There are two beasts spoken of in Revelation 13.
The Beast from the Sea. Revelation 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
The Beast from the Land. Revelation 13:11 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.
Of particular concern is the Beast from the Sea, who is considered by many to be a future Anti-Christ, who is destined to rule the world for a short period of time. Countless books foster this view, and not a few false prophets such as Jeane Dixon (January 5, 1904 – January 25, 1997), a former devout Catholic and infamous American psychic and talk show host personality. On the 66th day of 1962, she wrote,
“A child born somewhere in the Middle East shortly before 7:00 A.M. (EST) on February 5, 1962 will revolutionize the world. Before the close of this century, he will bring together all mankind in one all-embracing faith. This will be the foundation of a new Christianity, with every sect and creed united through this man who will walk among the people to spread the wisdom of the almighty powers.”
One of the signs of a false prophet is that they try to scare God’s people. Another sign is that what they predict in the name of God does not come to pass.
Deuteronomy 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
There are false prophets among us today. One well known, already discredited false prophet, who continues to speak, is alarming people with his predictions based on “four blood moons”.
This man, who makes merchandise of God’s people through sensationalism, warmongering, and fear, tries to tie current events to a lunar “tegrad”, and unites them with alleged Biblical prophecies. He says Russia and Iran will be wiped off the map, the battle of Ezekiel 38 will occur, and promises national Israel, “your redemption draweth nigh.”
It is not wrong for concerned Christians to try and warn others about false prophets, who are characterized by distinctive methodology. Such charlatans produce novel interpretation of the Scriptures, such as the foolishness of thinking that four blood moons fulfills current events. This is nothing more than Christian astrology and is as wicked and foolish as reading daily horoscopes. The Christian charlatan moves from one sensational teaching to the next. An honest exegesis of Scripture is not engaged in, and Biblical context is ignored when appealing to proof texts for prophetic fulfilment of current events.
The nonsense of appealing to Acts 2:19 for a sensational theory about four blood moons to indicate prophetic events in 2014-2015 is one example.
Text. Acts 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
Context. Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
Peter is simply quoting Joel 2:28-31, he is not talking about four blood moons occurring in the years 1492, 1948, 1967, or 2014 and 2015.
The only other “blood moon” passage in Scripture is found in the book of the Revelation.
Revelation 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.
No matter what the Bible says to explain itself, the religious charlatan will continue to be dogmatic and thereby persuade many. Personal charisma is also used to advance a self-serving, money making religious agenda. The religious charlatan will incessantly appeal for money. A glib tongue helps separate the fool from his money.
The church should be concerned about prophetic teachers who unite current events with ancient prophecies, while dismissing historical fulfillment. The way the religious charlatan can get away with his nonsense is by using vagueness with prophecies such as saying, “Something big is about to happen.”
Of course something “big” is going to happen, blood moon, or no blood moon. Russia is on the rise. The Middle East is in flames. North Korea and South Korea are lobbing shots at each other. Jews and Palestinians having been at each others throat since 1948. China devalues its dollar. The United States manifests its greed by going into debt trillions of dollars.
Taking advantage of the social conditions manifested in a fallen and sinful society, the religious charlatan looks into the sky, finds two passages of Scripture of a sensational nature, dismisses history, instills fear into the hearts of multitudes in order to control and manipulate people, and does it all in the name of God, and prophecy fulfilled. It is religious madness, and people who contribute to these charlatans, individuals who buy their books, and repeat their false prophecies, are not guiltless. They are sad dupes to be sure, but they will be held accountable for having “itching ears.” Christian, beware!
