THE BOOK OF REVELATION

INTRODUCTION - We have identified the Beast of Revelation as Nero and the Roman Empire. He and his nation are the most obvious choices for the first century fulfillment of this passage. Nero is the blasphemous ruler who demands worship, bringing a great persecution against the church, and whose name fits the cryptogram at the end of the chapter. Rome is that kingdom which looks like it dies when Nero falls, but rises again under Vespasian, and goes on to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. Yet found within Revelation 13 is another beast which becomes an accomplice with Nero and Rome (Revelation 13:11-17). This beast is different from the first, for his aim is religious, not political. He is more concerned with the worship of Rome and Caesar. Revelation 19:20 reveals to us who this beast it - it is the False Prophet. This figure will join Rome in its persecution of the people of God. This beast will also promote the Roman empire and the worship of its king. There is only one candidate during the first century who fits the description of the False Prophet and that is apostate Israel. After rejecting Christ, Israel would go on to persecute the church. They still believed that they were God's people worshipping in God's Temple. Yet they had actually become the great false prophet of the day, leading men into heresy, and eventually to their doom. Let us see how Israel and its religious teachers fit the description of this second beast in Revelation 13.

1) THE CHARACTER OF THE FALSE PROPHET - Revelation 13:1 - False prophecy in Scripture is always to be seen in its relationship to biblical truth. We are not speaking here of pagan religions which are obviously in rebellion against biblical faith. Instead, a false prophet is one who rises from the ranks of biblical truth and deceives by presenting himself as a true prophet or speaker for biblical doctrine. He will claim to be a follower of God where, in fact, he is an enemy to God and Christ. The second beast is described as both a lamb and a dragon (the devil) and this is the precise description of a false prophet (Matthew 7:15; II Corinthians 11:13,14). The false prophet looks like a lamb, he has the appearance of a Christian worker, but in reality he is a wolf, speaking the falsehoods of the devil.

2) THE FALSE PROPHET IN THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH - False prophets were not new to Christianity in the first century. They also abounded in the church in the Old Testament.

A) FALSE PROPHETS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT - In Deuteronomy 13:1-5, Moses warns God's people about these deceitful men. Moses tells them that the false prophet would rise up from among the people, being considered a follower of God. He would display all sorts of signs and wonders to attract the attention of the people and to try and prove the truth of his words. Yet his message will be false, and so, the people were to listen carefully to what he was saying. If he spoke lies, he was to be killed as a false prophet. Later, in the days of Jeremiah, false prophets had moved Israel away from biblical faith. In Jeremiah 23:14, the character of the false prophet is seen as adulterous and full of lies. Eventually the foul character of the false prophet will expose itself. God warns the people not to listen to them or follow them (Jeremiah 23:16,21). Old Testament prophets usually wore certain clothing - the rough garments of the prophets. Yet false prophets would imitate this in order to play the part and lead the people into falsehood.

B) FALSE PROPHETS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT - Jesus warned His disciples that the first century would be full of false prophets (Matthew 24:11). The classic New Testament false prophets are the teachers in Israel. They were supposed to care for God's people but instead they led the people away from Jehovah and His Son. They used the Word of God for their own means. In John 8:43-45, Jesus actually calls them children of the devil. They had become the spokesman for their infamous father, the dragon. Judaism was heresy to the Lord Jesus (Matthew 15:8,9), and we see that heresy rising against Christianity as the Judaizers try to infiltrate the Christian church. Did the Jewish false prophets of the first century lead people astray with signs as wonders as the second beast of Revelation does (Revelation 13:13,14)? Such false miracles were typical in the first century and are recorded for us in Acts 8:9-11 and Acts 13:6-10. Here are two false prophets who are sorcerers, performing signs and wonders for the people, to lead them away from Christ.

C) FALSE PROPHETS OF OUR OWN DAY - Let us not suppose that the devil has given up this tactic against the church. Certainly we have obvious false prophets in cults such as Mormonism and the Jehovah Witnesses, who claim to believe the Bible but in reality they deny its doctrines. Yet there are false prophets even closer to home who easily infiltrate the church today. Countless heretical teachers in radio and television bombard the church with their false teachings. They claim to believe the Bible and display all sorts of signs, wonder, miracles and healings to prove their case. Yet we must take a lesson from the Old and New Testaments. Such signs and wonders are meaningless. We must listen carefully to the message of these teachers, for it is here that we shall uncover their heresies. These men dress up like sheep, looking and acting like Christians, sounding like evangelicals, yet they are actually ravenous wolves. In an uninspired, early church document titled the "Didache," we get a feel for the way the early church uncovered false teachers. If a so-called teacher out-stayed his welcome, made great demands for money, lived a greedy, lazy, and self-fulfilling existence, if he lived to satisfy his own ego and loved to gain power and influence over people, then this man was labeled a false prophet. We should learn from the early church for they had countless experiences with these men.

3) THE FALSE PROPHET OF REVELATION WORKS HAND IN HAND WITH THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT - Revelation 13:12 - Did the Jewish leaders work with Rome? When one reads the New Testament, this fact is inescapable. In Acts 4:26-28, we hear of Jerusalem's collaboration with Rome beginning at the crucifixion. The False Prophet joins with the Beast to kill the Son of God. In Acts 17:5-8, when Paul has success in the city of Thessalonica, the Jews charge him with being unfaithful to Rome and Caesar. The whole trial of Paul at the end of Acts is seen as a Jewish collaboration with the Roman government to destroy this man. Jerusalem and Rome were certainly united against the cause of Christianity.

4) THE FALSE PROPHET CAUSES OTHERS TO FOLLOW ROME - Revelation 13:12-15 - Did first century Israel worship Rome? Did they lead others in this worship? Did they speak out on behalf of Rome? When we turn to the crucifixion of Christ, we hear an incredible statement made by Israel (John 19:5-15). When Pilate is ready to release Christ, the Jews call him "no friend of Caesar's" charging Pilate with treason because he did not want to crucify Christ. The Jews chose Caesar over the Son of God and they led others into this damnable worship. They proclaimed loyalty to Caesar (John 19:15) and in this statement they sealed their fate and destruction. Worship of Jehovah and Christ were cast down in favor of the pagan king, the king who thought himself to be a god. By rejecting Christ, the Jews committed idolatry with the king of Rome. They gave a mouth to the Roman emperor and continually spoke on his behalf, ascribing their loyalty to him.

5) THE FALSE PROPHET UPHOLDS THE LOYALTY TO ROME - Revelation 13:16,17 - What is the mark of the beast? How would a first century person be given the mark or the name of the beast? The best way to understand this seal is to go ahead one chapter and look at the people of God identified as the one hundred and forty-four thousand. They are marked in their foreheads with the name of God. There is an obvious parallel between God's people and the devil's. Both are marked. The devil's people are marked with the name of the beast, the loyalty to Rome and Caesar, while God's people are marked with the name of God, and their loyalty to God's kingdom and Christ. To not bow to Caesar would make you a second-class citizen, coming under the persecution of the Jews and the Romans, and facing the economic hardship of such a position.