Conformity is a Choice

INTRODUCTION

For the past several weeks we’ve been in a series entitled “Kingdoms in Conflict.” We see these two kingdoms, diametrically opposed to one another, in bitter conflict throughout the ages.

Revelation 12 gave us somewhat of a “birds eye view of that conflict.”

The big idea is that Satan has been opposing God and his redemptive plan from the very beginning. The death of Jesus on the cross, however, dealt a death blow to Satan and his demons & he was thrown from heaven down to the earth to wreak havoc on the world and particularly on the people of God.

Two Tools

In Revelation 13 we see the two mechanisms that Satan will to use to oppose God and his people on the earth. This is true of every generation but it will be particularly true in the final 3.5 years before Jesus comes again.

The two tools in Satan’s tool belt are (1) evil government and (2) false religion.

First, he brings to power an evil, end-times empire that is headed up by a person we know as the Anti-Christ.

Second, he brings to power a false religion that is headed up by some kind of false prophet. This false religion/prophet will persuade the world to submit to the antichrist and his end, times empire.

You’ve heard the phrase “Separation of Church & State?” Remember the old adage the two things you don’t talk about at the Thanksgiving dinner table? Religion and politics!

The opposite will be true of this final end of days government. There’s going to be an unholy mixing of religion and politics at the dinner table.

Whether it’s a one-world government that maintains power through some kind of one-world religion or a powerful religious force that has tentacles and influences in every country of the world - the implications will be devastating for the people of God.

Let’s read about it in our text:

Revelation 13:11–18 (CSB)

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 It also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. 14 It deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it is permitted to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 It was permitted to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And it makes everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a person. Its number is 666.

Understanding The Beast

Let’s start our time by understanding this second beast.

Remember, this beast is acting in solidarity with two other beasts.

One is called the “dragon” in Revelation 12. That’s clearly a reference to Satan.

Then Satan then rises us the “beast from the sea” in Revelation 13:1.

Now in Revelation 13:11 we have this third and final beast from the earth (which isn’t beast like at all.)

So Satan, along with this antichrist and false prophet make up an unholy trinity.

This isn’t the first time the Bible has uses the image of beasts to identify the activity of Satan in the world.

In the OT book of Job (and many ancient myths written around the time of Job) there were two beasts somewhat similar to John’s description: sea beast/land beast; Leviathan and Behemouth. (Job 40:15-24; Job 41:1-12)

You might think of this first beast as a savvy but ruthless political dictator and this second beast as his “Minister of propaganda.”

Notice how this second beast looks dissimilar from the first beast in many important ways.

He comes up out of the land instead of the sea.

He looks like a lamb instead of a leopard/bear/lion.

He has only two horns instead of ten. One head instead of seven.

These differences are all symbolically significant.

Duplicitous Appearance

The first thing to know about this false prophet/religion is that it’s going to have a duplicitous nature. Though it may look harmless but it’s actually dangerous.

The fact that he’s a lamb seems to suggest that this false religion may try and imitate the Christian religion in someways. Maybe it presents itself as a version of the Monotheism shared by both Christians and Jews but better.

It looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon. I think that means even though it looks harmless on the surface, the idea embedded in this false religion are deceptive and dangerous. They will destroy those who believe in them.

This beast is a reminder that the Devil can masquerade as an angel of light. He will look like a lamb when he needs to and he will look like a predator when he needs to. Whatever helps advance his agenda. He’s not dumb. He knows how to play good cop/bad cop. He’s a master of deception.

Destructive Agenda

The second thing to know about this false prophet/religion is that it’s going to have a destructive agenda. He will serve the interests of the antichrist.

Verse 12 says this lamb has all of the authority of the first beast and does what it does on behalf of the first beast.

So it may look like this false religion is offering you something good. On the surface, maybe it puts forward some noble mission or admirable goal. Even other “so-called” believers may jump on board and say “this is important. This is how we save our country. This is how we fix our problems.”

But not everything that looks good and sounds good IS good.

Through the work of this lamb all those who live on the earth come to worship (or bow dow) before the antichrist and his empire. Those who refuse to bow down will ultimately be destroyed.

Not only will he destroy the saints, we know from passages like Revelation 6 and elsewhere that his leadership ends up destroying the world as well. Global famine, global war, destruction on a global scale.

Jesus and False Prophets

Remember the words of Jesus in the SOM: Matthew 7:15 “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.”

We’ve had false prophets in every generation of the church. They look good, sound good but they never exalt the most important person or the most important truth which is Jesus Christ and his gospel.

Never talk about sin. Never talk about repentance. Never talk about grace. Never talk about judgment. Never talk about hell. They talk about YOU. Scratch those itching ears.

The false prophets that are MOST dangerous are the ones within the church. Or maybe even the “conservative” social bubble. They put forward things that we might even agree with and can get behind.

People will say of them, “oh they’re so nice… so talented… so insightful about xyz.” Be on your guard! It doesn’t matter what else they get right if they get Jesus and the Gospel WRONG.

They are a false prophet if they deny the Father and deny the Son. Be very careful of those people where you have to “chew the meat but spit out the bones.” Be careful they don’t lead you astray on the things that matter most.

He looks like a lamb but he speaks like a dragon. Outwardly attractive but inwardly dangerous. Duplicitous nature and a destructive agenda.

Deceptive Acts

All three beasts of this unholy trinity (Satan, Antichrist, False prophet) use deception as their primary offensive weapon.

So the third thing you need to know about this false prophet/religion is that he will be a master of deception. He will advance his agenda in the world through acts of deception.

In particular, he will be deceive the world through deceptive signs and wonders. We can see this over and over again in the book of Revelation.

Rev 13:13-14 “13 It also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. 14 It deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it is permitted to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.”

These signs and wonders imitate what Elijah was able to do in the OT calling fire down from heaven.

Remember in chapter 11 the Lord also has his two witnesses during this season who are able to perform signs and wonders as well.

It reminds me of the story of the Exodus when Janes and Jambres were able to do the same signs as Moses (at least up to a point. Ex. stick to snake) Exodus 7:10-12

Real Signs - False Fact

Some say these are not REAL miraculous signs. They say the deception is in the fact they are just slight of hands or Vegas magic tricks. But that’s not what the text says.

The signs are very real and very miraculous. The deception is that this false prophet uses these signs to deceive people to believe the lie about the antichrist and his empire.

Remember what Paul said about the antichrist in 2 Thess 2:9-10

2 Thessalonians 2:9–10 (CSB)

9 The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with every kind of miracle, both signs and wonders serving the lie, 10 and with every wicked deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved.

In other words this false prophet/religion will perform TRUE miracles but point people to FALSE ideas about God and the antichrist.

It’s a powerful reminder that just because someone is able to do miraculous signs and wonders doesn’t mean it’s from God. Just because some movement or religious tradition is able to channel some supernatural manifestations doesn’t mean it’s from the Lord!

The supernatural manifestation alone is insufficient! We must test everything against the Word of God. Does it detract from, speak against or try and replace the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, it’s from the enemy.

Putting It Together

So the antichrist will have a duplicitous appearance, a destructive agenda and advance that agenda through acts of deception.

In someways, I think of this false prophet/false religion as a counterfeit Holy Spirit.”

In the Christian Trinity the Father sends the Son, the Son displays the glory of the Father and the Holy Spirit brings glory to the Son. The role of the Holy Spirit is to point people to the truth about Jesus.

In this unholy trinity the Dragon rises up this antichrist. The antichrist seeks to glorify and deify Satan. Then the False Prophet does everything he can to deceive people about the truth of the antichrist through false signs and wonders.

In a very real sense, this end of days empire will have an alternative “god structure” set up for society. It’s old fashioned idolatry on steroids!

This anti-God sentiment exercised by this unholy trinity is not just seen in its attempt to resist God and his plans for the world. It’s also seen it its attempt to replace God in the world and the hearts of men.

Coercing Submission

Now that we have some understanding of what this false prophet/religion will look like, let’s spend the rest of our time looking at how he’s going to implement his agenda.

We’ve already seen that he will advance his agenda through deceptive acts. But once those acts of deception have given him enough power, he’s going to shift into an alternative means of enforcement.

In verses 15-18 we see that this false prophet is given the authority to coerce submission to the antichrist and his empire.

Revelation 13:15–18 (CSB)

15 It was permitted to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And it makes everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a person. Its number is 666.

Faced With a Choice

There’s a lot of interesting things going on here. First, what are we to make of this “giving breath to the image of the beast so that it could speak and demand worship?”

That word translated image is where we get our English word “icon.” It’s really playing on the theme of idolatry because the second of the 10 commandments instructs us not to make a “graven image” of God or any “so called” replacement of God .

We see “images” of God all the time though. Little dolls, buddahs, symbols, and on and on. They had them in the ancient world as well.

The problem is, the images of those gods were lifeless and powerless; just pieces of furniture to set in your home.

Two Fundamental Questions

Somehow, the idolatrous worship of this antichrist will achieve what other idols haven’t. He will be able to speak and coerce the submission of others through their fear of death.

And we’re not just talking about a few gullible people. John makes it clear. EVERYBODY will be forced bow the knee: great and small, rich and poor, slave or free.

During the end of days there will be a fundamental choice forced upon every individual who lives on the earth. We could summarize it under two questions.

(1) To whose MESSAGE will I conform my life? (the truth of Christ or the lies of the antichrist). (2) Whose MARK will be seen on my hands/forehead.

Those are the two questions posed by this end times coercion. And you won’t be able to ride the fence any longer. You won’t be able to kick the can down teh road.

You’re going to have to choose! Am I going to conform my life to the voice of the antichrist or the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Am I going to wear the mark of God or receive the mark of the antichrist?

Whatever you choose will have immediate and eternal consequences.

Two Immediate Consequences

I don’t know exactly what this image is going to be or how it’s going to speak. I also don’t know what this mark is going to look but here’s what I do know.

Those who refuse to bow the knee will be sentenced to death and experience social and economic alienation.

Not only will they be on the run for their lives, they will essentially be and removed from the system all together.

This is why Jesus says in Matthew 24 that none of the elect would’ve even survived had this tribulation not been cut short.

The Mark of the Beast

Before we close, I’ve got to address this question of the mark of the beast. and being unable to buy and sell based on your wearing that mark.

This topic has been debated for years but during 2020 and COVID-19 it really went off the rails with speculation and wild theories.

Whatever the particulars, this end-times empire will enact some type of economic boycott against Christians, Jews and other person who refuses to bow the knee to the antichrist.

This has always been a thing in totalitarian regimes. Don’t toe the line? Can’t play in the sandbox. We are even seeing some of this NOW with what’s going on in Canada and other parts of the world.

If you have intolerable opinions or convictions then you are effectively removed from the system by removing your purchasing power in the economy. Your kids won’t be going to school. You won’t be participating in most sectors of the workplace. It will be conformity or else.

The Mark of the Beast

The thing that fascinates most people is these last two verses about the Mark of the Beast:

Verse 17 says this mark has the beast’s name or the number of it’s name.

Verse 18 says the number of the beast is the number of a man: 666.

The allusion of this “mark” on the hand and the forehead is actually an allusion to another OT text. Ezekiel 8-11

Ezekiel’s Vision

Ezekiel has a vision in which all of Jerusalem is practicing idolatry. As a result, God says he’s going to destroy the city. (which eventually he did through a Babylonian invasion)

Only one group was spared from this judgment. In the vision there a man with a pen and sack of ink.

Ezekiel 9:3–4 (CSB)

3 ...He called to the man clothed in linen and carrying writing equipment. 4 “Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem,” the Lord said to him, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the detestable practices committed in it.”

So this man is supposed to go through the streets of Jerusalem and mark every forehead of every person who was disgusted by the evil they had seen in Jerusalem.

Those who prayed for righteousness and integrity while their culture was falling apart and being deceived were marked by God. Those who bore the mark would be spared when God destroyed the city.

John’s Adaptation

Revelation 13 is the opposite of that. Now it’s the BEAST who trying to destroy the people of God. So anybody who prays for righteousness or is disgusted by the idolatrous worship of the beast will be destroyed.

So what you have is a tension between two kingdoms, two marks, two choices.

The mark you wear determines whose wrath you will face.

You can have the mark of the beast and be spared the wrath of the antichrist or you can receive the mark of God and be spared the wrath of the lamb. (This is exactly what chapter 14 describes)

The point is, you’re going to have to face somebody’s wrath! The question is, “who wrath do you want to face?” The wrath of the beast or the wrath of the lamb?

Remember the words of Jesus: Matthew 10:28 “Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Missing The Mark

As we close out our time I know many people will be frustrated by the fact that I’m not giving a clear answer on what the mark of the beast is.

The truth is, I’m really not sure.

Many point to an ancient practice called gematria.

Essentially, the way that math worked in the ancient world was by attaching numbers to letters in their alphabet. (alpha = 1, beta = 2, and so on).

That meant that every name could be calculated into a number. (Ex Matthew genealogy, Grafiti - i love her whose number is 545)

Lack of Consensus

This has caused some people to try and use gematria to identify the beast.

Verse 18 ends by saying “This calls for wisdom” and I would say so! So much superstition and speculation has surrounded this question

Many suggest that the 666 is a reference to Nero Ceaser. But to make that work you have to take a Hebrew transliteration of the Greek form of his Latin name and the Hebrew spelling has to be defective. Not very convincing!

Some say it has a different kind of symbolism. Just like 7 marks the perfection of perfection so also does 6 mark the incompleteness of incomplete. 7 is therefore the number of divinity and 6 is therefore the number of man. That which is deficient of God.

Seems like every election year it’s one of the two main candidates for president or the sitting president of which ever party your not aligned with!

Ultimately, not even early commentators who were close to the time of John’s writing could figure out who he was talking about. That lack of consensus has only grown since that time. So we must be wise and discerning while also humble and open minded.

The Main Point

The main point to remember is that whatever this mark is it cannot be received without you first giving allegiance to the beast. Moreover, refusal to receive this mark will mean you cannot participate in the system writ large. So you’re not going to take this mark by accident.

So in the debate over the “external” look of the mark of the beast don’t miss the mark on what the mark is about. The mark is about your confession of faith. It’s your testimony. What you really believe.

Receiving this mark will become a crisis of faith that confronts every person living on the earth during that time. It boils down to the confession you’re willing to make about the Lord Jesus Christ.

So choose TODAY what kingdom you’re going to serve. Choose TODAY which king will receive your submission and worship.

Conclusion

Choose today because the choice is only going to get harder from here on out.

Satanic worship will only grow more and more popular, more and more pervasive. Almost every new show on Netflix is dabbling in dark magic and the occult. The culture is sick and lost and getting worse.

But here's the truth. The worse it gets out there, the stronger and better it’s going to get in here.

Can you imagine how awesome church services would be if the price for participating was a death sentence and economic sanctions?

And it wouldn't matter who was preaching because there’d just be a bunch of us sitting around worshiping, trusting the Holy Spirit of God to provide for us and do incredible things.

God doesn't call us to read the Book of Revelation and live in fear, He just tells us here's what's gonna happen and be ready because there's some generation of the church that's gonna go through this and this is how you overcome.

The darker it gets, the brighter the gospel shines.

It's through His grace that we have life in His name, It's through His cross and His shed blood that we have life in His name

And if we have Him then we never go through anything alone. He's always with us to the very end of the age. And at the end of this age - we win. So don't live in fear but stand firm on the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.