Part II of Identifying the False Prophet; the Predecessor of the Antichrist
One of the keys to understanding who is what in the book of Revelation being able to see the different Greek words from which our English words are translated. Beast for example is translated from either zoon or therion:
NT:2226 zoon (dzo’-on); neuter of a derivative of NT:2198; a live thing, i.e. an animal: KJV – beast. NT:2198 zao (dzah’-o); a primary verb; to live (literally or figuratively).
NT:2342 therion (thay-ree’-on); diminutive from the same as NT:2339; a dangerous animal: KJV – (venomous, wild) beast. NT:2339 thera (thay’-rah); from ther (a wild animal, as game); hunting, i.e. (figuratively) destruction: KJV – trap.
Zoon is used 7 times and therion is used 37 times in Revelation. Here we can see that therion is not just any living animal, but a wild, dangerous and destructive one as well.
Rev 13:11-17 describes this Beast from the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast (therion) coming up out of the earth; and he had (having) two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast (therion) in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast (therion), whose fatal wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast (therion), telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast (therion) who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. 15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast (therion), so that the image of the beast (therion) would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast (therion) to be killed. 16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast (therion) or the number of his name. NASU
Now let us look at 12 attributes of this 2nd therion beast:
- Comes from the earth as opposed to the 1st beast who comes from the sea;
- Has 2 horns
- Speaks eloquently “as a”(figure of speech simile) dragon- NT:1404 drakoon, drakontos, ho a great serpent, a fabulous animal
- Exercises all the authority (exousia, physical and mental power, influence, rights, governance) of the 1st beast
- Makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast
- Causes great signs (miracles and wonders),
- Makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men
- Deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs
- Tells, commands, those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast
- And it was given to him (autos, he, she or it), to give breath (pneuma, spirit) to the image (eikoon, likeness, figure) of the beast
- Causes as many as do not worship the image of the beast (therion) to be killed
- Causes all, to be given a mark (charagma, an etching, stamp or sculpted figure) on their right hand or on their forehead, so that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast (therion) or the number of his name
This should give you plenty of food for thought for helping you understand the chronology of End Time events. Does this help?
*(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
- *(from Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
What is The False Prophet? Will You Know It When You See It?
(Taken from Chapter XI of my book)
Yes, there any many false prophets and false teachers, but there is only 1 False Prophet thrown into the Lake of Fire:
Rev 19:20
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. KJV
This individual is first mentioned 3 chapters earlier:
Rev 16:13
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. KJV
Prior to this there is no mention of this individual by this name. The only way we can discover more about them is by their attributes:
- In ch. 19 we can see that they “wrought miracles“
- and through these miracles people were seduced into receiving the Mark of the Beast
- and into worshipping the image of the beast
What we need to establish is that this individual is not the beast it is mentioned with and is not “the” Antichrist even though they are “an” antichrist. Until you are ready to acknowledge the difference between these 2 with the spirit of antichrist, you will be deluded and deceived into believing lies.
Is this what you want?
How Close is a Cashless Society?
RFID chip pulled from new credit card (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As my habit is I pay cash for everything that is not business related and use a credit card for everything that is. My wife does the same. It makes our annual accounting a lot simpler. I go through a lot of Ben Franklin’s and at the end of the day give most of the smaller denominations to my wife. The older I get the less I see anyone else using cash for their transactions.
During my service in the United States Armed Forces from ’67-71 I was stationed in Bayonne, N.J. Whenever a bunch of us took Liberty (time off) we would usually go to Times Square or Greenwich Village. I can remember sitting on the can in a public restroom at the Port Authority reading a torn page from a magazine on the floor which had the Chase Manhattan logo on it. The article was about “The Cashless Society.”
The only thing close to credit card that I had access to then was my father’s telephone credit card number which I would use to call my mother from the Philippines or somewhere in the Mediterranean. (Who would have ever thought that someday I would work for a Merchant Services company processing credit cards!) In 1966, the ancestor of Mastercard was born when a group of banks established Master Charge; it received a significant boost when Citibank merged its proprietary Everything Card (launched in 1967) into Master Charge in 1969. Soon after this thousands of credit cards were mailed to people thought to be of good credit. The blanket mailing of these cards was ended in 1970 after 100 million had been sent out.
There used to be lines at the grocery store for “Cash Only,” but not anymore. It seems that as time went on fewer and fewer people carried any cash. Now, when I pull out my $100 bills I feel like a Dinosaur! The cashier looks at it, holds it up to the light, draws a line on it with a pen with special ink in it and eventually gives me the change. I use to be welcomed in the cash only line yet now am suspect in the regular lines.
Years back when the housing bubble first burst, we thought it would be a good idea to have some cash on hand. When we went to the bank to withdraw a large amount of money we were told that we would have to make an appointment at least a week in advance to make such a withdrawal. We were amazed at the scrutiny were were put through to process the transaction. They wanted to know why and what the intended purpose was. We even had to sign waivers releasing the bank from any liability when we walked out the door with it. I almost felt like a bank robber. Ha!
Someday the need for cash will become completely obsolete. Things that don’t get used are generally replaced by things that are used. How easy would it be in this day and age to be arrested as a suspected counterfeiter in your grocery or department store line? Very few people are using cash and counterfeiters are some of them. During the process of withdrawing money from one bank and putting it back in another a counterfeit $100 bill was discovered. And of course I was once again suspect. Cash used to be King as the saying goes but soon anyone who has it and tries to use it in a commercial application could find themselves in a bind.
Soon, no one will be able to buy or sell anything with cash. Sound far-fetched? Consider this: “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Rv 13:17 The mark, charagma, is something engraved, stamped or etched (in or on your body; most likely your hand or a fingertip.) Rv 13:16. This word is akin to grapho, from which the English word graphic comes. Basically this mark could be imprinted, encoded on your right fingertip. How convenient would that be?! You would never need a wallet again; never have to fumble through your purse again looking for your Visa ’cause they won’t accept American Express! What a relief it will be.
Receiving the mark of the beast is going to be subtle and most people are going to be standing in line to get it. It is going to be the newest, most technologically advanced payment and identification system in the world. People will be lined up around the block at the Apple Store and eventually Best Buy. It won’t be called “the mark of the beast,” that’s for sure. Most people will love the False Prophet who precedes the Antichrist by 3.5 years. Neither of them will be known by these names. The former will be known by the signs, miracles and wonders they perform.
See more in Chapter XI of my new book, pages 119-29, at http://www.fredswolfe.com
May God bless you and keep you.
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