The Beast's Religion

The False Prophet imitates the Sacrificial Lamb, presenting a counterfeit of the faith of Jesus and his true Apostles.

Men and women must choose between swearing fealty to the Beast or following the Lamb. Jesus summons all men to follow him “wherever he goes,” whereas the Beast demands the recognition and veneration of its absolute authority and majesty. Who is the true “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth”? Christ or Caesar? Conflict is inevitable.

John saw a Second Beast “ascending from the Earth” determined to deceive the “Inhabitants of the Earth” so they give their allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea.” The latter is characterized by its political power. The Second Beast or “False Prophet” uses religious performance and propaganda to seduce men to render homage to the First Beast, and economic sanctions to suppress all those who refuse to do so – (Revelation 13:11-18).

[U.S. National Cathedral - Photo by Ryan Arnst on Unsplash]

The World Empire represented by the First Beast employs politics, propaganda, religion, and commerce to advance its agenda. The group known as the “Inhabitants of the Earth” is composed of those men who give allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea,” and therefore, by proxy, to the “Great Red Dragon.” The Second Beast promotes the worship of, and allegiance to, the First Beast by encouraging men to erect an “image” of the First Beast to venerate - (Revelation 13:4-8).

The First Beast has “Ten Horns” and “Seven Heads.” One of its “Seven Heads” appeared as if “slain,” but its “death stroke was healed.” The description “as if slain” was applied previously to the “Lamb.” Just as the Son of Man “died and lived,” so the “Beast” was wounded, it appeared slain, and “yet it lived.”

• “I am the Living one. And I was dead, and behold, I indeed am living [‘zaô’] forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades” - (Revelation 1:18).

• “And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though slain [‘sphazô’]” - (Revelation 5:6).

• “And I saw one of the Beast’s heads as though it had been slain [‘sphazô’] unto death; and his death-stroke was healed. And the whole earth wondered after the beast” - (Revelation 13:3).

The restoration of life to this wounded “head” imitated the Death and Resurrection of the Lamb, and this event caused the “Inhabitants of the Earth” to marvel at the power of the Beast. “Who is like the Beast, and who can make war with it?” This First Beast counterfeits the Lamb. It is a false but very convincing messianic figure.

Likewise, the “False Prophet” has two “horns like a lamb.” He, too, imitates the “Lamb,” and he does so by speaking with what seems to be Christ’s words, though, in fact, the False Prophet speaks with Satan’s authority - “He spoke as a dragon.”

While the true “Lamb” has “Seven Horns,” his imitator has only two. The False Prophet is a pale imitation of the true Lamb. Jesus has been given all power in heaven and on earth, but the False Prophet’s power is limited and derivative:

• “Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and glory, and blessing” - (Revelation 5:12).

• “And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his sight” - (Revelation 13:12).

• “And it was given to the Beast to wage war on the saints” - (Revelation 13:10).

The “False Prophet” has the power to summon fire from heaven, making it the satanic counterpart to the “Two Witnesses.” Like the Witnesses, this Second Beast is or claims to be a prophet, and this is why he is called the “False Prophet.” He masquerades as a true prophet of God.

• “And if any man desires to hurt the witnesses, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies” - (Revelation 11:5).

• “And he performs great signs, that he should even make fire come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives the Inhabitants of the Earth by the signs that were given him to do” - (Revelation 13:13).

And so, the Second Beast employs religious devices to cause the “Inhabitants of the Earth” to erect an image of the First Beast, and it uses economic pressure to punish all men who dare to resist, especially the “saints” who, like the three Jewish exiles in Babylon who refused to pay homage to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, likewise refuse to venerate the image of the Beast - (Daniel 3:13-14).

• “And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed” - (Revelation 13:15).

• “And it was given to the Beast to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. <…> If any man is for captivity, into captivity he goes. If any man is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints” - (Revelation 13:7-10).

• “I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you are holding fast my name, and you did not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells” - (Revelation 2:13).

• “And they overcame the Dragon by of the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony, and because they loved not their lives unto death” - (Revelation 12:11).

The attempt by the False Prophet to deceive the “saints” is anticipated in the letters to the Seven Assemblies of Asia by the warnings against “false apostles,” the “Nicolaitans,” the “Prophetess Jezebel,” and the “teachings of Balaam”- (Revelation 2:2-6, 2:14-15, 2:20-23, 16:13, 19:20).

The “False Prophet” was active already in the Asian Churches, attacking them from within through deceivers and from without by limiting their ability to participate in the economy. Rome demanded the allegiance and veneration of all residents of the Empire, and false teachers like Jezebel were encouraging Christ’s followers to compromise their faith by accommodating themselves to Caesar’s religious expectations. However, Jesus also reassured his churches by reminding them that there are far greater and longer-lasting rewards than prosperity and economic security:

• “I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. And she teaches and seduces my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols” - (Revelation 2:20).

• “I counsel you to buy of me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness be not exposed, and eye-salve to anoint your eyes so you may see” - (Revelation 3:18).

These warnings concern the use of religious deception to hoodwink men. When coercion becomes necessary, the Beast employs economic sanctions, including against the Church.

THE BEASTLY NUMBER

The terms “number of the Beast” and “image” use language from the story of the great “golden image erected” by King Nebuchadnezzar, and his demand for his subjects to venerate it. Doing so was not optional. That incident resulted in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego being cast into the “burning fiery furnace”:

• (Daniel 3:1-7) – “Nebuchadnezzar made an image <…> the height thereof sixty cubits, its breadth six cubits <…> And the king ordered all peoples, races, and tongues to fall down and render homage to the image. Whoever did not render homage to it was slain.”

• (Revelation 13:14-18) – “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand or upon their forehead <…> six hundred and sixty and six.”

The story from the third chapter of Daniel is the source for Revelation’s “number of the Beast,” six hundred and sixty-six, and this demonstrates that venerating the Beast’s image is state idolatry – the adoration of the State and its leader. Idolatrous religion and political power work together in the structure of the World Empire.

The height of Nebuchadnezzar’s image was “sixty” cubits, and its width was “six cubits.” The Greek Septuagint version of the passage reads ‘hexékonta’and ‘hex’ cubits, the same form of the second two numbers added to “six hundred” in the Book of Revelation.

The addition of 600 to Nebuchadnezzar’s number intensifies its significance. Refusing to render homage to the king’s image would result in a fiery death. The consequences of refusing to give allegiance to the Lamb and instead rendering homage to the image of the Beast will be far more severe:

• “And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, If any man renders homage to the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. And he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and they have no rest day and night, those who render homage to the Beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” – (Revelation 14:9-11).

Humanity is divided into two groups: Those who follow the Lamb and those who take the Mark of the Beast. Total allegiance must be given to one or the other. The “False Prophet” employs a counterfeit of the true Gospel to entice men, causing them to render homage to the “Beast from the Sea” rather than follow the Lamb no matter the cost.

The “Inhabitants of the Earth” become willing supporters of the Empire in its quest to annihilate the men who have the “Testimony of Jesus.” The proclamation of the Gospel by faithful disciples and churches like Antipas and the Two Witnesses has tormented the men who refused to repent – (Revelation 9:20-21):

• “And the Dragon was enraged with the woman and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, those men who keep the commandments of God and have the Testimony of Jesus” – (Revelation 12:17).

• “And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. <…>  And the Inhabitants of the Earth rejoiced over them because the two prophets tormented them” – (Revelation 11:7-10).

The marginalized congregations of Asia would have recognized the arrogant pretensions of Rome in John’s visions, especially the demand for the veneration of Caesar, the so-called ‘Imperial Cult’. Local magistrates often pressured residents of their cities and provinces to participate in the worship of the emperor, and these pressure tactics certainly would have included economic sanctions.

Thus, the Book of Revelation portrays the “False Prophet” as the satanic counterfeit of the true prophets and apostles of God, and the Beast whom he serves is a false messiah who imitates the Lamb. Together, they do not present a new non-Christian religion, but a clever counterfeit of the true faith. Many of their agents are found in the pulpits of our congregations, false teachers, false prophets, and false apostles.

The term “False Prophet” reflects Christ’s warning that “false anointed ones” and “false prophets” will appear and deceive many before his return. His followers must count the cost and give their full allegiance to Jesus now in anticipation of what is coming soon.

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SEE ALSO:

• Economic War - (The False Prophet employs economic pressure to coerce men and women to swear allegiance to the Beast from the Sea)

• Beast from the Sea - (The Dragon began his attack against the Seed of the Woman by summoning his seed, the Beast from the Sea – Revelation 13:1-5)

• Allegiance to Whom? - (In the Book of Revelation, every man and woman must choose between loyalty to the Beast from the Sea or the Sacrificial Lamb)

• Beast from the Earth - (The Beast from the Earth imitates the Lamb. It is the mouthpiece of the Dragon and the propagandist of the Beast from the Sea)