Note: J. Preston Eby, in order to continue to devote his full energy to writing no longer works in the office and does not receive this email. He does, however, respond to any urgent correspondence via snailmail. |
To be added to the mailing list to receive the current issue of Kingdom Bible Studies each month: |
"Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of God..."
FROM THE CANDLESTICK TO THE THRONE
Part 154
THE
(continued)
And I
beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and
he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon (Rev. 13:11).
The Greek
This second beast is an earth-born beast. There
is no possibility of confusing him with the first beast.
They are utterly different. The
first is a composite wild jungle beast, the second resembles a lamb, but inwardly bears
the nature of a dragon. Outwardly he looks
like a kinder, gentler, harmless beast, having only two horns, and those of a harmless
kind like the horns of a lamb. Also, he
has no crowns on his horns, indicating that he has no political sovereignty. When he speaks, however, he speaks like a dragon;
and for all his harmless appearance he is a true therion,
a savage, fierce, and cruel brute. When we
look at his character and pretensions we find that, bad as the other beast was, there is
something here yet more dreadful. The second
beast does not accomplish his agenda by brute force; he works deception through signs,
wonders, and miracles. The first gives his
authority to the second, and the second persuades men everywhere to give respect and pay
homage to an image of the first. They are in league and covenant, each aiding and
abetting the other.
I would now draw
your attention to the fact that the expression I
beheld another beast coming up out of the earth
is literally in the Greek, I saw another
wild beast ascending out of the earth. John did not say, I saw a beast come up or ascend
as a limited, one-time event, but coming up or
ascending denoting a continuous action. It is on-going.
It is constantly being fulfilled. It
cannot be bound by, nor does it predict or specify, any actual historical or future event. Instead, the beast is ascending, he is always ascending out of the earth-realm of the soul of man.
As I have pointed out many times before in these messages, nearly all
things in the book of Revelation take place in one of three symbolical realms
heaven, earth, and sea. The earth is the
symbol of a realm higher than the sea, but lower than heaven, an in-between realm which at
its highest peak kisses heaven, and at its lowest level embraces the sea, yet is, of
itself, neither heavenly (spiritual) nor of the sea (degenerate humanity). The sea, as we have seen, comprises the masses of
restless, surging, sinning, clamoring men who live only and completely after the
unrestrained lusts of their flesh, while heaven comprises those seated together in the
ascended Christ who walk only and completely after the spirit. Those that dwell upon the earth are a
moral class, religious folk, with many upright citizens of the community and church-going
Christian people in their ranks; but these, while not overtly wicked, are not spiritual
either, but in most aspects of their thinking and daily living mind earthly things. They do not wallow in the lusts of the flesh of the
body-realm, neither do they walk in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus in the spirit. Their lives are lived out of the earthly realm of
the soul.
It is impossible
to understand this truth of the two beasts unless we can distinguish between the sea, the
earth, and the two beasts themselves. The
first beast is not the sea-realm itself, but comes up out of the sea of humanity. The second beast is not the earth-realm itself, but
comes up out of the earth, out of the soulical
nature of man. So we are dealing neither with
the wicked, surging masses of humanity nor the moral and religious people who bring a
sense of stability to civilization. The beasts
are something out of. Each is an
entity, a form, a structure, an organism possessing the attributes of the sea and the
earth, but exercising a sphere of activity, influence, authority, and power above and beyond the underlying nature of man. It is that which comes forth from man and takes on
a life, form, identity, and activity of its own. We
have seen that the first beast represents the BESTIAL WORLD SYSTEM OF MAN human
government, rising out of the sea of human corruption.
Armed with this understanding the identity of the second beast is not
difficult to ascertain! The second beast,
rising out of the earth, out of the religious soulical nature of man, is therefore the
representation of the CARNAL RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS OF MAN!
Can you not see the mystery?
The world system
of man government, economics, commerce, military, education, art, science,
entertainment, medicine these and many more are at all times and in all places
arising out of the heart and will of the natural man.
It
In the
beginning of our thinking together let us make four interesting observations. First, All
men are Religious. Great scholars who have
made a study of this fact have joined in one great chorus to announce that man is
incurably religious. There are no dates
to fix the time when religion first came into the world.
It is generally conceded that it came with the first human foot-print. Why? Because
religion was born in the human soul. All
tribes, even the lowest, observe that a human being is made up of two parts, the body of
flesh and bone, and an intangible something that lives within. This something, or soul, is called by various
names, but belief in it, is universal.
Secondly, God seeks man and man seeks God. Belief in a soul implies belief in a creator. All men are seeking for a creator of this soul. God has put into mans soul a feeling of need
that he cannot supply. He has put into that
soul a belief in some superior, invisible Power which can supply his needs and a desire to
commune with that
Thirdly, Man seeks God through methods known to him. Mans inborn instincts coupled with the
fact that he has not always been rightly guided has led him to seek through false means,
and it has led him to substitute all sorts of spirits and gods for that unknown force
which is God. It seems only
natural that man in his search has tried to find deity in the things which experience
teaches him are powerful the sun, moon, stars, lightning, wind, rivers, mountains,
great men, and so forth. Some have felt the
need of this greater power with them constantly, and they have made idols or images in
which the supreme spirits may dwell. The
beliefs and practices of the uncivilized, unguided heathen are revolting and not
conceivable to us, but in each case, the spirit of the god or gods represents to the
worshipper some conception of the Supreme being. He
is not only ignorant of the One whom he would worship and of the right method of approach,
but he is also ignorant of why he seeks, except that he seeks soul-satisfaction.
As we
study together we shall realize more keenly that while all men everywhere are religious, having
a religion is very different from having Christ. As
we study the religious practices of the peoples of the world and see the means employed in
their search for God
as we see the effects of the gospel upon men of all nations and
races, may we realize that knowing Christ makes
all the difference; that His Light truly does displace images; that His Love does banish
all fear; that His Truth does overcome error; that His Cross does conquer unbelief and
that His Spirit does triumph over religion
end quote.
While the world
is full of religions, and always has been, and they all spring from the soulical religious
nature of man, it is clear to me that the beast which John sees ascending out of the earth
signifies that carnal religious system which relates to Johns spiritual world, the
So this beast
with the two horns like a lamb denotes a two-fold religious power which
professes to be the true representative of the Lamb of God in the world! It pretends to be harmless, meek, mild, loving,
inoffensive, nonagressive like a lamb and has many professions of cleanliness, purity,
holiness, sanctity, and godliness, but notwithstanding all of these, he spake as a
dragon just like the great dragon the arch deceiver
the devil! Now, I am well aware that the
highest meaning of these symbols does not indicate the external, organized systems, but
is, rather, a condition in the mind and heart of man, which means that we have all, at one
time or another, and perhaps even until now, been partakers of that which is symbolized by
the beast, horns, etc. But
the Spirit of the Lord quickens to me that within the framework of these visions, the
beast is, undoubtedly, the OUTWARD REPRESENTATION of the inner spiritual realities, and
that this beast is indeed the ORGANIZED CHURCH SYSTEMS OF MAN as they have existed through
the age and as we now see them.
The Lord foresaw
that Christianity would spread over the world and that, becoming popular, it would be
embraced by many who would appreciate the form without entering into its spirit. He foresaw that as multitudes of this sort would
identify themselves with the church, the worldly spirit, which is the opposite of the
spirit of the Lamb, would come in with them; that selfishness, carnality, intellectualism,
formalism, and a desire to be great and rule, thus coming in, would not have long to wait,
but in due time the church would seize the opportunity to seek to dominate the world by
means OTHER THAN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD!
I
have no hesitation whatever in telling you that Christianity is the name of
this false kingdom! And it was built upon a mis-applied truth the truth that the
body of Christ is called to be kings and priests unto
God and to reign over the earth. How pitiful it is that for centuries Christians
have not understood that the power of the
The
The
power of the
I
am
And thus it
actually transpired: the nominal church began to fall away from its walk in the spirit as
it increased in numbers under the teaching and example of ambitious men whose soulical
ideas grew more and more favorable to the power and worldly influence which numbers,
education, refinement, culture, pomp, and
wealth brought with them. Gradually the spirit
of the church became worldly, and the things and ways of the world were coveted. The suggestion of ambition was If the
mighty
Thus gradually
by a slow process of reasoning covering centuries, the real hope of the church for
exaltation to rule and bless the world by the fullness of the power of the Spirit
namely, the manifestation of the sons of God was lost sight of, and a new hope took
its place: the hope of success without the fullness of God, without the mind of Christ,
without the full stature of sonship by the power of the carnal weapons of the
flesh. And thus, by collusion, intrigue, and
exchange of favors with the world, the hope of the church became a false hope, a
The beast out of
the earth is far more than the historic Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church,
When the church
was allied with the state; when Christianity became the religion of the court and of the
fashionable classes, the church was not only impregnated with the errors of pagan
philosophy, but it adopted many of the ceremonies and rituals of the pagan worship. The pagan practices were Christianized
as an accommodation to the heathen, making it easier for them to adapt to the new
religion. The church buildings became as
imposing as the old temples of idolatry.
Christ, the Lamb
of God, contrary to popular opinion, is not a Person, but a great body of persons, a
corporate man. In fact the word Christ
is itself not a true translation of the original. It
is not a proper name, but should be rendered as the anointed. And in I
In our day the
vast multitudes of Christians, carried away by the false pretensions, erroneous doctrines,
carnal organization, and worldly spirit of the bestial church systems of man, have missed
it all! They know nothing of the day in which
we live, the great purposes of God for this hour, and the glory to be revealed, for they
are imbued with the spirit of the beast. In
more ways than one they have taken upon themselves the mark of the beast by believing and propagating its
doctrines, observing its forms and ceremonies, celebrating its holy days, functioning by
its system, and glorying in its shame. And
above all, multitudes of Christians today are one with the bestial system in pointing the
finger of accusation at some fictitious person who is supposed to appear at some yet
future time to be the beast!
The overcoming
sons of God who are sealed with the mind of Christ have discerned in their spirit the ominous and
destructive spirit of the bestial church systems of man, and have departed from its
precincts. They knew from the moment they
received their call to sonship that the whole program of the beast was earthly and
soulical, and that its creeds and doctrines were impure mixtures, that its voice had the
sound of the dragon, and that its spirit was savage and its control deadly. And these
overcome the beast and they dont belong to the earth anymore! They belong in the heavens where they dwell! They are looking after the things their Father is
doing, they mind heavenly things! What is
happening in the heavens is all that pertains to these victorious ones! They belong to the heavens where they walk with God
in the Spirit! It is the mind of Christ that
will govern the world in the
Some years ago a
dear friend shared the following. In the
11th chapter of Luke, there is recorded (verses 24-26) the account of a man out of whom
the evil spirit had been cast. Now, I had
always thought that Jesus was talking about an
Now the
unclean spirit that was cast out of the man was that RELIGIOUS SPIRIT: the
false spirit of prophecy, or, the spirit of Jezebel. That
spirit, however, cannot exist long in a godless (secular) world, for it needs water
the Word of God in order to find a lodging place!
Finding no rest in the world, he says, I will return to my house, but when he returns he finds that it has changed
appearance. Now it is empty, swept, and
garnished. Now that all sounds well and good
but it is not that the house is clean, for if the house were clean and
righteous before God, that false spirit would find no lodging place therein. The new condition of the house is what made it
receptive to the unclean spirit of the false prophet, which the Greek reveals. The word translated garnished is from
the word kosmos which speaks of the present
world system. Thus he returned and found the
religious system (popular church) partaking of the spirit of the world using her
methods, expanding its programs through these methods, worldly in her approach to
spiritual things.
Not only
that, he found it swept. And
the Lord said, I will sweep you with the besem
(broom) of destruction. He found the
religious system, then, UNDER JUDGMENT! But
the most enlightening word of all is the word empty. What
a shock that was when I discovered it! It is
from the Greek word scholastikos, which is our
word for scholar
and intellectual. He found the religious system reasoning about
the scripture intellectually pursuing her revelation making scholars in the
Word of God and offering degrees for the same! A perfect lodging place for the spirit of the false
prophet! So he goes and takes seven devils
worse than himself and, entering in, they make the last condition of that man
worse than the first!
The seven
devils are the devils that entered into each church age.
That first unclean spirit started in
TWO
HORNS LIKE A LAMB
And I
beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and
he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon (Rev. 13:11).
Horns are a
symbol in scripture for power and dominion. They
speak of a realm of authority. Long
millenniums ago King David uttered these inspired words, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my
At the time of
the birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, his father, Zacharias, was filled
with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, and hath raised up
an horn of salvation for us in the house of His
servant David (Lk. 1:68-69). God has
raised up a horn
of salvation, and it is plain that the horn is our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom
Zacharias prophesied. I tell you today that
just as surely as any kingdom on earth has ever had authority, power, and dominion, the
mighty Christ within each of us has authority, power, and dominion! HE is the horn
of our salvation! In Him there is
strength. In Him there is might. In Him there is sufficiency. In Him there is divine omnipotence. In Him there is the power of resurrection. No matter your circumstance, no matter your
difficulty, regardless of your problems, temptations, weaknesses, failures, testings,
trials, or tribulations, there is within you
today, my dear brother, my precious sister, A MIGHTY HORN OF SALVATION! It is right there within you, closer to you than the air you breathe. Christ
in your spirit is your almighty horn of salvation!
No
man on earth is more keenly aware of his own lack and inability than I. I have discovered through long years of painful
experience that I am utterly helpless to either
Just after
writing the above words I made my daily trip to the
You see,
the seed of God in you is predestinated, pre-programmed to be everything that God is in
your being. It cannot do anything else! But because we nurture the seed of the serpent
which is the natural mind; because we focus on
what we are in the flesh instead of what we are
in the spirit, the tare grows in us at the same
time as the wheat. Now listen to this: Dont
try to remove the tare. You have to minister to Christ! Let them grow together until the harvest. Then the tares are taken in bundles and burned! end quote.
There we have
the reality God has raised up within us a horn of salvation and that
horn is Christ in us, the hope of glory. The
horn of our salvation is the fullness of the seven horns of the Lamb, which are the seven
spirits of God, the seven-fold fullness of the spirit of the Lamb within us! The raising up of this horn within us is the secret
to our victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil!
As we give ourselves to nurturing the seed of Christ within us instead of
struggling with the outward flesh man, in due time the power of the Lamb will overcome. The promise is sure: And these shall make war with the Lamb, and the
Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of
lords, and King of kings (Rev. 17:14). That
is the secret. Oh, the wonder of it!
But now we see a
beast rising up out of the earth having two horns like a lamb!
May God give us understanding!
A
brother has written, A fascinating issue must be raised. John gives no description of this beast other than
it having two horns like the lamb. Thats right.
In the Greek, the noun for lamb in verse 11 has no article such as a
or the. In English there is a big
difference between saying a lamb and the lamb. Often
the Greek language will omit the article if the noun is obviously known or previously
identified. In other words, the Greek syntax
supports the idea that John is really saying, I
saw a beast rise up out of the earth and it looked like the lamb of God, but it only had two horns,
whereas the lamb of God had seven. Even
if the reader disagrees with this grammatical point, consider this. Why would John ignore the entire appearance of this
beast and just notice that its two horns look like a lamb?
A literal translation of the Greek says, And I saw another beast rising up out of the
earth, and it had two horns like a lamb, and it spoke as dragon. Again, notice the missing article before the
word dragon. This writer believes the contrast
in Revelation 13:11 between Jesus, as The Lamb, and this beast, having two
horns like The Lamb, is obvious and intentional. John
says this beast looked lamb-like, but spoke like dragon! Again, we see the contrast because John has already
introduced and identified the dragon. Its
harmless appearance and its dragon-like speech are direct opposites. Thus he looks like The Lamb but he speaks as The
Dragon! Larry Wilson.
He appears as
the Lamb, meaning that he symbolizes false religious systems, false prophets, false
teachings and concepts, and that which appears godly but does not exalt the Christ within. These have a form of godliness, but deny the power
thereof! This is not a future event, my
beloved, for the church today is full of this
deception! Horns, as we have shown, represent power. This
beast has two horns, bespeaking duality. Duality is double-mindedness. A
double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let
not that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord (James 1:8,7). John sees this beast come up out of the earth, out
from the soulical religious nature of man; he has the two horns of duality and they have
an appearance like the Lamb. This is supposed
to be the very
The beast that is more deceptive is not the first beast, the great big ugly, fierce monster out of the sea, but the one that is more deceptive is the one that has horns like a cute, wooly little lamb. It guises itself in such an adorning that it looks like the little Lamb of God but it is betrayed by its speech it talks like the dragon. Its a religious guise, its old
To be continued
J. PRESTON EBY
Links to other ministry websites
Not finding what you need? SEARCH HERE
Search
this site or the web
powered by FreeFind |