Revelation 13:12
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12 And[kai] he exerciseth[poieo] all[pas] the power[exousia] of the first[protos] beast [therion] before[enopion] him,[autos] and[kai] causeth[poieo] the earth[ge] and[kai] them which dwell[katoikeo] therein[en][autos] to[hina] worship[proskuneo] the first[protos] beast,[therion] whose[hos][autos] deadly[thanatos] wound[plege] was healed.[therapeuo] KJV-Interlinear
12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. NASB
The first beast has been defined as the anti-christ, the leader and ruler chosen by Satan to win over the world before Christ returns.
The second beast is defined as the false prophet, the spokesperson of the anti-christ, Rev. 19:20.
Just as the first beast is indwelled and therefore totally influenced by Satan, so too, the second beast will be indwelled by some demon entity and influenced by Satan’s evil.
Both of these leaders together will attempt to force an unbelieving world to worship the anti-christ, denying Christ, and destroying all who believe in Christ.
The source of the power of the first beast comes from Satan, and therefore, since the power of the second beast exercises the same power, it too comes from Satan.
The second beast, the false prophet, does not replace the first beast, the anti-christ, but coexists with him, and the purpose of the second beast, is to cause people to worship the first beast.
Remember that these are people who will promote Satan’s bidding. Satan does not have direct access to the world, to enforce his own will himself. Satan is restricted to going through human proxies, if you will.
The fatal wound, mentioned in verse three, is again mentioned here, to emphasize that it is that event, the falsification of the anti-christ’s resurrection, that will be used to help solidify the power and influence of these two evil leaders.
One can presume that the first three years of failed policies, would tend to drive people away from following failed leaders, but a seemingly miraculous event such as coming back from the dead will be used to turn the tide away from them, back to them, as far as followers go.
People in general are fickle and they have short memories. Look to any political activity in recent years. No matter how bad any given candidate or party seems, within six months the news has changed and the memories of the past failures have been forgotten. Do you even remember the issues of last year? Most people do not.
And to boost their influence, these two beasts, or evil leaders, will perform miracles, or so they would seem, to impress a very spiritually naïve and spiritually negative world. Those verses are coming up.
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