Lesson 31

Revelation 13:11 - 18

     The events that take place in Revelation 13, are written about in 2 Thessalonians 2:1 – 12, Matthew 7:15 and Matthew 24:11, 24. We are told about the son of perdition being revealed and how he will exalt himself. In addition, we have these two beasts counterfeiting the roles of Jesus: His Kingship, Priesthood, and role as Prophet. Therefore, all that we have studied and are about to study in the rest of Revelation 13 is part of the completion of 2 Thessalonians 2:1 – 12 and Matthew 7:15 and 24:11, 24.

     From Revelation 13:11 - 18, we are dealing with the second beast. Like the first, he gets his power from the dragon and is not a real beast but a man. Yet this man is coming up out of the earth and has horns too. However, unlike the first, he only has two horns. So let us see want Gods says about this beast through John.

    In Revelation 13:11, it reads:” And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.” Again we see that this beast is not coming down from heaven, but up from the earth. In other words, not coming from glory, but from confusion, which implies that mankind is still not looking to God for their help in these times. We can see this now, in that mankind will seek the world to confirm his status or his self-worth and not seek God for those things. Let us go deeper into this verse and see what is being painted for us with these words.

    “…He spoke as a dragon.”This beast/man appears to have some power and authority. Yes, he does but his power is in imitating Jesus Christ. In fact, he has two horns like a lamb. Who is the Lamb? Remember the Lamb holds a very special position in the Bible. The symbolism of the lamb and its blood is used when the death angel passed over the children of Israel. The “Lamb” is sacrificed to take away the sins of mankind. Therefore, we have this person speaking with authority and having two horns, imitating the “Lamb”. This person or beast points everyone to the first beast, so we can assume that they come on the scene together. In addition, this person will try to get all to worship the first beast. Did not Jesus (the Lamb) try to get people to worship GOD the Father? Jesus told people of the Father’s love for them and that He wanted them to have peace. This beast/man will show the people that mankind needs the dragon to make them complete. The scripture says, “…He spoke as a dragon”, which has a second meaning. He spoke as a prophet, which means a proclaimer of a divine message.

     Please remember that the world is in a state of chaos with no leader or governments in control. In addition, there is a void in the realm of spiritual leadership. The Father through Jesus Christ gloriously has removed the Spirit of God and the body of Christ from the earth. Yes, there will be people coming to God through Christ during this time, but they will not have the power to keep the evil in check. Now about these two horns on the lamb, some think that these two horns represent two demons. These demons will give the lamb the ability to deceive with words and false wonders and miracles. It is suspected that these deceitful words, false wonders and miracles cause some to think this is Elijah or Moses. Remember this beast is coming out of the earth and is like a lamb. For these very reasons people think that this beast/man will come out of the Jewish nation. Also, know that all except the 144,000 Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah. They think that Elijah will show up first, before the Messiah will appear (Matthew 7:10 – 13).

    The beast/man is able to deceive most of the world with the events he will perform in the sight of the dragon. You may ask, is this important for us to know? Remember that Jesus was able to perform his miracles anywhere because God is omnipresent, yet this beast can only perform his works in the sight of the dragon. How does this affect the rest of the world? Well, they will have television and the internet or some form of it that can reach around the world in no time. Therefore, all will be able to see the deceit and many will believe the reports.

    With all of this in mind, let’s look at two verses that deal with a specific deceit. In Revelation 13:3, 12, we read about the wound that the first beast receives. There are two schools of thought about the wound that the first beast receives. With either one of these perspectives, the outcome is still the same. It is important to understand that 13:3 reads “…And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death…” It does not say that the beast was wounded to death. Each time that Jesus raised the dead, the people around the grieving families verified that they were dead. This is not the case here. There is no verification. So once again, this beast is deceiving the world. Jesus told us in his word about false prophets in Matthew 7:15 – 20. This is the way we are to examine the fruits of the prophets.

    Back to the two schools of thoughts about the significance of the wound:
1. The government that the first beast will set-up will fall as if it were dead.
2. The Antichrist himself will be wounded and appear dead.
In either case, the second beast is able to heal the first beast. This will cause the earth to worship (lay prostrate in homage to) the first beast. In this state of worship, the second beast is able to get mankind to make an image of the first beast. Then he is able to give the image life, causing many to worship it. This act of worshiping the image is worshiping and having a relationship with the false church or a harlot. Unlike the true God Who asks you to come to Him by your own choosing, these people are ordered to worship the image. If the people choose not to come to and worship this image, then they are killed. The second beast is also able, with the power of the first beast, to control the commerce, banking, and all areas of the people’s lives. These worshipers are controlled by receiving the mark of the beast in their right hand or their forehead. This mark can be the name or number of the beast.

    In verse 18, it reads, “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.” In the Hebrew language, there is placed numerical value to the alphabet. Each letter has a value. The name Balaam equals 666. Many believers in this current time are greatly concerned about who this man with the number 666 is. Believers must not be concerned about the man whose number is 666, because the Holy Spirit is still very active in the world. This means that we are not in the tribulation or in the Great tribulation. What we need to focus on is living what we say we believe in God’s word and not to be stopped from letting people know that God loves them through the atoning work of His Son, Jesus Christ. When the man whose number is 666 comes into power, Christians who came to accept and know Christ before the rapture will already be raptured.