That is a power! A power that, if you are going about to establish a worldwide kingdom of all men from all nations, tribes and tongues, you might want to take advantage of. And the text reveals to us that the first beast does take advantage of this. This second beast – this false religious, false Christian beast – uses its power to serve the first beast.
And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. Revelation 13:12, KJV.
That text is saying that the political machine of the anti-Christian kingdom gives this second beast – false Christianity – its resources, its money and its power to prop it up and to make it strong. But then the second beast exercises all of its influence over men in order to get men to exalt the first beast and to worship that first beast. It uses its false religious authority – claiming that it speaks for God Himself – to help sway the peoples of the earth to give themselves into submission under the anti-Christian political power. There is the essence of the whoredom of this false church. The church is supposed to be leading people into submission to God and His Word and to His Christ and of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. But instead this beast, in the name of Christ, persuades people to submit themselves to the ultimate enemy of God and His Christ, the Antichrist himself. This beast puts the stamp of God and Christ’s approval on the anti-Christian kingdom and deceives men to sell their souls to that anti-Christian power.
Haven't you seen examples of this throughout history, beloved? King Cyrus of Persia in the Old Testament gained political power by claiming that God Himself, Jehovah, was behind his ungodly empire. The rise of Hitler and Nazism was propped up in part by the Pope of Rome. Rome, the false church, whored herself out in the support of Hitler's anti-Christian kingdom. Some Lutheran ministers even whored themselves out in support of Hitler's anti-Christian kingdom, even twisting the words of Luther himself to try to get the German people to support the power of Hitler. Politicians still use false Christianity today to gain power over men. So too the Antichrist is going to use the whorish false and apostatizing church to deceive many and bring them into that anti-Christian kingdom.
The reformers believed that this second beast was the religious power and influence of the Pope himself. And while that may be true or may not be true, one has a very hard time seeing any scenario play out in which the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church are not a player in the power of this second beast. Rome, with all of her massive worldwide following and earthly pomp and power, will give herself in whoredoms to prop up the Antichrist and his kingdom.
One thinks of Rome, too, when you see that this beast rises out of the earth, and not the sea. The first beast rises out of the sea – the sea of all of the tempestuous nations that are in a constant state of flux, and who, getting tired of that eventually, come together to produce this anti-Christian kingdom. The second beast rises not out of the tumultuous sea, but out of the stable earth. What has been more stable than the Roman Catholic Church? It held the Roman Empire together after Rome was sacked by the barbarians. It has held itself (at least in its official dogma) unchanged since the very beginning. There is no doubt that Rome will have a part to play, for she has a power and has been committing her whoredoms for many years already with her heretical teaching, deceiving many across the earth.
The devil will use this, and all of false Christianity. He is no fool, beloved. He knows what works. He knows how ignorant most people (even those who name the name of Jesus Christ) are of the Word of Jehovah God. He knows the power of religion and false Christianity to rally people to a cause. And like Hitler himself, once the Antichrist uses this false church to get himself to power, it is going to dismiss this false church as the used whore that she is. Revelation 17:16, describing the political beast, says,
And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.The Antichrist will turn on the false church once he has gotten what he has needed out of her. He will push her aside as he pursues his agenda of the glory of man.The second beast is a part of an unholy triumvirate of power in Revelation 13:1–18. As John Calvin said once, the devil is the ape of God. That is, he apes what God does. The devil is always trying to be God. He is always trying to overthrow God. And he apes God and he apes what God does as he tries to overthrow God. He twists everything that God does toward his own unholy ends. And so too here. Think about this: God the Father sends the Son into the world to be the head of His spiritual kingdom. After that He sends the Spirit to come into the world, and this Spirit shines the spotlight on the head of His church (Jesus Christ), draws people into that spiritual kingdom, supports that kingdom and leads men to come into that kingdom. Although the devil is not a trinity, he does his best here in Revelation 13:1–18. The dragon is presented as standing behind and sending forth the anti-Christian political power to establish the devil’s kingdom ultimately upon the earth. And then he sends the false spirit of the false church to prop up this anti-Christian kingdom and power, to shine the spotlight on it and to bring people into that kingdom. Do you see? The devil is always trying to be God! He is always trying to mock what God does and twist what God does to his own ends. And here too.1
Cory Griess
12 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.