Revelation 13:11 says that the beast out of the earth “had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.” The false prophet looks like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon. This indicates his falsehood. In the Bible the lamb signifies Christ. The fact that the false prophet will have two horns like a lamb indicates that he will pretend to be the same as Christ. However, his speaking will be like the dragon, Satan. Although he will pretend to be like Christ, what he expresses will be like Satan. He will be an absolute falsehood.
Verse 13 says, “And he does great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth before men.” The false prophet will employ satanic power to perform great signs. In calling down fire out of heaven, the false prophet will do the same thing Elijah did. Elijah called down fire from heaven during the days of Ahab (1 Kings 18), and during the coming three and a half years of the great tribulation he will do this again. When Judas sees this, he may say, “If Elijah can do it, I can too.” Because the false prophet will perform great signs, it will be difficult for people to discern the real prophet from the false prophet. The false prophet will be able to do the same thing as the real one. As far as eloquence is concerned, Judas will likely be no less eloquent than Moses or Elijah because his speaking will be like that of the dragon.
If we have been enlightened, we would never pay attention to signs. According to the concept of the New Testament, the Lord does not intend for us to devote our attention to signs. Rather, we must concentrate our whole being on the matter of life. We should not care for what a preacher or minister can do in the way of signs; we must examine the kind of life he has. It is not a matter of the power we exercise, but of the life we live. If you care only for life, you will never be deceived. As far as signs are concerned, there is no way to discern the true from the false, for both Elijah and the false prophet will bring down fire from heaven. The only way to discern is by life. If both Elijah and Judas were standing before you, you could easily discern who is true and who is false by their very being. People may cheat others by their words, but they expose themselves by what they are. Do not care for what people can do—care for what they are. Today most Christians do not care for what people are, but for what they can do. They care for power, signs, and miracles. But those who exercise miraculous power to do signs may have a living and behavior that are deplorable. I am not saying that we should be concerned with our outward appearance. I am saying that we must be what we are. What we are in our living must express what we are in our life. The life we live out from within expresses, not what we can do, but what we are.
At the end time, the signs, powers, and miracles will come. In Matthew 24:24 the Lord Jesus said, “False Christs and false prophets shall arise and shall show great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” In 2 Thessalonians 2:9 and 10 Paul said the Antichrist, the man of sin, would come “according to the operation of Satan, with all power and signs and wonders of a lie, and with all deceit of unrighteousness among those who are perishing.” We must be warned not to look for signs and wonders. If you do, you may be deceived. Instead of seeking signs, we must care for Christ in the way of life. Do not expect miracles—give your attention to life, which is Christ Himself. When Judas, the false prophet, appears, he will deceive people by the signs he performs.
The false prophet will not work for himself, but for Antichrist, the beast out of the sea. No one who speaks on his own behalf is respected or believed. It is much easier to praise others than it is to praise yourself. If I were to speak highly of myself, no one would want to listen to me. Everything Judas says and does will be on behalf of the first beast. I simply cannot understand why he will sell himself to Antichrist to such an extent that he will even go to the lake of fire with him. There seems to be no reason for this. Neither Satan nor Antichrist will promise Judas anything. Why then will he be so foolish as to sell himself outright? From the beginning Judas was caught by Satan and became a person under Satan’s evil instigation. As Satan controlled Judas in the past, so he will control him once again. This may be the reason Judas will completely sell himself to Antichrist.
Although none of us is like Judas, part of our natural being is in the principle of Judas at least to some degree. We also may sell ourselves to Satan for nothing. Whether you realize it or not, you have done this many times. Frequently we have betrayed the Lord Jesus or damaged the church life. We have done certain things that have frustrated the Lord’s recovery. It seems that there was no reason for our doing these things. During the past fourteen years in this country, I have seen some cases of those who damaged the Lord’s recovery, but who received nothing for it in return. Their acts were the result of the fact that Satan had occupied their natural being. When Satan gets into our natural being and possesses certain parts of it, we sell ourselves for nothing. This is the principle of Judas as well as the principle of the false prophet.
Not only will Satan give his power to the false prophet; the Antichrist will place his complete confidence in him. Hence, the false prophet will be authorized to represent Antichrist, the embodiment of Satan. Satan will be embodied in Antichrist, and Antichrist will be represented by the false prophet. Because of this, some Bible students call Satan, Antichrist, and the false prophet a satanic trinity. But I do not like to see the word trinity used in this way. Nevertheless, Satan, Antichrist, and the false prophet certainly will become one. Due to this union, the false prophet will be authorized to do whatever he desires.