What does Revelation 13:13 mean?

The second beast (Revelation 13:1–2; 13:11) is most commonly referred to as the "False Prophet." This person is a partner in evil with the first beast, most often labelled as the Antichrist. The False Prophet puts on quite a show to convince people that he is Israel's messiah. He performs great signs and even makes fire drop down from heaven, as the prophet Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice (1 Kings 18:36–39). The exact meaning or scope of these signs is unknown. Undoubtedly, he will perform great signs by the power of Satan (Matthew 24:24; 2 John 1:7).

This is another effort to imitate the true Christ, who performed many miracles when He ministered on earth. Christ's miracles were designed to convince people that He is the Messiah: the Promised One. The apostle John constructed his gospel around miracles or signs Jesus performed. He wrote: "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book [the Gospel of John]; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:30–31).