Revelation 13:11-18

This is a kind of strange beast. Yes, it is coming up “out of the earth,” which some have taken to mean “out of the bottomless pit.” I won’t debate that for some reasons, but neither will I waste time on it. Later, we may see some thoughts from the parallel passage in the Book of Daniel (ch.7), but we will see how the Spirit leads.

This is the partner of the beast that rose out of the sea, the Antichrist himself. His rise from the sea is usually understood by theologians to mean that this beast will rise out of nations and political conflicts. I believe it is a person that will arise, and that the dragon, Satan, will give him all of his external power to rule the world.

The beast we are examining in the text this evening will be given all of his internal power, his spiritual authority and mystical power, which will even give rise to fake miracles, or lying signs and wonders. If the last beast was the Antichrist, then this beast, possibly rising out of the abyss, will be his companion, the false prophet, spoken of in the book of Daniel (Dan. 7:8, “While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.”) In Daniel, this false prophet appears as a little horn with the eyes of a man, which may also come up later. If and when it does, these eyes of a man represent the culture that produces intellect and cunning, the very nature of the tools used by a false prophet, and that is the individual we are considering this evening.

Daniel sees this beast as one of the little horns that destroys three of the other beast’s horns, and this may or may not indicate that the public emergence of this individual will coincide with the fatal wound that the first beast will receive. I don’t know if this individual will be publicly known before this, but if he is, he will become well-known at this point in our future history. He will become the spokesman and the very capable false prophet that proclaims the false deity of the personal Antichrist.

I saw the divisions in the text like this:

KV11: The Rise of the False Prophet

11: Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.

11-14: The Characteristics of the Earth-Beast

15-17: The Actions of the Earth-Beast

18: The Identity (and cause?) of the Antichrist

The rise of this individual will complete a sort of trinity, a false trinity. They have Lucifer the father, Antichrist the son, and False Prophet, the unholy spirit. Normally, I capitalize those nouns, as proper nouns, but these are NOT proper anything, they are false and not worthy of the honour that capitalizing father, son, or unholy spirit, in my opinion, and not just mine. With his unholy trinity complete, he will now attempt to rule not only the earth but the universe, with both of his servants now energized with his own power and authority. This will be nothing like the honourable and glorious trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Buckle up, Earth. The ride is about to get rough.

KV11: The Rise of the False Prophet

11: Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.

This beast in Daniel arises from the fourth beast. I think this means that the political unrest that will characterize this period of time will give rise first to the Antichrist, then to the circumstances that cause a fatal wound that affects both his right hand and his forehead, then on to this individual, who will be a spiritual leader in some kind of religion and rise to calm everyone and align them as best he can to the Antichrist’s agenda for the world. All of this will be according to the power and working of Satan himself. This seems to be a better look at the things described in Daniel 7:7-8, which we have already seen over the last couple of studies and commented on this evening. With that, let’s get into the text for this evening.

11-14: The Characteristics of the Earth-Beast

I call him here the “Earth-Beast,” but he may properly be called by his job description here as “False Prophet.” When he arrives on the scene, it will be his job to convince the world to join the Antichrist, the pseudo-saviour of the planet, who will not be what he appears to be, in the name of the father of lies, his own father. The three will all be connected by the power of the dragon. The Dragon will give them all of his power, the Antichrist all of his external power, and the False Prophet his internal power. In this way, they will all be joined in power, but it is far short of the divine union of our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Still, they are very powerful, and most will see it as a god who has come in human form. Such will be the deceit of which these three are capable. Let’s jump into the text.

11: Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.

As always, I read through a selection of commentaries as part of the preparation for these studies as a kind of survey of the literature. I got into that habit in university in Biology, but I found it is a transferable skill, and it serves well here.
The first word of the Greek text is καὶ, which means either “and,” “also,” and even.” I think the best usage here would say “also” in English, but hey, “then” works just as well, because there is a component of time, even if it is in the future. I know this is speculation, but I think there might even be the inclusion of AI here because of some of the text this evening. At least this is how I see it starting, given what is already available on YouTube. Here is what Matthew Henry had to say in his commentary on this passage: “It is a spiritual dominion, professing to be derived from Christ, and exercised at first in a gentle manner, but soon spake like the dragon. Its speech betrayed it; for it gives forth those false doctrines and cruel decrees, which show it to belong to the dragon, and not to the Lamb.” Did you know that there is an AI John MacArthur (nothing to do with the actual John MacArthur) on YouTube that “preaches” sermons? At the moment, it seems quite orthodox, but like all things created by men and angels (not God, the actual creator), it is exploitable and can be “programmed” for lack of a better word. Wait until the popular opinion shifts in favour of the dragon. I’m betting that this AI servant, intended (probably) for good, will be hijacked by the enemy, and only people who have been like those in Berea, who study their Scriptures daily, will know the difference, and they will be persecuted for it. However, that’s speculative, kind of.
It also calls this entity a “beast” (θηρίον, “wild beast”), and that is to be distinguished from “ζῶον,” the word used for the Living Creatures. That word is based on Life (ζοῶ), but thayrion is based on death. This word is used to describe the viper that fastened itself onto Paul’s hand (Acts 28:4) when he was shipwrecked. If you think about the first beast and this one, JFB points out that “Both alike are beasts, from below, not from above…” JFB also says that, “[Relating to] the second, arising out of the earth, is in Rev. 11:7; 17:8, said to ascend out of the bottomless pit: its very culture and world wisdom only intensify its infernal character, the pretense to superior knowledge and rationalistic philosophy (as in the primeval temptation, Gen. 3:5, 7, ‘their EYES [as here] were opened’) veiling the deification of nature, self, and man.”
This beast came up out of the earth. The word is γῆς from the text, and it usually means “the ground,” but what is the “bottomless pit” or “abyss” if not a giant hole in the ground? I can see this either way, which could mean both, because the categories are not mutually exclusive, as Dan likes to put it. In their commentary, Jaimeson, Faussett, and Brown (JFB) pull no punches as to application of this verse, I think going back to the letter to Thyatira, “The Papacy’s claim to the double power, secular and spiritual [reference to the two arising beasts here], is a sample and type of the twofold beast, that out of the sea, and that out of the earth, or bottomless pit.”
Referencing Daniel 7 here seems appropriate. This beast had two horns and arose in Dan. 7:8 from the three horns that this being seems to devour or otherwise destroy. Dan 7:8 says, “While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.” The text is suggestive that this may cause the false prophet to arise at the death of the fatal wound of the first beast. Because the horns are always seen as symbolic of the rulers of kingdoms of some kind (usually nations, but not necessarily, they could be tech oligarchs for example), this may be descriptive of a plot or supposed plot to assassinate the de facto ruler of the world at this point in future history, although that is my own speculation.
There is a difference between the Lamb of God and the lamb here. The Lamb of God has seven horns. This wild beast only has two. Christ speaks for Himself on behalf of God the Father. This wild beast has the voice of a dragon. It is clear that these are not the same at all. One has given eternal life. The other will bring only death and suffering in eternal hell.

12: He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.

That first sentence shows that these two wild animals are two peas in a pod. Matthew Henry says this in his commentary: “It exercised all the power of the former beast. It pursues the same design, to draw men from worshipping the true God, and to subject the souls of men to the will and control of men.” It even talks about what the goals Matthew Henry pointed out were in that these two will redirect worship from the Living God towards a source that is no god at all.
The Greek word for “authority”, as usual, is ἐξουσίαν, and has the sense here of “has leave or permission” to do these things. Because I believe this vision to be seen by John at what in future history will be the 3.5-year mark of the 7-year tribulation, we know that this authority will have an expiration date of 1260 days (42 months).
During that time, however, his authority will make all those who dwell in “it” worship the first beast. What is “it?” From the immediate context of the first sentence, “it” is the presence of the first beast. That might indicate a more local phenomenon, but don’t get too excited, we will see later how far that presence might extend, and it might be over the whole planet through the use of technology.
There is a reference to the healing of a fatal wound again, and that is a false resurrection from the false trinity for the false “believers” in this false god. I know it isn’t fooling John or any of us at the moment, but this will be at a time that the vast majority of people on Earth will not know the truth, and even if they have heard it will not have believed it and turned from themselves and their sins toward the Living God in repentance and faith. It will still be the answer, but these people may not even remember there was a question.

13: He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.

Here is the first reference to a supernatural ability used for deceptive purposes. He begins to demonstrate, as did the Apostles, supernatural things, but unlike the Apostles, he does it to turn people away from the Living God to this false god with what we would call a Napoleon complex. (It isn’t really Napoleon’s complex, though. It’s Lucifer’s.)
I should mention at some point here that the use of the singular personal pronoun of “he” indicates it is a real person. He may be supernaturally powered by Satan, but he is still a person, as is the Antichrist, although there is some thought out there that suggests that the Antichrist will be a hybrid human/angel. In other words, these will be the Nephilim (human/angel hybrids again, or maybe still, the last time, God flooded the planet to get rid of them), not the sons of Seth hooking up with the hoochie-mamas of Cain (the “acceptable” version of events of most seminaries). We may have more to say about that at another time, because of what is known as the “seed war,” one of the overarching themes that can be traced throughout Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
The sign that the false prophet gives may be one of the primary reasons he is called “the false prophet.” According to JFB, “This is the very miracle which the two witnesses perform, and which Elijah long ago had performed; this the beast from the bottomless pit, or the false prophet, mimics. Not merely tricks, but miracles of a demoniacal kind, and by demon aid, like those of the Egyptian magicians, shall be wrought, most calculated to deceive; wrought “after the working (Greek, ‘energy’) of Satan. “
We know the story. The false prophets carried on shenanigans all day to try to get Ba’al to answer the phone and consume the sacrifice laid out on the altar, and “he” never did. The air quotes represent the fact that there is no actual “Ba’al” to answer the call. Elijah prayed once, and fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice from the intentionally drenched altar of intentionally drenched wood, and it took all the water as well. This will be “unbelievers” in the Antichrist as god being “sacrificed” to him. What a horrible way to die. Beloved, I’ve been a volunteer fireman. It isn’t a happy way to go. Worse, these will likely be those who believe in the One True and Living God being martyred for not yielding to Satan. See what I mean in the next verse.

14: And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come to life.

And here comes the deception. At this point, there is no reason other than belief in the actual God of the Universe to NOT bow. It will be like Roman times with Polycarp. Just put a little pinch of incense in the fire in front of the altar. Come on, it doesn’t mean anything…Oh, but it does. It means your very soul will be forfeit, my friend. Polycarp said, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?” The proconsul of the region offered him another opportunity to denounce his fellow believers in Christ by calling them atheists. Turning to and referring to the crowd in the local coliseum, he waved his hands at and referred to the crowd, saying, “Away with these atheists.” They tried to burn him alive, but the fire would reach him and go out. They had to fatally run him through with a spear to actually burn his body. In that time, there will be no such reprieve, I suspect. At that time, the Restrainer (the Holy Spirit) will not stop the madness. It will be far better for the martyrs on the other side of death, however. They will be with Jesus forever. I was recently at a Christian funeral. As sad as it is to have lost my friend Sonia, I would not wish her back for anything. She is now with Jesus forever. I will see her again after a while.
Here, they make an “image” of the beast. Is this a hologram? A video image? An animated statue? A robot? I don’t really know. The Greek word is εἰκόνα in the text, meaning an Icon, a representation. Is it possible that by then, AI will be installed in this figure of the beast? Given that it can speak and perform actions, it seems possible, even likely, if all of the hype about AI can be believed. It seems consistent with how fast it all went sideways into “woke” when it was first “released.” I think it wasn’t released. It escaped, and they couldn’t get it back into the box. Is this what it means when they say they “gave breath” to the image? It’s a mystery to me, but I don’t think I’m very far off the mark if I am at all.

15-17: The Actions of the Earth-Beast

As with all other descriptions of people, places, and things, there are defining characteristics, which we have just looked at, and then there are things that these people, places, and things do, their actions. Actions can also be defining, and for the False Prophet, I think this is very true. Let’s just get into the text.

15: And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

The False Prophet, through the spiritual powers given to him by his father, the devil, will be able to give life to this image of the beast, this representation of evil that almost nobody will be able to recognize.
This representation will be able to speak, just as they can now. An image with a programmed AI has been made of our Lord Jesus. It isn’t our Lord Jesus, and it is very Roman Catholic, but it is there, and you can read all about it on the web. I am already dubious of this AI from the very general and brief answer to the question I asked it, “How is a human saved from their sins?” [Insert Slides Here]. The Bible has a great deal to say on this subject, and only a brief reference was cited. Come on, you’re supposed to be Jesus. Surely you can do better than that, AI. This AI will not be like this.
This representative image will also have the ability to kill all those who will not bow and worship it. Here, I see shades of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah before Nebuchadnezzar. “Oh, you won’t bow? I convict you of heresy and sentence you to immediate death.” Here comes the fire from heaven. Or maybe they have a guillotine right there. However, it will be done, it will be done on the spot if you ask me.
The actions of this image will be to kill those who will not bow to the lord of that world. Somehow, this seems reminiscent of Rome, just like in the days of Polycarp again.

16: And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,

Here, regardless of how powerful or how insignificant you might be in terms of world status (meaning in political power, monetary wealth, or employment status, right in the text), you will be given a mark on your body. Apparently, in a kind of false generosity, they will give you a choice as to where you receive it, your right hand or your forehead. Augustine said, “The mark in the right hand and forehead implies the prostration of bodily and intellectual powers to the beast’s domination. In the forehead by way of profession; in the hand with respect to work and service…” One of the things I don’t like about Augustine is that he has this AMIL tendency to allegorize everything, and this is no exception, except he’s correct with this allegorical categorization. This does not mean it isn’t a physical mark. Otherwise, what is communion? Is it not the symbolic acknowledgement that Christ gave His own body and His own blood in dealing with our sins? This is a kind of false communion, as we will see in the next verse. Each person taking the mark is submitting in worship to this wild beast with everything that they have and are, all to simply keep living. The only one who has the right to make this demand is the risen Lord Jesus Christ. This Antichrist is anything but a saviour. The covenant he brings will only end in death, pain, and eternal punishment. It is nothing more than a consolidation of complete power over the citizens of the Earth at that time. Next verse.

17: and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Here we see the price of NOT taking that mark, I mean, besides the death of those who are caught and will not take the mark. Those who will not take this wild beast’s mark of loyalty (because that’s what this really is) will not be able to participate in the world system, up to and including. The ability to feed yourself. At this point, all of the currency will be under the beast system’s control. Right now, we are seeing the pieces of this system fall into place. In China, they have an “everything app” on their phones. The Government there (communist), through active geo-fencing, keeps an active eye on where everyone travels, with the ability to just go and pick you up and jail you at any time for any perceived wrong. They keep an eye on all of your social media posts and actively look for Wrongthink, a modern equivalent to Thoughtcrime from Orwell’s novel 1984, about a person living in a dystopian society that is controlled completely by the governing party. If such poor behaviour is detected, it alters what is properly called their ESG score. ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance scores. They monitor your driving time and your carbon footprint. They watch your social media. They watch how you behave and vote on things on which you are allowed to vote. When non-approved behaviour is detected, they can lock your bank account so you can’t buy groceries for a few days in an attempt to teach you acceptable behaviour. They do this NOW! It almost came here to the West. Maybe it really has and isn’t just active yet. Elon Musk wants to turn X into such an “everything app.” I wonder how many no-fly lists this kind of bible study will get me added to? And if you don’t have the loyalty mark? No food or gas or groceries for you. No social media access. And worse, it will be a tattletale state, with people being encouraged to report your crimes and location, though that is a different set of Scriptures. Cash will be no more, and in fact may become illegal. Just 25 years ago, people would consider you too far gone to rescue for thinking this for real. Now we can see the pieces arriving a little at a time, and then a lot faster.
Let me be clear, this mark will be a loyalty test for all citizens of Earth. You can choose it or not, there is a price either way. For those who take it, the price will be their eternal souls. What is that compared to a few days of discomfort by comparison? Choose not to take that mark. Yes, you will die, but for believers, that isn’t the same thing. We get to go immediately and be with our Lord Jesus.

The actions of this false prophet will be to usher in and enact the control system of the beast. I do not claim to know the minute details of those events, but we have the general broad brushstrokes here. It will not be a fun thing for any believer left on Earth when this happens. But if you find yourself here, be faithful to the lord Jesus, and we will see you when you get there, that is the presence of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

18: The Identity (and cause?) of the Antichrist

Now that we have seen the characteristics and actions of the false prophet, we who are believers gain a little insight into his identity and perhaps the cause for his presence at this time. Let’s look at the text.

18: Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

There is some value in knowing this wisdom (Gk., σοφία). Let the one that has understanding [Gk., νοῦν, “mind,” meaning the seat of reflective consciousness, and in this particular reference means “the faculty of knowing, the seat of the understanding” (Vine)]. This is meant for believers, both now and in that time. God, through the person of the Holy Spirit living inside the believer, will give us understanding.
The first thing the verse says by way of comparison is that the number of the beast is also the number of a man. Some take this to mean that, by means of weird and non-biblical gematria, we can do some divination-based gnostic math and arrive at the name of such individuals. For example, in the gematria game these people like to play, the name Nero Caesar comes out to 666. I picked him on purpose because accepting that means that Revelation was written before AD 68, when Nero committed suicide, and we know that isn’t the case. Other names that come out to 666 are also possible. Irenaeus, the 2nd-century disciple of Polycarp, suggested the name Lateinos. I think I once saw Balaam as an option. You can immediately grasp the issue. There are too many names to keep track of, and besides, do you look at the names in Greek or Hebrew? What of the early manuscripts that don’t say 666 but 616? (I still think it’s 666 because of something Irenaeus said that I can’t remember the reference for, having to do with the all-caps rule of Greek.) Even if you decide Greek is the way to go because it is the language of the New Testament, did you know that the original manuscripts were all written in capital letters? That changes things on that chart.
I rather think this is a symbolic number. Six (6) is the number of man because Mankind was created on the sixth day, among other reasons. It is just short of the number of God, seven (7). It is the number of imperfection. After Genesis 3, it can be seen as the number of man’s failure in turning away from God, among other things. It is the number of man. In fact, it is a trinity of sorts as well. Wordsworth, referencing the actual letters from the chart, says, “The Ch, X, St [the English sound equivalents of the Greek letters] represent an imperfect number, a triple falling away (apostasy) from septenary perfection…” I will add to that: Because six (6) is the number of a man, who will depart from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in spirit, soul, and body, the human equivalents of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
If this trinity of the apostate imperfection of man is the number of the Antichrist, then it is the defining character of the Antichrist himself. He is the ultimate man in the ultimate apostasy, and he will commit the ultimate act of desolation and sin in the holiest of holy places on Earth, the very seat on which God is purported to sit in His own temple in His city of Jerusalem. He will be the ultimate expression of the spiritual wickedness of fallen angels and men, bent on taking the throne of the universe away from God Himself. All I have to say is, “Yeah, good luck with that.” (It helps if you understand I know there is no such thing as luck.) It isn’t going to happen, and I know that because I’ve seen the end of the book, if you need a little encouragement.

We have seen both of these wild animals that bring only death to men, now, and we have seen the assassination of the man of sin and his subsequent false resurrection. We have met his false prophet that will build an intelligent and functional image to enforce his policies upon men, ending in a tyrannical form or complete control over the people of Earth. It is not a pretty sight, especially if anyone is there to see it all unfold.

That’s what I saw in the text. Next time, we will look at Rev. 14:1-5, where we will again see the 144,000, and see how they function and how they end up because of their faithfulness to their calling. That is sure to be more encouraging than looking at the two wild beasts we have just seen.