"The False Prophet" art design, by Pete Garcia
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
Revelation 13:12-18 (my emphasis)
One of the more enigmatic characters described in Bible prophecy is a character addressed simply as either the "second beast" or the "false prophet." In order of appearance, he shows up after the first beast and exists solely to serve as the chief enforcer and propagandist for the first beast (the Antichrist). Let me reiterate an idea that I proposed in my previous brief (4. The Kingdom of the Beast):
Author's Note: Before moving forward, a little clarification is required. The arrival and even appearance of the Beast system is not necessarily a prerequisite for the official start of the 70th Week of Daniel. We should also note that the Rapture doesn't start the 70 Week either. What starts that prophetic week of years is the covenant confirmed (Daniel 9:27) which triggers the unleashing of the Seal Judgments by our Lord Jesus Christ. The appearance of the "Beast System" before the Rapture as a form of governance, seems to be the necessary pre-staging for it to take over the minute after our disappearance. So for the sake of clarity, let me propose a bulletized order of events for what we are about to discuss:
1913-Present: Pre-staging for the global financial system (Federal Reserve, Bretton Woods, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, etc.)
1919-Present: Pre-staging of the first beast [political] system (League of Nations, United Nations, European Union, World Economic Forum, etc.)
1945-Present: Pre-staging of the second beast [religious] system (World Council of Churches, Roman Catholic Church, Interfaith Alliance, Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF), etc.)
1970-Present: Pre-staging for the impetus [justification] for global governance due to climate emergencies (Clean Air Act, Earth Day, NOAA, Montreal Protocol [1987], 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, etc.)
Given the above outline, it only makes sense that within each of these domains, men and women would arise who champion the globalist cause. Today we will primarily be focusing on point number three, given the focus of the man known as 'the false prophet.' But let's not allow this man's title to distract us from his occupational background- he may or may not come out of the global religious system currently in place.
Furthermore, if the first beast begins as a global political system, then the personal pronouns describing it in passages like Revelation 13 do not seem to make sense with a more corporate nature of the beast. That is, of course, until we realize the beast (either the first or the second beast) is a system whose power and authority ultimately get personified in the persons of The Beast (The Antichrist) and The Second Beast (The False Prophet).
The way I think about it is in much in the same way that the German Nazi party (National Socialist German Workers' Party Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) became personified in the person of Adolf Hitler. In other words, Hitler became the face and voice of the Nazi's Third Reich, just as the Antichrist will be the face and voice of the kingdom of the beast. Except now, we have one face and two voices for the beast kingdom...the Antichrist and the false prophet.
As also mentioned in my previous brief (#4) the False Prophet has long been thought of by prophecy experts as making up the third component of the unholy trinity in blasphemously taking on the role of the unholy spirit. Granted, given the name "false prophet," it is generally assumed he is some kind of a religious leader such as the Pope or a Mahdi.
However, given recent developments, my views on this have changed somewhat. It might be a bit in the arena of speculation here, but what if the role of the false prophet is not just in the role of the "unholy spirit," but also, in the role of the false "John the Baptist" who makes way for the coming/arrival of the Man of Sin? This obviously has some challenges since the Antichrist is called the "first beast" and seems to appear on the scene first. But let us remember all of the pre-staging activities already ongoing, and consider some things that are often either overlooked or misunderstood.
The First Seal Judgment (after the Rapture) unleashes the rider on the white horse, who represents (IMO) the system of the Antichrist. As previously mentioned in #4, I am leaning toward this view (Antichrist system) because these same beasts (Rev 13) were representative of nations in Daniel 7-8. Therefore, the rising of the first beast out of the sea of nations indicates a system, at least initially, until it is personified in the man Antichrist.
Furthermore, I think the longer the Lord tarries, the more we are going to see this "beast kingdom" being set up. However, it cannot execute its global takeover until after the Restrainer is removed. As such, this kingdom (the gates of hell) will continue to press against the Church unsuccessfully until Christ removes His Church at the Rapture (Matthew 16:18, 1 Thess. 5:1-4)
Secondly, the arrival of the False Prophet is not tied to any particular Seal judgment being opened. However, we know he gains global prominence after the first beast (the political system) and presumably rises in popularity inside of the global interfaith system (the Harlot) we already see forming today in places like Berlin and Abu Dhabi
To reiterate, we here in the 21st century are currently witnessing an incredible rise in the efforts to establish global politics, finance, and religious movements (Agenda 2030, Great Reset, etc.). It should be understood that both the Antichrist (whoever this is) as well as the false prophet (whoever this is) are currently alive and navigating their way to the top even as you read this. Nevertheless, these will both remain in their unfulfilled/un-manifested states so long as the Church remains on the earth.
Most students of Bible prophecy assumed this "false prophet" could only come from the clerical ranks of some already developed religious system. However, recent events have challenged my thinking on this. Although I can't say for certain, we can certainly look at men like Jared Kushner (co-author of the Abraham Accords), tech-billionaire Elon Musk, as well as the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Noah Yuval Harari as "types" of false prophets who are "voices crying out in the wilderness" (i.e., ahead of their time) in their actions and proclamations.
Jared Kushner served as special advisor to President Donald Trump and helped author and drive the Abraham Accords, which, in exchange for Arab-Israeli normalization, halts development and divides up the land of Israel (Judea and Samaria). This is not to say that Mr. Kushner is a wicked man, but his efforts at creating the "Deal of the Century" come from human reasoning and further champion the cause of Satan.
Aside from the troubling technologies that Elon Musk is currently helping develop, are terrifying future potential applications (Neurolink and Starlink) should they fall into the wrong hands such as an authoritarian global government. Furthermore, Mr. Musk recently tweeted his irreverence to God and our Lord Jesus Christ in response to a call for a pre-death confession,
“Thank you for the blessing, but I’m ok with going to hell, if that is indeed my destination since the vast majority of all humans ever born will be there.”
Lastly, with regards to Yuval Noah Harrari, his recent proclamations that men do not possess souls, that Jesus is "fake news," and that man is nothing more than an evolved 'hackable' animal, exposes a man who is virulently antithetical to Christianity. His reasoning for such blatant blasphemies is that he believes in Darwinian evolution and the Big Bang theory. As such, he believes man's next, inevitable stage in evolution moves humans from Homo Sapien to Homo Deus.
Now, if this "John the Baptist" perspective has any merit to it (and we know Satan loves to mimic God), then this Second Beast should appear on the scene first in a subdued way to pave the way for the coming First Beast (the Antichrist) to emerge. Don't get me wrong, I believe they are both alive today, but in terms of revelation, the False Prophet might make the appearance first before he is brought up to the global stage to rule side by side with the Antichrist. And if we are seeing the Second Beast now (or at least his archetype), then we are indeed at the end of normal history.
What's more troubling than pointing toward a man like Yuval Noah Harari as a candidate for the false prophet, is if he isn't. Let me put that another way. Just think about how blasphemously wicked this man Yuval already is, and if he (YNH) ain't him (the fp), then the one who is coming will be far worse!
What is of note in the time immediately following the Rapture of the Church, is the return of the supernatural to the realm of "the normal world." This is to say the supernatural (apart from God) has largely been restrained by the Holy Spirit's influence in the world during the dispensation of the Church.
Granted, there have been supernatural events over the past two thousand years. However, aside from restraining wholesale evil from taking over the world, the Holy Spirit has also been restraining the demonic realm from flooding the earth with lying signs and wonders. That's why the early Church and the Apostles were still able to do the miraculous on a frequent basis in those days but largely became unnecessary later on as Christianity spread.
But once the Church is removed at the Rapture, that divine barrier will no longer be in place and Satan will have free reign to flood the world with demonic activities again. This is where this false prophet will make his political moves up the ladder. I believe he is wholly given over to some demonic entity who uses him like a human sock puppet to woo the masses with his signs and wonders, even calling down fire from the sky (copying Elijah no less).
He seems to appear meek and even docile in appearance but will be a great orator. Not only that, but he will have the supernatural power to match his words. He will use his supernatural demonic power to enforce a sort of blended universalism, that is aided by technology (Quantum, AI, the Mark of the Beast, the Image of the Beast) and mass media, to promote this militarized spiritual harlotry. His wickedness will be exceeded only by that of the Antichrist himself, but these two will be utterly depraved seeking to destroy as much as they can through lying and treachery.
But even during the first half of the Tribulation, their "reigns" are not without issues. There will be two Witnesses in Jersusalem that can match his supernatural power and will become the irritating thorns in their sides. The false prophet will not be able to rid himself of them until the appointed time, (the midpoint) and even then, will require the Antichrist himself to do it.
Thus, in the meantime, he will focus on consolidating the rest of the world under his blasphemous harlot church until he ultimately abandons her for the Antichrist. In closing, let me draw him in comparison to another famous duo. The false prophet is what Heinrich Himmler was to Adolph Hitler. Hitler was the face of the Third Reich, but Himmler was the chief propagandist and architect of the Final Solution. The false prophet will also be both, only this time, his Final Solution will start with the Tribulation Saints, and then the Jews. According to Scripture, the false prophet is responsible for the majority of all the martyred deaths of all those who will not bend the knee and take the mark. Quite possibly, he will be personally responsible for hundreds of millions of deaths.
SUMMARY
He appears as a second beast who arises out of the land (instead of the sea) (Rev 13:11-12)
His appearance is not linked to any of the openings of the Seal, Trumpet, or Bowl Judgments
He looks like a lamb (meek) but speaks like a dragon (fierce) (Rev 13:11-12)
He is able to perform supernatural feats of power and bring life to an image of the beast (Rev 13:13-14)
He causes all earth dwellers to worship the first beast as a god (Rev 13:15)
He militantly enforces the worship thru the mark of the beast system (Rev 13:16-18)
He is one of the three who spews out unclean "froglike" demonic spirits that draw the armies to Armageddon (Rev 16:13)
He is cast alive (along with Antichrist) into the lake of fire (Rev 19:20, 20:10)