The first beast comes out of the sea, which represents humanity.
This Beast also has a proper name - a name expressive of a particular number, and that number ‘a number of a man;’ which cannot be conceived except on the idea of an individual person.” (Seiss)
With all this in mind, we agree with Seiss: “We would therefore greatly err from the Scriptures, as well as from the unanimous conviction and teaching of the early Church, were we to fail to recognize this Beast as a real person, though one in whom the political power of the world is finally concentrated and represented.”
The beast is not an ordinary man. He is called the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit (Rev 11:7; Rev 17:8), and ordinary men do not come from there. “One who hails from that place must either be a dead man brought up again from the dead, or some evil spirit which takes possession of a living man . . . In either case, the Beast, as a person, is an extraordinary and supernatural being.” (Seiss)
ii. It may be that Satan himself takes possession of this man, and this is what makes him exceptional. This was the case with Judas, who was possessed by Satan (Joh 13:27).
Beast number two:
The beast rising from the land.
1. (Rev 13:11) John’s initial description of this second beast.
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
a. Then I saw another beast: This creature represents someone like the beast rising from the sea, because the same word beast is used to describe them both. At the same time, this beast is different.
i. They are different in origin, because one comes out of the sea, the other out of the earth.
ii. They are different in rank, because the second is subordinate to the first (causes the earth . . . to worship the first beast, Rev 13:12)
iii. They are different in appearance, because the second has a mild, “lamb-like” appearance.
b. And he had two horns like a lamb: The two horns may express the fact that this beast has authority in two realms, such as religious and political authority. Or, he may have two horns simply because that’s how many horns lambs have (two horns like a lamb).
c. Spoke like a dragon: Despite his lamb-like appearance, the message of the second beast is the same as the message of the first beast.
i. This second beast is called the false prophet (Rev 16:13; Rev 19:20; Rev 20:10), as someone distinct from the first beast (the Antichrist) and the dragon (Satan).
ii. With the dragon, the beast rising from the sea, and the beast rising from the land we have an unholy trinity. The dragon is the anti-Father, the beast rising from the sea is the anti-Christ, and the beast rising from the land is the anti-Holy Spirit.
2. (Rev 13:12-15) The second beast’s “job description.”
And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
a. He exercises all the authority of the first beast: The beast rising from the earth is essentially a Satanic prophet, who leads the world to worship the beast and the dragon.
i. It may seem fantastic to some that the world would be led into worship of a man and of the devil. But by nature, men have an undeniable religious impulse, and they also have an undeniable rebellion against God. What men want most is not the elimination of religion, but their own religion. They say they want the kingdom, but they don’t want God in it.
b. He performs great signs: The beast rising from the sea has the “signs and wonders” to back up his false teaching. A specific miracle of the false prophet is described: he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. It is important that John highlights this miracle. In the eyes of the deceived world, it answers the miracle of the two witnesses, who minister during this period and are persecuted by the Antichrist and his false prophet (Rev 11:5). To the deceived world, this also puts this false prophet in the class of Elijah (1 Kings 18). We can imagine the false prophet as saying, “Let the true God answer with fire” and then performing his deceptive wonder.
i. “There is a supernatural power which is against God and truth, as well as one for God and truth. A miracle, simply as a work of wonder, is not necessarily of God. There has always been a devilish supernaturalism in the world, running alongside of the supernaturalism of divine grace and salvation.” (Seiss)
ii. In the days of the Exodus, Aaron performed miracles, and up to a point was matched miracle-for-miracle by the magicians of Egypt (Exodus 7-9).
iii. In Deu 13:1-5, God assumes there will be supernatural works on behalf of false prophets and idols, and He warns His people to judge a worker of miracles by their message, not only by their works.
iv. Jesus said that some who worked miracles - even in His name - were false followers and would perish in hell (Mat 7:22-23).
v. Jesus said that in the end times, false prophets would emerge and show great signs and wonders to deceive (Mat 24:24).
vi. Paul said that the Antichrist will come with all power, signs, and lying wonders (2Th 2:9).
vii. Knowing all this, the emphasis on signs and wonders among some Christians is frightening. Some Christians say or think, “You can really know where God is and where His power is by signs and wonders.” Thinking this way is to leave yourself wide open to deception. Years ago there was a large, multi-denominational conference of people who think this way, and their slogan - on a huge banner over the conference platform - read “Unity Under Signs and Wonders.” That’s a unity that Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet could all join in. Signs and wonders will be present among Christians, but the real marks of God’s work are love and truth.
c. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed: The beast rising from the earth will use a deceptive, animated image as the focus point of the worship of the beast.
i. It may seem strange to us to have the whole world give this kind of worship to the image of a man, but the personality cults of totalitarian governments in the twentieth century are a good example of this kind of worship. All we have to do is remember totalitarian states like the Soviet Union or Communist China, and their omnipresent pictures of Stalin or Mao and we see a pattern that will be ultimately fulfilled by the Antichrist.
ii. The image of the beast is animated in some way; it has breath and can speak. Whether the image is animated supernaturally or technologically, the result will be impressive. The Psalmist mocked idol worshippers because the idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not (Psa 135:15-16). This image of the Antichrist will be a different kind of idol, because the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
iii. This idolatrous image is what Jesus, Daniel, and Paul spoke of as the abomination of desolation (Dan 9:27, Mat 24:15, and 2Th 2:3-4). It is an idolatrous image set up in the holy place of a rebuilt temple; it is an abomination in the sense of being supreme idolatry, and it is desolation in the sense that it will bring the judgment described by the seals, trumpets, and bowls
iv. This is the summation of the power of the Antichrist, whose authority ends after forty-two months (Rev 13:5). This marks the halfway point of the final seven years of man’s rule of this planet. The Antichrist’s power ends as soon as it peaks.
v. This is not a recent understanding of this passage. The first commentary we have on the Book of Revelation, written by Victorinus in the early church, says of this Rev 13:15: “He shall cause also that a golden image of Antichrist shall be placed in the temple at Jerusalem, and that the apostate angel should enter, and thence utter voices and oracles.”
NOTE: the above is excerpted from the David Guzik commentary, for Revelation 13.
Be blessed.
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