And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.” – Rev. 13:11

This False Prophet looks like the Lamb but, he only has two horns whereas John tells us the true Lamb of God has seven horns, which represent the fullness of the Holy Spirit –

“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” – Rev. 5:6

 This “false prophet” will be powerful, having all the power of the first beast. He will also be religious in nature and try to convince people that he is the prophet to come.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:” – Malachi 4:5

One of the miracles he does that is specifically mentioned is “he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men” (Rev. 13:13), which gives us a clue as to whom he tries to counterfeit. He will call down fire from heaven like Elijah did –

“And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.” – 1 Kings 1:10

Who did Elijah come to announce? According to the prophet Malachi-

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.” – Malachi 3:1

And what is the main goal of the False Prophet? –

“And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” – Rev. 13:12

While this second beast will cover himself with religious apparel, he will be very political and economic in his actions. He it is who invents the 666 economic system to control people.

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” – Rev. 13:16-18

I suspect he may very well be Jewish. Every Passover Jews look for Elijah to come to announce the coming of Messiah. If he were Gentile, I doubt many Jews would accept him. Also, the Jewish mindset is very attuned to economic endeavors. I also believe he will be closely tied to the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.

“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” – Rev. 13:15

This age of technology helps us understand how he could make an image to the beast speak. Walt Disney does it all the time!

These actions will begin during the last 3.5 years of the 7 year covenant the first beast makes with Israel. Revelation chapter 17 will also introduce another player who will likely help the world to be deceived by this ‘false prophet’. She is the ‘whore of Babylon’, the Jezebel of the modern church.

Chapters 12 and 13 reveal to us events that happen during the last seven years of this age. Following chapters will continue to fill in details of this time and the beginning of the judgments of God to be poured out on the wicked.