Revelation 13 - The "Beast out of the Earth"

“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon." Today, we going to meet the third person of the unholy Satanic trinity. Remember Satan is a deceiver and a counterfeiter. He counterfeits Jesus Christ with his beast out of the sea who is called the Antichrist, “man of sin” and “the son of perdition” (2 Thes. 2:3). Now Satan counterfeits the Holy Spirit with this “beast which comes up out of the earth.” Here he is called a beast, but he is also called the “false prophet” in Revelation 16:13; 19:20; and 20:10. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Christ and lead people to trust and worship Him (John 16:7-15). The false prophet will point to Antichrist and his image and compel people to worship Satan through "the beast." What is also interesting to note here, is that in this passage we are right in the middle of the Tribulation period. Remember the first three and half years concludes or finishes with the “beast out the sea”, (Antichrist) overcoming and killing God’s two witnesses and their bodies are allowed to lay in open view for the whole world to see on a street in the city of Jerusalem. It is if now Satan again counterfeits God’s program and he produces a prophet, a witness, who will lead the world to worship the first “beast out of the sea”. This “beast out of the earth has two horns like a lamb and will speak like a dragon” (Rev. 13:11). The image of the horns suggests that the false prophet has authority, but the absence of a crown indicates that his authority is not political. Our Lord warned that there would be false prophets (Matt. 24:11, 24), and this one will be the greatest. He will have the "character" of a lamb but the voice of the dragon. What a deceiver he will be—and all the world will listen to him! He will appear to be a humble man, who is also handsome and very winsome. The crowds will flock to hear him. He will be like the greatest evangelist who ever lived! When he speaks, he will mesmerize everyone. No doubt, every night he will broadcast his messages on television, Facebook, YouTube and every means available, and the whole world will tune in! His voice will be with great authority that immediately captures your attention. As we continue to look at the rest of this chapter over the next few days, we will learn more about him and his agenda. This chapter is probably the most interesting and most talked about chapter in the entire book of Revelation. It is so easy to see today how these chapters, and the events describe in them, can be fulfilled anytime in this global and connected world in which we live today! I trust that these chats and blog will continue to encourage you to trust the Lord and to make sure that you are indeed a “child of God”. That you have been “born again.” That you know that your sins have been forgiven and washed away in the blood of Jesus. And that you are living every day in expectancy of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is my prayer that you will be courageous and bold to stand against the vain and empty lies that are destroying our churches, our homes and our nation. Let me leave you with this word from the Apostle Paul in Romans 13:11-14: “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”