"False Prophet" by Karen is licensed under CC BY-2.
In the Book of Revelation, Chapter 16, the False Prophet makes its first appearance:
And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty (Revelation 16:13-14), ESV).
The Dragon we know is Satan, originally working through Imperial Rome, as described in Rev 12:3-13. We know this because the Dragon tries to kill the child (Jesus) and is thrown out of heaven. To know what the Beast is, we look back in previous chapters for its description. In Chapter 13:1-10 the Papacy is described. We know it is the Papacy because it is a form of Rome (7 heads, 10 horns), arises after Imperial Rome's demise in history, and has a big, blasphemous mouth, which aptly describes many of the popes. In our time this beast is represented by the European Union, which arose after the demise of Papacy as a world power at the French Revolution. However, in verses 11-17 of Chapter 13, another power arises: a Lamb Beast with two horns. I have argued here that this must represent the Anglo-American power: the partnership of Britain and America, which has dominated the globe since their rise to power. I won't repeat all the reasons for this here, so please refer to the link.
I will note for our purposes, that it is the Lamb Beast that causes the "small and great" to receive a mark so that they can buy and sell. Those without the mark cannot, and I have argued this refers to sanctions, of which America is foremost in imposing:
Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. (Rev 13:16)
The mark also refers to slavery: those with the mark become apologists for Western Imperialism, led by America in our time. In verse 18, we get this cryptic utterance:
This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. (Rev 13:18)
This refers to an excessively sinful man (6 in Scripture means imperfect or incomplete) who arises within this beast (political power). We have seen popes and kings, like James Stuart and his son Charles fit this description, but there would be a final 666 man that Jesus Christ will destroy at his coming (2 Thess 2:8). More on this later. Most people would assume that the beast here noted is the Lamb Beast. since it immediately follows the Lamb Beast's description in verses 11-17. However, in Rev 15 this beast is identified:
And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. (Rev 15:2)
The Lamb Beast deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image of the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. (Rev 13:14) The wounding was the demise of Imperial Rome in the 5th century, and its resurrection was the rise of Papacy which took its place. The beast in Rev 15:2 should be the first beast in Chapter 13: originally Papacy, and the EU in our time. We know this because the image mentioned is an image of this beast. The Lamb Beast, Anglo-America, makes an image of the Roman Catholic Papacy, first as the Church of England--complete with priests in robes, holy water, an altar, and incense--and later as state Protestant churches which persecuted and killed sincere Christians. In our time, the image of the beast is represented by apostate Christians and their churches, which preach prosperity, wink at immorality, ignore clear biblical teachings, and partner with corrupt business and political interests.
Yet it is curious that the reference to the first beast in Rev Chapter 13:18 occurs immediately after the description of the Lamb Beast (Rev 13:11-17). Why? The Lamb Beast is Anglo-America, and the beast with seven heads and ten horns (Rev 13:1-10) is initially, the Papacy, and now, the EU in our time. What is their relationship today?
When Russia invaded Ukraine in Feb, 2022, in response to the offer by the West to Ukraine to join NATO, America saw an opportunity to inflict significant damage on its old foe. It imposed severe sanctions (recall: cannot buy or sell unless you have the mark--Rev 13:17). It also threatened Europe with sanctions unless it stopped doing business with Russia. Europe complied, even though its own economies took a significant hit. The end result now is that the EU has become a vassal of America. It obeys Washington and has mostly lost its independence. The West, which includes America, Britain, the EU, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, now operates as a single entity, led by Anglo-America, where America is the dominant power. Therefore, I believe that the beast mentioned in Rev 13:18 now represents the entire Western Empire, led by Anglo-America (the Lamb Beast), with America as the dominant partner. I believe that all subsequent references to "beast" in Revelation refer to the Western Empire. This will become more clear when we look at the demise of Babylon the Great in Chapters 17 and 18 (coming soon). There, a harlot is pictured atop a single beast with 7 heads and 10 horns. Its scope is global. This is the final appearance of the beast, the worldwide modern version of Rome, and harlot, apostate Christianity. Merchants (corrupt, greedy business) and Kings (oligarchs and billionaires) are part of the picture, and also receive God's judgement upon them. But let us return to the question of the False Prophet.
As noted, the first mention of the False Prophet is in Rev 16:13. The next reference is in Rev 19:19-20:
And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. (Rev 19:19)
If "beast" in this passage refers to the Western Empire, led by America, Who or what is the False Prophet?
Since the Beast is a political power, it is likely the False Prophet is as well. If it was an individual, it would likely be noted as such as in Rev 13:18--"the number is that of a man..." The False Prophet is not the Lamb Beast or the 666 man. It is not apostate Christianity, since that is represented by a harlot in Revelation 17. The Lamb Beast "gives breath to the image of the beast"; the False Prophet deceives those who worship the image. The Lamb Beast "causes all..to be given a mark"--Rev 13:16-17. The False Prophet deceives those that have the mark. They are related but not the same. How does the Bible define a False Prophet? We will need to understand this in order to make a correct application.
False prophets in Scripture claim to be in the counsel of God, and to speak for God, but God does not know them. They are often associated with corrupt political leaders and tell them what they want to hear. They reject clear teachings of Scripture. They often lead immoral, ungodly lives, and use their fraudulent positions to enrich themselves. They abuse true prophets of God. They utter prophecies that generally do not come to pass (although in some cases they do). They are deceivers, liars, and manipulators. God does not know them or approve of them. They do not know God.
The False Prophet "deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image..." (Rev 19:20). We noted that the mark of the beast is a mark of slavery: those with the mark are owned by the Beast: the Western Empire led by America. They are apologists and 'patriots' of the Empire. No matter what evil their political masters do, they support and obey them. They worship the image of the Beast: they are apostate Christians. The False Prophet deceives these ones.
Let's look at conservative Christians in the West, especially in America, and their view of Israel. They tell us that the modern State of Israel is comprised of God's chosen people and must be protected from harm and from criticism. They support their governments' supplying it with an enormous cache of weapons and bombs which it uses to drop on Palestinian civilians in Gaza, roughly 40% of which are children. They vote for politicians who support Zionist Israel right or wrong. The intention of Israel's Zionist government is to rid the land "from the river to the sea" of all non-Jews; especially Palestinians, and to create an exclusively Jewish state. In order to do this, they must deceive Americans and control the American political system to a great extent in order to have the backing of the American military.
It should be obvious that the Zionist state of modern Israel is not biblical Israel, but you may be surprised at what some people believe. According to Wikipedia:
Zionism is an ethnic or ethno-cultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century and aimed for the re-establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people through the colonization of Palestine...Zionism became an ideology that supports the development and protection of Israel as a Jewish state, in particular, a state with a Jewish demographic majority. It has also been described as Israel's national or state ideology.
It was Britain that led the political movement to create a homeland for the Jews, who had suffered greatly under Hitler and who rightly received sympathy and support from the victorious allies in WWII. It was supported by many Christians, who saw the reestablishment of Israel as a fulfillment of prophecy. In 1947 the UN adopted a partition plan for Palestine, but war broke out in 1948 with Arab states. The Palestinians refer to this war as the Nakba. Over 700,000 Palestinian Arabs either fled or were expelled from their land and 15,000 or so were killed by Israeli militias in over 70 massacres. 531 Palestinian towns were destroyed. Thus the modern state of Israel was established through violence, mass killings, and land theft. The modern state of Zionist Israel today continues to slaughter Palestinians and steal their land. The objective is to create a 'racially pure' Israel "from the river to the sea." Unfortunately, misinformed conservative Christians, wrongly thinking that the Zionist state is a fulfillment of prophecy (it is not), and that Jews are God's chosen people (like everyone else, they must first accept Jesus as messiah - John 14:6). It is absolutely clear that since the advent of Jesus, God requires Jew and Gentile to accept this Jewish messiah, God's Son, and have faith in his sin-atoning, once for all time, sacrifice. Being of a certain racial subgroup means nothing in God's salvation economy.
If the Beast is the Western Empire, now unified under American leadership, what is its relationship to the modern Zionist State of Israel? Why does America continue to support it when it is clearly pursuing a genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza which is obviously not in America's interest?
AIPAC, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, and other groups, are funded by Zionist billionaires and other conservatives who exert enormous pressure on the American government. For example, Jamaal Bowman, a progressive member of Congress, is outspoken about the injustices Zionist Israel is imposing on the Palestinians. $15 million from these groups was funneled into the primary contest to support another Zionist-friendly candidate. Bowman was defeated. Across the United States, university students who support Palestine are beaten, arrested, evicted from campus, and denied graduation. In Germany, it is illegal to protest in support of Palestine. Yet conservative Christians, a significant voting block, continue to supply political cover for the Zionist project. So the Beast and the False Prophet have a close, symbiotic relationship.
That the Zionist State of Israel has little in common with biblical Israel should be obvious. The Hebrew Scriptures, which all religious Jews are bound to follow, state the following:
“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. (Lev 19:33-35)
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)
“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. (Ex 22:21-24)
In addition, Deuteronomy Chapter 28 outlines the blessings Israel would receive if they were obedient to God, and the curses if they were not. The promises to Israel, including the land, were conditional. It is clear that Israel disobeyed God. The religious leadership rejected God's Messiah, and pressured Pilate into having him crucified. So God allowed the Romans to destroy the city and its temple in 70 CE. Religious Jews today still reject the messiah, so there is no reason to believe they are any better and that God would bless them purely on their claims of racial ancestry. It's absurd.
It should be obvious that Zionists are in violation of all these commands, and many others like them. In fact, many Zionists who live in Israel are not religious at all; many are atheists. Religious Jews today continue to reject its messiah but expect God to bless them. Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) So the claims of Zionism are false: God does not know them, or approve of them. They are under God's judgement.
It is true, that Hamas, in response to Israel's decades of abuse and violence, killed some 1200 Israelis on October 7, 2023. This was abhorrent and inexcusable. But the response from Israel has been to initiate a genocide in Gaza. As of today, at least 37,000 Palestinians have been killed, including 15,000 children. The death toll is likely much higher: there are many corpses buried under the rubble in Gaza that have yet to be accounted for. The Zionist State has bombed hospitals, schools, universities, UN buildings, refugee camps, and has destroyed most of the residential buildings. It has killed over 50 journalists and dozens of medical staff. Its leadership, and the leadership of Hamas, has been indicted for war crimes at the International Criminal Court and arrest warrants will likely be issued. And yet, conservative Christians and Zionist stooges in the American government continue to support this evil.
Does Zionist Israel view itself as a special, holy people with a prophetic voice? Haaretz, a popular Israeli news site, on August 3, 2024, published an article entitled, "War Will Usher in Israel's Redemption? Messianic Fervor Is Gaining Popularity Beyond Religious Fanatics." The opening paragraph states that:
Israel's national missions minister isn't alone in thinking that we are living in a miraculous time. Increasing numbers in right-wing circles have lately joined Orit Strock in identifying the war in the Gaza Strip with the War of Gog and Magog, and the ongoing disaster of October 7 with the birth pangs of the Messiah and the advent of redemption. Some, like Rabbi Eliezer Kashtiel, from the Bnei David yeshiva in the Eli settlement in the West Bank, draw on the words of the founder of religious Zionism, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935), who said, "When there is a great war in the world, the power of the Messiah awakens." War has a purifying power, Rabbi Kook maintains, because it arouses the divine in humanity and helps overcome the selfish instinct. "The greater the destruction and the more systems that have fallen part… the greater the anticipation of the Messiah's footsteps."
The news site Israel Today, in an article dated October 9, 2020, posted, "Netanyahu, Israel’s Modern-Day Prophet?" The opening paragraphs read:
With Bible-like prophetic insights, Benjamin Netanyahu helps us understand what’s really going on with Israel, her place among the nations, and how real peace can be achieved.
Whether or not Benjamin Netanyahu remains prime minister his impact on Israel and beyond will remain. There are very few leaders left in Israel or around the world with the capacity to fully grasp and articulate the historical and prophetic relevance of what is happening in Israel, the Middle East and around the world today.
The same news organization posted an article entitled "Lubavitcher Rebbe: 'After Bibi comes the Messiah,'" dated November 1, 2023. The subtitle and opening paragraphs state:
Will Benjamin Netanyahu be Israel’s last prime minister before the Messiah comes?
The situation is only getting worse, and that has been made abundantly clear the past three weeks. War, apocalyptic sentiment, Benjamin Netanyahu (Bibi) is Prime Minister and the State of Israel is about to celebrate its 80th birthday. Never in its history has the nation of Israel ruled and lived freely and independently in its biblical homeland for more than 80 years. And so I would like to remind you of something a famous rabbi said regarding the coming of the Messiah.
About 30 years ago, the late Lubavitcher Rebbe told a young Netanyahu that “he, Benjamin Netanyahu, will be Israel’s prime minister, who will pass the scepter to the Messiah.” The Lubavitcher Rebbe said this during the election campaign in the 1990s, before Netanyahu’s first term in office. Today, Israel is in a kind of apocalyptic mood, Bibi is prime minister and the scepter is in his hand. Will Netanyahu, the nation and the world soon welcome the Messiah?
Well, the Messiah was already here 2000 years ago and the Jewish religious leadership rejected him and pressured Pilate into crucifying him. Not much has changed in Israel. They still don't recognize him and are still waiting for a messiah of their own making. They see themselves and Zionist Israel as a prophet of sorts. But we know it is a False Prophet.
In the opening of this article, we referenced the following scripture, and can now interpret it:
And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty (Rev 16:13-14, ESV).
The Dragon is Satan the Devil. He is the source of this frog-like, croaking propaganda. The Beast (Western Empire) and the False Prophet (Zionist State), repeat the propaganda throughout the earth through their control of media, agitating for major war, possibly WWIII. Israel right now, is planning a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. America has told Israel it will help it. And this will surely bring in other regional powers.
And so, the False Prophet has been identified as the Zionist State of Israel and its supporters, pliant politicians, and propagandists. It works closely with the Beast, the Western Empire led by America, and in many respects, controls it. It claims to be God's people--to have a special relationship with Yahweh, the God of Israel. It claims that the establishment of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of prophecy. These are lies. God does not know them and neither do they know God. What judgement awaits the False Prophet and the Beast is described in Rev Chapter 19:
And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. (Rev 19:20)
The Beast (Western Empire) and the False Prophet (Zionist State of Israel) are thrown into the lake of fire, representing total destruction. And what of the other powers and people that remain, who are in opposition to the Kingdom of God?
And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (Rev 19:21)
The Lord Jesus Christ, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, upon his return, will deal with them after he deals with the Beast and the False Prophet. Then, the final promises in the Book of Revelation will be fulfilled:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev 21:1-4)
But what of the 666 man? How does he fit in?
This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. (Rev 13:18)
The Beast is the Western Empire, led by America. The number 6 in Scripture indicates sin, so 666 means sin multiplied hundreds of times over. There have been evil 666 men before: the popes of the middle ages, and King James Stuart and his son Charles in England, as examples. But I believe there will be an excessively evil man that will arise near the end, just prior to the return of Jesus, and Jesus will destroy him. He will be like the evil popes of the middle ages: arrogant, deceitful, immoral, abusive, greedy, blasphemous, and immensely powerful. He will cynically use the Christian religion for selfish purposes. Who could this be?
We don't know for sure. As Sir Isaac Newton said, prophecy is not for humans to know the details of the future, but for humans to look back in history and understand that God is in control of it. There is one candidate, however, that could very well fit the description.
Donald Trump was elected President of the United States in 2016. He lost to Joe Biden in 2020, but falsely claimed the election was stolen from him. He brought some 60 cases to court, all of which failed. He tried to overthrow the election using several illegal tactics, including violence at the Capital building on January 6th, 2021, but failed again. His base, the so-called MAGA people (Make America Great Again), are apostate, racist Christians who consider Trump their messiah and are not moved by his lies, dozens of charges of sexual abuse against women, 34 felony convictions with more court cases to follow, business corruption, and incompetence--especially during Covid, where his lies, according to Dr. Birx, who worked for him, caused the deaths of some 400,000 Americans. He is arrogant, a liar, greedy, completely immoral, and abusive. He and his Republican advisers have a 100 day plan to turn the American government into an authoritarian state. He pretends to be a late adopter of Christianity, to impress his base and their corrupt pastors, but his behavior clearly shows that this is also a lie (Gal 5:19-26). If he is elected, and this seems increasingly likely, given President Biden's deteriorating mental state and his unwillingness to step aside, I expect him to be filled with the spirit of Satan. A spiritual darkness will descend upon America and the Western Empire. God will then use him, as He used Pharaoh, to destroy America as a world power, and prove that the claims of Trump and the West, as well as those of the Zionist State, are fraudulent.
We will be watching the election this coming November 5th, 2024, with great interest. We could be witnessing the beginning of the end of the Western Empire and the Zionist State.
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