Along with the dragon and the sea beast, there is a land beast. This devotional reading looks at how the three make up Satan’s trinity.
Nuggets
- The beast of the earth is to mimic the Holy Spirit.
- It is logical that the beast mimicking the Holy Spirit will come from the earth, as it will guide people to follow worldview beliefs.
- If God has a Lamb, Satan wants a lamb, too.
- The second beast should be expected to be a spokesman for the dragon.
- The Holy Spirit aids in our worship of God as will the second beast.
- Satan will utilize signs and wonders to try to convince worldview people that his lies are truth.
I forgot all about there being a second beast. It is logical, though, that there be one.
If Satan is so intent on mimicking God, he will need a fake Holy Spirit as well as a fake Christ.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in The Beasts series
The Beast from the Earth
“Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 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” (Rev. 13: 11-12 ESV)
The beast of the earth is to mimic the Holy Spirit.
Beast Rising out of the Earth
It is logical that the beast mimicking the Holy Spirit come from the earth, as it will guide people to follow worldview beliefs.
Well, you know if God has a Trinity, then Satan needs one, too. If the dragon is God and the first beast is Jesus, that means the second beast is the Holy Spirit.
Where the first beast came from the sea, the second beast rises out of the earth.
Well, duh. Satan is the prince of this world. It is logical what he tinkers with comes from this world.
- “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (I Jn. 5: 19 ESV).
- “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph. 2: 1-3 ESV).
If the first beast is the fake christ, the second beast is the fake prophet. “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (Mt. 24: 24 ESV).
That is verified in Revelation 19: 20. “And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur” (Rev. 19: 20 ESV).
It is also logical that the two beasts will be working together. Seiss indicated the two duplicated powers.
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God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit all have the same nature. Yeah, so do the dragon and the two beasts.
Like a Lamb
If God has a Lamb, Satan wants a lamb, too.
Jesus isn’t called by name in the Book of Revelation. The title the Lamb that was slain is used to identify Him.
- “And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth? (Rev. 5: 6 ESV).
- “Saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’” (Rev. 5: 12 ESV).
- “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Rev. 12: 11 ESV).
- “And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain” (Rev. 13: 8 ESV).
But then, Jesus had been identified as a lamb all along.
- “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (Isa. 53: 7 ESV).
- “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (Jn. 1: 29 ESV).
- “And he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’” (Jn. 1: 36 ESV).
- “But with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (I Pet. 1: 19 ESV).
- “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (I Cor. 5: 7 ESV).
The interesting thing is the horns. Yes, they are symbols of power.
But this sounds nonthreatening. “… It had two horns like a lamb …” (Rev. 13: 11 ESV).
There are only two horns for the second beast, not ten for both the dragon (Rev. 12: 3) and the beast (Rev. 13: 1). The difference is that the second beast doesn’t have a crown.
Okay. We put the Holy Spirit as the low Man in the list. In other words, we would say He doesn’t have a crown, either.
What the second beast has is worldly wisdom. He will be accepted by worldview people because he will not only be telling them what they want to hear, he will also be telling them what they have already heard.
Look what Seiss said this means. He wrote,
“In other words, he claims to be the bearer of the sum total of the universal wisdom, in which all reason and all revelation are fused into one great system, claimed to be the ultimatum of all truth, the sublime and absolute universeology. And professing to have everything natural and supernatural thus solved and [crystallized] as the one eternal and perfect wisdom, he must necessarily present himself as the one absolute apostle and teacher of all that ought to command the thought, faith, and obedience of man.
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That makes the second beast the spiritual teacher to worldview people.
Speaks like a Dragon and Exercises Authority of the First Beast
The second beast should be expected to be a spokesman for the dragon.
The Holy Spirit is the intermediary between us and God.
- “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (Jn. 14: 26 ESV).
- “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8: 26 ESV).
- “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1: 20 ESV).
The Holy Spirit speaks on God’s authority.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (Jn. 16: 13 ESV).
The Holy Spirit is God’s spokesman, so Satan is going to want one.
Makes Earth and Its Inhabitants Worship the First Beast
The Holy Spirit aids in our worship of God as will the second beast.
“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4: 23-24 ESV).
The second beast will convince worldview people to worship the first beast as they are to worship God.
Growing up, I questioned how all these people would fall for the deception. Surely, they would be able to see the lies.
Ooo, baby. Yeah, I can see how they buy into the falsehoods.
Signs and Wonders
“It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 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. 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” (Rev. 13: 13-15 ESV)
Satan will utilize signs and wonders to try to convince worldview people that his lies are truth.
Miracles have their place in the gospels. We serve an unseen God. We need something we can see.
These are a visual representation of the power of God. He can do the impossible that we can’t.
As Satan wants to mimic God, he also dabbles in miracles, signs, and wonders. The problem is his are fake.
Seiss made a really interesting statement. He wrote,
“It is by these especially that men’s faith is begotten and controlled. It is by seeing and experiencing what is manifestly above and beyond all natural human power, and what cannot be accounted for on natural principles, that the human mind is forced to a conviction of the presence of some great and worshipful potency superior to Nature.”
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The faith begotten is associated with God. The controlled is associated with Satan.
We want to see evidence of God’s power. He truthfully displays His power, then allows us to decide whether we are going to worship Him or not.
Satan doesn’t have real power. He wants to manipulate us into disobeying God, so he fakes his miracles.
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. Satan wants to be seen as rivaling God.
But there is a slippery slope associated with miracles. Think about it.
When Jesus was on earth, first-century citizens were interested in His miracles – His signs and wonders. He called them on it once.
“When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. …’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent’” (Jn. 6: 25-29 ESV).
You see, with them it was all about doing something marvelous – and beneficial to them – to prove Jesus was who He said He was (Jn. 6: 30 ESV).
Well, they had been conditioned to expect that. The Wilderness Wanderers got the same treatment – manna from Heaven.
Physical things that we can gain should not be the benefit we are looking for. We should be looking to believe in Jesus because He is our Savior.
But Satan is touting the worldly benefits of the miracles. He wants us to be selfish, entitled, and demanding.
Making the Connections #1
But isn’t that what Satan does? He tries to present things as they are nice and shiny, but they are dull in comparison with what God provides for us.
We shouldn’t settle for a fake Trinity. Satan is a master at deception.
- “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (II Cor. 11: 14 ESV).
- “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (II Cor. 4: 4 ESV).
- “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (I Tim. 4: 1 ESV).
- “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn. 8: 44 ESV).
There are several verses that warn us of this deception occurring in the end times.
- “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (I Tim. 4: 1 ESV).
- “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (Mt. 24: 24 ESV).
- “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (II Cor. 11: 13-15 ESV).
We must never abandon what God’s Word tells us. We must persevere until the end.
Making the Connections #2
The said part is that Jesus warns us about this.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits” (Mt. 7: 15-20 ESV).
If we don’t focus on Jesus and His guidance, we risk letting Satan get a toe hold in our lives.
Making the Connections #3
Wouldn’t we think that God would corral Satan? Why is He giving him free reign?
Seiss reminded us that God is going to give Satan even more free reign as the end of the age nears. It seems like it is going the wrong way from where God wants us to be.
We have to remember that sin is punishment for our disobedience. God won’t dictate – for now – Satan’s ultimate punishment any more than He will ours.
We have to decide whether we are going to follow God or Satan.
Making the Connections #4
Don’t short sell the second beast. Look what Conway said. He wrote, “The first beast would be powerless without the cunning of the second.”
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The first beast is not going to be powerful if he doesn’t have the second beast convincing us that he is the real deal.
No, neither beast nor the dragon is the real deal.
How Do We Apply This?
- Be aware of wolves in sheep’s clothing.
- Focus on Jesus’s teaching.
- Allow the Holy Spirit to guide us.
Father God. We gain so much from the instruction and guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is heartbreaking that Satan would corrupt a mimic of Someone so beneficial to us. Help us to discern Satan’s lies. Amen.
What do you think?
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