by Tad Lindley
You have heard of the mark of the beast, and perhaps you have heard the Antichrist referred to as The Beast, but did you know that there are actually two beasts in Revelation?
When John was in lockdown
When John, the disciple that Jesus loved (John 13:23), was an older man, he was arrested and imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos. While he was in lockdown, he received visions from God. It is from these visions that he wrote most of the book of the Revelation. One of the visions that John received concerns the Antichrist. If you have a Bible, please read along in it so you can verify that what I am telling you is true.
The first beast: 7 heads and 10 horns
John writes: And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his ten horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. (Revelation 13:1-2)
Daniel vs John
Notice that “leopard”, “bear”, and “lion” are in bold print. These three animals also appear in Daniel’s vision in Daniel 7:1-8. Each animal represents a nation and its leader that will be on earth when the Antichrist comes to power. Likely candidates are: bear = Russia, leopard = Germany, and lion = Great Britain. I recommend you stop and read Daniel 7 right now if you have time. Daniel saw four creatures, the fourth being one that he could only describe, but not name. It represents the Antichrist. In John’s vision, the 4 creatures of Daniel’s vision are combined into one.
The 3.5 year reign of the Antichrist
At a specific point in the future, the Antichrist will win the allegiance of many people on Earth. Then there will come a day when he becomes very obvious. In Matthew 24:15 Jesus declared this. In Revelation we read this about the Antichrist: And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given to him to continue forty and two months (Daniel 13:5). Forty-two months is 3.5 years. Jesus described this 3.5 year period as the great tribulation (Matthew 24:21).
The second beast: False Prophet
I know I have skipped over some important verses. They will make more sense if we move ahead. John’s vision: And I behold another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spake as a dragon. And he exercise the all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he make fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had the power to do… (Revelation 13:11-14) I think you can agree with me that the second beast will establish a world religion that worships the first beast. Not only that, he will be able to perform miracles such that many will be deceived. The Bible refers to this person as “the false prophet” in Revelation 19:20.
Mark of the Beast
The False Prophet will also oversee the conversion of the world economy to one that only Beast worshippers can participate in. You can read about this in its entirety in Revelation 13:16-18.
What does this mean for us?
For the majority of people the Antichrist and False Prophet will seem like the natural way to achieve world peace. Recognize the leader and his government, take the mark of the beast, and all is well. But for Jews and Christians, all hell breaks loose at the hands of the Antichrist: And it was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them… (Revelation 13:7) And if that doesn’t kill us, the False Prophet will try: …and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (13:15) Up until the coronavirus lockdowns in the United States we had been blessed with no government interference in our worship. If the Bible is true, we too will come to know the persecution of our brothers and sisters in China and other nations. And as impossible as it might look from today, the day will come when obedience to the Bible will become an offense punishable by death. But live or die, Jesus left us with this powerful promise: But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved (Matthew 24:13).
Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.
