The first beast came from the sea of humanity, then arose a second beast from the earth:
Revelation 13:11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
The “earth” represents the mind, will, and emotion (soul) whereas the “sea” represents the flesh. The first beast arises out of our carnal nature and draws us down the path of death. If the first beast isn’t enough to deal with, now the second beast comes onto the scene. Both represent “anti-Christ” but neither are actually described in that fashion. I have read many books, listened to many evangelists, and watched several programs describing the antichrist. It is interesting to find that only the Beloved Disciple John mentions the term “Antichrist” in his epistles. The term is not found elsewhere:
1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.
23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
2 John 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
There you have it, the four times this term is mentioned in Scripture yet thousands of sermons have exalted this term to be “god-like”. The term simply means “in opposition to Christ”. In 1 John, the fourth chapter, we see where Love is explicitly attached to being born of FATHER and knowing FATHER:
1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
If the writer of this Epistle and also the book of Revelation makes such an emphatic statement about the importance of Love, we must not let the second beast convince us otherwise. The mind wants to be in control by using logic to place our spirit into submission. When this occurs we have difficulty in hearing FATHER. The noise created by the mind and the external will drown out our ability to hear that “still small Voice”.
The antichrist is not a specific world leader although many of them have attempted to move our focus away from Jesus Christ and FATHER. Many have exalted themselves above Christ but nonetheless they are not THE antichrist. The antichrist is any spiritual attempt to redirect us away from Christ in any form or fashion. The target includes your flesh and your mind. I have seen men whose Love waxed cold and began to dilute the power of Christ in their thinking by using derivative logic as a basis of their position. They are accessing the world’s wisdom, not FATHER’S. I am amazed that men can’t even look up at the stars and planets and realize the flaws in their logic! It is tragic to see those who once had Love in their hearts grow cold and submit to their earthly mind. When men submit to worldly thinking of others they end up on the path toward destruction:
Isaiah 3:12 “As for My people, children (flesh) are their oppressors,
And women (soul) rule over them.
O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err,
And destroy the way of your paths.”
By allowing the mind to deceive you into believing the antichrist is some world leader, you will not deal with the true source of the problem… your soul! Instead of being led by THE SPIRIT, you will be led by the soul- the mind, will, and emotions. Your mind needs to serve you, not the reverse. It is okay to build up your mind but not at the expense of your spirit. This is why that the highly intelligent tend to have a difficult time in receiving Christ in their hearts. Their logic convinces them otherwise. We are not to be ignorant or uninformed of the devices and deception of the spirit of antichrist which motivates the second beast:.
1 Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
If FATHER says we can be holy… then we can be holy. There is nothing the second beast can do about that!