The Second Beast: The False Prophet
Revelation: A Brief History of Time • Sermon • Submitted
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· 5 viewsNumerology, Names, and Nonsense? (Revelation 13:18) | Allegiance to the Beast will be required to survive = the church global will face persecution unrivaled.
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Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.
In this midst of his vision, John sees another beast coming up - not out of the sea, but out of the earth this time. The distinction is easy to miss. If the sea generally indicates the gentile nations, the land often envisions Israel. Together the entire world is affected.
The Appearance of The Second Beast
The Appearance of The Second Beast
Unlike the multi-headed and multi-horned first beast, this second beast has two horns that are like a lamb. Again there is import in the description - because we might easily assume the horns of an ox or a bull. But this is particularly like a lamb’s horns.
But whatever his appearance, as Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” This second beast speaks like a dragon.
I have mental pictures here of Sean Connery voicing the digitized dragon in “Dragonheart” but we have to remember where we are at - the dragon is identified for us as Satan way back in Revelation 12:9.
The Work of the Second Beast
The Work of the Second Beast
The second beast is not described at great length. Instead we see his activities highlighted.
Firstly he exercises all the authority of the first beast.
Firstly he exercises all the authority of the first beast.
We would have to go backwards to Revelation 13:4 to start seeing the authority of the first beast - the Antichrist who is empowered by Satan not only to be raised to life from the dead but who speaks horrible blasphemies against not only God but also his church. And most chilling of all is what Revelation 13:7 points out: The antichrist will make war against the church.
Since the beginning people have been waging war against the church and today it continues. China is tearing down churches, imprisoning all religions, and continuing to harvest human organs from living people as a part of their persecution. All along the Muslim world Christians are being imprisoned, they are losing their jobs, and their lives.
But the Antichrist’s program of war against Christians will reach a fevered pitch. And the second beast exercises his authority.
Take note that several times in verses 12,13, and 14 we will see that he does all of this in the presence of the first beast. This second beast becomes the spokesman of the antichrist.
I remind you something I had said earlier about the thirteenth chapter introducing us to a mockery of the trinity. Satan would align himself arrogantly with the Father, the first beast is set against Jesus Christ, and the second beast - it seems - is set against the Holy Spirit.
Second Task: Causing Worship
Second Task: Causing Worship
This second beast has another task - in addition to exercising the authority of the antichrist - he also makes all the earth worship the antichrist. The worship of the antichrist will be centered around his supposed invincibility since he has a fatal would that was healed.
The Third Task: Working Miracles.
The Third Task: Working Miracles.
Like the prophets of God (such as Moses, or Elijah) that performed many miracles and signs, so the second beast serves as the false prophet for the antichrist.
This is why this second beast is often called the false prophet.
Remember what our Lord said to his disciples and through them to us:
for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
This second beast - acting like a false prophet will not only force a new world religion, he will back up his claims with great miracles. And these won’t be the kind of miracles that a skeptic could look at and say, “Aw come one now, that’s fake!” Like Elijah, and like the two great witnesses in chapter 11 he will call down fire from heaven and it will fall.
His miracles will be all the convincing needed for many - in fact for all whose names are not written in the lambs book of life. The whole world will turn to worshipping the beast.
The end result is spelled out for us, he deceives those who dwell on the earth. The signs he is given to perform are convincing enough that he is able to command the inhabitants of earth to build an idol of the antichrist.
Fourth Task: The idol of the antichrist
Fourth Task: The idol of the antichrist
In the Bible we learn some very distinct things about God early on.
First of all, we are made in His image, and he tell us not to make an image of Him. Idolatry in any and every form is abjectly forbidden by the Lord. If God is the creator of all things, than making an image of God in any form and with any material is a blasphemous step down in glory. Every idol is a lie about who God is.
Thus it is almost no surprise whatsoever that the false prophet will engage the people of earth to do precisely the opposite. Recognizing that we can understand perhaps why an idol is made of the antichrist.
But notice that he doesn’t build it - he tells those on earth to do it. And again we are reminded over and over again not only how the second beast performs his works in the presence of the first beast, but also that the first beast was killed and subsequently came back to life.
The image however should fill our minds with callbacks to scripture. In Daniel 3, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar builds a great image of gold and demands that everyone worship it or they will die.
As the threat of death looms over the building of the idol, we too might want to remember the three Jewish boys, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah also known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They too heard death threats. But they refused to worship. We as well must refuse to bend the knee to the false religion of the world.
They were in fact thrown into the fiery furnace, but they did not burn up. God did not keep them out of the fire, he kept them even when they were in the fire.
Church, hear this well. Should you suffer anything for Jesus - our God will not let you go, he will hold you close.
The idol of the antichrist should also perk our ears up for the abomination of desolation described variously in scripture.
In Daniel 11:31 we read about the abomination of desolation. In Daniel’s vision it is often understood to be talking about Antiochus Ephiphanes who terrorized the Jews in the years between Malachi and the gospels. But it is so much more. Jesus picks up the image in Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14. He warns the disciples of the abomination of Desolation, and when it is set up they must flee.
The idol awakened
The idol awakened
It was also given to the second beast to give breath to the image of the first beast.
And before we start thinking about robotics - because, I’ll be honest, that’s where my mind first went - look at what the text implies: life. He gives breath to the image. Breath is equated with life.
Now, that doesn’t mean that it could not be artificial intelligence. But the language - even within a vision here - gives us the idea that the idol of the antichrist is in some way brought to life by the second beast. We see the idol talking, and giving orders to kill anyone who refuses to worship the antichrist.
The Final Task: The Mark of the Beast
The Final Task: The Mark of the Beast
Finally we come to the most familiar activity of the second beast: he causes everyone, rich or poor, slave or free, powerful or weak, adult or child, to receive a mark that will either be on their right hand or their forehead.
Let’s see briefly what else we have going on in the next few verses. And we will try to hang on for just a few moments more to try and understand the mark of the beast.
In verse 17 we go beyond the universal requirement of the mark of the beast to find the economic requirement.
Once again, we have a very active role by the second beast. He makes it so that nobody can buy anything or sell anything unless they have the mark - either the number or the name of the beast on their forehead or their right hand.
And Finally we turn to the 18th verse where the prophet speaks directly to us: John tells us that wisdom can be found here. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is 666.
There is an earnest call to wisdom here which is pulled out of the book of Daniel again. Listen to the role of wisdom and understanding taken from Daniel 11:33 and 12:10
Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days.
Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.
Note carefully what we see in both places. Those that have wisdom will teach many. Those that have wisdom will understand. Those that have wisdom will also pay the price for not following the rest of the world in her sin.
Numerology, Names, and Nonsense | Calculate the number of the beast
Numerology, Names, and Nonsense | Calculate the number of the beast
We are inclined at a certain level to obey the mandate to calculate on a purely mathematical level as has often been done. In Hebrew, the letters of the Aleph-Bet stand in not only for letters but also for numbers, so you can take letters and add them up without performing algebra. Aleph is one and so forth.
So it is a very common thing to add up certain names in Hebrew letters and see how they compare. It is not difficult to discover that when you add up the Hebrew of Caesar Nero you get 666. The early church would have readily understood.
Something more significant than math is happening here. GK Beale observes, “ John is exhorting saints to spiritual and moral discernment, not intellectual ability to solve a complex math problem. Unbelievers as well as spiritual Christians are mentally capable of solving a purely mathematical problem. Consequently, the proper spiritual application of the 666 to wicked rulers and compromising institutions, as well as to false teachers, will reveal to believers their seductive and imperfect nature.” G. K. Beale and Sean M McDonough, “Revelation,” in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic; Apollos, 2007), 1130.
It makes sense that we are doing more than math here because wisdom in the scriptures is more than the knowledge of facts (the way this verse is typically understood) or the application of intelligence. Philosophically wisdom is built on actively applying facts to the real world. In the vision of scripture however, wisdom is built on the foundation of the fear of the LORD. Wisdom puts knowing God and seeking to please him above all things. So what, in a God first focus will help to bring clarity to this particular number? The recognition that it is a human number helps.
The mark of the beast indicates the godlessness of the world as a system of thinking, and acting.
When you look at this mark of the beast which is joined to the idolatrous worship of the antichrist and his image initiated by the false prophet; as well as the death sentence handed down to all who refuse to worship the beast; What is going on here?
Should we all be terrified of tattoos lest we accidentally get the wrong kind? Or are we cool with the idea that we can put any mark we want on our left hand as long as we never tattoo the right hand or forehead?
What about those rebels who get 666 tattooed on their foreheads “because it’s cool”, are they lost forever?
Everyone seems to have thoughts about the identification of the mark of the beast.
Maybe Bill Gates is going to slip that mark of the beast into a microscopic microchip and force you to take it in the Covid-19 vaccine.
Or maybe the bar-code makers aren’t telling you that the checksum bars in every barcode are actually sixes and you’re going to be forced to get barcode tattoos.
Or maybe it’s the name of that one political leader or party that you distrust the most.
Or maybe it’s a picture of a dancing mermaid and everyone who gets one can buy bread, but if you look all the way forward to Revelation 14:9-11 we find out that if anyone gets the mark of the beast, they can never go to heaven.
Getting that mark is a one way trip to Hell, what happens if someone holds you down and tattoos you against your will? Even though we really don’t get to 14:9 till later, We had better take a look at this. It is that important.
Is the mark of the beast visible? Perhaps an electronic monitoring item?
Listen carefully: Whatever it represents, it involves an intentional rejection of Jesus Christ and an embrasure of the beast because it is final. In other words you can’t get held down and tattooed to your eternal destruction.
If you remember, all the way back in Revelation 13 we looked at the seal or the mark that was placed on the foreheads of the 144,000. That mark is described in verse one as having the name of the Father and the name of Jesus written on their foreheads. And here again the mark of the beast is on the foreheads but also there is an option to place it on the right hand. We must see the continuity here.
The 144,000 are marked in a way that is reminiscent of Ezekiel 9:4-6. In Ezekiel 9:4-6 as the executioners of God’s judgement draw near to the city - another man draws near with a writing kit at his side. He is commanded by the Lord to go through the city of Jerusalem and “Put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst. But to the others He said in my hearing, God through the city after him and strike....but do not touch any...on whom is the mark.
The mark on the foreheads of the repentant was a mark meant for God’s servants - the destroying angels - to identify who belonged to God and who did not.
And one more passage worth noting at the moment would be Exodus 13:9, 16; and Deuteronomy 6:8, 11:18. In both sets of passages the word of God was meant to have a place of permanence in the lives of Israel. Binding it on their foreheads indicates that the word of God would affect their thinking, and binding it on their hands indicates the actions of obedience to the word.
In obedience to this command the Jews would make leather pouches called Phylacteries which contained portions of scripture and they would literally tie them to their hands or forehead.
Can we begin to see what this mark of the beast is? It is no mere microchip or tattoo as if someone evil enough could pin you down and implant it or burn it into your skin causing you to become lost. It is a mind and life devoted to the antichrist.
Remember that we are seeing a vision with John, and seeking to understand the stuff of the visions means becoming familiar with what the first church that read this was familiar.
The apostle John was sitting on the island of Patmos in exile receiving a vision from God because he had been sent there as punishment.
And what was the mandate in those days?
Periodically you were required to burn a bit of incense on an altar and make a declaration that Caesar was Lord. It was a blatant affirmation that Caesar was the son of the gods and that he was in fact god on earth. In a polytheistic society it was no big deal to add one more god to the mix. But the Christian cannot do that.
The word of God declares, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved.” (Rom 10:9-13).
A Christian can not take the oath that caesar was Lord and they paid for it with imprisonment, torture, and often with death.
The image of the mark of the beast would have made perfect sense to these Christians who could do math well enough to add up the numbers in Nero’s name and understand that it was 666. Nero was not a god. Nero was a plain old fashioned human being. The number of his name truly was a human number. But the number which was clear to them was representative to us and to them as allegiance in thought and deed to the antichrist.
The early Christians were not being told they had to tattoo a name, a number, a barcode, or a microchip to their right hand or forehead. They were being told by Rome to think (forehead) or at least to act (right hand) as if caesar were Lord. If they would just pretend for only a moment - they could go on about their day, beg their god for forgiveness if they wanted but they must yield to caesar.
No.
Dear Christian, in the end of days it will be - as it is today: a great pressure to yield your thinking and your activities to the powerful world system represented by the antichrist.
It will not seem so clear cut as to tattoo or not to tattoo. It will be far more subtle: bow to the government or die. Bow to the antichrist or die.
Say these words or die - you don’t even have to mean them.
Wisdom dear Christian. Wisdom is needed, and a commitment to keep Christ above all.
Like generations of Christians behind us, and so many beside us today around the world we must refuse to become like this world in act or thinking.
The mark of the beast is not a vaccine or a tattoo. The mark of the beast is not a cashless society. The mark of the beast is not a microchip. The mark of the beast is not even necessarily visible.
As the mark of God upon the believer is a testament to their repentance and as the word of God was to be bound to the foreheads and hands of the Jews - not with leather phylacteries - but with a scriptural knowledge which impacted their very thinking and every action throughout the day - no matter how mundane; so it is with the mark of the beast.
The mark of the beast is willfully embracing the antichrist in thought or in deed.
The mark of the beast is willfully embracing the antichrist in thought or in deed.
It will be a declaration or an action or some such thing that must be made if you want to bring bread home for your family. We are enjoined to be wise in this. We are enjoined to reject the spirit of antichrist, and to stand firm for Jesus - even if it cost us our life. And even if it means we will not be able to feed our family.
Look at the media storm around phrases of allegiance today; and the power of such an allegiance is not hard to see.
Even though she is a patently liberal feminist, Author J.K. Rowling dares say that women and men are different - and her works are being pulled off the shelves.
Refuse to say “Black lives matter” because the organization by that name is avowedly Marxist, anti-family, anti-heterosexual and you are castigated as a racist.
What oath of alliance will arise next to parallel the offering of incense to Caesar?
To whom, dear Christian, will you give full allegiance?
Christ is Lord. I will follow Christ.
Christ is Lord. I will follow Christ over country.
Christ is Lord. I will follow Christ over any president or political party.
Christ is Lord. I will follow Christ over family.
Christ is Lord. I will follow Christ over job.
Christ is Lord. I will follow Christ over food.
Christ is Lord. I will follow Christ over anything at all in this world.
Christ is Lord. I will follow Christ.
Christ is Lord. Will you follow me, as I follow Christ?
Perhaps the closing of this day should be echoed in the words of Joshua.
“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”