WHO IS THE
FALSE PROPHET?
PART 1
by Steve
Ashburn
The false prophet
is the Antichrist’s right-hand man and co-conspirator in
deceiving the world during the tribulation. He is a
religious leader who forces everyone to worship the
beast, and to take his mark in their right hand or
forehead in order to buy or sell—or else be killed. He
is described in Revelation 13:
And I beheld
another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two
horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he
exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,
and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to
worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
And he doeth great wonders, 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 which he had power to do in the sight of
the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that
they should make an image to the beast, which had the
wound by a sword, and did live.
And he had power
to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image
of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many
as would not worship the image of the beast should be
killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich
and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their
right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might
buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of
the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation
13:11–17)
Unlike the
Antichrist who rises up “out of the sea,” the false
prophet comes up “out of the earth” (lit. “land”). Often
in Scripture, “sea” represents the nations around the
Mediterranean, whereas “land” represents Israel; this
implies that the false prophet will be from Israel. The
false prophet appears to be benign (“like a lamb”), but
he shares the same evil character as the Antichrist (“as
a dragon”).
He has the same
power as the Antichrist; that is, “power was given him
over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” He also
leads the entire world to worship him, “whose deadly
wound was healed.” Why would people do this? Perhaps one
reason is that he will take credit for defeating the
army of demonic horsemen (Revelation 9:18), by which a
third of the earth’s population will have been killed
over the previous thirteen months. The dead bodies of
these 200 million horsemen which demons previously
inhabited now lay decaying on the earth—having finished
the appointed time of their judgment, which was for “an
hour, and a day, and a month, and a year” (Revelation
14:10)—and the Antichrist seizes the opportunity to take
credit.
The false prophet
also has power to do “great wonders”—such as making fire
come down from heaven—which are “miracles which he had
power to do in the sight of the beast.” How exactly can
he do such things? Moses and Aaron faced a similar
situation when they stood before Pharaoh; Aaron cast
down his rod and it became a serpent. In response, the
occult magicians of Pharaoh cast down their rods, which
also became serpents as recorded in Exodus 7. The
magicians’ serpents probably were not real—only God has
the power to create life—but evidently were an occult
phenomenon which demons have the power to perform. These
serpents were “lying wonders,” which 2 Thessalonians 2
also describes in reference to the Antichrist.
And then shall
that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume
with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is
after the working of Satan with all power and signs and
lying wonders. (2 Thessalonians 2:8–9)
Here Paul speaks
of the Antichrist (“that Wicked”) coming with “power and
signs and lying wonders”—those exact same “great
wonders” which the false prophet has the power to do in
the sight of the beast.
The false prophet
deceives people with these “miracles” into making an
image of the beast “which had the wound by a sword, and
did live” (implying that the false prophet claims the
Antichrist somehow resurrected himself from the dead).
The false prophet has power to “give life unto the image
of the beast” (lit. “give a spirit to the image,” i.e.,
a demonic spirit) so that this image both speaks and
causes all who will not worship it to be killed. This
apparently is another lying wonder, like the serpents of
the magicians before Moses, and the fire which the false
prophet calls down from heaven.
These are occult
phenomena which those practiced in sorcery are able to
induce. Daniel 8:23 says the Antichrist will be
“understanding dark sentences,” meaning he will be
trained in occultism and able to perform lying wonders.
Note that it’s the image itself which commands all
persons to be killed who will not worship it. This is a
direct demonic manifestation, not the result of human
engineering.
At this time—the
midpoint of the tribulation—the Antichrist sits in the
temple in Jerusalem and demands to be worshipped as God:
“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is
God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4). This is the “abomination of
desolation” (Matthew 24:15). He is possessed by Satan,
who has empowered his image to order all persons killed
who will not worship it. Probably the false prophet will
cause this image to be transmitted worldwide
electronically, and empower regional governments to
execute all persons who will not worship it.
How could people
on earth ever let such a horrible situation develop and
actually make “an image to the beast,” so that they must
worship it or else be killed? Second Thessalonians 2
gives us the answer:
And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the love of the truth, that
they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send
them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
That they all might be damned who believed not the
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2
Thessalonians 2:10–12)
People will have
been deceived because of their own unrighteousness; for
that reason, God sends them a strong delusion so that
they should believe the Antichrist’s lies, that they all
might be damned who refused to believe the truth but had
pleasure in their sins instead. Despite the warning
judgments of the tribulation, which were designed to
lead them to repentance, “Neither repented they of their
murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their
fornication, nor of their thefts” (Revelation 9:21).
The false prophet
also creates an enforcement mechanism for worship of the
beast. He forces everyone on earth to receive a mark in
their right hand or forehead in order to buy or sell,
and as a symbol of their allegiance to the beast.
Refusal to take the mark or to worship the beast means
death. Revelation 14:10–11 says that whoever receives
this mark “shall be tormented with fire and brimstone”
and that “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for
ever and ever”; in contrast, Revelation 20:4 says that
those who refused the mark “lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years.”
Today it’s
possible to tag animals with RFID
(radio-frequency
identification)
chips in order to track and identify them. Some medical
patients also have been tagged. It’s impossible
to say whether this mark will be an electronic device or
a barcode tattoo, but it will almost certainly be
machine-readable. This mark is described as “the mark,
or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
The number of the beast can be calculated by translating
the Antichrist’s name into Greek, and then adding up the
numerical value assigned each Greek letter. (A table of
Greek letters and their corresponding numbers is given
below.) According to Revelation 13:18 this number is
equal to 666. This suggests that the electronic data
will be present in three groups of six
digits—identifying the person, their citizenship, and
bank account number.
Revelation 20:4
also indicates this mark will be both “upon their
foreheads, or in their hands” (lit. “upon their forehead
and upon their hand”). The KJV translates the Greek
preposition “epi” as “upon” the forehead in the first
case [superficial placement of the mark], and “in” the
hand in the second [deep placement of the mark];
furthermore, the conjunction “kai” (“and”) indicates
that the mark will be in both places. This suggests that
information will be encoded in an electronic chip
inserted beneath the skin of the right hand or forehead
for purposes of ecommerce; whereas, in addition, the
visible mark of the beast will be a simple tattoo on the
forehead. This scheme would facilitate both ecommerce
and allow easy identification of those loyal to the
beast.
Ezekiel 9 records
an interesting account whereby God “marked” his saints
in Jerusalem for their protection prior to his
destroying the city because of sin; He commanded an
angel to place “a mark upon the foreheads of the men
that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be
done in the midst thereof” (Ezekiel 9:4). In the
original Hebrew, the word “mark” is “tahv,” or last
letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This letter often
symbolizes “truth and spiritual perfection” in Hebrew
writing.
At the time that
Ezekiel wrote this in the sixth century BC, this letter
was written in the shape of a cross (+ or
†);
therefore, taking the Bible literally, these saints in
Jerusalem were sealed in their foreheads with the sign
of a cross. This was a prophecy of Christ’s future work
which he accomplished on the cross, and it strongly
suggests that the tribulation saints will be sealed with
the same mark, as Revelation 7:3 indicates: “Hurt not
the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have
sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”
But what will the
mark of the beast look like? The Bible sheds some light
on this subject in Genesis 4:15: “And the LORD set a
mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.”
In the original Hebrew, the word “mark” in our text
verse is “oht” (spelled [,ut]); whereas the word for
“mark” in Ezekiel is “tahv” (spelled [u,]). Thus, the
very letters of Cain’s mark are the reverse of those in
Ezekiel for the seal applied to the saints in Jerusalem.
The mark of Cain, then, would be a reverse, or twisted
perversion of the cross. Such a variation likely would
resemble a “broken cross.”
Such a symbol—a
swastika, or broken cross (卐)—was
widely found in the pantheistic religions of the early
Indo-European peoples; it represented the sun, and was
used in worship of their various sun-gods, such as
Apollo and Odin. In fact, it was used worldwide as a
religious emblem; for example, by Buddhists, Hindus,
Zoroastrians, and native peoples of the Americas. It
therefore is thought to pre-date the flood. This mark in
fact could have been the very one that God placed upon
Cain, whose committed the first murder and also martyred
a prophet (his brother Abel), and whose descendants led
the pre-flood world into illicit intercourse with and
worship of demons; in those days, “The earth also was
corrupt before God, and…filled with violence through
them” (Genesis 6:11, 13); it was by and large because of
this activity that God destroyed the world that then
was, which “being overflowed with water, perished” (2
Peter 3:6).
This symbol was
adopted by the Nazi Party in Germany in 1920 as symbol
of the purity of the “Aryan race,” whose twisted
philosophy demanded the murder of “inferior peoples,”
such as Poles and Jews. It would not be surprising at
all if the Antichrist took up where Hitler left off, and
attempted to finish the job of eliminating all Jews.
Perhaps this explains why Daniel 11 indicates there will
be such intense opposition to his kingdom—in fact, the
leaders of the north, east and south divisions of his
ten-division one-world government will revolt and will
have to be eliminated: “…three of the first horns [were]
plucked up by the roots” (Daniel 7:8).
In addition, many
non-believers during the tribulation will refuse the
mark, and sympathize with and protect tribulation
saints, while not having the seal of God themselves;
these are the “sheep on his right hand” (Matthew 25:33)
who will repopulate the earth during the millennium. By
protecting God’s people, they will indicate their
willingness also to receive the Lord. (I personally am
acquainted with several independent Texans who aren’t
Christians [but who are kind people], who would never
let themselves be marked with a swastika, and would
never worship the image of the beast; perhaps it is
people like these who will pass into the millennium as
saints.)
We’ll discuss more
about the false prophet in Part 2 of this series,
including his enforcement of the mark of the beast, his
role in facilitating commerce, and his physical
characteristics.
I provide more
details of this and many other end-times prophecies in
my recently published book, END TIME DAWNING: Get
Ready! (available from
www.endtimesrecord.com). Please read it! Also if you
would, please leave a book review on Amazon!
Yours in Christ,
Steve Ashburn
Greek
Alphabet—Numerical Equivalents
Greek
Letter |
Symbol |
Number |
English
Equivalent |
Alpha |
α |
1 |
a |
Beta |
β |
2 |
b |
Gamma |
γ |
3 |
g |
Delta |
δ |
4 |
d |
Epsilon |
ε |
5 |
e (short) |
Stigma |
ς |
6 (only
when used as a number) |
s (at end
of word) |
Zeta |
ζ |
7 |
z (or dz) |
Eta |
η |
8 |
e (long) |
Theta |
θ |
9 |
th |
Iota |
ι |
10 |
i, j |
Kappa |
κ |
20 |
k |
Lambda |
λ |
30 |
l |
Mu |
μ |
40 |
m |
Nu |
ν |
50 |
n |
Xi |
ξ |
60 |
x |
Omicron |
ο |
70 |
o (short) |
Pi |
π |
80 |
p |
Koppa |
ϟ |
90 |
(not a
letter) |
Rho |
ρ |
100 |
r |
Sigma |
σ |
200 |
s |
Tau |
τ |
300 |
t |
Upsilon |
υ |
400 |
u |
Phi |
φ |
500 |
ph (f) |
Chi |
χ |
600 |
ch |
Psi |
ψ |
700 |
ps |
Omega |
ω |
800 |
o (long) |
Sampsi |
ϡ |
900 |
(not a
letter) |