The great signs performed by the false prophet recall NT warnings on the last days (Mt 24,24; 2Thess 2,10). His greatest sign, bringing down fire from heaven, recalls the divine power given to the prophet Elijah (2Kgs 1,9-14; 1Kgs 18,30-40), and the imitation of this sign by the false prophet suggests that he desires to identify himself with Elijah. Secondly, in the history of the ancient sacrificial cult, this sign frequently appeared at the consecration of a new altar, indicating divine confirmation (Lv 9,24; 1Chr 21,26; 2Chr 7,1; 2Macc 1,18-36). Its imitation by the false prophet therefore implies his participation in the dedication of a new altar connected to the ancient Israelite cult. In view of the central importance of the temple in Jerusalem for the performance of the ancient cult, the dedication of a new altar by the false prophet, in this impressive but unauthentic way (no doubt using advanced technology), certainly implies the reconstruction of the temple in Jerusalem. Furthermore, it is clear from the text that the renewed cult is not directed to the worship of God, but rather to the false messiah and his patron, the devil, even though it is based on the site of the ancient temple in Jerusalem (cf. 2Thess 2,4; Mt 24,15; Mk 13,14). The precise character of the false religion deceitfully established and enforced by the false prophet is therefore discernable: it is an idolatrous form of the ancient Israelite cult, directed towards the worship of a false messiah and the source of his authority, the devil. There is only one religion into which the religious activity described in this passage fits, and that is Judaism—especially those branches of Orthodox Judaism which actively maintain OT traditions whilst awaiting the coming of a prophet representing Elijah (Mal 3,23-24) and a political messiah. Furthermore, the single most important Halachic criteria for identifying this messiah is his supervision of the rebuilding of the temple in its place (see Maimonides, The Code [Mishneh Torah], Book 14: Judges. Treatise five: Kings and Wars, chs. 11-12, 238-42). In Revelation, the reign of the beast and his false prophet represents the realization of this false messianic expectation of Orthodox Judaism.