Counterfeit Religion
In Chapter 13 of Revelation, John saw a “Beast ascending from the Earth,” the “False Prophet.” His intent was to deceive the “Inhabitants of the Earth.” The first “Beast” that John saw “ascending from the sea” was characterized by its political power. In contrast, the “False Prophet” used religion and propaganda to deceive, and economic control to suppress anyone who did not submit to its demands. As in Ancient Rome, the beastly World Empire will intermix politics, religion, and commerce to advance its imperial agenda.
In
the Book of Revelation, the group known as the “Inhabitants of the Earth”
gives allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea,” and by proxy, to the “Great
Red Dragon,” namely, Satan. The “False Prophet” promotes religious
devotion and political loyalty to the “Beast,” and gives it concrete
expression to it by encouraging men to erect an “image” to the first “Beast”
- (Revelation 13:4-8).
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| [Photo by Mike Kotsch on Unsplash] |
The “Beast from the Sea” had “ten heads” and “seven horns,” and one of its “heads” appeared to have been “slain.” But its “death stroke was healed.” The description, “as having been slain,” was applied previously to the “Lamb” in Chapter 5. Likewise, the “Beast from the Sea” was wounded “and lived,” just as Jesus portrayed as the Son of Man “died and lived” in Chapter 1 - (ezésen - Revelation 1:18-20, 2:8, 5:6, 13:3-4).
The
restoration of the wounded “head” mimicked the death and resurrection of
Jesus, and the restoration of the “Beast” to life struck the “Inhabitants
of the Earth” with awe. Thus, the “Beast from the Sea” was and is a counterfeit
of the Lamb - (Revelation 13:3-6).
Likewise,
the “False Prophet,” the “Beast from the Earth” had two “horns
like a lamb.” It was not identical to the “Lamb,” but it imitated
him by speaking with what sounded like his voice. Moreover, while the “Lamb”
had “seven horns,” the second “Beast” had only “two.” Thus,
it is a pale imitation of the true “Lamb.”
However,
the “False Prophet” also had the power to summon fire from heaven,
making it the satanic counterpart to the “Two Witnesses” who consumed their
opponents with “fire from their mouth.” Like the “Two Witnesses,”
it was a “prophet,” which is why he was called the “False Prophet”
later in the Book. This creature masquerades as a prophet of God and claims to
speak for the “Beast from the Sea” though he does so with the voice of
the “Dragon.”
RELIGION AND ECONOMICS
The
“False Prophet” employs religious devices to direct the “Inhabitants
of the Earth” to erect an image of the first “Beast,” and it uses
economic pressure to punish anyone who resists, especially the overcoming
saints who, like the three Jewish exiles in Babylon, refuse to venerate this “image”:
- (Daniel 3:13-14) – “O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, you serve not my god or worship the golden image that I have erected!”
His
attempt to deceive the “saints” was anticipated in the letters to the Seven
Assemblies with their warnings against “false apostles,” the “Nicolaitans,”
the “prophetess Jezebel,” and the “teachings of Balaam.”
Thus,
the “Beast from the Earth” was active already among the churches of Asia.
The economic attacks by the “False Prophet” were reflected in the
economic deprivations suffered by the congregation in Smyrna, a foretaste of
the more severe attacks to come - (Revelation 2:2-6, 2:14-15, 16:13, 19:20).
However, the stress in Chapter 13 is on the use of religious deception to seduce
humanity into giving allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea.” However,
when coercion becomes necessary, the False Prophet’s tool of choice is economic
power, especially economic sanctions that prevent the offender from participating
in commerce.
BEASTLY NUMBER
The
terms “Number of the Beast” and “image” use language from the
story of the great “golden image erected” by King Nebuchadnezzar in
Babylon, and his demand for all his subjects to venerate the image “that I erected.”
That incident resulted in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego being cast into the
“burning fiery furnace”:
- (Daniel 3:1-7) – “Nebuchadnezzar made an image… the height thereof SIXTY CUBITS, its breadth SIX CUBITS… And the king ordered all peoples, races, and tongues to fall down and RENDER HOMAGE TO THE IMAGE. Whoever did not render homage to it was slain.”
- (Revelation 13:14-18) – “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand or upon their forehead… six hundred and SIXTY AND SIX.”
The
background from Daniel is the source in Revelation for the “Number
of the Beast,” six hundred and sixty-six, and it links that “Number”
to idolatry; specifically, STATE IDOLATRY. Thus, idolatrous religion and
political power are inextricably linked in the beastly World Empire.
The
height of Nebuchadnezzar’s image was “sixty” cubits, and its width was “six
cubits.” The Greek Septuagint version reads hexékonta
and hex cubits, the same form of the second two numbers added to “six
hundred” in Revelation, and it divides the original number into
three components based on the number ‘6’ (600 + 60 + 6).
The “number” is figurative. In the Book, the “Mark of the Beast” is contrasted with the “Seal of God” placed on the foreheads of those who follow the “Lamb,” which likewise is not literal. The Beast’s “Mark” or “Number” is the satanic counterfeit to the “Seal of God” and the “Name of the Lamb” - (Revelation 7:1-3, 14:1-4).
In
the Book, humanity is divided into two groups: Those who “follow the Lamb
wherever he does,” and those who take the “Mark of the Beast.” Total
allegiance is given to one or the other, and there is NO middle
ground or third alternative.
COUNTERFEIT
The
“Beast from the Earth” and his activities imitate the “Lamb,” and
his “False Prophet” mimics the true prophets of God. Thus, the “Beast”
employs a counterfeit of the Apostolic faith to deceive men, causing them to
render homage to the “Dragon” and the “Beast from the Sea.”
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| [Apotheosis of Washington - Photo by Vishwas Katti on Unsplash] |
Its goal is to destroy the Church through deception and apostasy, or more directly, through economic pressure and persecution. Once deceived, the “Inhabitants of the Earth” become willing supporters of the “Dragon” in his quest to annihilate the “Seed of the woman,” namely, the men who have the “Testimony of Jesus” - (“And the inhabitants of the earth rejoice over them… because the two prophets tormented them”).
The
seven marginalized congregations of Asia would have recognized the arrogant
pretensions of Rome in John’s visions, especially the demand for veneration and
total allegiance to Caesar. Local magistrates pressured residents of the Empire
to participate in the imperial cult, which certainly would have included
economic sanctions against anyone who refused to comply.
If there is a lesson for us today, it is that the “Beast” and its vassals will imitate the true Apostolic faith taught by Jesus and his Apostles to deceive, if possible, the very “elect.”
For the disciples of Jesus, this counterfeit
will look and feel all too familiar, and very likely, it will direct them to
give the allegiance that belongs to Jesus ALONE to someone or something
else. However, those who refuse to bow to the ungodly demands of the Beastly Empire
may very well face impoverishment because of their “Testimony for Jesus,”
if not something worse.
The Book of Revelation calls this
figure the “False Prophet” and portrays him as the satanic counterfeit
of the true “Lamb” and his Apostles. This label may very well reflect
Christ’s own warning that “false Christs” and “false prophets” would
appear and deceive many prior to the coming of the “Son of Man on the clouds
of heaven.” His followers must count the cost and give their full
allegiance to Jesus now in anticipation of what is coming.
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