The Lamb-Voiced Dragon: State Propaganda Text: Revelation 13:11-18
Introduction: Escaping the Newspaper Exegesis
There are few passages in Holy Scripture that have been subjected to more abuse, wild speculation, and downright foolishness than this one. For generations now, Christians have been taught to read the book of Revelation with a newspaper in one hand and a Bible in the other, looking for barcodes, microchips, European common markets, and sinister political figures in faraway lands. This approach, what we might call newspaper exegesis, has turned the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ into a playground for alarmists and has done more to obscure the meaning of the text than to reveal it.
G.K. Chesterton once quipped that though St. John saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators. And this is certainly true for our passage. We are told that the book of Revelation was given to show God's servants what must "shortly take place" (Rev. 1:1). The time was "near" (Rev. 1:3). Jesus was coming "quickly" (Rev. 22:7). And yet, the futurists would have us believe that these words mean "not for at least two thousand years." This is not an honest way to read the text. It is an exegetical sleight of hand, born of a refusal to believe that God keeps His appointments on time.
The preterist understanding, which I hold to be the correct one, sees these prophecies as largely fulfilled in the events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This was the great judgment that closed out the old covenant age. The first beast, rising from the sea, was the persecuting Roman Empire, a ravenous political monster. But in our text, we encounter a second beast, a different kind of creature altogether. This beast rises from the "earth," or, as it can be translated, "the land." This is a local power. This is the propaganda arm of the first beast, the religious and cultural apparatus that enforces worship of the state. It is the counterfeit church in service to the counterfeit king.
What John describes here is not some far-off science fiction scenario. He is describing the mechanics of first-century tyranny, a pattern that has repeated itself down through the centuries and one that we must be equipped to recognize today. For while the beast of Rome is dead, and apostate Israel is judged, the spirit of the beast is very much alive. Tyrannical states still demand absolute allegiance, and they still employ a soft-spoken, lamb-like propaganda machine to enforce it.
The Text
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and he was speaking as a dragon. 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. And he does great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which were given to him to do in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, that they be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of man; and his number is 666.
(Revelation 13:11-18 LSB)
The Counterfeit Lamb (v. 11)
We begin with the description of this second beast.
"Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and he was speaking as a dragon." (Revelation 13:11)
The first beast came from the tumultuous "sea," a common Old Testament symbol for the Gentile nations in their chaotic rebellion against God. This second beast comes "out of the earth," which in the Greek is ek tes ges. This can mean the earth in general, but it can also, and often does, refer to "the land," specifically the land of Israel. This points to a localized power, a domestic threat. I take this to be the collaborationist Jewish leadership, the Sanhedrin and the Herodians, who told Pilate, "We have no king but Caesar" (John 19:15). They were the ones who stirred up persecution against the church from within the land.
Notice his appearance. He has "two horns like a lamb." This is a deliberate and blasphemous parody of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. He looks gentle, religious, and helpful. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing, or rather, a dragon in lamb's clothing. He presents himself as a religious authority, a spiritual guide. The two horns could represent the two high priests at the time, Annas and Caiaphas, or the partnership between false religion and false prophecy.
But his speech betrays him. He was "speaking as a dragon." The voice is the voice of Satan. Though his appearance is pious, his message is straight from the pit. It is a message of lies, idolatry, and coercion. This is the perennial nature of false religion. It adopts the outward forms of piety, the aesthetics of the lamb, but its substance, its authoritative word, is satanic. It is the state-sponsored church, the court prophet, the religious leader who tells the magistrate what he wants to hear in exchange for power and influence.
The State's Propaganda Minister (vv. 12-15)
This beast's entire purpose is to serve the first beast, the Roman state.
"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." (Revelation 13:12)
This second beast is not a rival to the first. He is his chief enforcer, his minister of propaganda. He wields the state's authority, but in the religious and cultural sphere. His job is to create a culture of emperor worship. In the first century, the imperial cult was a massive religious enterprise, particularly in Asia Minor, where the seven churches of Revelation were located. Priests, temples, and festivals were all dedicated to the worship of Caesar as a divine being. This is precisely what John is describing: a religious system designed to make men worship the state.
To accomplish this, he uses deception and false miracles.
"And he does great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven... And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs..." (Revelation 13:13-14)
This is a counterfeit of Elijah's miracle on Mount Carmel. It is religious stagecraft, designed to awe the gullible masses. The goal is to convince people that the state and its religious backers have divine approval. The deception leads to a specific command: "telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast." This was a literal reality for the first-century church. Statues of the emperor were everywhere, and citizens were required to offer a pinch of incense and declare "Caesar is Lord."
The trickery goes even further: "it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak." This was likely accomplished through priestly trickery, ventriloquism, or mechanical devices. The ancient world was rife with such things. The goal was to create an aura of divine power around the image of the emperor, making the demand to worship it seem legitimate. The consequence for refusal was stark: "cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed." This is not symbolic. Christians were martyred for precisely this reason, for refusing to confess Caesar as Lord.
The Totalitarian Economy (vv. 16-17)
The enforcement of this idolatry extends into every area of life, particularly the economy.
"And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, that they be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark..." (Revelation 13:16-17)
This is where the microchip-and-barcode crowd gets really excited, and misses the point entirely. This "mark" is a diabolical parody of God's covenant sign. In Deuteronomy, the Israelites were told to bind God's law as a sign on their hands and as frontlets on their foreheads (Deut. 6:8). The forehead represents belief and allegiance. The right hand represents action and work. God's people are marked by their total devotion to Him in thought and deed.
The beast demands the same total allegiance. To take the mark is to confess loyalty to Caesar's system. It is to identify yourself as a worshiper of the beast. In the first century, this had a very practical application. To participate in trade guilds or to conduct business in the marketplace, one often had to possess a certificate, a libellus, proving that you had offered the requisite sacrifice to the emperor. Without this "mark," you were shut out of the economy. You could not buy or sell. This was a brutal form of economic persecution, designed to starve the Christians into submission or death. It was totalitarian control, reaching from the palace down to the price of bread.
Here is Wisdom (v. 18)
John concludes this section with a riddle, but it is a riddle he expected his original audience to be able to solve.
"Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of man; and his number is 666." (Revelation 13:18)
John is not trying to be obscure for obscurity's sake. He is writing in a kind of code because his mail was likely to be read by Roman officials. To openly name the emperor as the beast would be an act of sedition. So he uses a common practice of his day called gematria, where letters in the alphabet have a corresponding numerical value.
He tells us to "calculate" the number. This is a math problem, not a mystical quest. He says it is the "number of man," meaning it refers to a specific, historical man. And the number is six hundred and sixty-six. If you take the name and title of the reigning emperor at that time, Nero Caesar, and transliterate it from Greek into Hebrew letters (Neron Kesar), the letters add up to 666. (N=50, R=200, W=6, N=50, Q=100, S=60, R=200. Total=666).
This is not a coincidence. It fits the historical context perfectly. Nero was the first emperor to systematically persecute the church. That persecution, from the great fire of Rome in A.D. 64 to his death in A.D. 68, lasted exactly 42 months, the very time given to the beast in verse 5. Nero was the beast. Rome was the kingdom. And the imperial cult, promoted by collaborators in the land, was the second beast. The number 6 itself is the number of man, created on the sixth day, always falling short of the divine perfection of 7. Three sixes represents the ultimate failure of man trying to be God, a trinity of imperfection. It is the number of proud, defiant, blasphemous man, and Nero was the embodiment of it.
Resisting the Modern Beast
So, Nero is dead. The Roman empire has fallen. What does this passage have to do with us? Everything. The names and faces change, but the spiritual realities do not. The pattern remains.
Every secular state that demands ultimate allegiance is a manifestation of the first beast. The state always wants to be god. It wants to define marriage, control education, regulate speech, and be the source of all provision and salvation. It is a jealous god and will have no other gods before it.
And every beastly state has its second beast, its propaganda arm. It has its lamb-like creatures who speak with the voice of a dragon. These are the media elites, the compromised academics, the progressive clergy, and the talking heads who tell us that the state's agenda is good and righteous. They perform "signs and wonders" through emotional manipulation and media spectacles, deceiving the masses into worshiping the image of the beast, which is the idealized vision of the omnicompetent secular state.
And they still demand a mark. They still want to control who can buy and sell. If you will not put the pronouns in your bio, if you will not affirm the latest sexual perversion, if you will not celebrate their manufactured holidays, if you will not get their mandated shot, they will try to shut you out. They will de-platform you, de-bank you, and do everything they can to ensure you cannot buy or sell in their new global marketplace. The mark is allegiance to their system, on their terms.
The call to the church is the same as it was in the first century. Do not take the mark. Do not worship the beast. Do not bow to the image. Do not be deceived by the lamb that speaks like a dragon. Yes, there is a cost. You might lose your job. You might be ostracized. They might try to take everything from you. But our Lord has given us a different mark, a different seal. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Our allegiance is to another King, one Jesus. And while Caesar's throne has crumbled to dust, the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ shall increase forever.