End times series:
Revelation 13:11-18
By Liaf
The subject of the first ten verses of Revelation 13 was the beast and his origins. As we continue our study, we see that the beast has a sidekick. Sometimes Christians refer to the dragon, the beast, and his companion introduced here as the "Satanic trinity". Let’s open our King James Bibles to Revelation chapter 13 and let’s understand God’s Word:
Revelation 13:11-14: 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.
Notice there is another beast coming up out of the Earth and he has two horns like a lamb. Later in Revelation, we shall see that the false church will be here during the Tribulation and this beast, sometimes known as the false prophet (Revelation 19:20), as leader of the false religious system. No doubt that is the significance of the first beast coming from the sea (political) and this second beast coming from the Earth (religious). They both come from this world (for Satan is the god of this world as the Bible teaches), but they have different functions. They work together so that this beast makes others worship the first one. Beware of any church that aligns itself with government, for that is the spirit of this beast. He has two horns (religious power) like a lamb but speaks as a dragon. This is similar to Jesus’ statement about wolves in sheep’s clothing.
The deadly wound statement makes many Christians think this is a miraculous resurrection attempt on the part of the first beast (Antichrist) that will cause many to think this is the true Christ. However, since this chapter is symbolic of actual people, the wound statement has its parallels with verse three. Again, any person or nation that has a sudden resurrection to power (especially an empire that fell before) will make people look with awe and amazement. Notice the ability of Antichrist’s companion to do miracles. Do not believe that just because there is a miracle that it is always from God. Satan has the ability to do miracles also. This is why people are so deceived as Jesus said, "An evil and adulterous nation seeks after a sign." People who lack faith always need a sign, and boy is this false prophet ready to do all kinds! "You’re healed in Jeeeesus name, Hallelujah!" You know what this beast will then say to the deceived multitudes? "Behold Jeeeesus", as he points to Antichrist. The "ten-toed" Kingdom that Antichrist controls will no doubt be hailed as God’s Kingdom and the Antichrist as the Reigning King. What did Paul say in Second Thessalonians about this?
2 Thessalonians 2:3-5: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
Most Christians understand that Antichrist is evil, and he is a man of war, but few realize that he will proclaim himself to be God. And where will he do this? In the temple midway into the Tribulation when he commits his "abomination act". Some Christians may ask, "If he is a man of war, why would some think this is Christ who is so peaceful?" Folks who believe this way do not understand their Bibles well. Jesus will come back to Earth as a conqueror in Revelation 19. That’s war-like, isn’t it? Besides, the Bible mentions again and again about God’s wrath in contrast to his merciful nature. Likewise, the false prophet beast will convince the world that Antichrist is Christ who came back and conquered all the evil ones. Do you all get it yet? Put two and two together. Who are the "evil ones"? The persecuted saints! The world must conform to the false church system that Antichrist heads as a false Christ. True believers are considered as evil and apostate.
If all this is not enough, the false prophet endorses the idea of making an image of the beast. This is that abominable image in the temple of God. Let’s continue to the end of the chapter and see what amazing things will yet be:
Revelation 13:15-18: 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.
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. 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 threescore and six.
To be honest with you, I do not know what to make of these verses. It seems that what is being said here is that the false prophet enables the image of the beast to speak, and in addition those who do not worship it are to be killed. The result is that each and every person must receive a mark in order to do any kind of transaction. Notice that this mark is Satan’s counterpart of the mark received in Revelation 7:3 by the special people of God (the 144,000). Likewise, we already said that this false prophet emulates miracles, which is the counterpart to those done by the two witnesses earlier. Satan wants to outdo God. People would not believe the real things, so now Satan has his turn, and the world will fall for it. It seems to me that when we speak about an image, its ability to speak, and a mark to do transactions, computers come to my mind. Remember, John is merely describing future events with the understanding that he had. Could this image be some sort of computer or technological interface? My jury is out on this one. Any thoughts, readers? I realize that much of this is symbolic, but I believe that the image of the beast is clearly separate from the beast himself. And due to the circumstances in this chapter, it describes that midway point where the "abomination" occurs. Thus, I believe I can rightfully conclude that this image has everything to do with his abominable setup in the temple. What I am unclear of is the nature of this image. Whatever it is, it seems to be some sort of fantastic object. Who knows how far into the future this will be? And if that’s the case, who knows what sort of technology John was describing?
Much has been written about 666. I seriously doubt a literal mark with that number, although that number may somehow be in the thread of the mark. For example, let’s say that a special computer chip will be implanted in people’s hands or foreheads (the Bible later on hints that this is a possibility). They will not show an obvious number, indeed they may not even be visible, but the number 666 may be some sort of prefix or suffix to each individual account number on the chip. Another translation is "Let him that hath understanding calculate [or literally compute] the number of the beast." That implies higher mathematics, a little intelligence, and maybe even some technology to make a prediction. I will not go into detail on this number. Grab any theory you like. However, the number as a whole is a trinity of imperfection (represented by the number six). Six is man’s number, one short of perfection (the number seven). And wherever this will occur, somehow the number 666 will be involved.
We made it through these very long messages on this chapter, but this chapter sheds critical light on the midway point of the Tribulation when the temple will be desecrated.