Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 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. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 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. 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. 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, 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. 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.
Comment: I have purposefully not read commentaries on this but present it ‘as-i-read-it.’ Beast number one came out of the sea, beast number two comes out of the earth. This makes the two covering the whole of the world. Lambs are lovable, dragons are terrifying; does this mean the the beast looks good but its advice is bad? I suspect so! The Bible teaches that images are false, unreal and to be eschewed. The beast’s abilities are very impressive but following it leads into deception. Obey it or be slain! The beast calls for a forced, controlled global economy. 666 is its number – I have heard this explained in different ways. I don’t have the answer but the way that things have changed in the world since the writing of this book, I wonder if maybe this describes something created by AI – artificial intelligence. That doesn’t make the prophecy any less real and most certainly I don’t wish to infer that evil doesn’t have real power. We see evil using all sorts of modern ‘inventions’ to deceive us – AI is used today to deceive us when used by the media. As an explanation it explains some of the things as certainly possible and ‘real’. It fits in with the deception, used in advertising and by the media which is occurring before our eyes everyday at this time. I mention ‘artificial intelligence’ to try and provoke thought and belief in the truth of what is written here. I suspect that one day we will understand it all, clearly, but maybe not until it is occurring!
Prayer: Thank You, Father, that You show us, even if as though looking through a smoky window, what You have planned for the future of the world and mankind.
As I read it! 