Who the Beast, Harlot and Antichrist are.

Written by Lee Stevenson, sorry I am not the best editor.

This is a spiritual battle and there are key players. The beast, antichrist and the harlot. It started in the Garden of Eden when Satan convinced Adam and Eve they did not need God. He convinced them they could be like God. So Adam and Eve rebelled choosing to do what they thought was right in their own eyes. So man decided they would rule themselves. So man has been trying to be like God down to this day and they are still easily deceived and manipulated by Satan. All three the beast, the antichrist and the Harlot are all players that have been manipulated by Satan. This is why the bible states the whole world lies in the power of the wicked one. Since Satan can see easily manipulate man , man easily falls under his power. So this spiritual battle started in the Garden of Eden with Satan convincing Adam and Eve they did not need God to rule over them and guide the. Adam and Eve rejected God’s sovereignty over the earth. There will be two final battles, one will be the war of Armageddon and the other will be the final war with Satan and Gog of Magog as Satan’s allies. The war of Armageddon will be the climax of Adam and Eve’s rebellion in the Garden of Eden when man Establishes a one world order with Satan deceiving people world wide into believing this will bring peace to the world and end man’s problems. So it will be a final ultimate act to completely replace God and to reject his right to rule over the earth. So the battle started with Adam and Eve being deceived by Satan and deciding to rule themselves and lean on their own understanding and it will end with man trying to completely reject God by setting up their one world order and getting people to put their faith in the beast instead of God. So Satan would convince people on a world wide scale to do as Adam and Eve had done. Satan only has power over those he can deceive, those he cannot deceive are accepted into the Heavenly Kingdom in which Jesus will end the rebellion that started in the Garden of Eden. The one heading all of this rebellion is Satan and he continues to head this rebellion , he exerts his authority over man by continuing to deceive them into believing man does not need God. Satan wanted God’s throne and wanted God’s authority, he believed by getting man to rebel he could accomplish this. It will only result in his destruction.

It needs clarified who the antichrist is, who the Harlot in Revelations is and who the beast is. Too many believe the antichrist and the beast are one and the same. This is not true , the antichrist and false religion can be the beast and the harlot because it is anyone who opposes Jesus or teaches things other then what Jesus taught. If they teach things Jesus did not teach or they do things Jesus said we should not do , then they are part of the antichrist. This is why Jesus said many would come claiming to do things in his name and he would say “get away from me you workers of lawlessness” . The apostle Paul stated that after the last of the apostles died then the great apostasy would come. The bible referred to them as the man of lawlessness. In other words they would not obey the laws Jesus gave us with the new covenant. This one would claim to be the temple of God. In the days of the apostles Johns stated many antichrist have already appeared. So you can see anyone who opposes Jesus and the commands he has given us is part of the antichrist including the beast. Satan is behind them both.

Many believe the Harlot is the beast clearly this is not true because the Harlot rides on the back of the beast. When anyone worships in a way that is contrary to what God would require he considers it spiritual prostitution. If anyone puts more faith in man then they do God he considers it spiritual prostitution. This is why God told Israel they had prostituted themselves out to other gods and once he told them they had prostituted themselves out to Egypt. God told Israel this because he said he would protect them and they lost faith and paid Egypt to protect them. So the Harlot would promote the beast and get many to commit spiritual prostitution with the beast. If you research it, once I identify who the beast is you will see that most religions heavily promote the beast as the answer to world peace instead of putting their trust in God and Jesus. Not only does the Harlot promote putting faith in the beast but the Harlot also promotes false region which God also considers spiritual prostitution. Many religious sects promote holidays that are heavily laden with idols and have pagan origins. Idolatry is considered spiritual prostitution by God. The women was clothed in purple which the priest in Israel were to wear, the golden chalice was in the temple and to be used by the priest in the temple. So the Harlot would claim to be true worship but in actuality would be a spiritual prostitute. The Harlot would mislead many. So you can see the Harlot rides on the beast back so it is empowering the beast by leading people of many nations to put their trust in the beast. The bible warned in the last days many would follow teaching of demons so we know that Satan is behind the Harlot mentioned in Revelation. In 2 Thessalonians it states the lawless one will sit down in God’s temple. It did not say his throne so the Harlot cannot be the beast. Because the beast is trying to replace God’s rightful place to rule over the earth. Revelations does indicate the false profits would empower the beast so before false religion is destroyed it will sway many into bowing to the beast.

So who is the beast in Revelation? Well in order to fully understand that we have to consider who is behind all the corruption in governments world wide and how he heavily influences them. We get clues to who this is in Isaiah when we are told it is a fallen star which Satan is often referred to as. We get another clue to who the beast is when Satan tried to temp Jesus. He offered him all the kingdoms of the earth if he did an act of obedience. Jesus did not contest his authority over the kingdoms of the earth so it is clear they are in his power power. By putting your faith in mans rule you are doing an act of obedience to Satan. It is God we are to obey first. If we put our trust in man then we are putting ourselves under the authority of Satan. This shows you that Satan can easily influence kingdoms world wide. We are told in Daniel the first beast would rise and have great authority but would be given a death blow . But It would rise again as the second beast and this one would be given authority to rule. So it is clear the beast is a world wide entity. The nations of the world will alley with it and many would hand their sovereignty over to the best. The beast will not only try to replace God’s right to rule man but it will also try to get people to reject God and put their faith and trust in it. This is why the war of the great day of God almighty is going to be fought with the kings of the earth. The harlot which is false religion will be destroyed by the beast because God will put it in their hearts to destroy false religion. Something to take note of the beast would sit on many seas. The beast would also be a nation but would not be a nations. The sea represents the people of the earth. So it is the people of the earth that would establish these entities. The League of nations fits the description of the first beast. It ceased it was established in 1920, then it ceased existing in 1946. The components of the league of nations was moved over to the United Nations which was established in 1946. Son they will form the one world order that is trying to replace Gods sovereignty. The sea which would be all those who do not put their faith in God and cause all the commotion and confusion on the earth will be done away with . Meaning those people will be destroyed. The bible tells us the worshiped the dragon because it gave authority to the wild beast. We know Satan has authority over the kingdoms of the earth. The bible says the wild beast and it’s profits would be destroyed in the lake of fire. So there would be many people involved in convincing man to put their trust and faith in the wild beast.

(Genesis 3:1-6) 3 Now the serpent was the most cautious of all the wild animals of the field that Jehovah God had made. So it said to the woman: “Did God really say that you must not eat from every tree of the garden?” ² At this the woman said to the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. ³ But God has said about the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden: ‘You must not eat from it, no, you must not touch it; otherwise you will die.’” ⁴ At this the serpent said to the woman: “You certainly will not die. ⁵ For God knows that in the very day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and bad.” ⁶ Consequently, the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was something desirable to the eyes, yes, the tree was pleasing to look at. So she began taking of its fruit and eating it. Afterward, she also gave some to her husband when he was with her, and he began eating it.

(2 Corinthians 11:1-4) 11 I wish you would put up with me in a little unreasonableness. But, in fact, you are putting up with me! ² For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, for I personally promised you in marriage to one husband that I might present you as a chaste virgin to the Christ. ³ But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent seduced Eve by its cunning, your minds might be corrupted away from the sincerity and the chastity that are due the Christ. ⁴ For as it is, if someone comes and preaches a Jesus other than the one we preached, or you receive a spirit other than what you received, or good news other than what you accepted, you easily put up with him. . .

(Titus 1:16) ¹⁶ They publicly declare that they know God, but they disown him by their works, because they are detestable and disobedient and not approved for good work of any sort.

(2 Peter 2:1-3) 2 However, there also came to be false prophets among the people, as there will also be false teachers among you. These will quietly bring in destructive sects, and they will even disown the owner who bought them, bringing speedy destruction upon themselves. ² Furthermore, many will follow their brazen conduct, and because of them the way of the truth will be spoken of abusively. ³ Also, they will greedily exploit you with counterfeit words. But their judgment, decided long ago, is not moving slowly, and their destruction is not sleeping.

(2 Thessalonians 2:3-5) ³ Let no one lead you astray in any way, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction. ⁴ He stands in opposition and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits down in the temple of God, publicly showing himself to be a god. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you these things?

(1 John 2:18-21) ¹⁸ Young children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared, from which fact we know that it is the last hour. ¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of our sort; for if they had been of our sort, they would have remained with us. But they went out so that it might be shown that not all are of our sort. ²⁰ And you have an anointing from the holy one, and all of you have knowledge. ²¹ I write you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie originates with the truth.

(1 John 4:2, 3) ² This is how you know that the inspired statement is from God: Every inspired statement that acknowledges Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh originates with God. ³ But every inspired statement that does not acknowledge Jesus does not originate with God. Furthermore, this is the antichrist’s inspired statement that you have heard was coming, and now it is already in the world.

(2 John 6, 7) . . .. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should go on walking in it. ⁷ For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those not acknowledging Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

(Ezekiel 16:26-30) ²⁶ You prostituted yourself to the sons of Egypt, your lustful neighbors, and you offended me with your countless acts of prostitution. ²⁷ Now I will bring my hand against you and diminish your food allowance and give you over to the will of the women who hate you, the daughters of the Phi·lisʹtines, who were appalled because of your obscene conduct. ²⁸ “‘Because you could not be satisfied, you then prostituted yourself to the sons of As·syrʹi·a, but after prostituting yourself to them, you still did not find satisfaction. ²⁹ So you increased your prostitution toward the land of traders and toward the Chal·deʹans, but even then you did not find satisfaction. ³⁰ How sick your heart was,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘when you did all these things, behaving like a brazen prostitute!

(Matthew 7:21-23) ²¹ “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of the heavens, but only the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. ²² Many will say to me in that day: ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them: ‘I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!’

(Revelation 17:4, 5) ⁴ The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and she was adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, and she had in her hand a golden cup that was full of disgusting things and the unclean things of her sexual immorality. ⁵ On her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the Great, the mother of the prostitutes and of the disgusting things of the earth.”

(Revelation 19:1-3) . . ., ² because his judgments are true and righteous. For he has executed judgment on the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his slaves that is on her hands.” ³ And right away for the second time they said: “Praise Jah! And the smoke from her goes on ascending forever and ever.”

(Hosea 4:12, 13) ¹² My people consult their wooden idols, Doing what their staff tells them; Because the spirit of prostitution causes them to go astray, And by their prostitution they refuse to submit to their God. ¹³ On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, And on the hills they make sacrifices smoke, Under oak trees and storax trees and every big tree, Because their shade is good. That is why your daughters commit prostitution And your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

(Leviticus 20:6) ⁶ “‘As for the person who turns to the spirit mediums and the fortune-tellers so as to commit spiritual prostitution with them, I will certainly turn against that person and cut him off from his people.

(2 Timothy 3:1-7) 3 But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. ² For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, ³ having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, ⁴ betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having an appearance of godliness but proving false to its power; and from these turn away. ⁶ From among these arise men who slyly work their way into households and captivate weak women loaded down with sins, led by various desires, ⁷ always learning and yet never able to come to an accurate knowledge of truth.

(1 Timothy 4:1-5) 4 However, the inspired word clearly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired statements and teachings of demons, ² by means of the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, whose conscience is seared as with a branding iron. ³ They forbid marriage and command people to abstain from foods that God created to be partaken of with thanksgiving by those who have faith and accurately know the truth. ⁴ For every creation of God is fine, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ for it is sanctified through God’s word and prayer over it.

(Isaiah 14:12, 13) ¹² How you have fallen from heaven, O shining one, son of the dawn! How you have been cut down to the earth, You who vanquished nations! ¹³ You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens. Above the stars of God I will lift up my throne, And I will sit down on the mountain of meeting, In the remotest parts of the north.

(Luke 4:5-8) ⁵ So he brought him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth in an instant of time. ⁶ Then the Devil said to him: “I will give you all this authority and their glory, because it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷ If you, therefore, do an act of worship before me, it will all be yours.” ⁸ In reply Jesus said to him: “It is written, ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’”

(Daniel 7:2-6) . . .“I was watching in my visions during the night, and look! the four winds of the heavens were stirring up the vast sea. ³ And four huge beasts came out of the sea, each different from the others. ⁴ “The first one was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were plucked out, and it was lifted up from the earth and was made to stand up on two feet like a man, and it was given the heart of a man. ⁵ “And look! another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Get up, eat much flesh.’ ⁶ “After this I kept watching, and look! another beast, like a leopard, but on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. And the beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

(Daniel 7:11, 12) ¹¹ “I kept watching at that time because of the sound of the arrogant words that the horn was speaking; I watched until the beast was killed and its body was destroyed and it was given over to be burned in the fire. ¹² But as for the rest of the beasts, their rulerships were taken away, and their lives were prolonged for a time and a season.

(Revelation 17:12-14) ¹² “The ten horns that you saw mean ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they do receive authority as kings for one hour with the wild beast. ¹³ These have one thought, so they give their power and authority to the wild beast. ¹⁴ These will battle with the Lamb, but because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, the Lamb will conquer them. Also, those with him who are called and chosen and faithful will do so.”

(Revelation 13:1-8) 13 And it stood still on the sand of the sea. And I saw a wild beast ascending out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns ten diadems, but on its heads blasphemous names. ² Now the wild beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were like those of a bear, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave to the beast its power and its throne and great authority. ³ I saw that one of its heads seemed to have been fatally wounded, but its mortal wound had been healed, and all the earth followed the wild beast with admiration. ⁴ And they worshipped the dragon because it gave the authority to the wild beast, and they worshipped the wild beast with the words: “Who is like the wild beast, and who can do battle with it?” ⁵ It was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and it was given authority to act for 42 months. ⁶ And it opened its mouth in blasphemies against God to blaspheme his name and his dwelling place, even those residing in heaven. ⁷ It was permitted to wage war with the holy ones and conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. ⁸ And all those who dwell on the earth will worship it. From the founding of the world, not one of their names has been written in the scroll of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.

(Revelation 16:13, 14) ¹³ And I saw three unclean inspired expressions that looked like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the wild beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴ They are, in fact, expressions inspired by demons and they perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together to the war of the great day of God the Almighty.

(Revelation 17:9-18) ⁹ “This calls for a mind that has wisdom: The seven heads mean seven mountains, where the woman sits on top. ¹⁰ And there are seven kings: Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet arrived; but when he does arrive, he must remain a short while. ¹¹ And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also an eighth king, but it springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction. ¹² “The ten horns that you saw mean ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they do receive authority as kings for one hour with the wild beast. ¹³ These have one thought, so they give their power and authority to the wild beast. ¹⁴ These will battle with the Lamb, but because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, the Lamb will conquer them. Also, those with him who are called and chosen and faithful will do so.” ¹⁵ He said to me: “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is sitting, mean peoples and crowds and nations and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ten horns that you saw and the wild beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her devastated and naked, and they will eat up her flesh and completely burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God put it into their hearts to carry out his thought, yes, to carry out their one thought by giving their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of God will have been accomplished. ¹⁸ And the woman whom you saw means the great city that has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.”

(Revelation 19:19-21) ¹⁹ And I saw the wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the one seated on the horse and against his army. ²⁰ And the wild beast was caught, and along with it the false prophet that performed in front of it the signs with which he misled those who received the mark of the wild beast and those who worship its image. While still alive, they both were hurled into the fiery lake that burns with sulfur. ²¹ But the rest were killed off with the long sword that proceeded out of the mouth of the one seated on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

(Matthew 24:15-20) ¹⁵ “Therefore, when you catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation, as spoken about by Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place (let the reader use discernment), ¹⁶ then let those in Ju·deʹa begin fleeing to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let the man on the housetop not come down to take the goods out of his house, ¹⁸ and let the man in the field not return to pick up his outer garment. ¹⁹ Woe to the pregnant women and those nursing a baby in those days! ²⁰ Keep praying that your flight may not occur in wintertime nor on the Sabbath day.

(Isaiah 57:20) ²⁰ “But the wicked are like the restless sea that cannot calm down, And its waters keep tossing up seaweed and mire.

(Isaiah 17:12) ¹² Listen! There is a commotion of many peoples, Who are as boisterous as the seas! There is an uproar of nations, Whose sound is like the roar of mighty waters!

(Ephesians 4:13-16) . . .. 14 So we should no longer be children, tossed about as by waves and carried here and there by every wind of teaching by means of the trickery of men, by means of cunning in deceptive schemes. 15 But speaking the truth, let us by love grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ. 16 From him all the body is harmoniously joined together and made to cooperate through every joint that gives what is needed. When each respective member functions properly, this contributes to the growth of the body as it builds itself up in love.

(Isaiah 20:3-21:1) ³ Jehovah then said: “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked about naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and E·thi·oʹpi·a, ⁴ so the king of As·syrʹi·a will lead the captives of Egypt and the exiles of E·thi·oʹpi·a, boys and old men, naked and barefoot and with exposed buttocks, the nakedness of Egypt. ⁵ And they will be terrified and will be ashamed of E·thi·oʹpi·a their hope and of Egypt their pride. ⁶ The inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Look at what happened to our hope, to which we fled for help and rescue from the king of As·syrʹi·a! How will we escape now?’” 21 A pronouncement against the wilderness of the sea: It is coming like storm winds that sweep through in the south, From the wilderness, from a fearsome land.

(Revelation 21:1) 21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more.

(Revelation 16:3) ³ The second one poured out his bowl into the sea. And it became blood like that of a dead man, and every living creature died, yes, the things in the sea.

What is the meaning of the “sea” in the book of Revelation?

 

Written by Lee Stevenson. Sorry I am a lousy editor.

Revelations is a book of signs. So we know much of Revelations is symbolism. So what does the symbol for the Sea that the beast rises from mentioned in Revelations represent?

One thing to take note of is that the beast represents many human governments who help give the beast it’s authority. If you remember in Revelations 17 the harlot would ride on the beast back. I have posted on who the harlot is and clarified who the beast is in another post. Revelations 17 clarifies that the waters mean peoples.

(Revelation 13:1, 2) 13 And it stood still upon the sand of the sea. And I saw a wild beast ascending out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and upon its horns ten diadems, but upon its heads blasphemous names. ² Now the wild beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were as those of a bear, and its mouth was as a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave to [the beast] its power and its throne and great authority.

(Revelation 17:15) And he says to me: “The waters that you saw, where the harlot is sitting, mean peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.

Why does the bible refer to people as the sea. Well just as the sea will go which ever way the wind blows it people react the same way when they hear rumors and gossip. They are indecisive and easy to sway, the least bit of gossip or the slightest rumor and they can be manipulated.

(Isaiah 57:20) “But the wicked are like the sea that is being tossed, when it is unable to calm down, the waters of which keep tossing up seaweed and mire.

(Psalm 18:4) The ropes of death encircled me; Flash floods of good-for-nothing [men] also kept terrifying me.

(Isaiah 17:12) Ha for the commotion of many peoples, who are boisterous as with the boisterousness of the seas! And for the noise of national groups, who make a din just like the noise of mighty waters!

So the sea that will be no more in Revelations is referring to the people who were part of the see mentioned in the previous verses of Revelations.

(Revelation 21:1) And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more.

Notice the things in the sea will die. It is why we are warned to be not part of the world because of their lack of faith they will not survive. We cannot completely cut ourselves off from the world but we must be cautious about who we associate with and continue to grow spiritually. We know that those who are part of the world will go from bad to worse. So much so that they no longer know what is right and what is wrong. It is why they are easily swayed by opinions and gossip. Writing God’s laws in our hearts protects us from getting caught up in those thing.

(Revelation 16:3) ³ And the second one poured out his bowl into the sea. And it became blood as of a dead man, and every living soul died, [yes,] the things in the sea. . .

(John 17:14-18) ¹⁴ I have given your word to them, but the world has hated them, because they are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world. ¹⁵ “I request you, not to take them out of the world, but to watch over them because of the wicked one. ¹⁶ They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by means of the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ Just as you sent me forth into the world, I also sent them forth into the world.

We will enjoy inner peace even when under severe attack. We also we not be afraid and will not be indecisive. We will listen to God’s word when this system ends they will not be able to find their way out of the world that is being destroyed because they have not take then selves out of it but continue to cling to false teaching and even ignore our heavenly father.

(John 20:21) ²¹ Jesus, therefore, said to them again: “May YOU have peace. Just as the Father has sent me forth, I also am sending YOU.

(1 John 4:4-6) ⁴ YOU originate with God, little children, and YOU have conquered those [persons], because he that is in union with YOU is greater than he that is in union with the world. ⁵ They originate with the world; that is why they speak [what proceeds] from the world and the world listens to them. ⁶ We originate with God. He that gains the knowledge of God listens to us; he that does not originate with God does not listen to us. This is how we take note of the inspired expression of truth and the inspired expression of error.

As we can see we cannot be friends with the world and friends with Jehovah.

(James 4:4) Adulteresses, do YOU not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God

(1 John 2:15) Do not be loving either the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him;

Because we are no part of the world the world will hate us and we will be treated likewise. But we have the hope of the future promises. Jesus himself said the student is no better then the teacher. If we follow his lead and do our best to imitate him we also will be hated as he was.

(John 15:17-20) ¹⁷ “These things I command YOU, that YOU love one another. ¹⁸ If the world hates YOU, YOU know that it has hated me before it hated YOU. ¹⁹ If YOU were part of the world, the world would be fond of what is its own. Now because YOU are no part of the world, but I have chosen YOU out of the world, on this account the world hates YOU. ²⁰ Bear in mind the word I said to YOU, A slave is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute YOU also; if they have observed my word, they will observe YOURS also.

(Matthew 16:24-27) ²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone wants to come after me, let him disown himself and pick up his torture stake and continually follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his soul will lose it; but whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For what benefit will it be to a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul? or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of man is destined to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will recompense each one according to his behavior. . .

We know to be a part of the world when judgement starts which is very very soon will mean we will forteit our life there will be no resurrection for us so there will be no second death meaning we will not have a chance to make things right because we will have already been given that chance and forfeited it. We know the dead are aware of nothing their thoughts perish so they will not live again but all their thoughts will be gone forever.

(Psalm 115:17) The dead themselves do not praise Jah, Nor do any going down into silence

(Psalm 146:3, 4)  ³ Do not put YOUR trust in nobles, Nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs.  ⁴ His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; In that day his thoughts do perish.

(Ezekiel 18:20) ²⁰ The soul that is sinning—it itself will die. A son himself will bear nothing because of the error of the father, and a father himself will bear nothing because of the error of the son. Upon his own self the very righteousness of the righteous one will come to be, and upon his own self the very wickedness of a wicked one will come to be. . .

(Revelation 20:13-15) ¹³ And the sea gave up those dead in it, and death and Ha′des gave up those dead in them, and they were judged individually according to their deeds. ¹⁴ And death and Ha′des were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ Furthermore, whoever was not found written in the book of life was hurled into the lake of fire. . .

Those who remain steadfast in their faith and loyalty will remain. And there reward will be greater then anything man has to offer.

(Revelation 21:1-4) 21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. ² I saw also the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. ⁴ And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away. . .

(Psalm 37:29) ²⁹ The righteous themselves will possess the earth, And they will reside forever upon it. . .

So we need to strive to do our best in not imitating the world with their lack of concern for the down trodden and their out right gossiping and resentment towards the down trodden. When they judge us for our actions the weakness is their own not ours so do not take it personal. If we are putting God’s will first then that is what matters because the world and the things in it will be gone soon.

(Matthew 25:34-40) ³⁴ “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, YOU who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for YOU from the founding of the world. ³⁵ For I became hungry and YOU gave me something to eat; I got thirsty and YOU gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and YOU received me hospitably; ³⁶ naked, and YOU clothed me. I fell sick and YOU looked after me. I was in prison and YOU came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous ones will answer him with the words, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and receive you hospitably, or naked, and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to you?’ ⁴⁰ And in reply the king will say to them, ‘Truly I say to YOU, To the extent that YOU did it to one of the least of these my brothers, YOU did it to m. . .

(Matthew 25:41-46) ⁴¹ “Then he will say, in turn, to those on his left, ‘Be on YOUR way from me, YOU who have been cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. ⁴² For I became hungry, but YOU gave me nothing to eat, and I got thirsty, but YOU gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger, but YOU did not receive me hospitably; naked, but YOU did not clothe me; sick and in prison, but YOU did not look after me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer with the words, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them with the words, ‘Truly I say to YOU, To the extent that YOU did not do it to one of these least ones, YOU did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will depart into everlasting cutting-off, but the righteous ones into everlasting life.. . .

Beast and Harlot of Revelation.

Written by Lee Stevenson. Sorry I am not the best editor.

There is a lot of confusion on who the beast and the harlot are in revelations. Hopefully this will help to clarify it. Keep in mind the beast would be trying to build a one world order or government. The harlot would exert influence over the beast so they cannot be one and the same. One thing you will notice the harlot can also be a part of the beast that is trying to form a one world order. When you compare the scriptures it makes it clear the harlot and Babylon the great mentioned in Revelations are the same entity. The bible also identifies how to tell who the harlot is.

Beast in the bible represented nations and in some instances subordinate nations are represented by horns you can see this in the book of Daniel.

(Daniel 7:4-6) ⁴ “The first one was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I kept on beholding until its wings were plucked out, and it was lifted up from the earth and was made to stand up on two feet just like a man, and there was given to it the heart of a man. ⁵ “And, see there! another beast, a second one, it being like a bear. And on one side it was raised up, and there were three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and this is what they were saying to it, ‘Get up, eat much flesh.’ ⁶ “After this I kept on beholding, and, see there! another [beast], one like a leopard, but it had four wings of a flying creature on its back. And the beast had four heads, and there was given to it rulership indeed.

(Daniel 7:11, 12) ¹¹ “I kept on beholding at that time because of the sound of the grandiose words that the horn was speaking; I kept on beholding until the beast was killed and its body was destroyed and it was given to the burning fire. ¹² But as for the rest of the beasts, their rulerships were taken away, and there was a lengthening in life given to them for a time and a season. . .

We know this prophecy in Daniel was fulfilled many years ago.

(Daniel 8:20-22) ²⁰ “The ram that you saw possessing the two horns [stands for] the kings of Me′di·a and Persia. ²¹ And the hairy he-goat [stands for] the king of Greece; and as for the great horn that was between its eyes, it [stands for] the first king. ²² And that one having been broken, so that there were four that finally stood up instead of it, there are four kingdoms from [his] nation that will stand up, but not with his power.

Many confuse the harlot in Revelation with the beast. But the harlot will sit on the back of the beast. In other words the harlot would exert influence over the beast.

(Revelation 17:3-5) ³ And he carried me away in [the power of the] spirit into a wilderness. And I caught sight of a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored wild beast that was full of blasphemous names and that had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and was adorned with gold and precious stone and pearls and had in her hand a golden cup that was full of disgusting things and the unclean things of her fornication. ⁵ And upon her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth.. . .

The harlot would oppose true worship.

(Revelation 19:2) . . .For he has executed judgment upon the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged the blood of his slaves at her hand. . .

(Jeremiah 50:2) “Tell [it] among the nations and publish [it]. And lift up a signal; publish [it]. Hide nothing, O men. Say, ‘Babylon has been captured. Bel has been put to shame. Mer′o·dach has become terrified. Her images have been put to shame. Her dungy idols have become terrified.’

Many believe much of the prophecies in Daniel were fulfilled but it says it is in the time of the end. So it will be in the last days that much of the prophecies in Daniel are fulfilled.

(Daniel 8:19) ¹⁹ And he went on to say: “Here I am causing you to know what will occur in the final part of the denunciation, because it is for the appointed time of [the] end.

In exposing false religion a death blow to the great harlot was given. Her sins were exposed, it would become obvious who she is and who she is committing political prostitution with. In other words the woman would heavily influence governments instead of putting faith in God. Also the sins kept secret the harlot has committed would be exposed.

(Revelation 18:1-8) 18 After these things I saw another angel descending from heaven, with great authority; and the earth was lighted up from his glory. ² And he cried out with a strong voice, saying: “She has fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen, and she has become a dwelling place of demons and a lurking place of every unclean exhalation and a lurking place of every unclean and hated bird! ³ For because of the wine of the anger of her fornication all the nations have fallen [victim], and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the traveling merchants of the earth became rich due to the power of her shameless luxury.” ⁴ And I heard another voice out of heaven say: “Get out of her, my people, if YOU do not want to share with her in her sins, and if YOU do not want to receive part of her plagues. ⁵ For her sins have massed together clear up to heaven, and God has called her acts of injustice to mind. ⁶ Render to her even as she herself rendered, and do to her twice as much, yes, twice the number of the things she did; in the cup in which she put a mixture put twice as much of the mixture for her. ⁷ To the extent that she glorified herself and lived in shameless luxury, to that extent give her torment and mourning. For in her heart she keeps saying, ‘I sit a queen, and I am no widow, and I shall never see mourning.’ ⁸ That is why in one day her plagues will come, death and mourning and famine, and she will be completely burned with fire, because Jehovah God, who judged her, is strong.

We are in the final part of the days. Many prophecies had minor fulfillments but had not yet happened on a world wide scale. Things have gotten much worse and are now happening on a world wide scale and much more often.

(Matthew 24:3-8) ³ While he was sitting upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately, saying: “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?” ⁴ And in answer Jesus said to them: “Look out that nobody misleads YOU; ⁵ for many will come on the basis of my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. ⁶ YOU are going to hear of wars and reports of wars; see that YOU are not terrified. For these things must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷ “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. ⁸ All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress.

The bible said that many would claim to be following Jesus but be misleading many. They would not obey God’s laws.

(Mark 13:4-6) ⁴ “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are destined to come to a conclusion?” ⁵ So Jesus started to say to them: “Look out that nobody misleads YOU. ⁶ Many will come on the basis of my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and will mislead many. . .

When the one who is promoting false worship was revealed it would be a sign Jesus has returned. In other words apostasy would exist for a certain amount of time and then Jesus would return and restore true worship and would expose false worship. So for a time false worship would dominate things.

(2 Thessalonians 2:1-3) 2 However, brothers, respecting the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we request of YOU ² not to be quickly shaken from YOUR reason nor to be excited either through an inspired expression or through a verbal message or through a letter as though from us, to the effect that the day of Jehovah is here. ³ Let no one seduce YOU in any manner, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction. . .

(Matthew 7:21-23) ²¹ “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. ²² Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ ²³ And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew YOU! Get away from me, YOU workers of lawlessness. . .

The beast springs from other nations or rulers that have fallen. Again we see the scarlet woman exerting influence over the beast. Mountains represent those in positions of power. So you can see the harlot is a religious entity and not a nation and that the beast is a political power.

(Revelation 17:9-14) ⁹ “Here is where the intelligence that has wisdom comes in: The seven heads mean seven mountains, where the woman sits on top. ¹⁰ And there are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet arrived, but when he does arrive he must remain a short while. ¹¹ And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also itself an eighth [king], but springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction. ¹² “And the ten horns that you saw mean ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they do receive authority as kings one hour with the wild beast. ¹³ These have one thought, and so they give their power and authority to the wild beast. ¹⁴ These will battle with the Lamb, but, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, the Lamb will conquer them. Also, those called and chosen and faithful with him [will do so].. . .

If you notice the second wild beast will come from the first wild beast who took a death blow but healed. This would be the ultimate rebellion against God. Just as in the Garden of Eden they chose to rule the earth without God this is they try replacing God’s rule over the earth with a human entity. The first beast the League of Nations took a death blow. Years later the United Nations sprung from the League of Nations. As you can see the beast is even going to replace religion. This is the one world order they are trying to form in rebellion against God. Just as Adam and Eve decided they do not need Gods guidance and wisdom man will do a finale act of rebellion by instituting what Adam and Eve did on a world wide scale. 

(Revelation 13:11-18) ¹¹ And I saw another wild beast ascending out of the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb, but it began speaking as a dragon. ¹² And it exercises all the authority of the first wild beast in its sight. And it makes the earth and those who dwell in it worship the first wild beast, whose death-stroke got healed. ¹³ And it performs great signs, so that it should even make fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the sight of mankind. ¹⁴ And it misleads those who dwell on the earth, because of the signs that were granted it to perform in the sight of the wild beast, while it tells those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the wild beast that had the sword-stroke and yet revived. ¹⁵ And there was granted it to give breath to the image of the wild beast, so that the image of the wild beast should both speak and cause to be killed all those who would not in any way worship the image of the wild beast. ¹⁶ And it puts under compulsion all persons, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, that they should give these a mark in their right hand or upon their forehead, ¹⁷ and that nobody might be able to buy or sell except a person having the mark, the name of the wild beast or the number of its name. ¹⁸ Here is where wisdom comes in: Let the one that has intelligence calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is a man’s number; and . . .

The harlot that helped the beast gain power will be brought down along with other false worship.

(Revelation 17:15-18) ¹⁵ And he says to me: “The waters that you saw, where the harlot is sitting, mean peoples and crowds and nations and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ten horns that you saw, and the wild beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her devastated and naked, and will eat up her fleshy parts and will completely burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God put [it] into their hearts to carry out his thought, even to carry out [their] one thought by giving their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of God will have been accomplished. ¹⁸ And the woman whom you saw means the great city that has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.. . .

(Revelation 18:4-10) ⁴ And I heard another voice out of heaven say: “Get out of her, my people, if YOU do not want to share with her in her sins, and if YOU do not want to receive part of her plagues. ⁵ For her sins have massed together clear up to heaven, and God has called her acts of injustice to mind. ⁶ Render to her even as she herself rendered, and do to her twice as much, yes, twice the number of the things she did; in the cup in which she put a mixture put twice as much of the mixture for her. ⁷ To the extent that she glorified herself and lived in shameless luxury, to that extent give her torment and mourning. For in her heart she keeps saying, ‘I sit a queen, and I am no widow, and I shall never see mourning.’ ⁸ That is why in one day her plagues will come, death and mourning and famine, and she will be completely burned with fire, because Jehovah God, who judged her, is strong. ⁹ “And the kings of the earth who committed fornication with her and lived in shameless luxury will weep and beat themselves in grief over her, when they look at the smoke from the burning of her, ¹⁰ while they stand at a distance because of their fear of her torment and say, ‘Too bad, too bad, you great city, Babylon you strong city, because in one hour your judgment has arrived!. . .

A sign that this is about to occur is when the world starts declaring there is peace at last.

(1 Thessalonians 5:1-3) 5 Now as for the times and the seasons, brothers, YOU need nothing to be written to YOU. ² For YOU yourselves know quite well that Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. ³ Whenever it is that they are saying: “Peace and security!” then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them just as the pang of distress upon a pregnant woman; and they will by no means escape. . .

Then they will turn on true worship and when this happens then Jehovah will put and end to this system of things.

(Ezekiel 38:15, 16) ¹⁵ And you will certainly come from your place, from the remotest parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great congregation, even a numerous military force. ¹⁶ And you will be bound to come up against my people Israel, like clouds to cover the land. In the final part of the days it will occur, and I shall certainly bring you against my land, for the purpose that the nations may know me when I sanctify myself in you before their eyes, O Gog.. . .

When this occurs then God will take action against those attacking his people.

(Revelation 19:19-21) ¹⁹ And I saw the wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage the war with the one seated on the horse and with his army. ²⁰ And the wild beast was caught, and along with it the false prophet that performed in front of it the signs with which he misled those who received the mark of the wild beast and those who render worship to its image. While still alive, they both were hurled into the fiery lake that burns with sulphur. ²¹ But the rest were killed off with the long sword of the one seated on the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth. And all the birds were filled from the fleshy parts of them. . .

So as you can see there will be a one world order or as some call it a new world order which will dominate the whole earth and have a lot of authority over commerce. The beast and it’s allies will exert authority over the whole earth. If someone does not submit to this new world order then they will not be able to buy sell or trade. But submitting to this ultimate rebellion against God would be rejecting God who is the giver of life. When this occurs and they turn on true worship God will give Jesus the command to destroy the beast and all those who have allied with the beast. This is the ultimate act of rebellion. Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the garden believing they did not need God to teach and guide them. They chose to take God out of their lives. This will be the ultimate rebellion by doing this on a world wide scale they will try to completely remove God from peoples lives on a world wide scale. Only those who refuse to submit to the beast will survive.

Revelation 13:1 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 

2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 

3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 

4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?” 

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 

6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 

7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 

8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. 

Daniel 2:41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 

42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 

43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. 

44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 

45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

More information about the beast and the mark of the beast can be found at this link.

https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-does-666-mean/#?insight%5Bsearch_id%5D=cfaaf8b8-154b-44a7-96ed-0b18827dda96&insight%5Bsearch_result_index%5D=2