WEDNESDAY
You thought we were done with the crazy beasts! Nope, we got another one. This one from the land.
Revelation 13:11-15 The Second Beast
11 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.
Some interpreters take this second beast to be a prophet who will arise alongside the antichrist in the end times. This is certainly a possible interpretation but less likely for the reasons I will explain below.
Again, good Bible study always asks what it meant to its original audience, first, before what it means for us now and the application for us today. This second beast from the land most likely alludes to the imperial cult that venerated the emperor as divine and forced everyone to acknowledge him as such. Later, John will reference this second beast as a false prophet (16:13; 19:20; 20:10) so this is the religious side of the Roman empirical power.
This beast has two horns like a lamb. It looks like a lamb but it talks like a dragon. The empirical cult used words like “son of god” to refer to the emperor, like the Christians did for Jesus. The conspiracy theory of Nero, you’ll remember from yesterday, mimicked the death and resurrection account of Jesus.
The empirical cult even had power to deceive people by performing great signs, even fire falling and the statues speaking. Like Pharaoh’s magicians who turned their staffs into snakes too, the evil spiritual forces of this world have power and this power is deceptive.
“Deception is perhaps the first step on the path to ruin and destruction... Being deceived is seen as morally blameworthy, indicating that earth dwellers should have grasped the true nature of the dragon and the two beasts. Those who worship the beast reveal that their love is disordered, which fits with 2 Thess. 2:10, where we find that those deceived “perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved” (CSB). Morris (1969b: 172) rightly remarks, “If a man serves God with all his heart he will not be taken in by empty miracles of the deceiver. But if he turns from God he predisposes himself to believe the lies of the second beast.” - Schreiner
The image of the beast likely refers to the 90-foot-high statue Nero constructed for himself or the 26-foot statue Domitian constructed for Titus. Or the statue Caligula ordered be set up in the temple in Jerusalem but never actually came to pass. This would remind the reader of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar constructed for himself in Daniel 3. The one which Rach, Shach and Benny refused to bow to.
The breath of the image may be a parody to the Holy Spirit (breath and spirit are the same words in Greek). Just as the Spirit gives life to Christians who were formerly dead, the statue appears to be alive. Just as the Spirit speaks the words of God, so the statue also speaks.
The dragon and these two beasts form the unholy trinity, meant to mock God.
Revelation 13:16-18 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.
We talked about the mark of the beast in our week on the people of God, so I won’t go too much into it here. To participate in a trade guild, one would be required to worship Caesar and participate in the imperial cult. It was expected that one would attend the festivals in which animals were sacrificed to the pagan gods and sold in the market. Christians who wanted to remain faithful to Jesus would pay a heavy economic price. They could be marked on the forehead with God’s name or they could take the mark of the beast and live a more comfortable life. To accept the mark of the beast, then, is to worship the emperor or the empire.
The Mark of the BeastAdditional Content
Reflection
The deception of Satan through the beast is sinister and cunning. Being deceived is no small thing. We must be people of the truth, the truth of God. As has famously been said, all truth is God’s truth.
Take a minute today to commit to pursuing truth. Ask the Spirit to lead you into truth. Endeavor to know Scripture so well so that you will not be so easily deceived. Know Jesus so well that you recognize anyone or anything opposed to Christ. Ask good questions. Be curious. Find trusted sources. Truth is under attack in our world and we must learn to discern and do the hard work of discerning. Remember, this beast looks like a lamb but it talks like a dragon. Being deceived is not morally neutral. You will be held culpable for deviations from truths of this magnitude (I’m not implying you have to be right on all things, no one is). But we must be right on the essentials of the gospel so we do not fall prey to the worship of idols.