In this episode, J. Mark examines the second beast of Revelation 13, often called the False Prophet, and uncovers his role as “Satan’s Enforcer” during the final years of the Great Tribulation. Revelation 13:11-18 reveals how he will use political authority, religious deception, and economic control to compel the world to worship the Antichrist. We also explore the significance of the mark of the beast and why this passage is about spiritual vigilance. Join us as we discover how this prophecy calls believers to discern deception and faithfully proclaim Christ in a world opposed to Him.
Have you ever tried to imagine a world without law enforcement? In our world today, some call for the abolition of the police. What would that be like? Because of the sin that resides in men’s hearts, it would be pure chaos, the law of the jungle – mob rule! As long as sinful humans remain on earth, law enforcement will be needed.
In Romans 13, the Spirit inspired Paul to write, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.” Since God is the source of all authority, those who resist authority and those who abuse their authority will both give an account to Him.
In the closing verses of Revelation 13, we are introduced to a figure I have called “Satan’s Enforcer.” He arises from the Earth during the final 3.5 years of the Great Tribulation, and, as we will see, wields tremendous power over the people on the earth at the time.
Here is the reading of the text, Revelation 13:11-18. As I read, look for the words made, caused, exercised, performed, etc. These all derive from the same Greek word and provide clues about this creature’s abilities.
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
12 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.
13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
14 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.
15 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.
16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
In this text, the beast from the earth is Satan’s enforcer. We will explore the AREAS where he enforces the Antichrist’s will and how that enforcement affects those living at the time.
The First AREA of Enforcement is
Political Power
Notice John’s description. He sees another beast or creature coming up out of the earth. In the ancient world, the earth was less mysterious and foreboding than the sea. His rising from the earth suggests that he will appear to be subtler, gentler, and less terrifying than the Antichrist. Some commentators see this connection to the earth as an emphasis on his humanity.
The word, another, signifies that this second beast is of the same kind as the first one. Remember, the first beast, which we learned is the Antichrist, came up out of the sea. So, these creatures differ in how they enter the scene, but they share similar origins and power.
Revelation 16:13 calls this beast the “false prophet.” “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.” This is the unholy trinity, and as you can see, they work together.
The appearance of this second beast is unique. He has only 2 horns instead of 10, like the first beast. The description of his horns as those of a young lamb may suggest a religious connotation. He doesn’t appear as ferocious as the previous beast, but the last few words of the verse tell us he “spoke like a dragon.” Jesus warned about this in Matthew 7:15. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”
He exercises ALL the authority of the first beast “in his sight,” that is, in the presence of the Antichrist, who gets his authority from the Dragon. This is why I have called this beast “Satan’s enforcer.” We learned in verse 2 of this chapter that “The dragon gave him [the first beast] his power, his throne, and great authority.” Therefore, the second beast carries on the succession of authority from the dragon and the first beast.
Further, the Antichrist “was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (13:6-8).
Notice this second beast will not echo the blasphemous tirades against God that will pour from the lips of Antichrist (Dan. 11:36). Instead, he will speak winsome, deceiving words of praise about the Antichrist, luring the world to worship that vile, satanic dictator.[1]
So, this false trinity will be given 3.5 years to try to bring all the warring factions of the world under their absolute control (Daniel 7:23). Revelation 12:12 warns, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” In the end, Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet will fail, but as we have seen, this will be a horrible time of persecution of the righteous and judgment on the wicked through violence, disease, destruction, and death.
The Next AREA of Enforcement is
Religious Persuasion
The last part of verse 12 states that this beast “causes the Earth and those living on it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” This detail of worship, coupled with his appearance (v. 11), supports the idea of his religious character, as does the reference to him as a prophet in Revelation 16:13. He is the counterfeit of the Holy Spirit calling on men to worship the resurrected Messiah. His deception is the very one Jesus warned about in Matthew 24:24.
The identification of the second beast as the head of the apostate church is indicated in many ways in the book of Revelation. He is religiously associated with the first beast. His miracles and activities tend to lead men to worship the image of the beast. It is also clear that he shares prominence and leadership with the first beast throughout the Great Tribulation, as they both are cast alive into the lake of fire at its close (19:20).[2]
The efforts of the false prophet to promote the worship of the beast will receive a significant boost from the spectacular healing of the Antichrist’s deadly wound. Most likely the Antichrist’s death will be staged, and hence his “resurrection” is a ruse. It is a constant cause for wonder, the gullibility of the public at the hands of new charlatans who continually arise with their pipe dreams. However, the unbelieving world will accept Antichrist’s resurrection as genuine. That will greatly enhance both his prestige and the false prophet’s.
Furthermore, the false prophet will have the power to perform impressive signs and miracles, even bringing fire down from heaven. This will be reminiscent of 2 Kings chapter one, where Elijah called down fire on the soldiers of wicked King Ahaziah. We must remember that the performance of a genuine miracle does NOT guarantee that it is from God. Satan also has the power to work miracles. He gave Pharaoh’s magicians the ability to turn their rods into snakes and water into blood in Exodus 7. However, God sets limits on what Satan can do.
Second Thessalonians 2:9-12 describes the false prophet’s deception. “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” “The lie” is accepting Antichrist as the Messiah.
Part of the deception involves the false prophet’s command to those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. The term “image of the beast” appears 10 times in Revelation. In John’s day, an image or icon was painted or woven on a battle flag, a bust in metal or stone, a statue, or anything else that people could bow down to and worship. The goal was emperor worship, which ultimately is the worship of Satan. The historian Pliny tells us that refusal to worship the emperor’s image merited capital punishment in Trajan’s time, around the turn of the first century AD.
Apparently, those on Earth will follow the false prophet’s instructions and construct the image. This image may be much like Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Daniel chapter 2. It was not a likeness of the king, but rather a representation of his power and glory. Once this image is constructed, this false prophet has the power to make the image “breathe and speak,” at least in appearance. In John’s day, this would hardly have seemed possible, but with today’s computerized voice generation, robotics, and animation, this will be no problem at all!
Further, this false prophet has additional ways to enforce the authority of Satan and the Antichrist. One of those ways is to cause any and all who refuse to worship the image of the beast to be put to death! In addition, he has the authority to cause the small, the great, the rich, the poor, the free, and the enslaved to receive an imprinted mark in their right hands or in their foreheads. Neither can be easily hidden. We should note that Revelation 20:4 specifies the mark in both places. This mark may be a mockery of the sealing of the 144,000.
The word “mark” is charagma. It comes from charassō, meaning “I engrave,” and was the term for images or names of the emperor on Roman coins. [Such] marks (tattoos or brands) were commonly given to slaves, soldiers, and devotees of religious cults. God sealed, with a mark on the forehead, the 144,000 to preserve them from His wrath against the unbelieving world (7:2–3); the false prophet marks the unsaved to preserve them from Antichrist’s wrath against God’s people. The mark will signify that the person bearing it is a worshiper and loyal follower of the Antichrist.[3] Those who refuse to take the Antichrist’s mark, his name, or his number will be subject to execution.
The imposition of this leads us to the final area where Satan’s enforcer works.
The Final AREA of Enforcement is
Economic Persecution
The mark in the right hand or forehead that signifies allegiance to the Antichrist will be required for any and all economic activity. No one who lacks the required mark will be able to buy or sell. Food, clothing, medical supplies, and the other necessities of life potentially in demand in the devastated earth, which has felt the judgment of God, will be unobtainable for those without the mark. Is this possible? Is it enforceable?
The decree that all who fail to worship the beast or receive his mark should be killed is one thing, its execution another. Hitler’s Final Solution against the Jews took many months to execute, but the task was never completed. How much greater is the difficulty of extending a decree of this sort to the entire world? A countless multitude will be martyred according to Revelation 7:9-17. Still, the disorder of the last half of the great tribulation, as the world empire begins to break up, likely makes it impossible for the complete fulfilment of this decree.
Now, there has been rampant speculation about what this mark is. All kinds of fanciful claims have been made about credit cards, cashless payments, digital IDs, microchips, and more. I say without reservation that I do NOT know what the mark is or the form it will take! However, it points to a time of complete totalitarian control over economic life by religious elements. We will see the greater connection between them in the next chapters of Revelation.
In the final verse of our text, we read, “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.” Other translations put it this way: “This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast…” In other words, those alive during this time will need wisdom from above to accurately discern who this is and his diabolical purposes.
How does a name equal a number? Here’s how: gematria (gih-mat-ria) is an alphanumeric code and an ancient system of Jewish numerology where Hebrew letters are assigned specific numerical values. A similar system is used in the Greek alphabet. When the numerical values of the letters in a word or phrase are added together, they produce a total. In Greek, the letters of Emperor Nero’s name add up to 666.
Here again, there have been all kinds of speculation about who this person will be. The fact that wisdom will be needed by those who face this suggests to me that we cannot know now who this will be. Will we see preparations? Possibly. Are there historical events that seem to prefigure this type of person and system? Absolutely. Remember, in John’s epistle, he spoke of many antichrists (lowercase a). What we can surely know from the text is, it will be the number of a man who will be under the control of Satan.
According to the Jewish New Testament Commentary, “The number could be entirely symbolic. The name of Messiah in Greek, Iêsous, equals 888. Seven is regarded as the perfect number, and triple repetition symbolizes absolute ultimacy (as in Isaiah 6:3, “Holy, holy, holy is Adonai of Hosts.”). Therefore, 888 means that Yeshua is absolutely and ultimately beyond perfection. In contrast, 666 means that the beast in every respect falls short of perfection and is therefore absolutely and ultimately imperfect and evil.”[4]
Is our world already being prepared for this eventual prophecy? I’ll let you decide. However, from my perspective, the answer is an unequivocal “Yes.” People are being conditioned daily to “take the path of least resistance” through life. Pleasure is promoted as the highest aim of life, and hardship is to be shunned. Students are being taught what to believe, not how to exercise critical thinking. The masses are being brainwashed. What God calls an abomination is now celebrated and promoted, much like it was in Sodom and Gomorrah.
A false religion on a scale never before seen is coming, led by the most notorious of all false prophets. Most people will follow the seemingly safe and prudent course, worshiping the Antichrist and receiving his mark. But that is a tragic mistake with disastrous consequences, for those who persist in worshiping the beast will face the wrath of Almighty God.
This sobering passage is not meant to be the source of endless speculation about its details. Instead, it stands as a warning to the unbelieving world. It also challenges us as believers to lead careful, watchful, godly lives and to evangelize a hopelessly lost world headed for destruction. We must “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
[1] MacArthur, New Testament Commentary on Revelation, p. 718
[2] Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, p. 212
[3] MacArthur, New Testament Commentary on Revelation, p. 722
[4] Jewish New Testament Commentary, E-Sword
