In the
previous post we saw that the beast from the sea, the Antichrist, will
eventually become the de facto ruler of the world and be worshipped by all
“earth dwellers” as God. Only those who
choose to follow God in faith and obedience will refuse to worship him, and
such refusal will result in the death of many.
John next reveals the emergence of a beast arising from the earth.
Revelation 13:11–15 “And I beheld
another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and
he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before
him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first
beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he
maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And
deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by
the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the
beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to
the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image
of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as
many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”
Note
that the beast has two horns like a lamb, but he speaks like a dragon. John
consistently makes a distinct contrast between the Lamb, Jesus, and the dragon,
Satan. Horns are a symbol of royal dignity, strength and
power. This
seems to indicate that this beast would carry the type of dignity and power
reflected in a man of God in leadership, but would speak with the cunning and
deceitfulness of the dragon. Because of this description, he is often
referred to as the false prophet.
This second beast is able to perform
miraculous things “before” the first beast. The word for “before”
indicates “in the face of, in the presence of.” This makes a clear
distinction in their positions. The first beast operates at will on his
own; the second beast is subject to empowerment provided in the presence of the
first. The second beast carries enough clout to cause those on earth to
worship the first beast. Again, we are told that the first beast has had
a miraculous recovery from an apparently deadly wound. The fact that this
second beast is directing the worship of the people also indicates a position
of religious leadership.
The second beast is able to do great
wonders/miracles/signs. He is able to publicly call down fire from heaven
to earth just like Elijah of old and the two witnesses in chapter 11.
There is a verse in Job that verifies Satan’s ability
to call down fire from heaven in accordance with God’s permission.
Job 1:16 “While
he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is
fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and
consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.”
Though the fire was attributed to God, the fact is
that God had given Satan permission to attack Job; and evidently the ability to
call down fire from heaven was included in this permission.
I liked Kenneth Wuest’s expanded translation at this
point: “And he performs great
miracles the purpose of which is to attest the divine source of the words
uttered by the one performing the miracle, even to the extent that he causes
fire to be descending out of heaven into the earth in the sight of the men.”
The second beast is able to “deceive” those living
on earth because of his miracles. Jesus
warned us of Satan’s power to deceive.
Matthew
24:24 “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew
great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive
the very elect.”
Paul warned us as well.
2Thessalonians
2:9 “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and
signs and lying wonders….”
There are also great verses in Deuteronomy that apply.
Deuteronomy
13:1-3 “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth
thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he
spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known,
and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet,
or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether
ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
“The test of a miracle is its supernaturalness;
the test of its source, the end, or interest for which it is wrought. If
in support of anything contrary to God and His revealed will and law, it is no
less a miracle; but in that case it is the work of the Devil; for God cannot
contradict Himself.” Joseph Seiss
We are again told specifically that the second
beast can only do these miracles in the presence of the first beast. The
same Greek word, “enopion,” is used for the word “before” in verse 12 and the
phrase “in sight of” in verse 14. He uses his platform of power to
construct an image or statue of some sort in honor of the first beast.
John also reveals that the apparently deadly wound
was caused by a sword/knife/dirk. Some scholars make a connection with
this to the following verses in Zechariah. If true, the attack on the
Antichrist will result in a useless arm and blindness in his right eye.
Zechariah
11:16-17 “For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not
visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that
that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh
of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. Woe to the idol shepherd that
leaveth the flock! the sword shall be
upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his
right eye shall be utterly darkened.”
The second beast is able to give life to the image
of the beast and cause it to speak. The interesting thing here is that the word for
life is “pneuma,” which means “current of air, breath, spirit.” Considering
the speed at which technology is advancing today, who knows what type of image
this will be. Those that refuse to
worship this image will be killed. There is a verse in chapter 20 that
indicates that beheading will be the likely method of execution.
Revelation
20:4 “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto
them: and I saw the souls of them that
were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which
had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark
upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ
a thousand years.”
(to be continued…)
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