Revelation 13:11-13 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people.
The second beast imitates the Lamb. It is a form of antichrist who appears like the messiah but actually is the agent of the devil. The second beast serves as the prophet or spokesperson for the first beast. It points to the second beast. People will be impressed by the second beast and want to follow the first beast. This antichrist even will appear doing great signs and wonders, deceiving people by its power. The description here makes this sound like a person. This person will be obvious to believes of the Lamb but will deceive those who are not firmly grounded in orthodox faith.
It is very important that we know the Shepherd’s voice, just as the Shepherd knows us the sheep (see John 10). There will be people who make claims about Christ and may even do miracles. But they are only agents of the devil. If John’s vision is referring to one person coming the future, the principle is the same for us. Be aware of false teaching and teachers by being deeply and firmly rooted into Christ.
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