works YHWH did through Elijah was when Elijah was able to prove that YHWH was God and Baal wasn't when only YHWH was able to send fire down: "Call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of YHWH: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God" (1 Kings 18:24).

The False Prophet may perform a similar "proof" of who is God by similarly "calling fire down" from heaven: "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men" (Revelation 13:13).

Elijah slaughtered all the prophets of Baal who failed to get their god to send fire down (1 Kings 18:40). Will the False Prophet set up a similar contest between himself and the nominal leaders of Christianity in order to prove that YHWH is not God when it appears that YHWH is "unable" to send fire down, and then will the False Prophet slaughter them all as false prophets for not worshipping the true God that he will claim to be proclaiming?

We as Christians need to be prepared to see the False Prophet succeed against the nominal leaders of Christianity without our faith being shaken, for "if there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for YHWH your God proveth you, to know whether ye love YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after YHWH your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him" (Deuteronomy 13:1-4).

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False Signs & Wonders

Note that the same signs that were not given to the world by Christ at his first coming, will be given to the world by false Christs and false prophets, and by the False Prophet, and by demonic spirits, in the end times:

"A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign (semeion); and there shall no sign (semeion) be given unto it" (Matthew 16:4).

"There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs (semeion) and wonders (teras); insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matthew 24:24).

"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs (semeion) and lying wonders (teras)" (2 Thessalonians 2:9).

"And he doeth great wonders (semeion), so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles (semeion) which he had power to do" (Revelation 13:13-14).

"The spirits of devils, working miracles (semeion), which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty" (Revelation 16:14).