Lesson 30: The Second Beast, False Prophet

Revelation 13:11-18
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.

This second beast is also called the “False Prophet” and will be the religious leader in this one-world system. We can already see the push toward a one-world-religion today as even many churches, who have taught the truth of Jesus Christ in years past, bend toward teaching that “all religions lead to the same path.” This is one of the great lies of the end times (2 Thessalonians 2:11) and we who know Truth must remain faithful in teaching it even though many who call themselves Christians mock us.


The “great signs” named in verse 13 will be many things – both demonic (as we already see today in such things as UFO’s and pulsating sun-flares) and technology (fire coming down from the heavens). We already see a great increase in sightings of “saints” and “miracles” from statues. All these are intended to draw more and more people into this one-world religion with a single goal: worshiping the Antichrist, Satan.

The “mark of the beast” is also technology that is now available in our world, though it has not yet been seized by a single individual in order to be used for this purpose. Many countries no longer accept cash for payment of things; you can pay with a credit card or your phone. This, of itself, is not the “mark of the beast” but is almost certainly the technology that will one day be used to force this on people.

Do we need to be afraid of technology? No. The technology itself is not evil; only the purpose for which it will one day be used will be evil. As we continue reading through this book we remind you that none of this is meant to scare us, but to prepare us to recognize the times in which we live.

*Do you see your faith and hope in Jesus increasing as you study this book? How has your outlook changed?