Why the False Prophet is the Antichrist and Why it Matters (Part 4/6)
The Image of God and the Image of the Beast
When God made Adam in His image, God gave Adam authority over the earth. Adam was to govern the Garden of Eden in loving relationship with his Creator. This authority was part and parcel of being created in the image of God. But tragically this authority was usurped once Adam obeyed the Serpent. Adam’s relationship with God was fundamentally altered. And only the very blood of God could remedy it.
In Revelation 13 we see the passing of the baton of satanic authority. It transfers from the 7 headed Dragon to the 7 headed Beast and ultimately to the second beast arising from the earth. The authority Satan usurped from Adam in the Garden is ultimately handed back to a man at the end of the age. The False Prophet is Adam 2.0. Or to put it another way, the False Prophet is a man living in full obedience to Satan. The slave relationship of obedience established in the Garden of Eden between Satan and Adam finds its ultimate climax in Revelation 13 with the Dragon and the False Prophet.
“[The False Prophet] makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast” v.12
As the human representative of the demonic godhead, the False Prophet’s primary mission is to make disciples of the nations. Over and over again John identifies the intended audience of the second beast. The “inhabitants of earth” are his primary target. Making this repeated identification there can be no doubt, the second beast is on earth to preach the demonic gospel and make disciples.
To disciple the nations into the image of the Beast means making them like the Dragon. This requires worship. The False Prophet is on earth to forge the image of Satan into fallen man (the fallen image of God) via idolatry. The Apostle Paul makes a clear statement in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image…” In essence, we become like Jesus as we behold him in worship. But this principle holds for any object of worship. NT Wright articulates this point magnificently. “One of the primary laws of human life is that you become like what you worship; what’s more, you reflect what you worship not only to the object itself but also to the world around.” The False Prophet will function as an ironsmith completing the transformation of humanity from the image of God into the image of Satan.
In John 14:6 Jesus declares “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The False Prophet not only acts as the human mediary of the demonic trinity deceiving the nations with false signs to worship the Dragon, but he causes all those who do not worship it to be slain. Revelation 13:15 says the False Prophet “might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.” This reality completes the trifecta; the demonic inverse of the way, the truth, and the life fulfilled in Christ. The False Prophet is the way, the deception, and executioner of the Dragon.
Words and Works
When Jesus identified God’s seal on his messianic authority he pointed to two things; his words and his miracles. In John 14:10 he says, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and Father is in me, or else believe on the account of the works themselves.” Jesus leaves no room for doubting. He says in essence that his words and his works attest to no less than total messianic fulfillment.
Inversely, the False Prophet has two primary weapons with which to deceive the nations to worship the Dragon. The first are his words, the second is his ability to demonstrate seemingly supernatural power. Deceptive words along with deceptive acts of power are the one-two punch that will snare the world with darkness and bring Adam’s race to its knees before the Dragon.
“It performs great signs” v.13
The profile John describes here is of a man that performs great signs in order to deceive the nations to believe a lie. He writes of the False Prophet in verse 14, “by the signs it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth.” John says that the False Prophet is able to perform seemingly supernatural wonders powered by the Dragon Beast in order to fool those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life.
This just also happens to be the identical profile the Apostle Paul uses to describe the “lawless one” in 2 Thessalonians 9, “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing…” These two profiles are identical. Both prophecies are of a man who will be empowered by Satan to demonstrate false supernatural power in order to deceive a reprobate world. The Apostle Paul’s description of the Antichrist matches John’s description of the False Prophet.
Old School Idolatry
In our day and age it’s difficult to imagine Old Testament style idolatry making a come back. But this is exactly what the Book of Revelation reveals about the end of this age. But this is idolatry at a level that would even make Aaron blush. Patmos John sees one of the False Prophet’s objectives to inspire the forging of the ultimate Golden Calf.
“[The False Prophet] deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast” v.14
With his words and miracles the False Prophet wields incredible power to deceive the world. Like a magician of the dark arts, he turns the world upside down with his deceptive craft. When you think of this guy, don’t think Donald Trump, think Elon Musk. Expect a winsome example for all mankind and an orator of the highest pedigree. Not just his intelligence but his deceptive ideas will hold the nations captive to his least little whim.
The False Prophet exercises the full authority of Satan. This is the greatest seat of power in history. The most powerful Caesars Emperors in history cannot hold a candle to the total global power at the finger tips of this man. And what does Adam 2.0 do with this unprecedented power? He convinces the nations to commit the greatest act of idolatry in history.
He tells them to make an image for the beast.
Don’t mistake the word “image” used in verse 14 as purely a visual copy. This sort of image is best understood in light of the Ten Commandments of Exodus 20 where God absolutely prohibits idolatry, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” God isn’t warning us of the dangers of photography. He is commanding humanity to never fashion a physical representation of a god. This is a foundational basis of the Ten Commandments.
The False Prophet leads a global effort to craft the ultimate idol. This scene could be pulled straight from a Hollywood blockbuster. Verse 14 says he convinces the world to craft a physical likeness of the seven headed beast. Like a composer conducting a symphony of destruction or a pied piper leading a parade of rats off a cliff, the False Prophet inspires the most fundamental violation of God’s prohibition of idolatry on a global scale.
Notice, Satan does not build this image, people do. The image of the beast is not a product of the beast, it is produced for the beast and it is produced with human hands. As the corporate head of Adam’s fallen race, the False Prophet is the project manager of the most ill-fated venture of all time. Humanity’s greatest achievement is in reality its greatest embarrassment and shame. The False Prophet takes the helm of the global ship and steers all of humanity toward this one goal; to build the biological embodiment of Satan on earth. This idol of all idols is the ultimate handiwork of man. But to God it is an abomination destined for the Lake of Fire.
Jesus Christ is the true image of God. During His earthly ministry He repeatedly made the claim that to see Him was, in fact, to see God. And through His death, resurrection, and ascension, Adam’s fallen race has an open door to eternal life. Everyone in the line of Adam whose God-image was mortally marred by sin and death is invited to become the much better image of Christ in God. Jesus came announcing this very good news to a world lost in darkness. All those subjugated under Satan were given Light. Jesus Christ presented a way out of the darkness of false gods and into relationship with the One True God.
The False Prophet is the demonic inverse of Jesus Christ. Rather than lead people from darkness to light, the False Prophet will cover the world in darkness and drive out the light. Instead of saving souls from the slavery of idolatry, the False Prophet will inspire the entire world to put forth the greatest human effort in history as a climactic gesture at the end of this age. The greatest minds will join together and craft the greatest object of idolatry ever created; the biological embodiment of Satan. Adam 2.0 will bring the Serpent back into the earth. This time not as reptile; but as a beast.