Religion and Economics

The False Prophet imitates the Lamb and uses economic sanctions and religious propaganda to promote loyalty to the Beast. In the Book of Revelation, John sees a “beast ascending from the Earth,” also called the ‘False Prophet’. This creature works to deceive the Inhabitants of the Earth for the Beast and the Dragon. The False Prophet uses religious propaganda to deceive men, and economic control to suppress anyone who does not surrender to the demands of the World Empire.

The Inhabitants of the Earth pay tribute to the Beast from the Sea, and by proxy, they also venerate the Dragon. For members of this group, no coercion is needed to secure their subservience to the Empire. They are willing participants and loyal subjects.

[US Dollars - Photo by Colin Watts (Banbury, UK) on Unsplash]

The False Prophet promotes religious devotion to the Beast and gives concrete expression to this worship by causing the Inhabitants of the Earth to erect an image to honor the Beast from the Sea. This religious deceiver also imposes economic sanctions on the followers of the Lamb because they refuse to swear fealty to the Beast and the Dragon - (Revelation 13:4-8).

The Beast has ten heads and seven horns.  One of its ‘heads’ appeared to be slain, but its “death stroke was healed.” The phrase, “as having been slain,” was applied previously to the Lamb. Likewise, the Beast was wounded “and lived,” just as Jesus “died and lived” - (‘ezésen’ - Revelation 2:8, 5:6, 13:3-4).

The restoration of this wounded head mimics the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the restoration of the Beast to life impresses the Inhabitants of the Earth. Thus, the Beast counterfeits the Lamb - (Revelation 13:3-6).

The False Prophet has two horns like a lamb. He is not identical to the Lamb of God, but he imitates Jesus by speaking with what sounds like the voice of the Lamb. While the Lamb has seven horns, the False Prophet has only two. He is a pale imitation of the sacrificial Lamb who now reigns over the Cosmos.

The False Prophet has the power to summon fire from heaven, making it the satanic counterpart to the Two Witnesses who consumed their opponents with “fire from their mouth.” In contrast to the Two Witnesses, the False Prophet does not have the “testimony of Jesus.” Instead, he promotes the ideology of the Beast. Like the Two Witnesses, the Beast from the Earth is a prophet, though a false one, which is why the Book of Revelation calls him the ‘False Prophet’ – (Revelation 11:4-7).

RELIGION AND WORLD TRADE

The False Prophet uses religious rituals and deception to cause the Inhabitants of the Earth to venerate the Beast, but it uses economic pressure to punish anyone who resists. The saints, like the three Jewish exiles in Babylon, refuse to render homage to the Beast’s image and suffer the consequences:

• “Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and render homage to the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. And as many as do not fall down and render homage will the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. <…> Then Nebuchadnezzar, in his rage and fury, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego be brought before him. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, Is it of purpose, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my god, or render homage to the golden image that I have set up? <…>  But if you do not render homage, you will be cast the same hour into the burning fiery furnace; and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?” – (Daniel 3:4-6, 3:13-15).

• “And he performs great signs, so that he even causes fire to descend to the earth before men. And he deceives the inhabitants of the earth by the signs that were given him to perform before the beast, saying to the inhabitants of the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the stroke of the sword, and yet lived. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, in order that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that, as many as should not pay homage to the image of the beast should be slain” – (Revelation 13:13-15).

The efforts of the False Prophet to deceive the saints were anticipated in the letters to the Seven Churches of Asia by the warnings against “false apostles,” the “Nicolaitans,” the “prophetess Jezebel,” and the “teachings of Balaam,” each of whom encouraged believers to “commit fornication and eat food sacrificed to idols.” They attempted to trick the churches into participating in the Imperial Cult, the veneration of Caesar and his image.

Thus, the False Prophet was active even in the churches of Asia. His economic attacks are reflected in the poverty suffered by the congregation of Smyrna, a foretaste of worse things to come - (Revelation 2:2-6, 2:14-15, 16:13, 19:20).

The emphasis is on the use of religious deception to seduce the Inhabitants of the Earth into venerating the Beast, and the economic pressure used to coerce the saints to render homage to the image of the Beast. The enforcement mechanism is economic control. Those who resist will be prohibited from participating in commerce (“that no one could buy or sell”).

The False Prophet imitates the Lamb and his prophets. He represents a counterfeit of the true faith, which he uses to deceive men, so they give their allegiance to the Dragon and his earthly vassal, the Beast from the Sea.

The goal is to destroy the Church by deception and apostasy, and by economic pressure and persecution. Since the Inhabitants of the Earth are deceived already, they are willing supporters of the Beast, and they assist Satan in his effort to annihilate the men and women who remain faithful to Jesus – (Revelation 12:17).

The churches of Asia would have recognized the arrogant pretensions of the Roman Empire in John’s visions, especially the demand for the veneration of Caesar’s image.

The use of religious deception and economic control to enslave the Inhabitants of the Earth and afflict the Church is not limited to the False Prophet. Babylon is involved with global commerce, and the kings and merchants of the earth depend on her for their wealth. She is also a religious figure modeled on the patron deity of Ancient Rome, the goddess Roma:

• “Come here! I will show you the judgment of the Great Whore that sits upon many waters with whom the kings of the earth fornicated, and the Inhabitants of the Earth became drunk from the wine of her fornication. <…> And I saw the woman drunk from the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” – (Revelation 17:1-6, 18:4-17).

• “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. And she teaches and seduces my servants to fornicate, and to eat things sacrificed to idols” – (Revelation 2:20).

None of this means that the Empire does not also use war and other forms of state violence to impose its will. The Inhabitants of the Earth ask rhetorically, “Who can make war with the Beast?” Moreover, the “Beast from the Abyss” wages war on the Two Witnesses because of their testimony, and elsewhere we read of martyrs slain on account of their testimony – (Revelation 2:13, 6:9-11, 11:7, 12:17, 13:4).

Satan and his earthly agents imitate the true faith in order to deceive believers. For all too many, this counterfeit religion looks and feels familiar. Moreover, losing the ability to engage in commerce means impoverishment and perhaps starvation, providing many men with a powerful motive to submit to the policies and demands of the Beast.

If we do not exercise discernment and commit our lives totally to Jesus and his Kingdom, we may find ourselves tricked into giving our allegiance to the Beast and his empire, or coerced into joining the false religion of the World Empire.

[NOTE: Text printed in small capital letters represents quotations and allusions of Old Testament passages]

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SEE ALSO:

• Caesar's Secret Weapon - (The False Prophet uses economic pressure to coerce men and nations to pay homage to the Beast from the Sea - Revelation 13:16-18)

• The Great Cosmic War - (At the end of the age, Satan will launch a total war against the saints, the followers of the Lamb)

• The Dragon's Empire - (To identify the Antichrist, we must first understand what the relevant biblical passages say about him, his methods, and his goals)

• Religion et Commerce - (Le Faux Prophète imite l'Agneau et utilise des sanctions économiques et de la propagande religieuse pour promouvoir la loyauté envers la Bête)