Revelation 13:12 says of the false prophet, “He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his sight.” The false prophet will not only exercise the power of Antichrist, but also the authority of Antichrist.
Verse 12 also says, “And he causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose death stroke was healed.” The false prophet will cause the entire earth and the earth’s dwellers to worship Antichrist. His ministry will be that of spreading the word that everyone on earth must worship Antichrist. He will do a great deal of preaching. By his preaching, which will be eloquent and powerful, he will convince people to worship Antichrist.
Verse 14 says, “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which he was given to do before the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast, who had the stroke of the sword and lived.” He will deceive people to such an extent that they will agree to make an image of the beast and worship him.
We have seen that Antichrist will be the totality of the characteristics of all the worldly powers. Throughout the centuries, people have been fond of erecting images of their heroes. Even today people make images of certain heroes. All this foreshadows what the false prophet will do for Antichrist. The false prophet will set up the image of Antichrist as an idol. Many argue that the images set up in various places today are not idols and that people are not required to worship them. Although this may be true, in principle to worship a hero is to worship an idol. We Christians must be careful never to stand before an image and pay respect to it. In principle, this is worshipping an idol. We should never stand before any image; we should stand only before our Lord. In the ten commandments God commanded us never to make an image. If you make an image, regardless of your purpose in doing so, people will eventually worship it, either in your generation or in a future generation. The desire for a hero will consummate in Antichrist, and the false prophet will convince the worldly people to worship their hero. Undoubtedly, Antichrist will be the hero of heroes, surpassing all the heroes of bygone generations. Through the release and distribution of this message, many Christians will be prepared for this. When that day comes for the image of Antichrist to be erected, they will be able to stay away from it.
Revelation 13:15 says, “And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause that whoever would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” Here we see that the false prophet will actually be able to give the breath of life to the idol. The idol will thus be enlivened. No idol made by man has been able to speak (Psa. 115:5), but this last idol will be enabled to speak as a living image. This surely will be an astonishing sign to the earth’s dwellers, causing them all to worship the image of Antichrist. Today’s scientists can make many things, but they cannot give breath to anything they make. But the day is coming when Judas will be able to do this. An idol will be placed in the temple of God. This idol will speak and command that anyone who does not worship it should be killed. How difficult it will be for anyone not to be deceived by this devilish wonder! Who will be able to keep from worshipping Antichrist or his image? According to 13:8, “All those dwelling on the earth shall worship him, every one whose name has not been written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Only those whose names have been written in the Lamb’s book of life will not worship Antichrist and his image. They will refuse to worship him, even at the cost of their lives. As a result, a great many will be martyred.
If you are not a firstfruit, but are left on earth during the great tribulation, you may be martyred by Antichrist. But that martyrdom will quickly make you an overcomer. Although those who are martyred during the great tribulation will be the late overcomers, they will become overcomers very quickly.
Brother Nee spent more than fifty years to become an overcomer. For more than thirty years he suffered the persecution from Christianity by means of opposition, criticisms, and rumors. Nearly all the missionaries, especially those of the China Inland Mission, opposed him. After those years of opposition from Christianity, he was imprisoned for another twenty years. Although Brother Nee spent fifty years to become an overcomer, those who remain during the great tribulation will not have more than forty-two months. It will not be pleasant to be left to pass through the great tribulation, but it is a great deal better than dying today. If you die now, you will lose the opportunity to be an overcomer. Praise the Lord that we all have the opportunity to become overcomers, either the early overcomers or the late overcomers. I certainly want to be an overcomer, to remain alive until I see the Lord. But if we cannot be overcomers today, then, instead of dying, we should prefer to be left in the great tribulation, for then we shall have the opportunity to be late and quick overcomers. If you do not want to be an overcomer now, you will be forced to be an overcomer later. Although you may say that you do not care, the Lord has a way to make you care. Antichrist will come, and the false prophet will preach and erect an image that will be able to speak. What will you do then? You will have to counter-preach. But after preaching against Antichrist, you will be martyred.
If these messages do not help to make you an early overcomer, I have the assurance that they will prepare you to be a late overcomer. The Lord is now releasing all these messages. I have not touched this matter of prophecy for more than forty years. This is the first time since the early 1930s that I have dealt with prophecy in the way of life. I believe that in the not too distant future Antichrist will come and the false prophet will appear. This is a timely word for God’s people. This word will either motivate them to be early overcomers, or it will strengthen them to be the late overcomers. The Lord has a way, and He will gain the victory. Hallelujah, our names have been written in the book of life! This is our predestination.
The false prophet will cause all “to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead” (13:16). The men will probably be marked on the forehead and the women on the right hand. This mark will indicate that they belong to Antichrist, the authority of the false prophet. Unless people are marked, they will not be able to buy or sell (13:17). As we have already pointed out, the name of the beast is Caesar Nero, and the number of his name is six hundred and sixty-six.
We have seen that two beasts are about to come, the first beast from the sea, from the Gentile world, and the second beast from the land, from the nation of Israel. It is unnecessary to remember all the details pertaining to these two beasts. When the time comes, you will remember the impression these messages have made upon you. Surely this is the Lord’s purpose in releasing this word. As far as the beast and the false prophet are concerned, we cannot say that no impression has been made upon us. Rather, we have been deeply impressed, and this impression cannot be taken away. We know who we are, where we are, what we are doing, and where we are going. Praise the Lord that we also know what is coming. Hallelujah, we have been enlightened and impressed!