CHAPTER 13: WHO OR WHAT IS THE SECOND BEAST?
Revelation 13 goes on to describe a second beast that rises out of the Earth.
"Then I saw another beast coming out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon ...and caused the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast." (v. 11 and 12)
What are we to understand from these verses? First note that this beast came after the time of dominance of the seventh head. Second this beast has the appearence of a lamb. Lambs are not fierce creatures. A lamb can appear to us as a friendly and harmless animal. The picture I'm getting is that the second beast represents the friendly deceiver. Satan's two biggest weapons are persecution and deception. We saw persecution by the first beast. Today we are seeing deception from the second beast. The second beast comes to us as a beautiful lamb but it still has the heart and soul of a dragon.
The two horns on the lamb could represent the two false promises of peace and safety (I Thes. 5:3). Every deceiver makes false promises in order to get someone's attention. This verse by Paul isn't talking about world peace. I use to believe that that verse refered to the end of the Cold War. Then came 9-11. The truth is that the world will never experience world peace because our world is in spiritual turmoil. What I Thes. 5:3 is saying is that in the latter times people will take spiritual refuge in a false gospel of one kind or another.
Look at our present world. The "God is dead" movement of the 60s gave birth to the cult movement of the 70s. People know that world conditions are in a mess and they also have an inner longing that only Jesus can satisfy. Some turn to drugs, porn, alcohol, or a false gospel. They feel they have peace with somekind of escape. But their sense of fulfillment is short lived. They are like the people who lived at the time of Jeremiah who said:
" 'Peace, peace!' When there is no peace," (Jeremiah 6:14)
Trying to experience real peace with a false gospel is like purchase anything with Monopoly money.
How did our world become this way? Since persecution didn't stop the Gospel, the devil's next trick was deception. In the years between 1798 and 1962 a number of high profile cults sprang up in the US. Then between 1962 to 1965 came the Second Vatican Council (Vatican 2). This basically was an inter-faith council that gave a boost to ecumenicalism. Church leaders often pushed for unity at the expense of truth. Some church pastors take Christ's words, "that they may be one." (John 17:21) completely out of context.
What Jesus meant is that all true believers are to be one in purpose. Each member has a function. When all members work together, much like an orchestra playing a symphony, Then the body functions effectively. He was NOT saying that true believers should view those who follow a false gospel as being equally saved. A true believer and a follower of a false gospel are headed in two different directions. Jesus came to give people what false gospel can't - real salvation from the lake of fire.
Did Elijah consider the false prophets of Baal as one with him and God? Not at all. In I Kings 18 he challenged them. Even though public opinion was against him, Elijah won the challenge.
"Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers" (2 Cor. 6:14)
Why?
"Evil company corrupts good habits." (I Cor. 15:33)
One clever deception of the second beast that has sprung up in recent years is a new movement called Christ-lam. Christ-lam is a crafty Muslim PR campaign that blends Christianity with Islam. It is basically Islam with a Christian friendly face.
In Christ-lam imams are invited to speak at Christian churches and push an ecumenical gospel. The churches inturn will have copies of the Koran alongside the Bible. Some churches will even host Ramadan dinners for the public.
When speaking from the pulpit imams will say such nice sounding words like, "We both worship the same God. He just has two different names.", "Islam is a religion of peace.", "Islam is no more against democracy than is Christianity.", and "We also believe in Jesus." (Please note that imams will gladly speak at churches but born-again pastors are never invited to speak at mosques.)
Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? If so then how can the same God have two different salvation plans and insist that each plan is the only way to Heaven?
* God's salvation plan is based on grace through faith in Christ. Allah's plan is based on following the five pillars of Islam. A Muslim has no guarentee that he has done enough good to merit Paradise.
* God the Father is personal; He can be as personel as our earthly fathers. Allah is impersonl, distant, and unapproachable.
* God the Father is trustworthy. He puts Himself under His own law (Psalm 138:2). Allah is untrustworthy.
"Allah leads whomever He will and sends astray whomever He will." (Sura 16:93)
Why should I place my faith in a god who might knowingly send me astray? I want a God I can trusy. * God the Father has provided an atonement for the believer's sins. Allah provides no atonement for his follower's sins. How then can Allah accept sin in Paradise if the believer's sins are never washed away?
* Jesus preached and demonstrated godly living, unconditional love, and forgiveness. On the night Jesus was arrested Peter went into attack mode. He pulled out his sword and sliced off a man's ear. How did Jesus respond?, "Nice job Peter. Now finish him off."? No!
"Put your sword in its place for all who take the sword will perish with the sword. Or do you think that I cannot pray to My Father and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen thus?" (Mat. 26:52, 53, and 54)
Not only did Jesus rebuke Peter, He also took the next step and healed the man's ear. Muhammed practiced imperial conquest, vengence, and persecution. He was never afraid to use his sword to kill scores of infidels in Allah's name (Sura 5:33). He once said that the Arabian peninsula will not be home to two religions.
* Jesus was without sin His entire life. As for Muhammed Islamic tradition says he married his last wife Aisha when she was only six and consumated the marriage when she was just nine. Tradition holds that Muhammed was around 55 at the time.
* Christianity supports a democratic process (2 Cor. 3:17) There is little freedom in Muslim countries especially for non-Muslims and women. Christians in Muslim countries have to either convert to Islam or pay a religion tax to the government as ordered by the Koran. Soul-winners risk their lives when sharing the true Gospel with a Muslim.
* The Bible is the true and perfect Word of God the Father (John 17:17). Muslims reject the Bible because it was Allah's first revelation; however over time the Bible became corrupted. Therefore the world needed a second revelation - the Koran. Consider this question, if the Bible is Allah's word that somehow became corrupted, then what assurance do Muslims have that the Koran hasn't been corrupted since Allah failed to protect his first Revelation?
* The very most important difference between Christianity and Islam is the doctrine of Christ's divinity.
"...we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world" (I John 4:14)
Muslims reject the Jesus of the Bible. Their false Jesus was only a prophet who was not divine and was never crucified.
"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." (I John 5:12)
The best advice I can give any wayward pastor or churchmember who wants to participate in Christ-lam is 2 John 10:11:
"If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine (the doctrine of the divinity of Christ) do not receive him in your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds."
According to an article that appeared in the March-April 2002 issue of Battle Cry, Pope John Paul II hosted a conference in Asisi with 200 delegates from twelve of the world's largest religions. Delegates included mainline Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Orthodox, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Shintoists. Even African witchdoctors were present. The pope hosted another such conference back in 1986 and Pope Benedict XVI hosted a like conference in 2011. The purpose of these conferences was for each delegate to pray to his god for world peace.
All of this sounds like a very nice sounding gesture to promote world peace in the age of terrorism. But let us bear in mind that Jesus did not come to give us world peace or even peace at any price.
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword." (Mat. 10:34)
Now Jesus does over us inner peace.
"These things I have spoken to you that in Me you have peace. In the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33)
Jesus also offers us peace with our Heavenly Father. If we become saved we enter into a right relationship with God.
"having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)
We have real salvation today. A true believer never has to worry, come the time of the end, whether he has done enough good to enter Heaven. Paul also reminds us in Romaans 8:38 and 39 that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God.
What is going on here? Jesus brings us peace and He doesn't bring us peace. This to many might sound like a contradiction. What Jesus said in Mat. 10:34, "I did not come to bring peace but a sword" is for us a heavy dose of reality. Yes believers can have inner peace but world peace, or even peace within a family, is often an unrealistic expectation. Why? Because our world is in spiritual turmoil. It will stay that way until Satan and his demons are cast into the lake of fire.
Sinners do what they do best; they sin. Asking a sinner not to sin is like asking a fish not to swim. Sinners naturally live by the values of the world - money, power, and sensual pleasure. If we take a strong stand for Jesus in this fallen world, sinners will reject us and our Gospel. That is just reality.
The sword that Jesus mentions is a metaphor. It refers to the sword of the Spirit which is the written Word of God (Eph. 6:17) (Hebrews 4:12).
I can respect another person's religious beliefs and his political right to hold those beliefs, but I cannot say that all religions lead to Heaven. We need to study our "sword". The Bible indicates that the whole world is invited to Heaven:
"Come onto Me ALL who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Mat. 11:28)
But to get there each individual person must come by way of the Cross.
"There is no other name under Heaven given unto men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
Consider also this, those who follow a false gospel bring with them demons of spiritual bondage. This is why it is often difficult for those trapped in a false gospel to break free.
Recently I was listening to a radio program on VCY America. The man speaking was born in Iran and was raised in a Muslim family before he came to Christ. When he started to question his parent's religion he said that he experienced night terrors, dreams, and nightmares all of which were designed by demons to cause him torment. But when he came to Christ and received real salvation, the nightmares lost their power. Over time the night terrors and nightmares stopped totally and have since never returned.
Do you still think all religions are from God?
The current pope (Frances) was photographed when he met with Jewish and Muslim leaders. In a speech that appeared in the July-August 2013 issue of Battle Cry Frances said:
"The Lord has redeemed all of us with the Blood of Christ. Everyone! 'Father, the atheists?' Even the atheists. Everyone! And the Blood makes us children of God..."
Could anyone imagine a pope from the Middle Ages making a statement like that one?
The fact of the matter is we are all God's creation but we are not all His children. We are all Adam's children. Since man has fallen spiritually each person must be redeemed only by Jesus on a personal basis. Once Jesus saves him then he becomes a child of God.
"But as many as received Him gave He power to become sons of God. Even to those who believe on His name" (John 1:12)
The message the world seems to be getting is, "You can choose whichever gospel makes you feel the most comfortable. You should do a few good deeds, be a nice person, and live by the Golden Rule. Then in time we will all meet in Heaven. Afterall God is just a meek grandfather-like figure who gives lots of gifts but who really doesn't care how we live."
That is not the message of the Bible. Jesus didn't come to make us "feel good" like some illegal street drug. He came to pay the penalty for our sins and transform our lives. This is why so many people do not want the true Gospel.
In our post-modern culture, fewer and fewer people will read the Bible or even believe in its divine authority. It can be said that many people believe in God but they don't believe God - that is to say they don't take him at His Word.
According to Thom and Jess Reiner, authors of Milleniels, of the 18 to 30 year olds only 13 percent are Christians. What's worse is that there is a growing number of church members who do not believe that a genuine salvation experience is necessary to gain eternal life in Heaven. We could call this decline "the social gospel". It is without offense and without effect.
"...in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons." (I Tim. 4:1)
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine." (2 Tim. 4:3)
It does matter what we believe and why. This is why it is so important to study the Bible and allow the Holy Spirit to interpret it for us.
The second beast today is pushing such nice sounding things like love, unity, angels, miracles and tongues. Does God still use the gift of tongues today? The surprising answer is yes!
LaVerne Tucker once told the story of a missionary who visited South America. During his visit he encountered a tribe who spoke no English. The tribe did not take kindly to strangers. They pursued after him with their spears and clubs. The missionary had to run for his life but God was still with him. As the tribe closed in on him, God's Spirit told him to shout out one particular word. He didn't know the meaning of the word but in good faith he shouted it as loud as he could.
To his surprise the tribesmen put down their spears and clubs and started to welcome him. Afterwards through the gift of tongues he was able to share the Gospel message with those lost tribesmen. Souls were saved.
Note here that God's gift had an important purpose. It served it's purpose well. Not only was the life of the missionary saved but many lost tribesmen had a chance to hear the Gospel message in their own language.
In some churches tongues are just a specticle. I'm left asking, "What is the point? What is the purpose of these people speaking in some unknown tongue? Why can't the same thing be said in English?" God gives the gift of tongues only when it serves an important purpose. Just as it did on that fateful day in South America.
John also wrote in Revelation concerning the second beast:
"He performs great signs as to make fire come down from Heaven"
Could this be a prophetic reference to the modern-day Charismatic Movement where people are "slain in the spirit" by falling over backwards? Note that the Roman soldiers in Matthew 28 were "slain in the spirit" when they saw the awesome glory of the angel. They didn't die but "they became as dead men". That was a heavenly miracle that served a purpose. The tomb had to be opened so the world could see that Jesus had risen. Can the same be said today? Does God need theatrics to heal people?
A good book to read concerning the modern Charismatic Movement is The Church Subtuly Deceived by Alexander Seibel.
Another heresy that the second beast is pushing is political correctness or more specifically the New Tolerance. This heresy means that all of us have to accept any behavior without any moral judgment no matter how vile. And who is pushing the New Tolerance more than anyone else? - the gay rights crowd of course.
What does the Bible say about gay living?
"...man leaving the natural use of the woman burning in their lust for one another, men with men commit- ing what is shameful" (Romans 1:27)
In 1978 ABC broke moral ground when Billy Crystal played TV's first openly gay character on the sit-com Soap. What is today's world like? Consider this recent event.
According to an article that appeared in Battle Cry a Christian executive (who will remain un-named) was promoted to CEO of a large multi-national corporation (which will also remain un-named). When it became public knowledge that this person had donated $1000 of his OWN money to help support the media campaign which promoted California's Proposition 8, which defined a marriage as being between one man and one woman, the gay rights crowd went berserk.
In time there were calls for an international boycott of his corporation. With all the bad press from the liberal news media and rising economic pressure stemming from the boycott, the CEO agreed to step down. To me this is scary stuff.
Gays must be approached in a compassionate yet sincere way so that they can understand that this sin offends God. Sodomy isn't wrong because of what I say. It is wrong because of what God has already said in His Word.
"If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination..." (Leviticus 20:13)
There are four things that I want to point out regarding the sin of sodomy. First did Jesus ever preach against sodomy? My answer is most likely He did. We read in Matthew 4:23 that He taught in their synagogues. What did He teach? Some of His sermons could have been from what we read in the epistles. Keep in mind that at this time the epistles had not yet been written yet Jesus, being God the Son, knew what their contents would be. It is conceiveable that His sermons contained the same words found in the epistles: the love chapter of I Corinthians 13; the faith chapter of Hebrews 11; and of course the politically incorrect words of Romans 1:27. Yes Jesus in Matthew 4:23 preached the gospel of the kingdom which is the promise of eternal life to those who repent and receive Him.
Second it is no secret that the LGBT agenda has affected modern institutions. Take the entertainment industry. Try to imagine if a popular singer or actor were to condemn sodomy publicly as a sin. There would be calls for boycotts of his concerts and/or movies.
The LGBT agenda has also affected organized religion. In a LifeSite News internet article dated August 25, 2020 Pope Francis has given his blessing to an Argentine nun, Sr. Monica Cermona, for presenting the "social gospel" (love without rebuke) to the local LGBT community. Francis and Sr. Cermona are basically condoning the gay/trangender lifestyle much to the chagrin of many bishops. This is what happens when a man instead of the Word of God becomes the final authority. (For a well-documented and detailed account of the vice in today's Vatican, including the presence of a homosexual lobby, read The Dictator Pope by Marcantonio Colonna aka Henry Sire, Regnery Publishing, 2017)
Third the Black Lives Matter web-site indicates that the BLM organization openly and actively supports the LGBT agenda. Yes every life is important to God and George Floyd's death was a tragedy, yet this is just one of many reasons why Christians should not support this radical, Marxist, and anti-law enforcement organization.
Lastly I am appauled by liberal and even conservative politicans who support laws banning gay conversion therapy. This is just an example of politicans caving into the demands of the LGBT lobby at the expense of individual freedom. These sessions are voluntary and those wishing to have them should not have to travel to a different jurisdiction to receive them. Despite what detractors claim, this therapy does have its success stories.
There is one more thing that needs to be said about the New Tolerence. Muslims living here in America are also pushing the New Tolerence. There is a rising number of Muslims living in America and there are an estimated 2200 mosques throughout the country. That number will continue to grow.
Many Americans equate Islam with terrorism. Not all Muslims are terrorists but all Jihad terrorists are Muslims. Yes there are plenty of Muslims who are honest hard-working people. They value our freedom and they want a better life for themselves and their families than they would experience in most Muslim countries. I applaud them. Yes I believe that Muslims who live here and pay taxes here have a right to worship as they choose. However they also have a civil obligation to respect our way of life, our US Constitution, and our freedom of religious expression for everyone. The problem is that not all of them do.
In April 2013 a bomb exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon killing among others an eight year old boy. In the aftermath imams made some chilling statements. In his book Arab Winter Comes to America, Robert Spencer writes:
"Another imam who has addressed the Boston (Mosque) congregation, Yasir Qadhi, has called for the re- placement of the US Constitution with Islamic law and said that the 'life and prosperity of Christians holds no value in the state of Jihad.'".
How outrageous! These are the people who, in the aftermath of 9-11, Oprah Winfrey wants all of us calmly "to understand". These radical imams need to do some understanding. They need to understand that brave men and women for over 200 years, my father included, went off to war to keep our country free. Not to mention that the US military has done much to liberate Muslims from oppression in places like Kuwait, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Also someone should inform Imam Yasir Qadhi that to advocate publicly the overthrow of the US government is sedition and sedition is a federal offense.
One last thing that needs to be said concerning the second beast and his spiritual influence is the growing issue of so-called "hate speech". In London hate speech is defined as:
"Threatening, abusive, or insulting words or be- havior...within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused (felt) harrassment, alarm, or distress thereby."
Yes no person should ever be bullied and no one has the right to bully another. The Golden Rule, "Do onto others...", can be found in the Bible (Mat. 7:12). We as Christians are here to represent Christ not ourselves.
Besides gays another group that is pushing for hate speech laws are the Muslims. They want to criminalize any comments from anyone who criticizes the Islamic cult. Forget murderers and thieves, we want our police to use their time and effort to chase so-called "Islamophobes".
The push for hate speech laws started when an editorial cartoon showing a terrorist Muhammed with a lit stick of dynamite in his turban appeared in a Danish newspaper. The cartoon sparked riots in parts of the Islamic world.
In response the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) met in Senegal to push for laws worldwide that would ban and criminalize any speech that would put Islam in a bad light. The UN General Assembly, former US President Obama, and Hillary Clinton have worked on behalf of the OIC to have so-called hate speech laws become a reality here in America. Why is the ACLU silent?
Let's take note here. As I've said my free speech is protected by the First Amendment. As an American I have the legal right to promote or demote any religion. Anyone listening has a right to agree or disagree with my words. That's America. Christians have had to endure hate speech for 2000 years. Why can't Muslims do the same? Besides what about all the hate speech that is directed against Christians in Muslim countries? What does Barak and Hillary have to say about that?
The fact of the matter is all countries should follow the political ideals of Thomas Jefferson who believed in religious freedom for all. Any Christian anywhere in the world should have the right to proclaim publicly that Islam is a false gospel and that all Muslims will experience Hell instead of Heaven unless they turn to the Jesus of the Bible and have their sins washed away by His blood. No government has a moral right to ban that message. Either Muslims will listen to true Christians or they will hear these terrible words from the Lord Jesus in eternity:
"I never knew you. Depart from Me." (Mat.7:23)
Some excellent books on the subject of Islam include: Islamic Invasion by Robert Morey; Unveiling Islam by Eurgun and Emir Caner; Arab Winter Comes to America by Robert Spencer; Rise of ISIS by Jay Sekulow; Fatwa by Pamela Geller; Unleashing the Beast by Perry Stone; and Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi.
Such is the nature of the second beast of Revelation 13. Deception, false miracles, and political correctness are three of his weapons. The second beast is said to rise from the Earth. These three weapons are being used by the enemy throught the Earth. Christians in these last days need to be on high alert.