Hello John,
I do not know what to say about the false prophet, though I do remember Jesus saying that there will be many people who claim to be Christ, and lead people away from the living God. Though then again it is singular False Prophet. I need to study.
The dating of the Letter of Revelation is debatable: and I believe it was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 Ad.
With that being said: from scripture to the subject of “Beast”, I will share this with you.
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 and sixty-six." Revelation 13:18
As you can see from Johns letter in writing the revelation of Christ: to the 7 churches they are being warned of a man known as the beast. Considering the time period, I believe that the one know as the beast, is Nero, an Roman emperor who had many Christians slain.
Those who believe it was written way later say the emperor was known as Domitian and the future events have not happened yet.
Thank you for your question,
In Christ,
Matthew Gallagher