It is very hard to just to jump right in and identifying this other Beast described in Revelation 13:11 without going back to Chapter 12 to get all of the context and setting of the stage. So I will briefly touch on these other characters in Rev. 12 and 13, then explain this "other Beast."
Disclaimer: I am not an anti-semite, I am not an anti-Palestine, I'm pro-peace for both!!! It doesn't matter what group of people God chose, the story would remained the same! Sorry for the length, I wanted to do a thorough job. It's those Christians who want to gather Jews from all over the world and place them in Israel that are anti-semites, just so that their end time scenario can play out, which is 1/3 will be killed with fire, 1/3 will be killed by the sword, and 1/3 will be slaughtered.
Revelation 12:13-17 My comments are in parenthesis.
13 Now when the dragon (Satan) saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman (the true church) who gave birth to the male Child.(Christ) 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place,(Jewish Christians fleeing from Jerusalem to Mnt. Pella before the siege of the Roman Armies) where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time,(3 and 1/2 years, that is how long it took for the Roman Armies to completely conquer Jerusalem) from the presence of the serpent. (God protected His children from the Satan's rule of Roman Armies while God Himself Ordained and was fully in control of this operation. Our God is sovereign and nothing happens without His approval). 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. (Satan could not defeat the Church, true Israel) 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, (1st century Christians living outside Jerusalem and Palestine) who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The True Church (true Israel) in verse 13 are Jewish believers before Christ was born, some examples are Mary and Joseph, all those who kept the commandments with a honest heart (although they still had sin in their personal lives) and who looked forward to the Coming Messiah. Satan understood bible prophecy and tried to have Christ killed even before He was born by King Herold (I'm sure you know the story). Spiritually God's bride never changes, God has His church. The true believers are True Israel in the OT as well as the NT, but physically God punishes His "earthly bride" who is Natural Israel by giving her divorce papers and punishing her by OT Law which is death (Deut. 24:1-4). First to the Northern Kingdom and then to Judah.This Church age doesn't replace Israel, it's a continuation of true Israel, therefore this is not Replacement Theology.
Jeremiah 3:8
New King James Version (NKJV)
8 Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also."
Jeremiah 3:8
New King James Version (NKJV)
Isaiah 50
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Servant, Israel’s Hope
50 Thus says the Lord:
“Where is the certificate of your mother’s divorce,
Whom I have put away?
Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you?
For your iniquities you have sold yourselves,
And for your transgressions your mother has been put away. (I believe that Judea is actually being blamed for the split of the kingdom, the Northern Kingdom Israel and the southern kingdom Judea because of Solomon's sin)
Today's true Israel is the church, a combination of Jews and gentiles who are grafted into the 1 cultivated olive tree that is described in Romans 11.
In Revelation 13 beginning with verse 1 I believe is a continuation of the end of chapter 12 (chapters and verses are not part of the original manuscripts but where later added my men). In verse 1, John picks up with the dragon again, "And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore." (NASB) This is the same dragon that is warring against the church in chapter 12. Next John says,"Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea", this beast is the Roman empire corporately. If we go back to Daniel 7 and can see the Roman empire is the last of the four Satanic or earthy kingdoms, and it was prophesied that Christ would come in this kingdom. Almost all commenters agree that this a Roman empire, futurist say its a revived Roman empire but I disagree with the futurist because I don't see any evidence that supports a revived Roman empire. The term "out of the sea" I believe "the sea" means a multitude of wicked people using OT passages to support this (Psa 106:7, Provers 23:29-35, Isaiah 57:20 , Jude 1:12-14).
Beasts are nations
Verse 2 of Revelation 13 is very interesting, And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. In the book of Daniel 7 the beast are listed in this order lion, bear and leopard and the fourth was different and had iron teeth. Also in Daniel 7 verse 7 the fourth beast is also described very similar to what is described in verse 1 of Revelation 13 as having 10 horns (rulers). So what is John doing? He is looking back from his time period, which is in the fourth beast the Roman empire, in reverse progression the leopard (Grecian period), the bear (Medes/Persian era) and lion (Babylonian era) just as if you where to look back in history at the US presidents starting with President Obama, Bush----> Clintion----> Senior Bush. If you new the future starting from Senior Bush, you pen it Clinton, Bush, and Obama. The only difference between Daniel and John is that Daniel included the Beast in which he lived, John did not. This is the 1st Beast. The reason why John describes this beast as was like a leopard, bear and lion is because the Roman empire had conquered all of them and the prior kingdoms were assimilated into Rome.
Now I'm going to skip to Revelation 13:11 for times sake. 11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. Just as a reminder, I said in other post regarding the word earth (G1093-"ge"), I believe it can and should be rendered as land here, in particular Palestine. The text says "another beast" so this indicates it is another nation. I believe John is seeing apostate Israel here, for it had 2 horns like a lamb (Christ) and spoke like a dragon (Satan). Right off the bat you should recognize who this is, a wolf in sheep's clothing. The High Priest(s) or religious leader(s), or false prophet(s) who speaks lies and not truths. I believe it is referring to the whole religious system. It is my belief that perhaps the 2 horns are actually the high priests mentioned in Luke 3:2 Annas and Caiaphas and John is just using them to describe the whole. The bible tells that Satan comes as an angel of light but speaketh lies and is the counterfeit Christ (2 Corinthians 11:14). Galatians 1:8 says "8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed."(NKJV). Also Satan wanted to be worshiped instead of God.
While Christ walked on earth (the land), who did He renounce the most? Matthew 23 gives us a clear picture of who these people were, they were the religious rulers who Jesus calls the sons of the devil (verse 33) and leading others to hell (verse 15). What an abomination to God it is, who sent His only son to suffer and die for us to have an unbelieving priest offer up to God animals as a sacrifice once the ultimate sacrifice was provided! These priests acted as a mediator between God and man to all the people until the temple was destroyed in 70AD and Why? God didn't want any part of it, God hates animals sacrifices (Isaiah 1:11) (1 Samuel 15:22) and prefers a pure heart. These priests where anti-christs! Not only that they wanted to KILL Jesus. Not to mention this is a prophecy fulfilled concerning God's wrath upon the apostate nation of Israel/Jerusalem.
Matthew 7:15-20:False Prophets
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (NASB)
Some say that the Catholic Church and the Pope is the anti-Christ. I don't agree with many of their practices but they are not the antichrist and it is biblical impossible. The world antichrist is only used 4 times in the whole bible 1 John 2:18, 1 John 2:22, 1 John 4:3 and 2 John 1:7
1 John 2:18
Deceptions of the Last Hour
18 Little children, it is the last hour (meaning it's soon to happen in his day); and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
Whats the last hour? I think those who left them were Jewish or Roman spies who were going to report them to the authorities for capture and persecution.
1 John 2:22 (This is the definition of an antichrist)
22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Any Catholics here deny that Jesus is deity? Please tell me! Anyone who denies Jesus Christ is the Son of God, deity is an antichrist. You probably have an antichrist living right next to you! I have an antichrist living in my home (my 2 step sons, please pray for them Brandon and Cameron).
1 John 4:3 (NKJV)
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
Back to the study of the "other beast" verse 12, "He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence." This goes back to the study I did on Babylon the Great Harlot who rides on the back of the beast (which was reason #3 of 16) Go check it there. Israel was under the control and protection of the Roman empire. For this to be America, America would have to be in the presence of the first beast which is Rome. Rome is weak today. So if it is America, who control are we under? NWO? United Nations? Perhaps, but I have seen America act without permission from the UN before. We are not forced to pay taxes to them. We are allow to bash them verbally anytime we wish. Frankly, its a stretch! This definitely does not fit pre-trib/pre-mil eschatological system of interpretation, because they say the 1st beast here is a revived Roman empire.
Continuing, And he makes the earth (land) and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast (Rome and it's rulers). Who did the Jews give there allegiance too?
John 19:12-15 (NKJV)
12 From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”
13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!”
Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”
Who was spiritual the power behind ancient Rome? Satan, the Dragon! and the other beast as well!
whose fatal wound was healed. I believe this is a reference to the History of the Roman empires starting with the 1st one, Julius Caesar. To read up on his history click here. Julius Caesar was not popular among the republic senate leaders because he wanted absolute power and was assassinated. This marked the fall of the Republic and sent the nation into chaos for 13 years in which 3 civil wars where fought. After the 3rd civil war Caesar Augustus came into power. All Caesars claimed to be deity wanted absolute power, therefore in the spirit of antichrist and the desire for absolute power the Caesar emperor position was healed or resurrected.
So there you have Moment_of_Faith, sure I hope you read all of it and enjoyed because it took a lot of effort, regardless of what you think. However this is nothing to divide over. We all can still be brothers and sisters in Christ's love.
Disclaimer: I am not an anti-semite, I am not an anti-Palestine, I'm pro-peace for both!!! It doesn't matter what group of people God chose, the story would remained the same! Sorry for the length, I wanted to do a thorough job. It's those Christians who want to gather Jews from all over the world and place them in Israel that are anti-semites, just so that their end time scenario can play out, which is 1/3 will be killed with fire, 1/3 will be killed by the sword, and 1/3 will be slaughtered.
Revelation 12:13-17 My comments are in parenthesis.
13 Now when the dragon (Satan) saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman (the true church) who gave birth to the male Child.(Christ) 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place,(Jewish Christians fleeing from Jerusalem to Mnt. Pella before the siege of the Roman Armies) where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time,(3 and 1/2 years, that is how long it took for the Roman Armies to completely conquer Jerusalem) from the presence of the serpent. (God protected His children from the Satan's rule of Roman Armies while God Himself Ordained and was fully in control of this operation. Our God is sovereign and nothing happens without His approval). 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. (Satan could not defeat the Church, true Israel) 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, (1st century Christians living outside Jerusalem and Palestine) who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The True Church (true Israel) in verse 13 are Jewish believers before Christ was born, some examples are Mary and Joseph, all those who kept the commandments with a honest heart (although they still had sin in their personal lives) and who looked forward to the Coming Messiah. Satan understood bible prophecy and tried to have Christ killed even before He was born by King Herold (I'm sure you know the story). Spiritually God's bride never changes, God has His church. The true believers are True Israel in the OT as well as the NT, but physically God punishes His "earthly bride" who is Natural Israel by giving her divorce papers and punishing her by OT Law which is death (Deut. 24:1-4). First to the Northern Kingdom and then to Judah.This Church age doesn't replace Israel, it's a continuation of true Israel, therefore this is not Replacement Theology.
Jeremiah 3:8
New King James Version (NKJV)
8 Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also."
Jeremiah 3:8
New King James Version (NKJV)
Isaiah 50
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Servant, Israel’s Hope
50 Thus says the Lord:
“Where is the certificate of your mother’s divorce,
Whom I have put away?
Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you?
For your iniquities you have sold yourselves,
And for your transgressions your mother has been put away. (I believe that Judea is actually being blamed for the split of the kingdom, the Northern Kingdom Israel and the southern kingdom Judea because of Solomon's sin)
Today's true Israel is the church, a combination of Jews and gentiles who are grafted into the 1 cultivated olive tree that is described in Romans 11.
In Revelation 13 beginning with verse 1 I believe is a continuation of the end of chapter 12 (chapters and verses are not part of the original manuscripts but where later added my men). In verse 1, John picks up with the dragon again, "And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore." (NASB) This is the same dragon that is warring against the church in chapter 12. Next John says,"Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea", this beast is the Roman empire corporately. If we go back to Daniel 7 and can see the Roman empire is the last of the four Satanic or earthy kingdoms, and it was prophesied that Christ would come in this kingdom. Almost all commenters agree that this a Roman empire, futurist say its a revived Roman empire but I disagree with the futurist because I don't see any evidence that supports a revived Roman empire. The term "out of the sea" I believe "the sea" means a multitude of wicked people using OT passages to support this (Psa 106:7, Provers 23:29-35, Isaiah 57:20 , Jude 1:12-14).
Beasts are nations
Verse 2 of Revelation 13 is very interesting, And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. In the book of Daniel 7 the beast are listed in this order lion, bear and leopard and the fourth was different and had iron teeth. Also in Daniel 7 verse 7 the fourth beast is also described very similar to what is described in verse 1 of Revelation 13 as having 10 horns (rulers). So what is John doing? He is looking back from his time period, which is in the fourth beast the Roman empire, in reverse progression the leopard (Grecian period), the bear (Medes/Persian era) and lion (Babylonian era) just as if you where to look back in history at the US presidents starting with President Obama, Bush----> Clintion----> Senior Bush. If you new the future starting from Senior Bush, you pen it Clinton, Bush, and Obama. The only difference between Daniel and John is that Daniel included the Beast in which he lived, John did not. This is the 1st Beast. The reason why John describes this beast as was like a leopard, bear and lion is because the Roman empire had conquered all of them and the prior kingdoms were assimilated into Rome.
Now I'm going to skip to Revelation 13:11 for times sake. 11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. Just as a reminder, I said in other post regarding the word earth (G1093-"ge"), I believe it can and should be rendered as land here, in particular Palestine. The text says "another beast" so this indicates it is another nation. I believe John is seeing apostate Israel here, for it had 2 horns like a lamb (Christ) and spoke like a dragon (Satan). Right off the bat you should recognize who this is, a wolf in sheep's clothing. The High Priest(s) or religious leader(s), or false prophet(s) who speaks lies and not truths. I believe it is referring to the whole religious system. It is my belief that perhaps the 2 horns are actually the high priests mentioned in Luke 3:2 Annas and Caiaphas and John is just using them to describe the whole. The bible tells that Satan comes as an angel of light but speaketh lies and is the counterfeit Christ (2 Corinthians 11:14). Galatians 1:8 says "8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed."(NKJV). Also Satan wanted to be worshiped instead of God.
While Christ walked on earth (the land), who did He renounce the most? Matthew 23 gives us a clear picture of who these people were, they were the religious rulers who Jesus calls the sons of the devil (verse 33) and leading others to hell (verse 15). What an abomination to God it is, who sent His only son to suffer and die for us to have an unbelieving priest offer up to God animals as a sacrifice once the ultimate sacrifice was provided! These priests acted as a mediator between God and man to all the people until the temple was destroyed in 70AD and Why? God didn't want any part of it, God hates animals sacrifices (Isaiah 1:11) (1 Samuel 15:22) and prefers a pure heart. These priests where anti-christs! Not only that they wanted to KILL Jesus. Not to mention this is a prophecy fulfilled concerning God's wrath upon the apostate nation of Israel/Jerusalem.
Matthew 7:15-20:False Prophets
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (NASB)
Some say that the Catholic Church and the Pope is the anti-Christ. I don't agree with many of their practices but they are not the antichrist and it is biblical impossible. The world antichrist is only used 4 times in the whole bible 1 John 2:18, 1 John 2:22, 1 John 4:3 and 2 John 1:7
1 John 2:18
Deceptions of the Last Hour
18 Little children, it is the last hour (meaning it's soon to happen in his day); and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
Whats the last hour? I think those who left them were Jewish or Roman spies who were going to report them to the authorities for capture and persecution.
1 John 2:22 (This is the definition of an antichrist)
22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Any Catholics here deny that Jesus is deity? Please tell me! Anyone who denies Jesus Christ is the Son of God, deity is an antichrist. You probably have an antichrist living right next to you! I have an antichrist living in my home (my 2 step sons, please pray for them Brandon and Cameron).
1 John 4:3 (NKJV)
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
Back to the study of the "other beast" verse 12, "He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence." This goes back to the study I did on Babylon the Great Harlot who rides on the back of the beast (which was reason #3 of 16) Go check it there. Israel was under the control and protection of the Roman empire. For this to be America, America would have to be in the presence of the first beast which is Rome. Rome is weak today. So if it is America, who control are we under? NWO? United Nations? Perhaps, but I have seen America act without permission from the UN before. We are not forced to pay taxes to them. We are allow to bash them verbally anytime we wish. Frankly, its a stretch! This definitely does not fit pre-trib/pre-mil eschatological system of interpretation, because they say the 1st beast here is a revived Roman empire.
Continuing, And he makes the earth (land) and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast (Rome and it's rulers). Who did the Jews give there allegiance too?
John 19:12-15 (NKJV)
12 From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”
13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!”
Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”
Who was spiritual the power behind ancient Rome? Satan, the Dragon! and the other beast as well!
whose fatal wound was healed. I believe this is a reference to the History of the Roman empires starting with the 1st one, Julius Caesar. To read up on his history click here. Julius Caesar was not popular among the republic senate leaders because he wanted absolute power and was assassinated. This marked the fall of the Republic and sent the nation into chaos for 13 years in which 3 civil wars where fought. After the 3rd civil war Caesar Augustus came into power. All Caesars claimed to be deity wanted absolute power, therefore in the spirit of antichrist and the desire for absolute power the Caesar emperor position was healed or resurrected.
So there you have Moment_of_Faith, sure I hope you read all of it and enjoyed because it took a lot of effort, regardless of what you think. However this is nothing to divide over. We all can still be brothers and sisters in Christ's love.
