Two Horned Wooly Devil - Second Beast of Revelation 13

Yahshua and the apostles warned that the end times would be marked by numerous false prophets, but none so notorious as THE False Prophet who -- with the help of desperate times, a notable associate, and some technological wizardry -- will deceive the world into accepting the beast king or Antichrist as an enlightened despot sent by God to usher in a new age of peace, safety, and prosperity.

The False Prophet and his associate are the two horns of the second beast in Revelation 13, and the beast is the body of followers behind them. They are religious leaders apparently manifesting miraculous signs and wonders, as predicted in the Scriptures, who are the epitome of "wolves in sheep's clothing." It isn't hard in this post-election season to see the rising tide of politically oriented religionists who are willing to trade truth and righteousness for influence and power, especially the kind that comes by the political power of their zealous followers. This is especially obvious considering Pat Robertson and Hal Lindsey's endorsements of Arnold Schwarzenegger for California Governor, Christian Coalition founder Ralph Reed's key staff role in George Bush's re-election campaign, and the fact that so-called Evangelicals rallying behind everyone from James Dobson to Gary Bauer to Jerry Falwell have become the pivotal voting block in American politics.

And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. And 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. And he performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.

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 there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

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, and he provides that no one should 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 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 [666].- Revelation 13:11-18 NASB

Notes and Comments

Rises after first beast - Comes into view after seven-headed beast with 10 crowned leaders, after Babylon's fall by fiery attack orchestrated by them. Empowered by the devil, who works through the second beast to generate popular support, which in the words of George W. Bush, equals "political capitol."

From "earth" - As opposed to the "sea" of diverse people upon which the harlot Babylon sits and from which the first beast rises.

Two horns - One of the two horns of the second, lamb-like, dragon-voiced beast is the false prophet; the other could represent the antichrist himself or a partner in "ministry" (like Aaron to Moses or Elisha to Elijah); either way, these are two people deliberately deceiving people with fake "miracles".

Like a lamb - Religious context like wolves in sheep's clothing, angel of light.

Dragon's words - Children of the devil, like scribes and Pharisees, masquerading as leaders of children of God.

Exercises first beast's authority - This pair literally exercise the antichrist's political power on his behalf, like Jezebel with her husband, King Ahab's, signet ring, only with the full blessing of the first beast. False prophet and antichrist have a secret deal: Antichrist gives techno-wizardry so false prophet can fake miracles like the two witnesses (fire from heaven) in exchange for political endorsement of antichrist. They will deceive people into thinking signs from God testify of the antichrist's anointment. Implies similar technology as DARPA microwave "people cooker" used against detractors in open sight and without prosecution by the govt.

Great signs, fire from heaven - Like Pharaoh's magicians mimicking Moses and Aaron's God-given signs, an obvious copy of the two witnesses' empowerment to smite the earth at their own discretion.

Signs are deceptive, make people think God is behind great signs, but he isn't; technology is. This explains how the false prophet (as elsewhere dubbed) exercises the political beast's power, which is the same reason all the people of the world tremble in fearful submission because no one can make war with the beast. As Daniel explained, the antichrist's power is manifested through his chief object of worship, military might, and it would appear that he somehow attains a weapon even more effectively threatening than the A-bomb was when only the U.S. had it.

Thus, the horn of his power - an ultimate weapon that seems to cause fire to come from heaven (at false prophet's pronouncement) - placed in the hands of his two false prophet pals equals great lying signs and wonders by which the masses will be deceived into thinking prove that God is with the antichrist, so they should be, too.

Image of the Beast - An animated representation of the revived and restored U.S.A., likely personified by the person of the antichrist, identified in particular with the system that will draw the line between life and death during the most horrifically violent time in the history of the world. It will take a little time to make or install once it is approved by the people. The False Prophet's power to give life to the image and cause it to both speak and kill detractors probably indicates his role in implementing the system, perhaps capped by a ceremonial "flipping the switch" to turn it on.

What must have seemed very strange to John isn't hard to envision at all in our times. Computers, digital animation, universal icons of all sorts -- including many names and faces of real people -- constantly compete for our attention. A digitized 'Uncle Antichrist wants you campaign' isn't hard to imagine at all, and neither is a similar icon for a revolutionary new digit economy reckoned to rescue a fearful and desperate land. The notion that a particular name and face could be the main element of this isn't any more unusual than the association of Hitler with Nazi Germany's atrocities or Michael Jordan with Nike shoes and the "just do it" lawless mindset.

When the measure passes by overwhelming majority, it will be the icon of the holocaust that follows, also. That will be when the "end will come", as opposed to the (horrific in their own right) "beginning of birth pangs" leading up to those days of unprecedented tribulation. The antichrist will be almost universally perceived as a superhero when this system is sold to the public...almost, that is. His name and face will become the universal icon for his works, which will be epitomized by the system that will be seen as a savior to most and murder contract against a few.

System is sold to the people by the false prophet as something to introduce a new age of peace and safety, and probably demonstrated in a manner emulating the two witnesses. That is, with media cameras rolling, opponents of the measure will be burnt alive, apparently as an act of God pronounced by the false prophet partners of the antichrist. It will be a near-perfect deception, hindered only by the rants of the real two prophets with their supposed demonic miracles plus the few "lunatics" echoing their testimony. The masses will be enthusiastically convinced that the death of these opponents of God is a divinely ordained necessity for the good of the whole.

Mark of the Beast - Not to be confused with the number 666, which is related, but different.

First, "mark" doesn't necessarily mean a visible "mark", though it does indicate a specific identification. For instance, phrases like 'mark those who cause divisions' and the "mark" the 144,000 elect will have in their forehead don't indicate a tattoo. In this case, with modern technology and trends in view, being marked could be something akin to voluntarily getting a social security number and card, which has similar power as a gateway to the economy itself.

However, the particular reference to the right hand or forehead do indicate something of a literal interpretation, though RFID (radio frequency identification) technology is where everyone from the U.S. Government to Wal-Mart are directing the future of identification technologies (for products, animals, and people). In the same spirit of how those two give their suppliers ultimatums on things like barcodes and RFID's if they want to continue their business relationship, so shall the mark of the beast, however administered, be.

Being "marked" requires nothing more than voluntary (albeit under the threat of economic isolation and death) acquiescence to whatever criteria are attached to being registered as an approved client of the virtual cash network.

Summary

Behind the forthcoming rise of the Antichrist in the world is the sleazy deal of all times between the political first beast and its ultimate leader, the Antichrist, and the two religious leaders depicted in the vision of the second beast:

This isn't at all hard to envision, even without considering my not-so-subtle previous notation. Never before has the Moral Majority-Christian Coalition-700 Club....consortium yielded so much political muscle. The spokesmen for the so-called Evangelicals of America have sold out the abortion issue for the sake of empowerment, receiving in exchange the assurances that their king is 'one of their own', as expressed most profoundly by his firmly empty stance against "gay marriage". Yet, their constituency proved predictably loyal to the cause of fighting evil-doers, never realizing how their own hearts and minds had been brokered away by self-serving politicians wrapped in religious attire they take at face value.

Now, feature this: A time of great distress, like martial law following a nuclear strike against the U.S. No real federal power, regional divisions, and general mayhem prevail. A strong leader then steps forward, and right behind him a pair of reputable author-talk show host-televangelists-whatever catch the world's attention with visible miracles, like pronouncing God's wrath against some "evil-doers" immediately before fire from nowhere (visible) consumes them. Obviously, these would be the two witnesses, right? Not so quick.

DARPA, the DoD's brain trust for high-tech research and development, has already developed a microwave weapon that silently cooks its victims, even causing them to burst into flames, according to some sources. They are also working on a number of other "Star Wars" weaponry involving laser and plasma beams, but the exact type is incidental; clearly something of this sort is within the technological reach of man now. Though only conjecture, I'd guess this weapon's ultimate deployment will be in space, linked to the GPS system (also DARPA's invention) for targeting. Bingo! See how easy it is for Pharaoh's magicians to mimic Moses and Aaron's miracles?

Now, let's say a savvy politician with control of such weaponry had a plan to bring unity out of mayhem. What better way than to recruit the help of a couple ambitious and self-serving religious leaders of good repute? They would, just as the Scriptures say, have all the beast's power at their disposal, just as the real two witnesses will be able to smite the earth at their own discretion. All they have to do is deliver the souls of the unwitting audience for their magic show to the one giving them their magic wands.

How does he, the miracle-working false prophet and his sidekick, cause the animated image of the beast to be made, force everyone to be marked, etc.? By rallying the people to the cause; i.e. democracy in action, or, as Tocqueville suggested, the tyranny of the majority come to a full. In other words, he or they don't personally force people to do this so much as they rally others to do so. Of course, it would seem likely that they will publicly demonstrate the consequences any detractors can expect...

Two Horned Wooly 2nd Beast

by Phil Maxwell, November 19, 2004

Notes and Comments

Summary