WHY THE FALSE PROPHET IS THE ANTICHRIST AND WHY IT MATTERS (PART 3/6)
Horns Like a Lamb
If my case needed to rest entirely upon one verse this would be it.
“It had two horns like a lamb” v.11
Revelation 13:11 says of the second beast, “it had two horns like a lamb.” This one is unmistakable. The introduction of the lamb symbolism is undeniably messianic. A lamb in the Bible is a substitutionary animal that acts on behalf of man. It was intentionally instituted as a staple of the Passover and essential in the Temple sacrifice of Judaic law.
The overwhelming connection that immediately comes to mind is John 1:29 that says “he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John the Baptist was identifying Jesus as the Savior. There is a direct connection with the messiah or Christ and the symbol of the lamb.
We might be tempted to see the False Prophet as some sort of John the Baptist figure. There were none greater than him born of women. But even as great as John was he is not a member of the Godhead. Jesus, not John the Baptist, is given the title of “The True Prophet.” John is the prophet that points to Jesus as the Lamb of God. The False Prophet is the one with horns like a lamb. The False Prophet doesn’t point to the false messiah. He is the false messiah.
One of the roles of the Messiah is to bring peace. Jesus’ sacrificial death meant becoming the Lamb of God. This results in Ephesians 2:14 “For he himself is our peace, who has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” As the Messiah, Jesus mediates the relationship between man and God. Jesus is our peace.
The messianic role of the False Prophet functions in much the same way, albeit the demonic inverse. The two horns like a lamb means this figure will be a peace broker. The first beast brings war. The second beast offers false peace. The False Prophet is a man that paves the way for peace with the dragon. There is nothing peaceful about the seven headed beast. World peace is struck by the one with horns like a lamb.
The Word of the Dragon
To say the False Prophet is not a spokesman is as inaccurate as saying he is only a spokesman. Revelation 13 clearly depicts the second beast working as Satan’s pitchman. But he is more than that. The False Prophet embodies the message.
“It spoke like a dragon” v.11
When John saw the second beast he said it “spoke like a dragon.” The word of Satan is in his mouth. Many false prophets have come and gone but the False Prophet isn’t part of this class. John says that the second beast works on “behalf” of the first beast. The word “behalf” literally means “by half.” He is a member of the demonic trinity. The False Prophet is Satan’s message embodied to the world.
The objective of Satan’s message is to bring the world into darkness. The dragon that was at war against God in heaven brings his war to the earth. He wants to twist everything God has created. Where God has brought light, the dragon brings darkness. Where God’s truth has been declared, Satan will deceive the nations. The words of the False Prophet will release unprecedented deception as the world slips into deep darkness.
Dark Authority
The first beast subdues the earth with unprecedented force. Revelation 13:2 says that to the beast “the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.” The power, throne, and authority of Satan is granted to the seven headed beast. What is Satan’s throne and authority? It is usurped authority from Adam. Satan has authority over a fallen world.
“[The False Prophet] exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence” v.12
When we think of authority we default to mere terms of political authority. Certainly political authority is one aspect that is included in this prophecy. But the authority that John describes here goes beyond politics. There will be no way to vote the Beast and False Prophet out of office. Once they are in place it will take Jesus Christ Himself to remove them. The authority described here is a spiritual authority.
What is included in “all the authority of the first beast?” Verse 4 says, “And they worshipped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast…” The authority here is of the dragon’s spiritual authority over Adam’s race. When Adam turned his back on his Creator in favor of following the serpent, the serpent entered in to a place of spiritual authority over Adam and all of Adam’s descendants.
This spiritual authority rooted in darkness clearly involves worship. The authority that the dragon gives to the beast boiled down to one thing ultimately, the act of worship. We can plainly see the dragon and the beast being worshipped based on the spiritual authority mentioned in verse 4. So it is naturally connected to the False Prophet. If the False Prophet exercises all the authority of the Beast, the greatest dimension of this authority is to be worshipped. From this we can safely say that the False Prophet demands to be worshipped in the presence of the Dragon Beast.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:4 the Apostle Paul says of the Antichrist “who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” This seems inherently contradictory to John’s False Prophet who “makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast” in Revelation 13:12. The apparent contradiction lies in the idea that the Antichrist will not sanction the worship of any other god but himself. But believing the Antichrist is the first beast does not solve this problem because the text still has two objects of worship not one. Along with the beast the text states explicitly in verse 4, “And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast.” There are two objects of worship; the dragon and the beast. As such the assertion that the Antichrist is the sole object of worship does not hold up in Revelation 13 because in either case you have at least two objects of worship. Regardless of ones view of the False Prophet, there is no way to escape the dual nature of both the Antichrist and Satan being worshiped.
If you described Jesus’ earthly ministry, how would you describe it in terms of worship? Who did Jesus tell the world to worship? Jesus preached the Kingdom of God with miracles and supernatural love in order to demonstrate to the world the God of creation but he didn’t directly command to be worshiped directly. He commanded the worship of God. Did Jesus have the right and authority to hold massive worship events where he stood as the centerpiece of a crowd of adoring worshipers? Absolutely. We will worship Jesus forever. This is a glorious reality. But during Jesus’ earthly ministry he made sure to point worship to his Father.
There is mystery to the Holy Trinity. So we can safely assert some mystery in the demonic trinity of Revelation 13. This holds especially true in terms of worship. For John to say the False Prophet “makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast” is the same way we could say that Jesus pointed the world to worship his Father during his earthly ministry. But ultimately the False Prophet will “exercise all of the authority of the first beast in its presence” and declare oneness with Satan. With this declaration will come the prophecy of Paul that the False Prophet will stand in the temple of God and exalt himself against every other god declaring that he is God. In Revelation 13 there are two objects of worship: Satan and the Antichrist. These two realities will merge together in a mysterious unity and demand total allegiance.
With this being said, the False Prophet is prophesied to become the most politically powerful man in the world. Much like Satan’s authority was derived from another source, so the authority of the False Prophet is derived from the first beast. Thus the chain of authority begins with God’s authority given to Adam. Adam’s authority is usurped by Satan. Satan gives his authority to the first beast. And finally the circle is completed as the first beast’s authority is exercised by a man; the False Prophet. The authority God gave Adam over the garden is twisted by Satan as he hands total political authority to Adam 2.0.