The Devil's Favorite Preacher

Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash

Read: Revelation 13:11-18

In the first half of Revelation 13, we saw the First Beast, who mimics Christ and acts as a sort of political antichrist and demands the worship of the unbelieving nations. We now encounter the Second Beast who counterfeits the Holy Spirit, teaches the Devil’s lies, and serves as a “priestly/prophetic antichrist.”

This beast, who looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon and is elsewhere called the “false prophet,” uses deceptive words and false miracles to encourage idolaters to worship the First Beast. In other words, a supposedly “religious” power is raised up that convinces unbelievers to worship the demonic, tyrannical state either out of naïve allegiance or to escape persecution.

One commentator notes that “the abuse of religious devotion to manipulate thoughtless allegiance to the state is an ageless phenomenon.”

Consider a few things:

• It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people… it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast…

The beast performs false miracles by his demonic power, and unbelievers respond with idolatrous worship. It “gives breath to the image of the beast, so that the image might even speak.” Because we know that idols cannot speak (Psalm 115:5), there is clearly some kind of wicked deception going on here. Regardless, whether by demons or sorcery, the Second Beast uses false religion to command worship of the First Beast and violently persecutes the faithful who refuse to bend the knee to idols (Daniel 3:14-15).

• It causes all… to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark.

There’s a shocking parallel here: just as those who bear God’s mark (or seal) on their forehead enjoy protection from God’s wrath, those who bear the mark of the beast escape earthly persecution. Though eternally secure, the elect, who refuse to bow down and worship idols, suffer social and economic punishment for their lack of submission to the state. Whether these marks are physical or symbolic, they both symbolize the true allegiance of the heart; no man can serve two masters. Every man serves the Lamb or the beast.

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