A Study of The Book of Revelation, Part #45

Earl Gillespie

A Study of The Book of Revelation

The Two Beasts

Revelation 13

The fanaticism which Satan brought to the German Church in the sixteenth century, nearly destroyed it. Spiritualization and sermonizing which caters to the prosperity and the entertainment aspect of the religious community is having the same effect on the churches in America today.  When the message of the scripture is spiritualized the true message is lost, consequently, the church misses God’s Word in the end.  This is the greatest sin committed against the Word of God. The plain common sense meaning that is often achieved through a verse by verse  study of the scripture is no longer accepted as the true meaning.  The sadness of this method of interpretation is there are no guidelines in the scripture to govern this process and its application is totally at the pleasure of the teacher or preacher.  Spiritualized and sermonized interpretations allows the preacher or teacher to say Whatever he or she wants and claim it is the word of God.  The deliverance of the Children of Israel is often spiritualized and it becomes a journey of the church struggling in the wilderness of sin.  One of the problems with that interpretation is that there is a Jewish remnant that cannot be spiritualized away.  If we spiritualize the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead we lose a valuable lesson  on what takes place after death.  Spiritualization destroys the scripture.

When the messenger spiritualize events in the bible it allows the messenger  to entertain a state of disbelief in the message as it is presented. Too many church leaders use the spiritualization concept to play fast and loose with the beginning and the end of the bible.  They convert the opening chapters of Genesis into a mythical story and the book of Revelation into mythical promises. In essence, there are ministers preaching and teachers teaching that do not believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ.

A noted theologian spiritualized Zechariah 14: 1-9 this way, he stated that the Mount of Olives stand for the human heart.  The enemy forces symbolize the evil in this world that surround and attach the human heart.  The Lord’s return represent what happen when a person accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.   Thus, when Jesus comes into a person's heart, their heart (the Mount of Olives) splits in contrition, and all the evil influences in the person's life are defeated, and Jesus becomes king of that person's heart.  An the church said amen. 

The Bible is the revelation of God written by Holy men, it was not written in the language of a superman nor was it wrote in celestial words.  The Bible is written in words easily understood.  The Word of God contains three kinds of languages: (1) figurative, (2) symbolic, (3) literal.  The expression “harden not your heart” is figurative and the meaning is made clear by the context. Symbolic language is used to describe the image of Nebuchadnezzar,  Daniel’s four wild beasts, and Christ in the midst of the seven candlesticks in Revelation.  The explanation of the symbolic expression is either given in the same chapter or in some other book of the Bible.  The rest of the language in the Bible is literal.  We are to read it as we would read any book, allow it to say what it says, and allow the Holy Spirit to enlighten us, as he reveals the truth.  Man has no right to allegorize or spiritualize the Scripture.  Modernism and liberation uses this false method of interpreting the Word of God, and such practice has led to the formation of many false religious sects.

 The work of the Holy Spirit in this dispensation of Grace is not to impart a new revelation to men or inspire men to write or speak as the prophets and apostles of old.  The present work of the Holy Spirit is to bring spiritual fruitation  through understanding and illumination to the mind of the believer that we may accept the truth of God and impart that truth to others as we study and rightly divide the Word of truth.  It is through the Holy Spirit that the plan and purpose of God in the ages are made known to present day believers as God declared it in the beginning.

The book of Revelation is not to be spiritualized, it can be understood if we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us.   John spoke of seeing Jesus as a Lamb who, "stood as if had been slain."  Revelation 5:6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.  If we apply the numerology and symbology found within the bible this verse become easy to understand.

In chapter 13 we will study two beasts, one was from the sea, the other was out of the earth.  The victory of Michael over the red dragon  completely  overthrown Satan and his influence in the heavens. Satan and his hosts were cast down to the earth. This event is very important and of grave significance. The earth is now to become the main battleground and the scene of Satan’s operation. His kingdom has been just above us, but when he is cast out of the Heavens, he will set up headquarters on earth. The devil seeks to recruit earthly followers whereas Christ seek to obtain spiritual followers.  God-fearing Jews and Gentiles will be the special objects of Satan’s fury and hatred. He will also blind and darken the minds of the peoples of other countries outside of Israel.  If we attempt to spiritualize these events we will become blinded to the events that are taking place and soon to take place, and the message of Jesus will fall on deaf ears.  

Although Satan is a spiritual being unseen by mortal eyes, he is actually a person embodied in the flesh during the Tribulation period.  We will describe his two principal ministers in Revelation 13. These demented Instrumentalities are also spoken of as beasts - wild and fierce. Satan will give to these two beasts all of his power and authority, and will be the mastermind of these two apostates.  

Next 

The First Beast