The False Prophet – 25

Revelation 13:11-18

Have you ever been tricked? Have you heard of the term catfished? That’s when someone pretends to be someone, making someone believe they are that person, when in reality they are not. People will have whole online relationships that they think are real, but it’s with a completely different person than they thought they were talking to the whole time.

That’s kind of what we see in tonight’s text. We see another beast come on the scene, a false prophet. I want you to think of those two words false and prophet. This person has every semblance of being a prophet. And what is a prophet? A prophet is someone who speaks on behalf of God. But we put a qualifier before “prophet” when we mention him. Why? Because he is not a real prophet. He is false. He has many people believing him and believing the one he is speaking for, the antichrist. A prophet seeks to draw people to worship the one true God. This false prophet leads people astray from worshiping the one true God. We need to be able to tell the difference between the works of God and the works of Satan.

Revelation 13:11-12

The false prophet will deceive. (vs 11) It had horns like a lamb but spoke like a dragon. “The word “lamb” appears 29 times in Revelation. Twenty-eight of those times it refers to Jesus.”[1] Looks can be deceiving! The way he is described as a lamb with horns is similar to John’s description of Jesus in 5:6, “I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns.”

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 – 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness…”

How could this false prophet look like Christ? Some people think this means that he will come from within the church or from within the Jewish people.[2] Hear what Jesus says in Matthew 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Though this false prophet looks Christlike, the content of his words reveals his true nature. Remember the words of Jesus in Luke 6:45: “…out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

The false prophet will speak for Satan. (vs 11) Instead of speaking for the one true God, as prophets are supposed to do, this false prophet speaks on behalf of Satan. “It spoke like a dragon.” Remember, the dragon is Satan. What does it mean to speak like Satan? Well, from the beginning, Satan twists God’s words and makes people doubt God’s character. The false prophet will belittle the true gospel.

Many people think that he will bring about a one-world religion. Can you imagine how this would sound? It would sound so good. It’s all about peace and love! Can’t everyone just get along?! This sounds good, but there is a major problem. All religions teach different things and even contrary things. They can’t all be true. The problem is, when don’t tell the truth about the truth, it is the most unloving thing we can do. For example, talk of sin in our culture is considered unloving and judgmental. Shouldn’t people be able to just live how they want to and in whatever way makes them happy? But when the real reality is that there is a completely holy God that will judge all people, it doesn’t matter how you want to live. It matters how he says to live. Just as it would be unloving for a doctor to tell a cancer patient that he doesn’t have cancer, it would be unloving for you to let a person who hasn’t been redeemed by Jesus to think they are ok in their sin.

I agree with what Jim Hamilton says about this verse:

“This passage is giving us fair warning: just because someone claims to be a Christian does not mean he or she is. Just because someone uses the language of Christianity does not mean or she is promoting Christianity. Just because someone looks like Jesus does not mean he or she genuinely represents him. We must know what Christianity really is