Revelation 13, The Two Beasts

 

Revelation13 – The Two Beasts

The first beast is the Anti-Christ. The second beast is the false prophet. Both are against Christ, and both try to imitate Christ. In today's world there are many anti-Christs. They all deny the deity of Christ and is the enemy of Christ on earth. The first beast is political, and the 2nd is religious. Satan brings the first beast out of the sea, which means he brings him out of mankind. He is the person who heads up the old Roman Empire. This Rome has fallen apart, and he is the only one that can put it back together again. God has taken his hands off the earth for a while and is giving Satan free reign. Now Satan can never say “that God never gave him a chance.” The little horn here is the fulfillment of the little horn in Daniel 7. The 10 horns with 10 diadems are the 10 divisions of the Roman Empire. The little horn destroys the 3 of the 10 rulers. After he dominates the seven remaining rulers, he becomes a world dictator. All 7 rulers are guilty of blasphemy. The Anti-Christ being like the leopard is astute in the culture of the Greek empire. The foot like a bear is the wealth of the Medes. The wounded beast is the Roman Empire that fell apart. During the tribulation the Anti-Christ will fake a resurrection that all but the elect will believe. They didn't believe in Christ’s resurrection, but they will believe in this one. Everyone but the elect will be fooled into worshipping the Anti-Christ. He is going to be a smooth talker with charisma. He will talk himself into the good graces of a Christ rejecting world. He will make war with the elect and many believers, Jew and gentile alike will be martyred. God is telling the elect to listen with their ears and have faith. To fight against Satan will be futile, and the weapons of today will not do anyone any good.

The false prophet comes from Israel. He is the Messiah that the Israelites will accept. The false prophet poses as Christ and imitates Christ as the forgiver of sins. Only he does not take away their sins but multiplies sin in the world. He exalts the Anti-Christ as the one to worship. Both the Antichrist and the false prophet are miracle workers. The false prophet plays with fire until he is cast into the lake of fire. The elect are the only ones not deceived by this false prophet. He produces an image of the Antichrist that speaks. Those who do not worship this image will be killed. The people will receive the mark of the beast so that they can buy and sell. The number of the beast is 666. No one knows what this is or who it is. The important thing here is not to trust man but trust fully in the Lord Jesus.

 

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Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary. Dr David Jeremiah and Vernon McGee