“Then I saw the beast (anti-christ) and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together (at Armageddon) to make war against the rider on the horse (Jesus Christ) and his army (risen saints). But the beast was captured and with him the FALSE PROPHET (capitals mine) who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast (anti-christ) and worshipped his image (placed in the rebuilt 3rd Jewish Temple at the Abomination of Desolation, midway through the Tribulation period). The TWO (capitals mine) of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning Sulphur.”
Revelation 19:19-20
Wow! From the Bible we know that Jesus Christ will return at Armageddon and finally establish His 1,000 year righteous millennium rule on the earth. We know that the anti-christ and his cohort, the false prophet will be defeated and thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulphur. We also know that at the same time, Satan will be bound and thrown into the bottomless pit for the 1,000 Christ rule on earth so he will not be able to deceive or disrupt the now perfect earthly world.
“And he (an angel) laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”
Revelation 20:2-3
Christ returns at Armageddon and throws the anti-christ and the false prophet alive into the fiery lake of burning sulphur forever. He binds Satan and casts him into the bottomless pit for the 1,000 years Christ rules the earth and then lets him loose for a brief time. Why does He then release Satan for a short period of time? During the 1,000 reign of Christ on earth, those which are alive at his second coming and believers in Him will still be alive on earth; will marry; and, raise families. Christ will rule the earth with a “…rod of iron” in righteousness and justice. Those children raised after His Second Coming will probably not know all the previous evil Satan unleashed on this earth and some may also resent Christ’s power and authority they are living under so that when Satan is loosed for “…a little season” he undoubtedly will have some group of followers that will again believe his lie, just as Adam and Eve did in the perfect Garden of Eden. This final purging of unbelievers then establishes the Great White Throne Judgement of God on all unbelievers and the Creation of the new earth that will forever be freed from the lies and deceptions of Satan.
This brings me back to the false prophet. We all know how evil the anti-christ and Satan are but who exactly is this being that deserves the same eternal wrath of God equal to the most despicable entities (Satan and the anti-christ) in history? In my studies and discussions with many over the past 40+ years, I have found that most know of Satan and many are aware of the anti-christ. Few, however, had ever heard of the false prophet. So, who is he? Just as Christian believers worship the Trinity of God (the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit), unbelievers will worship the satanic trinity (Satan, the anti-christ and the false prophet).
“Then I saw a second beast (false prophet), coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast (anti-christ) on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast (anti-christ), it (false prophet) deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up (probably in the rebuilt 3rd Jewish temple in Jerusalem, causing the Abomination of Desolation spoken of in the Bible) an image in honor of the beast (anti-christ) who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second beast (false prophet) was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.”
Revelation 13:11-17
First, we know that the false prophet will be human since he comes “…out of the earth.” Secondly, he will present himself as religious (“…like a lamb”) but will speak like Satan (“…a dragon”). Third, we know that he is in lock step with the anti-christ and has ALL the same authority as the anti-christ. Fourth, because of the powers given to him he will be able to perform “miracles” that will vigorously promote the anti-christ’s “deity” and leave the unbelieving world so in awe they will then follow the anti-christ and reject Jesus. Fifth, we see that he will demand the world worship the anti-christ’s image (an image that he will be able to make speak on behalf of the anti-christ) and cause those that refuse to believe and worship to be killed. Finally, he will be the architect of requiring everyone on the earth to take the Mark of the Beast if they want to buy or sell anything. In other words, through the actions of the false prophet, the unbelieving world will worship the anti-christ and, unfortunately, will be damned forever. Basically, the false prophet’s main purpose is to bring all men into spiritual allegiance with the anti-christ through lies and control!
As I have testified before, the Last Days will see a one world government; a one world economy; and, a one world religion. With the false prophet you have THE individual that will actually cause the creation and enforcement of two of the three! There is no doubt without controlling the economy and the religious beliefs of all people alive, it would be much harder for the anti-christ to rule the world. So his partner in crime, the false prophet is directly associated with the rise of the anti-christ and as such, richly deserves the eternal punishment Jesus will dole out to them at His victory at Armageddon. Of course, we as believers will NOT be here on the earth having been previously raptured, but we will return with Christ at His Second Coming to see these prophesies fulfilled. I take great comfort with what the Bible says and feel compelled to continue to “…therefore comfort one another with these words.”
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