Last 5 Days
The Image of the Beast
11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.
13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.
The second beast in this chapter is connected to the first beast in the preceding 10 verses. The first beast was wounded yet remained alive. Therefore, it has lost most of its power.
This second beast does not come to replace the first beast but to exercise all the authority of the first beast (v. 12) and in its presence. Thus, it has the “approval” of the first beast (v. 14) especially it is exercising authority on behalf and in exaltation of the first beast by causing the inhabitants of the earth to worship it.
This beast is given power to perform great signs to deceive people, like making fire to come down from heaven. And the whole world is deceived by this second beast to make an image of the first beast, and this second beast even has power to give breath into the image of the first beast to cause it to speak!! And it has power to slain those who refuse to worship the image (as mentioned in verse 10).
This great oppression extends to the area of one’s basic livelihood, so that this beast enforces the making of the mark of the beast upon everyone, big or small, rich or poor, slave or free – so that no one could buy or sell if they do not have the mark of the beast on their right hand or forehead. This is an obvious sign of oppression upon everyone who refuses to have the mark. This mark symbolizes identity and allegiance, that whoever has the mark belongs to the beast!! It is especially targeted against believers who confess that they belong to the Lamb.
This signals a worldwide persecution that is coming that would take place when a one-world government led by the second beast imposes such a procedure. We know that we still have not reach this difficult time, but one day in future, this prophecy of God’s Word will come true. And whether it will come in our lifetime or not, let us always be vigilant and prepared as the apostles teach us, we MUST stand firm in our faith! (Eph. 6:11, 13; 1 Pet. 5:9)
I remember vividly an experience more than 30 years ago, when I had an opportunity to be in Japan for some training. During one of my off days, I was a tourist visiting a temple district in Sendai, Central Japan. The compound hosted several temples, I was feeling relaxed when I walked on the ground of some of the temples. Then my friend and I went into one of the temples. We had to leave our shoes at the door and wear their slippers. The moment I went into the temple, we were led by a guided walkway that led to the middle of the temple, there was no way out, only straight ahead. And one by one, all the people in front of me stopped and stood in a square box, then they looked up to the ceiling, and clapped thrice. As I looked up, the square box area was directly under the mouth of a large dragon that was painted to span the whole length of the temple ceiling. I took a deep breath and jumped straight over the square box as I felt uneasy and sensed that this was an extremely spiritual place. This experience has made a deep imprint in my mind and reminds me that there are places of spiritual darkness in this world that are controlled by the evil one.
Verse 18 calls for wisdom of those who have understanding to “calculate” the number of the beast, purportedly to identify who this beast is. It gives us 2 clues: (1) It is the number of a man; and (2) The number is 666.
Throughout history, many people, including scholars, theologians and even politicians have been trying to calculate or locate who this beast is. Speculations came and gone, and the beast is still yet to be identified. In last century, as the time got nearer AD 2000 (Y2K) there was an uptick of emphasis on the End Times. Examples were books written by Hal Lindsey such as The Late Great Planet Earth and its revisions in the 1970s and 80s. And in the 1990s, there was the Left Behind Series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. These came and gone, and the beast is still unidentified and unidentifiable. This should cause us to be cautious and not be presumptuous or speculative.
The reason why we are still unable to identify the beast is simple: We have not yet reached this part of human history and until now both the first and second beasts have not appeared. Thus, we cannot yet identify them. However, as believers, we could and should be alert, and watch and pray, and when these beasts appear, we do not need to be alarmed, but be prepared spiritually to face the challenging time.
Almighty God who knows the seasons and the times. You are the God who also knows the strengths and weaknesses of your people. Help us grow in our spiritual strength and maturity, and empower us by your Holy Spirit so that when the time of great opposition and persecution comes, we might still be able to stand up in our faith. Help me to be ready even suffer and willing to die for my faith, if necessary. For the Lamb of God has come to die for us that we might live. I pray these things in His name. Amen!