Today we will study the second part of Revelation chapter 13 and what a fascinating study it is. We looked yesterday at the first antichrist and all that he will accomplish for satan. Today we will take a close look at the second beast which is the second antichrist. Now for most this will sound very odd. Two antichrists? We touched heavily on antichrists yesterday; the meaning, the representation, and the definition. If you missed that study, I strongly recommend you back up and catch it at The5MC.com. The 2 antichrists are pivotal to Revelation and a must to understand if you want to fully grasp how they will affect the coming of the end and the millennial reign of Christ.
We saw that the first antichrist (called a beast) will be an amazing political figure. Satan will use all of his power to prop up this figure and make him the darling of the world. He will be instrumental in garnering satan the people’s worship that he so strongly desires. But satan doesn’t stop there. In fact, in his craftiness, he creates another beast that will have one primary purpose. To be a religious figure that will develop the first beast into a god. The second beast’s mission will be to cause the Earth and those who dwell on it to worship the first antichrist. He will lead the worldwide religion of the antichrist worship. This will be a one-two punch as these two servants of satan work in tandem to achieve total and absolute worship and focus on the first beast, the political leader that will lead the world in the direction satan desires.
Let’s take a look at the second beast, the devil’s religious leader, the false prophet of satan:
“Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.
13:11-12 – “Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.”
John sees another completely different beast, this one rising out of the earth. He will be a person just like the first beast, but we see that this beast has quite different qualities because he has quite the different purpose. He has only two horns versus the first beast’s ten. Since horns represent power and strength, this beast will be more subtle and more passive than the first beast. Instead of having the appearance of a lion, a bear, and a leopard, the false prophet will look like a lamb. All throughout scripture, Jesus is referred to as the lamb and the false prophet will cleverly and falsely use this image for his purpose. But be careful to note that in spite of his image, he speaks like a dragon. Make no mistake, he works for satan, will speak for satan, and will do his bidding obediently.
The false prophet is equal with the first beast, exercising all of the same authority granted it by satan. His purpose is clearly stated here, to “makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast.” This will be a great religious leader and his religion will be entirely based around the first beast. He will create a new religion that the world has never before seen or heard, and it will be based around the first antichrist. So how will he achieve and mislead so many? Recall back when we looked at the first beast and it said in verse 13:3, “One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.” We said that this beast would appear to the world as falsely resurrected. Well guess who deceptively “brings him back from the dead?” Yep, this great fake, the false prophet of satan. You see, this act will catapult both figures into the stratosphere as people will see this false resurrection and believe it. This will be the great lie of the tribulation and will fool the people left in the world. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:11) As part of His judgement upon this wicked, unbelieving people, God will allow them to believe this fake miracle as true.
13:13-15 – “It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.”
Satan will greatly empower this demonic religious figure. He will have powers that the first beast will not have. Powers that will make people believe that he is a miracle working, power wielding, figure of the real God. It says he will even have power to make fire reign down from heaven. Folks, satan has great power on this earth today, don’t doubt what he is capable of. In this period, he will grant that power to the false prophet and he will wow the world by showing them amazing signs right in front of their eyes.
While serving in Maui we went to see a touristy comedy magic show that was in a historic theater right down on Font Street in Lahaina called Warren and Annabelle's. Warren was a real guy and I even sold him some Tommy Bahama shirts while I worked there in Maui. (in fact, that’s how we got the tickets, he was kind enough to give me a pair!) Well, the entire show was slight of hand, up close and very personal. The entire theater was the size of a living room and it only seated about 50 people. At the front was a single table, that was it. The entire show was card tricks, magic, and tons of laughs. We saw some of the most amazing stuff we’ve ever seen, and it was all 10 feet in front of our face. It was really hard to comprehend how he did what he did. If a regular ol' guy can do this in Maui, just imagine what satan will show the world through the false prophet during this period in the great tribulation. He will fool the entire world.
The false prophet keeps up the great tricks and creates a huge image of the first beast, the political ruler of the world. Anybody can make a big statue, but satan empowers the false prophet to take it to the next level. First, he fakes the beast being raised from the dead and now he’s really going to move into the worship part of this new religion. He makes an idol of the leader and then makes it breath and even speak. Wow, this is going to be an amazing thing to see. And because most people need to see to believe, they will do just that. They will believe that the political figure is truly God. At this point we’re told that there will be such a religious frenzy that if you don’t believe in this new God, that you will be killed. Folks, this is not God’s religion, one of love, goodness, peace, and harmony. This is satan’s new religion, one of hate, anger, murder, intolerance, and death. The motto of satan's new religion during the great tribulaion could likely be, “believe in the new god or die.”
13:16-17 – “16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.”
Here we see what has been coined “taking the mark of the beast.” The false prophet will require people to get this mark. It will not be a choice or optional, it will be mandatory. Now a lot of people automatically condemn the idea of "taking a mark" but slow down and look back. Recall back in Revelation chapter 7 that God seals the 144,000 preachers of Israel to go into the world to save lost souls. And how did God “seal” them? They each received a seal or mark on their forehead. (Rev 7:3) So we see here that God gave the 144,000 a mark on their foreheads that would save them from every evil that could possibly harm them as they served God during the tribulation. So, a mark on the forehead in itself is not evil in God's Word. But what we see here is an evil perversion of God’s mark. God’s mark was to preserve His servants from being harmed by satan. Satan’s mark however is to serve just the opposite purpose. The mark of satan will protect the bearer from the wrath that will be poured out on those that believe in Almighty God. This will be a terrible period of death and genocide of believers and if you have the seal of satan on your forehead you will be spared. Have it, live. Don’t have it, die. Folks, their will be some tough decisions made during this time, even by believers. Refuse the mark and die.
Next, we see something that we have never seen before. We will see the marriage of religion and commerce created to encourage yet more coercion to believe in the antichrist. Do you like to eat? Do you want to continue to sell your goods to provide for your family? To do any of this you will need to have the mark of satan on either your right hand or your forehead. Without it you will not be able to buy or sell anything. Today, if you want to buy or sell certain things you need a permit from the government. For instance, if you want to sell alcohol to the public, you have to apply for and receive a permit that you post in your business. Sell alcohol without it and you will have a new home that is a spacious 6’ x 6’ with one window. If you want to buy certain firearms or rifles in the US, you have to have a permit to do so. Get caught with one of these rifles without the license and you will be dealing with many lawyers employed by the ATF. The mark of the antichrist will be a permit and a license all rolled into one. You will need it to buy or sell anything. Without it, you will not be able to live or work. This will create an unbelievable amount of pressure on general society. And notice that no one will be exempt from this. Rich, poor, small, great, free, and slave, all people will be required to take the mark and bow to satan. This of course is obvious, but this will be one of the worst times to be alive and stand for Christ.
As far as the mark and what it looks like, no one knows. And if they say they do, they are making it up out of thin air. The seal of the beast will be created in that day by the false prophet.
13:18 – “This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.”
This along with the ‘mark of the beast’ has got to be one of the most known and one of the most misused and misunderstood passages in Revelation. (Maybe the most) No one knows what the number means. No one. Note that God's Word does not say that the physical mark of the beast will be the number 666 as most people wrongly believe. No one knows what the mark will be or looks like. Since the antichrist has not yet come, the number 666 cannot be associated with any individual or understood in its correct context.
Also, people associate the devil directly with this number but it is directly associated with the antichrist, not satan. Sure, the devil controls both of the antichrists but not until the antichrists come onto the scene, do we see this number appear. So, it is clearly associated with the antichrists and directly to the mark of the beast in order to hamper commerce to the point of forcing people into taking the mark. Remember, when it comes to God's Word, we only read the black and we don't guess or insert our own ideas, beliefs, or pop-culture definitions.
Folks, the message here is clear. The great tribulation is going to be the worst experience a human could possibly imagine. The wrath and judgment of God in the beginning of the tribulation is bad enough, but if you do happen to survive all of His judgements, you will simply find yourself under the radical and tyrannical rule of satan and his two diabolical, demonic antichrists. For those that reject the gospel of Jesus Christ, I will continue to cry out to God that they might repent and be saved. I wish that no one will ever have to undergo this torment and torture. But many will. The evil and hardness of men’s hearts will always confound me.
God bless you and may God bless your personal time in His glorious, powerful, and Holy Word ~ Dan
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